NationalDex
cloyster
#091

Cloyster

Bivalve Pokémon

WaterIce

When attacked, it launches its horns in quick volleys. Its innards have never been seen.

Base Stats

HP 50
Attack 95
Defense 180
Sp. Atk 85
Sp. Def 45
Speed 70
Total 525

Type Effectiveness

Held Items

Evolution Chain

Moves

Locations

Details

Category Bivalve Pokémon
Height 1.5 m
Weight 132.5 kg
Base Exp 184
Growth Rate Slow
Capture Rate 60
Base Happiness 70
Gender 50% ♂ / 50% ♀
Habitat Sea
Egg Groups Water3

Sprites

cloyster Front Front
cloyster Back Back
cloyster Front Shiny Front Shiny
cloyster Back Shiny Back Shiny
cloyster Official Art Official Art
cloyster Official Art (Shiny) Official Art (Shiny)

Competitive

Physical Tank

Strategy Overview

Cloyster holds a niche in Ubers thanks to its combination of unique traits; it has fantastic physical bulk, letting it tank Snorlax's Self-Destruct, Mew's +2 Earthquake, and Tauros's Hyper Beam with relative comfort. Its Ice typing gives it a powerful STAB Blizzard as well as an immunity to freeze. It also has access to the mighty Explosion, a potent tool in Ubers, and its signature move Clamp can choke down slower foes and provide free switches for its teammates.

However, Cloyster is weighed down by multiple detrimental traits that prevent it from being a true oppressive force in Ubers. Its matchup into unparalyzed Mewtwo is horrendous, only 5HKOing it with Blizzard while being 2HKOed by Psychic and Thunderbolt in return, letting Mewtwo switch in with little risk. It can't reliably switch into the physical attackers it wants to tank hits from, as it becomes much worse if it is paralyzed by Body Slam or Thunder Wave. Cloyster also finds it difficult to heal off the damage it takes, as its only way of healing is Rest, which forces it into complete passivity for two turns. Cloyster also relies on heavy paralysis support to effectively use Clamp and Explosion due to its mediocre Speed and weakness to special moves.

Most Used Moves

Explosion
100.0%
Clamp
98.9%
Blizzard
89.4%
Rest
73.4%
Ice Beam
11.0%

Most Used Items

Nothing
100.0%

Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc