Community POTW #018

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon of the Week, and this week we have a Pokémon that came from the Kalos Region

It's Clawitzer

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-sm/693.shtml

Go nuts

 

[Lucario At Service]

Clawitzer @ Life Orb
[Mega Launcher]
Modest Nature
252 Sp.Atk, 252 Spd, 4 HP

- Water Pulse/Scald/Surf
- Aura Sphere
- Sludge Bomb/Flash Cannon
- Dark Pulse/Dragon Pulse/Ice Beam

With Mega Launcher, 'Water Pulse' has same BP as 'Surf' (and 'Muddy Water'), but 'Surf' has some possible good usage in Doubles. 'Scald' has less BP but inflicts Burn.

 

[Specialbeamcanon]

I wouldn't really recommend Flash Cannon. STAB+Sludge Bomb+Aura Sphere outclasses what Steel coverage would offer.

 

[Missingno. Master]

Claw-Abiding Citizen
Clawitzer@Life Orb
Modest/Quiet nature
Mega Launcher
252 HP/252 Sp. Atk/4 Defense
~Water Pulse
~Dark Pulse
~Dragon Pulse/Sludge Wave
~Aura Sphere

It's very easy to build a good moveset for Clawitzer. Water Pulse is your STAB of choice, thanks to Mega Launcher making it actually decent. Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, and Aura Sphere are all chosen for their compatibility with Mega Launcher's effect, though if Fairy-types worry you, you can replace Dragon Pulse with Sludge Wave. It won't get that sexy Mega Launcher boost, but it'll give you that extra coverage.

Item powers up Clawitzer. Ability is non-negotiable.


Other options:
*If double battles are your thing, Clawitzer is basically the best user of Heal Pulse ever thanks to Mega Launcher- yes, Mega Launcher even makes Heal Pulse work better.
*If you think Clawitzer needs even further coverage, there's Ice Beam and Shadow Ball.
*Z-Splash, Aqua Jet, Rock Slide, and Crabhammer would in theory give it something of an option for a physical set, but... yeah, no, stick to the superior attacking stat that covers all the moves that its Ability works on.

Abilities:
*Mega Launcher: Clawitzer's one and only Ability. Clawitzer's aura and pulse moves are 50% more powerful. This means that the base power of Water Pulse, Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, and Aura Sphere gets multiplied by 1.5. And Origin Pulse, if Clawitzer were ever to learn it, which right now it doesn't. It also makes Heal Pulse heal 75% of the target's health, rather than 50%. That's right- they thought of everything with this one. Clawitzer doesn't get any other Ability, so this is what you're stuck with, but you could do way worse than this.

Partners:
Clawitzer is slow, relies on its bulk to stay in the battle long enough to dish out hits, and can't really heal itself, so Wish support would be invaluable.

Counters:
Azumarill and Primarina can switch in with impunity, provided Clawitzer isn't running Sludge Wave. and wear it down with powerful attacks. Special walls in general give Clawitzer grief, even if they're weak to any of Clawitzer's moves-Aura Sphere may be its best option against Chansey, but that doesn't mean Clawitzer should be your go-to Chansey killer.

Opinion:
I do prefer its version-exclusive counterpart of Dragalge between the two, but credit where credit is due- Clawitzer is an awesome Pokémon in its own right.

Prediction for next week:
Gumshoos.

 

[Aduro]

Heal Pulse is pretty good in doubles, healing 75% of the targets HP and it's Clawitzer's main niche over Mega Blastoise (aside from not being a mega).

Healing with no priority from something with 59 base speed? Sounds pretty slow to rely on. Clawitzer is best used offensively.


Clawitzer @ Choice Specs
Ability: Mega Launcher
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Scald
- Aura Sphere
- Ice Beam
- Dark Pulse/Sludge Bomb

Max or near max special attack is advisable to help get OHKOs on Steelix and 2HKOs on Alomolola after leftovers.

Dark Pulse is your best bet to OHKO Medicham, (and with max HP investment Clawitzer will take a hit from a jolly medicham) but sludge wave can hit incoming Virizions. Clawitzer does get a dragon pulse boost, but it tends to work in tiers where it hits more ground types than dragons so you should go with ice beam. Max special attack will OHKO offensive Venusuars with ice beam. I would recommend giving up on speed investment and just worrying about HP bulk and power given the calcs below show that it works on some close margins for both.


Some offensive calcs to show it breaking tanks and walls
252+ SpA Choice Specs Clawitzer Scald vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Steelix: 384-452 (108.4 - 127.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Mega Launcher Clawitzer Aura Sphere vs. 40 HP / 252 SpD Alomomola: 254-299 (52.8 - 62.1%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ SpA Choice Specs Clawitzer Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Venusaur: 304-358 (100.9 - 118.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO


Some Defensive Calcs to show that it will probably get at least one really good hit off.
252 SpA Jolteon Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Clawitzer: 288-342 (83.2 - 98.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Ampharos Volt Switch vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Clawitzer: 254-302 (73.4 - 87.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Virizion Giga Drain vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Clawitzer: 276-328 (79.7 - 94.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Virizion Leaf Blade vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Clawitzer: 254-302 (73.4 - 87.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO




Checks and Counters
If you want to kill a Clawitzer its not exactly complicated, you just need to be carefuly switching in. For example if you're expecting a water move or aura sphere Jellicent will be fine, but if it goes for dark pulse its going to do a lot of damage. Its also easy to revenge kill due to its speed. Bulky Ampharos can have a decent chance to kill with thunderbolt without getting OHKO'd by anything.

 

[BlackKyurem3DS]

Awww sweet, one of my Kalos favorites.
Ability:
Mega Launcher: Increases power of pulse and aura moves by 50%. Effectively boosts Aura Sphere, Water Pulse, Dark Pulse, and Dragon Pulse (Also the healing power of Healing Pusle). Interesting ability, as you basically get a 120 bp water pulse with this ability and stab. Kinda limits your moveset if you want to use it, but it's still a neat ability.

 

[Liquid_MC]

Steamed Clawitzer with a Side of Salac

It's a gimmicky set, and can be ruined by Unnerve, but no one would see this coming.

The Who
Clawitzer
Ability: Mega Launcher
Nature: Timid
Item: Salac Berry
EVs: 252 Sp. Atk/252 Spd/4 Def

The How
Moveset:
Endure
Dark Pulse
Aura Sphere
Water Pulse/Dragon Pulse

The Why

Ability: Mega Launcher is the only possibility.

Nature: A Timid nature allows Clawitzer to maximize speed without detracting from its necessary HP, Sp. Attack, Defense and Sp. Defense.

Item: A Salac Berry, after activated by an Endured hit, boosts a fully EV invested speed stat so high that Clawitzer becomes the 59th fastest non-boosted Pokemon in the game; 34th if you discount Ubers and Mega Evolutions.

EVs: Sp. Attack should be maxed since this set does not run a modest nature. Speed should be maxed out to maximize the boost from the Salac Berry. The remaining 4 EVs can go anywhere but Attack. I chose Defense because it Clawitzer's Sp. Defense is slightly better.

Moveset:
The goal here is to use Endure to activate the Salac Berry, bringing Clawitzer to a new speed tier.
Once there, Dark Pulse and Aura Sphere are go to choices as they both benefit from Mega Launcher. This boost justifies the Speed investment.
The last choice depends on what your team needs. If you don't have a dragon slayer on your team already, I'd choose Dragon Pulse to cover the inevitable. On the other hand, if you're prepared, Water Pulse, due to Mega Launcher, is as powerful as Surf or Muddy Water and may Confuse the foe. Should the hit not kill the target but Confuse it, Clawitzer has the off chance of getting a free turn and free damage on the opponent. Scald is less powerful, but could Burn the target. The problem with Scald is, Clawitzer is not looking to burn a foe, but burry one, having already Endured a hit to activate the Salac Berry.

 

[Sceptile Leaf Blade]

Healing with no priority from something with 59 base speed? Sounds pretty slow to rely on. Clawitzer is best used offensively.

I guess you're right for the most part. It's a situational trick for sure, and usually something fast like Ribombee is going to be better for a healing role in doubles. I think Clawitzer could do it better if you pair it with Belly Drum Poliwrath though. Poliwrath has base 70 speed so it isn't particularly fast either. If you Drum with Poliwrath (maybe with a Salac Berry) and then immediately heal it back up with Clawitzer Poliwrath is then in a good position to try and wreck the opposition in lower tier doubles.

 

[Mestorn]

Creaming Clawitzer

Clawitzer is a pokémon that at first glance seems right at home in Aslowla. Base 59 Speed, while fast for trick room, is still enough for Clawitzer to outslow a lot of opponents and Arceus Like SATK and Mega Launcher mean that Clawitzer hits like a laser cannon. Unfortunately, Clawitzer is frail by Trick Room standards (71/88/89) and many foes outspeed it in and out of Trick Room. Out of trick room pokémon like LO Galvantula, LO Heliolisk, LO Jolteon, Choice Specs users of Rotom's alternates (Wash, Frost, Fan, Mow) with Thunderbolt, Bloom Doom (Solar Beam) Houndoom and Shaymin can all outspeed Clawitzer and OHKO it (though NONE of them like taking a hit).

252 SpA Life Orb Galvantula Thunder vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clawitzer: 416-494 (120.2 - 142.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Jolteon Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clawitzer: 374-445 (108 - 128.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Choice Specs Rotom-Mow Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clawitzer: 416-492 (120.2 - 142.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

In Trick Room, Pokémon like Vikavolt, and Specs Drampa, LO Eelektross can outslow and OHKO Clawitzer before it can attack.

Aside from instantly KOing it, sponges that are not weak to Clawitzer or any of its Mega Launcher moves can comfortably wall and setup on Clawitzer. Florges being the key example. Aside from that, determine what item Clawitzer is holding. If it has Choice Specs, play around what move it is currently locked into. If it is using something else, its wall piercing capabilities go way down and thus many more pokémon can come in take a hit and wreck Clawitzer.

 

[Kansas_Rocks!]

Scald should be the first slash for water STAB on any standard set. Being able to permanently cripple physical attackers 30% of the time for a base 10 decrease in damage is almost always better than a 30% confusion chance. Moves that cause confusion like Water Pulse should rarely ever be used, and when they are, it is much better for your user to be fast. Clawitzer is too slow to really abuse the confusion given by Water Pulse. This is because it will rarely have the chance to outspeed the opponent, so they will just switch out between turns. Faster mons may be able to pull it off if they had access to Mega Launcher, as they would confuse before the opponent moved, so there would be a chance at hitting themselves before they are pulled from battle. But Clawitzer cannot pull this off. Scald is superior in just about every way.

 

[Archstaraptor]

Scald should be the first slash for water STAB on any standard set. Being able to permanently cripple physical attackers 30% of the time for a base 10 decrease in damage is almost always better than a 30% confusion chance. Moves that cause confusion like Water Pulse should rarely ever be used, and when they are, it is much better for your user to be fast. Clawitzer is too slow to really abuse the confusion given by Water Pulse. This is because it will rarely have the chance to outspeed the opponent, so they will just switch out between turns. Faster mons may be able to pull it off if they had access to Mega Launcher, as they would confuse before the opponent moved, so there would be a chance at hitting themselves before they are pulled from battle. But Clawitzer cannot pull this off. Scald is superior in just about every way.

I don't believe scald is as good an option as it once was.No denying that burns on an all-out attacker is nice, but the argument for the confusion status can now be better made since burn residual damage was halved,on top of the rise in usage of terrains.
An opponent is unlikely to switch if they feel they have the field advantage - i.e. they've just switched in a check/ counter/wall to answer clawitzer/stall it out. True, scald pressures physical mons in these groups, but not special attackers.It also has no secondary effect in misty terrain,whereas waterpulse will still confuse the target and potentially render them inactive for one turn(important :no recovery turn for walls),inflicting some more significant residual damage and allowing a check or counter to switch in more easily.

Confusion pressure is nice no matter what the opponent - you have the potential to capitalise on the game immediately by denying your opponent the opportunity they gained when they switched into a good matchup (clawitzer,in this case).

 

[Sceptile Leaf Blade]

Confusion was also nerfed in the generation shift, it's now only a 33% chance of hitting yourself rather than a 50% chance.

 

[Archstaraptor]

Confusion was also nerfed in the generation shift, it's now only a 33% chance of hitting yourself rather than a 50% chance.

This is true,it isn't as favourable as it once was, but still a dangerous bonus effect that will sway the game in your favour should it activate. Your opponent may be losing 1 in 3 turns, instead of 1 in 2 turns,but better than none at all,which is my argument against scald.Scald is only useful against physical attackers and is otherwise negligible chip damage that walls with any form of recovery will not care about.

 

[EKZ1505]

An opponent is unlikely to switch if they feel they have the field advantage - i.e. they've just switched in a check/ counter/wall to answer clawitzer/stall it out. True, scald pressures physical mons in these groups, but not special attackers.It also has no secondary effect in misty terrain,whereas waterpulse will still confuse the target and potentially render them inactive for one turn(important :no recovery turn for walls),inflicting some more significant residual damage and allowing a check or counter to switch in more easily.

I don't think this would even come up often for Clawitzer, but Water Pulse cannot confuse a target in Misty Terrain (unless they're a flying-type or levitating, but then they CAN be burned too). Not saying Water Pulse is worse, because I do feel the added power is important for it due to its speed, but it's important to keep this in mind since you're discounting Scald for it.

 

[Kansas_Rocks!]

This is true,it isn't as favourable as it once was, but still a dangerous bonus effect that will sway the game in your favour should it activate. Your opponent may be losing 1 in 3 turns, instead of 1 in 2 turns,but better than none at all,which is my argument against scald.Scald is only useful against physical attackers and is otherwise negligible chip damage that walls with any form of recovery will not care about.

And your average wall won't care about confusion damage either. Because we are considering walls, they are built with longevity in mind, so they don't invest in Attack. Attack is the stat that confusion bases its damage off, so if your wall has no attack, it takes pitiful damage from confusion too. Plus, confusion always has the chance to break without any consequences. Sometimes, a mon will snap out of confusion within one turn, meaning your secondary effect did nothing. Burn will always have consequences. No matter what happens, you can guarantee that burn will at least do some damage.

Crippling a physical attacker for an entire game should almost always take priority over annoying an opponent for one turn. Your 1 in 3 argument gets worse when you consider that, unless the opponent is down to their last team member or they don't like switching, confusion will only last one turn. Your opponent will switch out and the confusion is done. Lose a little momentum? Yes, but confusion is over now. Discounting team clerics, burn lasts the entire game.

 

[Archstaraptor]

I don't think this would even come up often for Clawitzer, but Water Pulse cannot confuse a target in Misty Terrain (unless they're a flying-type or levitating, but then they CAN be burned too).

You are correct, just tested on my copy of Moon - confusion status can no longer be inflicted in misty terrain. I recall that you could in XY/ORAS, but that's obviously been changed now. Shame :/

And your average wall won't care about confusion damage either. Because we are considering walls, they are built with longevity in mind, so they don't invest in Attack. Attack is the stat that confusion bases its damage off, so if your wall has no attack, it takes pitiful damage from confusion too. Plus, confusion always has the chance to break without any consequences. Sometimes, a mon will snap out of confusion within one turn, meaning your secondary effect did nothing. Burn will always have consequences. No matter what happens, you can guarantee that burn will at least do some damage.

Crippling a physical attacker for an entire game should almost always take priority over annoying an opponent for one turn. Your 1 in 3 argument gets worse when you consider that, unless the opponent is down to their last team member or they don't like switching, confusion will only last one turn. Your opponent will switch out and the confusion is done. Lose a little momentum? Yes, but confusion is over now. Discounting team clerics, burn lasts the entire game.

The fact that walls don't invest in attack is an argument that can be made against the damage of both moves,honestly. Burn does cancel leftovers recovery,which is great on a wall without any other form of healing,and confusion damage is,as you say,variable,depending on whether the switchin was a physical attacker or a wall.
Your argument for burns is solid if you prefer burning physical attackers, and that's definitely a great way to go about bringing down the opposing team.

But if against something like a bulky water,say Toxapex,for example, confusion could prevent it from using toxic / t - spikes whilst the player can switch into a more appropriate answer. With scald there is no such opportunity,and the burn now acts as a shield,protecting toxapex from paralysis and sleep statuses that actually threaten its ability to support its team.

So altogether, both moves have their uses, scald is all-around the better option vs. offense and water pulse can create important windows of opportunity vs. defence.

 

[Sceptile Leaf Blade]

I'm pretty sure you shouldn't run either to ruin walls, neither is particularly crippling. Just run something else with Toxic if you're scared of walls. I think in general it's better to just switch to something more appropriate to deal with the situation if Toxapex comes in, for instance Espeon has no trouble setting up Calm Mind on Toxapex.

 

[Karxrida]

Just go Scald for Singles; Confusion is way too RNG-reliant with the nerf to ever do anything. You get something like a less than 10% chance to inflict it and have the target hit themselves on the same turn, I think?

Burn, meanwhile, is consistently useful. It nets you guaranteed residual damage every turn, doesn't get cured when switching out or on its own at random, and the Attack drops are nice.

Water Pulse might be worth running in Doubles since you get more out of the free turn there. I dunno.

 

[Aduro]

Clawitzer is a pokemon with a purely offensive ability, it generally lacks useful status moves, and its only really good stat is its special attack. It shouldn't need to rely of scald for residual damage because literally its only job is to deal big damage with offensive moves. Ideally it should be powerful enough to destroy whatever it attacks in a single hit. The only reason it runs scald is because scald is an especially broken move in general that might be useful if something physical switches in. If Clawitzer is used properly it will kill whatever it attacks without having to rely on confusion or burn. Its not particularly great even at doing that, but then that's why Clawitzer isn't used in the same metas as walls of Toxapex's calibre.

 

[ampfire101]

This works pretty well in doubles as a support or wall breaker mode I would imagine. Unfortunate it's gotta be transferred because it would be cool in VGC, but Mega Launcher + Heal Pulse makes sure your partner will be healthy, pairs nicely with Grass and Fire types for its ability to get rid of Fire and Rock and Ground types respectively. Also learns Helping Hand! Scald is pretty good for support sets while Water Pulse makes use of that Mega Launcher ability. Fighting is such a good type to have in doubles so Aura Sphere is also good here. Guessing Specs for wall breaking set?