Community POTW #61

[Smugleaf-pwns-all]

Attila the Huntail
Life Orb / White Herb
Naive / Naughty
252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Shell Smash
~ Waterfall
~ Crunch
~ Ice Beam / Hydro Pump

Since Huntail's options are very limited due to its small movepool, and because Gorebyss and Carracosta are better on both offensive sides, a mixed Shell Smash set is the best way to use it offensively. After a Shell Smash, neutral-speed natured Huntail outruns just about every unboosted threat in NU except Electrode. With the mentioned attacks, Huntail also has great coverage.

Between a boosted Crunch and STAB Waterfall, not much in NU will live to tell the tale, except for dedicated walls. Most physical walls are taken care of by Huntail's special move. The choice between Ice Beam and Hydro Pump depends on which targets are more important to KO for your team; Ice Beam allows you to easily beat bulky Grass-types, while Hydro Pump gets STAB and wrecks most physical walls.

Because of Huntail's low base Speed and need for power, its Speed and Attack are maxed to (attempt to) prevent revenge killing and for the most power possible. Naive nature lets Huntail to outrun all pokemon up to +1 positive-natured base 85s, Naughty boosts Attack while keeping some Speed. Life Orb is best when using Naive, since the boost helps with the loss in power. White Herb is recommended with the Naughty nature. Water Veil is recommended over Swift Swim because of the former's more useful effect, but either is usable.

 

[pikadon92]

Classic Clampearl

Clampearl@Deepseatooth
Quiet Nature
-Surf/Scald
-Brine
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power [Grass/Electric]

Because with 32 base speed, using trick room is safer. Because of 32/85/55 bulkiness, giving it eviolite to make it bulky wouldn't work.

Now, for the EV spreads. For starters, max out Sp.Att on this. After that, Att is useless ans Speed conflicts with Trick Room, so spread the remaining EV to HP, then Def/Sp.Def. That is all it can do, and that is what Clampearl needed.

Surf is for basic damage, but scale may burn. Brine is here since it can outdamage surf when the victim's at half HP. And it's the only other option clamperl has other than the final two, Blizzard, Round and all the other useless status or water moves that are weaker. Round deserves a mention, though when it comes to double/triple battles. If used together with your partner, you'll just have to rely on each other's speed. Just imagine without trick room, what a 120 power from a deepseatooth clampearl could do, when it is the second to attack!

Anyway, back to the last 2 moveslots. They are for coverage purposes. For HP, I'll recommend grass in LC as with electric, it'll be walled by volt absorb chinchou.

 

[Zachmac]

Attila the Huntail
Life Orb / White Herb
Naive / Naughty
252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
~ Shell Smash
~ Waterfall
~ Crunch
~ Ice Beam / Hydro Pump

I like that set's name.

Stall Clamperl 2.0
Eviolite
Calm
164 HP/192 Def/252 Sp. Def
Rest
Ice Beam
Sleep Talk
Surf

I vote that we drop the idea of defensive Clampearl all together. It's defense is good enough for an eviolite user, but it's HP and special defense suck. And I mean they suck.

 

[Blue Harvest]

Eviolite or Deepseatooth Clamperl work just like Offensive Lugia.. sure it does it.. but why not use something else.

 

[Zachmac]

Just checked out the speed tiers. +2 max speed Clamperl would be able to outspeed Tornadus and anything slower. It would still be outsped by Starmie, Alakazam, Dugtrio, and Jolteon, along with almost every choice scarfer, so if you use it, you'd better watch out for those.

 

[Vandslaux]

Agreed. Don't use Clamperl outside of LC. I'm pretty sure Huntail and Gorebyss are NU. Clamperl is THE hardest hitting pokemon on LC. Like I said before, +6 with one Shell Smash is amazing.

 

[M4zz]

Huntail​

Overview
Huntail is one of those really sleek looking Pokemon to come out with the advent of Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. It's commonly seen hanging around the NeverUsed tier, and for good reason.

Typing and Stats
Huntail sports a pure-Water typing, which all-in-all, isn't all that bad, although it holds a large weakness to some fairly common Pokemon in OU, UU, and RU namely Rotom, Roserade, Ferrothorn, Sceptile, and Zapdos, which could be the explanation as to why it didn't hit one of the higher tiers. It's stats aren't to terribly bad, sporting 55/104/105/94/75/52 for stats. Hits hard, can take hits, but isn't very fast. These disappointing Speed and HP stats may be the direct reason as to why Huntail doesn't see very much usage in the higher tiers.

Abilities
Swift Swim - Huntail's standard ability, and is fairly useless outside of Ubers, unless you bump into a Rain Dance team or if you run one in either NU or RU. Doubles Huntail's speed in Rain, adding to it's offensive prowess.
Water Veil - Huntail's hidden ability, and an ability that arguably carries more use for Huntail, preventing stray burns from shutting it down from attacking with it's physically attacking moves. It has been released and is available for use.

Movepool
Outside of the multitude of Water-Type attacks, Huntail does not have much going for it. It gets Crunch, Ice Fang, Return/Frustration, and Body Slam for useful physical coverage moves, while the Special side of the spectrum scores Ice Beam and Blizzard. It also gets the superb boosting move in Shell Smash from Clamperl, but if one decides to use this move, and you always should, you lose out on the useful Generation IV tutor moves available to Huntail (Bounce and Sucker Punch). It's not much of a loss regardless. This scarily shallow movepool also lacks any viable form of HP Recovery outside of Aqua Ring, Rest, and Refresh, but neither of which aren't much of recovery moves to begin with, one stopping status, the other slowly curing HP, and one immobilizing Huntail while curing both status and HP. It gets Substitute too, which allows it to set up easier.

Movesets

Mixed Menace (NU / RU / UU / OU)

Huntail | White Herb/Life Orb
Water Veil / Swift Swim | Naughty / Naive Nature
252 Atk | 4 SpA | 252 Spe
Shell Smash | Waterfall / Aqua Tail | Crunch | Ice Beam

Designed to quickly set up without the fear of a Burn, and just bust through teams. Because Huntail is very limited option-wise for moves, and generally outclassed by his sister Gorebyss and Carracosta, it's recommended that the deep-sea fish stick to the NU or RU tiers. The premise to this set is simple; get a Shell Smash up, and bust through as much of a team as possible. Between a boosted Crunch and STAB Waterfall, little besides dedicated walls are able to resist, let alone survive, this combination of attacks. Most physical walls and other defensive Pokemon, Grass-types in particular, are taken care of by Huntail's chosen special move. The choice between Ice Beam and Hydro Pump depends on which targets are more important to KO for your team; Ice Beam allows you to decimate Tangela and other physically bulky Grass-types, while Hydro Pump gets STAB and wrecks most physical walls.

If running Huntail in OU for some godforsaken reason, run Swift Swim on it to nab a handy boost from the occasional Drizzle team. But don't use Huntail in OU. Seriously. It's just horrible.

I'll probably add on a Gorebyss and Clamperl section too.

 

[Pika ruler]

Mixed Smasher

Huntail @ White Herb
Ability: Swift Swim
Ev's: 252 Spe / 56 Atk / 200 SAtk
Nature: Hasty
Moves:
~ Shell Smash
~ Hydro Pump
~ Crunch
~ Ice Beam

Even with its Attack stat higher than its Special Attack, it can still go with a specially based mixed. Smash, then start sweeping.

 

[MooseSmuggler]

It's gimmicky, but I've had limited success using Clamperl in a Rain/Trick Room team.

The Little Clam That Could!

Clamperl@DeepSeaTooth
Trait: Shell Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA
Nature: Quiet (+SpA,-Spd)
-Surf
-Ice Beam
-Hidden Power [Electric/Grass]
-Protect

 

[menametlg]

GOREBYSS

Poor bulk and speed but good SpAtk and good movepool.

Abilities:
Swift Swim- doubles speed in rain
Hydration- cure status in rain

Baton Pass
@Left-overs
Hydration / Swift Swim
Timid 252 Spd / 252 HP / 4 SpDef

- Baton Pass
- Aqua Ring / Substitute
- Agility / Barrier / Shell Smash / Amnesia
- Hydro Pump

Choice
@Choice Specs / Scarf
Swift Swim / Hydration
Modest / Timid 252 Spd / 252 SpAtk / 4 HP

- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam / Blizzard
- HP [Fire / Grass]
- Psychic / Signal Beam

HUNTAIL

Poor Bulk and Speed but has good ATK and fair movepool.

Swift Swim - self explained
Water Veil - prevent burn

Offensive
@Life-orb
Water Veil / Swift Swim
Adamant / Jolly [ 252 Atk / 148 Spd / 108 HP ]

- Ice Fangs
- Waterfall / Aqua Tail
- Return / Schreech
- Crunch

CLAMPERL

Ability:
Shell Armor - prevent critical hit
Jitter - Raises Speed. Good ability.

Shell Smasher
@Eviolite
Jitter / Shell Armor
Bold [ 252 Def / 148 HP / 108 SpAtk ]

- Shell Smash
- Iron Defense
- Scald / Surf
- Ice Beam / Blizzard / HP [ Fire / Grass ]

 

[MX42]

Huntail.

Overview: Oh Huntail. Never seen much action back in the day. And now, one thing changed. Shell Smash. This makes Huntail an offencive monster. But even this blessing has its downfalls. It is outclassed by Cloyster in the higher tiers, but oh well. It is a great force in Underused.

Abilities:
Swift Swin: Oh Shell Smash and Swift Swim? And with Drizzle? Overused here I co- wait, Drizzle snd Swift Swim Teams are banned? Yeah. Not very appealing now...
Hydration: Stops paralisys, stops burn, legal with Drizzle, very good ability...

Movesets:

HUNTAIL SMASH!
Ability: Hydration
Item:Life Orb
-Shell Smash
-Ice Fang
-Waterfall
-Crunch/Return
252 Atk, 4 Def, 252 Spe

Simple and lethal. Shell Smash makes your offences sky high, making you a dangerous sweeper. Waterfall is for STAB, and Ice Fang covers Grasses and Dragons. Crunch can help with coverage, but Return is the stronger mive. Either is fine...

 

[Huntail]

Huntail (my favourite Pokemon!) - Monster Huntail

Ability; Swift Swim - great with other pokemon with the Drizzle ability
EV's 252 At, 252 Def, 4 Sp.def
Item - Life Orb
Iron Defence
Dive/Waterfall
Body Slam/Crunch/Bounce (If from Gen III or IV)
Toxic

Gorebyss - Gorgeous Speedster
Ability - Swift Swim
Ev's - 252 Sp. Att, 252 Spd, 4 Def
Item - Choice Scarf
Moves-
Baton Pass
Agility
Psychic
Scald/Muddy Water

Clamperl - The Pearl is Venom
Ability - Rattled
EV's - 252 Def, 252 Sp. Att, 4 Spd
Item - Toxic Orb
Muddy Water
Aqua Ring/Toxic
Ice Beam/Blizzard
Facade

 

[Melonhead215]

Huntail (my favourite Pokemon!) - Monster Huntail

Ability; Swift Swim - great with other pokemon with the Drizzle ability
EV's 252 At, 252 Def, 4 Sp.def
Item - Life Orb
Iron Defence
Dive/Waterfall
Body Slam/Crunch/Bounce (If from Gen III or IV)
Toxic

Gorebyss - Gorgeous Speedster
Ability - Swift Swim
Ev's - 252 Sp. Att, 252 Spd, 4 Def
Item - Choice Scarf
Moves-
Baton Pass
Agility
Psychic
Scald/Muddy Water

Clamperl - The Pearl is Venom
Ability - Rattled
EV's - 252 Def, 252 Sp. Att, 4 Spd
Item - Toxic Orb
Muddy Water
Aqua Ring/Toxic
Ice Beam/Blizzard
Facade

Think this guy likes Huntail.
Anyway, nice sets, but I think Shell smash is what gives clamperl it's use in the LC. Toxic/Facade combo is a good idea, though. I like Facade. ^-^

 

[Zachmac]

Toxic/Facade combo is a good idea, though. I like Facade. ^-^

I'd have to disagree. Toxic will sap away at it's health, and it gets enough coverage in hidden power. If I were to use Clamperl, I'd use the deep sea tooth to give it a powerful special attack.

Maybe I'd reconsider if it had gots and/or Facade was STAB, but otherwise, no.

 

[Kraleck]

Countering Huntail and/or Gorebyss
Low Base HP and Above-Average Sp.Def scream "hit me with Tbolt!" However, Swift Swim makes them a tad more vulnerable, changing the phrase to "Thunder? Ha! Just try it loser..."

Swift Swim and bad Base Speed make you very vulnerable to Thunder. Your greatest asset is your biggest weakness. Hydration makes this worse for Gorebyss as it requires Rain for both Abilities, and after that, it gets even better - Galvantula can snipe you with Thunder at a whim without Rain and likely has better Speed if nothing at all is invested into it.

Special Attacker Grass Types love their STAB, too. Sceptile, Swift Swim Ludicolo, Storm Drain Cradily, Serperior, and Simisage will greet you with Type and power advantages, then (potentially) continue with your team. Swift Swim Ludicolo even has an advantage once you set the Rain up. Better Base Speed means you'd better hope you have at least 1 Shell Smash and an active Swift Swim or else Energy Ball/Giga Drain is headed right for you...

 

[battle171]

Of course, moves like Mach Punch and Sucker Punch will faint these things like crazy (the Def drops from SS will make sure these things will faint in one hit), so priority users should be removed before Gorebyss/Huntail even come out.

 

[The Imposter]

Clamperl, Ruler of Everything in the Universe With His Devastatingly High Special Attack Even Before He Breaks His Shell.

Clamperl @ DeepSeaTooth
Rattled
Timid
252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spd
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- HP Grass


This thing is insanely powerful after a Shell Smash. It easily 2HKOs the mighty Ferrothorn with Surf in Rain, proving how powerful this beast is. Blissey meets the exact same fate. Ice Beam destroys Dragonite, OHKOing every variant (even Parashuffle) through Multiscale. For Quagsires Unaware of Clamperl's might, and the similar Gastrodon, who enjoys his mighty waves, Hidden Power OHKOs both of them. After a Shell Smash, everything slower than Starmie is outsped, and much of it is OHKOd, the rest 2HKOd. With a Rattled boost from a passing non-Scizor U-turn, everything bar neutral-natured Choice Scarf base 100s are outsped.

 

[Kraleck]

Clamperl, Ruler of Everything in the Universe With His Devastatingly High Special Attack Even Before He Breaks His Shell.

Clamperl @ DeepSeaTooth
Rattled
Timid
252 SAtk/4 SDef/252 Spd
- Shell Smash
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- HP Grass


This thing is insanely powerful after a Shell Smash. It easily 2HKOs the mighty Ferrothorn with Surf in Rain, proving how powerful this beast is. Blissey meets the exact same fate. Ice Beam destroys Dragonite, OHKOing every variant (even Parashuffle) through Multiscale. For Quagsires Unaware of Clamperl's might, and the similar Gastrodon, who enjoys his mighty waves, Hidden Power OHKOs both of them. After a Shell Smash, everything slower than Starmie is outsped, and much of it is OHKOd, the rest 2HKOd. With a Rattled boost from a passing non-Scizor U-turn, everything bar neutral-natured Choice Scarf base 100s are outsped.

That is surprisingly scary if it can get those optimal conditions. Best hope to not get KO'd during setup, though, because it'd be time overly wasted. Impressive, but risky...

 

[Blue Harvest]

I'm going to be writing this one in the next few minutes so if anyone has any final ideas..

 

[jesusfreak94]

Eh, a couple of name ideas because I'm bored.

Huntail: I'd just use smug's "Attila the Huntail"

Gorebyss: Maybe something like "Rated R for Blood and Gore-byss"

Clamperl: "Shell-Shocked" *booed off the stage*

They probably suck (except the Attila one, that one was pretty good), but it sounds funner than "Shell Smash Sweeper".