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steel dragons
12-01-2010, 05:54 PM
http://shaym.in/media/bw-sprites/558.pnghttp://shaym.in/media/bw-sprites/558.pnghttp://shaym.in/media/bw-sprites/558.png

This Pokemon is Crustle, the rock dweller Pokemon. Some information:

Pokemon: Crustle
Japanese name: Iwaparesu
Type: Rock/Bug
Abilities: Sturdy, Shell Armor, Breakable Armour
Breakable Armour: "When hit with physical attacks its defense is lowered, but its speed is increased." (from Serebii)
Base Stat Total: 70 HP/95 Atk/125 Def/65 SpA/75 SpD/45 Spe

Go to this page (http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/558.shtml) to find Crustle's move, stat, and other information.

Crustle has a lot of things going for it in this generation. Its typing, Rock/Bug, only gives it three weaknesses to Water, Rock, and Steel moves, while offensively the typing Rock/Bug gives it a good stab combination to work with. The combination of Earthquake, Stone Edge, and X-Scissor hit a lot of Pokemon for at least neutral damage. Crustle also gets some great set-up moves and support moves also. It is one of the few Pokemon to be able to learn Shell Break. Shell Break "...lowers its defense and special defense, but its attack, special attack, and speed sharply rise." (from Serebii) Shell Break is considered by many to be the ultimate set-up move. If one feels uncomfortable with using Shell Break, one can use moves like Swords Dance, Rock Polish, or even Curse to boost Crustle's stats. Also, Crustle is one of the few Pokemon to learn both Stealth Rock and Spikes, and those moves alone can make Crustle a fantastic supporter. Finally, Crustle got the Sturdy ability, which, at full health, allows Crustle to survive any attack that would KO it with 1HP remaining. Sturdy acts like a focus sash would, and this ability makes Crustle a good lead.

However, life is not all good for Crustle. Its stats really aren't that great when it comes down to it. In comparison to other sweepers, Crustle has lower attack and speed than most other Pokemon. Also, most decently powered special attacks will severely dent this rock dweller, as Crustle's special defense is below average at best. Crustle also takes 25% damage from Stealth Rock, which can really hurt its chances at a sweep. Crustle's Sturdy ability and Shell Break move alleviate these problems somewhat, but these problems hinder Crustle's ability to pull off sweeps and such.

The most common two sets are the Custap-Sturdy lead and the Shell Breaker. Other sets can be run, but they would be outclassed by other Pokemon.

Now, for the movesets:

http://shaym.in/media/bw-sprites/558.png
Sturdy-Custap Spiker Lead
Crustle w/ Custap Berry
Ability: Sturdy
Adamant nature
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 Def
-Stealth Rock
-Spikes
-Stone Edge
-X-Scizzor/Earthquake

Analysis
Crustle is one of the few Pokemon to learn both Spikes and Stealth Rock, and get the ability Sturdy. These three traits make Crustle a very good lead, as it can use the Custap Berry very well. Crustle also has a decent attack stat, so its attacks will hurt. For the first two move slots, the choice is clear: Spikes and Stealth Rock should be used, as Crustle is one of a few Pokemon that gets them both. If you only want to use one of the entry hazards, then you should probably use another Pokemon. For the third slot, Stone Edge should be used, as it is Crustle's best Stab move option. (besides Rock Wrecker, but Hyper Beam-like moves should never be used in competitive battles) For the final slot, X-Scissor is preferred, simply because it is Crustle's best other Stab option. X-Scissor also hits Espeon hard, and that is helpful, since Magic Mirror Espeon can switch in and reflect away Crustle's attempts at setting up entry hazards. Earthquake also can be used here, so that Crustle gets the Edge-Quake coverage that is not resisted by many Pokemon.

The EVs and nature are simple here. Defenses don't matter much for this kind of lead, so Crustle simply needs an Adamant nature with max attack and speed EVs. The max speed investment may not help many times since Crustle is very slow, but they can help in some circumstances.

Counters
Pokemon with Taunt can stop Crustle from laying down the entry hazards. Gliscor in particular works well here because Gliscor both has taunt and doesn't take much damage from Crustle's attacks. Skarmory also works well for the same reasons as Gliscor, plus Skarmory can set up its own hazards. Magic Mirror Pokemon (Espeon, Xatu) can switch in and reflect back Crustle's entry hazards, but need to be wary of X-Scissor/Stone Edge. Rapid Spinners also hurt Crustle, and Starmie leads in particular can Rapid Spin first, then use Hydro Pump/Surf for the KO. Physically defensive Pokemon, lke Hippwodon and Nattorei, won't take much damage from Crustle's attacks, but most of the time they can't stop Crustle from setting up entry hazards. A good strategy to deal with Crustle is to spin away the hazards after Crustle has been KOed.

http://shaym.in/media/bw-sprites/558.png
Break Time!
Crustle w/ Life Orb/White Herb
Ability: Sturdy/Breakable Armour
Adamant/Jolly nature
EVs: 252 Atk, 252 Spe, 4 SpD
-Shell Break
-Stone Edge
-X-Scissor
-Earthquake

Analysis
Crustle can also make a decent Shell Breaker, since it has good attack coverage with Stone Edge, Earthquake, and X-Scissor. It also has decent defenses and can run the Sturdy ability, so it can usually take a hit before setting up Shell Break. After a Shell Break, it reaches an attack stat of 634 and a speed stat of 378, which is pretty decent. The moves for this set are fairly clear, as no other moves could be as effective as the moves listed here for the Shell Breaker set. Shell Break is in the first slot for obvious reasons. Stone Edge is Crustle's best Stab move, and combined with Life Orb power and +2 attack, it can hurt a lot of Pokemon. X-Scissor is Crustle's other Stab move, and it can KO Pokemon like Alakazam, Latios, and Celebi. Earthquake rounds off the coverage and is a good move in general, hitting the steel types that resist Stone Edge and X-Scissor for major damage.

The EVs and nature aren't hard to figure out for this set. Max speed and max attack EVs should be used, as Crustle has no need for the EVs to be elsewhere. An Adamant nature is preferred for the extra power that it provides. However, with an Adamant nature, Crustle doesn't outspeed Scarfed base 100 Pokemon after a Shell Break. A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed those Scarfed Pokemon, but Crustle loses some power if a Jolly nature is run. For the item, a Life Orb is preferred, as Crustle really needs all the power that it can get. However, White Herb is an option, since it could potentally allow Crustle to use Shell Break twice. For the ability, Breakable Armour and Sturdy both have merits. Sturdy can almost ensure that Crustle gets in a shell Break, however if Crustle has taken any damage (inclusind entry hazard damage), then Sturdy won't work. Breakable Armour is an option also, increasing Crustle's speed to potentally high levels.

Counters
Obviously, physical walls can stop this set cold, however these physical walls may take some heavy damage in the process. Pokemon like Hippwodon, Gliscor, and Skarmory can switch in (probably after Crustle KOs something) and either phaze it out or KO Crustle. Crustle, after the use of Sheel Break, is weak to many priority moves. Strong priority moves like Mach Punch from Breloom, Bullet Punch from Scizor, or even Vacuum Wave from Lucario will do heavy damage, if not KOing, Crustle, since Crustle would be weakened by Life Orb recoil most times. Some other counters are Mischievous Heart Sableye, which could burn Crustle with Will-o-Wisp and limit its effectiveness, and Magic Guard Alakazam with Focus Sash, which could almost guarantee a kill on boosted Crustle, given that Alakazam hasn't taken any damage. Both Sableye and Alakazam can't directly switch into Crustle though. Crustle, like other Shell Breakers, can be hard to deal with once its counters are gone.


Other Options
-In terms of other set-up moves, Swords Dance, Rock Polish, and Curse can be used, however other Pokemon do those things better than crustle most of the time, and Crustle, after all, has the mighty Shell Break, which is essentally Swords Dance + Rock Polish combined.
-Rock Slide could be used instead of Stone Edge if accuracy is a concern, however, given Crustle's average attack stat, Stone Edge is usually the better choice.
-Rock Blast could be used to break Substitutes, but Crustle usually prefers Stone Edge.
-Flail could lead to some interesting results, especially on the Custap-Sturdy lead set. However, Flail doesn't have good coverage with most of Crustle's other moves.


Credits:
I give credit to Serebii for the move, stat, and other information concerning Crustle. I also give credit to the page on Smogon concerning Crustle also. I give credit to shaym.in.com(?) for the images.

If any of you have any thoughts, suggestions, or comments, please SPEAK UP! I appreciate all, thought out, suggestions, and I will add your set to this page if I think that it is good enough.

From,
Steel Dragons

DDwhiscash
12-01-2010, 09:37 PM
Shell Smasher , Lead , thats about all it can do

steel dragons
12-01-2010, 09:46 PM
Shell Smasher , Lead , thats about all it can do

Yeah...pretty much. It does have some neat tools to work with though. Sturdy, Shell Smash, good stab and coverage moves, Spikes, and Stealth Rock all help it become useful.

DDwhiscash
12-01-2010, 09:56 PM
Defensive Spiker is also an option with that crazy defense although with the speed idk

DDwhiscash
12-01-2010, 10:02 PM
Iwaparesu works nicely on stall teams having a slight nitch especially in sand storm stall setting up spikes. Its actually a great Pokemon from both the offensive and defensive spectrum.

PSN_Eevee
12-01-2010, 10:38 PM
Naw, more durable spikers with better typing work better on sand stall, especially because stall focuses a fair bit on defensive pivots, so Gliscor, Hippo, or both are common on stall, essentially meaning that Iwaparesu's typing is really a hindrance for it when used on stall, and that Nattorei is usually better for the ability to check Drillmole and Onono, and counter Crocune, or Skarmory, who counters Non CB Onono, Drillmole, and can phaze.

Anyways, arguably the single best Iwaparesu set out there (with the possible exception of Shell Smash, though Cloyster is easily better at that) is a Cutsap lead Spiker, which abuses Sturdy to set an assured layer of Spikes in addition to Rocks barring Taunt, kills common Taunt leads, and kills Magic Mirror Espeon.

edit: and also, I personally would really like to write the analysis for Iwaparesu, at least for that set, since I've tested it really thoroughly, so if I could, that would be great.
edit: i meant iwaparesu, not nattorei, lol

DDwhiscash
12-01-2010, 11:19 PM
Eevee be careful Iwaparesu might Bug out if it hears that remeber its a Rock head
and go for it Eevee <3

steel dragons
12-02-2010, 02:45 PM
Naw, more durable spikers with better typing work better on sand stall, especially because stall focuses a fair bit on defensive pivots, so Gliscor, Hippo, or both are common on stall, essentially meaning that Iwaparesu's typing is really a hindrance for it when used on stall, and that Nattorei is usually better for the ability to check Drillmole and Onono, and counter Crocune, or Skarmory, who counters Non CB Onono, Drillmole, and can phaze.

Anyways, arguably the single best Nattorei set out there (with the possible exception of Shell Smash, though Cloyster is easily better at that) is a Cutsap lead Spiker, which abuses Sturdy to set an assured layer of Spikes in addition to Rocks barring Taunt, kills common Taunt leads, and kills Magic Mirror Espeon.

edit: and also, I personally would really like to write the analysis for Iwaparesu, at least for that set, since I've tested it really thoroughly, so if I could, that would be great.

Ok Eevee, if you would like to write the sets, then post them below. I'll then edit them into my post. If you don't do this in about a week or so though, then I'll just do them myself. I have a fairly good idea of what the sets are going to be.

I agree, the custap/sturdy lead spiker will probably become the most popular Iwaparesu set.

steel dragons
01-24-2011, 01:40 AM
Never mind then, I'll do this myself. It should be done in the next few days.

Lavityranitar
01-24-2011, 09:41 AM
Good job... so far.

steel dragons
02-10-2011, 05:06 PM
Ok, I'm finally finished with this! (for now) If you have any thoughts, please put them below.

I think that the only two viable sets for Crustle are the custap-Sturdy lead and the Sheel Breaker. If anyone thinks otherwise (and has a good reason for it), again, please let me know.