How to counter Cloyster in Pokemon GO

Cloyster has been in both the Pokemon GO roster and the entire Pokemon franchise since the very beginning. Evolving from the Bivalve Pokemon, Shellder, Cloyster has been on the parties of every type of Pokemon player from Pokemon GO to even as far back as Pokemon Red and Blue on the original Game Boy.

Some players may find themselves encountering a Cloyster in Pokemon GO's Battle League and may find it to be a very difficult Pokemon to take care of. With a little preparation and knowing which Pokemon to use, Cloyster's weaknesses can start to shine through its tough shell.

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Cloyster's weak points in Pokemon GO

Cloyster as it appears in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

First, Cloyster's biggest weakness is its typing. The Water typing is home to some of the bulkiest Pokemon in the game, such as Mantine, Wailord, and Milotic. The strengths of the Water typing are quickly watered down with the addition of the Ice typing, the frailest typing in the franchise.

This typing takes Cloyster from having two weaknesses in Grass and Electric and adds a Fighting and Rock weakness. Cloyster now only resists other Ice and Water-type attacks.

Cloyster's stats are its biggest strengths in Pokemon GO. With an incredibly high defense stat of 256, being the 13th highest in the game, and an average stamina stat of 137, Cloyster can be a very difficult Pokemon to take care of for teams that are not prepared for it. Cloyster also has an average attack stat which sits at 186.

Cloyster's weakest attribute is its moveset. With a movepool almost entirely made up of Ice-type moves with no coverage options whatsoever, Cloyster's performance in Pokemon GO's Battle League is extremely lackluster. Cloyster is encouraged to be used as an Ice-type with its only Water-type move being Hydro Pump. Even then, this move is rarely used in favor of Avalanche.

Cloyster is a prime example of a Pokemon that is really good to use on paper but ends up falling short in practice. Cloyster would be a lot better if Pokemon GO's metagame was not dominated by an overabundance of defensive Steel-types and powerful Fighting-types, both of which Cloyster struggles against.

Players with access to Lucario are encouraged to use it as it capitalizes on all of Cloyster's weaknesses with its defensive typing and incredible attacking power.

While Cloyster's overwhelming defense and stamina can catch some players off-guard, its lack of offensive prowess as well as lack of coverage can easily leave it open to players knowing that it is present in their opponent's team.