Clawitzer, the Howitzer Pokémon. Clawitzer can move through the water at a speed of 60 knots by using gas inside its body to expel water from the back of its claw. The cannonballs of seawater that Clawitzer launches from its claw are powerful enough to punch through tanker hulls.

Overview

As a Pokémon based on the pistol shrimp and named after a gun, Clawitzer is packing all the power implied by its namesakes. Base 120 Special Attack is a strong start, giving Clawitzer considerable power from the word go. However, with the inclusion of Mega Launcher, Clawitzer’s power takes a new dimension, gaining a free Choice Specs boost on Water Pulse, Dark Pulse, Aura Sphere, Dragon Pulse, and Terrain Pulse. While an odd collection of moves, this grants Clawitzer incredible coverage with the affected moves gaining pseudo-STAB to say nothing of Water Pulse matching Surf in power with an upside.

However, power is really all Clawitzer has to its name. Base 59 speed is pitiable, to the point that even defensive staples can be expected to outspeed Clawitzer. With that in mind, this makes Clawitzer’s decent 71/88/89 defenses look so much worse as Clawitzer must rely on them to survive and deal damage. Even invested, these defenses aren’t up to snuff, when Clawitzer is all but assured to take a hit before attacking. Being too slow and too frail is a death knell for any Pokémon, but it gets worse for Clawitzer. For all the immediate power Clawitzer boasts, it can’t boost its Special Attack, putting a lot of pressure on Mega Launcher and its item to make up the difference. This is especially worrying when Ice Beam is not one of the moves boosted leaving Clawitzer lacking in power against Grass types when it needs its power the most. While Clawitzer’s overall power is impressive, its poor firing rate and lack of armor leave one often wishing they brought something other than this pistol shrimp to a fight.
Positives
120 Special Attack is immense, giving Clawitzer impressive power from the word go.
Mega Launcher is an incredible ability, granting a pseudo-STAB boost to a wide range of moves offering Clawitzer incredible power and coverage.

Negatives
Base 59 speed is quite poor, ensuring that Clawitzer is getting hit before acting in most instances.
71 HP and 88/89 defenses do not compensate for a speed that poor, leaving Clawitzer on the frail side and struggling to act.

Movesets

Mega Choice

-Water Pulse
-Dragon Pulse
-Aura Sphere
-Sludge Wave
Ability: Mega Launcher
Item: Choice Scarf
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Timid Nature

Choice Scarf Clawitzer endeavors to patch up its lacking Speed and bring Clawitzer’s full power to bear on the opposition. With Choice Scarf, Clawitzer makes for a fierce attacker and revenge killer, making the most of the wide coverage afforded by Mega Launcher able to threaten knock outs on many a weakened targets if not more conventional two hit knock outs. Water Pulse is the preferred Water STAB, matching Surf in power after Mega Launcher, but boasting an upside in a good confusion chance, while being completely reliable unlike Hydro Pump. Dragon Pulse is effectively secondary STAB with Mega Launcher, addressing the Dragon types that could soak up Clawitzer’s Water STAB while boasting the incredible Water Dragon coverage combination that few can resist. Aura Sphere is incredible coverage, annihilating Zangoose, and Beartic, while heavily damaging Abomasnow, Lapras, and Cryogonal. Sludge Wave, while not boosted by Mega Launcher, compliments Clawitzer’s other moves nicely, threatening the Grass types that resist Water Pulse as well as the Fairy types that no-sell Dragon Pulse and scoff at Aura Sphere like Whimsicott, Tera Fairy Tatsugiri, Shaymin, and Rotom-Mow.

Tera Types:
Pure Water is a strong base typing and Clawitzer is more than capable of functioning with just that. However, Tera Dragon is an incredibly tantalizing prospect for both the offensive and defensive merits it provides. Pivoting from Water’s Electric and Grass weaknesses to resistances on top of keeping Clawitzer’s great base resistances to Water and Fire is fantastic, especially with the only common weakness between the two types being Freeze-Dry. The power aspect comes in STAB Mega Launcher Dragon Pulse giving Clawitzer an incredibly powerful attack with wide coverage and limited switch ins, putting many opponents into a position where they are forced to take considerable damage. Tera Water is another option, for pumping up Clawitzer’s Water Pulse to incredible levels, though it pales in comparison to the offensive and defensive synergy of Tera Dragon.

EVs and Items:
As with many Choice Item attackers, Clawitzer prefers a fully offensive investment of Max Speed and Special Attack EVs to outrun as many targets as possible and deal as much damage in a single blow. If running Choice Scarf, Timid is heavily recommended for the nature, allowing Clawitzer to outrun up to base 112s like Lyanroc, Dodrio, Grafaiai, Dugtrio, Froslass, while with Modest, Scarf Clawitzer can’t even outrun base 100s like Shaymin. However, if running Choice Specs for wall breaking, then Modest is recommended for the power output, as with Modest, Specs Clawitzer is guaranteed to 2HKO Snorlax with Aura Sphere, and guarantee the 2HKO on Muk with Tera Dragon Dragon Pulse, making Clawitzer so much better at compromising Special walls. Timid in return does relatively little outside of helping outspeed Adamant Sandslash, and Naďve Cacturne.

Partners:
Clawitzer, with all its excellent coverage does have specific switch ins depending on its role and moveset, so partners should aim to cover what gaps Clawitzer has. Scarf Clawitzer is distinctly more vulnerable to special wall pivots like Snorlax and Muk due to its inability to break through them, so allies that can answer them are greatly appreciated. Mesprit is notable for being an incredible annoyance to these two Pokémon, with Psychic Noise denying healing, Knock Off and Trick to remove their valued Leftovers/Black Sludge/Assault Vest, Encore to lock them into a bad move and more. Clawitzer is also more than capable of taking advantage of the holes that Mesprit opens, while Mesprit appreciates Clawitzer’s Dark type crushing Aura Sphere. If not running Sludge Wave, answers to Fairy types are greatly appreciated, especially Water resistant Fairies. Grafaiai is notable for its Poison STAB handling both Fairy types as well as many Grass types and Poison Touch being a fantastic tool to chip opponents down into Clawitzer’s knockout threshold. Grafaiai in turn loves Clawitzer for annihilating physical walls that it struggles against. Specs Clawitzer converse acts in service of its team’s special attackers, luring Special Walls in and preventing them from addressing Clawitzer’s teammates later. Scarf Typhlosion in particular loves Clawitzer’s ability to annihilate Snorlax opening the way for devastation with Eruption. Other Special Attackers like Jolteon, and Whimsicott perform double duty not only benefitting from Clawitzer’s wall breaking, but being able to switch into the Grass and Electric attacks that threaten Clawitzer before its duties have been completed.

Other Options:
U-Turn and Flip Turn are powerful pivoting options for any Choice item user and Clawitzer is no exception. U-Turn is generally preferred given the lack of Water Absorb or Storm Drain that can completely block Flip Turn, but the STAB on Flip Turn for extra damage is quite noticeable. Dark Pulse is another Mega Launcher boosted move that Clawitzer can make use of and is great into prominent Psychic and Ghost types like Mesprit, Farigiraf, and Dirfblim, but exasperates Clawitzer’s issues with Fairy types. Ice Beam is all around solid being an excellent answer into any Grass type not named Abomasnow, but the lack of power from Mega Launcher hurts and is somewhat redundant with Dragon Pulse. Hydro Pump is a stronger STAB option than even Mega Launcher Water Pulse but comes at the cost of less reliability.

Doubles and VGC Options

Clawitzer’s woes of being too slow and frail continue in Doubles formats. While Clawitzer’s speed issues can be addressed in the same manner as Ursaluna, either as a Trick Room or Tailwind attacker, Clawitzer lacks the comparable bulk and power. The lacking bulk is unfortunate for Trick Room teams, where part of their terror is that their bulk makes them difficult to remove. This lacking bulk also makes Rillaboom a nightmare, its Grassy Glide a constant threat regardless of While hearing Clawitzer lacking power may sound ludicrous, all the Mega Launcher boosted moves are single target, meaning any spread moves are working off Clawitzer’s Special Attack alone, greatly cutting down on its threat level, especially when any Mega Launcher move can be blanked by redirection or a well timed Protect. This is unfortunate where outside of a Mega Launcher boosted Heal Pulse, Clawitzer’s utility begins and ends at damage. Clawitzer’s power is enough that it can work, but compared to other attackers, especially Ursaluna-Bloodmoon, Clawitzer comes up short.

Turbo Shrimp

-Water Pulse
-Dragon Pulse
-Aura Sphere
-Dark Pulse
Ability: Mega Launcher
Item: Life Orb
Tera Type: Dragon
EVs and Nature:
4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spe
Modest/Timid Nature

This Clawitzer set acts akin to Turbo Ursaluna-Bloodmoon, investing fully in Speed and Special Attack to get the jump on unsuspecting opponents, especially in Tailwind. Water Pulse is the preferred STAB as after Mega Launcher is a reliable base 90 STAB attack, being slightly above rate in comparison to other reliable Water STABs which generally sit around base 80 power. All of this on top of threatening OHKOs on all but the most specially defensive Ursaluna, and Incineroar while completely washing away Volcarona and dealing good damage to neutral targets. Dragon Pulse is a great secondary attack, not only handling most Water resistant Dragon types like Dragapult, Dragonite, Hydreigon, Baxcalibur and Kommo-o, but as a strong neutral attack in general thanks to Mega Launcher. Aura Sphere is amazing coverage, hitting Archaludon, Tyranitar, Kingambit, as well as the aforementioned Incineroar and Ursaluna, giving Clawitzer to ways to threaten them and narrowing down "safe" Tera types. Dark Pulse rounds out the set, great for hitting Ghost and Tera Ghost types like Gholdengo, Indeedee, and Farigiraf.

As with Turbo Ursaluna, Max Speed and Special Attack are recommended. Even with Clawitzer's poor Speed, base 59 is just high enough that a fully invested Clawitzer can outrun most Incineroar as well as uninvested Rillaboom even before Tailwind, greatly increasing its threat level. While Modest is generally preferred for the extra damage it provides, Timid has its own merits, such as allowing Clawitzer to outrun Adamant Scarf Garchomp in Tailwind as well as outrun Annihilape with only 76 EVs in Speed. Life Orb is the recommended item for the power it provides while allowing one to make the most of Clawitzer's excellent coverage. This is preferred over Choice Specs as Clawitzer's unimpressive defenses make repeatedly pivoting in difficult. Tera Dragon is recommended for not only granting valuable resistances to Electric and Grass as well as maintain Clawitzer's valuable Water and Fire resistances, but also for the boost it grants to Dragon Pulse, making it much more spammable and more difficult to resist.

Preferred Partners:
Like Ursaluna Bloodmoon, this set thrives with Tailwind setters, allowing Clawitzer to exert much more offensive pressure. Whimsicott is an excellent partner thanks to its Prankster Fake Tears access, enabling brutal knock outs on neutral targets and often negating surprise Terastalizations to survive Clawitzer's assault. Pelipper is another excellent partner thanks to its Drizzle making Clawitzer's Water Pulse even deadlier while threatening Grass types with Hurricane. Kilowattrel is another solid Tailwind setter that threatens opposing Grass types. Protect is always an option for any set not running Assault Vest or a Choice Item, its utility in Doubles invaluable, and helping Clawitzer survive as allies setup the Tailwind or Trick Room necessary for this set to excel. Heal Pulse is a strong option for Trick Room variants of Clawitzer, the 75% heal can make Trick Room staples nigh immortal. Ice Beam is Clawitzer’s best option into Rillaboom, and boasts good coverage though is redundant with Water Pulse and Dragon Pulse. Muddy Water is a spread STAB option that can be impressive if ran with Pelipper’s Rain.

Countering Clawitzer

While Clawitzer’s Mega Launcher boosted offense is something to be feared, its pitiful speed and lacking bulk make it much easier to handle. Specs Clawitzer is very difficult to switch into. Tera Fairy Snorlax is one of the best, with even Sludge Wave being a 3HKO. The Terastalization is necessary as Aura Sphere is a guaranteed 2HKO otherwise and Clawtizer is easily capable of forcing Snorlax into Resting. Assault Vest Muk is similarly bulky, only being 3HKO’d by Tera Dragon Dragon Pulse while being 4HKO’d by Specs Water Pulse. It can use this time to Knock Off Clawitzer and remove its Choice Specs, greatly reducing its threat level and proceed to outlast it with Poison Jab and Drain Punch. Leftovers Muk doesn’t fair nearly as well being 2HKO’d by Tera Dragon Dragon Pulse possibly even through Knock Off, while Water Pulse is a reliable 3HKO and lacking the power to do the same in turn. If not running Sludge Wave, Water resistant Fairy types are a consistent issue given their resistance to Mega Launcher boosted attacks. Tera Fairy Tatsugiri is particularly nightmarish given its Storm Drain renders even Water Pulse post Tera useless with Aura Sphere only 3HKOing while a Dragon Fang boosted Draco Meteor generally OHKOs. Tera Fairy Water Absorb Lapras is another excellent example, solidly 2HKOing with Freeze-Dry regardless of whether Clawitzer Terastalizes and only being 4HKO’d by Aura Sphere. Whimsicott, while being a bit frail for this roll given it is still 2HKO’d by Specs Water Pulse solidly OHKOs with Specs Energy Ball or Specs Moonblast if Clawitzer has Terastalized. T Checking Specs Clawitzer offensively is generally the way to go, as many more Pokémon reliably outspeed it and knock it out. Rotom-Mow, Pawmot, Shaymin, Leafeon, Toedscruel and Jolteon all excel while exploiting Clawitzer’s base weaknesses. Others like Passimian, Zangoose, Acrobatics Honchkrow, Virizion, Medicham, and Lycanroc can dispatch a slightly damaged Clawitzer. Scarf Clawitzer flips the formula a bit, with the listed sponges comfortably soaking all its attacks, while offense checks are far fewer. Jolteon and Hisuian Electrode are notable for outspeeding Scarf Clawitzer while other Scarf users like Rotom-Mow and Passimian also render Choice Scarf moot.

Anime Appearences

Clawitzer has made several appearances in the anime. Most notably it was used by Sawyer during his Kalos League campaign and his semi-final match against Ash. # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics M17 Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction The Cocoon of Destruction and Diancie Pics 922 A Full-Strength Battle Surprise! Rival Showdown! Ash VS Sawyer!! Pics 930 Analysis Versus Passion! Semifinal Full Battle! Ash VS Sawyer!! Pics 931 A Riveting Rivalry! Fierce Rival Battle! Ash-Greninja VS Mega Sceptile Pics XYZS2 To be confirmed The Ultimate Duo! Clemont and Cilan!! Pics 1073 Battling Besties! Mallow & Lana! A Fully Powered Battle of Friendship!! Pics 1081 Final Rivals! The Finals! The Ultimate Rival Showdown!! Pics 1114 A Festival Reunion! A Battle Festival Exploding With Life! VS Mega Lucario!! Pics 31 Song Within the Mist The Song in the Mist Pics 32 Lapras's Feelings for its Friends Lapras' Thoughts for its Companions Pics