Good morning gentle viewers; it is I, your lovable and ever humble host, Sir Norden and welcome to another episode to Encounter of the Prehistoric. Last week we got to see how a vicious Kabutops managed to hunt down and feast upon the succulent flesh of an unaware and wounded Armaldo. While I will admit that grizzly sight even turned my cast iron stomach I am glad to bring to you another scene from the war that was the prehistoric Pokémon landscape.
This week we will be watching how two aquatic species of fossil Pokémon interact and hunt one another in this vicious and predatory environment. Now we take you to the scene of the forthcoming carnage at the bottom of the ocean.
Here we see a lonely Omastar, a dangerous predator in its own right. With nimble tentacles, a strong beak and a predatory cognizance, rarely seen today in the modern world of Pokémon, it is easy to see why this fearsome hunter was the terror of the sea. Hark, notice its shuffle, I do believe this Omastar is on the prowl for some tasty morsel; maybe a cluster Shellder or an unaware school of Tentacool. Oh, what is this, I think we are going to see a rare sight for human eyes. Notice the helix shelled Omastar glide into that stand of coral and sea weed. Now modern researchers have often speculated that the Omastar and Omanyte families became extinct due to them over developing their defensive capabilities, thus their shell, and conversely lost much of the suppleness that allowed them to become the kings of deep sea hunting. Oh, do look, see it start to wave its tendrils to mimic that of the weeds caught in the dance of the ocean current, simply marvellous.
"We do not just fear our predators, we are transfixed by them. We are prone to weave stories and fables and chat endlessly about them." -Peter Benchley
Wait! Oh my dear viewers, we are in for a treat of the ages. It appears that our hunter has become the hunted. Look there in the back ground, amongst the green and pink of the coral and weeds. Yes my beloved viewer it appears that our Omastar has made a foolish mistake of attempting to find its prey in a nest of a Cradily, a truly fearsome creature that is the perfect ambush predator of the sea.
“Time does not pass, it continues” - Marty Rubin
A most spectacular creature that time has sadly continued on by
I don’t think the Omastar quite realises the danger yet. Ah, never mind, I do believe it has sensed the moment and they are about the engage each other in the dance, the battle for survival or as I like to paraphrase Darwin the three F’s: Feast, Fight and Fornicate.
Oh look at this, the Omastar has decided to adopt a strong offensive approach to the barnacle Pokémon and is, is… Is that Omastar breaking its own shell? Why yes it is! My word, look at that speed, that agility! But I don’t think it will be fast enough, the Cradily is now close enough to utilise its most terrifying feature, its life sucking tentacles.
Wait! The Omastar has unleashed a beam of pure ice. See that raw power, churning up all the sand at the bottom of the ocean and turning it to a slurry of eradication. It will be difficult for even this experienced nature documentarian to guess how this is going to turn out .Oh wait, the dust is settling and I am afraid a meal has been had. Not a salad, but rather a crab cake.
So life will move on, the Cradily will continue to strike from the swaying underwater grass of the coral bed, until finally one fateful day it will no longer be able to catch its prey and it too will go the way of the Omastar, extinction.
Now, with that fun little intro out of the way let us look at the check to the Shell Smash Omastar that is Cradily. Now this may seem counterproductive, due to Cradily’s half grass typing, but bear with me here; Cradily is inarguably one of the most specially bulky Pokémon in the NU tier at this moment. Between a solid Base HP, SpD and Defence stat Cradily is easily able to stand up to most threats. Combine this with the ability Storm Drain (which raises its modest SpA to decent levels) and you have a Pokémon that is easily capable of checking a rampaging crustacean.
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Now for the purpose of this I will be purposing two sets, one that is an obvious and easily usable check and one that is more of a niche set, but is capable of countering Omastar easily.
Check out those Tentacles! (Cradily) @ Leftovers
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Recover
- Giga Drain
- Rock Slide
This is the most common Cradily setup I feel at the moment. This set works as a check for Shell Smash Omastar three reasons:
1) Omastar has to Shell Smash to even have a hope at winning this encounter, thus Omastar cannot switch into Cradily or must switch out if the player timed coming into a Hydro Pump.
2) Cradily OHKOs Omatar with a 4x Super Effective Giga Drain against a -2 SpD Omastar.
3) But, Cradily does have a slight (6% chance) of being OHKOed itself with a Super Effective Ice Beam after a Shell Smash (not including rocks or spikes).
Damage Calcs:
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Omastar Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Cradily: 322-380 (85.6 - 101%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Omastar Hidden Power Electric vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Cradily: 53-64 (14 - 17%) -- possible 9HKO after Leftovers recovery
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4 SpA Cradily Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Omastar: 372-436 (132.3 - 155.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
However, if you looking for a versatile check that can easily be made into a special wall on most team Cradily can’t be squeezed in with little trouble and can act as a solid check to Omastar.
Now if you are wanting to try a different style of Omastar check I might offer you this set:
I Love Playing Checkers (Cradily) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Storm Drain
EVs: 248 HP / 8 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
- Giga Drain
- Earth Power
- Ancient Power
- Sludge Wave
This set acts as another check to Omastar for one main reason, Cradily’s SpD is increased by 1.5 times. Making it hard for the Helix Pokémon to break through this impressive special wall.
Damage Calcs
+2 252+ SpA Life Orb Omastar Ice Beam vs. 248 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Cradily: 234-278 (62.4 - 74.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
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8 SpA Cradily Giga Drain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Omastar: 372-436 (132.3 - 155.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
However, this set is hard to work into a team, as Cradily’s main strength does come from its utility move pool, making it frustrating to use properly within a team. However, if you are craving a check or counter to Omastar I would suggest that you choose one of these Cradily sets to serve your desires.