Which item is better for Shell Smash Cloyster: King's Rock or White Herb?

Question

I want to use a Shell Smash Cloyster competitively in X and Y, but am not sure which item is better. King's Rock has a high chance to flinch, thanks to Icicle Spear and Rock Blast hitting a guaranteed 5 times, while White Herb negates the lowered defences from Shell Smash

I shouldn't have to say it, but I realise this question may appear to be an opinionated one, so please give a reasoned answer as to why (for example) the King's Rock is better, rather than just "I like the King's Rock better", which tells me absolutely nothing except your personal preference.

Also I did a quick search before asking this to check a similar question hadn't been asked before (I mean Shell Smash has been a thing since Gen V, so it isn't really new) and couldn't see anything, but I could easily have missed any similar questions.

Comments

You should consider Focus Sash as well as the two aforementioned items.

Answer 1

Damn this is a hard one. Haha.

Personally I would back King's Rock

White Herb negates the defense drop, allowing Cloyster to get a Shell Smash off with no drawbacks, and keeps it's excellent defense at high levels allowing it to take priority attacks like Mach Punch Breloom when healthy.
King's Rock on the other hand, gives each of Cloyster's hits a higher chance to flinch, which can be very gamechanging and rage inducing. Which is fun :3

So why King's Rock?. Utilising King's Rock gives Cloyster a 41% chance of flinching the opponent when using Rock Blast or Icicle Spear. That's a pretty good amount. Additionally, unlike White Herb, King's Rock still has uses on an unboosted Cloyster, and even if Cloyster is forced out, it can be used after, which unlike White Herb dissapears after one time - which means if Cloyster is forced out, you're itemless. Also Smogon's Gen 5 page prefers King's Rock :P.

Anyway, they're both still solid choices along with items like Focus Sash which help setup. It's up to you which one to choose, as this is just my personal opinion, and you can try both and see what works for you better.

Answer 2

For your Cloyster I would recommend King's Rock. The negated defenses from shell smash don't mean much with Cloyster's massive defenses and makes them more... average, The average defenses don't matter when you have an Icicle Spear with a 10% chance of flinching each hit and a maximum Attack Cloyster (which gets STAB).

All and all, I would choose the King's Rock.

Answer 3

Honestly, I wouldn't choose either of them
Focus sash would actually be better to protect you from OHKO, and will allow you to use Shell Smash at least once.
However, if you use King's Rock Or White Herb, you can't guarantee you'll get one Shell Smash.
If you really one to use one of them however, King's Rock is the better option.
Cloyster's Sp Defence is horrible and even though it has a spectacular Defence, it doesn't really matter if your opponent is gonna OHKO you with a Special move. Hence, you don't really need White Herb
King's Rock gives you a good flinch chance so it's way better.
However, I still prefer Focus Sash on Cloyster because it pretty much guarantees you at least one Shell Smash.