Clawitzer Report

Clawitzer (the Howitzer Pokémon) is a relatively rare Water-type Pokémon found along coastal areas and shallow marine environments within the Kalos, Alola, Galar and Paldea regions as well as the Hoenn region on rare occasions. Though perhaps a bit unassuming at a distance, Clawitzer are monstrous creatures that can more than strike terror and fear in opponents just from appearances alone. They might not be able to deliver physical assaults like their crustacean relatives, but when it comes to long-range annihilation, no other crustacean can possible beat what these living cannons are capable of!

The members of the Clauncher family are closely related to Pokémon like the Krabby and Corphish families and share many anatomical similarities, but they are nonetheless distinct enough to be considered a separate class of fighters all on their own. In the case of the aforementioned families, much of their power comes not in the form of special but physical strength, able to use attacks like Vice Grip and Crabhammer to smash their opposition into the ground before they can mount a strong counterattack. The members of the Clauncher family, however, while being able to use a number of both physical and special attacks, are unable to use their physical offenses as much as they would like in battle. Unlike their contemporaries, these creatures do not possess a flexible shell that can easily store momentum before being used to deliver a crushing physical blow or otherwise withstand large amounts of friction from constant, rough use. Moreover, their outer shell is not quite as strong as that of Pokémon like Krabby or Corphish, so they cannot risk direct confrontation at a young age lest they risk damaging this already weak armor plating. Instead, these creatures have gone the way of traditional Water-types and are better suited at long-range confrontations. While other crustacean have to use their mouths to deliver special attacks, Clauncher and its evolved form Clawitzer have developed a special firing system that allows them to attack with their pincers instead. Inside their right pincer, these beasts have developed a pressurized organic ‘cannon’ that can store large volumes of water within the back of the appendage near where it attaches to the main body. Just behind this is a large, air-filled organ that takes air from their respiratory system and stores it under high pressure. When these beasts feel the need to, a special valve just in front of this organ can be opened as a primer is used to ignite the oxygen in the air, allowing the pressurized air detonate and to try and escape. Since there is a large amount of water in its way, though, it ends up propelling the liquid in turn, allowing these shrimp to fire compressed bursts of water to deal damage. This powerful offensive system is so effective at amplifying the impact of their projectile attacks that it has granted them an extremely unique and powerful Ability, the Mega Launcher Ability, which increases the damaging power and effects of pulse or aura-based moves. This makes these otherwise unassuming little beasts a nightmare to deal with in battle and can more than make opponents think twice about staying far away from them.

When Clauncher finally reach the point in their lives where they can actually evolve, their genetics take a turn for the bizarre and turn them into perhaps the closest thing to an abomination a crustacean Pokémon can get. While the majority of their body only grows a little bit and reaches natural sexual maturity, the right pincer of the species is horribly mutated upon evolving into Clawitzer, becoming a gigantic cannon capable of blasting apart just about anything that gets in its way. In terms of offense, this addition seems to be the attempt of the species to preserve its own kind, as the organic ‘weapon’ systems of Clauncher are still relatively weak and not completely up to par with dealing with some of the more powerful predators of the family, including humans. Nonetheless, the massive claw that they end up with is still more than a bit on the side of overkill, to say the least. Unlike with Clauncher, both the water storage tank and the organ that contains pressurized air are in the pincer itself and therefore outside of the main body, the larger size denoting that both components of its offensive system have increased drastically in size and volume. When fully charged and ready to fire, and once they have used the feelers on their arm to detect where there target is precisely, this massive arm cannon can fire cannonball-sized blasts of seawater strong enough to plow straight through a thick sheet of iron and even a tanker hull without any trouble. Moreover, for reasons that are still being studied, it seems that the radical mutation that causes this oversized pincer to develop also enables these beasts to make full use of their Mega Launcher Ability, as they gain the capacity to learn the Heal Pulse, Dark Pulse and Dragon Pulse moves on top of their Water Pulse and Aura Sphere attacks. In addition, these beasts receive a significant development in their special powers, as their base Special Attack stat nearly doubles in evolution. Despite all of this, however, this massive claw makes it very difficult for these creatures to be mobile in battle, and it has been known to fall off from wear and tear after some time (though if it does so, it is usually beneficial to people as the claws are packed with meat and are exported as a cooking ingredient); if they do find themselves in a bit of a jam, though, they can alter the way in which their arm cannon fires to turn its projectiles into a steady stream of water, which can then propel these monsters in the water up to a speed of 60 knots. Thankfully, these monstrous shrimp are actually rather benign creatures and mainly feed on algae and krill for survival, but the sheer destructive power they are capable of nonetheless makes them a serious threat worth noting in battle.

While their small body size might make them more adorable to some than a threat, Clawitzer possess one of the highest base Special Attack stats out of all non-legendary Water-type Pokémon and are in turn devastating beasts that can easily plow through most opponents without even having to move their bodies. It might take a little time for trainers to get used to working with such raw power in comparison to their pre-evolved form, but with a bit of practice, these shrimp sharp-shooters can more than topple even the most well-protected of opponents in a heartbeat. If anything else, though, you could always have fun waterskiing and using them in place of a boat; just make sure that you pay attention to where they are firing if you do so, lest you end up getting blasted back to the shoreline in a most unceremonious way!

Professor Wormwood