Crustle Guide: Builds and Best Items | Pokemon UNITE

The best guide on how to play Crustle in Pokemon UNITE for Nintendo Switch and Mobile. Check here for the best builds, Held and Battle items, movesets, as well as the latest nerfs, buffs, counters, and more!

Crustle Latest Buffs and Nerfs (12/20)

December 20 Update

Slowbro Move Changes (December 20)
Standard Attack	• Damage dealt by the boosted attack increased

Crustle Basic Info

Crustle
	Tier Rating: Role: Defender Attack Type: Melee Damage Type: Physical Difficulty: Novice Cost: 8000 / 460
"Crustle hinders its opponents using many different moves."

Pokemon Unite Tier List

Crustle Best Lanes

Top	Jungle	Bottom

Tips & Strategies for Every Lane

Crustle Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths	Weaknesses
✔︎ Can be a support or a damage dealer ✔︎ Can effectively change the layout of the map ✔︎ Extremely mobile with Shell Smash	✖︎ Effective use requires skill shot proficiency ✖︎ Higher damage output only occurs at low health

Best Builds for Crustle

Builds
Disruptor Build	Offense Build
Scorer Build	Single Target Beatdown Build

Disruptor Build

Disruptor Build
Moveset	Held Items
Rock Tomb Stealth Rock	Score Shield Attack Weight Buddy Barrier
Battle Item
Slow Smoke
Item Effects (at Level 30)
Attack: +18 HP: +1050

This is a crowd-control build with a good balance of defense and damage. Your gameplay should be disrupting teamfights using Rock Tomb and Stealth Rock, trapping and damaging key targets.

Attack Weight incentivizes scoring goals so you get bonus damage. Score Shield and Buddy Barrier are your tank items, providing tons of HP to help you soak damage.

Slow Smoke is an additional crowd-control tool that synergizes well with your moveset.

Offense Build

Offense Build
Moveset	Held Items
Shell Smash X-Scissor	Focus Band Float Stone Buddy Barrier
Battle Item
Eject Button
Item Effects (at Level 30)
Attack: +24 Defense: +30 Sp. Def: +30 Movement Speed: +120 HP: +600

This build utilizes Crustle's damage potential, making Crustle more of an attacker. Your gameplay is centered around maximizing your damage output using Shell Smash and finishing off your targets with X-Scissor.

Muscle Band adds to your damage output through attack speed boost, attack stat boost, and percentage damage effect. Focus Band gives you more durability and survivability, and the increased defenses you get from it is converted into damage via Shell Smash, making the item and the move highly synergetic. Buddy Barrier gives a huge HP boost, and its shield stacks on top of your Unite Move, making you incredibly tanky.

Eject Button gives you more mobility to get on top of your targets or to escape bad fights.

Scorer Build

Scorer Build
Moveset	Held Items
Shell Smash Stealth Rock	Focus Band Score Shield Buddy Barrier
Battle Item
Goal-Getter
Item Effects (at Level 30)
Defense: +30 Sp. Def: +30 HP: +1050

This is build utilizes Crustle's mobility and durability to easily score points. Your gameplay should be using Shell Smash to roam around the map and aggressively score as much points as you can throughout the game, putting constant pressure on lanes. Use Stealth Rock to collect points from wild Pokemon faster, especially Combees and Vespiquen.

Focus Band, Score Shield, and Buddy Barrier provide durability and survivability to help you score goals easily and pressure lanes. However, you can replace Focus Band with many alternatives, such as Assault Vest, Aeos Cookie, Leftovers and other items that provide extra HP or defense.

Goal-Getter helps you score goals faster, especially during the last minutes of the game where points are doubled. If there are defenders in goal zones, use Rubble Rouser first to gain its shield and the shield from Buddy Barrier, then activate Goal-Getter before scoring. The shields you get from your Unite Move, Buddy Barrier, and Score Shield should buy you enough time to score points without getting interrupted by the defenders, especially when you have 50 points.

Single Target Beatdown Build

Single Target Beatdown Build
Moveset	Held Items
Rock Tomb X-Scissor	Razor Claw Weakness Policy Buddy Barrier
Battle Item
Eject Button
Item Effects (at Level 30)
Attack: +30 Critical-Hit Rate: +2.10% HP: +810

This build puts Crustle in the center of fights, trapping enemies with Rock Tomb and pushing them towards the wall using X-Scissor.

Razor Claw boosts your attack damage after using your moves, allowing you to chip away your target's HP. Weakness Policy synergizes well with your gameplay since you'll always be in the middle of fights, increasing your damage as you soak damage for your team. Buddy Barrier provides durability through HP boost, and its shield stacks on top of Rubber Rouser.

Eject Button is both an offensive and defensive tool for the build, allowing you to get a better position to use your moves or make an escape when things go awry.

Crustle Best Items & Moveset

Best Held Items

Item	Description
Attack Weight	When the Pokemon scores a goal, its Attack increases by (6/9/12).
Score Shield	While the Pokemon is attempting to score a goal, it is granted a shield equal to (5/7.5/10)% of its max HP and its goals cannot be interrupted while it is shielded.
Float Stone	Increases movement speed by (10/15/20)% when the Pokemon is not in combat.
Focus Band	When the Pokemon drops to low HP, then each second for three seconds, it recovers (8/11/14)% of the HP it has lost.
Weakness Policy	Increases the Pokemon's Attack for a short time by a minimum of (2/2.5/3)% when the Pokemon receives damage. This increase grows larger the more times damage is received

Attack Weight and Score Shield compliments Crustle's aggressive scoring playstyle. This gives more incentive for players to keep scoring even if there are enemies defending goal zones.

Float Stone adds to Crustle's mobility via Shell Smash, enabling Crustle to move around the map faster, especially when scoring goals. Focus Band, on the other hand, compliments Crustle's passive, allowing Crustle to survive longer in fights.

Weakness Policy is a great item that synergizes well with Crustle's innate durabiltiy thanks to its passive ability. With this, it can increase the potency of its auto-attacks allowing it to be a true offensive force.

Best Battle Items

Item	Description
Slow Smoke	Puts up a smokescreen that decreases movement speed of all enemy Pokemon in a wide area.
Eject Button	Makes your Pokemon move quickly in the specified direction.
X Attack	Increases your Pokemon's basic attack damage by 1.2x, and move damage by 1.05~1.15x for 8 seconds.

Slow Smoke and Eject Button can be used both defensively and offensively depending of the situation. They acheive a similar goal of either creating distance between Crustle and enemies when escaping, or staying on top of enemies to maximize the damage from Crustle's moves.

X Attack is what will make Crustle a scary damage dealer, especially in the later stages of the game. The damage boost from this item on top of Crustle's innate durability makes it hard for enemies to stop Crustle's momentum.

Best Moveset

Move	Description
X-Scissor	Attacks opponents in front of you three times in a row and knocks them back with each hit. If the enemy is knocked into a wall, they become stunned. Upgrade: Decreases skill cooldown.
Shell Smash	Smashes your shell, converting Defense and special Defense into attack and special attack, and increases Movement Speed for 5 seconds. Upgrade: Increases the conversion rate.

X-Scissor deals decent damage, although not as powerful as Stealth Rock, and can put enemies in bad a position during fights.

Shell Smash is arguably Crustle's best move. It provides a massive boost to Crustle's damage output which improves Crustle's other moves, especially at low HP. Much of Crustle's aggressive playstyle is centered around Shell Smash.

Which Moveset Do You Think is Best for Crustle?

Let us know why in the comments!

Previous Poll Results

How to Play Crustle

Crustle can played in two ways: a killer support or a straight on bruiser. Depending on your team composition and your build, Crustle can alter the playing field or deliver devastating damage.

As a support, Divide and Conquer becomes Crustle's main gameplay. Use Rock Tomb to cut off one opponent from his allies, then go for the kill with the help of your team. Despite being a support, Crustle can still deal a good amount of damage.

As a bruiser, Crustle can use Shell Smash to trade some of its defense into offense to deal a lot of damage. This also gives you a certain level of mobility to initiate fights, making Crustle into a straight up fighter.

Prioritize Farming to Level 6

Crustle's damage move upgrade will unlock when it reaches level 6. Though you can practically pick any upgrade you want, we found that certain move combinations are needed, especially if you are taking on a specific playstyle.

Support Crustle

Rushing to level 6 for Rock Tomb and either X-Scissor or Stealth Rock allows for early lane control. Use Rock Tomb to either cut off opposing Pokemon from their farm, block them from retreating, or from defending their goal. Stealth Rock is especially great for incidental damage while teams clash.

Bruiser Crustle

Rush farming to level 6 to unlock Shell Smash and X-Scissor as quickly as possible. Focus on farming and stealing your opponents' farm when possible. Rushing to level 6 will allow Crustle to easily pressure opposing pokemon in a lane with damage and knock back. Shel Smash, in particular, gives Crustle insane amounts of mobility, making it hard for opponents to catch up to it.

Use Shell Smash Often

Shell Smash greatly boosts Crustle's movement speed allowing for quickly getting to Wild Pokemon spawns farming or retreating from a losing fight. Aggressively, Shell Smash can be used to confirm KOs or to go in and out of enemy goal zones to score quickly. Given that the move effects last for 5 seconds, you can easily maintain the speed and damage bonus.

Steal the Berries from the Enemy's Side

Shell Smash can mitigate the slow effect from the enemy's Lane Flux, making it easier to traverse the enemy's side of the lane. Utilize this strategy to steal their berries so you can disrupt their chance to heal.

Help with Objective Fights

In the 7-minute mark, Drednaw spawns on Bottom Lane and Rotom on Top Lane. Having high defense and HP, Crustle can practically sustain all the damage while its teammates bombards the objectives with damage. Since these bosses can only move in a specific area, a Stealth Rock can help chip away on their HP. Moreover, use Rock Tomb to block opposing Pokemon from interfering, or push them away with an X Scissor to help your team secure these Pokemon and continue pushing your respective lane.

Sustain the Damage for your Team

Due to the amount of pressure and control Crustle offers, your team can reliably push past enemy goals and invade their farm. Given its high HP, Defense, and ability to block opponents or get out to safety easily, it is best to have Crustle in the frontlines of the fight and maneuver around team clashes accordingly to set up walls or knockback key targets.

Alter Goal Zone Fights

Crustle's moveset can help enhance how your team can push or defend goal zones.

Using X Scissor to Displace Enemies

X-Scissor can be used to body block enemies that are rushing to defend their goal while your team safely scores. Alternatively, you can push opponents into your goal zones so that they are at a massive disadvantage. When things go awry, however, be sure to use Shell Smash to secure your escape.

Using Rock Tomb to Block Entry

Using Rock Tomb to block off allied goal zones allows you to hinder opponents to advance while giving time for reinforcements to come. Alternatively, A well-placed wall can block opponents so you and your teammates can freely score. Moreover, Rock Tomb can trap retreating enemies so your team can finish them off.

Crustle Combos

Rock Tomb Combos

Stealth Rock

Stealth Rock
►
Rock Tomb ► Stealth Rock
You'll want to trap an opponent from escaping with Rock Tomb, then use Stealth Rock to create a kill zone in the crevice spawned by Rock Tomb. For this to work, you need to hit Rock Tomb directly behind the opponent and then use Stealth Rock right away.

X-Scissor Stunner

X-Scissor Stunner
►
Rock Tomb ► X-Scissor
Create a wall behind the opponent, then smash them into the wall using X-Scissor to stun them. This will leave them open for more attacks from teammates or at the very least, render them unable to escape.

Shell Smash Combo

Shell Smash Combo
►
Shell Smash ► X-Scissor
Use Shell Smash to increase your damage and movement speed. Close in towards enemies, then use X-Scissor to deal massive damage. Knock enemies into walls for maximum effect.

Matchups & Counters for Crustle

Crustle Matchups

✘ : Counter | = : Even | ✓ : Advantageous
1. The chart is based on our own experience playing Crustle.
2. Pokemon within each tier are unordered
3. Any Pokemon not shown here are still under investigation.

Prevent Proper Positioning

These Pokemon have means to stop Crustle from properly positioning in fights. Hard lock-downs and interrupting moves can really mess up what Crustle aims to do in fights, causing Crustle to be ineffective.

Pokemon	Explanation
Alolan Ninetales	Rating: ★★★★★ Alolan Ninetales is a great counter against Crustle. Alolan Ninetales provides control via Stun and Freeze effects. These effects are great against Crustle because they prevent Crustle from positioning correctly in fights.
Wigglytuff	Rating: ★★★★★ Wigglytuff's effectiveness at setting enemies up with Sing make it a great counter against Crustle. The sleep effect from this move also reduce the Defense and Special Defense of affected enemies, making Crustle even more vulnerable to follow-up damage. Another interaction that really messes up Crustle is the charm from Wiggly, it can cancel X-Scissor's animation mid-combo!

Even Matchups

Even matchups are always a matter of skill, luck and timing. Here are some tips to help push Crustle ahead against other Pokemon on equal footing.

Fight Head-On

Pokemon Crustle can Fight Head-On

If you build Crustle as a bruiser, don't hesitate to fight these Pokemon head-on. It's much better if they focus on you instead of your teammates, especially if they have fragile Pokemon. Crustle is durable enough to tank the damage these Pokemon deal and can deal enough damage to rival them via Crustle's passive.

Be Aggressive

Pokemon Crustle can Focus On

These Pokemon deal high amounts of damage but have low HP and defenses. The key to getting the upper hand against these Pokemon is being aggressive, and bursting them down fast. Crustle can tank a lot of damage, which is beneficial for Crustle since the lower HP Crustle has, the stronger Crustle's attack and sp. attack gets.

Whatever build you're using, just get aggressive and chase these Pokemon. Crustle's Shell Smash gives Crustle more than enough mobility to stay on top of these squishy Pokemon and more than enough damage to quickly take them out of the fight. If you did not go for Shell Smash, you can rely mostly on Rubble Rouser instead to do the same thing.

Ignore and Outmaneuver

Pokemon Crustle can Outmaneuver and Ignore

These Pokemon have high amounts of HP, and have shielding and healing capabilities. However, they don't do too well in terms of mobility. The key in to outmaneuver and ignore them in fights using Shell Smash to get past them and focus on more important targets. These Pokemon can't really do much to stop Crustle's offense, especially when Rubble Rouser is activated.

Best Matchups for Crustle

Must Get Close

Must Get Close

Crustle is able to stand against these Pokemon when they get close to deal damage, punishing and countering them with its own offense via X-Scissor or Rubble Rouser.

Weak Damage Against Crustle

Weak Damage Against Crustle

Crustle's passive counters these Pokemon's burst attempts, making Crustle more durable as they chip away its HP and weakening their damage against Crustle.

Relies Heavily on Moves

Relies Heavily on Moves

These Pokemon relies heavily on their moves to deal damage or to be effective in fights. Crustle's innate durability and mobility via Shell Smash allow Crustle to tank their damage and dodge their moves, respectively.

Best Teammates for Crustle

Pokemon	Explanation
Gengar	Can abuse Sludge Bomb-Hex combo while Rock Tomb is active.
	The best counter to Gengar's amazing Sludge Bomb-Hex Combo is to escape Gengar's range. However, with Crustle's Rock Tomb, that is essentially rendered useless (save for teleporting moves and Eject Button) allowing Gengar to maximize the damage from this combo.
Gardevoir	Can abuse Rock Tomb by setting Future Sight or Psyshock where enemies are trapped.
	Rock Tomb essentially traps an opponent before they could escape. This could be a perfect time for Gardevoir to launch its deadly Future Sight or Psyshock to dish out some great damage. Paired with Stealth Rock, Crustle and Gardevoir can shave off a lot of HP from even the sturdiest of opponents.

Looking for teammates to synergize with you? Head over to our Friend Request Board to find other trainers to join you in your grind or just to hang out with!

Friend Request Board

Crustle Moves and Ability

Move Slot 1 (R)

Rock Slide (Lv. 1 or 3)	Move Type: Area Damage Type: Physical Cooldown: 6s Total Damage: 291 (Lv. 3)
Drops a large rock at the targeted area. When the rock lands, it damages the nearby enemy Pokemon and stuns them for a short amount of time.
Shell Smash (Lv. 4) Upgrade Lv. 11	Move Type: Buff Damage Type: Status Cooldown: 7s
Smashes your shell, converting Defense and special Defense into attack and special attack, and increases Movement Speed for 5 seconds. Upgrade: Increases the conversion rate.
Rock Tomb (Lv. 4) Upgrade Lv. 11	Move Type: Area Damage Type: Physical Cooldown: 5s Total Damage: 947 (Lv. 4) / 1286 (Lv. 15)
Launches a projectile that creates a wall of rocks at a target area that prevents Pokemon from walking through for 3 seconds. Any opponents hit by the move will receive damage. Activate again to remove the wall. Upgrade: Slows enemies that are hit by the move for 5 seconds.

Move Slot 2 (ZR)

Fury Cutter (Lv. 1 or 3)	Move Type: Melee Damage Type: Physical Cooldown: 3.5s Total Damage: 534 (Lv. 3)
Use claws to cut enemy Pokemon and damages them. If you hit the same opponent in a row, the damage dealt increases. The damage bonus is maxed out at 3 hits.
X-Scissor (Lv. 6) Upgrade Lv. 13	Move Type: Melee Damage Type: Physical Cooldown: 8s Total Damage: 1467 (Lv. 6) / 2145 (Lv. 15)
Attacks opponents in front of you three times in a row and knocks them back with each hit. If the enemy is knocked into a wall, they become stunned. Upgrade: Decreases skill cooldown.
Stealth Rock (Lv. 6) Upgrade Lv. 13	Move Type: Area Damage Type: Physical Cooldown: 6s Total Damage: 3358 (Lv. 6) / 6262 (Lv. 15)
Throws a projectile in a straight direction. When the projectile hits an enemy Pokemon or flies the maximum distance, a zone of floating pebbles is created for 4 seconds. Enemy Pokemon within that zone will continuously take damage, which gradually increases. Once upgraded, the move lasts for 5 seconds and will slow down the Movement Speed of opponents in the zone for a short amount of time.

Unite Moves (ZL)

Rubble Rouser (Lv. 9)	Move Type: Buff Damage Type: Physical Cooldown: 134s Total Damage: 2316 (Lv. 9) / 2779 (Lv. 15)
Gathers rocks to form a shield. Upon activation, will damage and stun enemy Pokemon nearby and for 10 seconds, enemies nearby will take damage. Taking damage will deal additional damage to Pokemon nearby.

Standard Attack

Standard Attack	Becomes a boosted attack with every third attack. When this boosted attack hits, it deals damage to opposing Pokemon in the area of effect and decreases their movement speed for a short time.

Ability (Passive)

Sturdy	Increases Defense and special Defense based on missing HP.

Crustle Stats & Evolutions

Crustle Evolutions

1st Evolution	Final Evolution
Dwebble (Lv. 1)	Crustle (Lv. 4)

Crustle Stats

Level	HP	Defense	Special Defense	Attack Damage
1	3300	97	67	175
2	3447	108	74	179
3	3615	120	82	183
4	4469	182	125	205
5	4692	198	136	211
6	4948	217	149	218
7	5242	239	164	226
8	5581	264	181	235
9	5971	293	201	245
10	6420	326	224	256
11	6936	364	250	269
12	7530	407	280	284
13	8213	457	314	301
14	8998	514	354	321
15	9900	580	400	344

Attack Damage is the damage of the Basic Attack as tested against the Training Dummy.

Crustle In-Game Stat Listings

Offense	Endurance	Mobility	Scoring	Support

Crustle Skins (Holowear)

Holowear
Shrine Style 60 Energy Reward: 0.8%	Cake Style 2199

All Pokemon Skins (Holowear)

Pokemon UNITE Related Guides

List of All Pokemon

All Pokemon Guides and Builds

Best Build for Each Pokemon

Pokemon Roster
Absol	Alolan Ninetales	Blastoise	Blissey
Charizard	Cinderace	Cramorant	Crustle
Decidueye	Dragonite	Eldegoss	Garchomp
Gardevoir	Gengar	Greedent	Greninja
Lucario	Machamp	Mamoswine	Mr. Mime
Pikachu	Slowbro	Snorlax	Sylveon
Talonflame	Trevenant	Tsareena	Venusaur
Wigglytuff	Zeraora
Upcoming Pokemon
No Confirmed Upcoming Pokemon!

Top 5 Master Rank Picks & Win Rate

All data is based on Season 02 Master Rank Top 100. Last Updated: January 10, 2021

Pokemon	Tier	Most Played	Average Win	Best Lane
Lucario		22%	78%	Bot
Eldegoss		9%	81%	Bot
Dragonite		9%	77%	Jungle
Greedent		8%	77%	Top
Mr. Mime		7%	82%	Bot

Top Picked Pokemon Per Role

Attacker	Supporter	All- Rounder	Defender	Speedster
Venusaur	Eldegoss	Lucario	Greedent	Zeraora

Master Rank: Top Ranked Win Rates

Pokemon by Role

All Pokemon Roles
Attackers		All-Rounders		Defenders
Speedsters			Supporters

Pokemon by Characteristics

Attack Type
Melee Pokemon	Ranged Pokemon
Physical Pokemon	Special Pokemon
Stat Rankings
HP Ranking	Defense Ranking
Sp. Def. Ranking	Basic Attack Ranking