FUK overnight responses 9.9
That move gets very little action on Forry. Much less then Ice+Ground coverage.
Yes, but it has pretty pathetic coverage too. Claydol's STAB Earthquake coupled with Ice Beam can hit much of OU for super effective damage.
With what offenses, exactly? 70/70 attacking stats aren't exactly stellar, and Claydol needs
power in order to actually check the aforementioned Pokemon. Coverage doesn't really matter when Claydol hits like a mosquito. Claydol's niche in OU last gen was simply spinning and exploding, which obviously won't be as effective in this metagame due to Explosion having been nerfed. Ice Beam keeps Gliscor and Lando in check - but for how long? While I haven't used Claydol
extensively in OU, I HAVE used it on a few occasions while trying out various teams. Wearing Claydol down is fairly easy because it lacks Steel typing, unlike Bronzong and Forretress, and / or reliable healing like Roost and Recover.
Also, Gyro Ball is a staple on Forretress. Since when does that merit to "gets very little action"?
Claydol's unique typing sets it apart. Its levitate ability adds on to make it immune to hazards so its much harder to wear down then Forry and easier to wish pass to. Forretress can very rarely counter anything with SR up while Claydol is a nice pivot to the sand monsters Super Mario Bro brought up. Carrying Rock/Ground/Fighting and electric resists is completely unique and mixed in with its spikes immunity, SR resist and respectable 60/105/120 defenses it can be very useful.
While it does have some weaknesses, it also has resistances that Forry would kill for. It can come in on things like Tyranitar's choiced Stone Edge, Close Combats, Excadrill's Earthquake among other things and use rapid spin. Not to mention that Claydol kills things that Forry would be set up bait for, like Gliscor (in general, it checks a lot more threats).
In what [common] case will Tyranitar be spamming a Choice-locked Stone Edge? A lot players still have their heads up their asses and are still running Specially Defensive MixTar for one. Secondly, given that team preview exists, it should be fairly obvious that Tyranitar risks Claydol switching in by haphazardly using Stone Edge. Forry, nor Gliscor for that matter don't really give a crap about non-Banded Stone Edges, as both can use them as setup fodder.
Most of the Pokemon carrying Close Combat normally have a method of KOing Claydol after it switches in, such as Payback and Megahorn. That only leaves out Terrakion, who 'can' carry a Choice Band and simply dish out as much damage as possible. Doryuuzu commonly runs an Air Balloon, which means that Claydol has to take a +2 attack in order to either spin off any entry hazards, or even have a shot at beating Dory.
Edit- Why are you bringing up Sturdy to prove its the superior spinner? Levitate is much more fitting. Preserving your spinner is KEY on a defensive team. Sacking it by using Sturdy will cripple you severly.
Sturdy is unique to Forretress, as it serves as a "last ditch" option against most offensive teams. I never said that it's beneficial to Forretress as a spinner, nor that it's any better than Levitate. I was merely pointing out a niche that Forretress has over Claydol, and for that matter, other spinners.
Also, I think it can be pretty much agreed upon that neither Forretress nor Claydol can break through many spinblockers.
Forretress can at least use the time that it has vs spinblockers to either heal, lay down more entry hazards, or Volt Switch for scouting purposes.
The fact that Claydol is immune to pretty much all entry hazards and sandstorm negates the fact that it has no reliable recovery outside of lefties. Bronzong doesn't have any way to heal either, and it's been doing just fine...
Bronzong has Steel-typing, great defenses, offenses, just about the same amount of support options (it can even run Rain Dance very well if truly needed), and doesn't have to run Reflect in order to prevent itself from becoming bait for Scizor, Tyranitar, or any other physical attacker. Bronzong has been just fine because its overall more useful to the average team than Claydol is.
Claydol can use reflect if it's truly concerned about those moves.
What do you mean, "truly concerned about those moves"? Claydol FEARS being stuck in a situation which it has to decide between staying in or getting raped by Pursuit. Given that it's running Reflect as well, Starmie doesn't give a shittle about Pursuit thanks to both Natural Cure and Recover.
Never said that it isn't.