[SET]
name: Toxic Orb Abuse
move 1: Protect
move 2: Facade
move 3: Meteor Mash / Fire Blast
move 4: Softboiled / Wish
item: Toxic Orb
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Adamant
evs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is one of the best options if you plan on leading with Clefable. On the first turn always Protect; it allows Toxic Orb to activate, keeps you from taking damage, and can help scout your opponent’s lead. Facade then becomes a 140 Base Power attack, capable of OHKOing a vast majority of the most common leads in UU. The choice between Meteor Mash and Fire Blast is really a pick-your-poison decision. Meteor Mash takes care of Regirock, in addition to possibly granting an Attack boost, but opens yourself up to Steel-types like Registeel and Steelix. Fire Blast remedies this problem but has less PP and lower accuracy, which really becomes a problem against Pressure users like Moltres and Spiritomb.</p>
<p>For a fairly good list of Pokemon this Clefable will be facing, take a look at the statistics; being prepared for certain leads will help you in the long run. Common leads in today’s UU metagame include Roserade, Ambipom, and Uxie.</p>
<p>Roserade leads typically start with Sleep Powder (which is nullified by Protect and Toxic Orb) or Spikes (which has no effect on Clefable) and will then follow with Leaf Storm or another attack on the turn you Facade. Should Roserade not be carrying a Focus Sash, it will always be OHKOed; however, the majority of leading Roserade do and will 2HKO Clefable if it tries to stay in.</p>
<p>Ambipom carries Fake Out for the first turn, though it’s really a wasted moveslot against Clefable if Ambipom decides to stay in, thanks to Protect's immunity. Payback does little damage since you’re not switching out or moving first, and U-turn can be absorbed if you predict well and use Softboiled on the switch or Wish the turn before. What about Return? Again, without Focus Sash Ambipom will be OHKOed by Facade.</p>
<p>Uxie will most likely start the battle by setting up Stealth Rock, followed by U-turn or Psychic (the last move is typically a useless status-inducer). Since few Uxie actually run Focus Sash, Clefable does get a chance to score some big hits on the defensive pixie.</p>
Max / Max Uxie is 3 - 4HKOed by Clefable's Facade (4 - 5HKOed with Leftovers). Additionally, one of your hits will be underpowered due to Toxic Orb having not activated. Therefore, Clefable will struggle to bring Uxie down, and Uxie will have an easy time setting up Stealth Rock (and even Trick Room or Rain Dance) and U-Turning, having taken little damage in the process. I suggest you revise this part to more reflect how Clefable vs Uxie is a pretty bad matchup for Clefable.
<p>Ghost-types are typical switch-ins to Facading Clefable, so having something to counter Spiritomb, Rotom, and Dusknoir is typically a good idea. Absol and Drapion are good choices, as both have access to Pursuit. Absol also has Sucker Punch which can really screw with anything your opponent may switch in, though Drapion doesn’t share a Fighting-type weakness with Clefable like Absol does. Other Pokemon that pair well with this set are Ghost-types, Flying-types, and dedicated walls like Regirock and Registeel.</p>
[SET]
name: Encore
move 1: Encore
move 2: Softboiled / Wish
move 3: Seismic Toss
move 4: Thunder Wave / Cosmic Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 100 SpD / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Clefable may be looked at as a poor man's Chansey, but this set works completely differently from [it doesn't really outclass it] the pink blob thanks to one move: Encore. Encore completely cripples stat boosters like Swords Dance Sceptile, status inducers like Will-O-Wisp Spiritomb, and layers of Stealth Rock like Donphan, Regirock, and Registeel. [Encoring Roserade and other Spikes users really just lets it get up 2 or 3 layers of Spikes] Depending on how team-oriented you'd like Clefable to be, Softboiled and Wish are both great recovery options available to it. Seismic Toss provides consistent damage to everything (excluding Ghost-types) and is the best attack against walls like Registeel. Thunder Wave spreads around status and lets Clefable's Encore cripples Pokemon later in the match much more easily, though with all the switching your opponent will be doing, getting the defensive boosts from Cosmic Power will be extremely easy.</p>
<p>Since Encore causes a lot of switches, entry hazards are great ways of racking up some free damage. Helpful Stealth Rock users include Donphan, Registeel, and Regirock (Clefable, too, if you can find a spot in its moveset). Donphan may be the best choice overall, since both golems share a Fighting-type weakness with Clefable, and with Rapid Spinning Hitmontop on the loose, Close Combats aren't something you want to have a weakness to. Spikers include Roserade (without Sleep Powder), Qwilfish, and Omastar. While the two latter Pokemon typically only see action on Rain Dance teams, Roserade is both a potent threat and reliable Spiker in UU. Toxic Spikes, though helpful in most other situations, isn't really welcome when Thunder Wave is part of the moveset, so it's best to omit it from your team strategy if this is the Clefable for you.</p>
<p>Rapid Spinners pretty much wreck this set, the most notable being Hitmontop. Ghost-types like Mismagius and Spiritomb are great candidates to block the Spins, though Foresight can cause problems. For this reason, it may be in your best interest to carry a speedy Pokemon with access to an attack that is super effective against Fighting-types to just remove Hitmontop from the equation altogether. Since Rapid Spin will be the move you switch in on, frail sweepers like Espeon are fairly good decisions, although your counters should be able to take a Mach Punch and stay standing, as it's a featured move on nearly every Hitmontop.</p>
[SET]
name: Wishful Stalling
move 1: Wish
move 2: Protect / Cosmic Power
move 3: Seismic Toss
move 4: Toxic / Safeguard
item: Leftovers
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Careful
evs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 212 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Stalling is one of the big reasons to use Clefable over Chansey and Blissey. Immunity to entry hazards, immunity to status effects like poison and burn, and a reliable recovery move make Clefable one of the sturdiest walls in the game. Wish + Protect wastes two turns instead of the one Softboiled does, while Toxic slowly chips away at your opponent's HP. Cosmic Power increases both of Clefable defenses, though it puts you at risk for pseudo-Hazers. Seismic Toss is a reliable attack on all Pokemon, excluding Ghost-types, of course. Safeguard is a great option should Thunder Waving Registeel or parafusion Lanturn try to hax you to death, though it should onybe used when Toxic Spikes or another form of residual damage be absent. I don't see much merit in Safeguard.</p>
<p>Residual damage is the greatest addition to this set, bar none. Toxic Spikes, in particular, are a great asset, since they are the easiest way of causing Toxic-esque poison without wasting a moveslot. Drapion and the previously mentioned Roserade both are great Toxic Spikers, though Drapion may be the better choice because of its durability. Toxic Spikes can also be absorbed by Poison-type Pokemon, so having a counter to the most common Poison-types (Roserade, Drapion, and Toxicroak) is a good idea. Donphan is able to handle these Pokemon reliably, bashing Toxicroak and Drapion with STAB Earthquake and Roserade with super effective Ice Shard.</p> Ice Shard doesn't really make Donphan a reliable answer to Roserade, especially if said Roserade is defensive.
<p>This set really shines in OU, where fully evolved weather inducers like Abomasnow, Hippowdon, and Tyranitar reside. Hail is by far the best weather to start up in this tier, due in part to the vast number of Ground-, Steel-, and Rock-types that would otherwise receive stat boosts. Be wary of Fighting-types, though, if you decide to use a hail team, because Clefable will be sharing this weakness with every Ice-type Pokemon you include on your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Calm Minder
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Ice Beam
move 4: Softboiled
item: Leftovers / Life Orb
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 152 Def / 104 SpA
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Clefable's wide movepool means running a boosting moveset is no problem. Calm Mind increases Clefable's already passable special stats, while the added durability brought on by the EV spread and Softboiled enables you to grab some extra boosts. The infamous BoltBeam combination is used on this set, scoring at least neutral damage on anything not named Lanturn, Shedinja, or Magnezone.</p>
<p>Alternatively, you can use Focus Blast and Shadow Ball as your attacks. Nothing resists both of them, and Focus Blast can deal with Chansey fairly well after a few stat boosts; however, the low accuracy of Focus Blast and the boosts needed to make using it plausible are oftentimes too big of problems to warrant substituting attacks.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, the Pokemon who can best cripple this set is Chansey, thanks to her enormous HP and Special Defense stats. Non-damaging status effects, like sleep and paralysis, are also hindrances, since Clefable loses its greatness when it's unable to attack [the basic problem with both sleep and paralysis]. Therefore, having a Pokemon who can absorb status, like RestTalk variants of Spiritomb and Drapion, are great partners. Getting rid of Chansey is possible with Drapion, although Hitmontop and Blaziken are typically better options for taking her down. Registeel, too, is a fairly good counter, thanks in large part to the paraflinch hax provided by Thunder Wave and Iron Head. Again, Blaziken shines as the best wall breaker and helps clear the field for an all-out sweep later in the battle.</p>
[SET]
name: Wall Breaker
move 1: Double-Edge
move 2: Fire Blast
move 3: Grass Knot
move 4: Softboiled
item: Life Orb
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Quiet
evs: 216 Atk / 216 SpA / 76 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Life Orb wall breaker may not seem like a role Clefable is designed for, but when you factor in the fact that Magic Guard nullifies Life Orb's damage and Double-Edge's recoil, and you have a monster on your hands! Double-Edge will decimate foes like Chansey, 2HKOing the standard 0/252 Calm variants 92% of the time with Stealth Rock damage factored in. Fire Blast takes care of Registeel, while Grass Knot trips up Regirock and Slowbro. Softboiled is your main form of recovery; use it when your HP is low or on a predicted switch.</p>
<p>Although there isn't one wall that can counter this set, adding entry hazards to your team's list of support options will greatly help Clefable in taking down some of the biggest walls of UU. Stealth Rock is by far the most commonly seen entry hazard, with the two greatest Stealth Rock users to pair with Clefable being Donphan and Claydol. Donphan has the ability to counter some of the most elite sweepers in the tier, including Drapion, and can destroy Roserade with Ice Shard [again, prior comment about Donphan vs Roserade applies], in addition to support options like Roar, Rapid Spin, and Stealth Rock. Claydol, on the other hand, acts as a great switch-in to the Fighting-types, like Blaziken [questionable, Claydol doesn't fare too well against Blaziken] or Hitmontop, sponging their attacks with his part-Psychic-typing and STAB Psychic. He also adds a Ground-type immunity to your team (thanks to Levitate), and can provide the same Rapid Spin and Stealth Rock support provided by Donphan. Toxic Spikes provides the opponent with residual damage in the form of regular poison or worsening poison, depending on how many layers of Toxic Spikes there are on the field. Roserade and Drapion deserve mention as two of the best Toxic Spikers in UU, thanks to support options in the form of Sleep Powder and Whirlwind, respectively, and superb offensive capabilities [initially could be confused as saying Sleep Powder was the offensive capability]. Spikes, although the least common form of entry hazard seen in the lower tiers, can also be added to your arsenal by Roserade (without Sleep Powder) or Omastar.</p>
<p>Clefable also opens itself up to status effects, the most crippling being paralysis and burn. A paralyzed Clefable not only has a 30% chance of not being able to attack, but also runs the risk of being 2HKOed due to bad prediction. Burn causes problems for Clefable as well; the 50% Attack reduction is the only problem, since Magic Guard nullifies the residual damage. Therefore, adding a status absorber like RestTalk Spiritomb or Milotic [all Milotic are Marvel Scale, and Milotic is best suited to absorbing burns if it is RestTalk anyway] is encouraged, since they have nothing to fear from the effects of burn or paralysis.</p>
[SET]
name: Trickster
move 1: Trick
move 2: Seismic Toss
move 3: Ice Beam / Reflect / Light Screen
move 4: Softboiled
item: Flame Orb
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set really messes with the many physical sweepers found in the UU metagame. Thanks to Magic Guard, Clefable has no problem Tricking Flame Orb into incoming swich-ins like Drapion or Kanghaskan, while healing off any damage done to it with Softboiled. Seismic Toss, as always, is Clefable's best attacking option, dealing quite a bit of damage to dedicated walls like Registeel and Regirock, as well as the sweepers you'll be crippling. The third moveslot comes down to personal preference; Ice Beam provides a way to hit Ghost-types, while either Reflect or Light Screen can be used to reinforce one of Clefable's defenses.</p>
<p>This set can also utilize Choice Specs as the Tricked item, although this tends to change the moveset. Should you choose to keep the Specs, carrying two or three attacking moves in place of Seismic Toss, Ice Beam, or Softboiled is ideal, as well as transferring the EVs invested in Special Defense to Special Attack to provide Clefable with some firepower. The problem with this is opponents may be able to outpredict your trick and send out a Pokemon who wouldn't mind acquiring Choice Specs, like Roserade or Milotic, and abuse their new held item. Flame Orb hurts all Pokemon, while gaining an additional side-effect against physical attackers, meaning it's a win-win situation, unlike Specs. Except for Fire-types and other Clefable.</p>
<p>This set tends to have troubles with Taunt users like Ambipom and Absol, since up to three of its moves aren't attacks. Therefore, having a solid Fighting-type on your team to deal with such threats is recommended. Hitmonchan is able to hit both with a prioritized Mach Punch and packs Ice Punch for the rouge Gligar that float around. Other than these Pokemon, Chansey, Fire-types like Blaziken, and other counters listed in the other sets also need mentioned as possible counters.</p>
[SET]
name: Dual Screen
move 1: Reflect
move 2: Light Screen
move 3: Wish / Softboiled / Encore
move 4: Seismic Toss
item: Light Clay
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 240 Def / 16 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Clefable has many chances to come in and set up because of its decent overall bulk and amazing ability. It is an excellent supporter and team player because it almost always successfully sets up the screens. What separates Clefable from other dual screeners is its access to Wish and wide variety of support moves, which most dual screeners lack.</p>
<p>Softboiled is the more [keep more, it's a comparison between two things] reliable healing move, although Wish can help your other teammates immensely by restoring 50% of their health on the switch in. You can run Encore to ruin Pokémon trying to set up on you. On the offensive side, Seismic Toss is your best option to deal a respectable amount of damage since Clefable doesn't have any other viable moves to utilize with this set. Clefable can also make use of Gravity instead of the three moves mentioned so that teammates such as Nidoking, Rhydon, and Torterra can hit Flying-type or Levitating foes with STAB Earthquake. Nidoking's Fire Blast also receives a boost, allowing it to deal considerable damage to Tangrowth and Torterra without fear of missing.</p>
<p>Clefable will generally have trouble against Pokémon that have access to Fighting-type moves. Hitmonlee and Hariyama can threaten Clefable with Close Combat and Force Palm respectively, making Mismagius and Spiritomb excellent partners. They are both immune to Fighting-type attacks and have access to Calm Mind, making it much easier to boost their stats when the screens set up by Clefable are in play. When it comes to dealing damage, Ghost-types can walk right into Seismic Toss and start something nasty such as boosting their stats, but Clefable is able to Encore them if they do so, which gives you a good chance at setting up screens.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Clefable is a versatile Pokemon with plenty of support for each set. On the Toxic Orb Abuse set, Clefable enjoys having Ghost-types removed because they attempt to block your STAB move. Spiritomb in particular, is well versed enough to take Meteor Mash or Fire Blast from Clefable, and can take advantage of its ability, Pressure, to reduce both attacks' meager PP. From an offensive standpoint, Rotom can come in on Meteor Mash and start to set up with Charge Beam. As such, Pursuit users such as Absol, Drapion, and Spiritomb can help remove these Pokemon. At certain times, Absol, and to a lesser extent, Drapion, will find itself helpless once they switch in on a predicted Thunderbolt from Rotom. [Substitute is easier to switch in on than Shadow Ball] As such, packing something like Rotom or Mismagius can help lure in Shadow Ball from Rotom, helping both Absol and Drapion trap much easier.</p>
<p>On the Encore set, entry hazards are required to take advantage of this rather exclusive move. Donphan and Uxie are great candidates for utilizing Stealth Rock. Donphan, in particular, is capable of scaring a lot of common Pokemon away with STAB Earthquake, while Uxie is unusually fast, so it can often set up on a majority of the Pokemon in UU who underestimate its above-average Speed. Keeping entry hazards on the field is not a walk in the park because Rapid Spin users are quite popular in the UU metagame. Hitmontop and Donphan are some of the best users for Rapid Spin; therefore packing a defensive Mismagius and Rotom can help deal with these spinners. Mismagius and Rotom both have Will-O-Wisp in their arsenal to foil physical attackers attempting to take Clefable down in addition to allowing these Ghost-types to take physical hits much more easily. Despite crippling Hitmontop, the fighting top has Rest and Foresight in its pocket to give Mismagius and Rotom a hard time. Tricking a Choice item onto Hitmontop will keep it from being as effective, however.</p>
<p>On most of the sets, particularly offensive sets, Clefable's counters falls under the same category: faster Fighting-types. Milotic can handle a portion of the Fighting-types in the UU tier, and it can alternate between Recover and Surf to eventually take them down. On the Calm Mind set where it's specially inclined, Chansey will trouble Clefable. Despite the fact that Clefable can possibly beat it, Chansey is highly capable of running down your PP by alternating between Seismic Toss and Softboiled or Wish - which usually ends up resulting in a "PP war". Bringing in Fighting-types like Blaziken or Hariyama can usually scare it away with a STAB Fighting-type move. Swords Dance Blaziken functions well because it can set up on Chansey, forcing the player to switch to Milotic (Blaziken's common switch-in), which allows Blaziken to deliver the OHKO with Superpower. With Milotic gone, Clefable can use Calm Mind without worrying about Haze removing its boosts.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Clefable's huge movepool means the possible move combinations are nearly endless. Clefable has access to Stealth Rock, which is plausible if your team tends to shuffle your opponent's active Pokemon quite a bit. Other support options available to Clefable include Psych Up, Snatch, and Gravity. Beware of the fact that your opponent also gets the advantages Gravity grants, though, because attacks like Hydro Pump, Fire Blast, and Thunder all become much more accurate.</p>
<p>Clefable also has a lot of other attacks that are more useful in the higher tiers. If you decide to use Clefable in OU, adding either Brick Break or Drain Punch to your moveset will help take down the powerful Tyranitar and Weaville. Likewise, adding Grass Knot will trip up the likes of Swampert and other heavy walls. The elemental punches are also viable. Ice Punch is the best choice to take down the Dragon-types in OU.ThunderPunch scares off Gyarados, but other than that it isn't very useful. Wouldn't these be inferior to their special counterparts?</p>
[EVs]
<p>Thankfully, Clefable's EV spreads aren't quite as numerous as its moveset options. For offensively-oriented sets, maximizing your attacking stat is mandatory, since Clefable isn't naturally gifted with high Attack or Special Attack. Stalling sets like Wishful Stalling should focus primarily on balancing the defensive stats since Clefable will be dealing with attacks from both sides of the spectrum; however, running more Special Defense isn't a horrible idea if you want Clefable to dedicate itself to walling special attacks only.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Clefable hands-down wins the entertainment award in Pokémon Diamond/Pearl competitive play. With a movepool out of the wazoo, offensive and defensive stats barely enough to exploit it, and Magic Guard to prevent enemies from getting rid of Clefable in uncool ways (read: Toxic), Clefable is a one-fairy show. It'll keep you guessing again and again what to do and you'll likely be wrong. If you're in for something different in your standard team that is good enough to get away with, but cool enough not to get yelled at for using, Clefable is a top recommendation.</p>
<p>Lastly, it should be noted that Softboiled and Magic Guard are legal together on one set. You can teach Clefairy Softboiled in the 3rd Generation; its ability may change upon evolving in a 4th Generation game.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Clefable's unpredictability makes it impossible to counter every set with just one Pokemon. The best way to get rid of it quickly is to scout which set it's running and send out the appropriate wall to dispose of it. Ambipom takes the cake as the most capable scout, packing Fake Out, Taunt, and U-turn for scouting purposes.</p>
<p>Physically-minded Clefable, like the Toxic Orb Abuse set, have hard times overcoming the defensive capabilities of Registeel and Regirock. Although neither Regirock nor Registeel have the offensive power to outright OHKO Clefable, both boast access to Explosion to net a kamikaze kill. Registeel also carries Thunder Wave to cripple speedy sweepers, though Toxic Orb completely ruins this strategy. Although not a direct problem for Clefable, Stealth Rock can provide severe difficulties for the rest of your team.</p>
<p>Since Seismic Toss and STAB Normal-type attacks are included in many of Clefable's sets, Ghost-types like Spiritomb, Mismagius, and Rotom can cause major problems. If Clefable is forced to switch out, Mismagius and Rotom both can set up Substitutes and proceed to boost their own stats in the form of Calm Mind and Charge Beam, respectively. Both Spiritomb and Mismagius also tend to carry Hidden Power Fighting, which can 2HKO Clefable that choose to run Wish over Softboiled.</p>
<p>Special attacking sets are best blocked by, you guessed it, Chansey. Although Encore can lead to an immediate switch out, there's really no way for Clefable to counter her, besides 2HKOing with boosted Focus Blasts (though there's a 30% chance of it missing each time). To a lesser extent, Regice also has enough Special Defense to cause a hiccup in Clefable's strategy, although this golem has big problems with super effective Flamethrowers and Fire Blasts, especially if Clefable has a few Calm Minds under its belt.</p>
You need to mention Fighting-types as counters and how to counter the Life Orb set. A defensive Hitmontop is the best counter, I believe, and a defensive Altaria will do an okay job, although the best method of handling it is probably through switching in faster and more threatening Pokemon on the right move (ie; Blaziken on Grass Knot).