Statistics
|
Stat |
| HP |
95
|
393 |
| Atk |
70
|
238 |
| Def |
73
|
244 |
| SpA |
85
|
268 |
| SpD |
90
|
278 |
| Spe |
60
|
218 |
Clefable is one of the scariest sweepers in GSC when set up properly. Either burn away Skarmory and Steelix with Fire Blast or scare off physical attacks with Charm and let Clefable's decent Special Defense and excellent health fend off the incoming special attacker. Shadow Ball is an option for Gengar if you keep seeing him. Encore is a very fun option to try and catch a Curser with, allowing Clefable to Belly Drum without having to take a hit. Clefable doesn't have much to fear from Rock or Steel-types that don't pseudo-haze due to the fact that Moonlight grants it an excellent life span compared to most sweepers.
This can hit some Pokémon hard on the switch if they expect you to use Belly Drum. Return still gives you some coverage against guys you can't hit super effectively. Fire Blast has the advantage of hitting Steel-types, as well as threats like Heracross, but Thunderbolt lets you hit Waters like Suicune moderately hard.
Other Options
Clefable's movepool is impressive. Light Screen Clefable is a great support Pokémon, Reflect as well but you have to be careful. Sing is kind of a novelty; it is very hard to pull off effectively due to its low accuracy. Counter is amazing and often unexpected. Sunny Day and SolarBeam are fun moves for a fun team. Sunny Day allows Moonlight to heal more, allows SolarBeam to take just one turn, and boosts Flamethrower's power.
Opinion
Clefable is an underrated sweeper that usually flies off the map. It is only limited by the amount of maintenance required to set it up, which usually is done by paralyzing most of the opposing team and killing any Ghosts that may be in the area. It is more durable than one might expect due to its nice and plump HP and decent Special Defense. Clefable can take over the game early on, but this will not likely lead to a clean sweep. Best used either as a mid-to-late game sweeper or in conjunction with a more versatile sweeper such as Charizard or Tentacruel to help pound away at the opponent's defenses until they crack.
Counters
Fighting-types generally can clear it out. Suicune can survive a Drummed Return and Roar, but gets heavily crippled by this. Ghosts such as Misdreavus will take care of it unless it has Shadow Ball. Skarmory and Steelix will counter it if it has Shadow Ball, but if it has Fire Blast watch out. Golem and Rhydon can Roar it out after easily taking a Double-Edge. Clefable has to watch out for Encore Pokémon even more than Cursers do, or it will be out 50% of its health for nothing. Tyranitar can handle all of Clefable's attacks, but he is unlikely to be able to kill Clefable (and rarely carries Roar).
