Statistics
|
Stat |
| HP |
95
|
393 |
| Atk |
70
|
238 |
| Def |
73
|
244 |
| Spc |
85
|
268 |
| Spe |
60
|
218 |
Body Slam is as always a useful attack for paralysis, and has the potential to hurt some Pokémon with frailer defenses such as Chansey because it has STAB. Blizzard destroys the Rock/Ground mixes that attempt to wall Clefable (including Golem and Rhydon) and is a good attack in general in RBY. Hyper Beam is an extremely powerful move to cut off a weak Pokémon's remaining Hit Points when other attacks can't. Thunderbolt can hit some Water-types, such as Starmie and Slowbro, moderately hard, while Thunder Wave is a more reliable move for paralysis than Body Slam. Thunderbolt is easily the least valuable move on this set, and can also be replaced by any of the myriad of options Clefable has if one would like to use something different.
This set attempts to distribute status effectively. Thunder Wave is the classic debilitating paralysis move, especially along with Blizzard to hit the Ground-types that are immune to Electric. Sing can be used for sleep, but its 55% accuracy leaves something to be desired. That's where Counter comes in; it can bounce back random Body Slams that frequent RBY to inflict some good damage off Clefable's decent HP. Thunderbolt complements Blizzard well for type coverage by hitting the Water-types that resist Ice. However, Thunder can OHKO Gyarados if it does above average damage and can 2HKO Starmie.
Other Options
Mimic is good if you get Recover, otherwise Clefable has a good enough movepool already. Reflect and Light Screen can help raise defenses. Submission hurts Normal-types if one cares about that, but it's an unreliable move overall.
Opinion
Clefable is a decent, unpredictable utility Pokémon, but it's not particularly good at anything. STABed Normal attacks hurt the ever abundant Psychic-types, and while it can't beat most standards one on one, it can surely damage them well, and shuffle Pokémon around with things like Thunder Wave and Sing.
Counters
Clefable can't do much to Gengar outside of paralyzing it, while Gengar strikes back with Thunderbolt and Seismic Toss. Snorlax doesn't particularly care about paralysis, and it can hit Clefable with powerful Body Slams. Even though they may be weak to one or more of Clefable's moves, Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres are able to use their high Special scores to prevent too much damage from Clefable's mediocre Special and will beat Clefable with their moves before Clefable can beat them. Chansey and Alakazam can try to defeat Clefable in an emergency, but dislike Body Slam; it doesn't do that much to them, but a Body Slam followed by a Hyper Beam will KO Alakazam and inflict a great deal of damage on Chansey.
