Pokémon Clefable

[Kriptini]

NEW: Doubles players, see this post!

Name: Clefable (#036)
Type: Fairy
Base Stats: 95/70/73/95/90/60
Abilities: Cute Charm, Magic Guard, Unaware (Hidden)

Notable Moves:

• Moonblast
• Reflect
• Light Screen
• Wish
• Flamethrower
• Ice Beam
• Thunderbolt
• Energy Ball
• Calm Mind
• Psychic
• Psyshock
• Shadow Ball
• Focus Blast
• Dazzling Gleam
• Thunder Wave
• Moonlight
• Encore
• Protect
• Substitute
• Toxic
• Aromatherapy
• ...and a TON of others*.

*Not including Gen 3 or 4 exclusive moves or B/W Tutor moves in the movepool because there isn't legal access to those yet. Theorycrafting with those moves is welcome, however. Notable ones are Seismic Toss, Softboiled, Hyper Voice, Stealth Rock, and Trick,

Analysis
At first glance, Clefable appears to be inferior to its more popular Fairy cousins, Togetic and Sylveon. However, looking deeper, Clefable possesses a few key advantages over these other Pokemon, most notably in its massive movepool and the ability Magic Guard, which allow it to ignore Stealth Rocks, Spikes, Poison, Burns, weather damage, Leech Seed, and other various effects. Combined with his noteworthy HP and Special Defense, Clefable has no problem switching into Dragon-type attackers and setting up screens or preparing for a Wish pass.

The Great Sumo Fairy is not without its shortcomings, however. Without investment, Clefairy packs little punch and is reduced to using Toxic for reliable damage, which both of its type counters (Poison and Steel) are immune to. Speaking of counters, the prevalence of powerful Steel-types such as Scizor, Heatran, and Magnezone in the OU metagame makes it almost impossible for Clefable to function as much more than a single screener or wish passer due to its atrocious Speed, and offensively speaking, it isn't nearly as good of a Dragon-slayer as Togekiss or Sylveon are. In the UU metagame, however, Clefable is truly a force to be reckoned with, able to both wall off and obliterate the many Dark and Fighting types that populate the tier. All-in-all, Clefable is a very versatile Pokemon with a lot of deceptive power and utility that makes a great addition to any team that fears Dragons, Fighters, or Dark-types.

Potential Movesets:

Offensive by Wobblebuns and lolwatrr
Clefable @ Life Orb
Magic Guard
Bold | 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 SpA
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Softboiled

Blessed with decent typing lending Clefable resistances to Dragon, Fighting, Bug, and Dark coupled with a respectable 95/73/90 bulk, she will find quite many opportunities to set up a Calm Mind or two to boost her Special Attack. Moonblast provides a reliable STAB and Fire Blast addresses many key threats in the meta such as Ferrothorn. Now, one can opt to go for Softboiled which generally meshes up well with Magic Guard, or Substitute when one goes for Unaware. Both moves and abilities do provide their fair share of benefits depending on the combination used. Softboiled is there for recovery, whereas Substitute offers some utility like shielding it from status and weak moves, Trick, and more (seeing this set-up of Sub+CM, it may be advisable adding EV's to Speed to outrun some walls for effectively avoiding status). Now going on with the abilities, Magic Guard allows Clefable to set up without worries of potential status conditions -except for sleep-, while Unaware lets you assure a win in CM wars -provided you do not get crit-. Life Orb is the preferred item because Clefable gets the damage boost from it without taking damage thanks to Magic Guard, but if more recovery is needed, one can opt for Leftovers instead. From here on, it is a matter of preferences on what combo you would like to go for; a mix and match of abilities, items, and moves from the set will hopefully cater to your needs.

Wall (UU) by The Reptile
Clefable @ Leftovers
Unaware/Magic Guard
Calm | 252 HP | 132 Def | 124 SDef
- Moonlight
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy
- Ice Beam / Fire Blast / Toxic

Benchmarks (factors in Fairy-type ofc)

252 Atk Life Orb Reckless Mienshao Hi Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 175-208 (44.41 - 52.79%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Zapdos Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 164-192 (41.62 - 48.73%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mienshao: 296-350 (108.82 - 128.67%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 SpA Clefable Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 136-162 (42.23 - 50.31%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 108-127 (33.54 - 39.44%) -- 19.92% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoqueen Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 165-196 (41.87 - 49.74%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoqueen Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 351-413 (89.08 - 104.82%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 328-385 (83.24 - 97.71%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 117-138 (29.69 - 35.02%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
+1 252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 175-206 (44.41 - 52.28%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 232-274 (58.88 - 69.54%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+3 252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 290-342 (73.6 - 86.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+4 252 Atk Heracross Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 313-369 (79.44 - 93.65%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 192-226 (48.73 - 57.36%) -- 47.66% chance to 2HKO
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Heracross: 204-242 (67.54 - 80.13%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

So this set is a pretty simple wall set for UU. Moonlight is the only recovery move that Clefable can get outside of Wish due to Softboiled not being available until PokeBank (and even then only with Magic Guard). Wish isn't that great of an idea due to Clefable's only OK base 95 and reliance on Protect. Moonblast is there for reliable damage thanks to its now-buffed 95 SpA. Aromatherapy lets Clefable act as a cleric for the team along with clearing its own status, which is great on any set running Unaware over Magic Guard, which it should since it can't take many +2 attacks and Aromatherapy lets you get around status. Ice Beam lets you nail Offensive Zapdos for a 2HKO as opposed to barely 3HKOing like Moonblast does. Fire Blast lets you roast Steel-types that try to resist Fairy. Finally, Toxic lets you status other walls. Ice Beam also lets you beat Nidoqueens that don't run Sludge Wave / Bomb.

FairyMag (OU) by Liarliarpantsonfire
Clefable @ Leftovers
Magic Guard
Bold | 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 SDef
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Charge Beam
- Soft-Boiled

Pretty straightforward. Make use of those Dragon, Fighting, Bug and Dark resists to setup Cosmic Power. Once you get to +6 in both defenses use Charge Beam to get to a sufficient amount of SpAtk. Sweep with Stored Power. Heal whenever necessary. Magic Guard to prevent status from racking up. EV spread maximizes physical bulk to lean towards it resistance to Fighting and Bug. Special attackers are usually less threatening, e.g. Rotom-W, Goodra, etc.

Counters: Steel and Poison moves hurt a lot. Magnezone support is mandatory. It works extremely well. With Steels out of the way Clefable has a field day. I use this core with Volt-Turn support and a Quagsire/Blissey core. Quagsire is pretty good. Walls SD Scizor and Aegislash hard. Also Talonflame. Anyway this set is amazing. DragMag was 5th gen. FairyMag is the new MagDrag.

Checks & Counters

OU
Offensive Steel and Poison Pokemon are Clefable's obvious counters, while almost any Fire type can check Clefable into an awkward position (considering that Hidden Power is his only option for dealing with them). Heatran, Scizor, Magnezone, Gengar, and Lucario all shatter Clefable's hopes and dreams without breaking a sweat, while Volcarona can set up on top of one. (Interestingly enough, Blaziken seems to have a tougher time dealing with Clefable, as Moonblast can 2-3HKO Jolly Leftovers Blaziken as it fumbles to Blaze Kick through Sumo Fairy's HP.)

UU
Clefable is very difficult to outright counter in the UU metagame, with Bisharp, Offensive Roserade, and Crobat being some of the only sure-fire ones that can get the job done (though Clefable can actually survive the first of Crobat's Cross Poisons if need be). Nidoking/Nidoqueen can impede Clefable's momentum and possibly stop it, though special sets without Sludge Wave or Sludge Bomb will need to rely on paralysis RNG from Thunderbolt/Thunder in order to avoid sustaining heavy damage in the process. Brongzong creates a strange stalemate with Clefable, and the winner will usually come down to who can get status off on the other one first (if Brongzong doesn't have Rest, that is). Good physical attackers like Mienshao might be able to score an OHKO with a powerful neutral ability (such as a LO Stone Edge), though a miss means that they are at the mercy of Clefable's Super Sumo Moonblast.

Team Options

OU
Clefable operates best when he can switch into a Dragon-type attack, so naturally Clefable will want allies like Dragonite, Haxorus, or Hydreigon to bait the enemy into using a faster Dragon-type attacker. Dragonite in particular appreciates Clefable as an ally, being able to take advantage of the big Wishes to refresh his Multiscale, Screens to increase his already respectable bulk, and Aromatherapy to cure his Paralysis. Alakazam is a great Pokemon to make up for Clefable's weaknesses, as he can obliterate Gengar with Psychic and even run Magic Guard so the two can appear on Sandstorm teams.

UU
Flygon and Kingdra are the only traditional Dragons in UU, so it's much more difficult to bait Dragon-type attacks in his tier. However, once interesting choice that should be considered is Ampharos, who (although in the NU tier,) gains the Dragon typing through his Mega Evolution and boasts some incredible offenses and bulk to go with it. Clefable's Screens are much appreciated by the Sheep Dragon, and this tremendous bulk allows him to sweep even without a decent Speed stat. Apart from Ampharos, you could run Psychic or Dark types to bait Dark, Bug, and Fighting-type attacks, all of which Clefable are resistant to.

Conclusion
Although Clefable is more or less outclassed by both Togekiss and Sylveon in OU, his very capable offensive and defensive prowess combined with his ability to support could make him a next-level powerhouse in UU.

 

[lmitchell0012]

What I don't understand is why they removed her normal typing. Same with Granbull. Anyways, it will be interesting to see how she does in the new meta.

 

[Kriptini]

What I don't understand is why they removed her normal typing. Same with Granbull. Anyways, it will be interesting to see how she does in the new meta.

IMO, normal typing is a liability for Clefable, because being able to resist Fighting-type attacks is perfect for her lower Defense stat and there aren't any Ghosts that significantly threaten her in UU. (Aside from Chandelure, but he's more of a check than a counter unless he's running Shadow Tag and he's probably going to use Flamethrower over Shadow Ball anyways.)

So mono Fairy-typing really works out for Clefable. =)

 

[Zemyla]

What about a wallbreaker set somewhat like what was run in BW, using Magic Guard for a recoil-free Life Orb?

Clefable @ Life Orb
Modest / 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Def
Moonblast
Fire Blast/Flamethrower
Psychic/Psyshock
Moonlight

Moonblast for STAB, fire for Steels, psychic for Poisons, Moonlight for healing.

 

[TwoBit]

Clefable's SpA stat is increased to 95 as of gen 6. Life Orb sets just got better.

 

[Wobblebuns]

Clefable's SpA stat is increased to 95 as of gen 6. Life Orb sets just got better.

I'm really psyched about this! The boost will surely make Clefable's offensive sets more effective than they were before. Not only that, but her retyping might just be the icing to the cake.

So here is a set that immediately sprang to my mind after this event.

Item: Life Orb or Leftovers
Nature: Modest or Bold
Ability: Magic Guard/Unaware
EV spread: 252 HP/252 SpA/4 Spd or 252 HP/252 Def/4 SpA
Moveset:
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power (Ground)
- Softboiled/Substitute

Blessed with decent typing lending Clefable resistances to Dragon, Fighting, and Dark coupled with a respectable 95/73/90 bulk, she will find quite many opportunities to set up a Calm Mind or two to boost her Special Attack. Moonblast provides a reliable STAB and Hidden Power (Ground) offers decent coverage against Steel, Fire, and Poison types that may come in her way. Now, one can opt to go for Softboiled which generally meshes up well with Magic Guard, or Substitute when one goes for Unaware. Both moves and abilities do provide their fair share of benefits depending on the combination used. Softboiled is there for recovery, whereas Substitute offers some utility like shielding it from status and weak moves, Trick, and more (seeing this set-up of Sub+CM, it may be advisable adding EV's to Speed to outrun some walls for effectively avoiding status). Now going on with the abilities, Magic Guard allows Clefable to set up without worries of potential status conditions -except for sleep-, while Unaware lets you assure a win in CM wars -provided you do not get crit-. From here on, it is a matter of preferences on what combo you would like to go for; a mix and match of abilities, items, and moves from the set will hopefully cater to your needs.

EDIT:

- Replaced Calm with Bold
- Maximized EV spread

 

[Chou Toshio]

I actually foresee Clefable being really good-- as Magic Guard is awesome, and it's one of the most physically bulky fairies (albeit on a very low set bar...). Also, Clefable got a 10 point boost to its base SpA I think that the OP should take note of (why did this not go into HP or DEF...).

 

[Kriptini]

I have suspected that Clefable's stats have been raised (although I suspected SpD and not SpA), though I didn't actually receive confirmation until tonight. I will be updating the OP with this change, as well as including Zemyla and Wobblebuns's sets.

 

[WaterlooZoo]

I have suspected that Clefable's stats have been raised (although I suspected SpD and not SpA), though I didn't actually receive confirmation until tonight. I will be updating the OP with this change, as well as including Zemyla and Wobblebuns's sets.

What are the stat changes?

Edit: Oh, +10 special attack I see. That's good news.

 

[Jonjonz]

Ok so the EVs are pretty shocking but the set i am actually finding really good this gen.

Item:Leftovers
Nature: Bold
Ability: Magic Guard
EV spread: 252 HP/ 128 DEF/SPDEF
Moveset:
- Cosmic Power
- Moonblast
- Softboiled
- Stored Power

Get one Cosmic power in on something that you now RESIST yay fairy
And you can generally softboil off any damage just get to +6 and sweep with Stored Power.
(its amazing how often people try to hit you with a fighting attack) Darks dont enjoy a STAB moonblast.
Barring a phazer once you get to plus 3 you can tank any hit since poison and steel arent exactly known for their power.

Clef enjoys the nerf to crits too.

 

[Kriptini]

Are you getting Softboiled on Clefable in-game, or did I read your post wrong?

 

[Jonjonz]

ahah no Whoops I guess we'll have to wait untill Bank comes out in December to use that set for real.
I got ahead of myself in PO. I mean I guess it could work with Wish if it can take a few hits.

 

[Zemyla]

Until December, you can use Moonlight with that set. However, the problem is there's nothing to prevent one of the many Grass/Poison types from coming in, sleeping you with Sleep Powder, then setting up with SD or just Sludge Bombing you.

Well, other than the fact that Clefable is incredibly versatile and you don't know whether she has Fire Blast.

 

[Jonjonz]

There aren't that many sleepers around though thanks to Sleep Powders debuff in effect. after a few cosmic powers even with 0 investment stored power starts hurting alot.

 

[Zemyla]

There have been two types immune to Toxic since Gen 2, and it's still popular. Having one type immune to Sleep Powder probably won't stop it from being a thing.

 

[Thorhammer]

There have been two types immune to Toxic since Gen 2, and it's still popular. Having one type immune to Sleep Powder probably won't stop it from being a thing.

There's more to it than numbers. Toxic is for tanks that can stall out foes and have time to spare. Sleep users are very reliant on the free turns it can provide.

 

[Kriptini]

ahah no Whoops I guess we'll have to wait untill Bank comes out in December to use that set for real.
I got ahead of myself in PO. I mean I guess it could work with Wish if it can take a few hits.

No worries, I'll go ahead and throw your set in the OP anyways. =)

There have been two types immune to Toxic since Gen 2, and it's still popular. Having one type immune to Sleep Powder probably won't stop it from being a thing.

Toxic was EXTREMELY popular until Gen 4, because Gen 4 is when Steel-types became one of the (if not the most) numerous typings in the meta. When you had Pokes like Lucario, Magnezone, and Heatran showing up, stallers started looking for safer options to get their job done. (Umbreon is a prime example of this.)

Considering how the meta is more or less devoid of Grass types, I don't think it's going to be that much of a change in Sleep Powder users. (Venusaur and Ferrothorn are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head, and Celebi I guess.)

 

[alexwolf]

Clefable will be a beast in this generation, an amazing RU Pokemon and even a solid UU one. With its newfound awesome typing it finally gets the chance to put its amazing ability and movepool to good use. Wallbreaking sets with Softboiled + 3 attacks, defensive Calm Mind sets, offensive Calm Mind sets, and even completely defensive sets all appreciate not only the Fairy typing, but also the amazing STAB that is Moonblast, one of the best moves in the game. Calm Mind sets can now have almost perfect coverage with just two moves (Moonblast + Shadow Ball, Moonblast + Hidden Power Ground), one of which gets STAB unlike the previous two move combo that Clefable was using in 5th gen's Calm Mind sets (BoltBeam), wallbreaking sets have a lot of power with 95 base SpA and a STAB 95 BP move, and defensive sets can actually wall Fighting-types now... Oh the irony!!!

 

[WaterlooZoo]

Yeah, Clefable will be a beast. I see it as being overpowered in RU, a very good Pokemon in UU, and very viable in OU.

Pure Fairy Typing cannot be overstated for awesome. Dragon immunity, Fighting/Bug/Dark resistances, and only weak to poison/steel (two relatively uncommon attacking types)!

With 95/73/90 Defenses, Clefable now has decent bulk with it when combined with its fantastic typing.

And 95 SpAtk is nothing to sneeze at.

And we haven't even gotten to Clefable's greatest assets of all - two of the best Abilities in the entire game, and one of the most insanely diverse movepools in the entire game. The addition of 95 BP STAB Fairy attack is just the icing on the cake.

---

Clefable is one of the reasons I love Pokemon. They're going to be so many different ways to use it effectively that it allows your creativity to come out, as opposed to so many other Pokemon that can really only do one thing well.

Clefable will be one of my most frequently used Pokemon for sure this generation, in all tiers its available.

 

[Kriptini]

I'm still not sure that Clefable will make OU with competition from Florges, Sylveon, and Togekiss, plus Steel is one of the most common types in that tier. We shall see!

 

[Lol_cakes]

I played with Clefable on several OU and UU teams fifth gen. For me it always got the job done, Magic Guard is an insanely powerful tool on her and her move pool compliments it a lot. The only trouble I found with her last gen is everything carried a fighting move last gen, and now that's gone. I know Fairy-types are a big deal right now, but I don't think too many types want to lose the coverage and will be adding a Steel or Poison type move. As well as fighting type moves still offering great coverage. With the exception of the few that have poison and steel moves standard. I think with the recent buff in SpA, a typing that works with it, and a versatile move pool, Clefable will be a uncover force to be dealt with. Also try run it on the same team as Infernape, I myself haven't tried it yet though.


EDIT: On another note, I'd much rather be able to handle Outrage, Close Combat, U-Turn, Bug-Buzz, Draco Meteor, Focus Blast, Pursuit, and Crunch over Cross Poison, Gunk Shot, Bullet Punch, Flash Cannon any day.

 

[Shroomisaur]

I think Magic Guard alone is reason enough for Clefable to see usage over other fairy-types like Florges or Sylveon. It might not have the incredible special bulk, but with Magic Guard Clefable can laugh at status and run Life Orb to boost its attacks with no side-effects. In fact, with Clefable's buffed 95 SpA, I actually like the idea of an offensive LO Clefable the most. It has coverage and power that fellow Fairy-types can't match.

 

[WaterlooZoo]

I'm still not sure that Clefable will make OU with competition from Florges, Sylveon, and Togekiss, plus Steel is one of the most common types in that tier. We shall see!

Here's the thing - I don't think Clefable will be OU, but only because I think people are going to underestimate it. Clefable has been around since Gen 1 and people are simply not going to be able to get themselves to think of Clefable as being an OU type of Pokemon.

But that's all to Clefable's benefit. I think it will settle in UU and become the best Fairy in that tier. And it'll be very good in OU too.

Just like Lol_cakes, I also used Clefable in Gen 5 OU and it faired pretty well - and that was despite the fact that it was weak to fighting and everything had a fighting attack. Now Clefable resists fighting!!

Moon Blasts from LO Clefable will hurt a lot harder than your opponent is expecting. With Magic Guard and brilliant defensive typing - honestly, I just don't see anything that's holding Clefable back this generation. It's Clefable's time to shine.

 

[Lol_cakes]

Clefable best Fairy-Type NA?

 

[Heroes and Cons]

I reckon a UU bulky Magic Guard set designed to setup and sweep with Calm Mind (and Softboiled / Moonlight) could be exceptionally useful in UU. Its new typing means it now RESISTS the Fighting types that used to beat it, and with access to great moves like flamethrower, thunderbolt, ice beam and psyshock it can beat a lot of its checks by virtue of its movepool and impressive bulk. LO sets with 3 attacks and recover would also hit a lot harder than most opponens would expect, since a LO-boosted base 90 SpA gives it power comparable to that of Hydreigon (when not carrying a power-boosting item).