Pokémon Clefable

[Pidgey Airlines]

In my opinion Clefable is less of a single-but a teamplayer.
She suffers from the 5 slot syndrome, thus performs best when somebody covers up her weaknesses.

I've been running this core quite successful lately:

Scolipede
Speed Boost
Black Sludge
Impish

Subtitude
Protect
Iron Defense
Baton Pass


Espeon
Magic Bounce
Leftovers
Calm

Calm Mind
Stored Power
Wish
Baton Pass


Clefable
Lum Berry
Unaware
Modest

Moonblast
Stored Power
Moonlight (Soft Boiled after PB)
Calm Mind



It's focusses on ping-pong'ing around defensive buffs between Espeon (who is also responsible for blocking Roar &co) and Scolipede.
- Until either your enemy get's his buffs on a frightning level and it's time for Unaware - or you're sure that you can rid of your opponents Roar/Whirlwind within 1 blow.

Played right it's close to unstoppable unless through critical hits or lucky secondary conditions shutting down Espeon.

Clefable takes one of the most important parts, ensuring that you opponent can't win the buff-up-battle.
- While additionaly offering great cover Vs the Stored Power countering dark types.
Her awesome defensive typing is yes another gift - so are her healing capabilities.


This is where Clefable truly shines.
Using her strengths, covering up her weaknesses.


E/:
PS. I was often suggested to go for Megahorn on Scoli, this is why I won't:
A BP'd sub is a great gift for Clefable to avoid Prankster Thunderwave.
Protect allows nearly Gliscor like stalling.

 

[Jojobobo]

Behold the turgid wonder that is a stall Clefable 6-0 sweep (or would have been barring the rage quit): http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oubeta-66602903. I know the team was woefully unprepared, but it still shows what Clefable can do under good circumstances.

I changed my original rest stall set to what you can see below. Works great in conjunction with a Quagsire, and clerics are always nice. I guess you could argue that Blissey is better, but after a cosmic power boost Clefable becomes a mixed wall which is pretty nice. With will-o-wisp Sableye support you can even stall things you wouldn't normally be able to (steel types, poison types) as long as they don't have recovery moves.

Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SDef
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Aromatherapy
- Moonlight
- Cosmic Power
- Toxic

I guess another way you can play this set is bluffing Magic Guard with Defog (so Clefable doesn't take telltale hazard damage). If it comes to late game people will try and boost along side your Clefable hoping to wear it down, however they only learn that their moves do no damage until it is too late.

 

[McGrrr]

Clefable wants/needs 12 speed EVs to outrun Tyranitar.

I've been toying with Trick/Flame Orb, and its usefulness has been pleasantly surprising. For example, I've Tricked against an Azumarill on the same turn it decided to Belly Drum, and once Tricked Heatran's Leftovers, which proved crucial. It also trolls common Steel types that think they can switch in.

This video highlights the utility of the move: http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/pokebankoubeta-6707395

I changed Kanga's EVs after this. Failing to OHKO Deoxys-S with Crunch is sad.

 

[RowDog]

Anybody find that a Focus Sash works well on him? I find it to be a surprising revenge kill on some sweepers who get carried away and are sweeping like no tomorrow. Magic Guard does an excellent job of keeping the Focus Sash up for use so that it isn't broken by entry hazards etc. STAB Moonblast is excellent for taking out most dragons which are some of the most common set up sweepers, boasting Dragon Dance or Swords Dance on a lot of builds. For me I run HP Rock as my other attacking move because my team personally struggles a little bit with Fire-types, as I have 2 WoW users and I enjoy burning absolutely everything :'D, unfortunately Fire-types are immune to this, so if by some chance a Talonflame or Charizard-Y manage to get carried away I can nail them with a HP Rock. The other 2 slots are Aromatherapy and Wish for some nice cleric support. But yeah, Focus Sash Clefable has proven quite useful.

 

[Mariachi Duck]

Alakazam is a better sash revenge killer.

This, on the subject of revenge-killing.

However, with some more experience under my belt using her on PS, I stand by my assessment that she can compete with Florges and Sylveon in the Cleric department. There have been games where she's taken down three-four pokemon with life orb-boosted Moonblasts and Thunderbolts. I have based my team around a Slowbro/Clefable core. Together with Skarmory, M-Aggron, M-Mawile, Heatran or any of the other excellent Steel types, these two form a really solid tanking core.

 

[Halcyon.]

Clefable wants/needs 12 speed EVs to outrun Tyranitar.

I've been toying with Trick/Flame Orb, and its usefulness has been pleasantly surprising. For example, I've Tricked against an Azumarill on the same turn it decided to Belly Drum, and once Tricked Heatran's Leftovers, which proved crucial. It also trolls common Steel types that think they can switch in.

This video highlights the utility of the move: http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/pokebankoubeta-6707395

I changed Kanga's EVs after this. Failing to OHKO Deoxys-S with Crunch is sad.

Just a suggestion, but you may want to try Knock Off instead of Crunch on Kangaskhan. I found it to be much more useful, especially against more defensive teams. Though I don't know if that messes up Clefable's trick, so take this suggestion with a grain of salt.

 

[DunnoBro]

This, on the subject of revenge-killing.

However, with some more experience under my belt using her on PS, I stand by my assessment that she can compete with Florges and Sylveon in the Cleric department. There have been games where she's taken down three-four pokemon with life orb-boosted Moonblasts and Thunderbolts. I have based my team around a Slowbro/Clefable core. Together with Skarmory, M-Aggron, M-Mawile, Heatran or any of the other excellent Steel types, these two form a really solid tanking core.

Being able to pivot without worrying about hazards is definitely a positive trait that the other fairy clerics don't have, but she doesn't have the pure walling ability out of the gate like them. Her sp.def is okay, but not unbreakable beyond boosts or SE damage(generally)

Of course, magic guard shuts down other things so the slightly inferior sp.def might be worth not getting walled by tentacruel/vexed by gliscor. (A wide movepool is nice too)

 

[Calm_Mind_Latias]

How good is Clefable as a stall breaker with Magic Guard? How good is its Calm Mind set like Reuniclus in early B/W ?

---

For better or for worse, I only encountered one Clefable and I Taunted it before used Calm Mind. I really don't see how the Magic Guard, Calm Mind/Cosmic Power set is breakable if it has two boosts. Phasing and Steel attacks (perhaps a Download boosted Iron Head from a physical Genesect) while it is setting up.

 

[The Great Gastly]

Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to run Protect, CM, and Wish on the same set. Your Clefable is bulky enough to be able to take the hit before Wish heals him in almost every case, so Protect is (in my opinion) a waste of a moveslot, and would only see very situational usage. It'd be a better idea to run Flamethrower or Psychic/Psyshock on that set.

(responding 2 months later because I'm dumb and didn't realize I got this response)

I think Protect is pretty necessary. It helps her heal in pinch situations, and is more reliable overall. Plus, it stalls for more Toxic / Burn damage if she's being used on a stall team. If a coverage move is run, then I'd rather use Softboiled for reliability. Even with Max HP/Def, she can still get 2HKO'd by some physical attackers. :s

 

[Kriptini]

Even with Max HP/Def, she can still get 2HKO'd by some physical attackers. :s

Yeah, that's why I was concerned with having Wish+Protect, because it serves essentially the same purpose as Softboiled/Moonlight but takes up two moveslots insead of one and you could run another coverage move instead of effectively wasting a moveslot. Do you find that you use this Clefable for Wish passing often? Aside from Toxic/Burn support, do you still think Wish+Protect is optimal over Fire+Softboiled?

 

[The Great Gastly]

Yeah, that's why I was concerned with having Wish+Protect, because it serves essentially the same purpose as Softboiled/Moonlight but takes up two moveslots insead of one and you could run another coverage move instead of effectively wasting a moveslot. Do you find that you use this Clefable for Wish passing often? Aside from Toxic/Burn support, do you still think Wish+Protect is optimal over Fire+Softboiled?

I think it depends on the team. For my team (full stall) I find Wish passing to be its primary purpose, with a CM sweep being something that can happen incidentally, yet effectively.

 

[Kriptini]

I think it depends on the team. For my team (full stall) I find Wish passing to be its primary purpose, with a CM sweep being something that can happen incidentally, yet effectively.

That's good to note. The way you were talking about it made it sound like you were primarily using this Clefable for sweeping, which is why I was confused. (EDIT: Not even, I just fail at reading comprehension.) I'll check it out. =)

 

[Jojobobo]

I came up with a new set that works quite well that I posted elsewhere, I thought I'd stick it here too so different Clefable builds are in the same place:

Has anyone used these on an Unaware user (obviously with some other form of recovery)? I'm potentially thinking of:

Clefable @ Kee Berry
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 Def / 252 HP / 4 SDef
IVs: 0 Atk
- Cosmic Power
- Fireblast/Stored Power
- Toxic
- Moonlight

Obviously Clefable would like leftovers recovery, and can be phazed, taunted or afflicted with status, but the idea is to remove those kinds of checks (which I often have done when going hard for the stall). You either swap in on a resisted hit or instead you go for a revenge kill, coming in on a boosted attacker. First turn they'll hit you and you'll use Cosmic Power to get a +2 Def boost when the berry activates, 2nd turn your Def should hopefully now be high enough that you can tank a hit and heal off more with Moonlight. Repeat this until your health is decent enough to use another Cosmic Power (players in my experience with a different Unaware set try to boost higher as they think your running Magic Guard). Then pick them off with Fireblast (the preferred move to take out Steel types who are trying to capitalise on your weakness) or Toxic at your leisure (making sure to have removed Heatran post-bank). Cosmic Power, under these circumstances, has made you an unassailable mixed wall (baring an unlucky crit).

Interestingly, if there are no hazards on the ground you could wall a Mega Scizor this way. First turn:

252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Bullet Punch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 212-252 (53.8 - 63.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Then second turn:

252+ Atk Technician Mega Scizor Bullet Punch vs. +2 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 108-128 (27.4 - 32.4%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

For a maximum HP removed of 96.3% but you'd heal 50% on that turn anyway (remember any boosts to Scizors attack are irrelevant due to Unaware, also I am aware that most Mega Scizors won't be running 252+ Atk but it makes a good example). This set would be great for taking out boosted Dragon type Dragon Dancers; swapping in on a dragon move, tanking the subsequent (likely) non-STABed coverage move and using Cosmic Power, then stalling them out with toxic. Also even if you have been hit with status, as long as that status wasn't toxic, you should still be able to stall. If you do have to swap Clefable out, it's not the end of the world as it's defenses are still pretty solid to try another go at stalling.

Here's a look at it in action: http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-70481195 (obviously it helped that he was playing hyper offensive, but still walling a Mega Kanga is nothing to be sniffed at). Incidentally what I quoted I mentioned that the set was weak to phazing, however you've got to remember that perhaps the most common method of phaze - Dragon Tail - is something which Clefable is completely immune to. Notable phazers like Skarmory are still not going to enjoy a Fire Blast.

 

[Mariachi Duck]

I came up with a new set that works quite well that I posted elsewhere, I thought I'd stick it here too so different Clefable builds are in the same place:



Here's a look at it in action: http://pokemonshowdown.com/replay/oubeta-70481195 (obviously it helped that he was playing hyper offensive, but still walling a Mega Kanga is nothing to be sniffed at). Incidentally what I quoted I mentioned that the set was weak to phazing, however you've got to remember that perhaps the most common method of phaze - Dragon Tail - is something which Clefable is completely immune to. Notable phazers like Skarmory are still not going to enjoy a Fire Blast.

This sort of relies on your opponent being ignorant of unaware, though. In the replay you linked, your opponent let you boost to your heart's content because he thought he could win a boost war. A better player would have swung with Return after seeing how little the first PuP did, or even just not assumed Clefable was setup bait and swung with Return straight away, since PuP is resisted. Without magic guard, Clefable is also left vulnerable to status like Toxic or Burn, which hampers her ability to stall and boost against, say, Gliscor.

After playing Clefable in a lot of games on PS (I use her on over half of my teams), I have to say I think she is an excellent Cleric and Special Wall, and as I've said before, she easily competes in this capacity with Sylveon and Florges. The set I have been runnning lately:

Clefable @ Life Orb
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
- Moonblast
- Thunderbolt
- Wish
- Protect

My previous version of the set (elsewhere in the thread) had her using Aromatherapy in the last slot, which I suppose could be slashed in, but Protect is great for buying time for wishes, scouting attacks (esp. vs. Choice Banded Scizor, among other threats) and racking up residual damage on the opponent from status thrown in by other 'mons. There have been games where Clefable was the only or one of only 2 pokemon left on my team and she easily tore through, slowly and steadily, the dregs of my opponent's team with her Life Orb boosted STAB. I know a lot of folks prefer Fire Blast to hit steel types, but Thunderbolt still hits Skarmory, and it is more threatening to Greninja, Slowbro, Starmie and Mega Blastoise, all of whom Clefable can come in on and duke it out with. It also hits Talonflame and Azumarill on the switch-in.

 

[Jojobobo]

This sort of relies on your opponent being ignorant of unaware, though. In the replay you linked, your opponent let you boost to your heart's content because he thought he could win a boost war. A better player would have swung with Return after seeing how little the first PuP did, or even just not assumed Clefable was setup bait and swung with Return straight away, since PuP is resisted. Without magic guard, Clefable is also left vulnerable to status like Toxic or Burn, which hampers her ability to stall and boost against, say, Gliscor.

No it completely walls Mega Kangaskhan regardless of it's awarness of Unaware so long as there's no SR in play, and even then you stand a good chance. Considering the standard Jolly Kangaskhan set (I've checked and the damage calc does factor Parental Bond properly):

252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 216-253 (54.8 - 64.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

This activates your berry boost and of course you've used Cosmic Power, next turn:

252 Atk Parental Bond Mega Kangaskhan Return vs. +2 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 108-127 (27.4 - 32.2%) -- guaranteed 4HKO (total max 96.4%, min 82.2%)

But you've Moonlighted so it can't touch you, using Moonlight again on the following turn gives you enough health to use Cosmic Power on the turn following that. Then Moonlight, then Toxic, then boost ad infinitum healing when necessary; sure you have only 5 PP left but you're already as bulky as hell. If it leads with Fake Out that's even worse because it does pitiful damage first turn (max 25.3%) and it's given you a defense boost; the only real problem with Mega Kangaskhan is that it has an increased chance of critting with hitting twice which ignores your defense boosts, but you'd have to be pretty unlucky for that to factor in. You say that it hinges on people not realising it's Unaware, but most opponent's are going to take at least a turn to do this giving you the advantage.

There's no denying that it's weak to status, but so are all non-subbed stall pokemon. Even then paralysis, as long as you have boosts up, isn't going to do a thing so long as you can recover unless you're extremely unlucky and you can still easily wall whilst burned for a time as you won't be taking any real attack move damage - it just eats Moonlight PP quickly which is a bit of problem but you should still make a nice hole in the other team before they faint you.

Toxic would be a big problem, but I pack a Switcheroo Infiltrator Noivern that can disable (or in Gliscor's case, most of the time kill because of its dire SpDef) Toxic users in addition to another Trick user to combat non SubToxic mons and Clerics; I also have Klefki who is of course immune to poison, and a Sableye with Prankster Taunt to stop further shenanigans. Though my team is a stall team, I don't think you need this level of support on an offensive team as through sheer carnage you will have taken some of Clefable's counters out leaving it as a very viable wall; if it can wall a borderline Uber Kangaskhan I think that counts for something. You can just as easily run Wonder Guard on this set and it still work very nicely, I just prefer baiting boosting pokemon.

 

[Kriptini]

Unaware Clefable does not wall Mega Kanga because of Seismic Toss.

 

[Jojobobo]

Well not all Mega Kangas pack it, and the example was more to showcase that it can take on seemingly very powerful pokemon and to prove this isn't just a gimmick that relies on enemy pokemon not realising you're Unaware - though that certainly helps. Bear in mind Mega Kangaskhan needs to give up coverage or PU Punch to also have Seismic Toss, which not all will do. Besides I think with Seismic Toss dealing 200 damage and Kangaskhan being healed doubly (100%) by Wish it won't be long for Ubers - though that's obviously a discussion based best outside of this thread.

 

[Liarliarpantsonfire]

Well not all Mega Kangas pack it, and the example was more to showcase that it can take on seemingly very powerful pokemon and to prove this isn't just a gimmick that relies on enemy pokemon not realising you're Unaware - though that certainly helps. Bear in mind Mega Kangaskhan needs to give up coverage or PU Punch to also have Seismic Toss, which not all will do. Besides I think with Seismic Toss dealing 200 damage and Kangaskhan being healed doubly (100%) by Wish it won't be long for Ubers - though that's obviously a discussion based best outside of this thread.

Max HP/Max Def Clefable is 2HKO'd on the switch by Jolly Return. I don't see your point. I saw you mention the Ganlon Berry (I think?) which is really questionable as you give up Leftovers for one, and Mega Kangaskhan can easily switch out into something that deals with Clefable. Then you're forced out, lose your defense boost, and basically have a Clefable with no item that doesn't even remotely check Mega Kangaskhan. And Seismic Toss beats it easily on top of that.

 

[Jojobobo]

You don't switch, you revenge kill; how could you possibly get a +2 defense boost (+1 from berry, +1 from Cosmic Power) otherwise by turn two? I thought this was obvious from the original contextual setting quote I made "You either swap in on a resisted hit or instead you go for a revenge kill, coming in on a boosted attacker". Is the hit from Mega Kangaskhan a resisted hit? No, it is not. Also it's a Kee Berry not a Ganlon Berry, it boosts as soon as you're hit by a physical attack so you don't in most cases compromise your health unless against something very strong.

Besides, what exactly can deal with +2 Def, +1 SpDef Clefable (if not much higher stats by that stage, depending on when someone realises it's Unaware which usually takes a while) that has likely returned to full health because of your switch by Moonlight? Nothing short of a Toxic user or phaser by that stage, maybe a particularly potent Flash Cannon user (unlikely at the +2 SpDef mark) but it will still have to enjoy a Fire Blast before it takes you down. Mega Mawile can take you down, but this doesn't pertain to the Mega Kangaskhan example, and even then again it has to take a Fire Blast which it isn't going to enjoy. If you've removed Toxic users, which actually becomes easier with Clefable as they assume it has Magic Guard and so bring their status pokemon out earlier against something else, then literally it can be taken out by almost nothing (maybe a Sniper Kingdra, but they're hopelessly frail and slow so they're really not a threat, I 2HKO'd earlier without it damaging me at all - I've also played one so I can almost guarantee it's never going to be big in OU).

Lastly, I'd imagine very few Mega Kangaskhan are going to be running Seismic Toss. Kangaskhan really needs Power Up Punch to get its potentially unwallable attack, is it really going to additionally run Seismic Toss - which also does nothing against ghosts and is also completely unaffected by these boosts - at the expense of greater coverage? In most cases, no. For the last time, Mega Kangaskhan was just an example - very few pokemon can hit as hard as it can which is why I chose it to showcase the set. I'm not saying people should use this Clefable as a Mega Kangaskhan counter, it was just to show off its utility.

I've played with this Clefable and it works great, it's more situational as in most cases you're better off with a Chansey (who can tank special hits much easier from the off) but against boosting sweepers it's the best panic button you can get for a revenge kill (and following easy win in most cases); boosting physical sweepers being something Chancey can't handle very well. The recovery is fine, as your boosts make the opponent hit you for almost nothing whilst you can heal off 50% - this gen is less leftovers dependent due to the elimination of permanent sandstorms.

 

[Mariachi Duck]

Speaking of Sandstorm, keep in mind that Moonlight's effectiveness is halved in Rain, Sand or Hail. TTar is everywhere, Hippowdon is still a great physical wall and with DrizzleSwim unleashed, even at 8 turn timer, Politoed probably will be too, not to mention that Abomasnow got a Mega Evolution; can Clefable stall its important checks with only 25% Moonlights? If weather forces her out, that's her Kee Berry gone...

 

[Jojobobo]

That is true, but again it plays into the presumption that your Clefable caries Magic Guard and so it's counter-intuitive to send them out to combat Clefable directly. I personally don't have a problem with TTar (burn him, stall him out) or Hippowdon (Hydro Pump, Grass Knot), and really Politoed isn't good enough to stick around long (especially now it won't be running leftovers) - you're more likely to find Hydration Rain Dance Goodra which you can trick items onto and then stall out. Abomasnow is still terrible despite its Mega evo, too weak to too much priority.

It is a late game stall option (3-4 enemy pokes left), never something to come out without any legwork; which is why it is more situational than walls like Chansey. However these checks aren't by any stretch insurmountable, and being able to check setup sweepers is fantastic and not something Chansey can do.

 

[Kriptini]

This is true, but again it plays into the presumption that your Clefable caries Magic Guard and so it's counter-intuitive to send them out to combat Clefable directly. I personally don't have a problem with TTar (burn him, stall him out) or Hippowdon (Hydro Pump, Grass Knot), and really Politoed isn't good enough to stick around long (especially now it won't be running leftovers) - you're more likely to find Hydration Rain Dance Goodra which you can trick items onto and then stall out. Abomasnow is still terrible despite its Mega evo, too weak to too much priority.

It is a late game stall option (3-4 enemy pokes left), never something to come out without any legwork; which is why it is more situational than walls like Chansey. However these checks aren't by any stretch insurmountable, and being able to check setup sweepers is fantastic and not something Chansey can do.

I'm still majorly unconvinced that your Clefable is anything more than a pubstomper. Any decent player will quickly realize that your Clefanle has Unaware and not Magic Guard as most teams run Stealth Rocks.

But I'm open to a change of opinion if you can show a battle video where your opponent isn't a noob like the one in the previous video you linked.

 

[Jojobobo]

I'm not running it anymore as I need a Chansey to heavily wall Rotom-W from the off, but yes you need to Magic Bounce or Defog hazards which I forgot to mention (I mentioned it on a different but similar build a few pages ago) - which is really not that hard to do. I'm not here to change your opinion, the set has its obvious problems and advantages, I'm not saying it's going to change the face of the meta-game but it is a viable set. That video was really just there to show how it held up against Mega Kangaskhan which is a good example of a very strong physical attacker, not as I've mentioned to indicate it's the best wall ever made and it can stop anything that comes its way.

 

[skies]

Similar to Swagsire, this thing can actually pull off a great Swagger set:
Swagable (Clefable) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 SDef / 252 HP / 4 SAtk
Calm Nature
- Swagger
- Psych Up
- Stored Power
- Soft-Boiled

This set is odd, you could use the reliableness of Cosmic Power, but this set pulls off a ton of shenanigans. Similarly, you can run Ditto to get the boosts if they kill Clefable. Clefable has fun getting +2, it may get it in Attack, but this amps up Clefables Stored Power exactly as much as Cosmic Power does. It then leaves the opponent confused and you at +2 Stored Power. This set is gimmicky, but it is pretty fun to use!

 

[Kriptini]

Swoobat does it better with Flatter.