[SET]
Redirection Support (Clefable) @ Sitrus Berry / Safety Goggles / Mental Herb
Ability: Unaware
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Follow Me
- Protect
- Life Dew / Thunder Wave
[SET COMMENTS]
- Clefable is able to easily and safely redirect attacks from opponents to keep its allies safe thanks to Follow Me in conjunction with Unaware, redirecting even boosted attack without worry. Clefable, with its Fairy-type, does well into the Dragon-infested format of Regulation H, threatening Pokemon such as Baxcalibur, Hydreigon, and Dragonite for significant damage.
- Life Dew provides healing support for the team, helping Clefable and its allies stay on the field longer. Thunder Wave can be used instead of Life Dew to provide speed control against faster foes such as Dragapult and Sneasler.
- Sitrus Berry is used to keep Clefable healthy when redirecting powerful attacks such as Wood Hammer from Rillaboom and Electro Shot from Archaludon. Safety Goggles allows Clefable to redirect away Spore from Amoonguss comfortably, while Mental Herb prevents Clefable from getting disrupted by Taunt and Encore from the likes of Maushold and Whimsicott.
- Tera Water provides Clefable with a key resistance to Steel-type attacks, notably Make It Rain from Gholdengo and Flash Cannon from Archaludon. It also gives Clefable resistances to Wave Crash from Basculegion-M, Weather Ball from Pelipper, and Flare Blitz from Incineroar and Hisuian Arcanine, which would all otherwise deal huge chunks of damage to Clefable. It does, however, have the unfortunate drawback of being weak to Rillaboom's Wood Hammer and Archaludon's Electro Shot.
- The HP and Defense allow Clefable to survive Iron Head from Kingambit, Wave Crash from Choice Band Basculegion-M outside of rain or Dire Claw from Sneasler. The Special Defense investment allows Clefable to survive Make It Rain from Life Orb Timid Gholdengo with 116 Special Attack EVs or Blood Moon from Ursaluna-B.
- Clefable is great at disturbing a lot of the setup sweepers in the format, namely Annihilape and the combination of Dondozo and Tatsugiri. Clefable additionally does a good job at beating other top Pokemon such as Dragonite thanks to its Scale Shot immunity and ability to retaliate with Moonblast. While Clefable does beat a lot of setup sweepers, some of the most popular, notably Gholdengo, can still break through Clefable with their Steel-type attacks.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Teambuilding
============
- Clefable is best placed on balance teams, using its supportive options, namely Follow Me and Life Dew, to help ally sweepers to set up or to just support its allies in general. Additionally, it pairs well with frail Pokemon, as Follow Me can protect them from powerful moves that would otherwise OHKO them.
- Sneasler is a great partner for Clefable, as it threatens Pokemon such as Archaludon that scare away Clefable. Sneasler also beats the most common Taunt and Encore users, Maushold and Whimsicott, so they cannot disrupt Clefable in any way. In return, Clefable and redirect attacks such as Scale Shot from Dragonite which would otherwise threaten Sneasler.
- Kingambit is able to threaten Gholdengo with both Kowtow Cleave and Sucker Punch, a Pokemon that Clefable cannot beat otherwise. In return, Clefable hits Fighting-types like Annihilape hard with Moonblast and redirects attacks for Kingambit to safely set up with Swords Dance. Volcarona can also threaten Gholdengo, appreciating Clefable's redirection and ability to chip down Dragon-types like Dragonite with Moonblast.
- Gholdengo is able to beat out Sneasler, which, with Dire Claw, would threaten Clefable. In return, Clefable can use Follow Me to let Gholdengo set up with Nasty Plot safely, while also providing potential speed control in Thunder Wave, helping with Gholdengo's sometimes underwhelming speed stat. Clefable can notably take on Dark-type moves from Kingambit and Incineroar for Gholdengo.
- Clefable struggles into top Pokemon, namely Steel-types like Gholdengo, Kingambit, and Archaludon, and Poison-types like Sneasler and Amoonguss. Amoonguss in particular is very annoying for Clefable, as it is bulky, resists Moonblast, doesn't care all too much about Thunder Wave, and can annoy non-Safety Goggles sets with Spore and Sludge Bomb. Fighting- and Ground-types like Sneasler and Ursaluna can take down Steel-types while Kingambit in particular can take out Gholdengo. Amoonguss and other Poison-types can be handled by partner Gholdengo which is immune to their Posion-type attacks. Taunt and Encore from the likes of Maushold, Whimsicott, and Alolan Ninetales can also be a nuisance for Clefable's supportive duties. Allies like the aforementioned Gholdengo can switch in on Taunt and Encore, ignoring them entirely thanks to Good As Gold; Mental Herb will also work, although it does come at a cost, which is not having the increased survivability from Sitrus Berry or carry a safety barrier against Spore and Sleep Powder from Amoonguss and Jumpluff, respectively.
Strategy Comments
============
- Clefable's role is to support the team with redirection and recovery support with Follow Me and Life Dew, respectively, while also providing as a check to set up Pokemon, chunking them down with Moonblast and tanking hits that other Pokemon wouldn't be able to do.
- Clefable can be brought at any point of the game, but it should be reserved for those setup sweepers if expected. When playing against offensive teams that lack set up Pokemon, Clefable, if brought, should focus more on providing support with Life Dew or Thunder Wave and redirecting attacks rather than dealing damage. Most notably, Clefable should be brought in the Dondozo and Tatsugiri matchup, as it is able to completely ignore the boosts Dondozo receives from Tatsugiri's Commander, making it easy for Clefable to chunk Dondozo down with Moonblast without taking all too much damage.
- As mentioned before, Steel-types like Archaludon counter Clefable. Fighting-types like Annihilape and Sneasler and Ground-types such as the Ursaluna formes can help stop select Steel-types dead in their tracks, as well as Fire- or Water-types like Incineroar and ally Dondozo that resist their Steel-type attacks. Taunt and Encore are again big issues for Clefable that aren't holding Mental Herb, so try to position around them and remove the Taunt and Encore users as fast as possible with Pokemon such as the aforementioned Sneasler and Gholdengo. Clefable is also pretty easy to take advantage of due to its passive nature, so surround Clefable with offensive allies that deal loads of damage such as a boosted Gholdengo or Dragonite.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/pengu.650323/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gephicka.553122/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/yueku.634750/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/code.646416/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
Redirection Support (Clefable) @ Sitrus Berry / Safety Goggles / Mental Herb
Ability: Unaware
Level: 50
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Follow Me
- Protect
- Life Dew / Thunder Wave
[SET COMMENTS]
- Clefable is able to easily and safely redirect attacks from opponents to keep its allies safe thanks to Follow Me in conjunction with Unaware, redirecting even boosted attack without worry. Clefable, with its Fairy-type, does well into the Dragon-infested format of Regulation H, threatening Pokemon such as Baxcalibur, Hydreigon, and Dragonite for significant damage.
- Life Dew provides healing support for the team, helping Clefable and its allies stay on the field longer. Thunder Wave can be used instead of Life Dew to provide speed control against faster foes such as Dragapult and Sneasler.
- Sitrus Berry is used to keep Clefable healthy when redirecting powerful attacks such as Wood Hammer from Rillaboom and Electro Shot from Archaludon. Safety Goggles allows Clefable to redirect away Spore from Amoonguss comfortably, while Mental Herb prevents Clefable from getting disrupted by Taunt and Encore from the likes of Maushold and Whimsicott.
- Tera Water provides Clefable with a key resistance to Steel-type attacks, notably Make It Rain from Gholdengo and Flash Cannon from Archaludon. It also gives Clefable resistances to Wave Crash from Basculegion-M, Weather Ball from Pelipper, and Flare Blitz from Incineroar and Hisuian Arcanine, which would all otherwise deal huge chunks of damage to Clefable. It does, however, have the unfortunate drawback of being weak to Rillaboom's Wood Hammer and Archaludon's Electro Shot.
- The HP and Defense allow Clefable to survive Iron Head from Kingambit, Wave Crash from Choice Band Basculegion-M outside of rain or Dire Claw from Sneasler. The Special Defense investment allows Clefable to survive Make It Rain from Life Orb Timid Gholdengo with 116 Special Attack EVs or Blood Moon from Ursaluna-B.
- Clefable is great at disturbing a lot of the setup sweepers in the format, namely Annihilape and the combination of Dondozo and Tatsugiri. Clefable additionally does a good job at beating other top Pokemon such as Dragonite thanks to its Scale Shot immunity and ability to retaliate with Moonblast. While Clefable does beat a lot of setup sweepers, some of the most popular, notably Gholdengo, can still break through Clefable with their Steel-type attacks.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Teambuilding
============
- Clefable is best placed on balance teams, using its supportive options, namely Follow Me and Life Dew, to help ally sweepers to set up or to just support its allies in general. Additionally, it pairs well with frail Pokemon, as Follow Me can protect them from powerful moves that would otherwise OHKO them.
- Sneasler is a great partner for Clefable, as it threatens Pokemon such as Archaludon that scare away Clefable. Sneasler also beats the most common Taunt and Encore users, Maushold and Whimsicott, so they cannot disrupt Clefable in any way. In return, Clefable and redirect attacks such as Scale Shot from Dragonite which would otherwise threaten Sneasler.
- Kingambit is able to threaten Gholdengo with both Kowtow Cleave and Sucker Punch, a Pokemon that Clefable cannot beat otherwise. In return, Clefable hits Fighting-types like Annihilape hard with Moonblast and redirects attacks for Kingambit to safely set up with Swords Dance. Volcarona can also threaten Gholdengo, appreciating Clefable's redirection and ability to chip down Dragon-types like Dragonite with Moonblast.
- Gholdengo is able to beat out Sneasler, which, with Dire Claw, would threaten Clefable. In return, Clefable can use Follow Me to let Gholdengo set up with Nasty Plot safely, while also providing potential speed control in Thunder Wave, helping with Gholdengo's sometimes underwhelming speed stat. Clefable can notably take on Dark-type moves from Kingambit and Incineroar for Gholdengo.
- Clefable struggles into top Pokemon, namely Steel-types like Gholdengo, Kingambit, and Archaludon, and Poison-types like Sneasler and Amoonguss. Amoonguss in particular is very annoying for Clefable, as it is bulky, resists Moonblast, doesn't care all too much about Thunder Wave, and can annoy non-Safety Goggles sets with Spore and Sludge Bomb. Fighting- and Ground-types like Sneasler and Ursaluna can take down Steel-types while Kingambit in particular can take out Gholdengo. Amoonguss and other Poison-types can be handled by partner Gholdengo which is immune to their Posion-type attacks. Taunt and Encore from the likes of Maushold, Whimsicott, and Alolan Ninetales can also be a nuisance for Clefable's supportive duties. Allies like the aforementioned Gholdengo can switch in on Taunt and Encore, ignoring them entirely thanks to Good As Gold; Mental Herb will also work, although it does come at a cost, which is not having the increased survivability from Sitrus Berry or carry a safety barrier against Spore and Sleep Powder from Amoonguss and Jumpluff, respectively.
Strategy Comments
============
- Clefable's role is to support the team with redirection and recovery support with Follow Me and Life Dew, respectively, while also providing as a check to set up Pokemon, chunking them down with Moonblast and tanking hits that other Pokemon wouldn't be able to do.
- Clefable can be brought at any point of the game, but it should be reserved for those setup sweepers if expected. When playing against offensive teams that lack set up Pokemon, Clefable, if brought, should focus more on providing support with Life Dew or Thunder Wave and redirecting attacks rather than dealing damage. Most notably, Clefable should be brought in the Dondozo and Tatsugiri matchup, as it is able to completely ignore the boosts Dondozo receives from Tatsugiri's Commander, making it easy for Clefable to chunk Dondozo down with Moonblast without taking all too much damage.
- As mentioned before, Steel-types like Archaludon counter Clefable. Fighting-types like Annihilape and Sneasler and Ground-types such as the Ursaluna formes can help stop select Steel-types dead in their tracks, as well as Fire- or Water-types like Incineroar and ally Dondozo that resist their Steel-type attacks. Taunt and Encore are again big issues for Clefable that aren't holding Mental Herb, so try to position around them and remove the Taunt and Encore users as fast as possible with Pokemon such as the aforementioned Sneasler and Gholdengo. Clefable is also pretty easy to take advantage of due to its passive nature, so surround Clefable with offensive allies that deal loads of damage such as a boosted Gholdengo or Dragonite.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/pengu.650323/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gephicka.553122/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/yueku.634750/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/code.646416/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user5.104/
Last edited: