
[OVERVIEW]
Klefki is an incredibly crafty support Pokemon, making use of its incredible combination of ability, movepool, and typing to bring mayhem to the battlefield. Klefki's Prankster ability lets it scatter Spikes, spread paralysis with Thunder Wave, summon rain and sun, and even boost its own stats before the foe can act; it's a very malleable Pokemon that can find itself on almost any team due to its supportive capabilities. Klefki's highly coveted Steel / Fairy typing makes it a great sponge for special attacks, taking on the likes of Munkidori, Espeon, and Dragalge while also resisting Knock Off and U-turn. Although Klefki has many tricks up its sleeve, offense is not one of them, since it uses paltry base 80 offensive stats and often relies on Foul Play to not be a complete sitting duck. Any means to circumvent Prankster-affected moves such as Magic Bounce, Dark-types, and Taunt can generally spell doom for Klefki. Dark-types like Incineroar, Alolan Muk, and Tera Dark Drednaw can take advantage of Klefki's inability to status them. Despite Klefki's phenomenal defensive typing, its stats often leave much to be desired, meaning some special wallbreakers like Porygon-Z and Indeedee-M can eventually overwhelm it even in spite of a type disadvantage.
[SET]
name: Spikes Support
move 1: Spikes
move 2: Thunder Wave
move 3: Foul Play / Magnet Rise
move 4: Dazzling Gleam
item: Leftovers
ability: Prankster
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
tera type: Water
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Details
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Foul Play enables Klefki to hit physical attackers for big damage it'd be unable to achieve using its own Attack stat, hitting Pokemon like Brambleghast and Gallade. Magnet Rise lets Klefki turn the tables on Ground-types like Flygon, Krookodile, and Rhyperior while resisting their secondary STAB moves, with the former two being weak to Dazzling Gleam. Maximum Special Defense investment lets Klefki deal with powerful special attackers in the tier like Munkidori and Dragalge. Tera Water lets Klefki take Fire-type attacks from Chandelure and Infernape in a pinch.
Klefki's specially bulky nature makes it pair excellently with physical walls on balance teams, it is typically seen with Pokemon like Slowbro and Swampert, as they can handle Fire-types like Infernape and Incineroar. Ghost-types like Chandelure and Brambleghast can block Rapid Spin to maintain Klefki's entry hazards, as do Defog deterrents like Galarian Articuno and Competitive Kilowattrel. Klefki's Prankster Thunder Wave is great speed control for slow, powerful wallbreakers like Choice Specs Chandelure and Toxtricity and Guts Heracross.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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Klefki can utilize its Prankster ability to run a Double Dance set; boosting its Defense with Iron Defense and special stats with Calm Mind while maintaining its health with Draining Kiss to turn Stored Power into an unwallable attack. Klefki can sport a Damp Rock or Heat Rock along with Rain Dance or Sunny Day, respectively, to facilitate those respective weather teams. Klefki can use Eject Button or Red Card in tandem with Prankster Recycle to repeatedly pivot itself or its foe out of play. Klefki can hold onto a Toxic Orb, which won't affect it, and use Switcheroo to bestow it onto an unsuspecting target like Oricorio-E, which can otherwise set up on Klefki safely.
Checks and Counters
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**Ground-types**: Ground-types like Krookodile, Flygon, Rhyperior, and Swampert are immune to Klefki's Prankster Thunder Wave and threaten to KO it with Earthquake, although they must be wary of Magnet Rise.
**Bulky Setup Sweepers**: Bulky setup sweepers that can take advantage of Klefki's passivity can be a huge issue for it. Calm Mind Pokemon like Slowbro, Chandelure, and Florges take minimal damage from Klefki's attacks and can accrue multiple boosts while it flounders helplessly.
**Prankster-immune Pokemon**: Many Pokemon that can ignore Klefki's Prankster-affected moves in one way or another can take advantage of Klefki's relative passivity. Magic Bounce Espeon, Dark-types, and Thunder Wave-immune Pokemon like Krookodile and Magnezone find safe entry against Klefki and threaten it.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/stories.400664/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/powerofmemes.583607/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/rabia.336073/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
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