Clefable is a unique mon with good natural bulk and a fantastic ability in magic guard, which circumvents entry hazards and any passive damage. Effectively, it's a zero entry cost switch in provided the opponent doesn't make the read and pivot to a counter. Most clefable sets take advantage of its decent defensive stats to create a nasty support/stall team. While these versions of Clef are unquestionably great, I just don't find playing with them all too much fun and mirror matches are cancer. Instead, I've crafted a team around a special attacking life orb clef that is generally able to wreck havoc in the right situation. I did attempt this previously, but the team was rather mediocre. This set got me to 1600 on relatively decent efficiency. The meta did shift to be a bit more specially bulky (in particular I ran into a series of bulky sub-split rotom that really create problems for me) so I figured I'd share the update given I'm not using the team as often.
To function properly, Clef likes a few things:
-Bulky switch-ins to top tier threats (Jirachi, Heatran, Tyranitar, Latias) to preserve Clef's health given we aren't running healing
-Thunder wave support to outspeed opposition
-Entry hazards to punish switches and get opponents near KO range for Clef
The Team:
Jirachi @ Lum Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Iron Head
The EV spread runs enough speed to keep U-turn momentum on non-scarf Heatran. Jirachi hs just enough bulk to get a favorable roll on Choice Band Azelf explosion should that be the lead. Jirachi's job is to keep up rocks, spread paralysis, and serve as a bulky switch when necessary. I've been having a lot of success running Lum in the lead position, particularly if Jirachi and Azelf trade rocks before getting off a u-turn with no consequence. Lum is also handy to deter Breloom from staying in when Jirachi is needed to switch in on Spore.
Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast/Grass Knot
- Thunderbolt
At max speed investment, Clef is outrunning non Jolly variants of its biggest threats (Breloom, Tyranitar) and generally dealing out KOs to Pokemon that want to set up. While Clef gets a good number of KO's by surprise, which I can see as being a bit gimmicky, she doesn't really need the element of surprise when team support is solid. I run Flamethower/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt for the consistency over their more powerful counterparts. Fire Blast is tempting for Jirachi, but I've come to learn that the risk isn't worth it when considering the cost of missing (particularly on band Scizor) isn't worth it. Flamethrower 2HKOs most variants of Jirachi. Focus blast can shred most versions of Tyranitar, especially when a rock and a spike are in place. Focus blast also can 2HKO opposing defensive clef in the mirror match as long as they aren't spamming softboiled. With the speed EVs, my Clef should be faster than the opposition. I haven't played it, but I did consider grass knot to get rid of Swampert and provide a more consistent option to chip Tyranitar. Unfortunately, this won't be OHKOing and it leaves Clef a bit defenseless against Heatran. Overall, I was pretty happy with how this thing performed.
Forretress @ Occa Berry
Ability: Sturdy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Impish Nature
- Payback
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes
- Explosion
I wanted a reliable spiker with good bulk and Forretress fit the bill. In theory I guess I could have gone skarmory here, but rapid spin was a nice luxury to consider and explosion is a good safety button to have on most teams in general. I believe the EVs are set to comfortably live a Tyranitar fire blast/Magnezone hidden power fire and get off a surprise spin or an extra spike. Generally, forre comes in on the opposing hazard setter (skarm, swampert, jirachi, etc.) and uses the thread of spin to get off a spike. My philosophy has been spikes first to set up Clef support and spin if there's time. Generally, spinning is the better option if I'm confident ghost types have been removed and Gyara is still needed, otherwise Spikes are the move. I was initially running earthquake over payback, but substitute Gengar is an absolute menace for me to deal with, and I can't really afford to give him a free switch in. I did toy with running custap over occa berry but I never made the switch. If I wasn't running Occa I would probably mess around with the EV spread given that I'm not anticipating living a fire attack.
Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Thunder Wave
- Waterfall
- Dragon Dance
SpDef Gyara is a very effective Heatran counter, and is pretty good at stopping lead empoleon, from which Gyara comes in as a threat and spreads paralysis on its common switch ins (Rotom-A, Latias). Rest prevents Gyarados from getting worn down and allows it to mitigate risk of lava plume burn and trade paralysis with Jirachi. It's not used often but rest is often fairly critical when I need it. Dragon Dance prevents Gyarados from being too passive, though I suppose roar could also work here and synergies with entry hazard setting. This thing is honestly a menace to special attackers. If it needs to, it can take a thunderbolt from offensive (no LO) Starmie and Scarf Latias.
Electivire @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Motor Drive
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 184 HP / 252 SpA / 72 Spe
Mild Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Toxic/Earthquake/Cross Chop
- Ice Punch
- Hidden Power [Grass]
I know Electivire is, generally speaking, not that good. His moves, while broad, are lacking in the raw power department. However, my team struggles mightily with electric types (Rotom-A, Zapdos). It is very satisfying to eat a thunderbolts from Starmie and threaten it back immediately, or force Scarf rotom to make a switch. He also negates thunder waves, which can at least slightly deter paraspam once revealed. I think he needed 241 speed to outrun Starmie after a +1 Speed boost from Motor Drive, and I figured I'd just run the 12 extra EVs to be faster than Tyranitar in all cases but Scarf. He runs Shuca to prevent Scarf Flygon from stopping him in his tracks, and Hidden power grass does pretty good chunk on Swampert. I was first running cross chop for Tyranitar but I got annoyed with the accuracy. I switched over to Earthquake, which actually was nice to deal with Heatran (with Shuca providing insurance on Earth power). Then, the meta shifted to adopt these substitute Rotom's that really caused issues for me, so I pivoted to Toxic. It didn't work great, but I needed a better answer over trading thunderbolts. Really his core function is to seriously deter electric moves. While he's not the best Pokemon by the numbers he is often the most important cog to enable the defensive core. Most of the games I lost in were because I let Electivire go too early.
Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Close Combat
- Mach Punch
- Flamethrower/Overheat
- U-turn
I wasn't 100% sure what to run in the final slot, but I needed something speedy to clean up late game threats. Scarf Ape generally does the job here, running enough speed to beat the base 100 scarf threats and pouring the rest into bulk. I was running Overheat over Flamethrower but found the -2 position left me a bit vulnerable and the lower accuracy had screwed me on a few occasions. Mach Punch is specifically to prevent Lucario from sweeping my team, which can become threatening when Gyara is removed.
Threats:
-Defensive Rotom (particularly the specially bulky substitute variant): I ran into this thing like 5 or 6 games in a row and just had no answer for it. Really the catalyst for my tumble down the ladder. I tried swapping Gyarados/Elec out for SpDef Lati/Tyranitar, but that lead to its own set of problems. Clef can thwart the defensive rest-talk version but can't do much if there is SpDef investment. Truly a pain but kind of a specific one.
-Zapdos: Hugely threatening if electivire is gone. The substitute sets in particular are pretty nasty, but if it's paralyzed it can be manageable. Forre can live a heat wave at full health, and that's usually a boom.
-Sub-split Gengar: Since switching from EQ to payback I've had less issues with this thing, but I always have to be careful to never give it the opportunity to sub up. Occasionally this comes at the cost of one of my team members but the trade is almost always worth it.
I know there's probably some jank here but it was a fun ride!
To function properly, Clef likes a few things:
-Bulky switch-ins to top tier threats (Jirachi, Heatran, Tyranitar, Latias) to preserve Clef's health given we aren't running healing
-Thunder wave support to outspeed opposition
-Entry hazards to punish switches and get opponents near KO range for Clef
The Team:
Jirachi @ Lum Berry
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 Spe
Impish Nature
- U-turn
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Iron Head
The EV spread runs enough speed to keep U-turn momentum on non-scarf Heatran. Jirachi hs just enough bulk to get a favorable roll on Choice Band Azelf explosion should that be the lead. Jirachi's job is to keep up rocks, spread paralysis, and serve as a bulky switch when necessary. I've been having a lot of success running Lum in the lead position, particularly if Jirachi and Azelf trade rocks before getting off a u-turn with no consequence. Lum is also handy to deter Breloom from staying in when Jirachi is needed to switch in on Spore.
Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Focus Blast/Grass Knot
- Thunderbolt
At max speed investment, Clef is outrunning non Jolly variants of its biggest threats (Breloom, Tyranitar) and generally dealing out KOs to Pokemon that want to set up. While Clef gets a good number of KO's by surprise, which I can see as being a bit gimmicky, she doesn't really need the element of surprise when team support is solid. I run Flamethower/Ice Beam/Thunderbolt for the consistency over their more powerful counterparts. Fire Blast is tempting for Jirachi, but I've come to learn that the risk isn't worth it when considering the cost of missing (particularly on band Scizor) isn't worth it. Flamethrower 2HKOs most variants of Jirachi. Focus blast can shred most versions of Tyranitar, especially when a rock and a spike are in place. Focus blast also can 2HKO opposing defensive clef in the mirror match as long as they aren't spamming softboiled. With the speed EVs, my Clef should be faster than the opposition. I haven't played it, but I did consider grass knot to get rid of Swampert and provide a more consistent option to chip Tyranitar. Unfortunately, this won't be OHKOing and it leaves Clef a bit defenseless against Heatran. Overall, I was pretty happy with how this thing performed.
Forretress @ Occa Berry
Ability: Sturdy
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 160 Def / 96 SpD
Impish Nature
- Payback
- Rapid Spin
- Spikes
- Explosion
I wanted a reliable spiker with good bulk and Forretress fit the bill. In theory I guess I could have gone skarmory here, but rapid spin was a nice luxury to consider and explosion is a good safety button to have on most teams in general. I believe the EVs are set to comfortably live a Tyranitar fire blast/Magnezone hidden power fire and get off a surprise spin or an extra spike. Generally, forre comes in on the opposing hazard setter (skarm, swampert, jirachi, etc.) and uses the thread of spin to get off a spike. My philosophy has been spikes first to set up Clef support and spin if there's time. Generally, spinning is the better option if I'm confident ghost types have been removed and Gyara is still needed, otherwise Spikes are the move. I was initially running earthquake over payback, but substitute Gengar is an absolute menace for me to deal with, and I can't really afford to give him a free switch in. I did toy with running custap over occa berry but I never made the switch. If I wasn't running Occa I would probably mess around with the EV spread given that I'm not anticipating living a fire attack.
Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Rest
- Thunder Wave
- Waterfall
- Dragon Dance
SpDef Gyara is a very effective Heatran counter, and is pretty good at stopping lead empoleon, from which Gyara comes in as a threat and spreads paralysis on its common switch ins (Rotom-A, Latias). Rest prevents Gyarados from getting worn down and allows it to mitigate risk of lava plume burn and trade paralysis with Jirachi. It's not used often but rest is often fairly critical when I need it. Dragon Dance prevents Gyarados from being too passive, though I suppose roar could also work here and synergies with entry hazard setting. This thing is honestly a menace to special attackers. If it needs to, it can take a thunderbolt from offensive (no LO) Starmie and Scarf Latias.
Electivire @ Shuca Berry
Ability: Motor Drive
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 184 HP / 252 SpA / 72 Spe
Mild Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Toxic/Earthquake/Cross Chop
- Ice Punch
- Hidden Power [Grass]
I know Electivire is, generally speaking, not that good. His moves, while broad, are lacking in the raw power department. However, my team struggles mightily with electric types (Rotom-A, Zapdos). It is very satisfying to eat a thunderbolts from Starmie and threaten it back immediately, or force Scarf rotom to make a switch. He also negates thunder waves, which can at least slightly deter paraspam once revealed. I think he needed 241 speed to outrun Starmie after a +1 Speed boost from Motor Drive, and I figured I'd just run the 12 extra EVs to be faster than Tyranitar in all cases but Scarf. He runs Shuca to prevent Scarf Flygon from stopping him in his tracks, and Hidden power grass does pretty good chunk on Swampert. I was first running cross chop for Tyranitar but I got annoyed with the accuracy. I switched over to Earthquake, which actually was nice to deal with Heatran (with Shuca providing insurance on Earth power). Then, the meta shifted to adopt these substitute Rotom's that really caused issues for me, so I pivoted to Toxic. It didn't work great, but I needed a better answer over trading thunderbolts. Really his core function is to seriously deter electric moves. While he's not the best Pokemon by the numbers he is often the most important cog to enable the defensive core. Most of the games I lost in were because I let Electivire go too early.
Infernape @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 64 HP / 252 Atk / 192 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Close Combat
- Mach Punch
- Flamethrower/Overheat
- U-turn
I wasn't 100% sure what to run in the final slot, but I needed something speedy to clean up late game threats. Scarf Ape generally does the job here, running enough speed to beat the base 100 scarf threats and pouring the rest into bulk. I was running Overheat over Flamethrower but found the -2 position left me a bit vulnerable and the lower accuracy had screwed me on a few occasions. Mach Punch is specifically to prevent Lucario from sweeping my team, which can become threatening when Gyara is removed.
Threats:
-Defensive Rotom (particularly the specially bulky substitute variant): I ran into this thing like 5 or 6 games in a row and just had no answer for it. Really the catalyst for my tumble down the ladder. I tried swapping Gyarados/Elec out for SpDef Lati/Tyranitar, but that lead to its own set of problems. Clef can thwart the defensive rest-talk version but can't do much if there is SpDef investment. Truly a pain but kind of a specific one.
-Zapdos: Hugely threatening if electivire is gone. The substitute sets in particular are pretty nasty, but if it's paralyzed it can be manageable. Forre can live a heat wave at full health, and that's usually a boom.
-Sub-split Gengar: Since switching from EQ to payback I've had less issues with this thing, but I always have to be careful to never give it the opportunity to sub up. Occasionally this comes at the cost of one of my team members but the trade is almost always worth it.
I know there's probably some jank here but it was a fun ride!