[OVERVIEW]
Clefable fits perfectly into the tier with its simply superb utility movepool, helpful typing, and incredible ability in Magic Guard making it a nuisance for any team. It finds countless entry points by absorbing status and weak attacks from defensive Pokemon like Chansey and Toxapex, taking advantage of this to set entry hazards, spread status, clear status, pass Wish, the list really does just go on forever. The way that Clefable can mix and match its moves gives it a very easy time getting onto teams; a perfect example of role compression. The upsides don't just end at its utility; Clefable can quite easily be a threat in its own right, whether it's with a bulky Calm Mind set making use of its status absorbing capabilities to set up or a Life Orb set using its strong coverage movepool to throw out immediate haymakers. Stall teams can even see Clefable dipping into its other abilities, with Unaware Clefable being an anti-setup mainstay for many of these teams. Even with all these upsides, Clefable can't completely overcome its biggest hurdle: having completely mediocre stats, meaning strong attackers like Mega Mawile and Tapu Lele can carve through it without much issue. Clefable relies on utility to alleviate its passivity, but it finds itself completely stonewalled for the most part by common metagame Pokemon like Heatran, Toxapex, and Excadrill.
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Stealth Rock / Knock Off / Wish
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Soft-Boiled
move 4: Thunder Wave / Knock Off / Flamethrower / Heal Bell / Seismic Toss / Ice Beam
item: Leftovers / Rocky Helmet / Life Orb
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
=========
Clefable is a great Stealth Rock setter because it can use Magic Guard to get unpunished entry on defensive walls without being threatened by status like Toxic and burn, gifting it plenty of free opportunities. Moonblast is a consistent damage dealing option, and it can be complemented well by Knock Off to hinder Fairy-resistant Pokemon like Heatran and Celesteela by removing their longevity. Soft-Boiled enables Clefable to keep healthy throughout a game while checking the likes of Mega Lopunny and sitting on the likes of Ferrothorn. Wish only adds to this, making both Clefable and its teammates less susceptible to being worn down. Thunder Wave is an immediate punish across the board, irritating everything from defensive staples like Ferrothorn and Toxapex to offensive threats like Mega Mawile and Volcarona. Heal Bell is an extra option for Clefable to support its team, reducing the reliance on Clefable as a status absorber and allowing teammates to more freely move against status spreaders. Seismic Toss is another way to complement Moonblast, taking consistent chunks out of a wide range of targets. Flamethrower specializes in directly threatening Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor. On Life Orb variants, Ice Beam is a common fixture to massively threaten Gliscor, OHKOing fast variants and catching specially defensive variants too after Stealth Rock.
Set Details
========
Leftovers is preferred to give Clefable a more comfortable time absorbing weak attacks like Toxapex's Scald without being pressured to heal, additionally helping while taking on attackers Mega Lopunny that don't stray too far from a 2HKO on Clefable. Rocky Helmet is a more direct option for punishing attackers, giving them less opportunities to break through with critical hits and such, as well as irritating U-turn users like Landorus-T. Life Orb comfortably boosts the power of Clefable's attacks, giving Clefable the extra power it needs to KO Gliscor with Ice Beam and put more pressure on neutral targets switching in.
Usage Tips
========
Clefable excels at switching right into defensive walls and getting itself many free turns; Scald users like Toxapex and Slowbro can barely splash it and Toxic from Chansey and Gliscor couldn't even upset its stomach. Clefable does have the bulk to directly come into Gyro Ball Ferrothorn to block its Leech Seed as it can heal off the damage and its feasible to stall out the low PP, though trying this with Celesteela is a doomed endeavor. Clefable really does only specialise against more passive Pokemon, having no business switching into the likes of Mega Charizard X or Tapu Lele, though it can handle certain threats like Mega Lopunny, Kommo-o, and Mega Gyarados with the help of its typing and just good enough bulk.
Team Options
========
This variant of Clefable finds its home on balance teams, taking one for the team in terms of utility to free up different options for teammates. Spikers like Ferrothorn and Skarmory are great partners for Clefable, as Clefable's immunity to opposing entry hazards and access to Stealth Rock itself makes it a great option for hazard stacking teams. Pairing Clefable with strong answers to Heatran like Gliscor and Gastrodon is advised due to Clefable's inviting nature. Toxapex checks nasty Fire-type threats like Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona, with Shed Shell variants even helping against Heatran, and can even set Toxic Spikes on top of that, easing the matchup against offensive teams. Heatran fits nicely onto Clefable's preferred teamstyle and provides a very solid answer to Steel-types like Mega Scizor and Celesteela. Clefable can cover the weaknesses of and absorb status for Mega Latias excellently; in return, it can act as a wincon with Calm Mind and also check Swords Dance Gliscor, a huge threat to Clefable. Slowbro is great support for big physical threats like Mega Charizard X, Victini, Mega Swampert, and the aforementioned Swords Dance Gliscor. Magearna appreciates Clefable taking over as a more consistent Dark-type check and holding utility moves like Heal Bell and Thunder Wave for it, enabling it to make full use of Calm Mind. Additionally, it helps against wallbreakers like Kyurem-B and Tapu Lele that can break past Clefable.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Sticky Barb can be used alongside Trick to harass the longevity of walls like Toxapex and Chansey, generally putting opposing Pokemon on a strict timer, though this option thuds into Mega Pokemon like Mega Scizor and Mega Charizard Y and various other Z-Move users; Assault Vest users like Magearna technically fall victim to Trick, though Clefable comes out of that interaction much worse. Counter can be used to forcefully trade off strong physical attackers like Swords Dance Gliscor, Mega Swampert, and Mega Scizor from full health. Cosmic Power can be used alongside Stored Power, allowing Clefable to become a near unkillable behemoth; however, this behemoth hits like a wet noodle and relies solely on not getting hit by a Critical Hit, so it's less consistent than Calm Mind variants. On the offensive Life Orb set, Ice Beam is an option to OHKO Gliscor and Landorus-T, though Clefable hardly has any coverage slots to spare so this is rarely worth it. Encore is a method for Clefable to disrupt setup users, both greedy offensive threats like Mega Charizard X and Mega Mawile and bulky sweepers like Reuniclus and Cresselia.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Heatran's 4x resistance to Fairy gives it very easy entry on Clefable and it threatens to trap and remove Clefable with the combination of Magma Storm + Taunt, though Clefable can annoy it as it switches in with Thunder Wave or Knock Off. Excadrill threatens out Clefable with Iron Head and can negate its Stealth Rock with Rapid Spin. Jirachi and Mega Scizor are other Steel-types that can batter Clefable with Steel-type moves and pressure it out. However, many Steel-types are nastily surprised by offensive Life Orb variants of Clefable packing Fire Blast. Mega Mawile can set up on and take advantage of Clefable variants lacking Fire-type coverage and Thunder Wave.
**Specially Defensive Walls**: Chansey, Toxapex, and specially defensive Gliscor can handle Life Orb Clefable's attacks and can either set up on it or stall it out; however, Toxapex needs to watch for Electric-type coverage from offensive Life Orb Clefable, Gliscor needs to watch for Ice Beam, and non-Thunder Wave Chansey loses to defensive Calm Mind Clefable.
**Strong Wallbreakers**: Powerful wallbreakers like Mega Charizard X, Kyurem-B, and Mega Mawile can blow through Clefable with their powerful STAB attacks, though Kyurem-B and to a lesser extent Mega Mawile can't switch in safely.
**Fire-types:** Fire-types like Mega Charizard Y, Victini, and Volcarona can use their resistance to Fairy to switch directly into Moonblast and threaten out Clefable with either their incredible immediate power or by setting up. None of the aforementioned Pokemon are happy with taking paralysis from Thunder Wave as they switch in, however.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zinnias.569291/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/skypenguin.462413/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/diyusi.519886/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Clefable fits perfectly into the tier with its simply superb utility movepool, helpful typing, and incredible ability in Magic Guard making it a nuisance for any team. It finds countless entry points by absorbing status and weak attacks from defensive Pokemon like Chansey and Toxapex, taking advantage of this to set entry hazards, spread status, clear status, pass Wish, the list really does just go on forever. The way that Clefable can mix and match its moves gives it a very easy time getting onto teams; a perfect example of role compression. The upsides don't just end at its utility; Clefable can quite easily be a threat in its own right, whether it's with a bulky Calm Mind set making use of its status absorbing capabilities to set up or a Life Orb set using its strong coverage movepool to throw out immediate haymakers. Stall teams can even see Clefable dipping into its other abilities, with Unaware Clefable being an anti-setup mainstay for many of these teams. Even with all these upsides, Clefable can't completely overcome its biggest hurdle: having completely mediocre stats, meaning strong attackers like Mega Mawile and Tapu Lele can carve through it without much issue. Clefable relies on utility to alleviate its passivity, but it finds itself completely stonewalled for the most part by common metagame Pokemon like Heatran, Toxapex, and Excadrill.
[SET]
name: Utility
move 1: Stealth Rock / Knock Off / Wish
move 2: Moonblast
move 3: Soft-Boiled
move 4: Thunder Wave / Knock Off / Flamethrower / Heal Bell / Seismic Toss / Ice Beam
item: Leftovers / Rocky Helmet / Life Orb
ability: Magic Guard
nature: Bold
evs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
=========
Clefable is a great Stealth Rock setter because it can use Magic Guard to get unpunished entry on defensive walls without being threatened by status like Toxic and burn, gifting it plenty of free opportunities. Moonblast is a consistent damage dealing option, and it can be complemented well by Knock Off to hinder Fairy-resistant Pokemon like Heatran and Celesteela by removing their longevity. Soft-Boiled enables Clefable to keep healthy throughout a game while checking the likes of Mega Lopunny and sitting on the likes of Ferrothorn. Wish only adds to this, making both Clefable and its teammates less susceptible to being worn down. Thunder Wave is an immediate punish across the board, irritating everything from defensive staples like Ferrothorn and Toxapex to offensive threats like Mega Mawile and Volcarona. Heal Bell is an extra option for Clefable to support its team, reducing the reliance on Clefable as a status absorber and allowing teammates to more freely move against status spreaders. Seismic Toss is another way to complement Moonblast, taking consistent chunks out of a wide range of targets. Flamethrower specializes in directly threatening Steel-types like Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor. On Life Orb variants, Ice Beam is a common fixture to massively threaten Gliscor, OHKOing fast variants and catching specially defensive variants too after Stealth Rock.
Set Details
========
Leftovers is preferred to give Clefable a more comfortable time absorbing weak attacks like Toxapex's Scald without being pressured to heal, additionally helping while taking on attackers Mega Lopunny that don't stray too far from a 2HKO on Clefable. Rocky Helmet is a more direct option for punishing attackers, giving them less opportunities to break through with critical hits and such, as well as irritating U-turn users like Landorus-T. Life Orb comfortably boosts the power of Clefable's attacks, giving Clefable the extra power it needs to KO Gliscor with Ice Beam and put more pressure on neutral targets switching in.
Usage Tips
========
Clefable excels at switching right into defensive walls and getting itself many free turns; Scald users like Toxapex and Slowbro can barely splash it and Toxic from Chansey and Gliscor couldn't even upset its stomach. Clefable does have the bulk to directly come into Gyro Ball Ferrothorn to block its Leech Seed as it can heal off the damage and its feasible to stall out the low PP, though trying this with Celesteela is a doomed endeavor. Clefable really does only specialise against more passive Pokemon, having no business switching into the likes of Mega Charizard X or Tapu Lele, though it can handle certain threats like Mega Lopunny, Kommo-o, and Mega Gyarados with the help of its typing and just good enough bulk.
Team Options
========
This variant of Clefable finds its home on balance teams, taking one for the team in terms of utility to free up different options for teammates. Spikers like Ferrothorn and Skarmory are great partners for Clefable, as Clefable's immunity to opposing entry hazards and access to Stealth Rock itself makes it a great option for hazard stacking teams. Pairing Clefable with strong answers to Heatran like Gliscor and Gastrodon is advised due to Clefable's inviting nature. Toxapex checks nasty Fire-type threats like Mega Charizard Y and Volcarona, with Shed Shell variants even helping against Heatran, and can even set Toxic Spikes on top of that, easing the matchup against offensive teams. Heatran fits nicely onto Clefable's preferred teamstyle and provides a very solid answer to Steel-types like Mega Scizor and Celesteela. Clefable can cover the weaknesses of and absorb status for Mega Latias excellently; in return, it can act as a wincon with Calm Mind and also check Swords Dance Gliscor, a huge threat to Clefable. Slowbro is great support for big physical threats like Mega Charizard X, Victini, Mega Swampert, and the aforementioned Swords Dance Gliscor. Magearna appreciates Clefable taking over as a more consistent Dark-type check and holding utility moves like Heal Bell and Thunder Wave for it, enabling it to make full use of Calm Mind. Additionally, it helps against wallbreakers like Kyurem-B and Tapu Lele that can break past Clefable.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Sticky Barb can be used alongside Trick to harass the longevity of walls like Toxapex and Chansey, generally putting opposing Pokemon on a strict timer, though this option thuds into Mega Pokemon like Mega Scizor and Mega Charizard Y and various other Z-Move users; Assault Vest users like Magearna technically fall victim to Trick, though Clefable comes out of that interaction much worse. Counter can be used to forcefully trade off strong physical attackers like Swords Dance Gliscor, Mega Swampert, and Mega Scizor from full health. Cosmic Power can be used alongside Stored Power, allowing Clefable to become a near unkillable behemoth; however, this behemoth hits like a wet noodle and relies solely on not getting hit by a Critical Hit, so it's less consistent than Calm Mind variants. On the offensive Life Orb set, Ice Beam is an option to OHKO Gliscor and Landorus-T, though Clefable hardly has any coverage slots to spare so this is rarely worth it. Encore is a method for Clefable to disrupt setup users, both greedy offensive threats like Mega Charizard X and Mega Mawile and bulky sweepers like Reuniclus and Cresselia.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Steel-types**: Heatran's 4x resistance to Fairy gives it very easy entry on Clefable and it threatens to trap and remove Clefable with the combination of Magma Storm + Taunt, though Clefable can annoy it as it switches in with Thunder Wave or Knock Off. Excadrill threatens out Clefable with Iron Head and can negate its Stealth Rock with Rapid Spin. Jirachi and Mega Scizor are other Steel-types that can batter Clefable with Steel-type moves and pressure it out. However, many Steel-types are nastily surprised by offensive Life Orb variants of Clefable packing Fire Blast. Mega Mawile can set up on and take advantage of Clefable variants lacking Fire-type coverage and Thunder Wave.
**Specially Defensive Walls**: Chansey, Toxapex, and specially defensive Gliscor can handle Life Orb Clefable's attacks and can either set up on it or stall it out; however, Toxapex needs to watch for Electric-type coverage from offensive Life Orb Clefable, Gliscor needs to watch for Ice Beam, and non-Thunder Wave Chansey loses to defensive Calm Mind Clefable.
**Strong Wallbreakers**: Powerful wallbreakers like Mega Charizard X, Kyurem-B, and Mega Mawile can blow through Clefable with their powerful STAB attacks, though Kyurem-B and to a lesser extent Mega Mawile can't switch in safely.
**Fire-types:** Fire-types like Mega Charizard Y, Victini, and Volcarona can use their resistance to Fairy to switch directly into Moonblast and threaten out Clefable with either their incredible immediate power or by setting up. None of the aforementioned Pokemon are happy with taking paralysis from Thunder Wave as they switch in, however.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/zinnias.569291/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/skypenguin.462413/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/diyusi.519886/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
Last edited:
