[Pre Pokebank OU] Clefable is the Best Fairy

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...only for the exact set I'm using. And only until Pokebank comes out. Then I guess it's not the best fairy. Anyway... Considering the metagame is still young and in flux, good sets could only be found be found through experimenting. I toyed with a few unconventional teams and sets just to find what works and what doesn't. Through it I found a pretty awesome core in Rotom-W/Clefable/Goodra and went from there. I've had decent success with this team, but more importantly, the number of Pokemon I didn't have an answer to dwindled, and I've only mostly lost due to my egregious skills and hasty decisions. And those damn miss-clicks; but none of those things take away from the team, which is what the RMT is about.

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Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SAtk)
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
- Earthquake
- Icicle Crash
- Ice Shard
- Stealth Rock

Always hailed (is this a pun?) as an anti metagame Pokemon, this title hasn't changed much for Mamoswine so far in this generation. Granted, it's still way too early to be able to tell anything, but Mamoswine is as powerful as ever. With Focus Sash, killer double STAB, immunity to Thunder Wave, and access to an excellent combination of attacks, Mamswine beats other common leads like Klefki, Talonflame, and Noivern. With the buff to Oblivious, Mamoswine can't be Taunted anymore, meaning there's a limited amount of things that can stop it from doing damage as well as setting up rocks. Apart from his duties as a lead, Mamoswine also deals with Trevenant and Gliscor with ease, Pokemon that I've found to be quite annoying.

Despite its girth, Mamoswine isn't the bulkiest cat around, but with Wish support, Mamoswine fills multiple roles on this team. Apart from the obvious lead and setter of rocks, as everyone already knows, Mamoswine is still a deadly revenge killer and the structure of my team allows it to have the longevity it hasn't always had.

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Rotom-Wash @ Rocky Helmet
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP, 152 Def, 100 SAtk, 4 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Volt Switch

As cliche as Rotom-W has become, it hasn't stopped being a outstanding physical wall with its ability to ward off threats like Mamoswine, Talonflame, Scizor, and Gyarados. Rocky Helmet is there to give me an extra option to stop Mega Kangaskhan, as well as stacking on its ability to wall. I also want to use this team heavily for wifi, so Leftovers isn't much of an option since Clefable needs it more.

Rotom-W has great synergy with Clefable and Goodra, the other two members of my defensive core, as well as the rest of my team. He has x4 resist to Clefable's weakness to Steel, and can cripple offensive threats - most notably Mamoswine - that Goodra has had some trouble with. Similarly, Rotom's weakness to Grass types like Mega Venusaur are handled by Goodra and Pinsir, and Pinsir also beats Excadrill.

The EVs are all over the place right now. I want to give as much physical bulk to handle certain threats with ease, but also want to give it enough fire power water power so it's not just a sitting duck. They're only there because I arbitrarily plugged numbers in, so help would be appreciated in that regard. Volt Switch, I've found, has also been a very replaceable move. It's too easy to predict, and even with Rotom threatening them with Hydro Pump, switching to a ground type when Rotom wants to switch out is too obvious a move, and if I over predict and go for Hydro Pump, I risk losing Rotom to the thing I want to switch out of.

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Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Nature: Bold (+Def, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP, 188 Def, 68 SAtk
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
- Aromatherapy

I only tried it because access to Aromatherapy gives a niche over Sylveon (until Pokebank gives the eeveelution Heal Bell, that is), but man, Clefable has worked out far better than I could have imagined. It has very middling stats, but an excellent support movepool, great typing and ability, along with just enough bulk, allow it to stop many threats that are present in the metagame at this time. Access to a generally superior ability in Magic Guard also tricks the opponent into thinking he/she can set up on Clefable with DD + Roost Dragonite, DD Mega Tyranitar, and various other booosting Dragons, but all I need to do is Wish, Moonblast, and repeat to take those monsters down.

I've missed Sylveon's vastly superior special stats, especially defensively, but Aromatherapy is invaluable to this team and a superior ability in Unaware is simply a bonus. Clefable is the backbone of my team, and along with great synergy with Rotom-W and Goodra, Clefable passes off excellent Wishes with its 394 HP to Mamoswine, Excadrill, and Pinsir, which allow them to have the necessary longevity to constant pound the opponent with attacks.

Despite being seemingly middle-of-the-pack compared to other Fairies, pre-Pokebank, Clefable combines the best attributes of other similar Pokemon like Sylveon, Florges, and Togekiss. As previously mentioned, Sylveon has superior special stats, but doesn't have access to Aromatherapy; Florges has chart topping base 154 special defense and can run the exact same set, but has nonexistent physical bulk and passes off mediocre Wishes; Togekiss also isn't a great Wish supporter, and its also weak to Stealth Rock (I haven't actually tried Togekiss but have envisioned having it whenever I use Clefable, and weakness to Rock wouldn't have worked out great to stop multiple Pokemon, most notably Tyranitar).

Like Rotom, the EVs are only place holder. I arbitrarily set it up so that Clefable matches the bulk of the Bold 252/252 physically bulky Sylveon I had success with, but Rotom and Clefable's EVs are what I need most help with. I ran some calcs but still found it difficult to find what baselines are necessary to reach.
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Goodra @ Assault Vest
Ability: Gooey
Nature: Calm (+SDef, -Atk)
EVs: 252 HP, 252 SAtk, 4 Spe
- Dragon Pulse
- Muddy Water
- Thunderbolt
- Fire Blast

"Greninja's Protean changed its type to Ice! Greninja used Ice Beam! It's super effective! Goodra lost 35% of its health! Goodra used Fire Blast! It's super effective! Greninja lost 100% of its health! Greninja fainted!"

I can't count how many times that has happened and I giggle a little when it does (but seriously folks, stop trying to take down Goodra with Greninja. It won't work). Even with no special defense investments, Goodra tanks special hits like mad, and unlike Blissey and co., he also hits quite hard for a defensive Pokemon. With a gargantuan base 150 special defense and an excellent type for what its role is, all Goodra needs is a positive nature and Assault Vest to be impenetrable from the special side. Pokemon who use Ice Beam only for coverage don't phase Goodra, and it can fire back with good coverage from four attacks. Its Dragon typing gives it useful resistances to STABs from Rotom-W and Rotom-H, and I've found that with Clefable's Wishes, Goodra can only be taken down with incredibly powerful STABs that are also super effective. Considering specially based Ice Pokemon are virtually nonexistent (except for Greninja, whose base 103 special attack is pretty average for an offensive Pokemon), the only ice pokemon that can take down Goodra is Mamoswine, but he's completely walled by Rotom-W. All dragons are directed towards Clefable, who walls them nicely with Unaware and an excellent Fairy type. Goodra can also handle fairies like Togekiss and Klefki on its own. Aside from walling Rotom-W, Assault vest also causes Trick sets to backfire on the opponent, as the item prevents the use of Will-O-Wisp and Trick, moves that Rotom finds quite valuable. Losing some walling capabilities sucks, but having a Scarfed Goodra isn't the worst thing in the world. Bulk and a solid base 110 special attack also allow Goodra to be a bit of a stall breaker, as this set beats common walls like Ferrothorn, Gliscor, and Trevenant. I've found those Pokemon to still be annoying, but not quite threatening.

Gooey is also a solid secondary trait to Goodra that shouldn't be overlooked. I've toyed with Sap Sipper to stop the very annoying Mega Venusaur, but Gooey has been a valuable last ditch option - along with Rotom-W's Rocky Helmet and Will-O-Wisp - to stop threatening Pokemon like Mega Kangaskhan. This allows me to pick off Kangaskhan with Pinsir, since the kangaroo can't kill it with no boosts. If it has boosted with Power Up Punch, this means that it hasn't done sufficient damage to kill either Rotom or Goodra, meaning I've had moments where I didn't even need Pinsir.

Draco Meteor over Dragon Pulse was also tested, but I've found that it turns Goodra into setup bait if the opponent switches into Ferrothorn, Skarmory, or Forretress.

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Excadrill @ Air Balloon
Ability: Mold Breaker
Nature: Adamant (+Atk, -SAtk)
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Shadow Claw
- Substitute

Bar none, Excadrill is simply the best rapid spinner in the game right now. Excellent typing allows it to switch in with some easiness even with mediocre bulk, considering it has immunity to Toxic and resistances to Steel and Fairy, common types among walls. I run Substitute on Excadrill as it allows me to avoid guessing games whether or not to Rapid Spin or strike their ghost. With Trevenant as common as it is currently, putting up a Sub also allows me to have multiple hits on the ghost tree without taking damage, and, one on one, avoid Leech Seed and other common status ailments. Air Balloon has been valuable because it forces the opponent to hit Excadrill with a weak attack before striking with a ground move, and that extra turn has been just enough to net him a KO. However, I've also considered Scope Lens, since not everyone relies on ground moves to beat Excadrill and Shadow Claw only deals 30-40% to the Trevenants I've faced. The nerf to critical hits has greatly reduced the viability of this idea, though.

As if being a Rapid Spinner who can beats ghosts and being a deadly offensive threat wasn't enough, Excadrill also brutalizes one of the most common defensive Pokemon out there, Rotom. While Excadrill won't like switching into Hydro Pump or Will-O-Wisp, the mole is immune to Rotom's other STAB, and Mold Breaker gives Excadrill the unusual but ever so valuable ability to OHKO Rotom. He hits hard, has Rapid Spin, and revenge kills. There's not much more that's needed to be said about how deadly a weapon Excadrill is, and I myself have had some trouble with this thing.

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Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter / Aerilate
Nature: Jolly (+Spe, -SAtk)
EVs: 4 HP, 252 Atk, 252 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Earthquake
- Quick Attack

I initially had Mega Charizard X and Sap Sipper Goodra on this team to give me immunity to all forms of status ailments, but it was a novelty at best and redundant and repetitive (before you bring it up, yes, that's the joke) with Clefable's Aromatherapy. Mega Charizard X I found was too difficult to switch into, with crappy defensive typing, crappy defensive stats (in its initial form, anyway), and a crappy x4 weakness to Stealth Rock. Pinsir fixes quite a few problems Mega Charizard X had; it's still weak to Stealth Rock, but I've found that Pinsir has been easier to switch into since it's somewhat bulkier, and once Stealth Rock is gone, Pinsir turns multiple Fighting and Ground Pokemon into setup bait (though I reeeeaaally need to stop convincing myself that the Excadrill I'm facing doesn't have Rock Slide). This behemoth I've found can only be stopped completely by Skarmory and Rotom, but those 'mons are dealt with with my own Rotom, as well as Goodra and Excadrill. Teams that rely on Gliscor as their primary physical wall will be severely disappointed, as a Return from +2 Mega Pinsir OHKO's the common Impish 252/184 Gliscor after Stealth Rock. One other niche Pinsir had over Zard X is access to priority; Mega Pinsir's Quick Attack is one of the strongest priority moves in OU currently, and it allows me to pick off threats like Alakazam, Greninja, Mega Kangaskhan late game. Azumarill is a massive threat to my team, but if I can afford to sacrifice Rotom just to damage the adorable little bunny with Rocky Helmet, it gives Pinsir the ability to revenge kill it with Quick Attack. One on one, Pinsir also laughs at everyone's favorite Pokemon, Aegislash. Even at +2, Aegislash's Shadow Sneak is still a 2HKO, while Pinsir at +2 OHKO's Aegislash with Earthquake.

As irrelevant as it is in the grand picture since Pinsir will want to mega evolve right away, I've considered swapping immunity to Intimidate for the ability to beat Rotom (giving up Hyper Cutter for Mold Breaker). Excadrill already accomplishes this, but even with Wish support, he also isn't bulky enough to be relied on heavily to fill multiple roles. Goodra also walls all of Rotom's attacks, but Will-O-Wisp cripples it and Clefable is a shaky switch in to Rotom, so relying on Aromatherapy to remedy that isn't always the best idea. It's a very minute factor, but it's under consideration.
 
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