NEW: Doubles players, see this post!
Name: Clefable (#036)
Type: Fairy
Base Stats: 95/70/73/95/90/60
Abilities: Cute Charm, Magic Guard, Unaware (Hidden)
Notable Moves:
Analysis
At first glance, Clefable appears to be inferior to its more popular Fairy cousins, Togetic and Sylveon. However, looking deeper, Clefable possesses a few key advantages over these other Pokemon, most notably in its massive movepool and the ability Magic Guard, which allow it to ignore Stealth Rocks, Spikes, Poison, Burns, weather damage, Leech Seed, and other various effects. Combined with his noteworthy HP and Special Defense, Clefable has no problem switching into Dragon-type attackers and setting up screens or preparing for a Wish pass.
The Great Sumo Fairy is not without its shortcomings, however. Without investment, Clefairy packs little punch and is reduced to using Toxic for reliable damage, which both of its type counters (Poison and Steel) are immune to. Speaking of counters, the prevalence of powerful Steel-types such as Scizor, Heatran, and Magnezone in the OU metagame makes it almost impossible for Clefable to function as much more than a single screener or wish passer due to its atrocious Speed, and offensively speaking, it isn't nearly as good of a Dragon-slayer as Togekiss or Sylveon are. In the UU metagame, however, Clefable is truly a force to be reckoned with, able to both wall off and obliterate the many Dark and Fighting types that populate the tier. All-in-all, Clefable is a very versatile Pokemon with a lot of deceptive power and utility that makes a great addition to any team that fears Dragons, Fighters, or Dark-types.
Potential Movesets:
Offensive by Wobblebuns and lolwatrr
Clefable @ Life Orb
Magic Guard
Bold | 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 SpA
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Softboiled
Blessed with decent typing lending Clefable resistances to Dragon, Fighting, Bug, and Dark coupled with a respectable 95/73/90 bulk, she will find quite many opportunities to set up a Calm Mind or two to boost her Special Attack. Moonblast provides a reliable STAB and Fire Blast addresses many key threats in the meta such as Ferrothorn. Now, one can opt to go for Softboiled which generally meshes up well with Magic Guard, or Substitute when one goes for Unaware. Both moves and abilities do provide their fair share of benefits depending on the combination used. Softboiled is there for recovery, whereas Substitute offers some utility like shielding it from status and weak moves, Trick, and more (seeing this set-up of Sub+CM, it may be advisable adding EV's to Speed to outrun some walls for effectively avoiding status). Now going on with the abilities, Magic Guard allows Clefable to set up without worries of potential status conditions -except for sleep-, while Unaware lets you assure a win in CM wars -provided you do not get crit-. Life Orb is the preferred item because Clefable gets the damage boost from it without taking damage thanks to Magic Guard, but if more recovery is needed, one can opt for Leftovers instead. From here on, it is a matter of preferences on what combo you would like to go for; a mix and match of abilities, items, and moves from the set will hopefully cater to your needs.
Wall (UU) by The Reptile
Clefable @ Leftovers
Unaware/Magic Guard
Calm | 252 HP | 132 Def | 124 SDef
- Moonlight
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy
- Ice Beam / Fire Blast / Toxic
So this set is a pretty simple wall set for UU. Moonlight is the only recovery move that Clefable can get outside of Wish due to Softboiled not being available until PokeBank (and even then only with Magic Guard). Wish isn't that great of an idea due to Clefable's only OK base 95 and reliance on Protect. Moonblast is there for reliable damage thanks to its now-buffed 95 SpA. Aromatherapy lets Clefable act as a cleric for the team along with clearing its own status, which is great on any set running Unaware over Magic Guard, which it should since it can't take many +2 attacks and Aromatherapy lets you get around status. Ice Beam lets you nail Offensive Zapdos for a 2HKO as opposed to barely 3HKOing like Moonblast does. Fire Blast lets you roast Steel-types that try to resist Fairy. Finally, Toxic lets you status other walls. Ice Beam also lets you beat Nidoqueens that don't run Sludge Wave / Bomb.
FairyMag (OU) by Liarliarpantsonfire
Clefable @ Leftovers
Magic Guard
Bold | 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 SDef
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Charge Beam
- Soft-Boiled
Pretty straightforward. Make use of those Dragon, Fighting, Bug and Dark resists to setup Cosmic Power. Once you get to +6 in both defenses use Charge Beam to get to a sufficient amount of SpAtk. Sweep with Stored Power. Heal whenever necessary. Magic Guard to prevent status from racking up. EV spread maximizes physical bulk to lean towards it resistance to Fighting and Bug. Special attackers are usually less threatening, e.g. Rotom-W, Goodra, etc.
Counters: Steel and Poison moves hurt a lot. Magnezone support is mandatory. It works extremely well. With Steels out of the way Clefable has a field day. I use this core with Volt-Turn support and a Quagsire/Blissey core. Quagsire is pretty good. Walls SD Scizor and Aegislash hard. Also Talonflame. Anyway this set is amazing. DragMag was 5th gen. FairyMag is the new MagDrag.
Checks & Counters
OU
Offensive Steel and Poison Pokemon are Clefable's obvious counters, while almost any Fire type can check Clefable into an awkward position (considering that Hidden Power is his only option for dealing with them). Heatran, Scizor, Magnezone, Gengar, and Lucario all shatter Clefable's hopes and dreams without breaking a sweat, while Volcarona can set up on top of one. (Interestingly enough, Blaziken seems to have a tougher time dealing with Clefable, as Moonblast can 2-3HKO Jolly Leftovers Blaziken as it fumbles to Blaze Kick through Sumo Fairy's HP.)
UU
Clefable is very difficult to outright counter in the UU metagame, with Bisharp, Offensive Roserade, and Crobat being some of the only sure-fire ones that can get the job done (though Clefable can actually survive the first of Crobat's Cross Poisons if need be). Nidoking/Nidoqueen can impede Clefable's momentum and possibly stop it, though special sets without Sludge Wave or Sludge Bomb will need to rely on paralysis RNG from Thunderbolt/Thunder in order to avoid sustaining heavy damage in the process. Brongzong creates a strange stalemate with Clefable, and the winner will usually come down to who can get status off on the other one first (if Brongzong doesn't have Rest, that is). Good physical attackers like Mienshao might be able to score an OHKO with a powerful neutral ability (such as a LO Stone Edge), though a miss means that they are at the mercy of Clefable's Super Sumo Moonblast.
Team Options
OU
Clefable operates best when he can switch into a Dragon-type attack, so naturally Clefable will want allies like Dragonite, Haxorus, or Hydreigon to bait the enemy into using a faster Dragon-type attacker. Dragonite in particular appreciates Clefable as an ally, being able to take advantage of the big Wishes to refresh his Multiscale, Screens to increase his already respectable bulk, and Aromatherapy to cure his Paralysis. Alakazam is a great Pokemon to make up for Clefable's weaknesses, as he can obliterate Gengar with Psychic and even run Magic Guard so the two can appear on Sandstorm teams.
UU
Flygon and Kingdra are the only traditional Dragons in UU, so it's much more difficult to bait Dragon-type attacks in his tier. However, once interesting choice that should be considered is Ampharos, who (although in the NU tier,) gains the Dragon typing through his Mega Evolution and boasts some incredible offenses and bulk to go with it. Clefable's Screens are much appreciated by the Sheep Dragon, and this tremendous bulk allows him to sweep even without a decent Speed stat. Apart from Ampharos, you could run Psychic or Dark types to bait Dark, Bug, and Fighting-type attacks, all of which Clefable are resistant to.
Conclusion
Although Clefable is more or less outclassed by both Togekiss and Sylveon in OU, his very capable offensive and defensive prowess combined with his ability to support could make him a next-level powerhouse in UU.
Name: Clefable (#036)
Type: Fairy
Base Stats: 95/70/73/95/90/60
Abilities: Cute Charm, Magic Guard, Unaware (Hidden)
Notable Moves:
- Moonblast
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Wish
- Flamethrower
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
- Energy Ball
- Calm Mind
- Psychic
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Dazzling Gleam
- Thunder Wave
- Moonlight
- Encore
- Protect
- Substitute
- Toxic
- Aromatherapy
- ...and a TON of others*.
Analysis
At first glance, Clefable appears to be inferior to its more popular Fairy cousins, Togetic and Sylveon. However, looking deeper, Clefable possesses a few key advantages over these other Pokemon, most notably in its massive movepool and the ability Magic Guard, which allow it to ignore Stealth Rocks, Spikes, Poison, Burns, weather damage, Leech Seed, and other various effects. Combined with his noteworthy HP and Special Defense, Clefable has no problem switching into Dragon-type attackers and setting up screens or preparing for a Wish pass.
The Great Sumo Fairy is not without its shortcomings, however. Without investment, Clefairy packs little punch and is reduced to using Toxic for reliable damage, which both of its type counters (Poison and Steel) are immune to. Speaking of counters, the prevalence of powerful Steel-types such as Scizor, Heatran, and Magnezone in the OU metagame makes it almost impossible for Clefable to function as much more than a single screener or wish passer due to its atrocious Speed, and offensively speaking, it isn't nearly as good of a Dragon-slayer as Togekiss or Sylveon are. In the UU metagame, however, Clefable is truly a force to be reckoned with, able to both wall off and obliterate the many Dark and Fighting types that populate the tier. All-in-all, Clefable is a very versatile Pokemon with a lot of deceptive power and utility that makes a great addition to any team that fears Dragons, Fighters, or Dark-types.
Potential Movesets:
Offensive by Wobblebuns and lolwatrr
Clefable @ Life Orb
Magic Guard
Bold | 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 SpA
- Calm Mind
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Softboiled
Blessed with decent typing lending Clefable resistances to Dragon, Fighting, Bug, and Dark coupled with a respectable 95/73/90 bulk, she will find quite many opportunities to set up a Calm Mind or two to boost her Special Attack. Moonblast provides a reliable STAB and Fire Blast addresses many key threats in the meta such as Ferrothorn. Now, one can opt to go for Softboiled which generally meshes up well with Magic Guard, or Substitute when one goes for Unaware. Both moves and abilities do provide their fair share of benefits depending on the combination used. Softboiled is there for recovery, whereas Substitute offers some utility like shielding it from status and weak moves, Trick, and more (seeing this set-up of Sub+CM, it may be advisable adding EV's to Speed to outrun some walls for effectively avoiding status). Now going on with the abilities, Magic Guard allows Clefable to set up without worries of potential status conditions -except for sleep-, while Unaware lets you assure a win in CM wars -provided you do not get crit-. Life Orb is the preferred item because Clefable gets the damage boost from it without taking damage thanks to Magic Guard, but if more recovery is needed, one can opt for Leftovers instead. From here on, it is a matter of preferences on what combo you would like to go for; a mix and match of abilities, items, and moves from the set will hopefully cater to your needs.
Wall (UU) by The Reptile
Clefable @ Leftovers
Unaware/Magic Guard
Calm | 252 HP | 132 Def | 124 SDef
- Moonlight
- Moonblast
- Aromatherapy
- Ice Beam / Fire Blast / Toxic
252 Atk Life Orb Reckless Mienshao Hi Jump Kick vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 175-208 (44.41 - 52.79%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Zapdos Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 164-192 (41.62 - 48.73%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mienshao: 296-350 (108.82 - 128.67%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 SpA Clefable Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 136-162 (42.23 - 50.31%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 108-127 (33.54 - 39.44%) -- 19.92% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoqueen Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 165-196 (41.87 - 49.74%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoqueen Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 351-413 (89.08 - 104.82%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 328-385 (83.24 - 97.71%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 117-138 (29.69 - 35.02%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
+1 252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 175-206 (44.41 - 52.28%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 232-274 (58.88 - 69.54%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+3 252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 290-342 (73.6 - 86.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+4 252 Atk Heracross Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 313-369 (79.44 - 93.65%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 192-226 (48.73 - 57.36%) -- 47.66% chance to 2HKO
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Heracross: 204-242 (67.54 - 80.13%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Zapdos Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 164-192 (41.62 - 48.73%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mienshao: 296-350 (108.82 - 128.67%) -- guaranteed OHKO
0 SpA Clefable Ice Beam vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 136-162 (42.23 - 50.31%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 108-127 (33.54 - 39.44%) -- 19.92% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoqueen Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 165-196 (41.87 - 49.74%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoqueen Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 351-413 (89.08 - 104.82%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Nidoking Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 124+ SpD Clefable: 328-385 (83.24 - 97.71%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 117-138 (29.69 - 35.02%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
+1 252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 175-206 (44.41 - 52.28%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
+2 252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 232-274 (58.88 - 69.54%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+3 252 Atk Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 290-342 (73.6 - 86.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
+4 252 Atk Heracross Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 313-369 (79.44 - 93.65%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Heracross Stone Edge vs. 252 HP / 132 Def Clefable: 192-226 (48.73 - 57.36%) -- 47.66% chance to 2HKO
0 SpA Clefable Moonblast vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Heracross: 204-242 (67.54 - 80.13%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
So this set is a pretty simple wall set for UU. Moonlight is the only recovery move that Clefable can get outside of Wish due to Softboiled not being available until PokeBank (and even then only with Magic Guard). Wish isn't that great of an idea due to Clefable's only OK base 95 and reliance on Protect. Moonblast is there for reliable damage thanks to its now-buffed 95 SpA. Aromatherapy lets Clefable act as a cleric for the team along with clearing its own status, which is great on any set running Unaware over Magic Guard, which it should since it can't take many +2 attacks and Aromatherapy lets you get around status. Ice Beam lets you nail Offensive Zapdos for a 2HKO as opposed to barely 3HKOing like Moonblast does. Fire Blast lets you roast Steel-types that try to resist Fairy. Finally, Toxic lets you status other walls. Ice Beam also lets you beat Nidoqueens that don't run Sludge Wave / Bomb.
FairyMag (OU) by Liarliarpantsonfire
Clefable @ Leftovers
Magic Guard
Bold | 252 HP | 252 Def | 4 SDef
- Cosmic Power
- Stored Power
- Charge Beam
- Soft-Boiled
Pretty straightforward. Make use of those Dragon, Fighting, Bug and Dark resists to setup Cosmic Power. Once you get to +6 in both defenses use Charge Beam to get to a sufficient amount of SpAtk. Sweep with Stored Power. Heal whenever necessary. Magic Guard to prevent status from racking up. EV spread maximizes physical bulk to lean towards it resistance to Fighting and Bug. Special attackers are usually less threatening, e.g. Rotom-W, Goodra, etc.
Counters: Steel and Poison moves hurt a lot. Magnezone support is mandatory. It works extremely well. With Steels out of the way Clefable has a field day. I use this core with Volt-Turn support and a Quagsire/Blissey core. Quagsire is pretty good. Walls SD Scizor and Aegislash hard. Also Talonflame. Anyway this set is amazing. DragMag was 5th gen. FairyMag is the new MagDrag.
Checks & Counters
OU
Offensive Steel and Poison Pokemon are Clefable's obvious counters, while almost any Fire type can check Clefable into an awkward position (considering that Hidden Power is his only option for dealing with them). Heatran, Scizor, Magnezone, Gengar, and Lucario all shatter Clefable's hopes and dreams without breaking a sweat, while Volcarona can set up on top of one. (Interestingly enough, Blaziken seems to have a tougher time dealing with Clefable, as Moonblast can 2-3HKO Jolly Leftovers Blaziken as it fumbles to Blaze Kick through Sumo Fairy's HP.)
UU
Clefable is very difficult to outright counter in the UU metagame, with Bisharp, Offensive Roserade, and Crobat being some of the only sure-fire ones that can get the job done (though Clefable can actually survive the first of Crobat's Cross Poisons if need be). Nidoking/Nidoqueen can impede Clefable's momentum and possibly stop it, though special sets without Sludge Wave or Sludge Bomb will need to rely on paralysis RNG from Thunderbolt/Thunder in order to avoid sustaining heavy damage in the process. Brongzong creates a strange stalemate with Clefable, and the winner will usually come down to who can get status off on the other one first (if Brongzong doesn't have Rest, that is). Good physical attackers like Mienshao might be able to score an OHKO with a powerful neutral ability (such as a LO Stone Edge), though a miss means that they are at the mercy of Clefable's Super Sumo Moonblast.
Team Options
OU
Clefable operates best when he can switch into a Dragon-type attack, so naturally Clefable will want allies like Dragonite, Haxorus, or Hydreigon to bait the enemy into using a faster Dragon-type attacker. Dragonite in particular appreciates Clefable as an ally, being able to take advantage of the big Wishes to refresh his Multiscale, Screens to increase his already respectable bulk, and Aromatherapy to cure his Paralysis. Alakazam is a great Pokemon to make up for Clefable's weaknesses, as he can obliterate Gengar with Psychic and even run Magic Guard so the two can appear on Sandstorm teams.
UU
Flygon and Kingdra are the only traditional Dragons in UU, so it's much more difficult to bait Dragon-type attacks in his tier. However, once interesting choice that should be considered is Ampharos, who (although in the NU tier,) gains the Dragon typing through his Mega Evolution and boasts some incredible offenses and bulk to go with it. Clefable's Screens are much appreciated by the Sheep Dragon, and this tremendous bulk allows him to sweep even without a decent Speed stat. Apart from Ampharos, you could run Psychic or Dark types to bait Dark, Bug, and Fighting-type attacks, all of which Clefable are resistant to.
Conclusion
Although Clefable is more or less outclassed by both Togekiss and Sylveon in OU, his very capable offensive and defensive prowess combined with his ability to support could make him a next-level powerhouse in UU.
Last edited:
