[OVERVIEW]
Thanks to its great bulk, excellent utility movepool, and solid attacking stats, Clefable cements itself as perhaps the most central Pokemon in NU. Its access to Thunder Wave and Body Slam enables it to be an excellent paralysis inducer, allowing teammates like Charizard, Mr. Mime, Nidoking, and Kabutops to rack up damage to help clean or wallbreak. Diverse coverage including Thunderbolt, Blizzard, and Hyper Beam makes Clefable difficult to switch into and allows it to break through both high-Special foes like Mr. Mime and physical walls like Golem. Clefable also has moves such as Sing and Counter as surprise options to ensure it is never truly predictable. Clefable's defensive typing also prevents it from being paralyzed with Body Slam, allowing it to switch into opposing Clefable as well as certain Charizard, Blastoise, and even Kingler sets.
Despite these upsides, Clefable's lack of resistances and low Speed allow it to be worn down quickly and can make it difficult to switch in against faster foes. Clefable is only able to outpace Golem, Exeggcute, Wigglytuff, and the rare Porygon. It is a popular revenge target for Venomoth to put to sleep, and as it is one of the central defensive pieces of the tier, its loss often makes for a difficult game. It also has difficulty fitting every move it wants, having to sacrifice utility or coverage to fit Hyper Beam to improve the Mr. Mime matchup.
[SET]
name: Bulky Support
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Thunder Wave
move 3: Blizzard / Hyper Beam
move 4: Thunderbolt / Hyper Beam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Body Slam and Thunder Wave are central to Clefable's utility in NU. Body Slam deters many switch-ins with the threat of paralysis and deals excellent damage. Thunder Wave intimidates Swords Dance users, punishes Fire Spin misses, and slows fast foes to allow other attackers, such as Kabutops, Kingler, and Nidoking, to punish foes that would otherwise outspeed and KO them, such as Mr. Mime. Blizzard and Thunderbolt provide coverage, threatening 2HKOs and 3HKOs against most of the tier. While both cover the Flying-types of the tier, Charizard and Moltres, Blizzard additionally covers Golem, Nidoking, and Exeggcute, while Thunderbolt provides coverage against Blastoise, Kabutops, and Kingler. Hyper Beam provides a good finishing move against opposing Clefable and is its strongest move against neutral targets like Mr. Mime.
Clefable often utilizes Hyper Beam in place of one of its attacking moves, as Body Slam + Hyper Beam usually results in a 2HKO against Mr. Mime and provides high damage against opposing Normal-types such as Clefable, Raticate, and Wigglytuff. Regardless of which move is dropped, however, Clefable suffers in coverage, choosing between losing the consistency of Body Slam, sacrificing its matchup against Water-types by giving up Thunderbolt, or being fully walled by Golem if surrendering Blizzard. Blizzard gives away the least matchups and is thus the safest pick for a typical team, but any move can be dropped depending on its allies' coverage.
Clefable is a mainstay of most teams as both the most effective answer to opposing Clefable and as a strong attacker and status spreader after opposing sleep is out of the picture, helping offensive teammates like Charizard and Mr. Mime clean up later in the game by softening the opposing team. A healthy Clefable can also beat nearly any foe one-on-one late-game, and so preserving it should often be a consideration as well. Even with its great bulk, Clefable is still vulnerable to being worn down by Fire Spin chip damage and taking hits as it switches in, and it is often strained by the demands placed on it as one of the few bulky Pokemon in the tier; bulky Water- and Rock-types like Blastoise, Kabutops, and Golem can relieve some defensive pressure and increase its longevity. Clefable can act as a paralysis absorber against Mr. Mime and opposing Clefable but should not be entirely relied on to tank hits.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Clefable can drop Thunder Wave for Hyper Beam if you wish to use Clefable purely for damage and do not need to enable teammates via paralysis, but this often gives up critical utility for minor gain. Sing allows Clefable to utilize its bulk to attempt to put a foe to sleep; however, with no reliable recovery, this is a risky way to compress roles and free a slot for another Pokemon and may result in losing Clefable for little to no value. Due to Clefable’s low Speed and Sing’s poor accuracy, it will often get paralyzed and struggle to land sleep moves. Psychic is an interesting option, 3HKOing Venomoth and allowing Clefable to reapply paralysis Speed drops against it and opposing Clefable, but this covers fewer matchups than most other options. Counter allows Clefable to improve its matchup against opposing Clefable, Raticate, and Wigglytuff, but opposing Clefable can use Blizzard for nearly equivalent damage while avoiding retaliation; it can also be used to switch into a Hyper Beam from Charizard or Kingler before returning lethal damage. Fire Blast 2HKOes Venomoth and Pinsir, but this is extremely niche due to Fire Blast's poor accuracy and Pinsir's rarity.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Clefable**: The most typical check to Clefable is one's own Clefable, as it is a difficult foe to switch into for most of the tier. Barring multiple full paralysis turns or critical hits, the typical outcome of this scenario is that one Clefable is KOed while the other is left low enough to be revenge killed by most foes.
**Fire-types**: Although Clefable is bulky, it is quite vulnerable to being whittled down by Fire Spin. Pokemon like Moltres, Charizard, and Ninetales can take on Clefable well, with Moltres nearly 2HKOing Clefable with Fire Blast. However, none of the Fire-types enjoy getting paralyzed themselves and may not wish to risk the matchup.
**Sleep**: Venomoth outspeeds Clefable and can easily enter after a KO, forcing the Clefable player to give up a Pokemon in retaliation. Clefable rarely wants to take sleep moves, and switching is even less ideal, forcing hard decisions.
**Normal-types**: Wigglytuff can reliably trade with Clefable, leaving one's own Clefable healthy to check other threats. It can also use Counter to return massive damage should Clefable hit it with Body Slam or Hyper Beam. Raticate falls just short of 2HKOing with Super Fang + Hyper Beam, with only a 20% chance to succeed, but still trades well with Clefable or can use Super Fang before allowing a teammate to finish it off.
**Rock-types**: Hyper Beam Clefable often leaves itself open to one of Kabutops or Golem by dropping either Thunderbolt or Blizzard, allowing these foes to freely set up or attack as it is forced out.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Sabelette, 583793]], [[5Dots, 543866]]
- Quality checked by: [[phoopes, 96315], [nicole7735, 593847]]
- Grammar checked by: [[autumn, 384270]]
Thanks to its great bulk, excellent utility movepool, and solid attacking stats, Clefable cements itself as perhaps the most central Pokemon in NU. Its access to Thunder Wave and Body Slam enables it to be an excellent paralysis inducer, allowing teammates like Charizard, Mr. Mime, Nidoking, and Kabutops to rack up damage to help clean or wallbreak. Diverse coverage including Thunderbolt, Blizzard, and Hyper Beam makes Clefable difficult to switch into and allows it to break through both high-Special foes like Mr. Mime and physical walls like Golem. Clefable also has moves such as Sing and Counter as surprise options to ensure it is never truly predictable. Clefable's defensive typing also prevents it from being paralyzed with Body Slam, allowing it to switch into opposing Clefable as well as certain Charizard, Blastoise, and even Kingler sets.
Despite these upsides, Clefable's lack of resistances and low Speed allow it to be worn down quickly and can make it difficult to switch in against faster foes. Clefable is only able to outpace Golem, Exeggcute, Wigglytuff, and the rare Porygon. It is a popular revenge target for Venomoth to put to sleep, and as it is one of the central defensive pieces of the tier, its loss often makes for a difficult game. It also has difficulty fitting every move it wants, having to sacrifice utility or coverage to fit Hyper Beam to improve the Mr. Mime matchup.
[SET]
name: Bulky Support
move 1: Body Slam
move 2: Thunder Wave
move 3: Blizzard / Hyper Beam
move 4: Thunderbolt / Hyper Beam
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Body Slam and Thunder Wave are central to Clefable's utility in NU. Body Slam deters many switch-ins with the threat of paralysis and deals excellent damage. Thunder Wave intimidates Swords Dance users, punishes Fire Spin misses, and slows fast foes to allow other attackers, such as Kabutops, Kingler, and Nidoking, to punish foes that would otherwise outspeed and KO them, such as Mr. Mime. Blizzard and Thunderbolt provide coverage, threatening 2HKOs and 3HKOs against most of the tier. While both cover the Flying-types of the tier, Charizard and Moltres, Blizzard additionally covers Golem, Nidoking, and Exeggcute, while Thunderbolt provides coverage against Blastoise, Kabutops, and Kingler. Hyper Beam provides a good finishing move against opposing Clefable and is its strongest move against neutral targets like Mr. Mime.
Clefable often utilizes Hyper Beam in place of one of its attacking moves, as Body Slam + Hyper Beam usually results in a 2HKO against Mr. Mime and provides high damage against opposing Normal-types such as Clefable, Raticate, and Wigglytuff. Regardless of which move is dropped, however, Clefable suffers in coverage, choosing between losing the consistency of Body Slam, sacrificing its matchup against Water-types by giving up Thunderbolt, or being fully walled by Golem if surrendering Blizzard. Blizzard gives away the least matchups and is thus the safest pick for a typical team, but any move can be dropped depending on its allies' coverage.
Clefable is a mainstay of most teams as both the most effective answer to opposing Clefable and as a strong attacker and status spreader after opposing sleep is out of the picture, helping offensive teammates like Charizard and Mr. Mime clean up later in the game by softening the opposing team. A healthy Clefable can also beat nearly any foe one-on-one late-game, and so preserving it should often be a consideration as well. Even with its great bulk, Clefable is still vulnerable to being worn down by Fire Spin chip damage and taking hits as it switches in, and it is often strained by the demands placed on it as one of the few bulky Pokemon in the tier; bulky Water- and Rock-types like Blastoise, Kabutops, and Golem can relieve some defensive pressure and increase its longevity. Clefable can act as a paralysis absorber against Mr. Mime and opposing Clefable but should not be entirely relied on to tank hits.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Clefable can drop Thunder Wave for Hyper Beam if you wish to use Clefable purely for damage and do not need to enable teammates via paralysis, but this often gives up critical utility for minor gain. Sing allows Clefable to utilize its bulk to attempt to put a foe to sleep; however, with no reliable recovery, this is a risky way to compress roles and free a slot for another Pokemon and may result in losing Clefable for little to no value. Due to Clefable’s low Speed and Sing’s poor accuracy, it will often get paralyzed and struggle to land sleep moves. Psychic is an interesting option, 3HKOing Venomoth and allowing Clefable to reapply paralysis Speed drops against it and opposing Clefable, but this covers fewer matchups than most other options. Counter allows Clefable to improve its matchup against opposing Clefable, Raticate, and Wigglytuff, but opposing Clefable can use Blizzard for nearly equivalent damage while avoiding retaliation; it can also be used to switch into a Hyper Beam from Charizard or Kingler before returning lethal damage. Fire Blast 2HKOes Venomoth and Pinsir, but this is extremely niche due to Fire Blast's poor accuracy and Pinsir's rarity.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Clefable**: The most typical check to Clefable is one's own Clefable, as it is a difficult foe to switch into for most of the tier. Barring multiple full paralysis turns or critical hits, the typical outcome of this scenario is that one Clefable is KOed while the other is left low enough to be revenge killed by most foes.
**Fire-types**: Although Clefable is bulky, it is quite vulnerable to being whittled down by Fire Spin. Pokemon like Moltres, Charizard, and Ninetales can take on Clefable well, with Moltres nearly 2HKOing Clefable with Fire Blast. However, none of the Fire-types enjoy getting paralyzed themselves and may not wish to risk the matchup.
**Sleep**: Venomoth outspeeds Clefable and can easily enter after a KO, forcing the Clefable player to give up a Pokemon in retaliation. Clefable rarely wants to take sleep moves, and switching is even less ideal, forcing hard decisions.
**Normal-types**: Wigglytuff can reliably trade with Clefable, leaving one's own Clefable healthy to check other threats. It can also use Counter to return massive damage should Clefable hit it with Body Slam or Hyper Beam. Raticate falls just short of 2HKOing with Super Fang + Hyper Beam, with only a 20% chance to succeed, but still trades well with Clefable or can use Super Fang before allowing a teammate to finish it off.
**Rock-types**: Hyper Beam Clefable often leaves itself open to one of Kabutops or Golem by dropping either Thunderbolt or Blizzard, allowing these foes to freely set up or attack as it is forced out.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Sabelette, 583793]], [[5Dots, 543866]]
- Quality checked by: [[phoopes, 96315], [nicole7735, 593847]]
- Grammar checked by: [[autumn, 384270]]
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