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Congratz to xapx for winning with his Tapu Bulu submission. Maybe I'll update the archive, idk. Anyways, our next contestant is...
Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 80 HP / 252 SpA / 176 Spe
Modest Nature
- Moonblast
- Thunderbolt
- Fire Blast
-Soft Boiled
After Zygarde's departure. Clefable experienced a golden era. Not being forced to run max defense evs let it explore a new plethora of options, including Spdef sets and, what we are using here, even a Life Orb set. Since then, Clefable has been seeing consistent usage with all of it's new toys. So what's Life Orb Clefable's best friend?
Garchomp @ Rockium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Swords Dance
Garchomp appreciates Clefable on being able to weaken or luring in mons such as Slowbro, Spdef Bulu , Tangrowth , Amoongus, Celesteela , Ferrothorn, and Tapu Fini. In return Garchomp is able to set up rocks to worn down mons that give Clefable a hard time at beating and also helps at beating against the likes of Heatran and Toxapex.
Mega Alakazam enjoys Clefable's presence because it can easily wear down Steel-types such as Magearna and Celesteela for Mega Alakazam, which makes it a lot harder to deal with Mega Alakazam for many teams.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 24 Def / 232 SpD
IVs: 0 Spe
Sassy Nature
- Spikes
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball / Knock Off
- Power Whip
FerroClef is already a pretty well known fat core, but LO Clef still appreciates the utility Ferrothorn provides. Besides doing a lot of what FerroClef already does, LO Clefable really appreciates Spikes support to chip away at bulky stuff that tries to switch into Clef, such as Heatran and Tangrowth, allowing it to break them much easier. Additionally, other utility moves like Knock Off are valuable for helping it break past item-reliant mons like Celesteela, SpDef Tran or Magearna. In return, Ferrothorn appreciates Clefable chipping at things like Heatran and fat Grasses so they're not as likely to switch-in and deny Ferro's Leech Seeds.
Rotom-Wash @ Leftovers / Wiki Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 200 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Volt Switch
- Will-O-Wisp
- Pain Split
LO Clef, like all wallbreakers, appreciates a strong VoltTurn core, but the reason I picked Rotom-W over say, Torn or Lando, is its ability to check a very dangerous threat in Ash-Greninja in tandem with Clefable. These two keep the Gren player constantly guessing, especially with another Gren check in the back. Past pivoting and handling Gren, Rotom-W manages Flying-types, non-Toxic Heatran, TSpikes Toxapex if its carrying Defog, and Volts on Grasses to bring it in easier. Meanwhile, Clef takes advantage of those Grasses (not named Amoon/Venu) and can ease the matchup against Ground-types Rotom doesn’t like (Garchomp).
Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Water Shuriken
- Dark Pulse
- Spikes
Ash Greninja really enjoys LO Clef luring the likes of Toxapex, Spdef Bulu, Tangrowth, Ferrothorn, AV Magearna, spdef Celesteela. In return, Ash Gren can lay down spikes to ease Clef's job and can capitalize on fire types wanting to switch into Clef. I know spikes benefit every offensive mon but Clef in particular fits well on spikes offense, because its magic guard leaves you less pressured to defog your own hazard stack away when the match becomes trade-heavy.
Shift Gear Magearna loves LO Clef's ability to deal massive chip damage to everything that switches into it. Bulky pokemon like Zapdos, Defensive Landorus, Heatran, Gliscor, Toxapex, Tangrowth, and Celesteela all like to pivot into Clef's attacks, take some chip, and pivot out. Electrium Z Magearna takes advantage of this by serving as a late-game sweeper for when these pokemon have been chipped down, outspeeding and cleaning through them much more easily, racking up SpA boosts as it goes. Electrium Z is here to beat Toxapex and Celesteela specifically- their great recovery and bulk make it a lot harder for Clef to chip them down, and without the Z move they can 1v1 Magearna.
Kartana enjoys Clefable luring in and severely damaging stuff like M-Scizor and Celesteela. Band and Scarf sets work with LO Clefable well too, Z-Normal is just an example.
Okay, so before everyone roasts me for being really lazy, there's a reason. I'll be gone in Germany without access to Smogon from July 3rd to July 24th, so I was looking for someone to cover me while I was away. That's why this project has not been up-to-date. That being said, big huge shout-out to insydia for lending a hand, as they have agreed to run the project in my absence until I come back, so huge thanks to them!
Anyways, there's a tie between submissions here, so I'm going to break the vote between Ferro, Kart, and MZam by voting for Mega Alakazam. Congratz to Jordy for winning this really long round, your submission will be archived. Moving on, our next subject will be something that has literally been submitted every time, so no more cheap submissions this time. We will be looking at..
Tornadus-Therian (M) @ Flyinium Z / Fightinium Z
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 88 HP / 160 SpA / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hurricane
- Knock Off
- Taunt / U-Turn / Focus Blast
- Defog
Tornadus-T, while looked down upon in SM, has established itself as one of the most Meta defining pokemon, due to it's access to Defog, alongside other amazing utility moves, as well as Regenerator and it's fantastic stats and speed tier. All of these traits let Tornadus-T function as one of, if not the best, defogger in the OU tier. So what's Torn-T's ideal match? Let's find out!
Tangrowth @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Hidden Power Ice
- Earthquake
Tangrowth and Tornadus-T form a Regenerator core that can be particularly hard to break thanks to their type synergy. Tangrowth is able to check common Tornadus-T checks such as Tapu Koko, while Tornadus-T is capable of taking on Pokemon like Mega Venusaur for Tangrowth.
Rotom-W is a great partner for Tornadus-T as they form a solid VoltTurn core together. When the two are run alongside eachother, it allows Rotom-W to run Pain Split, giving it much appreciated longevity while making it harder to break down. Tornadus-T is also able to patch up Rotom-W's weakness to Grass-types in the tier such as Tangrowth and Tapu Bulu.