Kleavor Movesets & Competitive Sets

Equipped with a Choice Scarf, Kleavor can leverage its naturally high Attack stat, Sharpness ability, and Stone Axe to pressure the opposing team, notably outspeeding Dragapult, Flutter Mane, and Ogerpon-H. Stone Axe smashes through Fire- and Flying-types such as Volcarona, Ogerpon-H, and Zapdos. Night Slash deals with offensive Ghost foes like Dragapult, Spectrier, and Gholdengo. Alternatively, X-Scissor destroys Dark threats like Meowscarada, Greninja, and Darkrai, avoiding hit-and-run with U-turn. Close Combat helps deal with Steel foes such as Bisharp, Heatran, and Iron Treads that would otherwise pose trouble. Given its frailty and weakness to Rock-type moves, Forretress is a valuable partner for Kleavor, spinning away entry hazards and setting its own, taking advantage of Stone Axe to run Spikes; they also form a potent VoltTurn core thanks to Forretress's access to Volt Switch to slow pivot into Kleavor. Araquanid is another beneficial teammate, (AC) as it can set Sticky Web to ensure Kleavor outspeeds the whole metagame, even Choice Scarf variants of fast Pokemon like Dragapult and Flutter Mane, and Ceruledge after Weak Armor. Additionally, Araquanid can sponge Water-type moves from Swampert and Keldeo and weaken them enough for Kleavor to finish them. Offensively, Lokix and Scizor are both very solid teammates that can dent the opposing team for Kleavor and appreciate the utility provided by Stone Axe. More specifically, Lokix is best at dealing with Ghost-types like Gholdengo and Sinistcha and offers strong priority options with Sucker Punch and First Impression to pick up KOs in Psychic, Ghost, and Dark matchups. Scizor shines in Fairy and Rock matchups with its Technician-boosted Bullet Punch and Swords Dance, taking advantage of the chip damage provided by Stone Axe to avoid being stopped by Focus Sash. Volcarona is another premier partner, capable of addressing the Fighting matchup by disposing of Urshifu-R and Great Tusk with Psychic and by burning Iron Hands with Flame Body or Will-O-Wisp.

Kleavor finds a solid place on Rock-type teams thanks to a unique secondary Bug typing, granting it neutrality to Fighting- and Grass- type attacks. Stone Axe is a consistently strong attack, deleting Fire-types like Ogerpon-H and Ceruledge and neutral targets like Flutter Mane. It also sets up Stealth Rock unconditionally, clearing up moveslots for the rest of the team. Close Combat serves a crucial role in allowing Kleavor to hit Steel-types like Heatran and Hisuian Goodra that would otherwise wall it. Night Slash provides utility in allowing Kleavor to hit Gholdengo, which otherwise also walls it, along with being able to hit other Ghost-types like Dragapult and Spectrier. Meanwhile, X-Scissor provides a strong secondary STAB move that can remove Bug-weak targets like Ogerpon-W, Hoopa-U, and Slowbro reliably. U-turn provides a solid pivot tool along with a Bug-type attack should Kleavor forgo X-Scissor. Ogerpon-C serves as an invaluable teammate, being able to threaten the Water-types that easily scare Kleavor out such as Toxapex, Swampert, and Keldeo. Glimmora provides incredible utility with Mortal Spin, which removes entry hazards, as well as its ability Toxic Debris, which helps to wear down threats that are weak to Toxic Spikes such as Iron Hands, the Ogerpon formes, and Great Tusk. Glimmora can also opt for Choice Specs, allowing it to remove physical walls like Toxapex, Corviknight, and Skarmory with minimal issue. Choice Band Hisuian Arcanine can remove Steel-types that can wall Kleavor such as Skarmory, Corviknight, and Gholdengo while also appreciating Kleavor's Stealth Rock chipping other threats down into OHKO range for Hisuian Arcanine's Rock-type STAB move such as Toxapex. Alternatively, Hisuian Arcanine can run a set with Substitute more reliably deal with threats like Bisharp, which prove problematic for Kleavor. Choice Band Iron Boulder, with its Psychic typing, can remove bulky Fighting- and Poison-types like Iron Hands, Okidogi, and Pecharunt that can otherwise easily set up on Kleavor. Iron Boulder can also serve as a devastating second Choice Scarf user, being able to outspeed threats like Meowscarada and Greninja and easily remove them. Tyranitar provides sand support, chipping targets down along with Thunder Wave to slow down opposing Choice Scarf threats such as Latias and Flutter Mane. Rhyperior, thanks to its immense physical bulk, can come in and remove troublesome targets like Gliscor, Iron Treads, and Sneasler. Setup sweepers such as Minior and Drednaw both appreciate Kleavor setting up Stealth Rock, making targets that may have been able to take hits, such as Toxapex, Great Tusk, and Arcahludon, fall.

Choice Scarf Kleavor is one of the best answers to Flying- and Fire-types, like Tornadus-T, Mega Charizard-Y, and Skeledirge, for Bug teams, thanks to its Sharpness-boosted Stone Axe, which has the added utility of automatically setting Stealth Rock. Close Combat synergizes well with Kleavor's STAB moves, crushing Steel-types like Iron Treads. U-turn allows Kleavor to pivot out of Great Tusk and Skarmory to bring in teammates like Araquanid or Volcarona. Night Slash banishes Ghost-types like Gholdengo, Knock Off softens walls like Corviknight and Porygon2 for its teammates, and X-Scissor takes down Slowbro to make way for Mega Pinsir. Araquanid and Galvantula are excellent teammates, as these set up Sticky Web to patch up Kleavor's unassuming speed, even when using a Choice Scarf, allowing it to outspeed Choice Scarf Blacephalon. Additionally, they also help in dealing with pesky Fire- and Flying-types like Volcarona and Landorus, respectively. Physical setup sweepers benefit from Kleavor's ability to set hazards offensively, Knock Off items from walls, and deal with Skeledirge and Slowbro, which often wall Mega Pinsir, Scizor, and Mega Scizor. In return, they deal with Fighting- and Fairy-types like Great Tusk and Mega Diancie. Quiver Dance Volcarona appreciates Skeledirge removed, as this lets it clean up Ghost teams at +1; it can also be brought in against passive walls like Slowbro and Skarmory. Forretress provides Rapid Spin and loves Kleavor's ability to set Stealth Rock, as this allows it to run other hazards like Toxic Spikes or Volt Switch to better support the team. Lokix provides great offensive support with its access to priority in First Impression and Sucker Punch to finish off teams weakened by Kleavor through entry hazards and repeated Knock Offs. It is also a secondary check to Skeledirge, which Bug teams appreciate.

This is the sample set before we work on new analyses. This will be updated as the metagame continues to develop. Stay tuned!

While Stone Axe's accuracy can be off-putting if reliable Stealth Rock setting is a must, Kleavor's unique form of role compression makes it an effective alternative to more defensive setters. Night Slash: Night Slash is Kleavor's best way of dealing big damage to Gholdengo and is a reliable option against weakened Flutter Mane. Feint: Feint's increased priority over other priority attacks make it a great way to pick off Focus Sash foes like Chien-Pao and Iron Bundle. Kleavor being faster means it'll even outpace Dragonite's Extreme Speed! Trailblaze: While Kleavor isn't known for easily sweeping, it's fast enough to outspeed Flutter Mane and Iron Bundle after Trailblaze, and Trailblaze is especially useful when using Tera Grass against Urshifu-R. X-Scissor versus Close Combat: While X-Scissor's coverage on paper isn't impressive, the boost from Sharpness lets it 2HKO Cresselia and Ting-Lu that lack Sitrus Berry. Adamant versus Jolly: If using Feint, Adamant is the best nature choice for maximizing the amount of targets it can pick off after using Stone Axe. For Trailblaze variants, Jolly is preferred to outspeed Flutter Mane, Iron Bundle, and even Dragapult. Jolly also ensures it outspeeds all Gholdengo that lack Choice Scarf. Other Options Tailwind: Tailwind is an unusual move for Battle Stadium Singles, but Kleavor's disposable nature with Focus Sash can make it justified as a move to use before fainting. Tera Types Tera Dependency - Medium: Kleavor's entry hazard setting nature may not make Terastallization seem important, but its archnemesis, Urshifu-R, makes it worth considering, since it can threaten to OHKO Kleavor through its Focus Sash. Grass: Tera Grass is a good response against Urshifu-R, not only resisting its deadly Surging Strikes, but also boosting Trailblaze. Water: Tera Water isn't as offensively useful, but it's still a good way to resist both Surging Strikes and powerful Steel-type attacks like Heatran's Flash Cannon. Bug: Tera Bug isn't great defensively, but it allows Kleavor to 2HKO even Impish Sitrus Berry Ting-Lu with X-Scissor. Ghost: Despite Kleavor's resistance to Extreme Speed, Dragonite often picks off Focus Sash variants, so Tera Ghost is a huge shock for it, though a rather risky Terastallization choice. It also blocks Rapid Spin from Great Tusk, even if it's not particularly common. Items Focus Sash: Focus Sash makes Kleavor a good lead against a wide variety of foes such as Iron Bundle and lets it easily justify the maximum Speed investment needed to outspeed Gholdengo. Assault Vest: Kleavor's special bulk is mediocre at best, but Stone Axe's entry hazard setting powers can justify using Assault Vest to survive certain attacks that are otherwise impossible without Focus Sash. Assault Vest EV Spreads 28 HP / 204 Atk / 4 Def / 204 SpD / 68 Spe with Adamant: This more specially bulky spread usually survives Iron Bundle's Hydro Pump, Timid Choice Specs Flutter Mane's Tera Fairy Moonblast, and Jolly Life Orb Chien-Pao's Icicle Crash while outspeeding Garchomp after one use of Trailblaze. 28 HP / 108 Atk / 4 Def / 204 SpD / 164 Spe with Jolly: This spread has enough Speed to outspeed Iron Bundle after using Trailblaze once while usually surviving Timid Tera Fairy Choice Specs Moonblast from Flutter Mane, Non-Choice Specs Iron Bundle's Hydro Pump, and Jolly Life Orb Chien-Pao's Icicle Crash. 140 HP / 52 Atk / 4 Def / 244 SpD / 68 Spe with Adamant: This more extreme spread usually lets Kleavor survive even Timid Gholdengo's Make It Rain, almost always avoids a 2HKO from Modest Chi-Yu's Dark Pulse, and avoids an OHKO from Adamant Life Orb Chien-Pao's Icicle Crash while still outspeeding Garchomp after one use of Trailblaze. Minor Optimizations Female Gender: While very rare, Cute Charm Enamorus can potentially impact Kleavor, meaning there are no drawbacks to using a female gender.

Choice Scarf Kleavor has a very unique niche of being a decent revenge killing pivot that can set up Stealth Rock at the same time! Night Slash: Night Slash is Kleavor's best move against Gholdengo, making it highly recommended, since Kleavor outspeeds it. X-Scissor versus Close Combat: Despite offering less coverage, X-Scissor's sheer power with Sharpness makes it a great option, dealing heavy damage to Cresselia and Ting-Lu and being a strong cleaning option. Close Combat isn't as reliable, but it can let Kleavor more reliably revenge kill threats such as Tera Normal Dragonite and Ursaluna. It's also Kleavor's easiest option to use for revenge killing Urshifu-R. Other Options Aerial Ace: Aerial Ace isn't particularly strong despite the boost from Sharpness, but it does deal massive damage to Urshifu-R, especially if using the easily accessible Tera Flying. Tera Types Tera Dependency - Low: While Choice Scarf Urshifu-R is still a major concern, this set's other purpose means that setting up Stealth Rock is required for success, making Terastallization less important. Bug: If using X-Scissor, Tera Bug lets Kleavor 2HKO even Sitrus Berry Ting-Lu, making for an effective late-game cleaner. Grass: If Choice Scarf Urshifu-R is a major concern, Tera Grass is a decent way around it in addition to getting an advantage against Breloom leads. Flying: Tera Flying should only be used with Aerial Ace, which gives Kleavor a 75% chance of OHKOing Urshifu-R after taking Stealth Rock damage. Minor Optimizations Female Gender: Cute Charm Enamorus is very rare and not important, but it does mean that a female gender is slightly preferred on Kleavor.