Klinklang Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Shift Gear boosts Klinklang's Attack by one stage and its Speed by 2 stages, making it a very fearsome sweeper. Gear Grind is Klinklang's main STAB move, which can threaten Substitute users. Return is able to do a good amount of damage to Pokemon that resist Gear Grind, such as Incineroar and Heliolisk, when boosted. Magnet Rise lets Klinklang set up on Ground-types such as Piloswine and, if it isn't carrying Roar or Curse in its arsenal, Steelix. Substitute allows Klinklang to avoid being crippled by status such as burn and paralysis. Wild Charge in conjunction with Electrium Z covers most bulky Water-types that would otherwise wall Klinklang rather comfortably, such as Slowking, Vaporeon, and Pyukumuku. Toxic can be used if running Steelium Z; it targets similar targets as Gigavolt Havoc which are frequently seen on balance and stall teams, meaning Klinklang can break past these archetypes a lot easier. Set Details 252 Attack EVs and an Adamant nature let Klinklang hit as hard as possible, and 188 Speed EVs allow Klinklang to outspeed maximum Speed Decidueye. The remaining 68 EVs are dumped into HP for some extra bulk, which makes it a bit easier to set up Shift Gear. Clear Body makes Klinklang avoid stat drops from Intimidate, Parting Shot, and Sticky Web. It is also the only ability with any use because Plus and Minus are useless, since it's rather rare to see any other Pokemon use Plus or Minus. Steelium Z gives Klinklang a very powerful Corkscrew Crash, while Electrium Z in conjunction with Wild Charge targets defensive Water-types that can try to wall Klinklang. Leftovers gives Klinklang a way to recover health and lets it check Comfey and Whimsicott a lot better. Usage Tips Try to preserve Klinklang for mid- to late-game to pull off a sweep when its checks like Incineroar, defensive Slowking, and Steelix are weakened. Early- to mid-game, it is generally a lot wiser to just attack the opponent's check so Klinklang can sweep later. Once Klinklang's checks are significantly weakened, Klinklang can start to set up with Shift Gear. Use a Z-Move if Klinklang has to avoid recoil damage from Pokemon that typically carry Rocky Helmet like Xatu or have an ability that damages the attacking Pokemon like Garbodor's and Skuntank's Aftermath and Druddigon's Rough Skin in order to stay healthy so it can potentially get another setup opportunity and stay out of range from being revenge killed by a priority move. By virtue of Klinklang's typing and natural bulk, it can pivot in on Pokemon like Whimsicott and Sneasel. Use Magnet Rise against Ground-types that will try to use their STAB moves against Klinklang. Substitute should be set up whenever predicting a status move such as Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp from Pokemon like Jellicent, Rotom, Druddigon, and Miltank. Team Options Garbodor can set up Spikes and Toxic Spikes, which force common answers to Klinklang to take a lot of damage, and chip away at Hitmonlee if running Rocky Helmet. Xatu beats Steelix, Ferroseed, and Garbodor and brings in Klinklang with U-turn. In return, Klinklang can set up on Pokemon that can normally answer Xatu such as Sneasel and, if running Magnet Rise, Piloswine. Samurott can easily set up on a lot of common Klinklang answers like Delphox and Incineroar and can also heavily pressure Water-types like Vaporeon to stay healthy, and the combination of Klinklang and Samurott can potentially overwhelm the foe. Jellicent is incredibly bulky and able to take on most Fire-, Fighting-, and Ground-types, which are Pokemon that Klinklang generally struggles against. Scyther can easily bring in Klinklang with U-turn while also being a good answer to common Fighting-types. It can also lure in Steelix and Incineroar and remove their items with Knock Off. In return, Klinklang can beat Ice- and Flying-types for Scyther. Sneasel can Pursuit trap Calm Mind Delphox and remove the items from Incineroar and Steelix to give Klinklang an easier time breaking past them. Whimsicott can pressure Steel-resistant Pokemon like Slowking, Rotom, and Steelix, and, by virtue of its typing, it can also switch in on Fighting-type attacks for Klinklang.

Moves Shift Gear boosts Klinklang's Speed by two stages and its Attack by one stage, letting Klinklang outspeed a good majority of Pokemon when boosted, making it an essential move for sweeping. Gear Grind is Klinklang's most powerful STAB attack and hits the foe twice, breaking past Substitutes, Sturdy, and Focus Sashes. Return has decent neutral coverage and hits Pokemon that resist Gear Grind such as Lanturn, Pyroar, Samurott, and Ludicolo. Substitute is very important for Klinklang to avoid any crippling status ailments such as burn and paralysis, both of which stop its sweep. Magnet Rise is another option which assists Klinklang in setting up on a lot of common Ground-types, such as Rhydon, Torterra, Claydol, and, most importantly, Steelix. Wild Charge can be used as a coverage option to hit Poliwrath, Pelipper, Mantine, and Prinplup, but this leaves Klinklang walled by Electric-types if used over Return. Set Details Maximum Attack EVs plus an Adamant nature allow Klinklang to hit as hard as possible, while 176 Speed EVs allow Klinklang to outspeed neutral-natured base 80 Speed Pokemon, such as Shiftry and Kabutops. The rest of the EVs go into HP to increase its overall bulk, making it easier to set up. Klinklang can customize its EV spread to outspeed even more Pokemon before a boost; 160 HP / 252 Atk / 96 Spe allows it to outspeed neutral-natured base 70 Speed Pokemon as well as base 95 Speed Choice Scarf users after a boost, while 40 HP / 252 Atk / 216 Spe lets it outspeed Adamant Pinsir. Clear Body prevents Klinklang's Attack from being lowered by Intimidate, as well as preventing the Speed drop from Sticky Web. Leftovers is chosen for passive recovery, allowing Klinklang to set up more Substitutes if needed. Usage Tips Generally, it's best to save Klinklang for mid- to late-game when its checks and counters have been sufficiently weakened. Bring in Klinklang against a Pokemon that cannot deal much damage in return, such as Scyther, Mesprit, or non-Heat Wave Xatu. Use Substitute against any predicted status move, against a Pokemon that cannot do much in return, or on forced switches. Substitute is also useful for scouting status moves, Leech Seed, and super effective coverage moves. Once the opposing team is significantly weakened, use Shift Gear to boost Klinklang's damage output, and choose the appropriate move to hit the foe with from there. Team Options Grass-types such as Lilligant, Shiftry, Cacturne, and Vileplume all make for great teammates, as they threaten Water-types that check Klinklang, such as Gastrodon, Lanturn, Poliwrath, and Quagsire. Fire-types, such as Magmortar and Pyroar, can cover the vulnerability to Steelix Klinklang gains when running Substitute instead of Magnet Rise; they are also helpful to block Will-O-Wisps and threaten Ferroseed and Vileplume, which are much easier to handle with Substitute. Additionally, Cacturne provides Spikes support for Klinklang, making it easier to sweep teams, and a useful Water-type immunity, which can cover the non-Substitute variant's weakness to Scald. Life Orb Samurott is a good partner, as it's able to break past several answers to Klinklang such as Steelix and Weezing. Mesprit, Xatu, and Musharna are also great teammates thanks to their ability to threaten Poliwrath, Weezing, and Garbodor. Mesprit in particular has access to Stealth Rock to support Klinklang, as well as U-turn to help bring it in safely, while also having Healing Wish to bring Klinklang back to full HP and rid it of any status conditions. Hex Rotom is an interesting partner, as it lures in Steelix and Lanturn, weakening them significantly for Klinklang. Scyther is able to switch in and threaten Fighting-types, as well as lure in Pokemon that Klinklang can use as setup bait, such as Mawile and Ferroseed. Scyther also has good synergy with Klinklang because of its immunity to Ground and resistance to Fighting and Klinklang's ability to cover Scyther's Ice-, Rock-, and Flying-type weaknesses. Powerful wallbreakers such as Archeops, Aurorus, and Life Orb Magmortar can weaken teams significantly, paving the way for Klinklang to clean late-game. Garbodor is a great partner, as it switches into Fighting-types relatively well and supports Klinklang with Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Toxic Spikes in particular pairs very well with Klinklang because it wears down threats that prevent a Klinklang sweep such as Gastrodon and Barrier Musharna.

The key to setting up with Klinklang is to make use of its excellent typing to set up a Substitute, either on a predicted switch or resisted attack. Once Klinklang is sitting safely behind its Substitute, use Shift Gear at your discretion until Klinklang has enough Speed and power to outpace and destroy everything on the opposing team. Gear Grind is a strong STAB move that has the additional benefit of being capable to take down Substitute and Focus Sash users with ease. Although Wild Charge may seem like a better choice thanks to its greater super effective coverage, Return is in fact a better choice overall. Return still 2HKOes Slowking, as well as allowing Klinklang to beat Qwilfish, whereas Klinklang loses to Poliwrath no matter which move you choose to run. Wild Charge does have the benefit of beating Moltres should you be unable keep Stealth Rock on the field, as well as enabling Klinklang to get past support Omastar. Finally, Return lets you hit Electric-types for good damage, which are arguably more dangerous than the couple of Pokemon you would be able to beat with Wild Charge, ultimately making Return the better choice. With the given moves, Klinklang hits the vast majority of types for neutral damage, apart from Steel-types. Fortunately, thanks to Substitute, Klinklang can easily set up on one of RU's most common Steel-types: Ferroseed. Ferroseed usually walls this set with ease but is unable to break Klinklang's Substitutes in two or three hits—let alone one—as well as not being able to paralyze Klinklang whilst it is behind a Substitute. On top of this, Substitute also defends Klinklang from Leech Seed (Ferroseed's only method of recovery) as well as all other status effects. After a Shift Gear boost Klinklang becomes very difficult to revenge kill thanks to its extremely high Speed, as well as its access to Gear Grind, which not only bypasses Sturdy Pokemon and Substitute users, but also gives Klinklang more chances to score a timely critical hit. Leftovers is the recommended item as it gives Klinklang the chance to set up five Substitutes, thus increasing its chances of setting up successfully, as well as granting greater longevity. However, Life Orb is another option thanks to the increased damage output, but unfortunately Klinklang will find itself losing a lot of health to passive damage, such as Substitute and recoil. The given EVs ensure that Klinklang outspeed Timid Choice Scarf Manectric after a boost, as well as maintaining maximum attacking power. An alternate EV spread of 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe can be run for more bulk if you aren't preoccupied with the fastest Choice Scarf users. However, this spread does make it hard for Klinklang to check threats before a boost. Clear Body stops Intimidate and other stat lowering moves or abilities from robbing Klinklang of its boosts, as well as actually having an effect in singles, which makes it the superior ability. In order to remedy its coverage issues, Klinklang can run a choice of two Hidden Powers: Fire or Ground. Hidden Power Fire enables Klinklang to get past Ferroseed and Escavalier, whereas Hidden Power Ground easily dispatches Magneton and Aggron. However, it should be noted that neither of these two attacks is particularly effective against Steelix and that they should always be run with both a Naughty nature and Life Orb. Smeargle and Qwilfish make for great teammates as they can set up the hazards—Spikes in particular—that are a great help in ensuring Klinklang cleans up late-game. Magneton can trap and dispose of the Steel-types that frequently halt Klinklang's sweep, as well as giving Klinklang opportunities to switch in for free thanks to Magneton's slow Volt Switch. Special attacking wallbreakers are key to Klinklang's success; Moltres, Magmortar, Sceptile, and Sigilyph can all break past Klinklang's common counters. On top of this, the aforementioned Pokemon often lure in Pokemon, such as Clefable and Roselia, which Klinklang can set up on with ease. Klinklang benefits hugely from screen support, thanks to its high defenses and strong defensive typing, it will usually get the chance to set up more than once. Uxie therefore makes for a good teammate, as it can set up both Reflect and Light Screen, as well as laying down Stealth Rock and spreading paralysis.