Project Lure that Threat SM OU Edition - Week 9: Clefable

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Based on and OP adapted from the ORAS thread of the same name.
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Welcome Smogonites! We all know what are lures and what they do, specific Pokemon that run an unexpected move or moveset in order to weaken or directly OHKO a specific threat, and pave the way for another sweeper. Having said that though, there isn't that much of a focus on lures in the OU Forum, and a good deal of lures used by battlers aren't really that optimal, this project tries from a competition to see what the ingenuity of people can come up with, and, hopefully; improve the Teambuilding aspect we have at the moment.

Every week, I will post a threat in the OU metagame alongside a set and a brief description of how it works. The community will then have around four days to nominate Pokemon (with sets) that they feel are effective lures to that specific threat. I will then pick the best lures and they will be the winners.
Rules
  • You must post a set and an explanation of why your chosen Pokemon is a good lure alongside your nomination. Damage calculations are appreciated and will help better illustrate your point, but not required.
  • Please focus on only posting OU-viable Pokemon as lures. As a general rule of thumb, only nominating Pokemon found in the OU viability ranking thread is a good idea. You may nominate Pokemon that aren't found in that thread, but please post a detailed explanation of why that Pokemon is viable if you do. Nominations can be rejected on the basis of the Pokemon being unviable.
  • You are welcome to reserve a lure, but only if you plan to complete the write-up within six hours. Other users may nominate the Pokemon themselves if you fail to meet this time requirement.
Things to ask yourself before posting a lure
  • Does this Pokemon have to sacrifice anything important? If you're losing a key part of a set just for an uncommon threat that isn't even lured in that is what we call a "bad lure", always consider what you give up in order to lure something, that is very important.
  • Does this Pokemon gain anything important when using this moveset? Does this Pokemon or the team benefit from the lure.
  • Could this method be better aided through teammates? Does your lure need team support to carry out it's role effectively?
  • Is this set uncommon enough to be really considered a lure? Would your opponent, under normal battle conditions, expect to be able to safely switch the Pokemon into your lure?
Examples

Litios (Latios) @ Electrium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Draco Meteor
- Thunder
- Calm Mind
- Roost​
This is an example of a good lure. With Calm Mind and Electrium Z, Latios can break the omnipresent Celesteela + Toxapex core and surprise other common Latios checks such as Mega Scizor and Tapu Fini. With Roost, Latios can defeat Pokemon such as Assault Vest Magearna and Tangrowth 1v1, which usually force out a standard Life Orb or Choice Specs Latios.


Magnezone @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hidden Power Ice
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt​
This is an example of a bad lure. While it seems like a perfectly fine set to surprise Zygarde and Landorus-T, running Hidden Power Ice completely removes its niche in OU as a Steel-type trapper, as it's no longer capable of using Hidden Power Fire to defeat Ferrothorn and Mega Scizor.


Archive:

Physically Defensive Toxapex:
extrasensory greninja (Cheryl.), psychium z volcarona (ayman x), and groundium z heatran (Martin)

Fast Mew:
Double-Edge Medicham (Leo), Toxic Clefable (robopoke), and Infestation Toxapex (vsomani)

Standard Chansey:
SubEndeavor Diancie (robopoke) and Fightinium Z Greninja (Vengeance417)
 
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Week 1: Specially Defensive Celesteela

Celesteela @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Heavy Slam
- Flamethrower
....aaaand we're off! This set has is known for its ability to act as a blanket check to a number of special attackers such as Greninja, Tapu Lele, Latios, and Magearna due to its excellent special bulk and great defensive typing. With the combination of Leech Seed + Protect, Celesteela is able to easily wear down these foes while simultaneously restoring its own HP. Heavy Slam is the main STAB move, taking advantage of Celesteela's high weight. Flamethrower is placed in the final slot to allow Celesteela to take care of bulky Steel-types that would otherwise wall it, such as Ferrothorn, Mega Scizor, and Skarmory.
 
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3d

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Togekiss (M) @ Firium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Air Slash
- Fire Blast
- Roost / Thunder Wave

HIM. Popularized by ABR in his game vs craing ;_; in ost finals, firium z is one of the best lures to spdef steela. Generally, most teams run Celesteela as their main flying resist and Firium Z Togekiss completely destroys literally every single Celesteela set. Basically all you have to do is Nasty Plot on the switchin and then decimate with Inferno Overdrive. Max Special Attack is used to ensure a protected +2 Inferno Overdrive + Fire Blast kills. Max Speed Timid is for Bulu and everything else that doesn't hit 284 speed.
 
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Magearna @ Electrium Z
Ability: Soul Heart
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
- Hidden Power Fire
- Trick Room

Electrium Z Magearna is a really good set since it breaks past quite a few of it's checks such as the threat in question Celesteela, Skarmory, THApex, while mauling other checks such as Heatran, Mega Mawile, etc. Gigavolt Havoc is just very good in general for chunking it's switch-ins bar AV Tang and other Grasses really hard. Alolan Marowak walls this set, but that's only if it's got Lightning Rod, but otherwise you're good fam. Really nice set overall.

252+ SpA Magearna Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 298-352 (74.8 - 88.4%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (a bit of chip damage then gg)

252+ SpA Magearna Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 104+ SpD Toxapex: 260-308 (85.5 - 101.3%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252+ SpA Magearna Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Heatran: 198-234 (61.3 - 72.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Magearna Gigavolt Havoc (175 BP) vs. 92 HP / 4 SpD Mega Mawile: 218-257 (82.5 - 97.3%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
 
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Tapu Lele @ Electrium Z
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Psyshock
- Thunder
- Filler (HP Fire, Taunt, Focus Blast, CM, etc.)

Celesteela is one of the most commonly used switch-ins to Lele the tier has to offer since it compresses so much into one slot, so people will switch Celesteela into Tapu Lele because it's usually a safe option. Usually. With Z-Thunder, Tapu Lele can hit Celesteela for a ton of damage, and since Celesteela is such a good blanket check, it will probably have some of it's health chipped away. If running CM, you can also Calm Mind on the switch and nuke it afterwards. However this is risky because the Celesteela can try and scout with Protect and you'll just waste your lure, so it's safer to just try and predict the switch.

252+ SpA Tapu Lele Gigavolt Havoc (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 316-372 (79.3 - 93.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
 
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Greninja @ Life Orb
Ability: Protean
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Low Kick
- Spikes
- Ice Beam
- Gunk Shot
Greninja is a versatile and powerful threat in OU. However, Celesteela can easily check it if it runs only special moves, as its Hydro Pump barely 3HKOs. To remedy this we have, lo and behold, Low Kick.
252 Atk Life Orb Protean Greninja Low Kick (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Celesteela: 199-235 (50 - 59%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
While the max attack means that Ice Beam will lose out on a lot of power, not all is lost; Ice Beam can still hit the hazard setters it needs to. Plus, Gren still does its Spike setting job well, as it beats the majority of hazard removers in OU; Ice Beam still 2HKOs Zapdos even with the lowered Special Attack. Low Kick has other utility besides Celesteela; it also smacks Ferrothorn and Tyranitar.
 
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Reserving Firium Z Garchomp.



Garchomp @ Firium Z
Ability: Rough Skin
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Dragon Claw / Outrage
- Fire Fang

Usually, Celesteela would seem like the perfect counter to Swords Dance Garchomp: it is immune to Earthquake, one of its stronger STAB move, and it resists Dragon Claw and Outrage, so even after a boost, Garchomp still can't do too much to it. However, Garchomp can lure Celesteela by using the combination of Fire Fang and Firium Z, which blows away Celesteela after a Swords Dance boost:

+2 252 Atk Garchomp Inferno Overdrive (120 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Celesteela: 508-598 (127.6 - 150.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Note: Garchomp can also use this set to handle Skarmory and Tapu Bulu, two other Pokémon that can deal with it without Firium Z.
 
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Gengar (M) @ Electrium Z
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Timid Nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Thunder

252 SpA Gengar Gigavolt Havoc (185 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 288-340 (72.3 - 85.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Gengar can bluff a Choice Scarf/Ghostium Z set while opposing Celesteela pivot into its relatively weak Shadow Ball, and then hit hard with Gigavolt Havoc.
 
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Landorus-Therian (M) @ Rockium Z
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 Att / 4 Def / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge

In genreral, despite being a specially defensive mon, Celesteela is a great switch in thanks to being immune to Lando's main stab in EQ, U-Turn, being neutral to Stone Edge, resistant to Supersonic Skystrike and being able to threaten back with a variety of neutral options. However, with SD + Continental Crush, Celesteela will comfortably be OHKOed.

+2 252+ Atk Landorus-Therian Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Celesteela: 453-533 (113.8 - 133.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
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Punchshroom

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Gengar (M) @ Rockium Z

Tapu Bulu @ Fightinium Z / Rockium Z
Ability: Grassy Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly / Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Horn Leech
- Superpower
- Zen Headbutt / Stone Edge

Celesteela is likely the bulkiest Grass resist your opponent will have on their team, but Z-move Tapu Bulu will crush it with little difficulty. +2 All-Out Pummeling cleanly OHKOes Celesteela, while +2 Continental Crush would want Adamant to secure the OHKO.

+2 252 Atk Tapu Bulu All-Out Pummeling (190 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Celesteela: 402-473 (101 - 118.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252+ Atk Tapu Bulu Continental Crush (180 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Celesteela: 418-492 (105 - 123.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
Gravity Landorus-T


Landorus-Therian @ Expert Belt
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Gravity
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock


252+ Atk Expert Belt Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Celesteela: 454-535 (114 - 134.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Expert Belt Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Skarmory: 266-317 (79.6 - 94.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252+ Atk Expert Belt Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 240+ Def Rotom-Wash: 324-384 (106.9 - 126.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Expert Belt Landorus-Therian Earthquake vs. 248 HP / 244+ Def Zapdos: 377-446 (98.4 - 116.4%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO


0 Atk Celesteela Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Landorus-Therian: 142-168 (44.5 - 52.6%) -- 21.5% chance to 2HKO

Here we have the criminally underlooked Gravity set. In a OU metagame where Spikes are amazing, Gravity allows us to use our main STAB even towards many other targets.
You have to choose Gravity on the first switch and proceed to OHKO Celesteela if the opponent stays in. Otherwise, with little hazards support, you wear down the incoming switchins until the Gravity disappears from the battlefield. Too bad that Grass Terrain exists this generation, but you can't have all.
I chose Gravity over Smack Down to have some team support throughout the match.
Stone Edge with 100% accuracy is also nice to have. It is a move quite unpredictable, but effective.

Expert Belt is the item chosen because it allows you to bluff a Z-stone set.
____________________________
Landorus-Therian (M) @ Rockium Z
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 Att / 4 Def / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk ?
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Swords Dance
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
 
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Latios @ Electrium Z
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunder
- Draco Meteor
- Psyshock
- Recover/ Defog/ whatever


this is a classic set but it works. you bluff the soul dew/scarf/whatever and bop cele with gigavolt havoc as it comes in. be cautious with clicking it tho cause you could waste the z move on a protect.
 
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Martin

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Clefable @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 212 HP / 252 SpA / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Fire Blast
- Softboiled
- Focus Blast / Psychic / Stealth Rock / whatever

LO Clef was something I experimented with last gen, and it does a solid job of luring and eliminating Celesteela. Normally, Celesteela is able to come in on Clefable with little fear due to taking jack shit from Flamethrower and due to being able to heavily dent it in return with Heavy Slam. However, with maximum SpA investment and LO, Clefable is able to 2HKO Celesteela with Fire Blast as it switches in, either forcing it to Protect to get out of range of the second Fire Blast or, if Stealth Rock is on the field, netting the KO regardless short of two absolute minimum rolls or a miss. Clef as a whole is just an immensely versatile mon and, while this set sacrifices the ability to check certain Pokemon as consistently, it trades that for just a really nice net increase in damage on each of its attacks, which in turn allows its damage output to rival that of Odd Incense Tapu Lele when comparing Moonblast damage output.

The listed speed investment allows Clefable to outrun uninvested Magearna and below, allowing it to 2HKO Assault Vest variants with Fire Blast after it's been chipped by the equivalent of SR+1 Spike, and by extension this allows it to outrun SpD Celesteela. Focus Blast is there to not be complete Tran bait, Psychic allows Clefable to beat Toxapex 1v1 by outlasting its Recover between Magic Guard, it's solid bulk, and it forcing Toxa to recover after a single Psychic. SR is also an option if you lack another setter, giving Clef decent utility and taking advantage of its ability to lay consistently vs. Sableye. There are probably other options too, but honestly that last slot is generally team-dependent and filler.
 
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Askov

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Nihilego @ Choice Specs
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Power Gem
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power Ice
- Thunderbolt / Thunder


Nihilego @ Electrium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Power Gem
- Sludge Bomb
- Hidden Power Ice
- Thunder


Although these sets aren't the most common sets used on Nihilego, they can act as an effective lure to Celesteela, being able to heavily damage it. The first set has more power overall and doesn't waste a z-move while the second set have a very strong ''one time use'' electric move, having a decent shot of KOing after rocks damage + Power Gem.

These sets aren't meant to just lure Celesteela, Specs Nihilego can be an awesome wallbreaker with the right prediction while Electrium Z Nihilego can still lure other pokemons like some bulky waters(Toxapex, Alomomola, Suicune) and can bluff a choice item, being able to get some unexpected hits on some pokemons thinking that they are safe against a possible choice locked move.
 

Mimikyu @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Play Rough
- Shadow Claw

Celesteela is a common check to Life Orb Mimikyu, being able to tank a +2 Shadow Claw with ease and OHKO back with heavy slam, however, with Ghostium Z, SpDef Celesteela is now OHKO'd with a bit of residual damage due to Stealth Rock while Autotomize and more offensive variants are easily OHKO'd.

+2 252 Atk Mimikyu Never-Ending Nightmare (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Celesteela: 346-408 (86.9 - 102.5%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 Atk Mimikyu Never-Ending Nightmare (140 BP) vs. 84 HP / 0 Def Celesteela: 348-409 (97.7 - 114.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
 
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Kartana @ Fightinium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Leaf Blade
- Smart Strike
- Sacred Sword
- Swords Dance

Something basic:Dual stabs for Kartana get cucked by celesteela's typing, sacred sword usually does like mid 20% unboosted. With +2 AoP kills celesteela. With Rocks ,+2 Sacred Sword, 25% AoP (from protect) kills it.
+2 252 Atk Kartana All-Out Pummeling (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Celesteela: 475-559 (119.3 - 140.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO = ded Celesteela
+2 252 Atk Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Celesteela: 244-288 (61.3 - 72.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery + +2 252 Atk Kartana All-Out Pummeling (43 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Celesteela: 118-139 (29.6 - 34.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery(25% AoP cuz Protect) + Rocks = Guranteed Celesteela ded
 
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