Flying into Axe-tion by Bc_Zero

What’s up everyone, Bc_Zero back in the building and today we will be featuring The "Lord of the Woods” Kleavor. Kleavor is the new evolution of Scyther added in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and is making its debut in competitive pokemon.  Now let’s take a look and see what you can do with this pokemon.

Pokemon Spotlight: Kleavor

Kleavor is a hard-hitting Pokemon with powerful abilities that allow it to take quick KOs.  Its signature move, Stone Axe, sets up Stealth Rock while dealing big damage especially if it is paired with its hidden ability, Sharpness, which increases all Slicing type move power by 50%. (Which is the same as having Choice Band/Specs)  Take into consideration its already strong 135 base attack and turn moves in Kleavor’s move pool like X-Scissor, Night Slash, and Aerial Ace into very powerful hits with the potential of OKHO’ing Pokemon.  Kleavors’ typing Rock/Bug doesn’t provide many resistances, (only Normal and Poison) However, it only has 3 weaknesses, Water, Rock, and Steel.  So even though Kleavor isn’t the most gifted defender in battle, in most cases, your opponent will still need to send multiple attacks its way in order to defeat it. Kleavor’s base speed is 85, it is a middling speed tier, and because of this Kleavor can function well on both Trick Room teams and Tailwind teams.  

Let's take a look at a couple of sets that take full advantage of Kleavor's toolkit.  

Example Sets:

Set 1: Speed Kleavor

Move 1: Stone Axe

Move 2: X-Scissor

Move 3: U-turn

Move 4: Night Slash/Aerial Ace

Item: Choice Scarf

Ability: Sharpness

Nature: Timid

Tera Type: Water

EV Spread: 28 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def / 60 SpD / 164 Spe  

This sets full advantage of the power that Sharpness provides while giving you pivoting power if you find yourself in a bad situation. Choice Scarf with this spread gives Kleavor just enough speed to outspeed non-booster energy Flutter Mane and Iron bundle.  X-Scissor becomes 120 BP with a Sharpness boost.  Add STAB to that and you have a very mean hitting move even if it's a resisted hit.  The last 2 moves can be your choice of Night Slash/Aerial Ace/U-turn.  Choosing the optimal move may come to you during the team-building process as you look for coverage moves in the evolving meta-game.  I, for one, love using U-turn.  Not only does it inflict damage to the opposition, it switches out afterwards, allowing it to avoid taking any damage.  Aerial Ace is a flying type move that cannot miss, even if a Pokemon increases its evasion.  Normally, attacks have a 1/24 chance to critically hit.  Night Slash, on the other hand, is a dark type move that has an increased 1/8 chance of critically hitting. 

Notable Defensive Calcs

252 Atk Mystic Water Urshifu-Rapid Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 28 HP / 4 Def Tera-Water Kleavor on a critical hit: 63-72 (42.2 - 48.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Flutter Mane Dazzling Gleam vs. 28 HP / 60 SpD Kleavor: 106-126 (71.1 - 84.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Notable Offensive Calcs

252 Atk Sharpness Kleavor Stone Axe vs. 156 HP / 172+ Def Tornadus: 168-200 (96.5 - 114.9%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Sharpness Kleavor X-Scissor vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Indeedee-F: 200-236 (112.9 - 133.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Set 2: Rocky Helmet Kleavor

Move 1:  Stone Axe

Move 2: X-Scissor

Move 3: Quick Guard

Move 4: Feint

Item: Rocky Helmet

Ability: Sharpness

Nature: Adamant

Tera Type: Water

EV Spread:  188 HP / 148 Atk / 68 Def / 12 SpD / 92 Spe  

This offensive/supportive hybrid set punishes your opponents for trying to focus down Kleavor.  Rocky Helmet is a great deterrent for Pokemon like Urshifu-RSS,

who when using multiple hitting physical contact moves have their HP reduced by ⅙ of their maximum health with each strike.  Quick Guard helps you protect your Pokemon from priority attacks and prankster status moves, allowing you more freedom with a choice of items on partner Pokemon.  Feint is fantastic here.  This enables you to break protect on Pokemon like Dondozo that look to stall and gain additional health through leftovers. Again, Tera Water is just the best defensive typing overall.  

Example Teams:

Team 1: Speed Kills

Pokémon 1: Kleavor

Pokémon 2: Heatran

Pokémon 3: Urshifu-RSS

Pokémon 4: Flutter Mane

Pokémon 5: Tornadus-I

Pokémon 6: Indeedee-F

Torn/Urshifu is just a perfect match.  Tailwind + Surging Strikes can really allow you to take control of the game very quickly.  Adding Kleavor to this not only increases your coverage but helps deal with Pokemon that Urshifu doesn't wanna see (grass types, strong-flying types.)  Indeedee-F gives Kleavor some extra freedom with psychic terrain while helping in the trick room match-up.  Heatran is a hard-hitting and rather bulky Pokemon that can soak most hits while removing pesky grass and fairy-type Pokemon that Urshifu-RSS struggles with.  Flutter Mane is easily the best overall Pokemon in every format it has been a part of and fits quite nicely on most teams and this one is no different. Tailwind gives Flutter Mane the freedom of being Modest instead of Timid giving that extra burst of damage to pick up kills that normally would fall just short.

Team 2: Watch your step

Pokémon 1: Kleavor

Pokémon 2: Grimmsnarl

Pokémon 3: Goodra-H

Pokémon 4: Ting-Lu

Pokémon 5: Rillaboom

Pokémon 6: Thundurus-I

This team can tank hits while slowly chipping away at opponents’ hp with stealth rocks set up by Kleavor's Stone Axe.  Grimmsnarl further enforces this with screens (Reflect/Light Screen) and Parting shot which lowers both attack and special attack by 1 stage and switches itself off the field into either Ting-Lu, who's vessel of ruin lowers special attack on the field, or Hisuian Goodra with 1 usage of the move Shelter can wall most pokemon.  Speaking of Ting-Lu, giving it spikes and whirlwind can really frustrate opponents and force other Pokemon onto the field and into all the hazards you've set up.  Rillaboom provides extra healing on the field with grassy terrain, Fake Out pressure, Pivoting power with U-turn, and speed control with Drum Beating (which also does even more damage in grassy terrain).  Thundurus-I gives this team extra control with Eerie Impulse lowering the Special Attack of opposing Pokemon by 2 stages.  Thunder Wave is a frustrating status move that causes a Pokemon to become paralyzed, lowering their speed by 50% and applying a 25% chance of losing its turn completely to full paralysis.

Conclusion:

I love Kleavor.  It's a fun, unique, powerhouse Pokemon that can fly into Axe-tion given the right opportunity.  I’m not sure if this Pokemon will be taken seriously by other trainers as the meta-game evolves over the next couple of months.  However, it only takes 1 trainer to make “The Lord of the Woods” shine like no other.  Who knows, maybe that trainer is you.

Disclaimer: The opinions/stories expressed in the blog post are those of the author and are not necessarily reflective of the platform or its affiliates.

Author Bio: 

My name is Bc_Zero.  I love competitive Pokemon and challenging myself to be a better player every day.  I’m also a culinary school graduate and now manage a restaurant.  Just like in the kitchen, I always give 100% to building my teams and getting the best out of them.  At the end of the day, It’s fun, and that is the most important to me.