Pokemon Y: The Clefable Solo Run

This is the first of three solo runs suggested by you, dear fellow gamers! Clefairy was Melanie's suggestion; this is not a 'Mon I would have cruised with on my own volition, so I was really curious to see how it would fare on the battlefield. If my Jigglypuff solo run was any indication, then Clefairy would fare quite well indeed, being the same kind of cute creature boasting Fairy Type — because indeed, I wanted to handle the Kalos version of that 'Mon and get the opportunity to tackle another Fairy 'Mon run. So, how did my little Chamallow get on in Kalos? Quite well indeed, as we'll see right now.

My lovely pink marshmallow started her life as a Cleffa on my Omega Ruby cartridge; and as I was about to trade it, I wondered if I should slap a TM on her. Sure, she had Pound already; but with her miserable base 25 Attack, there was no way she was going to take down 'Mons — let alone one-shoot them — before a very long time. I finally had her learn Psyshock before the trade, just for the sake of smoothing out her debut — and my early run. With that, she was able to make mincemeat out of the opposition right away and to stockpile levels.

Talking about levels, I made a dire mistake during those very early stages of my run. Upon receiving my little Chamallow, I immediately proceeded to raise up her affection in Pokemon Amie in order to get the XP boost. I reasoned that this boost, combined with her fast levelling-up rate, would allow me to skip many Trainers and zoom unhindered through Kalos. Alas, I forgot a crucial variable in that equation: the Trade XP boost, which made Chamallow level up even faster. And thus I found myself in a very weird and unprecedented situation where my One and 'Monly gained levels too fast. I had to pace myself like never before, skipping every single non-mandatory Trainer between Santalune and Coumarine. I kid you not. I got some respite after that and could fight a bit more, before things got hairy again right before Snowbelle. After that, I was mercifully free from all Obedience obligations; but lord, was it aggravating to go full stealth mode for so long. I initially wanted to go faster, but I ultimately ended up tiptoeing and trembling at the sight of a Trainer — how ironic! Anyway, that's a lesson: never combine Trade, Pokemon Amie and Fast leveling rate — you can have two of them, but all three is a recipe for disaster.

Let's now talk about Moves, shall we? Clefairy is pretty well-endowed when it comes to learnsets, and I wielded a couple of different Move pools over the course of my run. See for yourselves (new additions are in red):

Move Pool #1: Psybeam, Pound, Wake-up Slap, Metronome
Move Pool #2: Psybeam, Wake-Up Slap, Return, Magic Leaf
Move Pool #3: Psybeam, Wake-Up Slap, Return, Thunderbolt
Move Pool #4: Psybeam, Dazzling Gleam, Firethrower, Thunderbolt
Move Pool #5: Psybeam, Dazzling Gleam, Firethrower, Ice Beam

Metronome sounded pretty good on paper; but since I couldn't control usable Moves as tightly as with Assist, the cracks quickly showed and I ditched it without regret. As for Flamethrower, I stumbled upon it in Anistar City's Pokemon Centre, as I talked to the Hex Maniac at just the right time. I never found that TM in Kalos before, and it was a real boon for the Pokemon League. Which, for the record, was a breeze — just like all the Gyms before it, as a matter of fact. And good old Psybeam was in my pool from beginning to end! Heck, I don't think I've ever hanged onto a Move that long in a solo run before. Of course, that setting was a tad artificial, but it was fulfilling nonetheless; and ultimately, it's really all that matters, ain't it?

Long story short: Clefairy rocks. She has great offensive stats and the learnset to match, pretty decent defensive stats, and a crap ton of HP. Her only weakness is her pitiful speed; but being oveleveled, I still managed to outspeed most of Kalos' fauna. Here's to you, Melanie: the Clefairy Solo Run you'll never tackle! As for me, that's one more X&Y solo run under my belt, and a jolly good one at that; and now, we're gonna move on to something less cute — shall I say darker? Stay tuned for the upcoming run report, dear fellow gamers!