It won't come as a total shock to learn that the Electric Eeveelution we love hasn't changed too much from Advance to DP. The idea here is to employ one of the fastest Substitute/Baton Pass combinations in the game while "falling back on" a respectable 319 Special Attack stat, which bolsters the Hidden Power Ice or Hidden Power Grass that cover Jolteon's inherent weakness to Ground-type Pokémon. HP Ice is recommended because Salamence and Garchomp pose such a big threat. Rhyperior and Swampert are the only Pokémon that make HP Grass appealing, but the latter Pokémon is one you should happily BP a Sub away from, to a Pokémon like Gyarados or a Salamence of your own, instead of lamenting that you don't have an HP Grass that probably won't OHKO the typically-bulky Swampert anyway. Jolteon can reminisce about its GSC days and Growth with the addition of Charge Beam to its movepool, but this move, while it raises Jolteon's Special Attack 70% of the time (when it hits with its 90% accuracy), doesn't change Jolteon's moveset enough to warrant a different one.
Jolteon finds new ways to exploit one of the fastest (while still purposeful) Substitutes in the game with Yawn. Ideally, Blissey or Electivire switch in to a Yawn, then you Sub because you don't care if they stay in since you'll either be passing a Substitute the next turn or the turn after. If you don't suspect the initial switch has a Choice Scarf (that would let it surpass 394 Speed) or a priority move like Ice Shard or Quick Attack, this is a pretty foolproof way to pass a Substitute to the Pokémon of your choice.
I must admit I hadn't initially thought of Jolteon leading with a dry-BP—where you're Baton Passing no stat-ups or Substitute—and how that may be the most effective way to pull off a Specs set for the little yellow terror. Given Jolteon's Speed assuring it the quickest dry-BP this side of Ninjask, the fact that you'll have the best way of eliminating the biggest defensive threat to Jolteon (that presumably switched in to the dry-BP) or at least knowing what it is, AND the fact that Jolteon's already hurting for special options as it is, it seems Baton Pass is actually made for a Specs set. The only "problem" I see is that if you're actually leading off against a lead Salamence or Gyarados, you'll be passing an Intimidate to the physical threat that you should likely be passing to when Blissey or Cresselia show up, but besides that BP is a great idea on SpecsJolt. If Jolteon is indeed Intimidated and something like Hippowdon or Gliscor comes in as you BP, it'd be a good idea to go to a special threat like Starmie rather than try to pass to something like Gyarados who will have -1 Atk.
Best with Stealth Rock and/or Spikes support, this Jolteon can be quite the pest. Fake Tears on the switch to CAUSE switches, as most of the things that are going to be switching into Jolteon aren't going to be OHKOed even with -2SpD. Wish will keep Jolteon alive against Seismic Toss/Thunder Wave Blissey, but keep in mind that she may have Sing or Calm Mind to deal with Jolteon. Other OptionsRoar can be a good way of dealing with Pokémon like Raikou and even Ninjask. Thunder Wave is annoying as always, and Jolteon, unlike Pokémon like Blissey, can actually get away with using it on the wrong Pokémon because of its Speed and Baton Pass (Dugtrio). Agility can work well with Baton Pass, but besides specifically drawing out Pokémon with Ground attacks in addition to Blissey, this combination may be more appealing on Zapdos, who is statistically better suited for this when you consider that Agility makes the Speed that is arguably Jolteon's only selling point over Zapdos a non-issue since both will outspeed virtually everything with +2 Speed. On the YawnPasser set, you can try Wish over Yawn and possibly Charge Beam over Thunderbolt, to keep Jolteon alive longer though reducing its coverage. Don't use Life Orb on Jolteon, as it still isn't really getting past Blissey with it and therefore the 10% HP loss would be somewhat in vain. Don't use Choice Scarf either—killing Choice Scarf Garchomp doesn't nearly make a good use of Jolteon's overall capabilities. EVsIf it weren't for Choice Scarf Adamant Medicham, who has 388 Speed, then there may still be a case for 385 Speed on Jolteon, which would beat all Weavile, but there's really no reason to be outsped by Medicham in favor of four more Hit Points...and then you figure you may as well just max Speed and give your Jolteon the chance to outspeed all 130 base Speed Pokémon should it come down to a tie at 394. OpinionI've always had a soft spot in my heart for Jolteon, and in the dust stirred up by the metagame shifts caused by DP, I am relieved to see that Jolteon has settled nicely, where other Pokémon are still coughing and blinded by that dust, left one or in some cases two tiers behind where they stood in Advance. Jolteon's improved Volt Absorb, which now restores its HP by 25% of its max if hit with Thunder Wave in addition to every other electric attack, actually grants the rather frail Pokémon more switches than it had in Advance. Jolteon can now switch into Pokémon like Starmie and Magnezone with little risk and throw up a Substitute it'll likely be able to pass to any team member it wants. The fun part is that Jolteon, used in tandem with Pokémon like Gyarados, Salamence, Gengar and Mismagius, can really open the doors to some fast sweeps while being able to hold its own as well. The fact that Blissey is currently—and likely will remain—not just the most overused Special Wall but the most overused Pokémon in DP actually plays into Jolteon's han—er, paws quite nicely. Given both the change to Volt Absorb and the fact that there are many instantly-threatening options Jolteon can pass to, having successfully drawn out a Pokémon you should probably have something powerful in store for (considering its immense popularity and the huge target on its pink face in concordance with its stature as a "wall") Jolteon can really shine in even the most competitive Pokémon battles. CountersAs with Espeon, there aren't many things that technically "counter" the true goals of a fast SubPasser, but there are indeed Pokémon who can both switch in to Jolteon with little to no risk and pose an immediate threat to it. At the top of this list would be Electivire and its Motor Drive, which can use Jolteon's Thunderbolt against it to outspeed the charged cat and threaten an Earthquake that will OHKO. Tyranitar will shrug off Thunderbolt thanks to the Special Defense boost granted to it via Sand Stream, but is more an indirect counter thanks to said Sand Stream, which will make repeated attempts at Substituting short-lived. Jolteon counters itself, obviously—pretty much every Electric Pokémon can switch into Jolteon without too much of a threat. Pokémon like Cresselia, Snorlax and Regice can switch in rather effortlessly, but I cannot stress enough that there is technically no counter to a fast SubPasser, especially one that can easily OHKO the most popular pseudo-hazer in the game, Skarmory. |
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