Wish is Vaporeon's best contribution to its fellow team members. With its bulky build and great typing, Vaporeon passes Wish quite easily compared to most other Wishers. Wish is especially invaluable in a fast-paced offensive metagame. Vaporeon can heal those who have no form of recovery or are perpetual victims of Stealth Rock like Salamence. Also, Wish cushions the blow when you switch to a counter. The possibilities and benefits are endless. Protect is a must for keeping Vaporeon healthy to keep passing Wishes; otherwise, Vaporeon won't survive any would-be 3HKO move. Of course, Protect can be used for scouting purposes and surviving an Explosion. Be careful about using Protect carelessly, because your opponent can use that as a golden opportunity to set up or make a safe switch-in. Surf is the obligatory reliable STAB move that keeps Metagross, Skarmory, Infernape, and Heatran at bay. The last moveslot has several useful options. Hidden Power Electric coupled with Water Absorb makes Vaporeon one of the best counters to Gyarados. Although Salamence can 2HKO with Choice Band Dragon Claw and OHKO with a +1 Life Orb Outrage, Ice Beam will deter Salamence from switching in too readily. Ice Beam is also the only thing stopping Leech Seeders, who can come in easily and stall you out. Toxic in tandem with Protect and Wish will stall out fellow bulky Water types and plenty of other Pokémon. Yawn is a decent catch-all move for taking care of Gyarados, Salamence, and bulky Water-types. It will also likely force switches and rack up entry hazard damage.
Vaporeon is an integral member of Baton Pass teams as a bulky Water-type, a healer, an HP giant, and an anti-pseudo hazer. Perhaps Vaporeon's best known additions to Baton Pass chains are its 101+ HP Substitutes, which are unbreakable with one Seismic Toss. If you already have a sturdy Substitute passer like Drifblim, then you may want to consider forgoing Substitute for Acid Armor to nab some Defense boosts and better guard against Gyarados. Vaporeon has two options for healing: Wish and Aqua Ring. The former is always a terrific support move that allows your team to quickly recover from an untimely critical hit; while the latter gives your chain consistent recovery. The final moveslot is a bit trickier to decide. Roar will pseudo haze away slower phazers like Skarmory before they can ruin all of your chain, but not having an attack move leaves Vaporeon vulnerable to Taunt. Surf is a reliable STAB move, but Vaporeon can use Ice Beam or Hidden Power Electric depending on which threats your chain needs more protection against.
People often overlook Vaporeon's fantastic 110 base Special Attack, so Choice Specs will dish out a surprising amount of damage to Vaporeon's usual counters. Surf is Vaporeon's weapon of choice for its reliability and power. Ice Beam and Hidden Power Electric will pave the way clear of Grass- and Water-types who resist your STAB, bar Ludicolo and Lanturn. The last move is mostly filler. Signal Beam annihilates Celebi but it already takes quite a beating from Ice Beam. Signal Beam's main purpose is for Ludicolo who walls your three main attack options. Hydro Pump causes more havoc at the expense of accuracy compared to Surf. Wish can heal your team as you scout for the opponent's team, but it is generally better to blindly fire off a Surf. Baton Pass also works to scout for counters. Without great investment in the defenses, Leftovers, and Wish, don't expect Vaporeon to wall many hits, although Vaporeon can heal via Water Absorb.
Fake Tears is a way to capitalize on Vaporeon's great Special Attack, while supporting the team with Wish. Much like its Eevee cousins, Fake Tears can cause switches, allowing Vaporeon to safely use Wish for itself and its teammates. This set works best with several entry hazards to punish the switches. Hidden Power Electric is not necessary to damage bulky Water types, because most fail to deal significant damage to Vaporeon. However, beware of the fact that bulky Water types commonly carry Toxic to hinder other bulky Pokémon, like Blissey and other Water-types. Starmie can be defeated if you use Fake Tears or Wish on the switch. Tentacruel should not cause much trouble at all, because support sets typically do not run Clear Body. Vaporeon comes out on top over most bulky waters, so Vaporeon can safely switch into bulky waters most of the time and possibly heal itself with Water Absorb. The best reason to to use Hidden Power Electric is to defeat Calm Mind Suicune, but in nearly every other case, Ice Beam is a superior option for hitting Grass-types, particularly, Celebi. After one Fake Tears, 252 HP / 0 SpD Bold Celebi is OHKOed by an Ice Beam, while Celebi doesn't even come close to dishing out a 2HKO with Grass Knot. Other OptionsMuddy Water lowers the foe's accuracy 30% of the time, but the accuracy is a major turn off. Hidden Power Rock is a decent choice for hurting both Gyarados and Salamence if you are torn between choosing Hidden Power Electric or Ice Beam. Vaporeon has the Special Defense and HP stats to utilize Curse, and Waterfall and Return provide nearly perfect coverage, but Vaporeon will not be hurting much with its low 65 base Attack. Vaporeon can pass Curse to a teammate with White Herb to cancel out the Speed drop. Haze is most notable against Calm Mind Suicune, since Suicune would outspeed Vaporeon to the Roar. Generally, Roar is a superior option for racking up entry hazard damage. Charm is an underrated move that will frustrate all physical attackers except Metagross to no end. Tickle can soften up the opponent for a teammate to pick off. EVsDefensive sets should always maximize Defense EVs before touching the HP, since Vaporeon's base Defense is much lower than its HP. Use a Bold nature to take hits from Gyarados better. An HP stat that is divisible by 16 will maximize Leftovers recovery. 188 HP EVs achieve this and provide Vaporeon with a lot of bulk. 68 Speed EVs allow Vaporeon to outspeed most Choice Band Metagross and Skarmory. 64 Speed EVs usually will also suffice, but 68 Speed EVs provide extra insurance against base 65s and 70s. You can allocate some of these EVs into Special Attack or Special Defense if you are confident that Metagross and Skarmory will not invest in much Speed. Even without any Special Attack EVs, Vaporeon's Ice Beam guarantees to OHKO even the bulkiest Salamence (236HP/116SpD) with Stealth Rock. Gyarados falls to Hidden Power Electric after Stealth Rock and one turn of Life Orb recoil. The Baton Pass set should invest in a few Speed EVs to outspeed specific threats after a +2 boost. 200 Speed EVs outpace base 100 Choice Scarfers like Salamence. 128 Speed EVs allow Vaporeon to get the jump on Jolteon before it can fry you with Thunderbolt and also fast Taunters like Aerodactyl and Weavile. Vaporeon only needs a small 60 Speed EVs investment to outspeed Azelf after a +2 Speed boost, so Vaporeon can escape Taunt and Explosion. Transfer the HP EVs into Speed in order to achieve your desired Speed bracket. At the very least, Vaporeon should invest in 12 HP EVs to make 101 HP Substitutes. A Calm nature is recommended if you can boost Vaporeon's Defense stat, but Bold is always a wonderful option if you aren't skittish about taking a Grass Knot. Offensive sets should maximize Special Attack EVs, then achieve the desired Speed bracket, and finally pour the leftovers into Defense. OpinionVaporeon is an asset to any team for its invaluable Wishes. The metagame is riddled with residual damage like Stealth Rock, Sand Stream, Life Orb, Spikes, etc., so Wish can greatly improve a team's survivability. In a tier of heavyweights, Vaporeon shines as one of the few bulky waters that take minuscule damage from Grass Knot, making Vaporeon a terrific Infernape counter. Vaporeon is best at switching into most other OU Water-types, most notably Gyarados, due to Water Absorb. Vaporeon makes a great partner to Heatran for absorbing Water attacks aimed at Heatran, and Heatran gladly intercepts any Grass move tended for Vaporeon. Outside of the typical support options, Vaporeon can also cause a little mayhem of its own with Choice Specs and Fake Tears. Given Vaporeon's essential support role on its teams, Vaporeon is often the #1 target to KO immediately, since teams tend to fall apart after losing Vaporeon. Take extra caution to guard this puppy. All things considered, Vaporeon is a wonderful addition to any team. CountersStrangely enough, opposing Vaporeon make great switch-ins, since Vaporeon lacks ways to significantly damage itself without the help of Toxic. Tentacruel takes laughable damage even from Hidden Power Electric, and its Toxic Spikes are most deadly to Vaporeon's efficacy. Empoleon doesn't mind taking anything Vaporeon can throw at its face, but it can do little in return outside of Knocking Off its Leftovers. Lanturn safely comes into all of Vaporeon's standard moves except Toxic and packs STAB Electric moves. Ludicolo similarly sponges all of Vaporeon's moves, bar Signal Beam. Celebi needs Special Attack EVs or Leaf Storm to KO Vaporeon, but it makes a great switch-in on the Standard set. If Vaporeon lacks Ice Beam, Grass-types in general switch in with very little care and heal tremendous amounts of HP with Leech Seed. Blissey can sponge Vaporeon's hits all day except from the Fake Tears set, but she needs Toxic or Calm Mind to win the stall war. Cresselia is in the same boat as Blissey except that she needs Charge Beam to increase her Special Attack. Kingdra sets up on Vaporeon without a care. Without Ice Beam, Salamence and Dragonite get free reign to set up. Hidden Power Electric is needed to take down Gyarados in one swipe. Calm Mind Suicune will be troublesome without Haze, Roar, or Hidden Power Electric in junction with Fake Tears. In a twist of fate, a fellow Water Absorb Pokémon, Poliwrath, walks all over sets without Hidden Power Electric. Dry Skin Toxicroak comes into Surf and Toxic with impunity, but it should be wary that Ice Beam will crack its Substitutes. Gardevoir and Porygon2 can Trace Vaporeon's Water Absorb, nullifying its main attack option, and strike it down with Thunderbolt. Speaking of Thunderbolt, Jolteon, Magnezone, Rotom-A, and Raikou will send Vaporeon running to the hills. |
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