Espeon

[IcyMan28]

Hello all. I've been lurking the UU subforum for a while and jumped in recently when I noticed that Espeon, who missed OU by a single place, doesn't have its own thread.

Type:

Ability: Synchronize / Magic Bounce

Base Stats

65 HP / 65 Atk / 65 Def / 130 SpA / 95 SpD / 110 Spe

Movepool

Pre-Evo

Lv. 15: Growl
Lv. 29: Bite
Lv. 36: Baton Pass
Lv. 43: Take Down
Lv. 57: Trump Card

Level-Up

B: Tail Whip
B: Tackle
B: Helping Hand
Lv. 8: Sand-Attack
Lv. 15: Confusion
Lv. 22: Quick Attack
Lv. 29: Swift
Lv. 36: Psybeam
Lv. 43: Future Sight
Lv. 50: Last Resort
Lv. 57: Psych Up
Lv. 64: Psychic
Lv. 71: Morning Sun
Lv. 78: Power Swap

TM/HM

TM03: Psyshock
TM04: Calm Mind
TM06: Toxic
TM10: Hidden Power
TM11: Sunny Day
TM15: Hyper Beam
TM16: Light Screen
TM17: Protect
TM18: Rain Dance
TM19: Telekinesis
TM21: Frustration
TM27: Return
TM28: Dig
TM29: Psychic
TM30: Shadow Ball
TM32: Double Team
TM33: Reflect
TM42: Facade
TM44: Rest
TM45: Attract
TM48: Round
TM49: Echoed Voice
TM67: Retaliate
TM68: Giga Impact
TM70: Flash
TM77: Psych Up
TM83: Work Up
TM85: Dream Eater
TM86: Grass Knot
TM87: Swagger
TM90: Substitute
TM92: Trick Room
HM01: Cut

Bred Moves

-Charm
-Flail
-Endure
-Curse
-Tickle
-Wish
-Yawn
-Fake Tears
-Covet
-Detect
-Natural Gift
-Stored Power
-Synchronoise

Gen 4

TM23: Iron Tail
TM43: Secret Power
TM48: Skill Swap
TM78: Captivate
TM82: Sleep Talk
Tutor: Trick
Tutor: Zen Headbutt
Tutor: Snore
Tutor: Mud-Slap
Tutor: Signal Beam
Tutor: Magic Coat
Tutor: Role Play
Tutor: Heal Bell
Tutor: Headbutt

Dream World Eevee can be female as of these posts: http://www.smogon.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3539802&postcount=354

http://www.smogon.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3539625&postcount=347

Typing

Weaknesses: Bug, Ghost, Dark
Neutral: Water, Grass, Electric, Fire, Ice, Steel, Rock, Ground, Dragon, Normal, Poison, Flying
Resistances: Psychic, Fighting

_______________________________________________


Espeon has traditionally been sub-par, now it has Magic Bounce, blah blah blah. We've heard it - how are people using it in UU? Here are some potential sets:

Espeon@Leftovers
Timid; 6 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe

Calm Mind
Psychic / Psyshock
HP Fighting
Shadow Ball

A basic sweeper set. They can't phaze you, they can't status you, so just push through as you will. HP Fighting > HP Fire because there is no Ferrothorn and dark-types are far more abundant in UU.

Espeon@Leftovers
Timid; 252 HP / 6 SpA / 252 Spe

Reflect
Calm Mind
Baton Pass / Morning Sun
Stored Power / Psychic

This is the set that I believe will start making waves in UU and OU alike now that Stored Power is available. At +6, Espeon will have a 260 BP STAB attack at its disposal, capable of OHKOing Max/Max Careful Ferrothorn as an example. Baton Pass allows Espeon to simultaneously pass its boosts while bypassing any slower Pursuits, which are further cushioned by Reflect. Morning Sun is still an option, however, if you want to focus on Espeon rather than the team as a whole. Psychic is an option if you want something more than a 20 base power move throughout the match.

Anyway, discuss any other uses for Espeon, or early predictions on how it will fare in UU should it stay.

 

[TM13IceBeam]

I think people are avoiding Espeon, simply because it missed OU by one place.

 

[breh]

I think people don't use espeon, simply because it's physically frail.

Plus, when you see espeon, you are arguably more cautious with your hazards. That Nidoqueen that looked like setup fodder will Earth Power first turn expecting Espeon, which will wear it down over multiple switches.

Anywho, bulky is the way to go. Sweeping is Zam's job.

 

[LeviLamprey]

Its usage should rise since the DW event news has come out: females are now available (so that whole minigame thing before was uneccessary :P). But now it can get Egg Moves, watch out! Tickle, Stored Power, WISH, Yawn and maybe Fake Tears are all useful. It's a pity it can't get Trick and Heal Bell with MB though. Still, with its high Special stats and Magic Coat permanently on, I expect it to be a top-tier threat!

EDIT: AND Baton Pass of course. :D

 

[TM13IceBeam]

Its usage should rise since the DW event news has come out: females are now available (so that whole minigame thing before was uneccessary :P). But now it can get Egg Moves, watch out! Tickle, Stored Power, WISH, Yawn and maybe Fake Tears are all useful. It's a pity it can't get Trick and Heal Bell with MB though. Still, with its high Special stats and Magic Coat permanently on, I expect it to be a top-tier threat!

Exactly. This thing nearly got into OU, and chances are it'd be in OU again the next round. If that's the case, this thread's purpose will be kinda redundant.

 

[Pentao]

Shell Smash Passing to Espeon is also a great choice due to Stored Power going from 20 -> 140 Base Power (thus Epseon fires off a 210 BP attack with NO drawback other than it being Psychic typing), combined with the boost of +2 Speed and +2 Sp. Attack. Espeon makes an excellent recipient because it can't be phazed out, and if it wants to, it can pass those boosts to someone else as well. It can also carry Calm Mind to further power up (though honestly if your opponent let you set up that much, you probably won already anyway), Morning Sun to heal, or screens to survive.

At the moment Espeon is great on UU teams, providing screen support like a champ. With female DW Eevees, this only improves it's capabilities, and allows it to Wish Pass as well. There's pretty much never a game where I DO NOT get at least one screen up >_>.

 

[TM13IceBeam]

Well, technically Dragon Tail is able to p-haze out. Wish passing is just win, pure win.

 

[Cshadow]

How is Wish passing on Espeon 'good'? It has a pathetic base HP, so the wishes it will be passing are going to be fairly tiny, not worth it imo, 167 Wishes aren't enough when you count for entry hazards and the possibility of switching into an attack.

Atleast Espeon finally have Baton Pass C:

 

[aussieman000]

I don't think the Wish passing will be all that good. But as a method of self-healing it's much more reliable than Morning Sun, which is good news for sets focused more on team support.

 

[AccidentalGreed]

Unless you have teammates with REALLY low HP stats, Espeon Wish sets are out of the question due to the new Wish healing mechanics.

 

[Raptorg]

Maybe just something like this..

Espeon @ Leftovers
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef.
Bold nature.
Magic Bounce.
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Morning Sun/Wish
-Psychic/Psyshock/Protect.

Probably works incredibly good with sunny day Probopass.
As Probopass covers Espeon's weaknesses, while Espeon covers Probopass' crippling fighting weakness, while providing sunny day and gets rid of steels with magnet pull and HP fire.

The idea behind the set is 100% support, nothing to do with walling or sweeping.
Use Wish/protect if you're ok with being taunt bait, otherwise you could risk wish/psychic, though if you're not running protect, Morning Sun is probably going to be better most of the time.

 

[XenoIncognito]

Maybe just something like this..

Espeon @ Leftovers
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpDef.
Bold nature.
Magic Bounce.
-Reflect
-Light Screen
-Morning Sun/Wish
-Psychic/Psyshock/Protect.

Probably works incredibly good with sunny day Probopass.
As Probopass covers Espeon's weaknesses, while Espeon covers Probopass' crippling fighting weakness, while providing sunny day and gets rid of steels with magnet pull and HP fire.

The idea behind the set is 100% support, nothing to do with walling or sweeping.
Use Wish/protect if you're ok with being taunt bait, otherwise you could risk wish/psychic, though if you're not running protect, Morning Sun is probably going to be better most of the time.

Magic Bounce reflects Taunt too, so a full support set is viable.

 

[hobo bob]

I just love the calm mind set. Most calm minders are vulnerable to roar, status, taunt, and encore, but with magic mirror none of these moves are a problem. As long as you can take out the scarfs on an opponents team (Wobby anyone?) then you are likely to sweep. Stall is especially vulnerable to this.

 

[Raptorg]

Magic Bounce reflects Taunt too, so a full support set is viable.

That's great, I honestly wasn't sure.

 

[Mysterious Trainer]

That's great, I honestly wasn't sure.

For future reference, it reflects all of the following:
http://www.serebii.net/abilitydex/magicbounce.shtml

 

[hobo bob]

That's great, I honestly wasn't sure.

Yea, I've actually gotten quite a few free sweeps because people try to encore or roar me out, only to have it bounce back.

Also interesting to note is that you can still get status'ed by a Synchronize user. I've had a few Mews T-wave themself just to stop an Espeon sweep.

 

[Nix_Hex]

Yea, I've actually gotten quite a few free sweeps because people try to encore or roar me out, only to have it bounce back.

Opponent's ignorance of abilities should never be counted on in real world situations. If Espeon stays UU and its usage in this tier stays high, no one except for the noobest of noobs will try a bounceable move on it. Basically, you'll have one free boost, assuming they even switch out.

 

[TM13IceBeam]

It IS however possible to get Espeon in if they are trying to Roar, trying to Taunt Chansey, etc.

Magic Bounce is essentially way better than Synchronise: why bother with copying status, when you can reflect them back? In fact, only Fraxure has the ability to Taunt it.

 

[PokéMontage]

I've had a few Mews T-wave themself just to stop an Espeon sweep.

...a Pokemon can't T-Wave itself, so that never happened.

 

[hobo bob]

...a Pokemon can't T-Wave itself, so that never happened.

I should have cleared it up. They T-wave Espeon, it bounces back with Magic Mirror, Synchronize activates and Espeon gets para. Unless that's a PO glitch.

Opponent's ignorance of abilities should never be counted on in real world situations. If Espeon stays UU and its usage in this tier stays high, no one except for the noobest of noobs will try a bounceable move on it. Basically, you'll have one free boost, assuming they even switch out.

I wasn't relying on ignorance, I'm just stating many people don't realize all the abilities of Magic Mirror. Honestly I wouldn't call them noobs for not knowing the full extent of a new ability. That said you can always predict an encore or status move and switch in Espeon to mess your opponent up. Or you can just play mind games and have your opponent too scared to set up SR.

 

[KurashiDragon]

Yet another pokemon that I don't feel is gonna be uu for to much longer, now that it's got Stored Power Magic Mirror :P.

 

[TrainerRed]

I think he meant T waved Espeon, only to have it back bounce. Essentially T-waving himself.

Anyway, I'm anxious to see how much of an impact stored power will have. Seems like a welcome addition to baton pass teams for sure.

*edit =_= ridiculously late to the party...

 

[TLK]

Baton Pass Espeon is gonna suck for everyone fighting against it.

 

[hobo bob]

Stored Power seems nice, but don't you need to get 4-6 boosts for it to have a useful base? I prefer Psyshock so you can hit other calm mind boosters such as Suicine. Also being able to get past Chansey is fun, but I guess a +6 stored power would do the same (maybe?).

Hopefully Espeon stays in UU, it's now one of my favorite pokes with all the stall running around. But I guess there's always Zatu =/

 

[Cuiv]

Stored Power seems nice, but don't you need to get 4-6 boosts for it to have a useful base? I prefer Psyshock so you can hit other calm mind boosters such as Suicine. Also being able to get past Chansey is fun, but I guess a +6 stored power would do the same (maybe?).

Hopefully Espeon stays in UU, it's now one of my favorite pokes with all the stall running around. But I guess there's always Zatu =/

After two Calm Mind boosts, Stored Power is stronger than Psychic and Psyshock (100 v 90 v 80 BP). Not sure if that's worth it or not, given that Stored Power is only 60 BP with one Calm Mind and useless (20 BP) with no Calm Minds.

Stored Power with 6 Calm Minds has 260 BP, definitely strong enough to OHKO Chansey coming from a +6 Espeon.