Eeveelution Team

Hi, I'm new to Smogon and competitive battling. I am familiar with the game's mechanics, however, so I'm not completely ignorant. Have hope in me!

Anyway, I wanted to make an Eeveelution team for fun (as others have, I'm sure). This team stands up surprisingly well against other OU teams. Any suggestions are, of course, welcome.


Threats:

• Conkeldurr
• Volcarona
• Whimsicott
• Shell Smashers
• Bug-type attacks

Vaporeon (F) @ Leftovers
Trait: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 228 Def / 28 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Scald
- Substitute
- Wish
- Baton Pass

I lead with Vaporeon for two reasons: she's both support for my team and set-up fodder for the opponent. Usually, if an opponent leads with hazards, they will not feel threatened by Vaporeon and proceed to use said hazards. This is exactly what I want, however, because I can immediately switch in Espeon and reflect back the hazards with Magic Bounce. If the lead doesn't setup hazards, Vaporeon is still great. She can either deal some damage with a STAB Scald and attempt to burn the target or setup a Substitute and Baton Pass it on the next turn. Mid-game, Vaporeon acts as a Substitute/Wish passer. The EVs max out HP and bring Def and SpD to 234/233, respectively.



Umbreon (M) @ Leftovers
Trait: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Toxic
- Substitute
- Wish
- Baton Pass

Umbreon is the team's supporting tank. The EVs max out HP and bring Def and SpD to 319 and 326, respectively, for non-specific tanking. Although Umbreon's main role is to absorb hits and Baton Pass Substitutes and Wishes, he is also an effective Toxic staller if the need arises.



Espeon (F) @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Bounce
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Psyshock
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Calm Mind

Espeon's job is to live fast and furiously, taking out whatever it can before inevitably dying. Her Magic Bounce ability is invaluable for reflecting hazards and other indirect attacks. For a STAB move, I chose Psyshock over Psychic for its ability to target the opponent's Def; with this, I'm not limited to just Leafeon for handling special walls. Shadow Ball for Ghost coverage, Hidden Power [Fire] takes out the Steel-type Spikers Espeon commonly switches into, and Calm Mind gives Espeon a boost when I predict a switch. Life Orb helps Espeon 1HKO when she can.



Jolteon (M) @ Focus Sash
Trait: Volt Absorb
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Ice]
- Shadow Ball
- Volt Switch

Jolteon's role is to take out opponents that outrun the rest of my team. I gave him a Focus Sash to survive 1HKOs from Earthquake and other killer physical moves. STAB Thunderbolt deals the most damage while Hidden Power [Ice] and Shadow Ball help his coverage. Volt Switch to deal a little more damage to a non-Ground opponent before switching to a better counter.



Glaceon (F) @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Snow Cloak
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Shadow Ball
- Signal Beam
- Hidden Power [Ground]

Glaceon is yet another hard-hitting special attacker. Choice Scarf gives her a much-needed Spe boost. STAB Ice Beam, Shadow Ball, Signal Beam, and Hidden Power [Ground] were chosen for maximum type-coverage. Sadly, Glaceon's Signal Beam is the only move on the team that counters Dark-types.



Leafeon (M) @ Watmel Berry
Trait: Chlorophyll
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Leaf Blade
- Return
- Natural Gift
- Swords Dance

Leafeon is the team's only physical attacker. STAB Leaf Blade is his move of choice while Return gives him a second, wide-coverage attack option. Natural Gift with a Watmel Berry translates to an 80 power Fire-type attack, which can be a nasty surprise to the Ferrothorn, Scizor, and Genesect that switch in thinking they can wall Leafon. Swords Dance is great for boosting Attack when the chance arises.

If you're going to use Baton Pass, I think you should make Umbreon/Vaporeon as bulky as possible, and make them dedicated Substitute/Wish passers. Umbreon's spread is fine, although you can gain 8 SDef at a cost of 7 Def by switching to Careful/240 Def/16 SDef. Vaporeon's needs a change though, I assume it's a mistake? Speed does nothing for Vaporeon. Move 228 points into Def and 28 into SDef.

Your sweepers could use a bit of work. Without a way to boost their speed, Espeon/Jolteon/Leafeon should be running positive natures.

Jolteon is also a terrible shuffler with paper defenses, so it should be using Cheer Up/Charge Beam to obtain a boost and Baton Pass to retain his boosts while switching out of an unfavorable matchup.

Leafeon prefers Double Edge for coverage, since it hits every grass resist without a Ghost or Steel typing as hard as a super effective Aerial Ace. The recoil can be offset by running Synthesis. If you insist on Heal Bell, leave it to one of your walls... but status shouldn't be too much of a problem behind a substitute.

Glaceon I have nothing to say on. The Scarf set seems about the best you can do, until a better evolution comes out (Steeleon!).

Eeveelution teams are fun little gimmicks to play with. And you know the rule: the more gimmicky a team the deeper the satisfaction in beating a typical OU team with it. Call me crazy though but why not have an Eevee in the Eeveelution team? Adaptability will double the power of it's Normal type moves which will make Quick Attack base 80 and gives Return a potential of 204, thats without factoring in the STAB boost. It's biggest problem is going to be it's base 55 speed but that can be remedied by passing Agility, which Jolteon can do.

In an effort to keep Jolteon as a monstrous special attacker you COULD (and you'd really be pushing it with this) attempt to pass with a Flame Charge Flareon. Flame Charge Flareon could do a little bit of damage then if it gets the boost pass speed to something. But like I said you'd really be pushing your limits with this. Vaporeon could always pass Acid Armor boosts if you forgo subs.

Your Umbreon bothers me. I've always felt like Mean Look is a waste of an Umbreon. I always run Umbreon in combination with Scizor with a Curse/BPass/Payback/Wish set up. For an Eeeveelution team I'd recommend running that with Eevee. The thing I love about passing Curse is that you're almost guaranteed to go second so you'll be able to safely pass stats to the recipient and it provides a DEF boost to help the longevity of the recipient. Pass one or two Curses to a CB Eevee like I mentioned before and start attacking with your priority. Obviously as Eevee has almost no means to hit Steels, Rocks, or Ghosts you'd need to set up assistance in your team to handle those threats.

Thanks. Since the suggestions are leading the team in opposite directions, with aussieman000 with the fast- and hard-hitting tactics and Lawrence taking the boosting approach, I'm going to first take aussieman000's suggestions with the stat and move changes. However, if I feel like mixing it up, I'll play try Lawrence's suggestions. On second thought, I guess it couldn't hurt if I make two separate teams...

So I made a few more changes to the team and they are, in my opinion, for the better. I added a "Threats" section to the top of my post to list the things I struggle with the most. I would still like some more input, even if it's just a "good job."