QC: fleggumfl / bludz / Hootie
GP: P Squared / The Dutch Plumberjack
[OVERVIEW]
Sylveon is one of the Fairies that do a really good job in the OU metagame, as it has great Special Attack along with access to Pixilate-boosted STAB Hyper Voice, which plows through anything that doesn't resist it, and many coverage options that allow it to threaten most of the metagame. Its access to Baton Pass means it can gain momentum for teammates or pass boosts from moves such as Calm Mind. Sylveon also possesses an excellent support movepool and great special bulk, though its physical frailty limits its tanking ability. Its low base Speed for an offensive Pokemon also leaves it vulnerable to revenge killers. Sylveon faces competition as offensive Fairy-type from Clefable and Mega Gardevoir. Both Fairies have a better movepool, and Mega Gardevoir also has massive Special Attack and Special Defense.
[SET]
name: Choice Specs
move 1: Hyper Voice
move 2: Psyshock
move 3: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ground
move 4: Baton Pass
item: Choice Specs
ability: Pixilate
nature: Modest
evs: 240 HP / 252 SpA / 16 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voice is Sylveon's most powerful attack, even heavily damaging Pokemon that resist it, and allows it to hit Pokemon behind Substitutes. Psyshock allows Sylveon to hit Poison-types that can take two Hyper Voices comfortably such as Amoonguss and Mega Venusaur. For coverage, you can run Hidden Power Fire to eliminate or heavily damage Pokemon such as Ferrothorn, specially defensive Skarmory, Metagross, Jirachi, and both non-Mega and Mega Scizor; Hidden Power Ground can be used instead to remove Heatran. Baton Pass helps Sylveon pivot around and gain momentum for the team, which is useful because Sylveon baits in various Poison- and Steel-types that its teammates can more effectively handle.
Set Details
========
Full investment in HP and Special Attack maximizes Sylveon's bulk and power. The 16 Speed EVs are necessary to outspeed uninvested base 60 Speed Pokemon such as Clefable, opposing Sylveon, and Tyranitar. This set can also use a spread of 168 HP / 252 SpA / 88 Spe, which gives it enough Speed to outspeed and 2HKO Skarmory. If you want Sylveon to be faster than most of the common walls, such as specially defensive Heatran and most variants of Mega Venusaur, an EV spread of 68 HP / 252 SpA / 188 Spe will suffice. Choice Specs maximizes Sylveon's offensive capabilities, while Pixilate changes Normal-type moves to Fairy-type and boosts their power.
Usage Tips
========
Sylveon's poor Speed rectricts its offensive capabilities, so don't leave it in on faster and stronger threats unless it is close to full health. Thanks to its overall bulk, it can take hits from Mega Medicham or Mega Lopunny and retaliate back with Hyper Voice. This set makes Sylveon a reliable wallbreaker. As it is a Choice set, though, the opponent can easily take advantage of Sylveon being locked into one move. You should use this set based on predicted switches, either to gain momentum with Baton Pass or to cause major damage with its coverage moves. Hyper Voice being the strongest attack Sylveon possesses means it is easily the best option to click against a switch-in; even if it is resisted, it will do massive damage, so you barely have to make a prediction in this situation.
Team Options
========
Fire-type Pokemon such as Mega Charizard X and Y, Heatran, and Talonflame can deal with the Steel-types that threaten Sylveon such as Scizor, Bisharp, Skarmory, and Ferrothorn; they also benefit from Sylveon's Hidden Power Ground to get rid of opposing Heatran. Another great team option is a Ground-type such as Hippowdon or Tank Garchomp, which can use Earthquake to beat the Fire-types that resist Hyper Voice, most notably Heatran if Sylveon lacks Hidden Power Ground, and can also sponge hits from stronger physical attackers such as Mega Metagross and Bisharp, which Sylveon cannot survive with its average Defense. Landorus-T is a special case because it can deal with stronger physical attackers, but it should be careful of opposing Bisharp, which is the main revenge killer for Sylveon, due to Defiant. Fighting-types are great options; for example, Keldeo and Mega Lopunny can deal with Bisharp, Mega Sableye, and other Steel-types that switch into Sylveon, and Sylveon can deal with walls that stop them such as Slowbro. Sylveon benefits from a Psychic-type or Flying-type teammate, such as Latios, Talonflame, or Tornadus-T, that can threaten Poison-types such as Mega Venusaur and Amoonguss as well as Steel-types if they carry a Fire-type move. Partners with access to Volt Switch or U-turn such as Raikou, Mega Manectric, Tornadus-T, and Landorus-T help get Sylveon into battle for free, which is necessary for an offensive Pokemon with low Speed; it also forms a good combination with Baton Pass to break one another's checks. Baton Pass also can be used as pivoting move to trap some common switch-ins to Sylveon, such as bringing in Bisharp on a predicted Jirachi switch-in. Sylveon on its own is great lure for partners that terrorize opposing offense such as Mega Lopunny and Mega Alakazam; for example, it can lure in Mega Scizor and surprise it with Hidden Power Fire, while Mega Lopunny take care of specially defensive Pokemon for Sylveon. Pokemon with trapping abilities such as Magnezone and Dugtrio are great partners for Sylveon because it can only hit one of its common switch-ins with the Hidden Power of choice. Another great form of support is Thunder Wave, which helps patch up Sylveon's poor Speed to be the fastest Pokemon in the field. Hazard support ensures some OHKOs if you predict correctly. Like all Pokemon, Sylveon loves entry hazard removal to help with longevity, as it will be switching out often due to being Choice locked.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Calm Mind + 3 attacks set allows Sylveon to increase its damage output and can bait and KO threats such as Mega Scizor and Heatran depending on which Hidden Power type it's running. However, this set isn't viable due to its poor physical bulk and low Speed; Sylveon should be the one giving support as opposed to receiving it. Accordingly, a Baton Pass set with Calm Mind is generally superior because it can provide support to another teammate that has a better chance to sweep. Another set Sylveon can run is a cleric set with Wish, Protect, Hyper Voice, and Heal Bell, though Magic Coat should be considered as an option that allows Sylveon to reflect Taunt, status, or phazing moves while it tries to use Wish; it also can be used to reflect entry hazards from certain Pokemon such as Garchomp, Hippowdon, and Landorus-T. Sylveon's special bulk gives it a niche over its competition Clefable for a cleric, although Unaware is an unmatched ability and one of the best for a cleric Pokemon because it lets it deal with setup Pokemon as well.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Poison-types**: Poison-types such as Mega Venusaur, Amoonguss, and Gengar can switch into a Hyper Voice and threaten Sylveon back with a STAB attack. However, all Poison-types must be careful of Psyshock.
**Steel-types**: Steel-types such as Scizor, Excadrill, Ferrothorn, Heatran, Mega Metagross, and Jirachi can tank Sylveon's Hyper Voice and hit it back with a physical Steel-type move. Heatran is a special case because it 4x resists to Hyper Voice but is 4x weak to Hidden Power Ground. The rest of the Pokemon mentioned above must watch out for Hidden Power Fire.
**Physical Attackers**: Very strong physical attackers such as Mega Charizard X, Azumarill, Mega Medicham, Hoopa-U, Diggersby, and Mega Pinsir can severely damage Sylveon. Hoopa-U can even OHKO Sylveon with Gunk Shot.
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