Overview
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Vaporeon has a great HP stat, allowing it to pass large Wishes to teammates, and it has good Special Defense and decent Defense to complement this. It has access to great supportive moves such as Heal Bell, which allows it to act as a cleric, and Baton Pass, which can retain momentum and work well with Wish. Water Absorb allows Vaporeon to gain some free switches, and Vaporeon pairs well with a lot of pokemon. However, Vaporeon does have its flaws as it can be set up on if it lacks Roar or Haze, and it can be walled completely by Pokemon such as Roserade if it chooses to try to deal with these sweepers.
Wish
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name: Wish
move 1: Wish
move 2: Scald
move 3: Protect
move 4: Heal Bell / Roar / Baton Pass
ability: Water Absorb
item: Leftovers
evs: 204 HP / 248 Def / 56 SpD
nature: Bold / Calm
Moves
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Scald has a high burn chance and does decent damage due to Vaporeon's high Special Attack stat. It is a spammable move, and burning foes can help at whatever point of the game you may be in. Wish provides Vaporeon and its teammates with recovery and can allow it to give free switches to teammates and heal them if they are weakened. Protect allows Vaporeon to scout for moves, recover from Leftovers, get crash damage on Mienshao, and get a Wish off. In addition, it also allows you to scout Choice-locked Pokemon and switch in to the appropriate teammate after seeing their move. Heal Bell gets rid of all status effects that your team might have been inflicted with, while Roar phazes foes and prevents Vaporeon from being setup bait. Baton Pass can gain momentum, and if Vaporeon used Wish the previous turn and moves last the turn it Baton Passes, team members can be healed up at no cost. Ice Beam hits Pokemon such as Chesnaught, Hydreigon, and Haxorus, which resist Vaporeon's STAB moves, with Haxorus being able to set up on it. Toxic can to be used to cripple switch-ins or stall alongside Wish and Protect.
Set Details
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The EV spread maximizes Vaporeon's overall bulk. A Bold nature lets it take on the likes of Darmanitan, Mienshao, Krookodile, and other physical attackers better, while Calm can be used to help stand up to Pokemon such as Nidoqueen, Hydreigon, Nidoking, and Mega Blastoise. Leftovers is used for extra recovery.
Usage Tips
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Vaporeon can be sent in on a wall or weak Pokemon so it can recover its health or help teammates heal up. When it is facing an offensive Pokemon at a good amount of health, Scald should be used because of its high burn chance and decent damage output. Heal Bell should be used to help Vaporeon's teammates when they are crippled with status, though if you have a Guts user with a status condition, you may have to make a choice between weakening it or healing teammates.
Team Options
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Vaporeon works well on balanced teams that appreciate Wish and cleric support. Vaporeon's weaknesses are covered in a Fire / Water / Grass core with Pokemon such as Entei, Infernape, Darmanitan, Chandelure, Roserade, Shaymin, and Whimsicott. Vaporeon can pair well with Stealth Rock setters; for example, Vaporeon works well with Mega Aggron and Forretress, as it covers their Fire weaknesses and provides Wish support, which they appreciate, as they do not have reliable recovery. In addition, they can take Grass-type moves for Vaporeon. Dragalge appreciates Wish support from Vaporeon, as entry hazards can wear it down, and it resists Electric- and Grass-type moves, which are super effective on Vaporeon. Hydreigon and Mega Ampharos are alternative Dragon-types which also have good type synergy with Vaporeon.
Other Options
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A spread of 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 SpD with a Bold nature can be used to give Vaporeon slightly more rounded bulk. A Baton Pass set with moves such as Substitute and Curse can pass boosts to teammates. Haze can be used as another way to deal with bulky boosting Pokemon such as CurseLax and Calm Mind Reuniclus, as Roar's negative priority gives them a chance to attack Vaporeon, but Roar is usually better because it can mess with their switch-ins and deal with other boosting Pokemon as well.
Checks and Counters
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**Bulky Water-types**: Vaporeon is walled by opposing Vaporeon, and Suicune can set up on it and PP stall it with Pressure if it doesn't have Roar.
**Setup sweepers**: Many Pokemon can use non-Roar Vaporeon variants as setup bait and proceed from there to sweep your team. Toxicroak can set up on it easily thanks to its Water immunity, and Calm Mind users take Vaporeon's attacks very well and can deal huge damage back to it after boosts.
**Grass-types**: Roserade can cause major trouble to Vaporeon, as Sleep Powder cripples it, while Giga Drain and Leaf Storm deal massive damage to it, with Giga Drain allowing Roserade to recover possible Life Orb damage. Whimsicott with Encore or Taunt can ruin Vaporeon without Ice Beam, and offensive variants can easily recover from Scald damage with Giga Drain. Mega Abomasnow can set up easily or attack Vaporeon with super effective STAB moves. Shaymin does massive damage with Seed Flare and has great special bulk to take Ice Beam. Chesnaught can use Leech Seed and sap Vaporeon's massive HP or just lay down Spikes, but it is fearful of burns, as they can wear it down.
**Electric-types**: Mega Ampharos takes hits from Vaporeon well, even Ice Beam, and does an enormous chunk of damage to it in return. Electric-types can also use Volt Switch, which either takes a chunk out of Vaporeon's health or gains momentum for the opposing team.
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