[Pros]
<ul>
<li>A solid defensive movepool that includes Wish, Roar, and Acid Armor gives it the moves it needs to prolong its longevity on the battlefield.</li>
<li>A high Special Attack stat allows it to make good use of Scald and other offensive moves.</li>
<li>Good typing and respectable bulk make it notoriously hard to kill while potentially forcing switches.</li>
<li>Access to Baton Pass, as well as set-up and support moves, makes it a fantastic candidate for Baton Pass teams.</li>
</ul>
[Cons]
<ul>
<li>The nerf to rain severely limits the viability of any strategy involving Hydration.</li>
<li>Has to compete with many other Water-types to earn a spot on a typical team.</li>
<li>Suffers from four-moveslot syndrome.</li>
<li>Mono-Water typing lacks the useful resistances necessary to effectively wall many Pokemon.</li>
</ul>
[Set Recommendations]
<p>Vaporeon @ Leftovers<br />
Ability: Water Absorb<br />
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD<br />
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)<br />
- Wish<br />
- Protect<br />
- Scald<br />
- Toxic / Ice Beam / Roar</p>
<p>Scald is generally the preferred offensive move on Vaporeon, as it not only makes the most of Vaporeon's 110 base Sp.Atk, but also delivers a chance to burn the opponent, reducing their offensive might. Its last move can cripple the opposition, whether it be through Toxic, which will quickly accumulate damage while the opposition fails to break Vaporeon's defenses, or through Ice Beam, for its offensive prowess against defensively-frail Pokemon. Roar is also a viable option, removing any Pokemon that would otherwise be able to freely set up against Vaporeon.</p>
<p>A defensively-oriented EV investment maximizing HP and Defense in tandem with a Bold Nature means Vaporeon avoids getting 2HKO'd by common variations of Garchomp, Aegislash, and Alakazam, while walling just about everything else to a dead halt. Meanwhile, it can deliver massive Wishes to its allies, or use it with Protect to guarantee self-heals while stalling the opponent out. With Vaporeon as a physically defensive wall sporting Wish Support, it can form a reliable defensive core with a Specially Defensive Assault Vest user, such as Goodra or Heatran (both of which resist Vaporeon's weaknesses) and grant them a pivotal access to HP recovery.
<p>Vaporeon @ Leftovers<br />
Ability: Water Absorb<br />
EVs: 252 HP / 120 Def / 136 Spe<br />
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)<br />
- Baton Pass<br />
- Substitute<br />
- Acid Armor / Wish / Aqua Ring<br />
- Scald / Roar</p>
<p>The timeless Baton Pass set-up. Even though Vaporeon has gotten nothing new to bolster the viability of this set, it's still quite formidable. With Baton Pass, Vaporeon can pass along a wide host of benefits to its allies. Substitute is the selling point of this set, allowing Vaporeon to shield itself or an ally with a status-absorbing, high-HP Substitute. Acid Armor is incredibly useful in this generation, with the nerf in power of many common Special moves and the resultant shift toward more Physical attackers on a team. Being able to boost any allied Pokemon's Defense can often cement a sweeper's position on the field, and simply using it on Vaporeon can force many common attackers away. Wish is another popular choice for the third moveslot, as it also takes advantage of Vaporeon's massive HP to heal incoming allies by a whopping 232 HP, and further bolsters Vaporeon's own survivability. Aqua Ring was a sketchier option in previous generations, but with overall bulkier Pokemon in the XY generation, it has a much greater chance of lasting longer, and conferring more of its benefits to either Vaporeon or the Baton Pass recipient. The last move is one to help Vaporeon stay on the field longer. Scald prevents Vaporeon from becoming Taunt-bait, does respectable STAB damage, and can cripple an opponent with the burn status. Roar can phaze away set-up sweepers that would otherwise laugh in the face of this set, as well as any immediate threat to Vaporeon.</p>
<p>Maximizing Vaporeon's HP with this set allows it to create 116 HP Substitutes and 232 HP Wishes and makes Vaporeon much harder to take down. A 136-point investment in Speed lets Vaporeon reach 200 Speed, which allows it to both outspeed a wide host of Pokemon and set up Substitutes before getting hit by moves such as Toxic or Thunder Wave. The remaining 120 points are slotted into Defense to allow Vaporeon to better survive physical attacks. This specific set-up leaves Vaporeon slightly more specially defensive than physically defensive, but its high HP can let it comfortably survive a wide range of attacks nonetheless. A Sub-passing Vaporeon splashes well into a variety of teams and works best to protect a set-up sweeper and give them the turn they need to start their sweep. Rather than having specific teammates that work best, Sub-Pass Vaporeon enables situational counterplay by either predicting moves and then Baton Passing into an advantageous situation, or away from a disadvantageous one.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Due to Vaporeon's large movepool, checks and counters can vary wildly depending on which moves Vaporeon is or isn't using. Set-up sweepers are hard-pressed to find something better than a Vaporeon to set up against, unless that Vaporeon lands a Toxic / Haze / Roar, or manages to burn a physical set-up sweeper with Scald. Even if Vaporeon Baton Passes out, the opposing Pokemon can still get a free buff / attack in. A Quiver Dance sweeper such as Volcarona or Vivillon can easily set up and either shrug off the incoming Scald or enjoy the unopposed boost when they switch out to something else. With access to both Wish and Baton Pass, Vaporeon is notoriously hard to properly 'check', as it specializes more in supporting the next Pokemon to switch in after it, and less so in offensive focus.</p>
<p>In general, most Grass-types can easily switch in on Vaporeon and either set up on it or outright kill it. Breloom, Venusaur, Roserade, Chesnaught, and Trevenant all have some way of boosting their stats, and the first three also carry a handy Toxic immunity. Rotom-W is also an easy counter, though its tendency to carry Volt Switch as its only Electric STAB usually prevents it from staying in long enough to KO Vaporeon on its own. Other speedy Electric-types, such as Jolteon, Galvantula, and Zapdos can simply soak up an incoming Toxic or Scald and 2HKO with their Electric STAB of choice. Opposing walls can also pose a problem, as Blissey can soak up Scalds for days, cleric away any burns or Toxics it may receive, and heal itself far beyond Vaporeon's capability to damage. Skarmory doesn't appreciate the burn from Scald, but is immune to Toxic, and has little issue with Roosting away damage it would receive on the switch. Similarly, Ferrothorn doesn't like getting burned, but STAB Power Whip, a Toxic immunity, and access to Leech Seed make it a threat nonetheless.</p>
Last edited:
