[Overview]
<p>At first, Espeon might seem completely out of place in the Ubers metagame. Aside from Special Attack and Speed, its stats are pitiful, as base 65 / 60 / 95 defenses make Espeon very vulnerable to the powerful attacks thrown around in the tier, especially priority ones. It also has a barren movepool, making it one-dimensional and easy to play around. Being Pursuit bait is another undesirable quality, making Espeon easy pickings for Tyranitar and Scizor. To top it off, its only viable form of recovery, Morning Sun, is near-useless in the rain-infested metagame. However, it's Espeon's semi-unique ability, Magic Bounce, that makes it worth using in Ubers.</p>
<p>Its coveted ability allows it to deflect all forms of entry hazards, ensuring dangerous threats on sun teams such as Ho-Oh and Kyurem-W don't go down prematurely. Magic Bounce also grants it an immunity to Will-O-Wisp, Thunder Wave, Toxic, Roar, and Whirlwind, giving stall team headaches, as they usually rely on these moves to stall out their opponents. Espeon also happens to be capable of stopping Forretress and Skarmory, two common hazard-setters, in their tracks and KO them. When thinking of a team supporter that can perform these roles, Xatu may come to mind first due to its immunity to Earthquake, completely reliable recovery, and slightly higher physical defense. However, Espeon sports a larger offensive presence, preventing to it from becoming setup bait. Espeon cannot be used lightly though; it needs a good deal of team support to get its job done. One slight misprediction could result in Espeon's demise, before it even gets a chance to do anything.</p>
[SET]
name: Focus Sash Attacker
move 1: Psyshock / Shadow Ball
move 2: Yawn / Psyshock
move 3: Grass Knot
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Focus Sash
ability: Magic Bounce
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>As Espeon is fast, frail, and fairly powerful, a Focus Sash set immediately comes to mind for it. Being able to stop most defensive hazard setters,— and even some offensive ones,— this set can make way for powerful teammates that are troubled by them. Psyshock is preferred in the first slot as it is Espeon's most powerful move, OHKOing Tentacruel and Terrakion after Stealth Rock. Shadow Ball is another viable option to hit Deoxys-S and KO heavily weakened Mewtwo, Giratina-O, and Ghost Arceus on the switch. Yawn stops Espeon from being setup bait for sweepers such as Arceus and Mewtwo. Psyshock again, is an option if using Shadow Ball in the first slot if the latter last two threats aren't a problem for your team, and for the better overall coverage. 'Former' and 'latter' can only be used when comparing two things. Grass Knot is important, as it is Espeon's best move against Kyogre, Groudon, and Tyranitar, 2HKOing all of them after Stealth Rock. Lastly, Hidden Power Fire hits Skarmory and Forretress, two common hazard setters, for super-effective damage.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The most obvious partner for Espeon is Groudon.; It it can easily take on Tyranitar, Scizor, and Dialga, all of whom can force Espeon out. The sun it summons also powers up the Fire-type moves of Ho-Oh, Reshiram, and Kyurem-W, all of whom also appreciate the Magic Bounce support from Espeon as well, making them good teammates as well. This just sounded weird with the repetition of 'as well' Sun support also makes Morning Sun restore 2/3 of Espeon's health, making it a viable option. Another good teammate to consider is Choice Scarf Terrakion, who threatens Extreme Killer Arceus, Darkrai, and both Kyurem formes, which Groudon will struggle against. Finally, Calm Mind Ghost Arceus can stop Genesect, who easily threatens Espeon with its powerful STAB U-Turn.<p>
<p>It should be noted that due to Espeon's frailty, it will usually only block hazards twice;: once when at full health, and once at 1 HP. However, Tyranitar will only let Espeon block them once, as it will Pursuit if it switches, leaving it at 1 HP, while on the next turn it can set up Stealth Rock. Excadrill sets up Stealth Rock with impunity due to Mold Breaker ignoring Magic Bounce, meaning that Espeon cannot block hazards from it at all. Once again, Groudon, and to a lesser extent, Terrakion, make good teammates as they can threaten these two entry hazard setters with STAB Earthquake or Close Combat.</p>
<p>There are two other options that Espeon can make use of. The first is Baton Pass, which can be used to scout for counters and escape Pursuit, preserving its Focus Sash and possibly allowing it to continue blocking hazards later on in the match. The second viable option is Hidden Power Fighting, which is its best option against Tyranitar and Dialga; however, it will still fail to OHKO both, and the former takes a good amount of damage from Grass Knot.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>A Dual Screens set has merits, as it is not stopped by Taunt and neither is it setup fodder for entry hazard setters, but Deoxys-S pulls this off better thanks to higher Speed, and makes up for its vulnerability to Taunt with access to its own Taunt. A set with Trick and a Choice Scarf or Choice Specs can allow it to outpace or hit opposing Pokemon hard, while being able to cripple a wall,— but again, Deoxys-S outclasses it in this role.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Hard-hitting priority users, such as Arceus, Giratina-O, and Scizor will quickly dispatch of Espeon due to its frailty, although Scizor with have to watch out for Hidden Power Fire. Speaking of Scizor, it can also Pursuit Espeon if it decides to switch out. Tyranitar does this job even better, as it is at best 2HKOed by Hidden Power Fighting or Grass Knot after Stealth Rock. Ho-Oh can easily take anything, bar Psyshock, and OHKO back. Like a lot of Pokemon, Espeon can be preyed upon by revenge killers, as almost any Choice Scarf user in the metagame can outpace and KO Espeon with the appropriate move. The most prominent of these is Genesect, who easily OHKOes it with U-turn after Espeon's Focus Sash has been rendered useless by some residual damage.</p>