BA-ZAP!
[Overview]
<p>Jolteon's fate is a sad one. At first, Jolteon's respectable base 110 Special Attack and base 130 Speed appear to make it a deadly powerhouse that all teams should prepare for. However, Jolteon is overshadowed by Raikou, which is stronger, bulkier thanks to Volt Absorb, and boasts superb coverage. In addition, Jolteon is a favorite target for Ground-type Pokemon, as well as priority users and Choice Scarf revenge killers. Luckily, Jolteon's saving grace is Baton Pass. With access to boosting moves such as Work Up and Charge Beam, Jolteon can easily beef up a teammate and win back momentum. In addition, Jolteon's Speed makes it one of the fastest Baton Passers in existence, and despite being outshined by Raikou, it can still deliver lethal damage. While Jolteon's role in Dream World is vastly different from its niche in OU, it is still a stellar Pokemon to use.</p>
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Baton Pass
move 2: Work Up / Charge Beam
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Substitute
item: Leftovers / Air Balloon
ability: Volt Absorb
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>The purpose of this set is to switch Jolteon into a Pokemon it can threaten, such as Politoed. Once the foe switches out, Jolteon can use a boosting move and then quickly Baton Pass it before the switch-in can attack. The two boosting moves in question are Work Up and Charge Beam. Work Up is the recommended choice because it boosts both Attack and Special Attack; unlike moves that boost only a single offensive stat, Work Up allows you to choose your receivers with more freedom. Charge Beam only boosts Special Attack, which restricts which Pokemon it can pass the boost to. However, it does deal a modest amount of damage, which can be just enough to finish off a weakened Pokemon. Using Charge Beam can also trick opponents into thinking that Jolteon is running an offensive set, which allows it to use Baton Pass when they least expect it. Jolteon can also opt to stay in and use its boosts, as it boasts excellent coverage and power with Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Ice off its base 110 Special Attack stat. If you want to trade power for longevity, consider using Substitute over Hidden Power Ice. This gives Jolteon and its receiver a cushion against status effects, as well as more leeway for mistakes. However, using Substitute has a nasty drawback: Jolteon becomes a sitting duck against Ground-types and other Pokemon immune to Electric-type attacks.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread for this set is simple: 252 EVs in Special Attack give Jolteon maximum power, and 252 EVs in Speed along with a Timid nature allow it to outspeed almost every single non-boosted Pokemon in existence. Life Orb complements Jolteon's power by giving it a nice boost; however, Air Balloon is useful for evading Earthquake, which usually OHKOes Jolteon. As for alternative attacks, Jolteon can use Hidden Power Grass to nail Quagsire and Gastrodon. Even though these two Pokemon are a bit uncommon in Dream World, they are still a pain for Jolteon to handle. The downside to using Hidden Power Grass, though, is that Jolteon loses a great deal of coverage. Because of this, Jolteon appreciates having powerful Grass-type teammates to pass to such as Breloom or Venusaur; these two appreciate not having to set up and waste a turn, and do a fine job at scaring Quagsire and Gastrodon.</p>
<p>One particular strategy that works well with Jolteon is rain. Jolteon is an excellent addition to a rain team because it can soak up Electric-type attacks with Volt Absorb and fire off a perfectly accurate Thunder. In addition, Jolteon can pass boosts to rain sweepers such as Rotom-W and Keldeo, which then become even more devastating. Aside from Politoed, which is a must-have, two great teammates that also benefit from Drizzle are Vaporeon and Ferrothorn. Vaporeon can heal Jolteon with Wish and attract Electric-type attacks for Jolteon to switch into, while Ferrothorn can provide support with Spikes and Stealth Rock. Although a bit unorthodox, Vaporeon can also continue the Baton Pass chain with Acid Armor.</p>
<p>Although Jolteon can use Baton Pass to escape from trouble, Choice Scarf-wielding Pokemon can outspeed and KO it. Two particular examples are Choice Scarf Landorus and Garchomp; these two can come in on Thunderbolt or a boosting move, and threaten to OHKO Jolteon if it uses Life Orb. Landorus falls quickly to a powerful Ice- or Water-type attacks from Pokemon such as Starmie and Gyarados, which have excellent synergy with Jolteon as they attract Electric-type attacks. Garchomp is trickier to handle; try using priority attacks such as Mamoswine's Ice Shard or your own Choice Scarf revenge-killer. Jolteon is also troubled by specially defensive Pokemon such as Blissey, Ferrothorn, and Latias. Latias is especially threatening, as it can also use Roar to phaze Jolteon and destroy the Baton Pass chain. Powerful physical attackers can deal with these threats. Scizor is a good example; it destroys Blissey and Ferrothorn with Superpower, traps Latias with Pursuit,and also can learn Baton Pass to continue the chain if necessary.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Jolteon's shallow movepool means that it does not have a lot of other options. One thing Jolteon can do is to run a special attacker set with Thunderbolt, Hidden Power Ice, Volt Switch, and Shadow Ball with either Life Orb or Choice Specs. This set's advantage over Raikou, Jolteon's biggest rival, is that Jolteon's base 130 Speed allows it to outspeed threats that Raikou cannot, such as Starmie, Weavile, and Modest Choice Scarf Chandelure. If you prefer the Baton Pass set more, one additional move Jolteon can pass is Agility; this allows Jolteon to help out powerful but slow teammates. The problem is that your opponent will rarely give you enough time to Baton Pass both Agility and Work Up / Charge Beam simultaneously. Fake Tears is an interesting option as it allows Jolteon to electrocute special walls more easily. Fake Tears can also be used to phaze, which gives Jolteon an easier time to set up. Yawn is another great phazing move, particularly against faster, offensive Pokemon that do not mind Fake Tears's Special Defense drop.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>In order to shut down Jolteon, you need to either KO it or force it out before it Baton Passes a boosting move. Ground-type Pokemon are fantastic at scaring non-Air Balloon Jolteon; Gliscor, Landorus, Garchomp, and Excadrill can safely switch into a Thunderbolt and threaten it with Earthquake. However, Hidden Power Ice can OHKO the former three, so switch smartly. On the defensive side, Gastodon's special bulk allows it to sponge anything Jolteon throws at it. Gastrodon's cousin Quagsire might not be as bulky, but its Unaware ability renders Jolteon's boosts useless. In addition to Ground-types, special walls such as Blissey and specially defensive Tyranitar can soak up anything Jolteon throws at them; Tyranitar can then KO Jolteon with Crunch. Pokemon with the Lightningrod or Volt Absorb abilities, particularly Zapdos and Raikou, can switch safely into Thunderbolt and fry Jolteon's Baton Pass recipient. Finally, you can try priority attacks, such as Dragonite's ExtremeSpeed or Breloom's Mach Punch. These attacks bypass Jolteon's speed and can quickly knock it out before it uses Baton Pass. Choice Scarf users such as Terrakion can also outspeed Jolteon and KO it.</p>
