**Draft Order**: Round 6 onwards
**Price Range**: 4-5 points
**Overview**: Espeon is a Pokemon that looks a lot more promising in theory than in practice. Poor physical bulk and only an average special movepool hold Espeon back from its full potential. Even with Magic Bounce, switching in against hazard setters is risky as many of them can hit Espeon hard with physical attacks to punish its efforts. On the plus side, Espeon has a good speed and special attack stat and can threaten to sweep with Calm Mind. Furthermore, just having Magic Bounce can be useful to punish would be hazard setters and can certainly help with hazard control so long as you can account for Espeon’s shortcomings.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Set Up Sweeper**: Espeon has the potential to snowball with Calm Mind as a late game sweeper since Magic Bounce protects it from disruption and status, allowing it to pick off weakened teams.
**Special Wallbreaker**: Espeon can take the route of an all out attacker with Choice Specs in order to break holes in teams that can’t withstand its strong Psychic attacks and acceptable coverage options.
**Fast Utility**: Espeon’s high speed can allow it to play the role of a fast utility Pokemon that can set both Light Screen and Reflect, while also spreading status and even Wishes to its teammates.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Psychic, Psyshock, Psychic Noise, Stored Power
**Setup Moves**: Calm Mind
**Utility Moves**: Light Screen, Protect, Reflect, Thunder Wave, Trick, Wish, Yawn
**Coverage**: Alluring Voice, Draining Kiss, Grass Knot, Power Gem, Shadow Ball,
Niche Moves
========
**Future Sight**: On Choice Sets, Future Sight is Espeon’s strongest attack and can be used as a guaranteed progress maker that can force switches.
**Weather Ball**: If given weather support, Espeon can solve its coverage issues by using Weather Ball to surprise a check.
**Stored Power**: On Weakness Policy sets, Espeon can tear through weakened teams even more easily with Stored Power should the opposing team lack sturdy answers.
**Charm**: Espeon can punish opposing set up sweepers with Charm to potentially stack multiple Calm Mind boosts together.
**Fake Tears**: While less useful than Calm Mind, Fake Tears can allow Espeon to potentially brute force its way past Pokemon that would otherwise wall it.
Common Items
========
**Choice Specs** Espeon can make a solid user of Choice Specs due to its good special attack stat as well as access to Trick to punish walls.
**Damage Boosting Items**: Calm Mind sets can benefit greatly with items such as Life Orb, Twistedspoon, and Expert Belt to increase damage output.
**Leftovers**: Provides Espeon extra longevity and can allow it to more easily stack boosts with Calm Mind.
Niche Items
========
**Light Clay**: Espeon can make a decent enough screen setter to help its teammates set up since it can prevent Defog from clearing them.
**Resistance Berries**: Chople, Tanga Berry, and Kasib Berry can allow Espeon to tank a super effective hit and remove a woukd be revenge killer with its coverage.
**Terrain Seeds**: Espeon makes a decent user of terrain seeds, especially Grassy Seed, as this can help Espeon set up and patch its frailty to a degree.
**Weakness Policy**: On Calm Mind sets, Weakness Policy allows Espeon to become a game ending threat that shatters chipped teams with Stored Power.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: While not ideal, Heavy-Duty Boots allows Espeon to switch in repeatedly against any hazards that may have been used before Espeon hit the field and can punish setters equally.
**Choice Scarf**: Espeon can beat would be revenge killers and faster sweepers by donning a Choice Scarf to catch a surprise KO.
Tera
========
Espeon is a bit of a Tera sink as it relies on Tera greatly to do its job, at the cost of preventing its teammates from terastallizing. You generally want Espeon to be a secondary captain at best and only when you can afford a stronger primary captain as well. Offensive Tera types work best, such as Tera Fire or Fairy in order to defeat bulky Steel-types and Dark-types respectively. Tera Ghost is an option to boost Shadow Ball’s power should the opponent lack solid Ghost resists while Tera Psychic can sometimes be useful to strengthen Choice sets.
Draft Strategy
========
Espeon is a cheaper special wallbreaker that teams can use if they want additional speed control and protection from entry hazards.
**Physical Tanks** Espeon has poor physical bulk and greatly appreciates the presence of Pokemon that can switch in on these attacks. Pokemon such as Alomomola, Galarian Weezing and Amoonguss can make solid choices for this purpose. Users of Rocky Helmet such as Garchomp are also solid options to punish contact moves like U-turn.
**Hazard Support**: Espeon loves entry hazards being stacked on the opposing side, so Pokémon such as Ting Lu, Gastrodon, and Garganacl can make great partners to ease Espeon’s ability to wallbreak. In return, Espeon can help prevent opposing hazards from being stacked which will ease their ability to hit the field.
**Physical Wallbreakers**: Pokemon such as Blaziken, Kingambit, and Scizor can break past the special walls that Espeon can find itself walled by.
Checks and Counters
========
**Priority Attacks**: Espeon’s physical frailty means that strong priority moves such as Bulket Punch, Extremespeed and especially Sucker Punch can threaten to do massive damage.
**Special Walls**: Pokemon that are tanky enough to survive Espeon’s attacks, especially dark types such as Kingambit and Wo-Chien can be roadblocks that limit Espeon’s wallbreaking capabilities. They do have to watch for Trick, however.
**Faster Opponents**: Espeon can be beaten by faster Pokemon such as Thundurus and Meowscarada, while common Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T and Krookodile can be similarly dangerous.
**U-turn / Knock Off**: Espeon can be punished for switching in greatly due to many Pokemon using U-turn on the switch while others can use Knock Off to threaten to KO it outright.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/patar136.571123/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000
Grammar checked by:
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**Price Range**: 4-5 points
**Overview**: Espeon is a Pokemon that looks a lot more promising in theory than in practice. Poor physical bulk and only an average special movepool hold Espeon back from its full potential. Even with Magic Bounce, switching in against hazard setters is risky as many of them can hit Espeon hard with physical attacks to punish its efforts. On the plus side, Espeon has a good speed and special attack stat and can threaten to sweep with Calm Mind. Furthermore, just having Magic Bounce can be useful to punish would be hazard setters and can certainly help with hazard control so long as you can account for Espeon’s shortcomings.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Set Up Sweeper**: Espeon has the potential to snowball with Calm Mind as a late game sweeper since Magic Bounce protects it from disruption and status, allowing it to pick off weakened teams.
**Special Wallbreaker**: Espeon can take the route of an all out attacker with Choice Specs in order to break holes in teams that can’t withstand its strong Psychic attacks and acceptable coverage options.
**Fast Utility**: Espeon’s high speed can allow it to play the role of a fast utility Pokemon that can set both Light Screen and Reflect, while also spreading status and even Wishes to its teammates.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Psychic, Psyshock, Psychic Noise, Stored Power
**Setup Moves**: Calm Mind
**Utility Moves**: Light Screen, Protect, Reflect, Thunder Wave, Trick, Wish, Yawn
**Coverage**: Alluring Voice, Draining Kiss, Grass Knot, Power Gem, Shadow Ball,
Niche Moves
========
**Future Sight**: On Choice Sets, Future Sight is Espeon’s strongest attack and can be used as a guaranteed progress maker that can force switches.
**Weather Ball**: If given weather support, Espeon can solve its coverage issues by using Weather Ball to surprise a check.
**Stored Power**: On Weakness Policy sets, Espeon can tear through weakened teams even more easily with Stored Power should the opposing team lack sturdy answers.
**Charm**: Espeon can punish opposing set up sweepers with Charm to potentially stack multiple Calm Mind boosts together.
**Fake Tears**: While less useful than Calm Mind, Fake Tears can allow Espeon to potentially brute force its way past Pokemon that would otherwise wall it.
Common Items
========
**Choice Specs** Espeon can make a solid user of Choice Specs due to its good special attack stat as well as access to Trick to punish walls.
**Damage Boosting Items**: Calm Mind sets can benefit greatly with items such as Life Orb, Twistedspoon, and Expert Belt to increase damage output.
**Leftovers**: Provides Espeon extra longevity and can allow it to more easily stack boosts with Calm Mind.
Niche Items
========
**Light Clay**: Espeon can make a decent enough screen setter to help its teammates set up since it can prevent Defog from clearing them.
**Resistance Berries**: Chople, Tanga Berry, and Kasib Berry can allow Espeon to tank a super effective hit and remove a woukd be revenge killer with its coverage.
**Terrain Seeds**: Espeon makes a decent user of terrain seeds, especially Grassy Seed, as this can help Espeon set up and patch its frailty to a degree.
**Weakness Policy**: On Calm Mind sets, Weakness Policy allows Espeon to become a game ending threat that shatters chipped teams with Stored Power.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: While not ideal, Heavy-Duty Boots allows Espeon to switch in repeatedly against any hazards that may have been used before Espeon hit the field and can punish setters equally.
**Choice Scarf**: Espeon can beat would be revenge killers and faster sweepers by donning a Choice Scarf to catch a surprise KO.
Tera
========
Espeon is a bit of a Tera sink as it relies on Tera greatly to do its job, at the cost of preventing its teammates from terastallizing. You generally want Espeon to be a secondary captain at best and only when you can afford a stronger primary captain as well. Offensive Tera types work best, such as Tera Fire or Fairy in order to defeat bulky Steel-types and Dark-types respectively. Tera Ghost is an option to boost Shadow Ball’s power should the opponent lack solid Ghost resists while Tera Psychic can sometimes be useful to strengthen Choice sets.
Draft Strategy
========
Espeon is a cheaper special wallbreaker that teams can use if they want additional speed control and protection from entry hazards.
**Physical Tanks** Espeon has poor physical bulk and greatly appreciates the presence of Pokemon that can switch in on these attacks. Pokemon such as Alomomola, Galarian Weezing and Amoonguss can make solid choices for this purpose. Users of Rocky Helmet such as Garchomp are also solid options to punish contact moves like U-turn.
**Hazard Support**: Espeon loves entry hazards being stacked on the opposing side, so Pokémon such as Ting Lu, Gastrodon, and Garganacl can make great partners to ease Espeon’s ability to wallbreak. In return, Espeon can help prevent opposing hazards from being stacked which will ease their ability to hit the field.
**Physical Wallbreakers**: Pokemon such as Blaziken, Kingambit, and Scizor can break past the special walls that Espeon can find itself walled by.
Checks and Counters
========
**Priority Attacks**: Espeon’s physical frailty means that strong priority moves such as Bulket Punch, Extremespeed and especially Sucker Punch can threaten to do massive damage.
**Special Walls**: Pokemon that are tanky enough to survive Espeon’s attacks, especially dark types such as Kingambit and Wo-Chien can be roadblocks that limit Espeon’s wallbreaking capabilities. They do have to watch for Trick, however.
**Faster Opponents**: Espeon can be beaten by faster Pokemon such as Thundurus and Meowscarada, while common Choice Scarf users such as Landorus-T and Krookodile can be similarly dangerous.
**U-turn / Knock Off**: Espeon can be punished for switching in greatly due to many Pokemon using U-turn on the switch while others can use Knock Off to threaten to KO it outright.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/patar136.571123/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user2.200000
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user3.300000
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/user4.400000
Last edited: