Tom's Teams: The Eeveelutions
The Eeveelutions have such a great fan following, and on the surface, this mania over the Evolution Pokémon and its multiple-pathed evolutionary line is justified. Eevee is one of the rarest non-legendary Pokémon to obtain in the series. It's not until Generation IV until you get a chance to catch them wild. Plus, a good many of them are OU/BL stalwarts. Umbreon, Espeon, Vaporeon and Jolteon all come to mind (according to Smogon, that is). Still, there's a certain maddening aspect when it comes to this diverse family of canine wonders. For one, they have almost no offensive movepool to speak of, so that you get Leafeon getting hung out to dry against anything super effective against it for example, or Flareon getting an amazing 130 base Atk rating and no strong physical STAB move other than freaking Fire Fang. Still, this doesn't discount the possibilities for an all-Eevee team. There are some good support moves available, and you don't need to discount them as attackers either.
Jolteon @ Expert Belt
Modest Nature, 252 EVs in SpAtk and Spd
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Charm
- HP Ice/HP Grass/Roar/gwar?
Yes, you've seen him before on the monotype electric team, but this really is the best set for the fast Eevee. You can go in for the quick kill on Thunderbolt on the Water/Flyings, and Shadow Ball provides coverage.
Umbreon @ Leftovers
Impish Nature, 252 EVs in HP, 128 in Def and SpDef
- Toxic
- Wish
- Baton Pass
- Mean Look
Yes, I cribbed this set directly from one of my Normal monotype opponents (I forget which one it was offhand...), but it's a great set. It's built for slow-death, and if you're patient enough to use it, it can really throw your opponent off his or her game. Mean Look/Wish/Toxic for the slow-death path, or you can BP Wish and Mean Look for support.
Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Calm Nature, 252 EVs in SpDef, 128 in HP and SpAtk
- Haze
- Aqua Ring
- Ice Beam
- Surf
Very similar to last week's and the Kanto starter set's Blastoise, except the EV spread is a bit different and Vaporeon doesn't learn Rapid Spin. Still, Aqua Ring + Leftovers = good HP recovery. Haze to keep things simple and Ice Beam and Surf as the Howitzer on this tank.
Espeon @ Light Clay
Modest Nature, 252 EVs in Spd, 128 in SpAtk and SpDef
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Reflect
- Calm Mind
The EV spread takes advantage of its great speed, allowing it to hit first if it has the opportunity to score the knockout, or to set up defenses quickly so it can last. Reflect will help with its substandard Def rating more than an EV boost would. CM and the EV spread helps take care of Special hits.
Flareon @ Wise Glasses
Bold Nature, 252 EVs in SpAtk and SpDef
- Fire Blast
- HP Grass/HP Electric
- Protect
- Will-o-Wisp
I tried not putting Flareon on this team, but the best move that hurts Steels that can be learned by any of them is Dig. Let that sink in for a little bit. Dig. Dig ain't hurting Bronzong, especially if you give it a chance to use Iron Defense (and that's only if it's one of the rare ones that doesn't have Levitate). Metagross is going to destroy you with Earthquake. It's useless against Skarmory too. So I guess I have to resort to putting the no-movepool wonder into the fray. Yes, its attack is almost godly, but it has no moves to utilize it. Great. Luckily, its SpAtk rating isn't pitiful, so you have the Hidden Power thing going for you, plus a great attack in Fire Blast (or Flamethrower if you desire accuracy over thundering power). Protect is to scout and Will-o-Wisp is for increased suvivability.
Leafeon @ Choice Scarf
Jolly Nature, 252 EVs in Atk and Spd
- Leaf Blade
- X-Scissor
- Iron Tail
- Aerial Ace
So, they didn't screw Leafeon over too badly when it came to movepool. It gets Leaf Blade, pretty much the best Grass attack you can get on the Physical side. It still can't hurt Fire-types, but it will hit Ice, Fighting, Bug, Dark and Psychics as well as the standard Rock/Ground/Water. It has great attack and alright speed, which means it's begging for a Choice Scarf. The only problem is that there's no way for an all Eeveelution team to get rid of Spikes and Stealth Rock, so use with caution.
There you go. As always, comments, complaints, questions, criticisms, Deoxys requests et al. are not only welcomed, but encouraged.
Jolteon @ Expert Belt
Modest Nature, 252 EVs in SpAtk and Spd
- Thunderbolt
- Shadow Ball
- Charm
- HP Ice/HP Grass/Roar/gwar?
Yes, you've seen him before on the monotype electric team, but this really is the best set for the fast Eevee. You can go in for the quick kill on Thunderbolt on the Water/Flyings, and Shadow Ball provides coverage.
Umbreon @ Leftovers
Impish Nature, 252 EVs in HP, 128 in Def and SpDef
- Toxic
- Wish
- Baton Pass
- Mean Look
Yes, I cribbed this set directly from one of my Normal monotype opponents (I forget which one it was offhand...), but it's a great set. It's built for slow-death, and if you're patient enough to use it, it can really throw your opponent off his or her game. Mean Look/Wish/Toxic for the slow-death path, or you can BP Wish and Mean Look for support.
Vaporeon @ Leftovers
Calm Nature, 252 EVs in SpDef, 128 in HP and SpAtk
- Haze
- Aqua Ring
- Ice Beam
- Surf
Very similar to last week's and the Kanto starter set's Blastoise, except the EV spread is a bit different and Vaporeon doesn't learn Rapid Spin. Still, Aqua Ring + Leftovers = good HP recovery. Haze to keep things simple and Ice Beam and Surf as the Howitzer on this tank.
Espeon @ Light Clay
Modest Nature, 252 EVs in Spd, 128 in SpAtk and SpDef
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Reflect
- Calm Mind
The EV spread takes advantage of its great speed, allowing it to hit first if it has the opportunity to score the knockout, or to set up defenses quickly so it can last. Reflect will help with its substandard Def rating more than an EV boost would. CM and the EV spread helps take care of Special hits.
Flareon @ Wise Glasses
Bold Nature, 252 EVs in SpAtk and SpDef
- Fire Blast
- HP Grass/HP Electric
- Protect
- Will-o-Wisp
I tried not putting Flareon on this team, but the best move that hurts Steels that can be learned by any of them is Dig. Let that sink in for a little bit. Dig. Dig ain't hurting Bronzong, especially if you give it a chance to use Iron Defense (and that's only if it's one of the rare ones that doesn't have Levitate). Metagross is going to destroy you with Earthquake. It's useless against Skarmory too. So I guess I have to resort to putting the no-movepool wonder into the fray. Yes, its attack is almost godly, but it has no moves to utilize it. Great. Luckily, its SpAtk rating isn't pitiful, so you have the Hidden Power thing going for you, plus a great attack in Fire Blast (or Flamethrower if you desire accuracy over thundering power). Protect is to scout and Will-o-Wisp is for increased suvivability.
Leafeon @ Choice Scarf
Jolly Nature, 252 EVs in Atk and Spd
- Leaf Blade
- X-Scissor
- Iron Tail
- Aerial Ace
So, they didn't screw Leafeon over too badly when it came to movepool. It gets Leaf Blade, pretty much the best Grass attack you can get on the Physical side. It still can't hurt Fire-types, but it will hit Ice, Fighting, Bug, Dark and Psychics as well as the standard Rock/Ground/Water. It has great attack and alright speed, which means it's begging for a Choice Scarf. The only problem is that there's no way for an all Eeveelution team to get rid of Spikes and Stealth Rock, so use with caution.
There you go. As always, comments, complaints, questions, criticisms, Deoxys requests et al. are not only welcomed, but encouraged.