Community POTW #088

[Serebii]

Time for the next Pokémon of the Week and this week we go to Johto!

It's Umbreon!

Umbreon #197 - Serebii.net Pokédex

Umbreon Pokémon Serebii.net Pokédex providing all details on moves, stats, abilities, evolution data and locations for Pokémon Sword & Shield and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl & Pokéemon Legends: Arceus

www.serebii.net

 

[XaelOstigian]

One of the best Eeveelutions out there, Umbreon's main halmark to fame from the moment it was released back in generation 2 was its incredible defenses. No more high HP but low defenses or vice versa, we are talking 95, 110, 130 defenses complimented with pure Dark typing which makes Umbreon hard if not impossible to one shot even in the upper tiers. And fortunately Umbreon is also blessed with an excellent supportive movepool to get around its low offensive stats even in spite of losing the Toxic TM in between generations, making it an all around excellent choice to fit onto your competitive team.

Be Sturdy and Play Dirty
Ability: Synchronize
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Impish (+Def -Sp.Att)
EVs: (HP 252) (Def 156) (Sp. Def 100)

Moves:
Foul Play
Wish
Protect
Confuse Ray/Yawn/Body Slam/Toxic

Set Details:
Umbreon being a defensive and pure Dark type means that Foul Play was practically made for it. No need to invest anything in your own offenses when you can just hijack your opponent's stats using this unique and powerful STAB. Any good defensive set also needs a form of recovery, and Wish is your best option. Not only can it heal half your HP, but you also have the option to switch out and let your teammate benefit from the meaty recovery instead. Protect buys you a turn for Wish to activate, nets you extra Leftovers recovery, and scouts the opposition. Your last choice is a toss up depending on what you want. Toxic is obviously ideal since it pairs well with every other move and accumulates damage as you stall for time, but if you can't transfer it over you can annoy your opponents with Confuse Ray, offer sleep support with Yawn which also pairs well with Protect, or you can slap on Body Slam if only for the 30% paralysis support.

Cursed Fox
Ability: Synchronize
Item: Leftovers
Nature: Careful (+Sp. Def. -Sp.Att)
EVs: (HP 252) (Def 4) (Sp. Def 252)

Moves:
Curse
Crunch/Payback
Protect/Body Slam
Wish/Moonlight

Set Details:
A set up tank set shores up your offenses while making you harder to KO overall. Boost your attack and defense with Curse at the cost of speed, and take out your opponent with either Crunch which has more consistent power and PP or Payback which benefits of having more power once you go second but has lower PP. Protect stalls, scouts, and buys extra Leftovers recovery, but Body Slam offers neutral coverage against Fairy, Fighting, and other Dark types with added paralysis support that your team can exploit. Finally we have your mandatory recovery move with Wish that pairs well with Protect and offers recovery to your other teammates, but Moonlight requires no charge time and has the potential to recover even more health with sun support, but it still has lower PP than Wish and can be nerfed if the weather is rain, hail, or sand.

There is still some debate over whether Espeon or Umbreon is the best Eeveelution, but you can always pop both on your team in the meantime until the debate is settled ~_^

 

[Sceptile Leaf Blade]

Umbreon @ Weakness Policy
252 HP, 252 Def, 4 Sp.Def
Relaxed/Sassy nature
Ability: Inner Focus
0 Speed IV
- Snarl
- Foul Play
- Baton Pass
- Moonlight

Baton Passing Umbreon can be quite a surprise for enemies. As Umbreon often has Synchronize and with Toxic getting removed as a widespread TM, super effective hits are often the go-to for opponents to try and deal with it. With a bit of prediction on when said super effective hit is coming, Umbreon can underspeed them and Baton Pass on the same turn as its Weakness Policy activates. By passing to a high speed sweeper you can simultaneously get said sweeper (as such pokémon often lack bulk) in safely and swing momentum around. Any sweeper loves having its offensive powers doubled without taking damage on its setup and Umbreon can provide that, albeit only once per battle. The other moves are there to allow Umbreon to at least somewhat stand on its own. Snarl is especially useful in doubles to reduce enemy special attack while in singles can drop the enemy special attack to a point that they can't deal meaningful damage anymore and you can easily stall them out with Moonlight, while Foul Play can deal with physical attackers. Moonlight provides recovery. Inner Focus blocks Intimidate from lowering your attack stat, which means your Baton Pass recipient won't get indirectly debuffed by it either, and it also is useful for preventing Fake Out flinches in doubles.

The power of this set compared to other Baton Passers is the speed at which it can pass boosts. The ability to boost and pass in the same turn wins you a turn compared to conventional passers and brings an additional surprise factor (the opponent can't adapt when they see you boost, you already pass the boost in that same turn). Bring in the right offensive pokémon and you might very well be able to go for a sweep that ends the entire game that your opponent can't recover from. Naganadel for instance is a powerful attacker with good coverage that gets faster as it gets more KOs, with doubled special attack it is almost impossible to wall, but there are plenty of other pokémon that can do similar things with a free +2.

 

[Mestorn]

Umbreon had been quietly accruing amazing tools as the generations go on. Wish in Generation 3, Yawn in Generation 4, and Foul Play, Inner Focus and Snarl in Generation 5. Umbreon has quite the meaty support movepool and the stats to compliment it. Foul Play in Generation 5 is perhaps the biggest boost as now Umbreon is no longer passive, able to use its opponent's higher Attack and Special Attackers want nothing to do with Umbreon thanks to its insane Base 130 SDef.

A Helpful Shadow
Umbreon
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Inner Focus
-Snarl
-Yawn
-Moonlight/Wish
-Protect
Nature: Bold (+DEF, -ATK)
EVs: 252 HP / 252 DEF / 4 SDEF

Doubles Support Umbreon. Thanks to Inner Focus, Umbreon can't be stopped with Fake Out or Rock Slide. Snarl tanks the opposing team's Special Attack and makes Umbreon even more unkillable on the Special side. Yawn places your opponent in a tight position. Will they stay in and lose a Pokémon to sleep or be forced to switch out and thus be completely open to your attacks? Moonlight and Wish are for recovery. Moonlight is fantastic on Sun teams, healing an insane 2/3rds of Umbreon's health, while Wish is more reliable and can heal allies but makes you more predictable.

Other Options
Helping Hand -Gives Umbreon some offensive presence by having it boost its partner.
Fake Tears/Screech -Umbreon can "setup" for your other pokémon by tanking the appropriate defense of the target. While this persists as long as the target is on the field, Umbreon is fairly slow so you will likely be waiting a turn to take advantage of it and is single target.
Charm -Complements Snarl in reducing attack, but again Umbreon is rather slow and is single target.

 

[Kiyoshi]

Alright, favorite Pokemon is up, let's see how we can mess with the meta. Both sets are for Singles.


YOU HAVE MY STAFF
-Dark Pulse
-Psychic
-Weather Ball
-Moonlight
Item Attached: Weakness Policy
Ability: Synchronize/Inner Focus
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Def
Modest Nature

Switch in on something you force out, Dynamax, then attack. Dark Pulse is STAB, and as Max Darkness lowers the foe's SpDef, it's almost as good as a boost. Psychic is for coverage against Fighting types, and Max Mindstorm helps support your team if you have to switch out/are knocked out. Weather Ball is the best coverage move Umbreon's ever received, because it can become a Fire (melt those Steels!), Water, Ice, or Rock type move at Base 100 power, coverage that Umbreon has sorely lacked; stinks as a Max Strike, Hyper Voice would be better for that, but Weather Ball ALSO becomes the corresponding Max move in the weather. Moonlight is for healing, and in Sun is amazing. HINTHINT, the synergy between Weather Ball and Moonlight on a Sun team is amazing, and Max Flare can keep the Sun going longer. Main advantage of this set, most of Umbreon's checks/counters don't like Special Attacks.


AND MY AXE
-Crunch/Foul Play
-Iron Tail/Body Slam
-Curse
-Moonlight
Item Attached: Weakness Policy
Ability: Inner Focus
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 252 ATk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature

Same strategy as above, but using Umbreon's better offensive stat & only good boosting move, and try to set up Curse before Dynamaxing. Crunch is more reliable, Foul Play is usually stronger. Iron Tail is for anti-Fairy coverage, Body Slam is for that paralysis chance. The former is far more useful when Dynamaxed as the accuracy problem is fixed (and raises your Defense with each use) but the latter is more reliable once Dynamax ends. Curse is Curse, and Moonlight is Moonlight.