We’re celebrating Eevee this month as Trainers look forward to Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, but you don’t have to wait until November to use Eevee and its Evolutions in battle. This week, we have some great strategies for Eevee and each of its Evolutions you can try out in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon.
Pokémon can excel with pretty different setups depending on whether they’re intended for Single or Double Battles. Here we’ll focus on Single Battles. Whether you’re planning to take on the competition at the Battle Tree or you’re looking for some cool team members for your next battle with your friends, these tips will help you make the most out of the Evolution Pokémon and its…uh…Evolutions.
Eevee
Suggested Item:
Eevium Z
Suggested Moves: Baton Pass, Last
Resort, Protect, Stored Power
Suggested Ability: Anticipation
Preferred Nature: Timid
You might expect that Eevee would need to evolve to perform well in battle, but the Evolution Pokémon could be most effective in its original form. Eevee’s unique Extreme Evoboost Z-Move increases all its stats by two levels. This effect is so powerful that some Trainers build their whole team around it!
Eevee needs to know Last Resort to use Extreme Evoboost, and you’ll also want to make sure it knows Baton Pass so it can transfer the stat boosts to a teammate. Try pairing Eevee with at least one Pokémon that knows Power Trip or Stored Power—both moves do more damage when the Pokémon using them has a lot of stat boosts. Eevee can even learn Stored Power itself as an Egg Move with some help from Munna, Musharna, or Oranguru.
Vaporeon
Suggested Item:
Leftovers
Suggested Moves: Protect, Surf, Toxic,
Wish
Suggested Ability: Water Absorb
Preferred Nature: Calm
Vaporeon has the highest HP of any of Eevee’s Evolutions and has an impressive Special Attack stat to go with it. Many Water-type Pokémon share these qualities, so it’s Vaporeon’s capability to learn some interesting support moves that sets it apart from other Pokémon of its type.
The standout move for this Pokémon is Wish, a move that heals the active Pokémon by half of the user’s max HP on the next turn. Vaporeon can use Protect to defend itself on the turn Wish activates and end up with a complicated version of Recover, or you can switch it out for a teammate on the second turn, which will then be healed instead. Toxic can slowly damage foes while Vaporeon either plays support or uses Surf for more reliable damage when it’s safe to attack. (The more popular Scald risks inflicting the wrong status effect—if the opponent is burned by Scald, it can’t also be badly poisoned by Toxic.)
Jolteon
Suggested Item:
Life Orb
Suggested Moves: Hidden Power,
Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Volt Switch
Suggested Ability: Volt Absorb
Preferred Nature: Timid
Jolteon is the speediest of Eevee’s Evolutions. Its impressive Special Attack stat also makes it among the most effective at dealing damage, but its weaker defensive stats mean you should be careful not to leave it vulnerable when it attacks. Teaching Jolteon Volt Switch lets it soften up its foes and switch out of battle at the same time. You can take advantage of its high Speed to finish off weakened opponents once it rejoins the battle.
Ground-type Pokémon are immune to Electric-type attacks, so you’ll want to teach Jolteon ways to damage them in a jam. Hidden Power is a good option because it can be an Ice-type attack, and Jolteon can’t learn any others. Shadow Ball does the best job of damaging what remains, but you could also swap your favorite supportive move into the final spot.
Flareon
Suggested Item: Muscle
Band
Suggested Moves: Flare Blitz, Quick
Attack, Return, Superpower
Suggested Ability: Flash Fire
Preferred Nature: Adamant
Most of Eevee’s Evolutions perform best with special moves, but Flareon’s best stat is its Attack. It also has excellent Special Defense, but its low HP and Speed can make it tricky to use.
Flareon’s Flare Blitz is an incredibly powerful attack, and the effectiveness of the Flame Pokémon is often determined by how many times it can fire off the move before fainting. Superpower helps with Rock-type Pokémon, but Flareon’s options get a little iffy from there. Flareon can’t learn many other physical attacks, so there’s little choice but to teach it Quick Attack to finish off weakened foes and Return to try to combat Fire- and Water-type foes.
Espeon
Suggested Item:
Light Clay
Suggested Moves: Light Screen, Morning
Sun, Psychic, Reflect
Suggested Ability: Magic Bounce
Preferred Nature: Timid
Espeon’s most recent claim to fame in competitive play was as a recipient of Eevee’s Extreme Evoboost—its Magic Bounce Hidden Ability protected it from Roar and Whirlwind, while Stored Power dished out heavy damage thanks to Espeon’s incredible Special Attack. Our suggested strategy goes in another direction by having Espeon support its teammates in their own attempts to blow through enemy teams.
Reflect decreases the physical damage your team will receive for several turns, while Light Screen does the same for special moves. Light Clay extends the duration of both moves. Try pairing this type of Espeon with a Pokémon that can boost its own stats—with moves like Dragon Dance or Swords Dance—to take advantage of the period where incoming damage is reduced.
Umbreon
Suggested Item:
Leftovers
Suggested Moves: Baton Pass, Foul
Play, Substitute, Wish
Suggested Ability: Synchronize
Preferred Nature: Calm
Umbreon’s three greatest stats are Special Defense, then Defense, then HP, making it the sturdiest of Eevee’s Evolutions. The tradeoff is that it’s also by far the least effective offensively—the Moonlight Pokémon has neither impressive offensive stats nor the capability to learn powerful attack moves.
The key to making the most of Umbreon is minimizing the impact of its low offensive stats. Foul Play is a great solution because it uses the opponent's Attack stat instead of Umbreon's. From there, you could try the same strategy we laid out for Vaporeon above but combining Substitute and Baton Pass instead. Substitute isn't a traditional stat change, but you can still Baton Pass its effect to a teammate instead of losing it when you make a normal switch.
Leafeon
Suggested Item: Adrenaline
Orb
Suggested Moves: Leaf Blade, Knock
Off, Swords Dance, X-Scissor
Suggested Ability: Chlorophyll
Preferred Nature: Adamant
Leafeon’s highest stat is its Defense, but the most important thing to keep in mind is that its Attack is much higher than its Special Attack. It can learn a few more tricks than Flareon can, but you’ll face similar challenges using both.
Leafeon isn’t as slow as Flareon is, but it’ll have an easier time if you pair it with a Pokémon that has the Drought Ability to activate its own Chlorophyll Ability, which doubles its Speed. If you’re confident Leafeon’s position on the field is safe, you should have it use Swords Dance and start firing away with attacks. But if you’re concerned you’ll have to switch out before you can make use of the Attack boost, you can remove an opponent’s item with Knock Off instead. Leaf Blade is a fantastic Grass-type attack, but Leafeon’s move options stop blossoming from there. X-Scissor is the best choice against other Grass-type Pokémon, but you probably won’t find yourself calling for it much, because Leaf Blade does comparable damage against most other foes.
Glaceon
Suggested Item:
Never-Melt Ice
Suggested Moves: Blizzard, Hidden
Power, Ice Beam, Shadow Ball
Suggested Ability: Ice Body
Preferred Nature: Modest
Glaceon’s fantastic Special Attack stat enables it to throw out the strongest Blizzard attacks around. Unfortunately, its low Speed and the many weaknesses an Ice-type Pokémon has make it hard to use effectively. You’ll get the most value out of Glaceon by pairing it with a Pokémon that has the Snow Warning Ability and by setting up Trick Room before it enters battle. You won’t find a single Pokémon with both of those skills, so this groundwork is a lot to ask for, especially in Single Battles.
Any Ice-type attacks Glaceon manages to launch with this strategy will be devastating, so try to keep it in situations where it’s relatively safe. Its excellent Defense stat can keep it in battle against physically attacking Pokémon that can’t hit it for supereffective damage, but it’s important to use Shadow Ball or Hidden Power when you’re anticipating that your opponent is about to switch Pokémon.
Sylveon
Suggested Item:
Choice Specs
Suggested Moves: Hidden Power, Hyper
Voice, Psyshock, Quick Attack
Suggested Ability: Pixilate
Preferred Nature: Modest
Sylveon’s impressive Special Attack stat can be further amplified by the Pixilate Hidden Ability, which makes Normal-type moves become Fairy-type moves and increases their damage. Bring your Sylveon to a Move Tutor to teach it Hyper Voice, which will have its power increased by Pixilate. This is a good strategy for Double Battles, too, since it can damage both foes.
Our strategy has Sylveon holding Choice Specs, allowing it to deal as much damage as it possibly can each turn. Ideally, you’ll have Sylveon use Hyper Voice every time you send it into battle—however, each of the other moves serve a purpose based on certain conditions. Psyshock helps against Poison types, Quick Attack can help finish off a weakened opponent, and Hidden Power (if it’s either Fire or Fighting type) gives Sylveon a supereffective attack against Steel-type foes.
Pass the Baton
If you’d like to use a team full of Eevee’s Evolutions in battle, there’s one more strategy to consider. Eevee and each of its Evolutions can learn Baton Pass and powerful stat-increasing moves, so you can base your entire strategy on passing stat boosts around your team.
With this strategy, you’ll want to have your Pokémon use Baton Pass in situations where you’d normally switch. Espeon is a key member of this team because its Magic Bounce Ability can block moves that would otherwise disrupt your strategy. You’ll also want to make sure your Pokémon are quicker than your foe’s so you can use Baton Pass to keep an advantageous position—make sure to include Jolteon for Agility or Eevee for Extreme Evoboost.
We hope you enjoy using your favorite Evolutions of Eevee in battle! Keep checking back to Pokémon.com as we celebrate Eevee this month, and don’t forget to check out Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! on November 16, 2018.
