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JB
02-19-2011, 01:40 AM
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Espeon

Type: Psychic

Abilities: Synchronize - If Espeon is hit with a status ailment (eg. Thunder Wave), the enemy will also be hit by it, unless it is immune to it.
Magic Mirror (Dream World) - Reflects non-damaging moves and status ailments like Taunt and Confuse Ray back at the opponent, but Espeon is unscathed

Base Stats:
HP: 65
Attack: 65
Defense: 60
Special Attack: 130
Special Defense: 95
Speed: 110

http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-bw/196.shtml

Overview
In the 4th generation, Espeon wasn't exactly a top-tier threat. In fact, it had sat comfortably in the NU tier, not really having anything noteworthy for itself unlike most of the other Eeveelutions. It looked like Espeon was to be on the bottom of the barrel as far as where Psychic types were concerned...then came Black and White. At first it only seemed to get Psycho Shock, which in and of itself would render special walls like Blissey easy to break through, but then when Dream World abilities were revealed, Espeon managed to get a break with the awesome Magic Mirror. It can bounce off all sorts of non-damaging moves, from entry hazards like Stealth Rock, status ailment moves like Toxic and Will-o-Wisp, and Taunt, essentially a permanent Magic Coat! Not to mention it is an almost exclusive ability, sharing it with only Natu and Xatu. With a great ability and sufficient Special Attack and Speed, Espeon looks to be a promising Eeveelution this generation.

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Baton Pass
Espeon @Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
Timid (+Spd, -Atk)
252 HP/252 Spd/4 Sp. Def
- Baton Pass
- Calm Mind/Hidden Power Fighting
- Substitute/Hidden Power Fighting
- Psychic/Psycho Shock

Much like the Baton Pass set Espeon had in 4th generation. Simply, it can Baton Pass whatever benefits it has on over to someone else to make them a real beast special-wise. Espeon can switch into something that is not a threat and it can throw up a Substitute and/or some Calm Minds. It can hold its own with Psycho Shock if you're worried about Blissey/Chansey or it can have Psychic if you care about that extra 10 power it has. For something serious like Tyranitar or, on a lesser extent, Nattorei, you could put Hidden Power Fighting at the expense of the ability of using Substitute or Calm Mind, but you don't have to if you are confident.

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Choice Specs
Espeon @Choice Specs
Ability: Magic Mirror
Modest (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
104 HP/252 Sp. Atk/148 Spd
- Psychic/Psycho Shock
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power Fighting/Hidden Power Fire
- Trick

Choice Specs raises Espeon's already great Special Attack to incredible levels...at the cost of being only to use one move until Espeon switches out. Luckily, Espeon can use a plethora of great attacks with this boost. For this set, Magic Mirror is superior to Synchronize. It basically does the same thing as Synchronize, but Espeon isn't affected by the status ailment unlike Synchronize when it is. Again, you can choose whether to run Psychic or Psycho Shock if you are that worried about special walls. Shadow Ball is for Ghost-types and other Psychics trying to set up on you. HP Fire is for Ice or Grass types (Nattorei/Ferrothorn is hit for 4x) and HP Fighting is for Dark types like Tyranitar and Hydreigon, and hitting Nattorei/Ferrothorn like Hidden Power Fire. Trick is for if you come across anything that might try to set up on you, you can put the Choice Specs on it to trap it. You could also replace Trick to make room for another attack if you want.

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Choice Scarf
Espeon @Choice Scarf
Ability: Magic Mirror
Timid (+Spd, -Atk)/Modest (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
4 HP/252 Sp. Atk/252 Spd
- Psychic/Psycho Shock
- Shadow Ball
- Hidden Power Ice/Hidden Power Fighting
- Trick

Again, Psycho Shock if you are paranoid of special walls and Psychic for an extra oomph. Shadow Ball helps counter Ghosts and opposing Psychics. You can run Hidden Power Ice for coverage against Grass, Rock, and Ground types, or Fighting against Steel, Ice, or Dark types. All boils down to what you want to be prepared for. Trick is here to trap opponents into only one move.

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Screen Support
Espeon @Light Clay
Ability: Magic Mirror
Calm (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
4 HP/252 Sp. Atk/252 Spd
- Psychic/Psycho Shock
- Light Screen
- Morning Sun
- Calm Mind/Hidden Power Fighting

Psycho Shock for special walls, Psychic for extra power. Light Screen increases the team's Special Defense, so Espeon could throw that up and switch off to somebody who could really use it. Morning Sun is a good immediate healing option for Espeon if it's hurting. Calm Mind is to increase the power of Psycho Shock/Psychic to ridiculous levels and increase Special Defense to boot. Still, if you feel edgy about Dark types and Steel types, Hidden Power Fighting can help cover that.

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Dual Screens
Espeon @Light Clay
Ability: Magic Mirror
Timid (+Spd, -Atk)/Calm (+Sp. Atk, -Atk)
252 HP/40 Def/216 Spd or Sp. Def
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Wish
- Psycho Shock/Psychic

Classic 4th generation Dual Screen. Given Espeon's high Speed, it can pull this quite nicely. Reflect and Light Screen help raise Espeon's Defense and Special Defense respectively. Wish is for a good healing option. As usual, Psycho Shock is for the likes of Blissey and Psychic for that extra push.

Other Options
You COULD just run Synchronize on sets besides the BP set and give off the same status ailment as what the enemy puts on you, but there's a chance they wouldn't be affected, like Ninetales burning Espeon with Will-o-Wisp, and not being affected by burn. Magic Mirror is safer.

Wish: Espeon can use this as a more reliable healing move, plus it can switch out and have a teammate have it.

Protect: Using this with Wish can prove to be an invaluable means of healing, essentially guaranteed healing.

Hidden Power Electric: This is mainly for KO'ing Gyarados quickly, along with putting Waters in check.

Focus Sash: If you feel that Espeon can't survive hits, you can use this to ensure it gets a turn.

Future Sight: This can be used so that if you need Espeon switched out but still want him to attack, this can go off two turns later.

Signal Beam: If you can't squeeze in Hidden Power Fighting for Dark types like Tyranitar and Hydreigon/Sazandora, Signal Beam can be run to check them plus a chance of Confusion.

Grass Knot: This can help out on bulky Waters, like its cousin Vaporeon and Jellicent/Burungeru.

Teammates
Pokemon who fear Stealth Rock like Gyarados and Urugamosu/Volcarona really appreciate not having it on their side with Espeon's Magic Mirror. Heck, Fire types in general love it when they don't have to deal with Stealth Rock and possibly more entry hazards with Espeon on the job and it makes it easier for them to deal with Steels, Espeon's usual problem.

Counters
Steel types such as Nattorei/Ferrothorn are harder for Espeon to hit than other types, Bronzong, Metagross, and Jirachi especially, due to their additional Psychic type. Most of Espeon's main attacks don't faze them all that much, but Fire types can help out with that. Then there are also Dark types, Tyranitar being a rather big threat. It's absolutely essential you get either Hidden Power Fighting or something like Signal Beam in if you want to make sure he doesn't wreck your day.

Opinion
Espeon has been my favorite Eeveelution. It used to not have a lot going for it, but with its new toys this go-around, it has become a great Pokemon to have on your team. With Magic Mirror letting it stand out in the ever-changing metagame, its going to be very handy.

Credit to Serebii for info.
Credit to Smogon for EV spreads on sets.
Credit to MikeDecIsHere, Eevee, and DDWhiscash for suggestions on editing.

JB
02-19-2011, 01:41 AM
I'd like some constructive feedback and be sure to let me know of any edits I can make. :)

PSN_Eevee
02-19-2011, 01:42 AM
Baton Pass + Magic Mirror is illegal, isn't it?

edit: also, please include HP Fighting on all the sets, since Espeon can't run Baton Pass, and mention Tyranitar as the biggest counter.

MikeDecIsHere
02-19-2011, 01:43 AM
When I get back I'll edit this more.
My biggest concern is that there are just too many slashes on the Specs
Also, with Future Sight's changes, it should be at least listed in the Other Options
And yes I believe that Baton Pass is illegal with Magic Mirror

DDwhiscash
02-19-2011, 02:57 AM
Fun fact. Espeon was set in NU because they never released the BL2 tier. To be perfectly honest, Espeon is too good for (Gen4) NU and was banned from a large majority of NU tourneys. Also, whats with the Choice Scarf set? What can Scarfed Espeon outspeed and counter that it needed to? Or was that set just added for the lols? Screen support, Gen 4 Dual Screen Espeon works nicely if I recall it is.
Timid/Calm Nature
252 HP/ 40 Def/ 216 Spe or Sp.Def (the Speed prevents Espeon from getting taunted ) Wheres the Light Clay?
You can keep the same old moves. Yes, BP with Magic Mirror is illegal due to the fact that BP is an Eevee lvl up move and you obtain Magic Mirror Espeon via Dream World. Good job on this though.

steel dragons
02-21-2011, 03:27 PM
Ok, this analysis looks good JB. My thoughts:

I think that a simple kind of counter set should be made, or an Espeon that has three attacking moves and no choiced item. Something like this:

Espeon w/ Leftovers
Timid nature
Ability: Magic Mirror
EVs: 252 SpA, 252 Spe, 4 Def
-Psychic/Psycho Shock
-Hidden Power Fire
-Grass Knot/Shadow Ball
-Baton Pass

A set like this can counter many of the Pokemon that like to set up entry hazards, like Ferrothorn, Forretress, Skarmory, Hippwodon, and others. This set doesn't have the greatest amount of power, but it can still do decent damage to a lot of Pokemon that set up entry hazards. Baton Pass is needed to switch out of some Pursuit users, like Tyranitar. Note: This set isn't perfect, but it is close to the kind of set that a lot of people use, at least on PO.

Also, I think that the Scarfed and Speced sets can be combined, since they are nearly the same. I'm curious about the Speced EV spread though...what does it outspeed? I would rather want max speed on the Specs set, since the chance to speed-tie with Gengar is worthwhile.

For all of the Espeon sets, I think that Psychic should be the first option. Psychic hits Conkeldurr for more damage then Psycho Shock would, and Blissey/Chansey aren't as common as they once were anymore. Also, Psychic has more power then Psycho Shock anyway.

I don't really see the point of the Screen Support set. It just seems to be a cross of the CM and Dual Screens sets, and I just don't think that that set would work well. If you want to leave it in, at least put Reflect as the first option over Light Screen.

For other options, you should mention that Signal Beam is illegal with Magic Mirror.

You did a good job on this analysis. I hope to see more of these analyses from you in the future.

MikeDecIsHere
02-21-2011, 04:26 PM
Steel, baton pass is illegal with magic mirror. Just saying

DDwhiscash
02-21-2011, 05:31 PM
Steel, baton pass is illegal with magic mirror. Just saying

Didn't we clear that up posts ago?

Statigar
02-21-2011, 08:43 PM
excellent work!

steel dragons
02-22-2011, 04:29 AM
Steel, baton pass is illegal with magic mirror. Just saying

I knew that...yet I forgot that for the set for some reason. Probably the best option then would be something like Calm Mind or Toxic.

Dimes
02-22-2011, 10:09 PM
Please note that Magic Mirror is effectively superior to Synchronize, as many moves that cause status (Such as Thunder Wave) are now reflected without affecting the owner of Magic Mirror.

Rinx7
03-11-2011, 04:11 AM
Why not try and run a bulkier set with spdef. EVs and a set like this.

Psycho Shock
Hidden Power Fire
Reflect / Protect
Wish

That would work wouldn't it. I have tried it a couple of times and it seems to be pretty solid if you have good prediction with protect or get your reflect up, and it can't be statused or set up on with hazards making it an effective tank.

MikeDecIsHere
03-11-2011, 06:47 PM
Wish and no protect is pretty weak honestly.
Also, Espeon is by no means bulky. Pokemon like Reniculus could easily set up on or wipe out something like that.