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Description

While I personally prefer Umbreon, Espeon is another favorite Eeveelution of mine. Like its Gen. II evolutionary counterpart, I have fond memories of Espeon when I first played Pokemon Colosseum and you started with both Umbreon and Espeon. While I still personally prefer Umbreon, Espeon was still pretty cool overall. And unlike Umbreon, Espeon greatly excels at being a better competitive Pokemon.

Espeon has long been relegated to the role of cutest Pokemon in the game, only being used in ultimate cute-themed teams. This was in large part due to it being outclassed by other Psychic-types, such as Alakazam and Gardevoir. Then Gen. 5 came along and granted Espeon a second chance at being a competitive battler by making Magic Bounce its Hidden Ability. Magic Bounce allows Espeon to act as a team supporter, bouncing back most non-attacking moves, most notably Stealth Rock, Taunt, Toxic, and Roar. It also has a handy base 110 Speed and an impressive Special Attack, allowing it to outspeed and OHKO potent threats with ease. Unfortunately for Espeon, its physical bulk is poor, meaning that a single misprediction can result in its death. This is further compounded by the fact that Espeon's main counters—Tyranitar and Scizor—all get a fair amount of usage. Espeon is also largely outclassed by Mega Absol, Mega Sableye, and even Xatu in a general support role, but it can still find a niche setting up screens for hyper offense teams and acting as the core of all pure Baton Pass teams. Other than Magic Bounce Espeon hasn't changed much. 5th gen brought it a new move in Psyshock and XY gave it Dazzling Gleam, and except for strategies based around Magic Bounce, Espeon is pretty much the same as it has always been. Be very wary of facing Espeon if you use entry hazards on your team, as they could be bounced right back!

Here’s my Espeon's summary.
Nature: Timid
Held Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
-Psychic / Psyshock
-Dazzling Gleam
-Shadow Ball
-Trick

Psychic, Espeon's main STAB move, allows it to break through both offensive threats and physically defensive threats. But if you want to hit foes for the physical defense, then Psyshock is an alternate move to use. Dazzling Gleam is a must-have in order to hit prominent Dark-types in the metagame, such as Hydreigon, Krookodile, and one of Espeon's main threats Tyranitar. Plus t also hits Dragon-types fairly hard. Shadow Ball allows Espeon to deal heavy damage to the Psychic and Ghost-types that usually switch into it, and what's more is that Espeon can now hit Scizor for neutral damage now that Steel-type no longer resist Ghost-type moves. Trick is a great option for the 4th moveslot as it lets Espeon heavily cripple some common switch-ins and even defensive tanks by giving them Choice Specs that will lock them into using only one move, so it's an excellent way to troll your opponent! (just be sure not to give the choice specs to an opponent's Pokemon that is a special attacker, then they'll actually benefit from it)! XD

The EV spread used in the set maximizes Espeon's Special Attack and provides enough Speed to outspeed Heliolisk and Speed tie with Froslass. Magic Bounce allows Espeon to block entry hazards and status. Choice Specs gives Espeon overwhelming power, allowing it to trouble many offensive Pokemon and defensive walls such as Blissey and Florges.

Of course Espeon can run a variety of other moves. Here are some suggestions:
-Grass Knot smashes common leads like Mamoswine, Tyranitar, and Hippowdon.
-Hidden Power {Fire} allows Espeon to better combat Steel-types that are able to wall its STAB moves and most of its other offensive move options. It also helps cover its weakness against Bug-types.
-Signal Beam allows Espeon to take on the Dark-types that are immune to its STAB moves. Though Dazzling Gleam also covers its weakness to Dark-types and hits both your opponent's Pokemon in Double battles. Though you can opt for Signal Beam if you wish to use only a single targeting move.
-Baton Pass allows Espeon to pivot out of a predicted unfavorable switch-in and gain momentum for its teammates.
-Calm Mind allows Espeon to sweep weakened teams. Stored Power is also a nice option to run with Calm Mind, as it can allow Espeon to OHKO many opponents after just two boosts with Calm Mind.
-Morning Sun is a great move to recover any HP Espeon lost due to residual damage and allows it to stall out opposing special attackers.
-Yawn forces switches and stops opposing setup sweepers to further help Espeon's own setup with Calm Mind.
-A dual screens set might seem good on paper, but Espeon is usually more suited to an offensive role than support.
-A Focus Sash set is a very solid anti-lead for offensive teams, but it is usually restricted to really fast-paced teams. Work Up is another option for sets using Baton Pass; however, unlike Calm Mind, Work Up does not increase Espeon's longevity.
-Espeon's offensive movepool gives it plenty of good Z-Move options.

Do you have your own Espeon moveset and strategy? Comment below with your moveset!

To see my competitive entry of Eevee, click here: strikerprime.deviantart.com/ar…
To see my competitive entry of Vaporeon, click here: Competitive Pokemon: Vaporeon
To see my competitive entry of Jolteon, click here: Competitive Pokemon: Jolteon
To see my competitive entry of Umbreon, click here: Competitive Pokemon: Umbreon
To see my competitive entry of Sylveon, click here: Competitive Pokemon: Sylveon

Description

While I personally prefer Umbreon, Espeon is another favorite Eeveelution of mine. Like its Gen. II evolutionary counterpart, I have fond memories of Espeon when I first played Pokemon Colosseum and you started with both Umbreon and Espeon. While I still personally prefer Umbreon, Espeon was still pretty cool overall. And unlike Umbreon, Espeon greatly excels at being a better competitive Pokemon.

Espeon has long been relegated to the role of cutest Pokemon in the game, only being used in ultimate cute-themed teams. This was in large part due to it being outclassed by other Psychic-types, such as Alakazam and Gardevoir. Then Gen. 5 came along and granted Espeon a second chance at being a competitive battler by making Magic Bounce its Hidden Ability. Magic Bounce allows Espeon to act as a team supporter, bouncing back most non-attacking moves, most notably Stealth Rock, Taunt, Toxic, and Roar. It also has a handy base 110 Speed and an impressive Special Attack, allowing it to outspeed and OHKO potent threats with ease. Unfortunately for Espeon, its physical bulk is poor, meaning that a single misprediction can result in its death. This is further compounded by the fact that Espeon's main counters—Tyranitar and Scizor—all get a fair amount of usage. Espeon is also largely outclassed by Mega Absol, Mega Sableye, and even Xatu in a general support role, but it can still find a niche setting up screens for hyper offense teams and acting as the core of all pure Baton Pass teams. Other than Magic Bounce Espeon hasn't changed much. 5th gen brought it a new move in Psyshock and XY gave it Dazzling Gleam, and except for strategies based around Magic Bounce, Espeon is pretty much the same as it has always been. Be very wary of facing Espeon if you use entry hazards on your team, as they could be bounced right back!

Here’s my Espeon's summary.
Nature: Timid
Held Item: Choice Specs
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 6 HP / 252 SpAtk / 252 Spe
-Psychic / Psyshock
-Dazzling Gleam
-Shadow Ball
-Trick

Psychic, Espeon's main STAB move, allows it to break through both offensive threats and physically defensive threats. But if you want to hit foes for the physical defense, then Psyshock is an alternate move to use. Dazzling Gleam is a must-have in order to hit prominent Dark-types in the metagame, such as Hydreigon, Krookodile, and one of Espeon's main threats Tyranitar. Plus t also hits Dragon-types fairly hard. Shadow Ball allows Espeon to deal heavy damage to the Psychic and Ghost-types that usually switch into it, and what's more is that Espeon can now hit Scizor for neutral damage now that Steel-type no longer resist Ghost-type moves. Trick is a great option for the 4th moveslot as it lets Espeon heavily cripple some common switch-ins and even defensive tanks by giving them Choice Specs that will lock them into using only one move, so it's an excellent way to troll your opponent! (just be sure not to give the choice specs to an opponent's Pokemon that is a special attacker, then they'll actually benefit from it)! XD

The EV spread used in the set maximizes Espeon's Special Attack and provides enough Speed to outspeed Heliolisk and Speed tie with Froslass. Magic Bounce allows Espeon to block entry hazards and status. Choice Specs gives Espeon overwhelming power, allowing it to trouble many offensive Pokemon and defensive walls such as Blissey and Florges.

Of course Espeon can run a variety of other moves. Here are some suggestions:
-Grass Knot smashes common leads like Mamoswine, Tyranitar, and Hippowdon.
-Hidden Power {Fire} allows Espeon to better combat Steel-types that are able to wall its STAB moves and most of its other offensive move options. It also helps cover its weakness against Bug-types.
-Signal Beam allows Espeon to take on the Dark-types that are immune to its STAB moves. Though Dazzling Gleam also covers its weakness to Dark-types and hits both your opponent's Pokemon in Double battles. Though you can opt for Signal Beam if you wish to use only a single targeting move.
-Baton Pass allows Espeon to pivot out of a predicted unfavorable switch-in and gain momentum for its teammates.
-Calm Mind allows Espeon to sweep weakened teams. Stored Power is also a nice option to run with Calm Mind, as it can allow Espeon to OHKO many opponents after just two boosts with Calm Mind.
-Morning Sun is a great move to recover any HP Espeon lost due to residual damage and allows it to stall out opposing special attackers.
-Yawn forces switches and stops opposing setup sweepers to further help Espeon's own setup with Calm Mind.
-A dual screens set might seem good on paper, but Espeon is usually more suited to an offensive role than support.
-A Focus Sash set is a very solid anti-lead for offensive teams, but it is usually restricted to really fast-paced teams. Work Up is another option for sets using Baton Pass; however, unlike Calm Mind, Work Up does not increase Espeon's longevity.
-Espeon's offensive movepool gives it plenty of good Z-Move options.

Do you have your own Espeon moveset and strategy? Comment below with your moveset!

To see my competitive entry of Eevee, click here: strikerprime.deviantart.com/ar…
To see my competitive entry of Vaporeon, click here: Competitive Pokemon: Vaporeon
To see my competitive entry of Jolteon, click here: Competitive Pokemon: Jolteon
To see my competitive entry of Umbreon, click here: Competitive Pokemon: Umbreon
To see my competitive entry of Sylveon, click here: Competitive Pokemon: Sylveon