Espeon, The Sun Pokémon. Its fur is so sensitive, it can sense minute shifts in the air and predict the weather.Its fur has the look and feel of velvet. The orb on its forehead glows when it uses psycho-power. It uses the fine hair that covers its body to sense air currents and predict its enemy's actions. It is extremely loyal to any trainer it considers to be worthy. It is said to have developed precognitive powers to protect its trainer from harm.

Overview

Espeon has gone from being rarely ever used to being called for uber tests in just one generation, and for one reason; Magic Bounce. Magic Bounce is one of the best abilities in the game, as it reflects any status moves, Taunt, Encore, Stealth Rock, Spikes, Toxic Spikes, pretty much any support move that is used on the opponent gets bounced back. You're also immune to phazing moves, which makes Espeon one of the best Baton Passers in the game. Except for Magic Bounce, Espeon hasn't changed much. 5th gen brought it a new move in Psyshock, and except for strategies based around Magic Bounce, Espeon is 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. I'd group Espeon with Politoed, Ninetales, and Blaziken in terms of most improved Pokémon.

Abilities

Synchronize: it's a good ability... when you get burn/paralysis/poison inflicted on you, it gets put on the opponent... it's just SO AWFUL compared to Magic Bounce.
Magic Bounce: my God... this ability... you bounce back Taunt, Whirlwind, Roar, Stealth Rock, Toxic Spikes, Spikes, status inflicting attacks, anything like that. It basically makes Espeon one of the strongest switch ins and leads in the game. Hell, it makes Espeon good.

Movesets

General switch in

- Psychic / Psyshock
- Wish / Reflect / Baton Pass / Hidden Power [Fire]
- Wish / Reflect / Baton Pass / Hidden Power [Fire]
- Wish / Reflect / Baton Pass / Hidden Power [Fire]
Item Attached: Leftovers / Focus Sash
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 196 HP / 68 SAtk / 244 Spd or 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd or 104 HP / 160 SAtk / 244 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

Psychic is the most powerful attack at your disposal. It can also reduce the opponent's Special Defence, which is awesome in a stall war. Psyshock hits Blissey and what not way harder, but is in general weaker. Wish heals you for 50% of your health, or heals another Pokémon for about 150 HP. Not too good, but it could be really handy. Reflect protects Espeon's awful Defence, and supports the team. Baton Pass allows you to scout, and also avoids Pursuit. Hidden Power [Fire] breaks down Ferrothorn, who is like... the most popular Pokémon in the game.

Calm Mind

- Calm Mind
- Psychic / Psyshock
- Hidden Power [Fighting]
- Shadow Ball
Item Attached: Leftovers / Life Orb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

This is for sweeping. Calm Mind gives you +1 SAtk and +1 SDef, two stats Espeon excels in. Psychic is a little stronger than Psyshock, and the -1 SDef it can inflict it pretty sweet. However, Psyshock is only a little weaker and hits Blissey and Chansey sickeningly hard. Hidden Power [Fighting] breaks down Heatran, Tyranitar and Ferrothorn, and also gets amazing coverage with Shadow Ball. Speaking of which, Shadow Ball beats other Psychics.

Baton Pass

- Calm Mind
- Substitute / Wish
- Baton Pass
- Psyshock
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

Thanks to Magic Bounce, Espeon is one of the best users of Baton Pass in the game. Calm Mind is the main thing to pass, as you can use it yourself, and it's a great boosting move in general. Substitute protects you from damage and dangerous switch ins like Ferrothorn. It can also be passed. Wish keeps you healed and the recipient healthy. Baton Pass passes the boosts you have acquired through Calm Mind. Psyshock is the best move in the last slot as it can use the stat ups from Calm Mind.

Dual Screens

- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Psychic
- Baton Pass / Hidden Power [Fire] / Hidden Power [Fighting]
Item Attached: Light Clay
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

As a dual screener, Espeon is considered one of the bests, purely because it can't be Taunted. Reflect doubles your Defence. Light Screen doubles your Special Defence. This makes your team so hard to take down it is ridiculous. Psychic hits pretty hard even with no investment thanks to Espeon's great Special Attack. The final slot depends on what you want to do; Baton Pass avoids Pursuit and allows for scouting, which means you can go straight to the ideal offensive threat on your team. Hidden Power [Fire] ruins Ferrothorn, who is a common switch in. Hidden Power [Fighting] really hurts Tyranitar, and also smacks Heatran and Ferrothorn around a bit.

EVs & Natures

Offensive Espeon
Like pretty much every offensive Pokémon 252/252 works here. If you're running Hidden Power, you'll have an IV of 30, which means you won't draw with other base 110s. You need 244 Speed to outrun base 108s (all of which you murder with STAB Psychic) if you use Hidden Power.

Thinking bulky
Max HP is the main way of increasing Espeon's bulk. On the support sets, you want max HP and max Speed so Espeon can do its job as soon as possible.

Other Options

Choice, Charm, Fake Tears, Grass Knot, Stored Power, Trick
Choice Espeon can work quite well thanks to its ability to switch into a lot of different attacks, and the fact is can't be ruined by Thunder Wave or what not. However, as a Choice user it is generally outclassed by Magic Guard Alakazam, who doesn't take any entry hazard damage. Although if you have Espeon on your team, you shouldn't be letting the opponent set up entry hazards anyway.
Charm is an inferior Reflect, except for the fact that it can force switches.
Fake Tears is in a similar boat to charm, but Espeon can actually use this stat down move in an offensive way rather than as a phazing move.
Grass Knot is a special move that's pretty good... just not main set material.
Stored Power is a huge gimmick of a move, but it can be very dangerous if you get set up. Basically, for each stat you get +1 in, Stored Power gains 20 base power. With +6 in all five stats, Stored Power has 620 base power (930 including STAB). Including evasion and accuracy at +6, Stored Power has a ridiculous 860 power (1290 with STAB). This makes it by far the most powerful attack in the game. However, getting it to a power where it starts being useful is pretty difficult. Calm Mind gives you +40 with each use, so after two Calm Minds it becomes 100 base power (150 with STAB). However, I personally think Psyshock is WAY more useful on a boosting set. Stored Power is sadly a gimmick I can't see ever taking off.
Trick is mostly handy for a Choice set, but that's about it.

Double & Triple Battle Options

Espeon's usefulness in doubles and triples is definitely lackluster compared to its singles power. Entry hazards aren't anywhere near as common in doubles and triples, and the only thing you'd be bouncing back is Taunt and a few status moves. Espeon doesn't have great Defence, so Earthquake will tear through it. Magic Bounce is the only reason to use Espeon in doubles, but it isn't as effective in multi Pokémon battles as it is in singles.

Partners

Pokémon that love the extra damage from entry hazards are mega handy. So... most offensive Pokémon really. You'll want a Fighting Pokémon to take out Tyranitar, so go for Breloom, Conkeldurr, that sort of thing. Resisting Espeon's weaknesses is a key, as you want Espeon safe in case they try and use entry hazards again. Heatran does a great job of this, and Espeon resists Heatran's Fighting weakness. Lucario and Cobalion also work, Lucario doing especially well with double screen support. Basically, resist Bug, Dark and Ghost and you'll be a good partner for Espeon. Ninetale's can support Espeon quite well, as it powers up Hidden Power [Fire] and improves Morning Sun drastically.

Countering Espeon

Getting rid of Magic Bounce kills Espeon, although doing this isn't easy, but it's a good point. Tyranitar is the number one counter to any Psychic type thanks to Pursuit and the Special Defence boost from sandstorm... just watch out for Hidden Power [Fighting]. In fact, Pursuit in general really smashes Espeon, so Metagross and Scizor and other Pursuiters work well. Speaking of Scizor, it has U-turn, Bullet Punch and Pursuit to really decimate Espeon, as well as resisting its STAB attack. Although Espeon normally switches into Ferrothorn and Forretress, they can really hurt the little purple... alien... dog... with Gyro Ball and Power Whip, whilst walling its STAB moves completely. Just be careful of Hidden Power [Fire]. Obviously, Blissey and Chansey wall the hell out of Espeon, but outside of Seismic Toss... they can't do much back. Another way of getting around Espeon (aka Magic Bounce) is to use MIND GAMES. Lead with a common Stealth Rocker and attack straight away, as it is likely Espeon will be coming in to try and bounce your hazard back to your team. Other Darks like Scrafty, Honchkrow, Drapion, Hydreigon, and the infamous Zoroark all work. Zoroark plays mind games as well, as you can have it copying a common entry hazard user (make sure it is in slot 6), lead with it, and then Night Burst or U-turn or whatever right off the bat to lay the hurt on Espeon. Except for Magic Bounce and Psyshock, Espeon hasn't changed at all. It still runs the same sets it has done since gen 3, and it is still a powerful Psychic type. If it wasn't for Magic Bounce, Espeon would be permanently benched. However, as it does get Magic Bounce, it is one of the most improved Pokémon (if not the most). Always be careful of it... it's better to be safe than sorry. Cautious than in danger. Not having your own entry hazards bounced back at you than having them bounced back. Yeah, just always be on the look out of Espeon... Magic Bounce is that good.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Trade from FireRed/LeafGreen/XD

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Trade from Colosseum/XD
Trade Eevee to Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, evolve and trade back.

Colosseum/XD:
Evolve Eevee (XD)
Starter Pokémon (Colosseum)

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Eevee.

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Eevee .

Black/White:
Evolve Eevee
Transfer from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum/HeartGold/SoulSilver

Animé Appearences

Espeon has made a few appearances. Most of its appearances have been under the control of various characters such as Anabel, who used one in her Battle Tower battle against Ash # -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics 228 Espeon Not Included! Sakura and Espeon! Ecruteak City Again!! Pics M5 Heroes - Latios & Latias The Guardian Gods of Altomare - Latias and Latios Pics 274 Johto Photo Finish To the End of the Full Battle! Each One's Way!! Pics C9 The Blue Badge of Courage Misty! Get the Cascade Badge! Pics 392 Mean With Envy Disorderly Melee! Pokémon Contest - Pacifidlog Convention! (Part One) Pics 398 Hi Ho Silver Wind! Begin! Grand Festival! (1)! Pics 399 Deceit And Assist! Fierce Fighting! Grand Festival! (2)! Pics 420 The Saffron Con Pokémon Contest! Saffron Conference (Part 1)! Pics 447 Second Time's the Charm Battle Tower! Telepathy Battle! Pics 456 May, We Harley Drew'd Ya! Begin! Pokémon Contest - Grand Festival! Pics 478 Not On My Watch Ya Don't! Pokétch is Unavailable?!! Pics M11 Giratina & The Sky Warrior Giratina & The Bouquet of the Sky - Shaymin Pics 596 A Pyramiding Rage! Pyramid Battle! Brandon VS Paul! Pics S30 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Magnagate & The Infinite Labyrinth Pics 763 Team Eevee and the Pokemon Rescue Squad! Team Eevee, Depart! The Pokémon Rescue Squad!! Pics 764 Curtain Up, Unova League The Unova League Higaki Tournament Begins! Pics 766 Lost at the League! Axew Gets Lost! Pics 769 A Unova League Evolution Unova League Conclusion! Lucario VS Pikachu!! Pics S31 TBC Mewtwo: The Prologue to Awakening Pics P14 Eevee Friends Pikachu & Eevee Friends Pics 893 Tag Team Battle Inspiration! A Tag Battle is a Friendship Battle! Eevee Fights for the First Time! Pics 912 Master Class Choices! The Master Class Trial! What Will You Do, Serena!? Pics 956 Racing to a Big Event! The Great Alola Pancake Race! Pics 1008 Turning Heads and Training Hard! Ilima and Eevee Have Ilimade Their Entrance!! Pics M22 Pokémon The Power of Us Pokémon: Everyone's Story   1035 Turning the Other Mask! Kukui Up Against the Wall! A Second Masked Royal!! Pics 1076 Battling on the Wing! A Birdacious Battle! Brave Bird VS Sky Attack!! Pics 1084 Exhibition Unmasked! Final Battle! Ash VS Kukui!! Pics 1086 Fiery Surprises! Conclusion! Incineroar VS Torracat!! Pics 1138 To Train, or Not to Train! Chloe & The Really Mysterious Eevee Pics 1152 On Land, In the Sea, and to the Future! Challenge! The Pokémon Water Obstacle Course!! Pics 1168 Night and Day, You are the Ones The Moon and the Sun; Chloe and Haruhi Pics 1194 Reuniting for the First Time! Eevee and Sylveon! Encounters and Reunions!! Pics 1208 TBC Chloe and Eevee and the EV-io-lite! Pics 1209 Infinite Possibilities! The Possibilities are Endless for Chloe and Eevee! Pics 1224 Heroes Unite! Pokémon! I Am Glad I Got To Meet You Pics 1 The Pendant That Starts It All: Part One The Pendant It All Started With! (Part 1) Pics 8 The Door That Never Opens! The Secret Behind the Off-Limits Door Pics