Umbreon
Type: Dark
Stats: 95 | 65 | 110 | 60 | 130 | 65
Abilities: Synchronize
Introduction
Umbreon is a fascinating Pokemon in ADV OU, with two niche sets that play radically different roles. One is the more infamous trap-passing set, abusing Mean Look and Baton Pass, enabling set-up sweepers such as Dragon Dance Tyranitar, and the trapping of more passive Pokemon such as Skarmory using powerful attackers or Perish Song abusers. The other variant combines Pursuit trapping with Wish, abusing its great bulk and typing to not only trap Gengar but also Starmie and Claydol.
Sets
TrapPass
Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mean Look
- Baton Pass
- Taunt
- Wish
Set Details
Mean Look and Baton Pass are the core of the set, enabling Umbreon to switch to a partner without the opponent having the option to switch out. Taunt prevents phazers from preventing it from functioning. The last slot is very flexible. Wish gives Umbreon some form of recovery and is another useful thing it can pass to its teammates, but multiple other moves have utility here and can be customised per the team. For example, Moonlight gives it instant recovery, but it has low PP and doesn't heal it by much in Sand, which is incredibly common in the tier due to the very high usage of Tyranitar. Toxic enables it to spread status and can work great in tandem with Taunt. An attack, such as Pursuit or Hidden Power Dark, is also an option. Substitute could be used, as it's another thing which Baton Pass recipients appreciate.
The EVs maximise its Speed and then its bulk, but its Speed can be lowered to increase its Physical or Special bulk. It ought to remain above 221 Speed however, to outspeed 252 Speed Tyranitar (often seen for example on Choice Band Tyranitar). Although rare, some variants of Venusaur run enough Speed EVs to outspeed 252 Speed Tyranitar but fewer than enough to outspeed Timid 252 Speed Umbreon, so it may be worth creeping higher than 222 Speed even if not running 252 Speed EVs on Umbreon.
Utility
Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 196 SpA / 52 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Pursuit
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
Set Details
The goal of this set is to Pursuit trap Pokemon such as Gengar, Starmie, and Claydol. In addition to that, it can pass Wishes to its teammates, although the primary purpose of it is to keep itself healthy. Offensive Choice Band users such as Flygon, as well as walls liable to being worn down such as Swampert and Suicune appreciate Wish support and have decent synergy. Toxic is strongly recommended to help it force out Pokemon such as Starmie and Claydol, and also enables it to counter defensive Swampert that lack Rest or Refresh (which is most Swampert) very reliably. It also enables a healthy Umbreon (one close to max HP and unstatused) to beat Dugtrio most of the time, should it try its luck, and can prevent various Pokemon from using it as set-up bait. Baton Pass is an option also worthy of consideration here, over Toxic or possibly Protect, enabling it to pass Wishes. It works best in tandem with Magneton, as Umbreon is bait for Skarmory & Forretress.
The EVs enable it to outspeed Claydol with a Speed-reducing nature, and to 3HKO defensively uninvested Gengar outside of sand with Pursuit, with the rest invested into HP and Special Defense enabling it to take hits from special attackers such as Starmie, Gengar, Offensive Celebi, and Offensive Suicune more comfortably. Running more Special Attack is an option however, enabling it to do more damage to more specially defensively invested Gengar, but even with maximum Special Attack investment, including a Modest nature, Umbreon only has a roughly 70% to 3HKO 252 HP / 0 SpD Gengar outside of sand, and can only 4HKO 252 HP / 112 SpD Gengar outside of sand. The current EVs enable it to 3HKO the most specially defensive Gengar commonly seen (252 HP / 112 SpD) if it's burnt, which occurs when Umbreon switches into Gengar's Will-O-Wisp, thanks to Synchronize.
Other Options
Curse and Baton Pass is the best other option for Umbreon, but is difficult to pull off. Charm and Tickle deserve a brief mention for enabling Umbreon to neutralise Snorlax when it's the last Pokemon remaining on the opponent's side of the field, whilst Mud Slap, Sand Attack, and Screech can do something similar, which, whilst less effective overall, works similarly against other boosting sweepers such as Suicune and Jirachi. Quick Attack lets it take out the rare EndRev user.
Checks and Counters
The checks and counters vary quite a bit depending upon the set. The TrapPass variant is most vulnerable to offensive pressure, so powerful attackers such as Heracross, Choice Band Tyranitar, Metagross, Aerodactyl, and so on can force Umbreon to switch out because of the threat of being KOd. Fast Taunt users such as Gyarados can prevent Umbreon from passing Mean Look to its teammates, and Pokemon with Explosion can trade with Umbreon. Similarly, high-powered threats such as Heracross are great at putting intense pressure on teams relying on the utility variant of Umbreon, but Choice Band users are less effective due to Protect. Dragon Dance Tyranitar (in particular with Taunt or Lum Berry) and Gyarados set up on Umbreon comfortably, as do Steel-types such as Agility Metagross and Calm Mind Jirachi. Snorlax can also set up on Umbreon, thanks to Immunity making it immune to Toxic. Skarmory and Forretress can set up Spikes for free against Umbreon (but have to beware Magneton), whilst Cloyster can set up Spikes in exchange for being Toxiced. Steel-types with Toxic such as Metagross and Jirachi can evade synchronize, as well as Pokemon with both Toxic and Natural Cure such as Blissey. Pokemon with Toxic and Rest such as some variants of Zapdos can also check Umbreon. Gengar with Hypnosis or Explosion, or Claydol with Explosion, in tandem with Dugtrio can take out Umbreon, but at heavy cost. Calm Mind Baton Pass users such as Celebi and Lunatone can abuse Umbreon to pass Calm Mind to their teammates.
Type: Dark
Stats: 95 | 65 | 110 | 60 | 130 | 65
Abilities: Synchronize
Introduction
Umbreon is a fascinating Pokemon in ADV OU, with two niche sets that play radically different roles. One is the more infamous trap-passing set, abusing Mean Look and Baton Pass, enabling set-up sweepers such as Dragon Dance Tyranitar, and the trapping of more passive Pokemon such as Skarmory using powerful attackers or Perish Song abusers. The other variant combines Pursuit trapping with Wish, abusing its great bulk and typing to not only trap Gengar but also Starmie and Claydol.
Sets
TrapPass
Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Mean Look
- Baton Pass
- Taunt
- Wish
Set Details
Mean Look and Baton Pass are the core of the set, enabling Umbreon to switch to a partner without the opponent having the option to switch out. Taunt prevents phazers from preventing it from functioning. The last slot is very flexible. Wish gives Umbreon some form of recovery and is another useful thing it can pass to its teammates, but multiple other moves have utility here and can be customised per the team. For example, Moonlight gives it instant recovery, but it has low PP and doesn't heal it by much in Sand, which is incredibly common in the tier due to the very high usage of Tyranitar. Toxic enables it to spread status and can work great in tandem with Taunt. An attack, such as Pursuit or Hidden Power Dark, is also an option. Substitute could be used, as it's another thing which Baton Pass recipients appreciate.
The EVs maximise its Speed and then its bulk, but its Speed can be lowered to increase its Physical or Special bulk. It ought to remain above 221 Speed however, to outspeed 252 Speed Tyranitar (often seen for example on Choice Band Tyranitar). Although rare, some variants of Venusaur run enough Speed EVs to outspeed 252 Speed Tyranitar but fewer than enough to outspeed Timid 252 Speed Umbreon, so it may be worth creeping higher than 222 Speed even if not running 252 Speed EVs on Umbreon.
Utility
Umbreon @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 252 HP / 196 SpA / 52 SpD / 8 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Pursuit
- Wish
- Protect
- Toxic
Set Details
The goal of this set is to Pursuit trap Pokemon such as Gengar, Starmie, and Claydol. In addition to that, it can pass Wishes to its teammates, although the primary purpose of it is to keep itself healthy. Offensive Choice Band users such as Flygon, as well as walls liable to being worn down such as Swampert and Suicune appreciate Wish support and have decent synergy. Toxic is strongly recommended to help it force out Pokemon such as Starmie and Claydol, and also enables it to counter defensive Swampert that lack Rest or Refresh (which is most Swampert) very reliably. It also enables a healthy Umbreon (one close to max HP and unstatused) to beat Dugtrio most of the time, should it try its luck, and can prevent various Pokemon from using it as set-up bait. Baton Pass is an option also worthy of consideration here, over Toxic or possibly Protect, enabling it to pass Wishes. It works best in tandem with Magneton, as Umbreon is bait for Skarmory & Forretress.
The EVs enable it to outspeed Claydol with a Speed-reducing nature, and to 3HKO defensively uninvested Gengar outside of sand with Pursuit, with the rest invested into HP and Special Defense enabling it to take hits from special attackers such as Starmie, Gengar, Offensive Celebi, and Offensive Suicune more comfortably. Running more Special Attack is an option however, enabling it to do more damage to more specially defensively invested Gengar, but even with maximum Special Attack investment, including a Modest nature, Umbreon only has a roughly 70% to 3HKO 252 HP / 0 SpD Gengar outside of sand, and can only 4HKO 252 HP / 112 SpD Gengar outside of sand. The current EVs enable it to 3HKO the most specially defensive Gengar commonly seen (252 HP / 112 SpD) if it's burnt, which occurs when Umbreon switches into Gengar's Will-O-Wisp, thanks to Synchronize.
Other Options
Curse and Baton Pass is the best other option for Umbreon, but is difficult to pull off. Charm and Tickle deserve a brief mention for enabling Umbreon to neutralise Snorlax when it's the last Pokemon remaining on the opponent's side of the field, whilst Mud Slap, Sand Attack, and Screech can do something similar, which, whilst less effective overall, works similarly against other boosting sweepers such as Suicune and Jirachi. Quick Attack lets it take out the rare EndRev user.
Checks and Counters
The checks and counters vary quite a bit depending upon the set. The TrapPass variant is most vulnerable to offensive pressure, so powerful attackers such as Heracross, Choice Band Tyranitar, Metagross, Aerodactyl, and so on can force Umbreon to switch out because of the threat of being KOd. Fast Taunt users such as Gyarados can prevent Umbreon from passing Mean Look to its teammates, and Pokemon with Explosion can trade with Umbreon. Similarly, high-powered threats such as Heracross are great at putting intense pressure on teams relying on the utility variant of Umbreon, but Choice Band users are less effective due to Protect. Dragon Dance Tyranitar (in particular with Taunt or Lum Berry) and Gyarados set up on Umbreon comfortably, as do Steel-types such as Agility Metagross and Calm Mind Jirachi. Snorlax can also set up on Umbreon, thanks to Immunity making it immune to Toxic. Skarmory and Forretress can set up Spikes for free against Umbreon (but have to beware Magneton), whilst Cloyster can set up Spikes in exchange for being Toxiced. Steel-types with Toxic such as Metagross and Jirachi can evade synchronize, as well as Pokemon with both Toxic and Natural Cure such as Blissey. Pokemon with Toxic and Rest such as some variants of Zapdos can also check Umbreon. Gengar with Hypnosis or Explosion, or Claydol with Explosion, in tandem with Dugtrio can take out Umbreon, but at heavy cost. Calm Mind Baton Pass users such as Celebi and Lunatone can abuse Umbreon to pass Calm Mind to their teammates.
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