Umbreon, The Moonlight Pokémon. It evolved from exposure to the moon's energy pulses. It lurks in darkness and waits for its foes to move. The rings on its body glow when it leaps to attack. When darkness falls, the rings on its body begin to glow, striking fear in the hearts of anyone nearby. When agitated, it protects itself by spraying poisonous sweat from its pores. It lurks in darkness for prey. When exposed to the moon's aura, the rings on its body glow faintly and it gains a mysterious power.

Overview

The Dark type of the Eeveelutions. Umbreon has some amazing defences and a few good support options. It only has one way of dealing damage, but if it gets set up, it can be pretty devastating. Umbreon is a great Pokémon to use in UU and works well with a lot of teams.

Ability

Synchronize: if Umbreon gets hit with burn, poison, or paralysis, the status will be passed onto the opponent as well. Pretty useful as it can screw another Pokémon over.

Move Sets

Curse variation #1

- Curse
- Payback
- Moonlight / Wish
- Heal Bell
Item Attached: Leftover Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)

Curse is Umbreon's only real way of dealing some damage, and it really can do a lot if it sets up. Curse boosts Umbreon's Attack and Defence, which works really well with its already high Special Defence. Payback is the best Dark attack for Umbreon to use. It gets STAB and doubles in power if Umbreon is hit before it is used, which is likely to happen considering Umbreon's low Speed thanks to Curse. Moonlight is a quick way of restoring 50% of Umbreon's health in one turn, but has low PP and is ruined by rain and sandstorm. This makes Wish an acceptable option, although the one turn delay could lead to Umbreon's demise. Heal Bell means Umbreon doesn't have to worry about status of any kind, so it can fight through Toxic or burn.

Curse variation #2

- Curse
- Payback
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)

Same as the above, just with Rest and Sleep Talk. This leaves Umbreon with a reliable recovery option, a way to remove status, but vulnerability for two turns thanks to the sleep status that comes with Rest. This is where Sleep Talk shines. It means Umbreon isn't just a sitting duck as it allows it to fight during the status. However, this is luck based, so you may land a Curse or a Rest when you really need to Payback.

Curse variation #3

- Curse
- Payback
- Wish
- Protect / Taunt / Baton Pass
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Sassy Nature (+SDef, -Spd)

Again, the same as before. However, this set focuses on Wish as a recovery method. Wish and Protect allow Umbreon to stall for health, PP, or residual damage from a status. However, Taunt can be used to stop any attempts at phazing Umbreon, as Roar and Whirlwind go last, so the Speed of Umbreon doesn't matter. Baton Pass is a good option that lets Umbreon get out of a bad situation, or simply pass the Curse boosts onto another Pokémon. Mean Look

- Mean Look
- Baton Pass
- Wish
- Taunt / Yawn / Tickle / Toxic / Protect
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP/92 SDef/164 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)

Mean Look passing is an incredibly effective strategy if done correctly, and can only be used by a few Pokémon. Mean Look prevents the enemy Pokémon from switching out, which means a potentially easy set up for another Pokémon if you Baton Pass to the right choice. Baton Pass passes the Mean Look onto the next Pokémon, meaning the opponent still can't switch out. Wish is great for team support. The last option is open to any of these options. Taunt prevents any phazing, Yawn makes it really easy to Baton Pass, Tickle can be used to weaken the foe for an incredibly easy set up or kill, Toxic is useful for killing trapped targets with poison, and Protect helps Umbreon heal itself with Wish.

Support

- Toxic
- Wish
- Payback
- Protect / Taunt / Heal Bell
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP/92 SDef/164 Spd
Careful Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)

Umbreon's great defences and good support options make this a great set to use. Toxic is how Umbreon will deal damage. Slowly but surely. Wish keeps Umbreon and the team alive, which is obviously helpful and supportive. Payback is there so Umbreon isn't complete Taunt bait, with Protect stalling Toxic damage and the Wish delay. Taunt is an option as it really helps with breaking down walls so they get beaten by Toxic much faster. Heal Bell is for more team support and can save Umbreon from a crippling status.

EVs and Nature:

Curse variations
Max HP for massive survivability, and max Attack so that Umbreon actually does damage. You could throw some more into Special Defence, but there isn't really much need.

Mean Look
No direct attacks on this set, so there is no need to add any offence. Max HP again really helps Umbreon survive. The Speed EVs are there to outrun no investment neutral base 85s with the remainder boosting that huge Special Defence.

Support
Max HP, you know why. Speed EVs outrun base 85s which helps get an extra move in. The remainder is in Special Defence for the reason given above. If Taunt isn't being used, you can make Umbreon as slow as possible to give Payback a better chance of hitting harder.

Other Options

Charm, Fake Tears, Screech, Pursuit, Sucker Punch, Confuse Ray

Charm is an option to break down certain Pokémon and perhaps force them to switch out.

Fake Tears works in the same way as Charm, but reduces Special Defence, not Attack.

Screech is the Defence lowering counterpart to Fake Tears. It would be used for the same reasons.

Pursuit is an option over Payback to catch fleeing Ghosts or Psychics. It could also work with Screech, catching them after they have lowered Defence.

Sucker Punch is another alternative Dark attack for Umbreon to use, if Payback isn't to your liking.

Confuse Ray is incredibly annoying and can help deal a little extra damage or survive for a little longer. However, it isn't good enough to warrant a place on a main set.

Countering Umbreon

For starters, Taunt destroys most of Umbreon's sets, except for ones with Payback, which won't be doing any damage with no boosts from Curse. Steel types are immune to Toxic and resist Dark, meaning Umbreon can do nothing but switch out. Aggron, Steelix, even Mawile work. Fighting types such as Hitmontop destroy Umbreon thanks to resisting Dark and hitting it super effectively, they just need to watch out for Toxic. Except for Toxicroak, who is part Poison, so doesn't have to worry about anything Umbreon can do. Most Pokémon can take hits from Umbreon, but they just need to find a way of breaking through its great Defences. Substitute really messes with Umbreon as it makes the opponent immune to Toxic and it may take a few Paybacks to break through. Harmful status such as Toxic can ruin it as well, as it then has to focus on healing itself through residual and direct damage. Just watch out for Synchronize.

Locations in Games

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Trade from CXD Colosseum/XD Starter Pokémon (Colosseum)Evolve Eevee (XD) Fire Red/Leaf Green Trade from CXD Diamond/Pearl/Platinum Evolve Eevee HeartGold/SoulSilver Evolve Eevee

Animé Appearences

Umbreon has had a few Animé Appearences. Most of the time, it is under the control of Gary, whom evolved his Eevee into one. Dawn's mother, Johanna, also has one and used it in the Twinleaf Festival. One of the Kimono Sisters, Tamao, also had one. The rest are cameos Episode 173: Power Play! Episode 185: Trouble's Brewing! Episode 228: Espeon Not Included! Episode 271: The Ties That Bind! Episode 274: Johto Photo Finish! Destiny Deoxys Episode 353: A Fan With A Plan Chronicles 15: Putting The Air Back Into Aerodactyl Episode 513: Ill-Will Hunting Episode 553: Fighting Fear With Fear! Giratina & The Sky Warrior Episode 606: Strategy Begins At Home Episode 609: Challenging A Towering Figure! Episode 619: Azelf, Uxie & Mesprit