Umbreon, The Moonlight Pokémon. When this Pokémon becomes angry, its pores secrete a poisonous sweat, which it sprays at its opponent's eyes. On the night of a full moon, or when it gets excited, the ring patterns on its body glow yellow.
Overview
Umbreon is the perennial tank of the Eeveelutions and has held on as a solid option throughout the generations. Incredible bulk coupled with a wide support movepool and STAB Foul Play which ignore’s Umbreon’s own lackluster is everything a tank could want. Add in Clerical options like Wish and Heal Bell, Umbreon becomes an impressive cleric for the team able to keep everyone healthy against repeated assaults. The generational shifts have been kind to Umbreon. The rise of Knock Off and Future Sight give Umbreon more moves to pivot into and Fairy is not as dominant as it has been in the previous generation.
Fantastic Defenses in 95/110/130 bulk alongside recovery options in Moonlight, Wish and Heal Bell make Umbreon difficult to take out
Plentiful support move options in Wish, Heal Bell, Snarl, Baton Pass, Toxic and Yawn give Umbreon a degree of flexibility and can be mixed and matched to fill the team
Synchronize and Heal Bell disincentivize the use of Status to break through Umbreon
Negatives
Umbreon is rather passive and anything that it can’t threaten immediately can use Umbreon as setup fodder.
Poor Speed ensures Umbreon will take a hit before doing anything.
Movesets
Alien Vanguard
-Wish
-Protect
-Foul Play
-Heal Bell/Toxic/Baton Pass
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 156 Def / 100 SDef
Careful Nature
Wish is the crux of this set, keeping both Umbreon and its teammates healthy throughout the match, enabling Umbreon to take repeated hits. Protect helps guarantee Umbreon can get the healing for itself as well as stall out turns for extra Leftovers recover and synergizes well with Toxic. Foul Play is a STAB move that uses Umbreon’s target’s higher Attack reliably 2-3HKOing anything that doesn’t resist Dark and/or is a dedicated tank/Special attacker giving Umbreon some offensive presence. Heal Bell tends to be the last move of choice, enabling Umbreon to be full Cleric for a team and ensures it isn’t ruined by Toxic. Toxic is another move worth serious consideration, giving Umbreon an answer against Tanks that otherwise wall it and synergizes well with Wish and Protect. Baton Pass can be used akin to Clefable’s Teleport, allowing Umbreon to bring in an ally safely to get healed thanks to Umbreon’s low speed and acts as a reliable slow pivot allowing Umbreon to regain momentum against unfavorable matchups.
DYNAMAX:
Never Dynamax Umbreon. It is far too passive to Dynamax effectively and loses out on its ability to heal or effectively deal damage while Dynamaxed.
EVs and Items:
Max HP is always a must to maximize Umbreon’s bulk and the healing it grants via its Wishes. Whether you invest more in Special Defense or Defense after that is up to personal preference and team composition. Leftovers is preferred for the extra recovery it gives in conjunction with Protect, though Heavy Duty Boots is an option so that Umbreon does not have to rest as often.
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Other Options:
Yawn – Punishes Setup Sweepers harsher than Toxic and pairs very well with Protect
Partners:
Umbreon appreciates partners that can attend to its weaknesses. Poison types resist all of Umbreon’s weaknesses, many can lay down Toxic that aids in Umbreon’s walling and in turn enjoy Umbreon’s ability to answer Psychic moves and clerical abilities. Galarian Weezing stands out for its superior defense and ability to check opposing Dark types in addition to Umbreon’s weaknesses. Nidoqueen enjoys the healing and sets down Entry hazards that punish the forced switching Umbreon tends to create, while Tentacruel provides Haze and Rapid Spin support.
Aegislash also reliably answers Umbreon’s weaknesses and in turn enjoys the healing Umbreon provides enabling Aegislash to pivot in multiple times during a match.
Otherwise, Umbreon acts as a fantastic enabler to bulky teammates that lack reliable recovery and are vulnerable to status. Heatran, Swampert, Jirachi, and Azumarill are examples of bulky Pokémon that benefit from Umbreon’s support..
VGC & Double Battle Options
Umbreon’s history in Doubles is not as storied as other Pokémon. While getting all of the tools it needed to succeed in the fifth generation, that and the subsequent generations were very hostile towards Dark types. It is not until the most recent generations that Umbreon has truly begun to shine. Umbreon is a very disruptive Pokémon with moves like Snarl and Yawn sapping momentum and Helping Hand providing offensive presence through Umbreon’s partner. Umbreon’s fantastic bulk and Inner Focus make it very sticky so unless Umbreon gets focused down (and thus ignoring Umbreon’s undoubtably more offensive teammate) Umbreon will stick around to be a constant annoyance. Umbreon’s passivity still remains a problem and is unlikely to pull wins if the last Pokémon standing. In addition, Umbreon faces stiff competition in Incineroar, who offers similar support and can tank Attack with Intimidate.
A Helpful Shadow
-Snarl/Yawn
-Foul Play
-Moonlight
-Helping Hand
Item Attached: Leftovers/Sitrus Berry
Ability: Synchronize
EVs and Nature:
252 HP / 156 Def / 100 SDef
Bold Nature
Snarl and Yawn are the disruptions of choice for Umbreon. Snarl tanks the Special Attack of many threatening Special Attackers in the format as well as providing Minor chip damage, while Yawn forces your opponent into the difficult decision of keeping your Pokémon in for one more turn and then losing it to Sleep or lose momentum and switch out to something that could be vulnerable to your attacks. Foul Play is reliable damage that can 2-3HKO most physical attackers. Moonlight is what enables Umbreon to stick around, providing massive recovery in the Sun. Helping Hand rounds out the set, enabling Umbreon to attack through its partner and has priority that makes it very difficult to stop. Inner Focus is invaluable as it ensures that Umbreon won’t lose turns to Fake Out or unlucky Rock Slide flinches, enabling it to be as disruptive and supportive as possible.
Other Options:
Mental Herb is great for stopping Taunt, Ensuring Umbreon gets its Yawn or Moonlight off.
Umbreon is a rather slow user of Taunt, but is great for shutting down Trick Room before it starts.
Since Moonlight is at its best in the Sun, Umbreon flourishes with partners like Groudon and Torkoal who crank Umbreon’s healing way up and in turn enjoy Umbreon patching up their lackluster Special Defense with Snarl.
Umbreon’s low speed also lends it to function well on Trick Room teams, enabling it to disrupt or heal with priority over the opponent.
Countering Umbreon
Pokémon that don’t mind Foul Play and Toxic are very difficult for Umbreon to deal with outside of Yawn. Clefable stands out with Super Effective STAB, immunity to Toxic thanks to Magic Guard and taking an absolute pittance from Foul Play. Conkeldurr similarly performs well, even getting a Guts Boost off of Toxic. Setup Sweepers like Corviknight, Hatterene, and Suicune can all abuse Umbreon’s passivity to setup safely. As sturdy as Umbreon is, it is not invincible and can be worn down frighteningly quickly. Strong STAB super effective attackers like Blaziken, Heracross, Urshifu, Pheromosa, Tapu Lele can all reliably outspeed Umbreon and if not outright KO it, leave it in a position where it must switch out or be KOd. Umbreon is heavily reliant on its Status moves, so shutting down Umbreon with Taunt is a good way to force it out.
Locations in Games
Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game
Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Evolve Eevee
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Trade an Eevee and evolve it in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
Colosseum/XD:
Starter Pokémon (Colosseum)
Evolve Eevee (XD)
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Eevee
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Eevee
Black/White:
Trade from Black 2/White 2
Black 2/White 2:
Evolve Eevee
X/Y:
Evolve Eevee
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Evolve Eevee
Sun/Moon:
Route 4, Route 6
Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Route 4, Route 6
Let's Go, Pikachu!/Let's Go, Eevee!:
Not in game
Sword/Shield:
Lake of Outrage, Giant's Bed
Max Raid Battles: Giant's Mirror, Ballimere Lake
Anime Appearences
