Sylveon, The Intertwining Pokémon. It wraps its ribbonlike feelers around the arm of its beloved trainer while sending a a soothing aura to calm fights.
Overview
The newest, and my personal favorite member, of the Eeveelution family. One of the best things to come out of this 6th Generation was the addition of Fairy types and this lovely Pokémon. It's a really solid cleric and an underrated special attacker and I almost always have one on my team just because it's so darn reliable in any metagame you're playing in. Sadly, as an Eeveelution, it does have some of the usual faults, such as a few gaps in its stat spread and a rather shallow movepool, but Sylveon's still easily the best of the Eeveelutions right now. Having arguably the best single type in the game goes a long way for this Eeveelution, because with that that Fairy typing and the Pixilate ability to abuse it. It may have some competition from other fairy types like Clefable and Mega Gardevoir, but Sylveon's still got enough to make itself reliable despite the competition.
Positives
+ Awesome Ability in Pixilate to boost normal type attacks' power by 30% and turn them into STAB attacks, and with things like Hyper Voice at its disposal Sylveon it can be a real powerhouse.
+ Hyper Voice not only takes advantage of Pixilate, but also hits past Substitutes due to being a sound-based move, AND hits both targets in Doubles. It's a VERY spammable STAB attack.
+ Amazing Special Bulk and Special Attack with a Base 130 SpD and 110 SpA respectively, and its Base 95 HP only further compliments Sylveon.
+ Nice Team support movepool with the likes of Wish , Heal Bell , and Baton Pass at its disposal. Among other things.
+ Reliable in any metagame.
Negatives
- Its incredibly slow sporting just a measly base 60 speed
- Base 65 Atk and Def are definitely nothing to write home about either. The latter making it an even bigger target for revenge KO's.
- Very shallow offensive special movepool.
- Other Pokémon do what Sylveon does better, albeit less reliably because of its bulk. Clefable has better abilities and a better movepool, while Mega Gardevoir has the freedom to switch attacks, better speed, and a better movepool as well.
Abilities
Cute Charm: The opponent has a 30% chance of being induced with Attract when using an attack, that requires physical contact, against this Pokémon. - Like we've mentioned in previous articles Cute Charm just sucks.This ability is unreliable due to its 30% chance to activate, and the fact that this only includes attacks that make contact. Not only that, but it only works on Pokemon of the opposite gender, so it does nothing at all to same-gendered or genderless Pokemon. Cute Charm is a very poor ability all around due to being EXTREMELY unreliable.
Hidden Ability (Available):
Pixilate: Increases the power of Normal-type moves by 30%. It then changes those moves to Fairy-type. - This should always be your ability of your choice. It's essentially a free Life Orb for your Normal Type moves, and turns them into STAB attack as well. Sylveon is the only non-Mega Evolution to get this amazing ability, so always, ALWAYS use it.
Movesets
Fairy Godmother
- Wish
- Heal Bell
- Protect
- Hyper Voice
Item Attached: Leftovers
Ability: Pixilate
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 HP / 220 Def / 36 SpD
Bold Nature
This is Sylveon's most common set. Wish allows it to patch up its squadmates that are in dire need of some heals, and with Protect its also able to reliably heal itself as well. Protect also turns Sylveon into a half decent scout too if you're in need of one in a pinch. Heal Bell provides more team support allowing it to cure your squad of any of those annoying status ailments as well itself. Hyper Voice packs quite a punch thanks to Pixilate despite this being more of a defensive set. All in all this set is great.
The EV spread maximizes Sylveon's bulk on both sides of the spectrum. The resulting EVs ensure that it is not 2HKO'ed on the physical side by Latios's Life Orb Psyshock, while also avoiding the 2HKO on the special side from Landorus's Sheer Force Life Earth Power after Leftovers recovery (watch out for Sludge Wave, though). In addition, this set cannot be 1HKO'ed by any Scizor's Bullet Punch without setting up SD first; even Choice Band Bullet Punch fails to 1HKO.
Fairy Interesting!
- Hyper Voice
- Psyshock
- Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ground
- Shadow Ball / Baton Pass
Item Attached: Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 240 HP / 252 SpA / 16 Spe
Modest Nature
This is a highly underrated set , but always my build of choice. It just has a surprising amount of power. Like for example Choice Specs + Pixilate Hyper Voice actually packs more power than Mega Gardevoir's and it doesn't take up your megaslot. Psyshock is for those pesky poison types, and can mutilate some of the most common poison types who might think themselves safe from Sylveon, such as Gengar and Mega Venusaur. The 3rd slot really depends on what you want to cover. I prefer Hidden Power Fire for its ability to bait in the most common check, Scizor, in addition to frying most steel types in general, but if you're extremely worried about Heatran, Hidden Power Ground might be your best bet. Finally, Shadow Ball has merit in that it hits Mega Metagross and Jirachi a bit harder, both of whom can be a real nuisance against Sylveon. In addition to its other benefits on certain teams, Baton Pass is also great for your last slot just incase your enemy pulls a double switch and you end up with a bad team match up..which seem to happen to me far too often lol. Unfortunately, Baton Pass is also a result of Sylveon's mediocre movepool, as it wishes it had a little better coverage.
This EV spread is pretty simple too boosting your beastly HP and SpA stats to even greater heights with a little bit of speed thrown in so you don't get completely left in the dust. The 16 speed EVs manage to outspeed support and defensive Tyranitar to soundly 1HKO them before they can react. You can invest more in speed if you want to try to outspeed a few more threats, but doing so compromises Sylveon's bulk.
Other Options
- Calm Mind is a decent option on Sylveon, but sadly it faces a lot of competition in that respect, as Clefable can arguably run the same set better.
- Hyper Beam is a terrible attack nine times out of ten. However, it at least gets a mention, because it can be an absolute last resort. If you know Sylveon is going to faint anyway, or you're down to it as your last Pokemon in a 1v1 situation, Hyper Beam's absurd power can be a game-changer in a Choice Specs set. Choice Specs Pixilate Hyper Beam is strong enough to 1HKO your standard Skarmory about half the time... on a resisted hit no less! However, it also carries a rather crappy downside in that you won't be able to do anything, including switching, after using it. For this reason, it's not very reliable, but the sheer power of the move at least warrants a mention.
Double & Triple Battle Options
Currently, Sylveon is the only non Mega Pokemon to have Pixilate, on top of that it is the only non Mega Pokemon with Pixilate Hyper Voice. That's one Pokemon with a 100% Accurate, Substitute ignoring, double targeting Fairy Type attack with (effectively) 131 Base Power off of Base 110 Special Attack. Its popularity should be self explanatory.
Screams Externally
Hyper Voice
Psyshock / Moonblast
Shadow Ball / Moonblast
Hidden Power (Ground)
Item Attached: Choice Specs
Ability: Pixilate
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 SAtk, 252HP, 4Def
Modest Nature
Fairly standard set. There's no reason to suspect Sylveon won't be Hyper Voicing at any given opportunity. Moonblast is the single target Fairy Move that will bypass any Wide Guard users and deal nice damage. Psyshock is for Gengar and other Poison types who are itching to fire off Sludge Bombs. Shadow Ball is for Aegislash, but it doesn't quite OHKO, often triggering its held Weakness Policy. Needless to say, no matter what attack Sylveon is or isn't locked into, it needs to be cautious around Aegislash. Hidden Power Ground is only for Heatran, who's popularity is not only insane, but justified.
Bowties Are Cool
Hyper Voice
Quick Attack
Protect
Baby-Doll Eyes / Hidden Power (Ground)
Item Attached: Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs and Nature:
EVs: 252 SAtk, 252HP, 4 Atk
Modest Nature
This set tries to circumvent Sylveon's Speed issue by intoducing priority moves into its set. Hyper Voice is self explanatory, Quick Attack deals a crazy amount of damage to unsuspecting Hydreigon and Terrakion, and in general is a great move for picking off weakened opponents. Protect is a dead giveaway that you aren't running a Choice Item, but preserving Sylveon's offensive presence can make the opponent anxious. Baby-Doll Eyes is a Single Target Growl, but with +1 Priority. When Sylveon is outsped, and can't pick up a kill from Quick Attack, sometimes the best thing it can do for its partner is lower the Physical pressure a little bit. Some run Helping Hand on their Sylveon, but Sylveon hits hard already, why not attack with Sylveon AND its partner rather than just give an extra STAB boost to said partner's attack? Hidden Power Ground isn't a move to be overlooked. Heatran are everywhere.
Sylveon's Partners will want to pressure Steels and Poison types alongside putting a damper on Physical attacks. Landorus-Therian comes to mind immediately for those specifications, but really, any Pokemon who can allow Sylveon to attack more or survive more attacks is welcome. Scrafty or Pokemon with Reflect or Will-O-Wisp are handy, as Sylveon's defense leaves a lot to be desired.
Speaking of a lot to be desired, Sylveon's speed is the real problem. Often, Pokmeon who want to dodge a Hyper Voice are naturally faster and have High Physical attack. I'm talking about Salamence and Kangaskhan, both are faster and them dodging a Hyper Voice is as simple as targeting Sylveon with Double Edge. Sylveon's Defense is also so low, that without certain berries, Sylveon will not survive Scizor's Bullet Punch, Adamant Kang/Mence Double Edge and the like without insane amounts of support.
Sylveon is spectacular, and definitely have an answer to it when building teams, just because Steels are everywhere doesn't mean Sylveon is completely out of the picture.
Countering Sylveon
Countering a Cleric Sylveon is a bit easier since without any investment, all it can do is utilize Hyper Voice to protect itself. Mind you, Pixilate gives it modest power for an uninvested defensive Pokemon, but it's still fairly easy to counter. Basically, any steel type or Poison type can counter it. Gengar and Heatran get specially mention, as both can switch in easily, and can disrupt cleric duties by Taunting it. Bulky steel types such as Mega Metagross, (Mega) Scizor, Ferrothorn, Jirachi, and Excadrill really don't care what cleric Sylveon tries to do to them, and can threaten it out with their STAB attacks. Mega Venusaur is in the same boat, and can utilize Sleep Powder to shut it down or 2HKO it with Sludge Bomb. It's honestly not very threatening, and you can utilize phasing to mess up Sylveon's Wishes so that the wrong target gets the Wish, perhaps one that doesn't need it. In addition, users of Trick can be a hindrance to Sylveon, since getting tricked a Choice Scarf or something is a real pain for the cleric set, since it absolutely needs to switch attacks.
Choice Specs Sylveon on the other hand can be a little trickier due to its raw power and its coverage moves. You can take comfort in knowing that 90% of the time it will be spamming Hyper Voice, however. Sets lacking Hidden Power Ground are completely shut down by both offensive and defensive variants of Heatran. However, even if Sylveon carries Hidden Power Ground to deal with Heatran, then Scizor and Ferrothorn become deadly counters. Both fear Hidden Power Fire though; Scizor is worth noting because although it fears Hidden Power fire, it can easily check Sylveon with Technician Bullet Punch. Mega Venusaur hates Psyshock but generally doesn't care about anything else Sylveon has, and can 2HKO it with Sludge Bomb. Jirachi flat out cannot be 1HKO'ed by Sylveon and can troll the heck out of it with Serene Grace Iron Head's flinch hax, or can 2HKO it outright. Mega Metagross has to be wary of Shadow Ball but can absolutely demolish Sylveon with Meteor Mash. Excadrill isn't 1HKOed by anything, although both variants of Hidden Power can take a bit out of it, and it can maim Sylveon with Iron Head. Although a bit less viable, Mega Aggron can also withstand Sylveon's assaults to put a massive dent in it, and thanks to Filter it's only 3HKO'ed at worst. Fortunately, this set's not particularly fast, and lacks the recovery of the Cleric set, so it finds itself able to be worn down, especially if you're hitting it from the physical side. A lot of strong STAB attacks, such as Talonflame's Brave Bird and Bisharp's Iron Head can do a major chunk of HP to Sylveon, and even the things that don't KO it usually leave it hurting in the process. As with all Choice sets, Sylveon's often forced to switch in and out, so putting hazards such as Stealth Rock up can help wear it down.
Locations in Games
Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game
FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game
Colosseum/XD:
Not in game
Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Not in game
HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Not in game
Black/White:
Not in game
Black 2/White 2:
Not in game
X/Y:
Evolve Eevee
Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Evolve Eevee
Animé Appearences
