Welcome, once again, to Pokemon of the Week! This week we'll be focusing on one of my very favorite Pokemon, one that has been a favorite since the very first generation. This week, we'll be discussing Vaporeon!

Vaporeon has been interesting over the years. It's always been pretty good, but in early generations, it was overshadowed by Water types like Starmie, Gyarados and... well, Water just has the most Pokemon of any type, so it's easy to get lost in the shuffle... isn't that right, Seaking?

Being an Eeveelution, however, Vaporeon is able to claw it's way from obscurity and make a name for itself. It's a Pokemon I first discovered in Blue version when I had a Charizard and Nidoking, but needed a Water type resistance. I got my Eevee and evolved it into Vaporeon, and since then, I've fallen in love. Vaporeon is reliable, powerful enough to deal damage, and just a wonderful team player.

Vaporeon has very nice stats where it needs them: very high base HP and Sp. Attack, good other stats, and a poor Defense stat. This would make Vaporeon seem like it's built to be a special wall, but you'd be surprised - most Vaporeon are physically bulky team supporters, though there are exceptions.

In generation 5, Vaporeon has received nice boons, though mostly to the metagame around it. Politoed receiving Drizzle has given Vaporeon even more of an offensive presence, bolstering the Water STAB attack that Vaporeon uses. Vaporeon has also gotten a much more defensive attack in Scald, with a nice 30% chance to Burn the opponent, meaning that physical attackers need to beware of switching into Vaporeon.

Not all is good news, however, as the rise of Rotom-W can make Vaporeon dead-weight or even setup fodder for painful Volt Switches from the annoying wash machine Pokemon. Volt Switch in general really screws Vaporeon up since it can't keep the momentum on your side, even if it passes a Wish to something, since whatever receives the Wish will just take a Volt Switch and face down something that counters it.

Vaporeon@ Leftovers Water Absorb Bold nature (+Defense, -Attack) EVs: 252 Defense / 248 HP / 8 Speed Scald Wish Protect Roar / Ice Beam / Toxic

Is what you will probably be saying when Vaporeon refuses to die and keeps healing everyone on the opposing team. Yes, with Wishes new mechanics in generation 5, Vaporeon will grant half of it's total HP to whoever receives the Wish. This means passing 231 HP to any teammate, which, for some Pokemon, is their full health or close to it. Protect ensures Vaporeon can take advantage of it's own Wish, as well as stalling for extra Leftovers recovery, and scouting the foe's next move. Scald is the STAB of choice on this defensive set, ensuring that physical attackers cannot freely switch-in without fear of being burnt and having their Attack cut in half.

In the last slot, Roar is your primary move, and this is meant to be coupled with entry hazards laid on the opponent's side of the field. See, Vaporeon is one of those Pokemon that can tend to cause switches to take advantage of its defensive nature. So while your opponent brings in their Rotom-W or Virizion to take advantage of Vaporeon, they take damage from entry hazards and are immediately forced back out, while something else also takes entry hazard damage. Obviously, the most important one here is Stealth Rock, but Spikes support is also greatly appreciated, and Toxic Spikes never hurt either.

If Roaring leaves you uncomfortable about the coverage, Ice Beam is an option for any Water type. It nails Dragonite, Virizion, Hydreigon, and many other common threats as they switch in, but don't expect too much power from it unless the opponent has a quadruple weakness to it. Lastly, Toxic is an option to hinder opposing walls, such as Chansey, Porygon2, and other Water types. This, however, leaves a hole in coverage and exposes Vaporeon to Ferrothorn switch-ins, allowing them to nearly carelessly come in and spill out entry hazards. This can also conflict with Burns from Scald, so play this carefully.

Vaporeon@ Leftovers Hydration Bold nature (+Defense, -Attack) EVs: 252 Defense / 248 HP/ 8 Speed Scald Rest Roar / Wish Toxic / Ice Beam

Say hello to one of the best phazers in OU. With Rain support from Politoed, Vaporeon is able to wall nearly any hit and immediately heal back to full health with no repercutions. Rest is the move that allows Vaporeon to do this, and with Rain support, Hydration allows Vaporeon to sleep, regain full health, rid itself of any status affliction, and wake back up immediately. Scald is again the STAB of choice, providing a powerful STAB move to use inside and out of Rain that has a wonderful 30% Burn rate.

The third slot is for phazing, which is pseudo-hazing; for those that don't know, Haze is a move that resets stat changes to normal. Another way to do this? Shuffle the opponent out of the arena with Roar, Whirlwind or Dragon Tail. Anyway, Roar is a nice move for Vaporeon, with entry hazard support as mentioned in the first set. Vaporeon can tank nearly any hit and the one way opponents might be able to deal with that, by boosting their stats and delivering harder hits, won't work with Vaporeon Roaring you out. Wish, however, allows Vaporeon to be a wonderful team supporter, capable of passing Wishes to the team nearly throughout the entire match, provided Rain stays up, due to how bulky Vaporeon is, and how easily it can heal itself with Rest.

The last slot is a bit of a toss-up. Vaporeon doesn't have much of an offensive presence, so Toxic is great for it, especially on this set. Vaporeon can Badly Poison a foe to wear them down, and when it's low on health, it just Rests off the damage while the opponent suffers more and more each turn. This also allows Vaporeon to beat Blissey one-on-one. Ice Beam, however, allows Vaporeon more coverage, as mentioned in the first set.

Vaporeon@ Life Orb Hydration Modest nature (+Sp. Attack, -Attack) EVs: 252 Sp. Attack / 44 Speed / 212 Defense Surf / Hydro Pump Ice Beam Hidden Power Grass Rest

Vaporeon actually has a surprisingly high Sp. Attack stat that is often forgotten in favor of defensive prowess. This set takes full advantage of that Sp. Attack, as well as the boost it receives from rain to it's STAB attack. Surf is your reliable STAB here, also being backed by rain and Life Orb. Hydro Pump, however, will smash through things in rain like a monster truck demolishing anything not resistant/immune to it, and severely denting anything that does resist. Ice Beam provides coverage for Dragons and Grass types, and is much more essential on an offensive set than previous sets. Hidden Power Grass is mainly for Gastrodon, though it sees use in killing Quagsire as well, both of which being immune to Water attacks with the right ability. Finally, Rest is scary on this moveset, as Vaporeon can immediately restore itself to full health and begin it's slaughter anew.

The EVs are tailored in a way that gives Vaporeon maximum offensive output, as well as outspeeds un-invested base 70 Speed Pokemon. This, however, only means outspeeding a few threats in OU, and some Speed can be dropped in favor of more bulk. I wouldn't recommend going below 12 Speed EVs, however, as this allows you to outrun the standard 8 Speed Choice Band Scizor. Alternately, you could drop some from Defense or Sp. Attack and invest in more Speed to outrun certain threats, but there aren't many notable without investing a huge amount. 108 Speed EVs outruns Specially Defensive Heatran (which typically runs 8 Speed), but you'd need to take a huge chunk out of Defense for that, and I don't see a reason when Heatran will never stay in on you, and won't do anything worth a damn if it does.

Vaporeon@ Leftovers Water Absorb Bold nature (+Defense, -Attack) EVs: 244 HP / 136 Defense / 128 Speed Baton Pass Substitute Acid Armor / Wish / Aqua Ring Scald / Roar

Vaporeon is a wonderful candidate for Baton Pass chains. It offers many things to pass to teammates that can greatly aid in your chain. The first, and most important, is Substitute. Vaporeon can pass huge Subs with the high HP stat it has, and this is wonderful for Baton Pass chains to avoid status attacks and help avoid taking direct damage. The third slot offers many Baton Pass options. Acid Armor greatly bolsters Defense, making it harder for opponents to break the Sub. Wish allows you to Baton Pass safely to teammates, ensuring they receive a healthy amount of HP on the Baton Pass. Aqua Ring is cool option for giving recipients an extra 6% heath per turn, which when stacked onto Leftovers, heals 12% per turn, which can be very nice.

The last slot offers two things: Scald ensures you don't become Taunt bait for opponents, especially if Smeargle has Baton Passed Ingrain to prevent you from being phazed (which will make you unable to switch out directly as well, forcing you to Struggle and ruin your Baton Pass chain). Roar, however, can phaze opponents before they phaze you if you Baton Pass Speed from Ninjask, which you should always be doing.

In terms of partners, there are many Vaporeon likes to have. As mentioned, Ninjask tops the list as #1, passing Speed that Baton Pass chains need to stay on top. Two Speed Boosts from Ninjask allows Vaporeon to outspeed even positive natured base 130 Speed Pokemon with the EVs listed, which is very impressive for Vaporeon. Gliscor and Celebi make great Baton Passing partners, as they have good defensive synergy with Vaporeon, being immune or resistant to Electric attacks, while Celebi also resists Grass attacks.

Vaporeon works very well in-game, being very defensive and providing a Water type immunity for the team, if you go for Water Absorb. Raising one is easy, and it has been a wonderful member of many of my in-game teams. Eevee can be found in Castelia Park, accessed via Castelia Sewers, though they're very rare, with a 5% appearance rate. Evolution, however, is simple if you can get your hands on a Water Stone, and I'd recommend evolving it right away, since Eevee doesn't learn anything Vaporeon would utilize. Here's what I'd recommend:

Vaporeon Surf / Scald Ice Beam / Aurora Beam Shadow Ball / Wish / Aqua Ring Protect / Aqua Ring

An in-game Vaporeon works very simply. Surf is useful for getting around, as well as being powerful and reliable, but Scald's Burn rate can be very appealing. Ice Beam is nice for coverage, but if you don't have the TM, Vaporeon learns Aurora Beam via level-up, so that's convenient, though less powerful. Shadow Ball is nice for coverage if you have the TM. Wish is an Egg move, but it's too useful not to mention. It would be listed as the first option in this slot if it were easier to get, but as it stands, it's very tiring to obtain. Aqua Ring provides Vaporeon with an extra 6% healing per turn, so that's wonderful for a Pokemon with high HP. In the last slot, Protect is good alongside Aqua Ring to ensure extra healing, but if you used Shadow Ball in the third slot, Aqua Ring can be used here.

Vaporeon is absolutely one of my favorite Pokemon ever. All while I grew up, I've always had cats in my house, and that's what Vaporeon reminds me of: a lazy cat. Even competitively, Vaporeon is used more as a Pokemon that heals others, rather than going onto the battlefield and launching powerful attacks. It's a Pokemon I would love keeping around, since I think it would make a great pet. It's also nice to have a Water Absorb Pokemon around, for those Pokemon that foolishly try to wash Blaziken away. :>

Okay, so call me stupid, but it somehow wasn't immediately clear to me what Vaporeon was based on. I thought it was incredibly inventive, fusing a fish-tail to the feline appearance that all Eeveelutions share, but then Richard pointed out to me that its origins were clear...

SO YES. Vaporeon is, quite obviously (!), based on the mermaids of old, given its beauty and fish-like tail. Vaporeon has the ability to freely manipulate water, a trait displayed in the folkloric tale of Alexander the Great's sister, Thessalonike. According to the tale, she was turned into a mermaid after she died. If ever she ran into a ship, she would ask the sailors a question: "Is King Alexander alive?" The only correct answer was "He lives and reigns and conquers the world." Then she would calm the waters. If, however, they answered any other way, she would summon storms to sink them.

So, Vaporeon has similar appearances and abilities as the mermaid - but if we return to Scotland, the land of Lapras' origins, we see that Vaporeon also shares traits with the Ashray. They were mythological water-dwellers that, if exposed to sunlight, would disappear into a puddle of water - just like Vaporeon's signature attack from Generation I, Acid Armor.

And on a final note, have you considered the practicalities of Vaporeon melting into water? I mean, doesn't it have any bones?

One moment you're hugging your cuddly Vappy, and the next, like a water balloon, it explodes and you look down at your soaked trainer's outfit, covered in...Vaporeonade?

Food for thought...!

Article written by Richard and Blaziken

Unearthed written by Enigma

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