[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 9-10 points
**Overview**: While Sylveon might appear one-dimensional on the surface, it possesses a variety of traits that make it an excellent budget pick; its gargantuan Special Defense and Fairy typing allow it to function as a blanket check against many of the strongest special attackers around, while its modest offenses combine with Pixilate to allow it to function as a frightening wallbreaker. It also has a passable niche in Wish-passing, a move lacking in distribution. In spite of these perceived benefits, Sylveon comes with a large amount of drawbacks, making it reliant on teammates for it to thrive. Chiefly, its complete lack of coverage makes it reliant on other Pokemon wearing down its threats, and sparse utility options leave it a bit predictable in terms of sets it can run.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Pivot**: Baton Pass and Wish make Sylveon an excellent choice for a defensive pivot, able to switch in, take a hit, and slow pivot out into a stronger teammate. However, this set is fairly passive and lacks the coverage provided in other sets; as such, Yawn can be utilized to help provide Sylveon with utility and prevent foes from setting up on it.
**Wallbreaker**: Sylveon can run Choice Specs alongside Pixilate to bolster its middling offensive stats, enabling it to become a surprisingly fearsome wallbreaker. This set is typically reliant on Tera Blast to provide coverage Sylveon would otherwise lack. Sylveon struggles with having poor coverage options, so Hyper Beam and Quick Attack can also be used on the same set alongside Hyper Voice, as they all perform different tasks.
**Setup Sweeper**: With access to Calm Mind and reliable healing, Sylveon can leverage its excellent bulk to set up and clean weakened teams. These sets will typically run Wish, Hyper Voice, and Protect or a coverage move. Throat Spray can be used to boost Sylveon's Special Attack even further after a Hyper Voice. Draining Kiss can be used to provide Sylveon with additional longevity while also dealing damage.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Hyper Voice, Draining Kiss, Moonblast, Alluring Voice
**Setup Moves**: Calm Mind
**Utility Moves**: Wish, Protect, Yawn, Roar, Baton Pass, Body Slam
**Coverage**: Psychic, Psyshock, Stored Power, Shadow Ball, Tera Blast
Niche Moves
========
**Quick Attack**: Quick Attack is boosted by Pixilate and can be used to pick off weakened foes in spite of its poor Speed.
**Hyper Beam**: Hyper Beam can be utilized as an emergency button when Sylveon would otherwise lack the damage to KO a Pokemon on its wallbreaker sets.
**Charm**: Sylveon is lacking in physical bulk and can be threatened by strong physical wallbreakers. Charm allows it to catch these threats on the switch in, allowing it to beat foes it otherwise couldn't.
**Dual Screens**: Sylveon's lack of need for offensive moves outside of Hyper Voice allows it to easily fit dual screens on its moveset at the cost of lacking in utility. It has excellent bulk, (AC) which allows it to get dual screens up with relative ease, while Wish can optionally be used to help keep it healthy.
Common Items
========
**Leftovers**: Leftovers makes for a natural choice on bulkier Sylveon sets, increasing its longevity and giving it more opportunities to set up or Wish pass.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots can be used to protect Calm Mind sets from Toxic Spikes, among other entry hazards, which would heavily disrupt its ability to sweep. Supportive sets also appreciate the immunity to hazard chip damage that Heavy-Duty Boots provides.
**Choice Specs**: Choice Specs transforms Sylveon into a frightening wallbreaker, making it able to take on foes it otherwise cannot.
**Throat Spray**: Throat Spray is used in tandem with Hyper Voice, Sylveon's main damaging tool, to provide an additional Special Attack raise on sweeping or wallbreaking sets.
Niche Items
========
**Fairy Feather / Life Orb**: Life Orb or Fairy Feather can be used on wallbreaking sets where Sylveon does not want to be Choice-locked into one move or it wants to utilize utility moves at the same time.
**Assault Vest**: Assault Vest allows Sylveon to invest heavily into Defense EVs while also leveraging its fantastic special bulk to function as a mixed tank.
**Red Card**: Red Card can be used to force out an opposing setup sweeper without relying on Yawn to phaze it. This can also be used to buy Sylveon a turn to set up with Calm Mind while the foe is disrupted.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry can optionally be used in place of Leftovers on setup sets, allowing Sylveon an extra turn to use Calm Mind without needing to use Wish.
**Resistance Berry**: While Sylveon only has two weaknesses and typically does not want to fight Poison- and Steel-types, it can use a resistance Berry to allow it to muscle through foes on setup sweeper sets.
Tera
========
While not the centerpiece of a team, Sylveon can make for an excellent secondary Tera Captain. Sylveon greatly benefits from Tera Blast providing it with a STAB coverage option, as only its Fairy-type moves are boosted by Pixilate and it has middling offensive stats. On offensive sets, Tera Fire and Ground are great options to allow it to hit the Steel-types it otherwise cannot. While Tera Water or Poison can be used on defensive sets to bolster its longevity, Tera Fairy is used to boost Hyper Voice to extremely high levels of damage on wallbreaker sets. Tera Electric turns its Steel-type weakness into a resistance and reduces Sylveon's weaknesses down to only Ground. Tera Blast is also a Fairy-type attack with Pixilate and receives the boost in power from it; this is useful on Choice Specs sets, as Sylveon can wield it as both a Fairy-type move and a coverage move.
Draft Strategy
========
Sylveon makes for a decent choice on teams seeking a bulky Fairy-type Pokemon, where it can wield its excellent supporting and pivoting tools to round out a draft. However, Sylveon should not be drafted with the intention of being the centerpiece of a team, and it should not be drafted until stronger offensive Pokemon have been secured first.
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Sylveon appreciates the presence of strong Pokemon like Gholdengo, Metagross, and Scizor to assist it in resisting Dragon-type threats. Many strong Dragon-type Pokemon naturally outspeed Sylveon and can carry super effective Steel- and Poison-type coverage options that threaten it. Steel-type Pokemon resist Steel-type attacks and are immune to Poison-type moves, making them excellent partners for Sylveon to pivot into.
**Ground- and Fighting-types**: Without Tera, Sylveon greatly struggles in removing Steel- and Poison-types, lacking sufficient coverage for them. While it has Psyshock and Psychic for Poison-type Pokemon, its lack of Speed and poor offensive stats without a Pixilate boost mean it is usually forced out in revenge. Iron Treads, Great Tusk, and Landorus-T all make for excellent partners to switch into, providing physical bulk and offensively threatening its checks.
**Entry Hazards and Entry Hazard Control**: Sylveon is frequently used as a specially defensive pivot, and as such, frequently switches into opposing attacks. Entry hazard control from Pokemon like Great Tusk, Corviknight, and Quaquaval can allow it to run different items instead of Heavy-Duty Boots to allow it to better support its team. On more offensive sets, Sylveon greatly appreciates the hazard setting capabilities of Pokemon like Ting-Lu, Gliscor, and Garchomp to let it break weakened foes.
Checks and Counters
========
**Steel- and Fire-type Pokemon**: Sylveon has no moves that can hit threatening Steel-type Pokemon like Heatran, Gholdengo, and Scizor and Fire-type Pokemon like Arcanine, Cinderace, and—you guessed it—Heatran, and it is typically forced out by their presence. Gholdengo and Heatran are particularly troublesome for Sylveon, as Gholdengo is immune to Yawn and can freely set up with Nasty Plot in front of it, while Heatran is quad-resistant to Fairy-type attacks, can trap it with Magma Storm, and prevent it from using utility moves with Taunt.
**Poison-type Pokemon**: As Sylveon is lacking in physical bulk, it can find itself troubled by the presence of strong physical Poison-type Pokemon like Sneasler, Overqwil, and Alolan Muk, they can threaten to OHKO it. Bulky Poison-type Pokemon like Toxapex and Galarian Slowking can also be problematic, as Sylveon is lacking in damage without a Pixilate boost and generally cannot threaten these Pokemon out without several Calm Mind boosts; they can also switch in on Sylveon if it is Choice-locked into a resisted move and force it out.
**Fast Disruption**: Disruption moves like Encore and Taunt can be hugely problematic for most Sylveon sets, as they can prevent it from setting up with Calm Mind while also inhibiting defensive sets from utilizing their utility tools like Wish and Yawn, greatly impeding Sylveon's ability to make progress. Tornadus-T, Heatran, and Cinderace are all examples of faster Pokemon that can shut it down.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/olivia.620359/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
**Draft Order**: Round 5 onwards
**Price Range**: 9-10 points
**Overview**: While Sylveon might appear one-dimensional on the surface, it possesses a variety of traits that make it an excellent budget pick; its gargantuan Special Defense and Fairy typing allow it to function as a blanket check against many of the strongest special attackers around, while its modest offenses combine with Pixilate to allow it to function as a frightening wallbreaker. It also has a passable niche in Wish-passing, a move lacking in distribution. In spite of these perceived benefits, Sylveon comes with a large amount of drawbacks, making it reliant on teammates for it to thrive. Chiefly, its complete lack of coverage makes it reliant on other Pokemon wearing down its threats, and sparse utility options leave it a bit predictable in terms of sets it can run.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Defensive Pivot**: Baton Pass and Wish make Sylveon an excellent choice for a defensive pivot, able to switch in, take a hit, and slow pivot out into a stronger teammate. However, this set is fairly passive and lacks the coverage provided in other sets; as such, Yawn can be utilized to help provide Sylveon with utility and prevent foes from setting up on it.
**Wallbreaker**: Sylveon can run Choice Specs alongside Pixilate to bolster its middling offensive stats, enabling it to become a surprisingly fearsome wallbreaker. This set is typically reliant on Tera Blast to provide coverage Sylveon would otherwise lack. Sylveon struggles with having poor coverage options, so Hyper Beam and Quick Attack can also be used on the same set alongside Hyper Voice, as they all perform different tasks.
**Setup Sweeper**: With access to Calm Mind and reliable healing, Sylveon can leverage its excellent bulk to set up and clean weakened teams. These sets will typically run Wish, Hyper Voice, and Protect or a coverage move. Throat Spray can be used to boost Sylveon's Special Attack even further after a Hyper Voice. Draining Kiss can be used to provide Sylveon with additional longevity while also dealing damage.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Hyper Voice, Draining Kiss, Moonblast, Alluring Voice
**Setup Moves**: Calm Mind
**Utility Moves**: Wish, Protect, Yawn, Roar, Baton Pass, Body Slam
**Coverage**: Psychic, Psyshock, Stored Power, Shadow Ball, Tera Blast
Niche Moves
========
**Quick Attack**: Quick Attack is boosted by Pixilate and can be used to pick off weakened foes in spite of its poor Speed.
**Hyper Beam**: Hyper Beam can be utilized as an emergency button when Sylveon would otherwise lack the damage to KO a Pokemon on its wallbreaker sets.
**Charm**: Sylveon is lacking in physical bulk and can be threatened by strong physical wallbreakers. Charm allows it to catch these threats on the switch in, allowing it to beat foes it otherwise couldn't.
**Dual Screens**: Sylveon's lack of need for offensive moves outside of Hyper Voice allows it to easily fit dual screens on its moveset at the cost of lacking in utility. It has excellent bulk, (AC) which allows it to get dual screens up with relative ease, while Wish can optionally be used to help keep it healthy.
Common Items
========
**Leftovers**: Leftovers makes for a natural choice on bulkier Sylveon sets, increasing its longevity and giving it more opportunities to set up or Wish pass.
**Heavy-Duty Boots**: Heavy-Duty Boots can be used to protect Calm Mind sets from Toxic Spikes, among other entry hazards, which would heavily disrupt its ability to sweep. Supportive sets also appreciate the immunity to hazard chip damage that Heavy-Duty Boots provides.
**Choice Specs**: Choice Specs transforms Sylveon into a frightening wallbreaker, making it able to take on foes it otherwise cannot.
**Throat Spray**: Throat Spray is used in tandem with Hyper Voice, Sylveon's main damaging tool, to provide an additional Special Attack raise on sweeping or wallbreaking sets.
Niche Items
========
**Fairy Feather / Life Orb**: Life Orb or Fairy Feather can be used on wallbreaking sets where Sylveon does not want to be Choice-locked into one move or it wants to utilize utility moves at the same time.
**Assault Vest**: Assault Vest allows Sylveon to invest heavily into Defense EVs while also leveraging its fantastic special bulk to function as a mixed tank.
**Red Card**: Red Card can be used to force out an opposing setup sweeper without relying on Yawn to phaze it. This can also be used to buy Sylveon a turn to set up with Calm Mind while the foe is disrupted.
**Sitrus Berry**: Sitrus Berry can optionally be used in place of Leftovers on setup sets, allowing Sylveon an extra turn to use Calm Mind without needing to use Wish.
**Resistance Berry**: While Sylveon only has two weaknesses and typically does not want to fight Poison- and Steel-types, it can use a resistance Berry to allow it to muscle through foes on setup sweeper sets.
Tera
========
While not the centerpiece of a team, Sylveon can make for an excellent secondary Tera Captain. Sylveon greatly benefits from Tera Blast providing it with a STAB coverage option, as only its Fairy-type moves are boosted by Pixilate and it has middling offensive stats. On offensive sets, Tera Fire and Ground are great options to allow it to hit the Steel-types it otherwise cannot. While Tera Water or Poison can be used on defensive sets to bolster its longevity, Tera Fairy is used to boost Hyper Voice to extremely high levels of damage on wallbreaker sets. Tera Electric turns its Steel-type weakness into a resistance and reduces Sylveon's weaknesses down to only Ground. Tera Blast is also a Fairy-type attack with Pixilate and receives the boost in power from it; this is useful on Choice Specs sets, as Sylveon can wield it as both a Fairy-type move and a coverage move.
Draft Strategy
========
Sylveon makes for a decent choice on teams seeking a bulky Fairy-type Pokemon, where it can wield its excellent supporting and pivoting tools to round out a draft. However, Sylveon should not be drafted with the intention of being the centerpiece of a team, and it should not be drafted until stronger offensive Pokemon have been secured first.
**Steel-type Pokemon**: Sylveon appreciates the presence of strong Pokemon like Gholdengo, Metagross, and Scizor to assist it in resisting Dragon-type threats. Many strong Dragon-type Pokemon naturally outspeed Sylveon and can carry super effective Steel- and Poison-type coverage options that threaten it. Steel-type Pokemon resist Steel-type attacks and are immune to Poison-type moves, making them excellent partners for Sylveon to pivot into.
**Ground- and Fighting-types**: Without Tera, Sylveon greatly struggles in removing Steel- and Poison-types, lacking sufficient coverage for them. While it has Psyshock and Psychic for Poison-type Pokemon, its lack of Speed and poor offensive stats without a Pixilate boost mean it is usually forced out in revenge. Iron Treads, Great Tusk, and Landorus-T all make for excellent partners to switch into, providing physical bulk and offensively threatening its checks.
**Entry Hazards and Entry Hazard Control**: Sylveon is frequently used as a specially defensive pivot, and as such, frequently switches into opposing attacks. Entry hazard control from Pokemon like Great Tusk, Corviknight, and Quaquaval can allow it to run different items instead of Heavy-Duty Boots to allow it to better support its team. On more offensive sets, Sylveon greatly appreciates the hazard setting capabilities of Pokemon like Ting-Lu, Gliscor, and Garchomp to let it break weakened foes.
Checks and Counters
========
**Steel- and Fire-type Pokemon**: Sylveon has no moves that can hit threatening Steel-type Pokemon like Heatran, Gholdengo, and Scizor and Fire-type Pokemon like Arcanine, Cinderace, and—you guessed it—Heatran, and it is typically forced out by their presence. Gholdengo and Heatran are particularly troublesome for Sylveon, as Gholdengo is immune to Yawn and can freely set up with Nasty Plot in front of it, while Heatran is quad-resistant to Fairy-type attacks, can trap it with Magma Storm, and prevent it from using utility moves with Taunt.
**Poison-type Pokemon**: As Sylveon is lacking in physical bulk, it can find itself troubled by the presence of strong physical Poison-type Pokemon like Sneasler, Overqwil, and Alolan Muk, they can threaten to OHKO it. Bulky Poison-type Pokemon like Toxapex and Galarian Slowking can also be problematic, as Sylveon is lacking in damage without a Pixilate boost and generally cannot threaten these Pokemon out without several Calm Mind boosts; they can also switch in on Sylveon if it is Choice-locked into a resisted move and force it out.
**Fast Disruption**: Disruption moves like Encore and Taunt can be hugely problematic for most Sylveon sets, as they can prevent it from setting up with Calm Mind while also inhibiting defensive sets from utilizing their utility tools like Wish and Yawn, greatly impeding Sylveon's ability to make progress. Tornadus-T, Heatran, and Cinderace are all examples of faster Pokemon that can shut it down.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/olivia.620359/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scionicle.599989/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/scribble.356084/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/solarbeam.470115/
Last edited:
