I think CIM is trying to say that HP Fire lessens the need to predict. With HP Fire, you don't have to guess whether Registeel, Honchkrow, or Drapion is switching in. You just HP Fire and hit any of the three. With HP Ground, however, you have to decide between using Baton Pass/Signal Beam and HP Ground.
You also have to weigh risk / reward. Drapion (#34) is less common than Honchkrow, Drapion with an SDef investment are uncommon, and less than 10% of Drapion ran Pursuit (according to these month's stats). On the other hand, the 8th most used UU, Honchkrow and more than a third ran Pursuit.
You can't always rely on "perfect" prediction, especially if your opponent is equal / outclasses you on that level. Choice sets require a significant amount of prediction as it is, and relying for the most part on having to choose between two attacks is usually the best option. This thread is a stellar explanation of why.
Also:
You also have to weigh risk / reward. Drapion (#34) is less common than Honchkrow, Drapion with an SDef investment are uncommon, and less than 10% of Drapion ran Pursuit (according to these month's stats). On the other hand, the 8th most used UU, Honchkrow and more than a third ran Pursuit.
You can't always rely on "perfect" prediction, especially if your opponent is equal / outclasses you on that level. Choice sets require a significant amount of prediction as it is, and relying for the most part on having to choose between two attacks is usually the best option. This thread is a stellar explanation of why.
Also:
[SET]
name: Trick Choice
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Hidden Power Ground
move 3: Baton Pass / Signal Beam
move 4: Trick
item: Choice Specs / Choice Scarf
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Espeon has great Speed and Special Attack, so it is no surprise it can use a Choice Specs set effectively. Psychic is Espeon's main STAB attack, which deals major damage to anything that does not resist it, or is not named Chansey. Hidden Power Ground is used to hit the ever common Registeel and Steelix switch-ins and eventually take its main counter out of the match. Baton Pass is a great move to use to scout your opponent's switch-ins and allow you to switch to one of your counters. Baton Pass also enables Espeon to escape from common Pursuit users such as Honchkrow and Absol. Trick allows Espeon to cripple its most common switch-ins, such as Chansey or Registeel, allowing another special attacker to sweep more freely.</p>
<p>Hidden Power Ground is recommended for many reasons. Firstly, Hidden Power Ground hits Drapion, who can otherwise switch into Psychic and set up Swords Dance or use Pursuit to KO Espeon. Secondly, Hidden Power Ground does not lower your Speed IV like Hidden Power Fighting does, which is important when taking other base 110s into consideration. However, if you opt for Baton Pass over Signal Beam, you are completely walled by Honchkrow and Claydol, so keep that in mind.</p>
<p>Signal Beam can be used over Baton Pass for superior type coverage if you are not a fan of the dry Baton Passing technique for scouting. Shadow Ball can also be used with Hidden Power Fighting, as Ghost and Fighting-type attacks grant perfect coverage. Shadow Ball can be useful to revenge kill Ghost-types such as Mismagius. This slot is really based on how effective you think dry Baton Pass scouting is and if it is more important than coverage, as both options have their perks. If you use either Shadow Ball or Signal Beam, you should maximize Espeon's Speed EVs so that you can beat other Espeon, otherwise the 40 HP helps Espeon survive the common Crobat's Brave Bird.</p>
<p>Choice Scarf can be used on this Espeon as well, letting it outspeed almost every other Pokemon, even those that carry a Choice Scarf of their own. This makes Espeon a great revenge killer, working off of its base 130 Special Attack stat. A Modest nature is recommended with a Choice Scarf, as Espeon benefits more from the Special Attack boost than it would benefit from boosting its already blazing Speed. If you opt for Choice Scarf, Espeon's Speed EVs can be lowered to 204, which gives Espeon a Speed of 460 with a Modest nature and a Choice Scarf. This allows Espeon to outspeed Timid Choice Scarf Roserade and other base 90 Choice Scarf users. The rest of the EVs can be thrown into HP, to give Espeon a little more bulk. (You might want to mention something about outspeeding Rain sweepers here. Also, is there any merit in investing more to beat + nature Yanmega with a speed boost or perhaps scarf Typhlosion?)</p>
<p>Choice Espeon is one of the best special wall lures because of its great base 130 Special Attack. With Registeel and Chansey crippled to the point of uselessness after being Tricked a Choice item, many other special sweepers can shine. Pokemon such as Calm Mind Mismagius and Yanmega appreciate the removal of a team's special wall, allowing them to likely pull off a successful sweep. Drapion is another common switch-in to Espeon and may be taken out with a Hidden Power Ground. (and what on your team can benefit from this? I would suggest Spiritomb for one here.) Another method of removing these special walls is to use Baton Pass on the predicted special wall switch to switch to a heavy hitter, such as Rhydon or Magmortar. Spiritomb can be annoying for this set, not minding Choice Specs too much and boasting great Special Defense, but it can be easily overcome by a strong wall breaker, ideally one that is immune to Will-O-Wisp and does not take much from Spiritomb's attacks. Blaziken comes to mind, resisting Dark Pulse as well as being immune to Will-O-Wisp.</p>
<p>A Choice item on Espeon has its disadvantages as well, as it does for all Pokemon. Espeon, however, has a bigger problem because of common Dark-types being immune to Psychic. Espeon's best coverage moves, Hidden Power Fighting and Hidden Power Ground, also have Pokemon they do not touch, such as Ghost-types and Flying-types, respectively. Levitating Ghosts, such as Mismagius, are even immune to both. Having Pokemon that can take Dark and Ghost-type attacks are greatly beneficial. Registeel and Steelix come to mind, resisting both types as well as Bug, which Espeon is weak to as well. Fighting-types resist Dark-type attacks from Pokemon such as Spiritomb, who tend to get in the way of Espeon as well.</p>
[SET]
name: Baton Pass
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Baton Pass
move 4: Substitute
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 40 SpD / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>With Espeon's great Special Attack, Speed, and decent Special Defense, Espeon makes a great Calm Mind passer. Substitute protects Espeon from status and critical hits, while Calm Mind helps to ensure those Substitutes remain intact.</p>
<p>With Baton Pass, Espeon becomes much like its old Advance self, which is referred to as "EspyJump". Baton Pass is a great attack because with Espeon's high Speed, it can use a couple of Calm Minds and pass them to a Pokemon with better coverage at its disposal, such as Moltres, Yanmega, or Shaymin. The strategy with EspyJump is to send Espeon on something it can set up against or forces out and use Substitute. If your opponent sends out a wall such as Registeel, you can easily Baton Pass the Substitute to one of your hard hitters, who will likely have its Substitute still up because of the pitiful damage a resisted Iron Head does. If your opponent eventually runs out of Espeon counters, you can use Calm Mind and attempt to sweep with Psychic instead of Baton Passing the boosts.</p>
<p>The EVs given help Espeon set up as many Calm Minds as possible, hopefully making an unbreakable Substitute against a special attacker. The Speed EVs are given to outpace Mismagius and Scyther, along with most of the metagame.</p>
<p>Espeon can't do its job when Pokemon like Ambipom and Drapion (can't it just outspeed the latter and Baton Pass?) are around to Taunt or KO Espeon. Ambipom is quite difficult to get rid of, but carrying a strong Rock-type Choice Band user such as Rhydon or Relicanth can take advantage of Ambipom's presence to give you a bit of an edge. Drapion is a little easier to lure and KO with Pokemon like Choice Specs Mismagius. If Mismagius either Tricks Drapion Choice Specs or even nails it with Hidden Power Ground, Drapion will be rendered useless as a counter.</p>
<p>Defensively, taking hits from Chansey and Registeel are fairly easy, so any sort of Pokemon with high attack that can take an Iron Head or Seismic Toss well works great with Espeon. This especially applies to Pokemon who appreciate Substitutes, such as Magmortar or Charizard (who use Focus Punch) (But Chansey's Seismic Toss breaks the Substitute, so Charizard can't Focus Punch). Hariyama appreciates the Substitute as well and can use a deadly STAB Focus Punch in conjunction with its own Substitute.</p>
<p>With a couple of Calm Minds under its belt, Espeon can then Baton Pass the boosts to a teammate and set up a sweep. Moltres is the perfect special Agility sweeper to pass to, with sky high Special Attack and impressive defenses to take attacks aimed at Espeon. An Agility Blaziken greatly appreciates any Calm Minds passed to it as well, and it can also deal with Chansey unlike Moltres (Moltres can easily deal with Chansey with 2 Calm Minds). With Blaziken's resistance to Bug and Dark-type attacks that will be aimed at Espeon, it is often easier to pass to it Moltres is generally a safer option, though, thanks to its higher defenses.</p>
[SET]
name: Offensive Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Hidden Power Ground / Hidden Power Fighting
move 4: Signal Beam / Shadow Ball
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>A great way to remedy poor, two-move coverage is by, you guessed it, using three attacks. Calm Mind boosts Espeon's already sky high Special Attack stat; you can even get more boosts than usual when setting up on a weak special attacker. Psychic provides STAB damage, and the rest of the moves provide decent coverage. Hidden Power Ground hits Steel-types and Drapion for super effective damage, which are very important targets as they both commonly switch into Espeon expecting a Choiced Psychic. Signal Beam hits Psychic types such as Slowbro, Claydol, and fellow Espeon for super effective damage. It also hits Honchkrow for neutral damage, who would otherwise wall this set. You should keep Espeon hidden from your opponent until it needs to sweep so that your opponent's team will hopefully be weakened enough for Espeon to exploit.</p>
<p>Hidden Power Fighting and Shadow Ball can be used because Shadow Ball hits Ghost-types for super effective damage while also hitting other Psychic-types harder than Signal Beam. Hidden Power Fighting covers the lost Honchkrow coverage that Signal Beam had.</p>
<p>Substitute is a very good option if you opt for Leftovers as well because it can block status, scout, or simply try to draw a miss or full paralysis. If you opt for Leftovers and Substitute, it is a good idea to take 4 EVs out of SpD and SpA, and add them into HP. With 8 HP EVs, Espeon reaches a Substitute number and then an additional point so that it can create five Substitutes providing it doesn't take any damage.</p>
<p>This Espeon benefits from residual damage the most out of any set due to being a great late game cleaner built on setting up only a couple of Calm Minds. Stealth Rock alone allows Espeon to 2HKO Registeel (but if Registeel is switching into a Calm Mind, won't the damage be recovered by Leftovers?) after a Calm Mind. Add Spikes into the mix, and your opponent will be in a very grim situation. This variant of Espeon still has trouble with Chansey, though, so Blaziken and the rest of the mixed wall breakers come to mind as viable teammates. Not only do they beat Chansey, they also force switches that increase the residual damage inflicted on the opponent's team. Since this Espeon does not switch in and out often, this allows you to almost disregard defensive compensation for Espeon and focus more on other Pokemon's weaknesses.</p>
[SET]
name: Dual Screen
move 1: Reflect
move 2: Light Screen
move 3: Wish / Calm Mind
move 4: Psychic / Baton Pass
item: Light Clay / Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 40 Def / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Espeon's great Speed helps it set up screens before opposing Pokemon prey on its weak defenses. This set allows Espeon to fulfill a support role on a team. The strategy referred to as "Dual Screen" basically starts off with a Pokemon such as Espeon setting up both Reflect and Light Screen for the team and then the setting up of a sweeper. Espeon can also pass Wish to teammates; it helps when Pokemon with weaker defenses start their stat boosting from full health. Psychic works off of Espeon's base 130 attack, which hits hard even without EV investment.</p>
<p>Since Espeon learns Calm Mind and Baton Pass, it can set up another sweeper quite easily from behind its own screens. Espeon does not have an attacking move in that sense, but your opponent will not know until you reveal Baton Pass and until then will not risk getting hit by a boosted Psychic by using Taunt with a Pokemon such as Crobat or Ambipom. Espeon has another advantage other than Speed as a "Dual Sceen" user, which is the fact that common Brick Brick users such as Poliwrath will definitely not switch into Espeon in fear of a STAB Psychic.</p>
<p>Pokemon who can cause serious destruction in a few turns of set up are ideal to use in conjunction with this set. Gligar is a great option with this set, being able to pass Agility and Swords Dance to incredibly powerful Pokemon, such as Rampardos and Medicham. The Belly Drum users, such as Charizard, Poliwrath, and Linoone benefit from this set, as it is unlikely that a single attack from an opposing Pokemon will be able to do 50% when the target is shielded by the effects of a screen. A Swords Dance Drapion can get a couple Attack boosts with the increased defenses from the screens and rip through most teams as well, while Substitute and Calm Mind or Bulk Up users will likely be able to keep their Substitutes intact against weaker Pokemon such as Registeel.</p>
<p>With Calm Mind and Baton Pass, Espeon works well with Pokemon who are fast enough to pull off a special sweep after some Calm Mind boosts. Agility Blaziken and Moltres come up again because, with a couple of Calm Mind boosts, almost no Pokemon can stand in the way of these Pokemon's boosted STAB Fire Blasts (aside from Chansey, whom Blaziken can Superpower to death). Charizard and Shaymin are both speedy special attackers who appreciate Calm Minds, and even forgotten threats such as Manectric can be deadly with a couple of boosts.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Espeon brings a team loads of special attacking power and is a great asset to any team in need of a little offensive punch or late game sweeper. Espeon as an offensive Pokemon always appreciates Stealth Rock and other residual damage, which turn certain 3HKOes into 2HKOes (e.g. Stealth Rock turns a +1 Hidden Power Ground from the Life Orb set into a 2HKO on Registeel) (still don't get this). Pokemon such as Registeel and Steelix work well with Espeon because not only can they set up Stealth Rock, they can also take the Dark, Ghost and Bug-type attacks aimed at Espeon with ease.</p>
<p>Choice Espeon is a great Pokemon to use to lure out and cripple the opponent's special walls while also boasting decent revenge killing power. It takes out Chansey and Registeel with Trick and can KO Pokemon such as Drapion and Steelix with Hidden Power. Mismagius and other special attackers appreciate this because without their counters, they are free to sweep. However, a Choice item comes with drawbacks, so keep a defensive Pokemon such as Regirock or Registeel in the reserve for when Espeon is locked into an undesirable attack and is forced out. Keep in mind that Pokemon Espeon can revenge kill easily, such as Blaziken or Hariyama, are commonly used with Registeel and Chansey, so make sure to keep that in mind and have a trigger finger on Trick in these situations.</p>
<p>Calm Mind Espeon sets have trouble sweeping with specially defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Registeel or Dark-types in their way. A great way to lure these Pokemon out and cripple them is to use a Trick Specs Mismagius. Mismagius can come in on any of its resistances or immunities, and start firing off strong special attacks at the opponent until they are forced to bring in their special wall, or even possibly a Dark-type that resists Ghost-attacks such as Drapion. That's when Mismagius can Trick the Pokemon Choice Specs, making it rather useless as a counter. Blaziken, Magmortar, Nidoking, and other mixed attackers make great switch-ins to Chansey and Registeel and can wreak havoc on the opponent's team.</p>
<p>A nice strategy to use with a Calm Mind passing variant of Espeon is to have an Agility sweeper on the team to pass to that can take a hit and set up a sweep. Blaziken immediately comes to mind, with access to Agility, great offensive stats, and a resistance to Dark and Bug-type attacks that will be aimed at Espeon quite often. Not to mention, Blaziken can use Superpower to dispose of Chansey. Moltres is another option, hitting harder than Blaziken and having much better defenses (though Chansey is still a little bit of trouble). (Sub/Roost/Toxic will beat it or at least severely weaken it) Another nice little maneuver is to abuse Baton Pass and U-turn on a Pokemon such as Crobat, Ambipom, or better yet, Scyther, who does more damage. Going back and forth from Espeon to one of these Pokemon with U-turn can prove incredibly annoying for your opponent, especially with Stealth Rock in play. With your opponent always having to send a Pokemon in first, you gain the advantage of being able to send in a counter and force out your opponent over and over again. For example, you use U-turn with Ambipom, and they send out Hariyama, so you send out Espeon with your free switch from U-turn. You then use Baton Pass on Espeon, because Hariyama is forced out, and they send out Chansey, allowing you to go back to Ambipom. Rinse and repeat. This will wear your opponent out fast thanks to Stealth Rock and U-turn damage.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Grass Knot can work on any sweeping set to hit certain foes harder, such as Slowbro and Milotic. Espeon needs all the coverage it gets, however, so you should probably only be using it on a Choice set with 4 attacks.</p>
<p>Fake Tears comes to mind when using a stall team built around entry hazards. Fake Tears can be used to force switches, building up residual damage. However, Registeel and Regirock both have the Clear Body ability, making stat drops fail against them, and they are both common switch-ins to Espeon.</p>
<p>Wish can be used on a Choiced set, allowing Espeon to bluff Light Clay, and letting you take advantage of switches to heal your team. Another attacking move or Baton Pass are almost always better, though, because they allow Espeon to further help remove special walls from the opponent's team. Moonlight can be used on a defensive set as well, as a nice instant recovery move.</p>
[EVs]
<p>For the Choice Specs set, a simple maximum Speed and maximum Special Attack spread with a Timid nature is ideal for increasing damage output and revenge killing power, therefore increasing sweeping power. However, the Speed EVs are dropped to 216 to give Espeon a fair chance against Crobat, always surviving its Brave Bird and KOing back with Psychic. For the Choice Scarf set, the Speed EVs can be lowered to 204, which outspeeds Timid or Jolly base 90 Speed Pokemon with a Choice Scarf (such as Roserade). This gives Espeon a few leftover EVs to put into HP for some bulk, allowing it to more reliably survive at least a strong neutral hit if needed.</p>
<p>For the Calm Mind set with Leftovers, 8 HP EVs is all that is needed to get a Leftovers number plus one, which lets Espeon use Substitute an additional time. The Life Orb variant wants to keep its HP odd (giving Espeon another attack), so make sure the extra 4 EVs are not put into HP on that set if you opt for it. The Dual Screen set maximizes Espeon's poor HP and invests in enough Speed to outspeed base 105s such as Scyther and Mismagius. The rest are put into Defense, as Espeon needs all of the support it can get from the physical side. The EspyJump set uses the same spread, but with the remaining EVs put into SpD to give it an easier time setting up against special attackers.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Espeon is a fast Pokemon who works best when played to its strength: special attacking. Outspeeding a good portion of the metagame, Espeon can be a great asset to any team requiring either a revenge killer or late game sweeper. With a Choice item, Espeon can revenge kill and sweep quite well, while crippling special walls in its way with Trick. Calm Mind helps Espeon set up an unbreakable Substitute and proceed to get enough boosts to sweep an entire team, only able to be stopped by a select few Pokemon. Dual Screen helps a lot of teams set up their more dangerous and frail sweepers, and can catch an opponent off guard.</p>
<p>Espeon is a strong special attacker and can do its job on any team in need of a revenge killer and special wall lure, Calm Mind sweeper, or Dual Screen user. With its near unmatchable Speed, its definitely worth considering for your team.</p>
[Counters]
<p>The best switch-in to Espeon is a specially defensive Spiritomb with Pursuit, with its monstrous Special Defense and immunity to Psychic. Chansey is probably the next best switch-in, with its titanic HP and Special Defense stats. Close behind is Registeel, who also has great defensive stats but lacks a recovery move. However, these walls need to beware of Trick from a Choiced variant.</p>
<p>Honchkrow and basically any other Dark-type with Pursuit can trap and KO Espeon with ease if it is caught locked into a Choiced Psychic. These Pokemon should watch out for Signal Beam, however, because Espeon's attacks pack a punch and can usually 2HKO these Pokemon. Choice item users with Pursuit can also switch in on Trick and KO Espeon, due to Espeon being locked into Trick. Even something without Pursuit can take Tricks fairly well, gaining an essentially free attack.</p>
<p>Crobat and Swellow can outspeed Espeon and KO it with a physical attack, making them the best revenge killers. Espeon is also very vulnerable to Sucker Punch, which will do heavy if not fatal damage, though Sucker Punch users need to beware of Substitute and Calm Mind sets.</p>
