Are you ready to see what is shining under sun?
Behind every sunset is a sunrise. The mind is strong then the sword as we got a card that will make you think about your plays as you get ready to attack. Today we have a card that needs to evolve and when it does then that is when the real fun begins. This card can divide your field with a simple attack and set up knockouts. That may not sound too good but when you are at the end then an easy knockout is all you need to take the game. The sun is looking bright and this card will make sure that you can have some fun under the sun. This week on Featured Card we will be talking about Espeon GX!
Espeon GX is a GX Pokemon from Sun & Moon that is a Psychic type with 200 HP. It evolves from Eevee andhas two attacks plus a GX Attack. The first attack is Psybeam which cost a Psychic energy. This attack does 30 damage plus confusion on your opponent’s active Pokemon. The second attack is Psychic which cost one Psychic energy and two other energy. It does 60 base damage plus 30 more for each energy attached to the opponent’s active Pokemon. Finally, Espeon GX can use Divide GX which cost one Psychic energy and two other energy. This GX Attack allows you to put ten damage counters on your opponent’s Pokemon how ever you want. Espeon GX has a weakness to Psychic type and a one energy retreat cost.
The Pros
Last time we featured a card from Sun & Moon it was Umbreon GX. This time we are going to look at the sunny side with Espeon GX. They both share some of the same pros such as evolving from an Eevee that has the Energy Evolution ability. This allows you to have a 200 HP Pokemon on your side of the field for a single energy attachment. That is amazing and can put some heavy pressure on your opponent. Now your opponent needs to find a way to knock out something with a huge amount of HP that can also hurt them.
Espeon GX also has some quick and easy attacks to use. The basic starter attack is Psybeam which only needs one Psychic energy to use. If you do end up going second then all you have to do is attach a Psychic energy to your active Eevee to evolve into Espeon GX. After that you can do 30 damage and make your opponent’s Pokemon confuse. Now your opponent needs decide if they will retreat to remove Confusion or risk damaging their Pokemon by attacking.
You also have attacks that can be powered up with a Double Colorless Energy. Psychic has strong base damage and gets more powerful with each energy on your opponent’s Pokemon. Though the real star is Divide GX.
Divide GX can be used in the early game to snipe off Pokemon with low HP like Cosmog, Magikarp and Fomantis. These little Pokemon are used to help set up your opponent’s board and knocking them out will set your opponent back. You can also use Divide GX in the late game to take some knockouts on damaged Pokemon who escaped from the active. That is pretty nasty when your Darkrai EX is on the bench with fifteen damage counters. It would be mightily unfortunate for your opponent if you use Divide GX to put three damage counters on it to get rid of some energy on the board plus put seven on another Pokemon to set up a knockout.
The Cons
Espeon GX isn’t really popular and can’t just be splashed into any Psychic deck. It must be put in decks that use DCE and play Psychic energy. There are some like that but it is not advise to be the main star of the show unless you really focus on Espeon GX. The problem is that Espeon GX isn’t a headline act and the support for Psychic Pokemon doesn’t exist.
You also got to worry about somebody using Enhanced Hammer to knock off your DCE. You will depend on DCE in the early game as your main way to get attacks going. You can attach three Psychic energy on an Espeon GX but that will happen later in the game when you are not in a rush to get a heavy Psychic or Divide GX started. Though your attacking may depend on if you can grab your DCE and making them stick in case your opponent does play an Enhanced Hammer. If they do then you will be stuck between deciding if you want to get a DCE on your Espeon GX or prepare another Espeon GX on the bench.
There is also the fact that Espeon GX’s main attack depends on your opponent’s Pokemon. Psychic does a base damage of 60 damage but if you want to do more damage then you need to pray that your opponent puts down a ton of energy on their active Pokemon. The problem is that most Pokemon can attack for two or three energy. Tauros GX only needs a DCE to attack with all of his attacks. So you are only doing 120 damage to Tauros GX and risking your Espeon GX to a knockout thanks to Mad Bull GX. You are hitting your opponent for 150 damage if their Pokemon has three energy on them but that is short of a knock out if they have no prior damage.
Lets not forget that Darkrai EX only needs two energy to attack and has a resistance to Psychic type Pokemon. That means you are only hitting 100 damage after resistance.
Lastly, Espeon GX has a weakness to Psychic. There are some Psychic Pokemon in the game that can hit for hundred and that is all they need to get rid of Espeon GX.
How to Play It
Now that we got the cons out of the way, lets talk about how we can use Espeon GX’s pros to your advantage!
Espeon GX can really shine in a M Mewtwo EX deck. This deck has a hard time in the mirror match and against other Psychic decks. Psychic Infinity is a nice attack but it doesn’t hit for weakness. It isn’t easy for a M Mewtwo EX to knockout another M Mewtwo EX unless they put a ton of energy on their M Mewtwo EX. The problem comes next turn as as your opponent can just set up another M Mewtwo EX by putting just enough energy on it to take the revenge KO. If Psychic Infinity could hit for weakness then this process wouldn’t be needed. Though M Mewtwo EX would be having other problems.
So how does Espeon GX help out M Mewtwo EX? By becoming another attacker for the deck! Get an Eevee or two on your bench. Attach a Psychic Energy on them to evolve into Espeon GX. After that you can put a DCE on them and start attacking M Mewtwo EX for knockout. Most M Mewtwo EX tend to have at least two energy on them which is enough for Espeon GX to knock them out for 240 damage thanks to weakness. Your opponent’s M Mewtwo EX needs at least four energy attached to it to do 220 damage to knockout Espeon GX. It is either that or attack with Mewtwo EX’s Shatter Shot which needs four energies and time to set up to take a knockout on Espeon GX. Meanwhile, Espeon GX can just take knockouts.
An Espeon GX can really help in the M Mewtwo EX match up all thanks to the ability to hit for weakness which M Mewtwo EX lacks. Though, what if you want Espeon GX to take a bigger role?
In order for Espeon GX to take a bigger role in a deck then you will need to use Divide GX attack. This attack allows you to put ten damage counters however you want on your opponent’s side of the field. If you want, you can put all ten damage counters on one Pokemon or spread them around to have two or three on each. Once you have used Divide early in the game then you can either attack with Psychic to do more damage or use another attacker. Those could come in the form of M Alakazam EX or Wobbuffet.
M Alakazam EX can put even more damage counters on the field by evolving from Alakazam EX. You can then attach an energy to it and Mega Turbo to get it ready. If you are assuming that there are at least four damage counters on your opponent’s active Pokemon then you are hitting for 130 damage. You will be doing 30 damage for every damage counter on them plus a base 10 damage. That isn’t too bad.
Granted, I am not a big fan of this idea of pairing Espeon GX with M Alakazam EX. You are playing with too many pieces in the air. You will need the Spirit Link to evolve Alakazam EX into M Alakazam EX. Then you need the energy. Most likely you will just keep attacking with Espeon GX until an M Alakazam EX is ready. If your opponent has a bad start then it could be pulled off but if they can move fast enough then it may not be possible.
If you want something a bit more streamline then try pairing Espeon GX with Wobbuffet. It is the same idea as M Alakazam EX as you want to use Divide GX to spread damage. You will then use Wobbuffet to do damage based on the number of damage counters on your opponent’s active Pokemon. The problem is that Wobbuffet doesn’t hit as hard as M Alakazam EX. Wobbuffet does a base 10 damage and then 10 more damage for every damage counter on your opponent’s Pokemon. What you may want to do is focus the bulk of your Divide GX damage counters on your opponent’s bench Pokemon and put a few on the active if needed. Then just use Espeon GX’s Psychic attack to put 60 damage on your opponent’s active Pokemon. Once you have a few Wobbuffet ready for battle then you will swap Espeon GX with Wobbuffet to put more damage or simply take knockouts. It is slightly slower but involves less things to set up. All you need is a Wobbuffet, Esepon GX and a few energies.
The pros to use Espeon GX with Wobbuffet is that you are now attacking with a one prize attacker. So even if they do knock out a Wobbuffet then your opponent is only taking one prize. You can even set up another Wobbuffet in the meantime. These blue blobs also have a great ability to stop your opponent’s ability. So if you start with one in the active then it isn’t all bad. The only problem is that you lose your Energy Evolution ability to get Espeon GX on the field quickly. In the end, if you can get damage on your opponent’s Pokemon then you can have a constant stream of damage with a single prize attacker that will annoy your opponent.
Espeon GX may not be the main attacker but it will make a great side act. It will certain help give some light to some lesser known attacker who need some attention. Things may not be too sunny for Espeon GX but it can really shine under the right conditions. Give this Pokemon a try and see what can be light up with Espeon GX!
