Dusk comes and that means that some scary things can come out of the shadows!
The game is evolving as evolution is the solution to unlock some powerful Pokemon. Evolution has been in the shadows for the last few years but now it is back in a big way! Especially because some of the best GX cards are on Evolved Pokemon. The Pokemon we are featuring this week is familiar with the shadows. After all, it was born from them and keeps the moon close to it’s heart. It can strike like a speeding bullet and has ways to hide in the shadows to avoid damage. Get ready to fight in the name of the moon when you are use Umbreon GX!
Umbreon GX is a GX Pokemon from Sun & Moon base set. It has 200 HP and is a Darkness Pokemon that evolves from Eevee. It has three attacks with one of them being an GX attack. Umbreon GX’s first attack is Strafe which costs a single Darkness energy. This attack allows Umbreon GX to do 30 damage and then switch out with one of your Benched Pokemon. Next, Umbreon GX can use Shadow Bullet which cost a Darkness and two other energy to do 90 damage to the Active Pokemon and 30 to an opponent’s Benched Pokemon. Umbreon GX’s GX attack is call Dark Call GX which cost a Darkness and another energy. This attack can discard two energy attached to your opponent’s Pokemon. Umbreon GX has a weakness to Fighting type Pokemon, a resistance to Psychic Pokemon and needs two energy to retreat.
The Pros
Umbreon GX is one of the most anticipated Pokemon from Sun & Moon and for good reason. It has a strong attack that most people are familiar with in the form of Shadow Bullet. This attack does 90 damage plus 30 damage to one of your opponent’s Pokemon. Sounds familiar? That is because this is the same attack that Darkrai EX from Dark Explorers. The only difference? Shadow Bullet can be used with two energy attachments if you play a Darkness and Double Colorless Energy. This attack can be used on your second turn which is great for some early game pressure.
What makes Umbreon GX even better is that it evolves from a great Eevee! Remember the Eevee that can evolved by attaching an energy to it? The Energy Evolution Eevee from Furious Fists? It is back in Sun & Moon! This Eevee can become Umbreon GX on your first turn if you attach a single Darkness energy to it. Perfect if you want to get a 200 HP Pokemon on your side of the field in the early game while also getting a peek into your deck. Sounds like a great way to get a big Pokemon on the field and in the position to do some big plays.
You can evolve and attack with Umbreon GX on your first attacking turn after evolving it. Strafe only needs a single Darkness energy to attack. If you start with Eevee as your opening Pokemon and going second then that is good. Just attach a Darkness energy to Eevee to evolve into Umbreon GX and use Strafe. You will be able to do 30 damage and get Umbreon GX out of the active.
Lastly, Umbreon GX is a Stage 1 Pokemon which is pretty good. That means it is quick to get on the field even without Eevee’s Energy Evolution ability. It also has some cool combos that can only happy thanks to being a Stage 1 but we will get to those later.
The Cons
Some of the cons to using Umbreon GX is the damage output of Shadow Bullet. 90 damage may have been a lot of damage back during the Black & White era but when you have Pokemon with over 200 HP then it doesn’t seem like much. When Darkrai EX did 90 damage with Night Spear, that meant a Pokemon had lost at least half of it’s HP. Now that we have GX Pokemon and Mega Pokemon with over 200 HP, it just means you need to attack it two more times. That isn’t good when you are in the late game and need to set up more Umbreon GX to attack.
It certainly doesn’t help when you have cards like Assault Vest which can lower your Shadow Bullet’s damage due to you attacking a DCE on Umbreon GX.
That reliance on DCE can really bite Umbreon GX in the butt. Assault Vest is always an option that could be played in a deck. That 90 damage looks pretty weak when attacking into a Pokemon wearing an Assault Vest. It will only end up doing 50 damage which is not going to win you the game.
Umbreon GX will also be hit hard by Enhanced Hammer which will knock off your DCE from Umbreon GX. You will need to either rush to find another DCE or simply decide not to set up another Umbreon GX.
There is also Umbreon GX’s GX attack: Dark Call. This attack is a gamble as you may not know how your opponent will react to it. Removing two energy from your opponent’s Pokemon may be disruptive and set your opponent back but it may not be the best option. You may never know what your opponent has under their sleeve to recover. Perhaps it is a Max Elixir and another energy to quickly power up a Benched Pokemon. Maybe it is a Mega Turbo or two? You may have set back your opponent for a turn but you sacrificing a turn to do 90 damage in hopes that your opponent can’t recover quickly.
If you can read the situation to use Dark Call at the right time then it will be big. If you can’t then you are better of to do 90 damage and 30 damage to a benched Pokemon.
Please note that Magearna EX’s Mystical Heart ability can be used to prevent the energy removal affects of Dark Call. You do not want to waste your GX Attack on something that has Metal energy attached when Magearna’s ability is active.
Lastly, Umbreon GX has a weakness to Fighting types. You never know when Fighting type Pokemon may become popular again and Passimian is seeing a rise in usage.
How to Use It
You would want to play Umbreon GX in a deck that has a Darkness background. That means you will want to play Yveltal EX and Zoroark. Both of these Pokemon love to abuse DCE and wouldn’t mind some Darkness energy. These two cards provide Umbreon GX some nice support. Zoroark can be another attacker which can also provide some free retreat thanks to Stand In-Float Stone tactic. Yveltal EX can be a big stick that can hit hard with a DCE and Darkness energy. Perfect if you need a quick attacker that is always ready for battle.
Though, that is only the tip of the iceberg when playing with Umbreon GX! Thanks to Umbreon GX being a Stage 1, you have access to an interesting tech: the Eeveelutions from Ancient Origins.
The Eeveelutions from Ancient Origins include Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon who have abilities that gives Stage 1 Pokemon an extra type based on which Eeveelutions is on the field. That means if your opponent has a Lugia EX in the active and you have Jolteon out then Umbreon GX will gain a Lighting typing which will allow it to hit Lugia EX for weakness. The same for Flareon who gives Umbreon GX a Fire typing and Vaporeon who grants Water typing.
These Eeveelutions techs gives Umbreon GX more power by making the 90 damage from Shadow Bullet into 180. That is a lot of damage and you will be surprise by who you can hit for 180 damage if you can get the correct weakness out.
If you have Jolteon out then that means your Umbreon GX will be hitting M Rayquaza EX, Yveltal EX, Lugia EX, and Shaymin EX for weakness. three of those thing will be knocked out cleanly with Shadow Bullet while one of them will not appreciate being hit that hard. It is good to note that you could also play Zoroark which also takes advantage of the Eeveelutions’s Effect abilities and can be used to knock out M Rayquaza EX cleanly with an electric powered Mind Jack.
Vaporeon will give Umbreon GX a Water typing which will allow it to hit the hottest deck for weakness. Imagine knockout out Volcanion EX for a single attack thanks to Shadow Bullet hitting for 180 damage. That is disgusting but surely makes the match up a bit easier.
When Flareon is on your bench then Umbreon GX can be used to curb the Grass revolution. Lurantis GX and Decidueye GX will not appreciate being hit for 180 damage. If you find some rouge Yanmega BREAK then they will not take 180 damage well.
Your deck will most likely be playing four Eevee which means at most three of your Eevee will evolve into Umbreon GX. That fourth Eevee can simply be put on your bench and be used to evolve into which ever Eeveelution that will allow Umbreon GX to hit for weakness. That is pretty good if it can help you hit for more damage.
Umbreon GX fits nicely in today’s game. It is in a prime position to move up as the game progress forwards. It can be great in the right hands and only has options to be better. The shadows will be here to stay if Umbreon GX can be found within them. So make sure you get your hands on some of these!
Good luck to those taking part in St. Louis and Sheffield Regionals!
