Theorymon Thursday #1: Jolteon in OU

[Scattered mind]

Welcome to Theorymon Thursday
This is a weekly discussion topic where we talk about ideas we have for certain Pokemon that could increase their competitive viability.

This week, we’ll be talking about Jolteon in the OU metagame.
While it has a great special attack and amazing speed stat, Jolteon finds it hard to compete other electric-type Pokemon in OU like Raikou and Mega Manectric. Its poor defensive stats and lack of moves have brought the electric eeveelution to the bottom.

What do you think Jolteon could have in order to compete other electric types and distinguished itself from them while being more viable in the OU metagame?
It can be a type change, a move or ability. Pick one or two of these and explain what can make Jolteon better.
You may not change Jolteon's stat or replace his type (you may add one) and you may add only one move to Jolteon.
Please comment with your own ideas, alongside any comments for other members’ ideas. We’re all here to have fun!

Spoiler

Also, check out our other daily topics for this week:
Speculation Sunday
Metagame Monday
Teamwork Tuesday
WiFi Wednesday
Fun Friday

 

[Scattered mind]

Jolteon - Electric
New Ability: Rough Skin
New Move: Spiky Shield

Why is it good?

Every single Electric-type in OU has it's advantages. Thundurus has Prankster /access to Nasty Plot/ Great offensive stats on both sides.. Raikou has its bulk and Calm Mind
and Mega Manectric has Intimidate and Flamethrower.
The combination of Rough Skin and Spiky Shield can wear down the opponent. With Volt Switch, Jolteon can make a greater option for Volt-Turn core, making it much harder to predict. Rough Skin compensate Jolteon's terrible physical defense, so if it gets knocked out by a contact move, the switch in would have better chances to revenge kill.

Is it logical?

The move and the ability are logical imo, thanks to the spiky fur Jolteon has and its resemble to a hedgehog. It might not be 100% logical since I think Jolteon's spiky fur meant to express when Jolteon's anger, meaning also that Intimidate might sound more logical than Rough Skin, but since I wanted to make Joltron distinguished from other Electric-types in OU like Mega Manectric, I chose Rough Skin instead.

 

[Professor Palutena]

New Ability: Lightningrod
New Move: Spikes

Lightningrod may not seem like a big change, but it helps Jolteon out as an attacker with the +1 boost. Volt Absorb isn't terribly helpful (relatively) since Jolteon is so frail. 110 SpA + Life Orb + Lightningrod boost would cause a lot of switches, and it's got that 130 base speed to help it out on the offensive end. With Spikes, it takes on the role of a fast Spiker, a role we don't have in OU now with Greninja gone (unless you include Prankster Klefki which is a much different Pokemon than Jolteon in terms of roles).

I'm pretty sure this is logical, considering Pokemon like Zebstrika, Raichu, Manectric and Plusle (two of which have a similar body type to Jolteon) have Lightningrod, and Jolteon is covered in Spikes.

 

[One Approved]

New Ability: Technician
New Move: Water Pulse

Technician would be a cool move for Jolteon because it would significantly boost its offensive presence. Thunderbolt and Volt Switch could still be used but Hidden Power would pack a decent punch, and with HP Grass or Ice you'd probably deal a decent chunk to switch-ins like Hippowdon. Water Pulse would get boosted too, so you'd be able to run both Water and Ice or Water and Grass for coverage options at the same time, allowing you to hit a bigger majority of pokemon for super-effective damage. Also interesting to note, Charge Beam would get boosted by Technician as well, so you could potentially turn Jolteon into a sweeper. After Technician, Charge Beam has 5 base power higher than Volt Switch, so it would pack a decent punch as well.

Logical? eeeeeh. Ish. Persian gets technician and Jolteon isn't too far from that. Water Pulse doesn't really make sense, but to be fair, there's a lot of random pokemon that can learn Water Pulse, like Tyranitar, Nidoqueen, Tauros, or Hippowdon. Doesn't really make sense on any of those pokemon either, lol.

 

[PG24]

New Ability: No Guard
New Move: Blizzard

To differentiate between the select grounded Electric-types that Jolteon faces competition with (Raikou, Manectric, and even Heliolisk), I figured that what Jolteon needed was hard hitting initial power to separate itself. Even though I like One Approved's idea to give it Technician and added coverage, I feel that still leaves it too weak for it to be considered past the UU tier. I considered Nasty Plot, but the frailty just leaves much to be desired for a boosting sweeper. Since it can't really hold a stick to the defensive advantages that its grounded Electric-type brethren have, the only logical solution is to just make it more powerful. With No Guard, which makes sense with the low defenses, and Blizzard, which I think is semi-logical since some random mons like Aggron and Lopunny get it, Jolteon has a hard hitting BoltBeam combination. This makes it hit harder than Raikou and Mega Manectric, giving it a solid niche.

Jolteon - Electric
New Ability: Rough Skin
New Move: Spiky Shield

Really logical, but the bulk makes this have no relevance on the match. Rough Skin is really good on Garchomp and Ferrothron because they have the bulk where the damage just builds up. In Jolteon's case, I don't think causing slight chip damage once is enough to encourage use over Raikou or Manectric. Also, Earthquake, one of the moves that will be flying at Jolteon the most, doesn't make contact damage.