Greetings, Pokémon trainers! I’m Professor Oak, here to help out with this new article series. See, I got all my young researchers on the PokéCommunity Forums to help compile information about Pokémon in a number of articles! Each Pokémon that we focus on will get an article just like this one, where I’ll give you a general overview about the Pokémon. Then we’ll follow up with other articles, such as how it can be used in battles, or how to care for it. Following that we’ll tackle any other evolutions the subject may have in the same manner, and then move onto another different Pokémon.

We begin with what is an undeniably cute Pokémon that I may have even given to my grandson once upon a time. It’s a popular one too, thanks in part to the large range of possible evolution paths it can take! That’s right – we begin with Eevee.

I hope you didn't need the reveal here however. — I hope you didn’t need the reveal here however.

What’s in a name?

Given that Eevee can evolve into many different Pokémon, it’s no surprise that the species name comes from the word “evolution.” It does not have anything to do with how valuable its effort is while training! Trainers have created the word “Eeveelutions” as a collective name for the various Pokémon that Eevee can evolve into.

Another interesting thing to note about Eevee’s species name is that it’s a palindrome: a word that is spelled the same backwards and forwards!

In the real world

Since Eevee can evolve into a variety of different Pokémon, we found that its physical features come from various species.

Eevee’s body shape is like a canine’s, sharing the same sturdiness as other canine Pokémon like Herdier or Poochyena. Eevee’s paws and face are like those of feline Pokémon’s. Its muzzle is short and its eyes are wide, like Meowth. (This becomes very apparent when it evolves to Umbreon, who can see quite well in the dark!) Finally, Eevee’s tail and ears fit with other fox-like Pokémon, like Vulpix.

They're not to be confused with my grandson, who looks nothing like a fox. — They’re not to be confused with my grandson, who looks nothing like a fox.

Lean and not very mean

Eevee are fairly small Pokemon. The average height for them is a mere 30 cm – that’s not even a foot tall! They’re also light – any small child could pick up the bundle of fur. They’re only around 6 to 7 kilograms, or a touch over 14 pounds.

Of course you get smaller and heavier ones depending on how much you feed them, but they remain fairly small their whole lives if left unevolved. That’s what you want to watch out for – they can more than triple their height and weight depending on that evolution.

But luckily evolutions can be cancelled. If you keep them in the Eevee form, they’re small and light – they’re even easy to throw about!

The Power Inside

Eevee comes with three potential Abilities.

The first is Run Away, which allows it to do, well, exactly that very well! You won’t believe how quickly the little fellow will scamper away from you when you want to trim its claws. It’s not useful for those who care about battling rather than running however.

The second is Adaptability, a useful power which grants a further boost to moves of the typing it shares, or the Same Type Attack Bonus (STAB). In this case, Normal moves are boosted. Eevee heavily specialises in Normal type moves before it evolves, thus making this ability useful. Adaptability is probably the preferred ability for trainers.

Its Hidden ability is Anticipation. This ability allows Eevee to recognise when its opponent knows a move of particular danger to it, such as a Fighting type attack. Eevee with this ability will involuntarily shudder in such a situation. Perhaps this is a new development for the species, gained since the huge demand for the Pokémon which has resulted in widespread hunts. Poor things are perhaps too cute for their own good!

All of these Abilities will change when it evolves. This fits its wholesale change in each evolution. For instance, it doesn’t need to run away any more upon achieving evolution and hence mastery of a different element. Unfortunately, this mean it may well attack you instead.

Battling Advice

My battling days are long over, but I can still tell you some more! Eevee sadly doesn’t hold up well in regular battles – if you want to use its line you’re better off using one of the Eeveelutions.

It does see a bit of use in the Little Cup competitions, although I heard it gets some competition from the likes of Bunnelby. It does offer some better defensive qualities than a Bunnelby – it is able to withstand hits like Fletchling’s Acrobatics or Larvesta’s Fire Blitz after damage from Stealth Rock.

But unlike Bunnelby, it does have some things you can take advantage of. For example, it can learn the moves Wish, Yawn, and Heal Bell, so, if you’re looking for a cleric or a support that can stand up against a Gastly (something that gives another Little Cup Cleric in the Fairy type Spritzee trouble with Poison attacks like Sludge Bombs) then that can be an option! But some says that even in Little Cup Eevee’s not a great option… Perhaps it is better suited for Contests with its cute appearance.

Where’s the nearest Eevee?

Eevee are rather rare in the wild, and it will take dedication to find one!

Oh look, I spotted one! Image by Sylphiel.

If travelling through the Kalos region, you can search through the tall grass on Route 10. In the tropical region of Hoenn, make sure that you have your DexNav in hand. You’ll need it to search out Eevee in the grass on Route 116. Trainers in Sinnoh will need to ask the owner of the Trophy Garden for access to his beautiful estate, where Eevee are imported in for the owner to enjoy. Just be warned that the owner wants to make sure he only allows the best trainers to see his precious Eevee collection! You’ll need to upgrade your PokéDex to the National listing first.

Finding Eevee in the wild proving too difficult? If you’re able to pull the Storage Box developers away from their research, they might give you an Eevee for a gift! Just talk to Bill (who is actually taking a vacation to Goldenrod City in Johto to visit his family!), Bebe (in Sinnoh’s very beautiful Hearthome City), or Amanita (who lives in the bustling city of Castelia in Unova). And I’ve heard that Amanita’s Eevee that she hands out to trainers that defeat the Gym Leader Iris are a little more special than normal Eevee.

If you want to try your luck and you have a lot of time (or money to exchange for coins!), you can try to win an Eevee at Celadon City’s Game Corner, located in Kanto.

Eevee is known to be a starter Pokémon as well. The heroes of Orre, Wes and Michael, both had an Eevee or Eeveelution in their team (Wes had two!). My own grandson may have started with one as well… but I can’t say I remember that for sure. And in ancient times, a hero from Pokémon Conquest had an Eevee.

Did you know?

Early on, we were considering a different name for this little guy – ‘Eon’. This name ended up being changed, but you do see the ‘eon’ part as a suffix for each of the Eeveelutions. On that note, ‘Eeveelution’ was a term created by you trainers rather than us Professors. Pokémon Stadium 2 was the first game to take this term on board within a strategy guide.

Eevee is also the first Pokémon that we found out had an evolution based on the time of day! That sure was a surprise. Don’t ask me why a Leaf Stone doesn’t turn it into a Leafeon by the way – that remains an unsolved mystery. It doesn’t react to that sort of Stone but does to Water Stones and the like… and to those unusual Moss Rocks. I’d love to examine one of those rocks first-hand!

But I’m sure you all knew this fact – Eevee are really very cute, and fun to talk about!

Written by Astinus, bobandbill and Dragon.
Cover image and first image by Steve.
Eevee signpost image by Sylphiel.
Other images courtesy of The Pokémon Company.