Most of you probably know that the Let’s Go! Pokemon games are being released for the Switch later this year (on November 16th, specifically). These titles have a returned focus on the Kanto region and the original 151 Pokemon, and two unorthodox starters: Pikachu and Eevee, to reflect you and your rival’s picks in Pokemon Yellow. Whilst you can’t evolve your starter Pokemon in Let’s Go! Pokemon, the focus on Eevee did get me thinking of the different Eeveelutions, and how difficult it was to pick between them. So, to help with that conundrum before you face it again in Let’s Go! Pokemon, here’s a breakdown of the various Eeveelutions we know are in the game!
Let’s look at the base that everyone will be starting with, regardless of choice. This Pokemon is adorable; it looks like a small, brown canine with long ears, a big, puffy tail, and a collar of fluffy cream fur. Its pretty normal compared to some other Pokemon designs, so it won’t surprise anyone that it is indeed a Normal-type. But ‘Normal’ doesn’t necessarily mean bad, after all (Lest we forget Whitney’s Miltank). Normal types may only have one defensive weakness (Fighting) and two types they aren’t strong against (Rock and Steel), but they also have complete immunity to Ghost type moves (But can’t hit Ghost types, either). Overall they’re pretty uniquely outside the type advantage/disadvantage stuff for the most part, and considering there’s only 9 Fighting-type Pokemon in Generation One, and 10 Rock-types (Both counts including Mega-Evolutions), things should be pretty smooth to start in Let’s Go! Eevee.
Eevee will also have either Run Away (Allowing it to escape successfully despite trapping moves) or Adaptability (Essentially making Normal-type moves a bit stronger) for its Ability, with Anticipation (Indicating to the trainer that the opponent has has an attack Eevee is weak to, or the attack has a high chance of one-shotting them) as its Hidden Ability*. The moves it can learn are kind of average, but Return is decent for affectionate trainers. Its base stats are pretty average (About on par with a Krabby, but still better than Pikachu), so whilst it’s a good starter, its evolved forms are superior in every way.
Mer-doggo! An interesting blend of canine and aquatic features create this dog-of-the-depths, and as you probably guessed, it’s a Water-type. Or, if you’re a cynical sort, yet another Water-type: Water Pokemon are the most common type in the franchise, with 133 Pokemon (18 in Let’s Go! Pokemon, if you include Mega Blastoise), so some people are a little over them. Water-types are known for not only being everywhere, but being pretty darn defensible, too, with resistances to Fire, Water, Ice and Steel, falling prey only to Electric and Grass-type moves. Water-type moves are also really effective against Fire, Ground, and Rock Pokemon (Of which Let’s Go! Pokemon will feature around 15, 8, and 10 respectively). They don’t really damage Water, Grass, or Dragon Pokemon, though.
All the -eons have around the same base-stats in regards to all-round averages, but all favour different traits: And Vaporeon has the highest base health stat, at 130 (On par with a Lapras). It also has a pretty good Special Attack at 110. It’s Defense, however, is unbecoming of a Water-type at a mere 60 (Or a Raticate), and its Attack and Speed are only 65 each, too.
But although its defence is low, that doesn’t exactly mean Vaporeon is easy to take out: it has the Water Absorb Ability, meaning Water attacks will actually heal Vaporeon by 1/4 of it’s max HP, and its Hidden Ability*, Hydration, heals negative status ailments at turn’s end if its raining. It can also learn quite a few Special Attacks naturally through levelling up (Water Gun, Water Pulse, Muddy Water, and Hydro-Pump), and has access to more through TMs (Notably Ice Beam, Blizzard and Scald, which can immobilise or work to cut battles even shorter).
So with its ability to deny other Water Pokemon, stand firm against attack, and throw a variety of Special Attacks out, woe to any Trainer who uses Pokemon with less than stellar speed.
Whilst probably the least fun to pet of the Eeveelutions (Outside of a grumpy Umbreon), this Electric-type canine does have some stuff going for it: with moves effective against the prominent Water-type and the slightly less-common but oft annoying Flying-type (Of which Generation One includes 15, including Mega Evolutions), it’s certainly a contender. It’s just a shame that it can’t really do much against another Electric, a Grass, or Dragon type Pokemon – and is essentially helpless before pure Ground types like Sandslash and Dugtrio (Both being super-weak to Ground, and Electric-moves being entirely ineffective against Ground). It can fend off Electric, Flying, and Steel types more easily at least.
As its angular design suggests, Jolteon favours speed, and is the fastest Eeveelution at 130 base Speed (Equivalent to Mewtwo). It also has a base Special Attack of 110. It has poor Defense at 60, and an also low Attack and Health at 65 each, so the focus with a Jolteon is going to be cutting battles as short as possible with specials, and trying not to take hits (with its Ability, Volt Absorb, helping out against other Electrics). If it does fall prey to a status effect though, worry not – its Quick Feet Hidden Ability* will increase its speed by 50% so you’ll have a higher chance to end things before they take effect, and it won’t be slowed by Paralysis either (Additional fun fact: You have Jolteon in first place in your party, and Quick Feet will ensure you encounter wild Pokemon 50% less of the time!).
Jolteon naturally learns three Special Attacks through leveling (Thunder Shock, Discharge, and Thunder, with Discharge being especially useful for quick damage) and has access to several others, notably Volt Switch (Which attacks, then switches Jolteon out) and Charge Beam (An attack which could temporarily strengthen your Special Attack stat, making the next specials more powerful). So whilst this Pokemon can’t take a lot of hits, it can deal them out in lightning-quick succession!
When people think of Fire-types, they probably picture devastating, high-power moves, and they’re right; they have quite a few of those, and three of the eight most powerful in the series (At least, statically) moves are indeed Fire ones. But Fire-types don’t have it super easy: With weakness to Water, Ground, and Rock, they do have some challengers. They can’t do too well against other Fire, Water, Rock, or Dragon type Pokemon either, but they can burn up Grass and Bugs, and melt Ice and Steel easily. They also have six (!) resistances: Fire, Grass, Ice, Bug, Steel, and Fairy. So they’re really a staple for any Trainer’s team.
And becoming of its Fire-type nature, Flareon is indeed a toughy, with a base Attack stat of 130 (Equivalent to a Machamp), and Special Defense of 110 (Special Attack lags behind at 95, making it the weakest of the three -eons in this regard). It does, unfortunately, have poor Defense like its Jolteon counterpart, at a base of 60. The next lowest stats are Speed and Health, at 65. So you’re going to be relying on physical attacks to do more of the work for you, with specials as more of a back up (Especially status-effecting ones). Flareon does have quite a lot of physical moves in its repertoire, and some are Fire-based too, like Fire Fang and Flare Blitz (Be warned that Flareon will take some damage using the later). It also has access to some physicals via TMs, but avoid Flame Charge, in my opinion – whilst boosting Flareon’s speed is helpful, its base damage of 50 might make it better replaced by something like Giga Impact or a special-type move like Fire Blast (Which has a lovely 30% chance to Burn the opponent).
Flareon’s Ability, Flash Fire, makes it immune to Fire attacks and, if struck by one, will boost its own Fire attacks by 50% for the rest of the match (That recoil from Flare Blitz is typeless, though, incase you were getting ideas). Additionally, if it’s hit by a status effect, its Hidden Ability*, Guts, will kick in, and increase Flareon’s Attack by 50%. A bit situational perhaps, but Flareon’s definitely not one to give up a fight too easily – a hard hitter that’ll put down its own kind as easily as other types.
As for its appearance? It’s like a little bark of lava, with dollops of banana ice cream melting on it. And who could hate something like that?
So, there you have it. Now you have some info to think of when you find yourself in possession of an Eevee and some stones. Though I’m sure some of you are already thinking “Hey, hang on, what about Espeon, Umbreon, Glaceon, Leafeon, and Sylveon?” Well, I’m not covering those just yet as we don’t know if they’ll be in the game (Though, really, if we’re shoving all the newer types, the Mega Evolutions, and Alolan forms in a Pokemon Yellow remake, they should be). If we find out the rest of the Eeveelutions are in it, I will definitely do a follow up article covering them. Either way, have a good one, Trainers!
All the wonderful art throughout this article was produced by Kenket, and used with their permission. You can find their galleries on on DeviantArt and FurAffinity.
*Hidden Abilities are secondary abilities a Pokemon may have, depending on certain circumstances involving it’s capture or breeding; we currently don’t know how Let’s Go! Pokemon will be handling them, but as we’re discussing the ideal version of these Eeveelutions, we’re assuming the ones we’re talking about have them. For more information on Hidden Abilities, please consult the Bulbapedia; the World of Pokemon has a lot of depth to it!