Summary
Eevee is arguably one of the most popular critters in thePokemonfranchise, becoming somewhat of a secondary mascot behind Pikachu and even starring in its own game. AlthoughPokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eeveeput this mon in the spotlight, one of the biggest reasons for Eevee’s popularity is the fact that it can evolve into one of eight different Eeveelutions, each representing a different type. However, despite the popularity of Eevee and its evolutions, it’s unlikely that thePokemonseries will introduce another new Eeveelution in the future, much to the dismay of Eevee fans.
The onlinePokemoncommunity is great at coming up withunique designs for potential Eeveelutionsthat are based on types unused by any of Eevee’s evolutions so far. Many of these fan-designed Eeveelutions could pass for an official design, but the current trend the series is headed in makes it seem unlikely that these or any other Eevee evolution design will ever become a reality. If Game Freak was to ever create a new evolution for Eevee, it would have happened by now, and the more generations that pass without a new Eeveelution, the less likely there is to ever be a new one.
The Opportunity for a New Eeveelution in the Pokemon Franchise May Have Come and Gone
Eevee originally started out with only three evolutions in Gen 1 – Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon – but gained more as the generations went on. Gen 2 introduced Espeon and Umbreon, Gen 4 added Leafeon and Glaceon, andGen 6 included Sylveon. For a while, the series was adding new Eeveelutions every couple of generations, but there hasn’t been a new one in three generations, making it unlikely that a new one will ever be added.
Fairy
Gen 6
The last new Eeveelution added to thePokemonseries was Sylveon, first introduced inGen 6’sPokemon X and Y. Sylveon’s inclusion was a special circumstance for the series since it coincided with the addition of the Fairy type in that generation, and this Eeveelution was used to draw attention to the new type. However, now that the series has become balanced with a total of 18 types, it’s unlikely that a new type, and thus a new Eeveelution, will be added.
Some fans may argue that, since only eight types are currently represented by Eevee evolutions, the other 10 deserve representation too. However, a big part of Eevee’s existence is to teach players about different types of evolutionary methods, such as using stones to evolve Eevee in Gen 1, the time of day and friendship level in Gen 2, and location-based evolutions in Gen 4. Recent games likePokemon Sword and Shield, and evenPokemon Scarlet and Violet, have introduced creative new ways to evolve certain mons, but a new Eeveelution was not added as a result despite having the perfect opportunity.
Game Freak also has to contend with the fact that adding more unique evolution methods for Eevee could trap it in a corner if those mechanics are removed from future games. From Gen 8 onward, Eeveelutions like Glaceon and Leafeon have had their location-based requirements for evolution changed to stone-based evolutions to account for the removal of the Ice Rock and Moss Rock locations needed to evolve them previously. Continually addingnew evolution methods for Eeveecould quickly become too complicated, and Game Freak likely doesn’t want to have to remove such a popular mon from a generation’s Pokedex as a result.
