The Generation 2 update of Pokémon Go adds two new evolutions of Eevee into the mix: Espeon and Umbreon, both of which sit near the top of the power rankings for gym battling. Pokémon Go’s evolution system makes it difficult to determine which one of Eevee’s rare evolutions you’re going to get, so using the Eevee Buddy Trick is one of the only ways to guarantee the outcome. Unfortunately, the Sakura/Tamao naming trick can only get you an Umbreon or an Espeon once before it stops working, so if you’ve already used that trick, the process below is the only way to ensure you get the Pokémon you want.
However, if you don’t mind walking a little, The Silph Road has figured out a way to guarantee you the Gen 2 Eevee evolution you want when you evolve it.
Pokémon Go Eevee Buddy Trick: How to use the Pokémon Go buddy system
If you haven’t played Pokémon Go since September, it’s likely that you’re not familiar with the new buddy system Niantic implemented in that update. Essentially, you can designate one of your Pokémon as your buddy and as you walk around it slowly generates candies for you based on what type of Pokémon it is.
To start, just click on your avatar’s portrait in the bottom portion of the world map screen, which will take you to the character menu. From there, you’re going to want to click the blue button with the three lines on it. Once you’ve hit that, the second option available to you should be “Buddy,” so select that.
Once you’re in the Buddy menu, you’ll be able to see who your current buddy is, how much distance you need to walk to get candy from them, and the total distance you’ve walked with them at the bottom of the screen. Swapping buddies is as easy as hitting the pair of arrows in the lower right corner, so if you already have a buddy set and want to use the Eevee trick, just hit the arrows and swap them.
Pokémon Go Eevee Buddy Trick: How to evolve Eevee into Umbreon or Espeon
What Redditors on The Silph Road have discovered is that by designating an Eevee as your buddy and walking at least 10km with it before you evolve it, you’ll guarantee that it evolves into either the Psychic-type Espeon or the Dark-type Umbreon. If you do the trick and evolve Eevee during the day, you’ll get an Espeon. If you evolve Eevee during the night, you’ll get a Umbreon. This time-based evolution is a throwback to how you evolved those Pokémon in Pokémon Gold and Silver.
You can use the number at the bottom of the Buddy menu to track your progress. When it hits 10km or more, you’ll be good to go with evolving your Eevee as long as you have the 25 candies that, according to IGN, are also a requirement. Just make sure you wait until the appropriate time of day to avoid getting an Espeon when you wanted an Umbreon! What makes the Eevee buddy trick even easier is that you don’t even have to walk 10km without unequipping your Eevee as your buddy. As long as you’ve walked 10km total with Eevee at some point you’ll have the chance to get an Espeon or Umbreon.
It’s worth noting that without using this buddy trick, none of the Redditors on The Silph Road who tried weren’t able to evolve Eevee into anything other than a Jolteon, Flareon or Vaporeon. So, if you burned your Sakura/Tamao nicknames on a suboptimal Eevee, this Eevee buddy trick seems to your only way to guarantee more Espeons and Umbreons short of finding them in the wild.
More Pokémon Go guides, tips and tricks
If you’re just booting up your Pokémon Go account, check out our first impressions of the Gen 2 update. You’ll also want to learn more about the Unown and new evolutionary items like the Sun Stone and more. If you’re looking for a list of evolutions that weren’t initially revealed by Niantic, this article is your guide.
