Pokemon Legends: Arceus players are learning about Eevee’s evolution moves the hard way. The popular Pokemon is known for its branching evolution line, which sees the Pokemon evolve into one of eight different Pokemon depending on the method used to evolve it. Three of those Pokemon – Umbreon, Espeon, and Sylveon – all require the Pokemon to have a high Friendship level with their trainer. However, players are quickly learning that Eevee’s default moveset in Pokemon Legends: Arceus will cause it to automatically evolve into Sylveon.
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Part of the issue is that Eevee’s evolution requirements changed a few years ago, which many players might not have realized. Eevee originally required a high level of Affection to evolve into Sylveon when first introduced back in Pokemon X and Y, a stat tied to the Pokemon-Amie feature that allowed players to interact with a Pokemon by feeding them or brushing them. However, Affection was combined with Friendship levels in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Because Friendship and Affection were merged together, the other requirement for Eevee’s evolution to Sylveon – knowledge of a Fairy-type move – became an override of sorts for the game. If Eevee knew a Fairy-type move, it would always evolve into Sylveon. If it didn’t know a Fairy-type move, it would evolve into either Espeon or Sylveon depending on the time of day.
By default, Eevee naturally learns only one Fairy-type move – Baby Doll Eyes – in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. However, almost every Eevee players will encounter in the wild will have Baby Doll Eyes equipped due to Eevee’s smaller pool of moves in the game, meaning that all Eevee would evolve into Sylveon once their Friendship Level is high enough. Luckily, it’s easier than ever to fix this problem, as Pokemon Legends: Arceus lets players change any Pokemon’s moveset at any time.
So, if you don’t want to have your High Friendship Eevee to Sylveon in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, all you need to do is make sure it doesn’t have Baby Doll Eyes (or another Fairy-type move) equipped when you’re ready to evolve it. Obviously, you’ll need to evolve Eevee during the day to evolve it into Espeon, or evolve Eevee at night to evolve it into Umbreon.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus is available now on the Nintendo Switch.
