Eevee is one of the most unique Pokémon in the franchise because of its various evolutions, or Eeveelutions as they have become known. Pokémon GO players who want to fill their Pokedexes with Eevee's eight evolutions may find it's easier than in the main series of games. In the main series, sometimes there are time-consuming methods to obtaining a specific Eeveelution, friendship levels to worry about, or Evolution Stones to obtain. However, there's a trick to guaranteeing an evolution in Pokémon GO, and it has to do with what players nickname their Eevee.
The nickname trick in Pokémon GO was discovered when the game first came out in 2016. At the time, only Vaporeon, Jolteon and Vaporeon were available in the game, and before the discovery, the only method to getting them was randomized. Some intrepid trainers eventually figured out how Niantic implemented a trick to guarantee one of the first three Eeveelutions by giving them a specific name. This one-time trick would carry over to other Eeveelutions added in later generations.
Pokémon GO, as it's done with other evolutions, took its own approach to evolving Eevee. In the main series of Pokémon games, the method wasn't random and was specific, yet simple. Some require an evolution stone as Vaporeon, Jolteon and Vaporeon do, while others require leveling-up Eevee at specific locations as is the case with Glaceon and Leafeon. And then there are those like Umbreon, Espeon and Sylveon, which require a certain amount of friendship to be achieved before it can evolve. However, as later generations were added, Pokémon GO would later implement some of the main series mechanics to obtain some of the later Generation Eeveelutions like Sylveon, but the nickname trick is still the best and easiest way to guarantee one of them.
Every Pokémon GO Eevee Nickname Trick Explained
The nicknames for the Generation 1 Eeveelutions, Jolteon, Flareon and Vaporeon, originate from the Pokémon anime. In the episode "The Battling Eevee Brothers," Ash and his crew come across a family of Eevee trainers. Sparky was the name of the brother who used Jolteon, Rainer used Vaporeon and Pyro used Flareon. Naming an Eevee one of these three names will guarantee the corresponding Eeveelution in Pokémon GO.
For Umbreon and Espeon, the Gen 2 Eeveelutions, Pokémon GO trainers looked to the anime again and found the special nicknames to guarantee the Dark or Psychic-type Pokémon. In the episode, "Trouble's Brewing," Ash, Misty and Brock are in Ecruteak City following the protagonist's defeat of Morty in the Gym. The three find a young Eevee trainer named Sakura with four sisters who all use different Eeveelutions in battle. Tamao is the sister who uses an Umbreon and Sakura's Eevee eventually evolves into an Espeon when they run into her in a later episode. Nicknaming an Eevee Tamao will guarantee an Umbreon and naming it Sakura will guarantee an Espeon.
The nickname trick for Glaceon, Leafeon and Sylveon also reference trainers who use them, but in the case of these three, it's from the video games and not the anime. A Pokémon Sun and Moon side quest is available once trainers become Champion of the Alola region. Speaking with Kagetora in the Thrifty Megamart at Royal Avenue will initiate a quest, which will have trainers traveling the region looking for eight trainers who each use one of the Eeveelutions. The trainer who uses Leafeon is named Linnea, the Glaceon user is Rea, and the Sylveon user is Kira. The Eevee nickname trick is one of the oldest secrets found in Pokémon GO that fans were thankfully able to discover early on.