On Saturday August 14th, 2021 (11 AM - 5 PM local time) and Sunday August 15th, 2021 (11 AM - 5 PM local time) Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon, will be appearing more in the wild & will be available as a shiny Pokémon (but certainly not for the first time)! The event bonus will be ¼ egg hatching distance alongside incense lasting for three hours. Remember - since Eevee is a Normal Pokémon, you can Mega-Evolve a Mega Pidgeot, or Mega Lopunny to earn an extra Eevee Candy on each catch!

 

Each of the Eeveelutions (i.e. Eevee’s evolutions) will learn a new Fast or Charged Attack when evolved between Friday August 13th (10 AM PDT) and Monday August 16th (10 AM PDT). Note that these times to get the special move are not in local time and instead start at 10 AM in the UTC-7 time zone. Additionally, evolving an Eevee into Sylveon will only require 7 Buddy Hearts as opposed to the usual 70 during this time period. Later in this article, we will give a summary on the possible moves that Eevee’s evolutions can learn and analyze the potential meta impact of these new moves.

 

We expect there will be a portion of the player base where the news of an Eevee Community Day is less than exciting to hear about. Eevee has previously been a Community Day Pokémon in August 2018, and long-time players may not be as enthusiastic about a repeat Community Day. Unlike Charizard, this was not chosen out of four possible options. There are some positives: More opportunities to collect Shiny Eevee (relatively new players will rejoice), more opportunity to collect Eevee Candy XL (for those Level 40 and up), and new moveset options on the Eeveelutions. It is worth noting that the Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion Evolving Skies is set to release in August, which features each of the Eevee evolutions, and could very well be a thematic tie-in to promote that release. 

 

 

 

— Terms —

Note that 0/1/2S refers to the even-shield scenarios in simulations from PvPoke. All wins or losses mentioned are even-shield scenarios with zero starting energy unless otherwise stated. Stat Product (SP) and IVs are occasionally referenced. Exclusive moves (*) cannot be acquired by regular TMs and are either legacy or obtained through previous events, purification, or use of an Elite TM.

— Sylveon: Psyshock —

The addition of Psyshock for Sylveon is likely the biggest winner of this new set of exclusive moves for the Eeveelutions. Prior to this, Sylveon’s charge moves were all 55 energy and up, and its only non-Fairy move was Last Resort, which has only been available so far with an Elite Charge TM. Psyshock provides Sylveon with a 45 energy charge move as well as valuable coverage against Poison and Fire types. For a slow-charging Charmer, this is a huge boost, allowing Sylveon to pick up more 0S wins. For example:

It picks up 0S wins against Clefable and Froslass in Great League

It picks up 0S wins against Abomasnow, Togekiss, and Toxicroak in Ultra League, although it drops the 0S win against Dragon Breath Charizard that Last Resort can get.

It picks up 0S wins against Mud Shot + Earth Power Garchomp, Giratina Origin, and Mamoswine in Master League.  

 

At times it looks like Psyshock lowers Sylveon’s win potential in 1S and 2S scenarios, but that is only because it is throwing a charge move in a situation where only using Charm would be the path to victory. Psyshock is a big upgrade on a Pokémon that has potential to see play in all three leagues (Great, Ultra, and Master). If you previously used an Elite Charge TM to give your Sylveon Last Resort, this might not be the best news to hear. 

 

— Umbreon: Psychic —

Of all the Eeveelutions, Umbreon is the one that has had the largest impact on the PvP scene. Now it is getting a new toy to play with. The question you might be wondering: Is Psychic an upgrade, sidegrade, or downgrade on Umbreon compared to Last Resort? Both moves provide 90 damage for 55 energy, and the answer lies somewhere in the realm of sidegrade. Psychic provides better coverage for Fighting types and more power against Poison types, but comes at a significant cost as Umbreon loses any semblance of its ability to fight with other Dark types head-to-head.

 

To keep things simple and give a rough estimate of the trade-offs, we will compare Snarl + Foul Play + Last Resort Umbreon with Snarl + Foul Play + Psychic Umbreon in the 1S scenario against the PvPoke Great League meta using maximum stat product on both sides. Psychic picks up wins against Toxicroak and Venusaur, but Umbreon no longer has win conditions against Last Resort Umbreon and Mandibuzz. Psychic could provide a nasty surprise to a Fighting type like Shadow Machamp, but it will also make Umbreon much worse against Dark type Counter users like Obstagoon and Scrafty. Overall it feels like the negatives outweigh the positives but there are enough positives to classify it as a sidegrade. The good news is you don’t need to go rush out and replace all your old Last Resort Umbreon. If you like what Psychic gives Umbreon you can simply build new ones you find on Community Day. And even if you are unsure, you should make sure you leave with at least one Great League and one Ultra League Umbreon in your storage in case you decide you want to build one.

 

— Leafeon: Bullet Seed —

Bullet Seed is a solid moveset addition for Leafeon, giving it more playstyle options. You now have the choice between running heavy fast move damage with Razor Leaf, or generating more energy for its powerful charge moves with Bullet Seed. However, Leafeon tends to be outclassed by other Grass types in these roles, notably Bellossom which can run both Razor Leaf or Bullet Seed alongside Leaf Blade and tends to be far superior in both of those roles due to its stronger bulk. Leafeon will also require at least one Elite TM in order to run Bullet Seed and Last Resort at the same time, making it more expensive resource-wise than Bellossom.

 

— Vaporeon: Scald —

Scald is a rarely seen Water type charge move in Pokémon GO, delivering 80 damage for 60 energy and only currently available as a legacy move on Poliwhirl. This move is doing absolutely nothing for Vaporeon, but maybe this is a hint that Niantic plans to do something with this move in the future. In this sense, you might want to make sure you have a Vaporeon with Scald in your inventory, just in case.

 

— Jolteon: Zap Cannon —

Jolteon is a glassy Pokémon that currently does not stand out from the Electric type crowd. Did it really need an 80 energy, 150 damage Electric type charge move? Probably not, fun as it would be to land one unshielded on an unsuspecting opponent. This is another to keep in the collection just in case but it is unlikely to ever find usage.

 

— Flareon: Superpower —

Superpower on Flareon is similar to Psyshock on Sylveon, as it provides a lower energy charge move on a Pokémon that previously only had charge moves that are 55 energy and up. Superpower will make Flareon far more unique and usable now even if not something that is going to see much actual usage. You want to make sure you leave Community Day with a few Superpower Flareon in your storage for potential future use, especially if it ever sees any other moveset additions to improve its viability.

 

— Espeon: Shadow Ball —

Espeon has a lot of things going against it on the PvP scene. It has terrible bulk and lacks a charge move lower than 55 energy. Shadow Ball does not solve this problem for Espeon. It should be an improvement over Last Resort Espeon, outside of providing less coverage against Dark types than ever before. If you are daring enough to spend an Elite Charge TM on pairing up Shadow Ball and Last Resort on the same Espeon, you would get a really nice set of coverage moves to put on your terrible PvP Pokémon. Your move now, Espeon trainer!

 

— Glaceon: Water Pulse —

Water Pulse is a very bad charge move, only providing 70 damage for 60 energy. The move is so bad that a super effective Water Pulse only provides roughly 3 additional damage against a Galarian Stunfisk compared to a neutral Avalanche, despite being 15 energy more expensive. Its only usage would be in situations such as facing a Fire type, where Water is super effective and Ice is resisted (that is assuming Glaceon can survive long enough in battle to even reach a Water Pulse). 

 

One notable fact about Water Pulse Glaceon: You can pair it with Ice Shard and Icy Wind in order to have a version of Dewgong that does not require any Elite TMs! Before you get excited about this, note that Glaceon lacks Dewgong’s incredible bulk, Water/Ice typing, and just about everything else that makes Dewgong actually good.