How to Get Eevee to Evolve to Either Espeon or Umbreon

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: September 18, 2022 References Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to evolve Eevee into either Espeon or Umbreon in various generations of Pokémon. While some of the specific criteria for evolving Eevee differs between different Pokémon games, the general method for evolving Eevee into Espeon or Umbreon involves increasing the Eevee's Friendship rating while training—and eventually evolving—during the proper time of day.

Method 1

Method 1 of 6:

Note

1
Check which Generation your game belongs to for the correct instructions. Espeon and Umbreon are not available in Generation I:
- Generation II - Gold, Silver, Crystal
- Generation III - Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, LeafGreen
- Generation IV - Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, SoulSilver
- Generation V - Black, White, Black 2, White 2
- Generation VI - X, Y, Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire
- Generation VII - Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon, Let's Go Pikachu!, Let's Go Eevee!
- Generation VIII - Sword, Shield

Method 2

Method 2 of 6:

Generation II

1
Keep Eevee in your party as you explore. In order to get Eevee to evolve into either Espeon or Umbreon, you'll need to raise its Friendship level to at least 220. A common way to increase Friendship is to just keep Eevee in your party as you walk around. You'll gain 1 Friendship every 512 steps you take in the game.
2
Give Eevee a haircut. Talk to the younger Haircut Brother in the Goldenrod Tunnel. You can get a haircut once every 24 hours for up to a 10 point Friendship gain.
3
Have Daisy groom Eevee. Talk to Daisy in Pallet Town between 3 and 4 PM to get Eevee groomed. This will give Eevee a 3 point Friendship boost.
4
Give Eevee vitamins regularly. Several items that you can give your Pokémon are considered "Vitamins." Give any of these to Eevee for a gain of 3 to 5 Friendship points:
- HP Up
- Protein
- Iron
- Calcium
- Carbos
- PP Up
- Rare Candy
5
Level up Eevee. Leveling up Eevee in battle or with a Rare Candy will give you a boost of 5 points if your friendship is less than 100. It will give you 3 points if its Friendship is between 100 and 200. It will gain 2 points if its Friendship is above 200.
6
Keep Eevee in your party when you fight Gym leaders. Having Eevee in your party when you challenge a Gym leader will give you a boost of 1-3 points.
7
Don't let Eevee faint in battle. If Eevee faints in battle, it will lose 1 Friendship point. Make sure to swap it out if it gets low on health. Don't use any healing items either (see the next step).
8
Avoid giving Eevee any healing items. Healing items will significantly lower Eevee's Friendship rating. Avoid the following items and do all of your healing at the nearest Pokémon Center.
- Energy Powder (-5 Friendship)
- Heal Powder (-5 Friendship)
- Energy Root (-10 Friendship)
- Revival Herb (-15 Friendship).
9
Check Eevee's Friendship level. Put Eevee at the front of your party and talk to the lady in the house to the east of the Goldenrod City Department Store. The phrase she says will indicate your Eevee's general Friendship level.
- 50 - 99: "You should treat it better. It's not used to you."
- 100 - 149: "It's quite cute."
- 150 - 199: "It's friendly toward you. Sort of happy."
- 200 - 249: "I get the feeling it really trusts you."
- 250 - 255: "It looks really happy! It must love you a lot."
10
Level up Eevee at during the day (Espeon) or during the night (Umbreon) once you think its Friendship is at 220. Once you think that your Eevee is above 220 Friendship, level it up in the day time to get Espeon, or level it up at night to get Umbreon. You can level up Eevee through battle or by using a Rare Candy. If it doesn't evolve, its Friendship is not at 200 or above yet.
- Day time is 4:00 AM - 5:59 PM.
- Night time is 6:00 PM - 3:59 AM.

Method 3

Method 3 of 6:

Generation III

1
Give Eevee a Soothe Bell. The Soothe Bell is an item that was introduced in Generation III. Having the Soothe Bell will give Eevee an additional 2 point boost every time you perform a Friendship-raising action. You'll need to raise Eevee's Friendship to 220 or above, so this will help speed up the process. You can get the Soothe Bell from the Pokémon Fan Club.
2
Keep Eevee in your party as you walk around. Eevee will gain 1 Friendship point (3 with the Soothe Bell) every 256 steps that you take.
3
Give Eevee Vitamin items. Vitamins are items that you can give Eevee that also give a small Friendship boost (between 2-5, depending on your current Friendship level).
- HP Up
- Protein
- Iron
- Calcium
- Carbos
- PP Up
- Rare Candy
- Zinc
- PP Max
4
Level up Eevee. Leveling up Eevee when it has less than 100 Friendship will give it a 5 point boost. If its Friendship is over 100, you'll get a 3 point boost. If it's over 200, you'll get a 2 point boost.
5
Give Eevee EV-lowering berries. EV-Lowering berries are designed for intense trainers who want to maximize their Pokemon's stats. Giving your Eevee berries that lower certain EV values will give you a 2 point boost:
- Pomeg
- Kelpsy
- Qualot
- Hondew
- Grepa
- Tamato
6
Don't let Eevee fall in battle. If Eevee faints while fighting another Pokemon, it will lose 1 Friendship point. Switch it out with another Pokémon before it faints to prevent losing any points. Don't give it any healing items either (see the next step).
7
Don't use any healing items on Eevee. Healing items have a huge negative effect on Eevee's Friendship level. Avoid all of the following items, and do your healing at a Pokémon Center instead:
- Energy Powder: -5 points
- Heal Powder: -5 points
- Energy Root: -10 points
- Revival Herb: -15 points
8
Check Eevee's Friendship rating. Put Eevee at the front of your party and head to Verdanturf Town. Talk to the lady in the house in the bottom-left corner of town. The phrase she says will give you an idea as to what Eevee's Friendship rating is:
- 50 - 99: "It's not very used to you yet. It neither loves nor hates you."
- 100 - 149: "It's getting used to you. It seems to believe in you."
- 150 - 199: "It likes you quite a lot. It seems to want to be babied a little."
- 200 - 254: "It seems to be very happy. It obviously likes you a whole lot."
- 255: "It adores you. It can't possibly love you any more. I even feel happy seeing it."
9
Level up Eevee at during the day (Espeon) or during the night (Umbreon) once you think its Friendship is at 220. Once you think that Eevee has reached 220, level it up during the day to get Espeon or at the night to get Umbreon. If Eevee doesn't evolve, it's Friendship is not high enough. You can use a Rare Candy or level Eevee up in a battle.
- Day time is 12:00 PM - 11:59 PM.
- Night time is 12:00 AM - 11:59 AM

Method 4

Method 4 of 6:

Generation IV and V

If you are playing HeartGold or SoulSilver, follow the Generation II rules for Friendship.

1
Have Eevee hold a Soothe Bell. You'll need to raise Eevee's Friendship to 220 or above in order to evolve into Espeon or Umbreon. A Soothe Bell will help this process a lot, as it gives a 50% boost to all Friendship-raising activities.
- You can get the Soothe Bell from the Pokémon Mansion (Diamond and Pearl), Eterna Forest (Platinum), National Park (HeartGold and SoulSilver), or Nimbasa City in the Black, White, Black 2, and White 2 games.
2
Walk around with Eevee in your party. You'll get a 1 point boost in Friendship for every 256 steps that you take with Eevee in your party.
3
Get your Eevee a massage. There are several places to get Eevee a massage, depending on the game you are playing. You can get one massage every 24 hours.
- Diamond, Pearl, Platinum - The massage girl in Veilstone City will give you a 3 point boost.
- Diamond, Pearl, Platinum - A massage at the Ribbon Syndicate will give you a 20 point boost if your Friendship is less than 100.
- Black and White - A massage from the lady on Castelia Street can give you up to 30 Friendship points.
- Black 2 and White 2 - The massage lady can be found at the Medal Office. The bonuses are the same as in Black and White.
4
Use Vitamin items regularly. Vitamins are items that give you a Friendship boost along with their regular effects.
- HP Up
- Protein
- Iron
- Calcium
- Carbos
- PP Up
- Rare Candy
- Zinc
- PP Max
5
Level up Eevee for a Friendship boost. Every time you level up Eevee, you'll get 1-3 points, depending on its current Friendship level. You can level up Eevee in battle or with a Rare Candy.
6
Give your Eevee EV-lowering berries. You can get up to a 10 point boost in Friendship by giving Eevee the following EV-lowering berries:
- Pomeg
- Kelpsy
- Qualot
- Hondew
- Grepa
- Tamato
7
Don't allow Eevee to get knocked out. Eevee will lose 1 Friendship point if it gets knocked out. Switch it out with another Pokémon before this happens, and make sure to not use any healing items on it (see the next step).
8
Don't give your Eevee any healing items. Healing items have a large negative impact on Eevee's Friendship level. Avoid all of the following items and try to do all of your healing and reviving at a Pokémon Center.
- Energy Powder: -5 points
- Heal Powder: -5 points
- Energy Root: -10 points
- Revival Herb: -15 points
9
Check your Eevee's Friendship rating (Generation IV). Put Eevee at the front of your party and talk to the Friendship checker at the Pokémon Fan Club in Hearthome City. The phrases the checker says will help you determine Eevee's Friendship rating:
- 50 - 99: "You should treat it better. It's not used to you." (D,P); "It's feeling neutral toward you. It's up to you to change that." (Pl)
- 100 - 149: "It's quite cute." (D,P); "It's warming up to you. That's my impression." (Pl)
- 150 - 199: "It's friendly towards you. It looks sort of happy." (D,P); "It's quite friendly to you. It must be happy being with you." (Pl)
- 200 - 254: "I get the feeling that it really trusts you." (D,P); "It's very friendly toward you. I can tell you treat it kindly." (Pl)
- 255: "It looks really happy! It must love you a lot." (D,P); "It simply adores you! Why, I feel like I am intruding!" (Pl)
10
Check your Eevee's Friendship rating (Generation V). Put Eevee in the front of your party and talk to the Friendship checker at the Pokémon Fan Club in Icirrus City. The phrase the checker says will change depending on your Eevee's current Friendship rating:
- 70 - 99: "The relationship is neither good nor bad… It looks neutral."
- 100 - 149: "It is a little friendly to you… That's what I'm getting."
- 150 - 194: "It is friendly to you. It must be happy with you."
- 195 - 254: "It is quite friendly to you! You must be a kind person!"
- 255: "It is super friendly to you! I'm a bit jealous!"
11
Level up Eevee at during the day (Espeon) or during the night (Umbreon) once you think its Friendship is at 220. Once you think Eevee has reached 220 Friendship or higher, evolve it during the day to get Espeon or at night to get Umbreon. If it doesn't evolve, your Friendship rating is not high enough. Make sure to avoid any areas with a Moss Rock or an Ice Rock, or you'll get the wrong evolution.
- In Generation IV, day time is 4:00 AM - 7:59 PM and night time is 8:00 PM - 3:59 AM.
- In Generation V, day and night times vary depending on the season.

Method 5

Method 5 of 6:

Generation VI

1
Capture Eevee in a Luxury Ball. Generation VI is the only Generation that you can capture a wild Eevee in, so use a Luxury Ball to maximize your Friendship gain. The Luxury Ball will give your Eevee additional Friendship points whenever Friendship is gained for walking or leveling up.
2
Perform Friendship raising activities in the same area you captured Eevee. You can gain additional Friendship by performing some of your Friendship-raising activities in the same area that you captured your Eevee. This includes giving it Vitamins, Rare Sodas, and EV-lowering berries.
3
Walk around with Eevee in your party. You'll gain 2 Friendship points for every 128 steps that you take, but you won't get the points every time.
4
Take your Eevee to get a massage. Massages have a 6% chance of giving Eevee a 30 point boost in Friendship.
- In X and Y, find the massage lady in house to the left of the Pokémon Center in Cyllage City.
- In Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, find the masseuse to the north of the Poké Miles shop in Mauville City
5
Give your Eevee Vitamin items. Vitamin items will give Eevee a boost to Friendship alongside the regular benefits of the item. The following items will raise Eevee's Friendship rating a few points:
- HP Up
- Protein
- Iron
- Calcium
- Carbos
- PP Up
- Rare Candy
- Zinc
- PP Max
6
Use Wings for quick Friendship boosts. You can find Wings randomly on Driftveil Drawbridge and Marvelous Bridge. These items will give your Eevee up to a 3 point boost.
7
Level up Eevee in battle. You'll gain a 5 point boost each time Eevee levels up in battle. Rare Candies no longer give a Friendship boost when used to level up.
8
Take Eevee to get some Super Training. Complete a few Regimens in Super Training to unlock the Soothing Bag. Every time you train with this bag, you'll get a 20 point boost.
9
Give Eevee some Juice to drink. Some of the Juices available in the Juice Shoppe will give Eevee a boost. Give Eevee any of the following:
- Rare Soda
- Colorful Shake
- Ultra Rare Soda
- Any colored juice
10
Don't let Eevee faint in battle. If Eevee faints, it will lose 1 Friendship point. Switch out Eevee with another Pokémon if it looks like it's going to get knocked out soon. Don't use any healing items either, as they will drastically lower Friendship.
11
Avoid any healing items. Healing items will have a major negative impact on your Friendship. Avoid all of the following items, and do all of your healing at a Pokémon Center. The second value listed below is how much you lose if your Friendship is over 200.
- Energy Powder: -5/-10 points
- Heal Powder: -5/-10 points
- Energy Root: -10/-15 points
- Revival Herb: -15/-20 points
12
Check your current Friendship level. Put Eevee at the front of your party and talk to the Friendship checker in the Pokémon Fan Club in Laverre City. If you're playing Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire, see the Generation II instructions for checking Friendship.
- 50 - 99: "Hmm…I think you have a lot of time ahead of you to get to know one another better."
- 100 - 149: "It's a little bit friendly to you… Something like that."
- 150 - 199: "Well, I think you and Pichu will be an even greater combo someday!"
- 200 - 254: "You must really like your Pichu and always keep it by your side!"
- 255: "It's amazingly friendly toward you! It must be so happy spending every day with you!"
13
Level up Eevee at during the day (Espeon) or during the night (Umbreon) once you think its Friendship is at 220. Once you feel that Eevee is above 220 Friendship, level it up during the day to evolve it into Espeon, or at night to evolve it into Umbreon. Make sure you're not in the same area as a Moss or Ice Stone, or you'll get the wrong evolution. If Eevee does not evolve when you level it up, it does not have 220 Friendship yet.^{[1]
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- Day time is 4:00 AM - 5:59 PM and night time is 6:00 PM - 3:59 AM.

Method 6

Method 6 of 6:

Generation VII

1
Capture Eevee in a Friend Ball. If you don't yet have an Eevee, you can catch one off of Route 4 or Route 6; you'll want to use a Friend Ball to do this, since doing so will grant a huge boost to Eevee's Friendship rating and make the process of evolving it into an Espeon or Umbreon much quicker.
- You can also use a Luxury ball to increase the rate at which Eevee's Friendship increases.
2
Raise Eevee's Friendship rating. Whether you're evolving Eevee into Umbreon or Espeon, you'll need to max out the Eevee's Friendship rating (not the Affection rating) before evolving. There are a few different ways to do so:^{[2]
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- Take Eevee to get a massage in Konikoni City (once per day)
- Give Eevee Friendship-raising berries (Grepa, Hondew, Kelpsy, Pomeg, Qualot, and Tamato berries all work)
- Buy a Friendship Combo from the Friendship Cafe or the Friendship Parlor
3
Make sure that Eevee's friendship is high enough. You can do this by taking Eevee to Konikoni city and talking to the lady near the TM shop. If she says "My! It feels incredibly close to you! Nothing makes it happier than being with you!" of your Eevee, then you're ready to proceed.^{[3]
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- If she says anything different instead, you should continue raising your Eevee's happiness.
4
Train Eevee at the appropriate time of day. Eevee evolves into an Umbreon when trained at night, while training Eevee during the day will prompt it to evolve into an Espeon when it's time. The times of day vary depending on your Pokemon game:^{[4]
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- Sun and Ultra Sun - Morning/Day falls between 6:00 AM and 4:59 PM on your 3DS's clock, while Evening/Night falls between 5:00 PM and 5:59 AM on your 3DS's clock.
- Moon and Ultra Moon - Morning/Day falls between 6:00 PM and 4:59 AM on your 3DS's clock, while Evening/Night falls between 5:00 AM and 5:59 PM on your 3DS's clock.
5
Avoid Friendship-reducing activities. There are a couple of different things that can lower your Eevee's Friendship rating:
- Fainting in combat
- Using Energy Powder, Heal Powder, Energy Root, or Revival herb^{[5]
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6
Wait for the right time of day. Once you're ready to level up your Eevee in order to evolve it into either Espeon or Umbreon, you'll need to wait for either Morning or Night respectively:
- Sun and Ultra Sun - Morning falls between 6:00 AM and 9:59 PM on your 3DS's clock, while Night falls between 6:00 PM and 5:59 AM on your 3DS's clock.
- Moon and Ultra Moon - Morning falls between 6:00 PM and 9:59 AM on your 3DS's clock, while Night falls between 6:00 AM and 5:59 PM on your 3DS's clock.
7
Level up Eevee. The quickest way to do this is by selecting a Rare Candy from your bag and applying it to Eevee, though you can also initiate a battle if you're right on the edge of leveling up. Eevee should evolve into your preferred version depending on the time of day.^{[6]
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- Make sure that you aren't anywhere near a Mossy Rock or an Icy Rock when you do this; otherwise, you might accidentally evolve Eevee into a Leafeon or a Glaceon.

Community Q&A

Question

My Eevee won't evolve. What do I do?

Community Answer

Be sure that you're not pressing B to stop the evolution and that the Eevee is not holding an item like the Everstone, which prevents Pokémon from evolving.
Question

Can I get Umbreon if I level it up and give it a moon stone?

Community Answer

No, the only way to get Umbreon is to level it up with high friendship at night.
Question

How do I get a soothing bag?

Community Answer

At some point your Pokemon will find one in the "super training" screen, just open the screen and keep it open. Make sure that your Pokemon are awake since they can take naps during super training and you can't find a soothing bag when they are asleep. Wake them up by tapping on them.