Eevee is one of the most popularPokemonin the franchise, standing beside Pikachu in terms of recognizability. While Eevee is great in its own right, what makes it so popular is its ability to evolve into several different Pokemon of different Types, with new evolutions releasing periodically in new games.
That said, the last new Eeveelution, as they’re called, was Sylveon, which debuted in X and Y in 2013. With over ten years since the last new Eeveelution, it’s about time a new one was introduced, perhaps in the upcoming Legends Z-A. Below, we’ll rank each new Eeveelution possibility based on how likely we think it is to be the next one.
10Normal-Type
The least likely Eeveelution I can imagine is a Normal-Type one, simply because it would go against the spirit of Eevee as a Pokemon, at least for now. The core of Eevee’s design is that it evolves into different Types, so an evolution that is the same Type would, at the very least, be a little boring.
It’s definitely not impossible, though, and there’s potential for Eevee to receive aNormal-Type evolution, but probably not until all the other Types have their own evolution first. This way, Eevee’s Normal-Type evolution could act as a sort of capstone or perfected version, and maybe it could learn moves of every other Type. But for now, it doesn’t seem likely.
9Flying-Type
I don’t know about you, but I just don’t see Eevee being a Flying-Type. Sure, it would be awesome to have your partner grow wings and fly around, but something about it just doesn’t feel very likely, at least not right now.
Flying-Type has always been in a weird case where there are almost no pure-Flying-Types, save for Tornadus, Rookidee, and Corvisquire, wth the latter two evolving into Corviknight, which is half-Flying, half-Steel. There’s not exactly a rule that says no Pokemon can be pure-Flying-Type, but they definitely seem reluctant to use it, for some reason.
8Fighting-Type
Similar to Flying-Type, it just doesn’t feel like there’s a good enough reason for a Fighting-Type Eevee evolution right now. No doubt, a grown-up Eevee with bandages from its training sounds adorable, but it’s an image that has been passed around for years now, and the more time it takes, the less likely it becomes.
There are a number of different ways the Pokemon Company could design a Fighting-Type Eevee, but anything without the classic Fighting-Type bandages just wouldn’t feel right.
7Poison-Type
A Poison-Type Eevee doesn’t seem like the most likely candidate, but it could be just what we need. Historically,Poison-Types aren’t the most popular, since they’re kind of yucky. But if Eevee and its evolutions are good for one thing, it’s being cute.
An Eevee-fied Poison-Type (think Clodsire) could do wonders for the overall Type and maybe bring in some new fans. Despite initial appearances, there are several cuties of the Poison-Typing, so all we need is a new Eevee for people to give them a chance!
6Bug-Type
A Bug-Type Eeveelution isn’t too difficult to imagine, given that the Pokemon in question are already known for their massive, bug-like eyes. Add an extra set of eyes or two, replace the ears with antenna, and you’re already halfway to a decent-looking Bug-Type Eevee.
As far as the likelihood of appearing in the next game, who can say? Bug is in a similar camp as Poison, being one of the least represented among Mono-types, so it would be good to have an Eeveelution take up that role
5Rock-Type
A sandy, Rock-Type Eeveelution would be a very welcome addition to the Eevee family, but doesn’t seem likely to happen just yet. The place a Rock-Type Eeveelution would be most likely to appear is in a desert-themed region, so it will probably be saved for the future.
Still, we need more Eeveelutions, so the Pokemon Company can’t sit on these evolutions forever. If it were up to me, we’d be getting a new one with every new game until every Type is accounted for, and Rock-Type would be pretty high on the priority list!
4Ground-Type
I’ve never really understood why Rock and Ground were separate Typings; aren’t rocks just part of the ground? To that end, it seems likely that Rock and Ground-Type Eeveelutions would come paired together, or maybe as the first ever dual-type Eeveelution that is both Rock and Ground, just to get them both out of the way.
Again, though, it doesn’t seem like we’ll get a Rock or Ground-Type evolution until we have a desert-themed region, so until that happens, don’t expect to see this Eevee Type just yet.
3Ghost-Type
If we’re working under the assumption that the next Pokemon game to introduce an Eeveelution is the upcoming Legends Z-A, then we’ll need to consider how best a new Eevee typing would fit into that region.
Because of this, the Ghost-Type could be equally likely as not to appear. X and Y onlyintroduced a few Ghost-Types, and didn’t really have any scary areas. That said, Legends Z-A seems like it will have an emphasis on a day and night cycle, with different Pokemon appearing during the night, such as Ghost-Types, which would be the perfect way to introduce a new Eeveelution.
2Dragon-Type
One popular theory surrounding the Eeveelutions is that all its prior ones are based on the Special stats. Before the Physical/Special stat split in Generation 4, each Type was divided into either a Physical Stat or a Special Stat. So far, Eevee has only gotten evolutions that fit into the stats in the special category, except for Dragon-Type.
If this theory holds any water, then it’s very likely that the next Eeveelution could be a Dragon. However, this theory loses its legs a little when you consider Sylveon, whose Fairy-typing was not introduced until Generation 6, long after the Physical/Special split. Still, a Dragon-Type Eevee would be awesome, so we’re still here for it!
1Steel-Type
The next Pokemon game is Legends Z-A, which revisits the Kalos region, which also happens to be where we got our last Eeveelution. Because of this, it’s pretty likely that we will not only get a new evolution for Eevee, but that it may be paired up with Sylveon in some way, similar to how Umbreon and Espeon are paired up.
It stands to reason, then, that the newest Eeveelution would be either strong or weak to Sylveon’s Fairy-Type, so we’ve selected Steel-Type as the most likely candidate. A futuristic-looking Eevee would fit right in with the futuristic vibes of the new and improved Kalos region, too.
