Evolving Eevee into its various forms is a rewarding part of any Pokémon adventure, and Pokémon SoulSilver is no exception. Many players aim to obtain Espeon and Umbreon, the Psychic and Dark-type evolutions respectively. A common misconception is that you need to level up Eevee significantly to achieve these evolutions. However, it’s entirely possible to get a low-level Espeon or Umbreon if you understand the key mechanic: happiness, also known as friendship. This guide will clarify how to evolve your Eevee into Espeon or Umbreon at the lowest level possible in Pokémon SoulSilver.
Understanding Pokémon Happiness for Eevee Evolutions
In Pokémon SoulSilver, happiness is a hidden stat that reflects how much your Pokémon likes you. Eevee evolves into Espeon or Umbreon based on its happiness level and the time of day. Specifically, if Eevee has high happiness and levels up during the day, it will evolve into Espeon. If it levels up at night with high happiness, it will become Umbreon. The crucial point is that level is not the determining factor for these evolutions; happiness is. This means you can evolve Eevee as soon as it reaches a high enough happiness level, regardless of its current level.
Checking Eevee’s Happiness in Goldenrod City
To determine if your Eevee is happy enough to evolve, you need to visit the Happiness Rater. In Goldenrod City, you’ll find her located north of the Bike Shop. She will assess the happiness of the Pokémon in the first slot of your party and provide a rating based on its happiness points. Here’s a breakdown of what she might say and the corresponding happiness levels:
| Sentence | Happiness Points |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- |
| "It looks really happy! It must love you a lot." | 250-255 |
| "I get the feeling that it really trusts you." | 200-249 |
| "It's friendly toward you. It looks sort of happy." | 150-199 |
| "It's quite cute." | 100-149 |
| "You should treat it better. It's not used to you." | 50-99 |
| "It doesn't seem to like you at all. It looks mean." | 0-49 |You need your Eevee to reach a happiness level where the rater says “It looks really happy! It must love you a lot.” or “I get the feeling that it really trusts you.” to ensure evolution upon leveling up.
Methods to Increase Eevee’s Happiness Quickly
If your Eevee isn’t quite there yet, don’t worry! There are several ways to boost its happiness in Pokémon SoulSilver:
- Walking: Taking steps with Eevee in your party gradually increases happiness. Every 256 steps taken will increase happiness by 1 or 2 points.
- Using Vitamins: Items like HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc, and Carbos significantly raise happiness, increasing it by 2 to 6 points.
- Using EV Berries: Berries that reduce Effort Values (EVs) like Pomeg, Kelpsy, Qualot, Hondew, Grepa, and Tamato Berries also boost happiness by 2 to 6 points.
- Gaining Levels: Leveling up your Eevee naturally increases its happiness by 2 to 6 points each time.
- Using Healing Items: Using Potions, Super Potions, Hyper Potions, etc., when Eevee is injured will give a small happiness boost of 1 to 2 points.
- Massages: In Goldenrod City, you can get a “haircut” for your Pokémon in the underground tunnel (this is essentially a massage). This will significantly increase happiness by 3 to 5 points. Additionally, massages at the Ribbon Syndicate (post-game content) offer an even greater boost of 5 to 6 points.
Luxury Ball and Friend Ball Bonuses:
For an even faster start, consider catching Eevee in a Friend Ball or Luxury Ball:
- Friend Ball: Eevee caught in a Friend Ball starts with a base happiness of 200, putting it very close to evolution right away.
- Luxury Ball: Pokémon caught in a Luxury Ball gain happiness points at an increased rate from actions like walking and leveling up, effectively speeding up the happiness-raising process. The second number in the point ranges mentioned above for happiness increase methods indicates the boost when using a Luxury Ball.
Evolving Eevee into Espeon or Umbreon
Once the Happiness Rater confirms your Eevee is extremely happy, the final step is to level it up at the correct time:
- Espeon: Level up Eevee during the daytime when it has high happiness.
- Umbreon: Level up Eevee during the nighttime when it has high happiness.
“Daytime” and “Nighttime” are determined by the in-game clock in Pokémon SoulSilver.
Lowest Level Espeon or Umbreon Possible:
Using these methods, it’s entirely achievable to evolve Eevee into Espeon or Umbreon as early as level 2, or whatever level your Eevee is when you catch it! Focus on maximizing happiness through the methods described, and then simply level up your Eevee once during the appropriate time of day.
Enjoy your low-level Espeon or Umbreon in Pokémon SoulSilver! By prioritizing happiness, you can bypass unnecessary grinding and obtain these powerful evolutions early in your adventure.
