The time has finally come; I am going to rank eeveelutions. I know I said I would do this like two months ago, but I ended up getting really busy, and I wanted to be able to put in the best effort and also make sure what I gave for reasoning was decent.
Something to remember is that I mostly base eeveelutions on their aesthetic, though I do think some are better than others in the actual games. I have never actually played the games (only some Scarlet and Violet and then Pokemon Go), so that is the extent of my experience.
I am NOT including Eevee, as I see her as the base, or the foundation. To rank her would be to skew the results of her evolutionary rankings. Here we go!
8. Flareon | Gen 1 ~ Kanto:
It was really hard to decide who would be in last place, because I believe 8th place and 7th place are very similar. But the lack-luster nature of Flareon makes me want to put them at the bottom. During my time as an avid Pokemon Go player, Flareon has always managed to let me down when it comes to raids and PVP battles. The moves it has is nothing to write home about, and it’s comparatively weak to its counterpart eeveelutions. Its design isn’t incredibly profound either, though it is very dog-like, which I can appreciate. Flareon’s shiny though? Terrible. They could have chosen so many colors, and made it so much cooler, but no, they had to make it slightly less orange. Overall, I think Flareon is cute, but also pretty disappointing.
7. Jolteon | Gen 1 ~ Kanto:
I know a lot of people who love Jolteon. It’s not that I don’t like Jolteon – I think Jolteon is fine – but it runs into the same problems that Flareon does. Jolteon is a let down in raids and PVP battles, and tends to take about two hits before fainting; if you have ever played Pokemon Go, you know how frustrating this is. In the anime, watching Jolteon is cool. I like its design, especially the spiky butt, and I think that its puppy-features make it ten times cuter. I realize that it does change color with the shiny, but it’s a neon green, something that I have trouble getting behind.
6. Umbreon | Gen 2 ~ Johto:
This is where I enter controversial territory. I know just how beloved and admired Umbreon is in the fandom and by those who like the battling aspect of the games. Umbreon is a tank in battle, and can take hits better than most, if not all of the eeveelutions; however, I think that Umbreon specifically is overhyped. When I was younger, I used to think of Umbreon as my first or second favorite. This has definitely changed, though. I love the design, but I can’t get myself to like it as much as I used to just because of how many people call it their favorite. I know this is petty, but I don’t care. Umbreon’s shiny is really good though! I think the blue and black combo is super kick-ass.
5. Vaporeon | Gen 1 ~ Kanto:
Vaporeon is so cute. I love her design, and I love her little mermaid tail. I think that this eeveelution, aside from Leafeon, matches the name so well. Additionally, Vaporeon is a quick attacker, capable of taking multiple hits before fainting (at least in my experience). I love her coloration, and her purple/pink shiny is incredibly satisfying. It’s perfect for a pretty girly Pokemon, one that can be super tough when it needs to be. So why is Vaporeon ranked so low on my list? Well, one of the reasons is simply just because I love some other eeveelutions more, but the other reason is kind of niche (not really). Thanks to the post of one member of the fandom, who knows how many years ago now, the attitude towards Vaporeon has shifted. Now, Vaporeon has gone from being an adorable and kitty-like Pokemon, to being sexualized and overtly-disturbing. Many people have refrained from labeling Vaporeon as their favorite in fear of judgemental side-eyes. It’s a tragic downfall, because I think Vaporeon is pretty cool, but it’s not exactly a surprise coming from a fandom like this.
4. Espeon | Gen 2 ~ Johto:
The “kittiest” kitty of them all; Espeon. Espeon is a very graceful and elegant eeveelution, known for her skill and grace. She is a somewhat quick attacker, and a hard attacker at that in battle, raids, etc. A lot of fans LOVE Espeon, and I love her too. I don’t fault people for loving this purple cutie. A big reason why people love Espeon and Umbreon specifically is because of the contrast they have between each other. Often, they are the “couple pokemon” that people use for profile pictures, fan art, etc. I don’t think that Espeon is better than my top three, though. I do love her simplistic design, if I will give her anything. Her shiny though? Just about as terrible as Jolteon and Flareon. Alien green does not look good on her.
3. Glaceon | Gen 4 ~ Sinnoh:
I know, I know. How dare I favor the weakest of the eeveelutions so high on my ranking? Well, it’s mostly because of her design, her presence, and the elements that surround that. She is so cute in the anime, and I think that her appearance is super adorable. The ears give it more of a bunny appearance (rather than a kitty or a puppy), and I like that. Also, this is super small, but the noise that Glaceon makes is my favorite in all of Pokemon. I think it is the best one in terms of sound, but also super fitting to the Pokemon itself. Her shiny however, is soooooo bad. You can BARELY see a difference, it’s even worse than the one given to Flareon. They could have made her green and I would have liked that better than the shiny she was saddled with, honestly.
2. Sylveon | Gen 6 ~ Kalos:
The queen of all queens, the most complexly designed eeveelution, and the prettiest princess around; it’s Sylveon! Sylveon is the favorite of so many, and I can’t blame them. For a long time, Sylveon was my number one, and often my number one and number two switch because I can’t genuinely decide which one I like more. Sylveon is a very graceful girly, one who is capable of lasting in battles longer than basically every other eeveelution. In Pokemon Go, she is my powerhouse fairy type, killing it on the battlefield like no other can. Her design is absolute peak, and since she was the last eeveelution to come out, I imagine that the designers of Kalos knew exactly how to captivate their audience with the design of Sylveon, since they have other eeveelutions that receive unrequited love before her. Her shiny is also amazing., The colors basically invert, replacing pink with blue and blue with pink. It’s a simple move, but one that is far more effective than the other eeveelutions receive. Overall, I think Sylveon covers a lot of ground in fan service, from design to attack.
1. Leafeon | Gen 4 ~ Sinnoh:
Are we surprised that my favorite eeveelution is a grass type? Leafeon is so beautiful, I love how they incorporate her grass type and her name into her design, making her cute and graceful at the same time. Leafeon is also an absolute tank with defense and attack, making her another one of my go to’s for battles in Pokemon Go. She lasts for a long time, so very often I have her along with Sylveon when I am fighting different Pokemon. Like I mentioned before, Sylveon and Leafeon are pretty interchangeable as my favorite since I have trouble deciding which is truly my favorite. Right now though, I have been pretty attached to leafeon. She brings calm and poised grace to her environment, and I love her for that. I think that she deserves to be number one for a lot more people, but unfortunately she gets ranked a lot lower on the lists of others. Her shiny does suck though, I don’t blame people for crossing her off their favorites for that. She runs into a similar situation that Glaceon and Flareon do, where her shiny barely has any change, instead making her a little lighter in comparison to Flareon’s “little lighter” shiny.
This is just my opinion, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I don’t hate or even dislike any of the eeveelutions. I love all of them, but when forced to rank them, this is just the outcome.