How to Evolve Eevee into Espeon Without Name Trick in Pokémon Go

As a passionate Pokémon Go player and content creator focused on the game, one of the most common questions I get from fans is: how do you evolve Eevee into Espeon without using the name trick?

The name trick only works once per evolution, so it‘s not a sustainable strategy for getting multiple Espeons. The good news is there is another way! It just requires putting in some legwork with your Eevee buddy.

Walking with Eevee is the Key

The secret for guaranteed Espeon evolution lies in walking with your Eevee buddy.

As the above table shows, you need to:

1. Set Eevee as your buddy Pokémon
2. Walk together for at least 10km
3. Earn 2 Eevee candies

According to multiple player reports and my own experience, meeting these criteria maximizes your buddy level with Eevee which then enables Espeon evolution.

The total time required will vary depending on your walking pace. For reference, at a brisk pace of 5km/hour, plan on at least 2 hours of walking.

Personally, I like to set a walking goal for the day to earn those candies, rather than trying to rush the 10km all at once if I‘m not out exercising already.

Evolve in Day for Espeon, Night for Umbreon

Once you’ve hit the 10km walked and 2 candies earned thresholds, you are ready to evolve your Eevee into Espeon or Umbreon.

To evolve into Espeon specifically, you must initiate the evolution during daytime hours in the real world. If done at night, you’ll get Umbreon instead.

This evolutionary split between Espeon and Umbreon based on time of day was discovered by observant Pokémon Go players shortly after Gen 2 released back in 2017. Many gamers, myself included, have reliably used this mechanic since to obtain both Pokémon.

For reference, daytime hours typically run approximately:

• 6AM to 7PM in the summer
• 8AM to 5PM in the winter

Of course, daylight times vary by location so you’ll want to double check sunrise/sunset in your area.

It‘s also important to make sure the real-world clock and time zone setting on your phone are accurate.

Check for Silhouette Before Evolving

Another tip is to check that you see Espeon’s silhouette on the evolution button before evolving your Eevee.

If done correctly, the evolve button should clearly display Espeon‘s slim feline shape rather than the standard Eeveelution question mark.

However, I’ve successfully evolved Eevees into Espeon and Umbreon without having them still set as my buddy at the time. So if you want to set a different walking partner, the evolution should still work fine as long as you previously hit the 10km distance threshold with Eevee.

In summary:

Now you know how to evolve as many Eevees into Espeon as you have the patience to walk with! After you walk your first one, I recommend tagging Espeon evolution candidates with “day” and Umbreon ones with “night” so you remember which to evolve when.

Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions on evolving Eevee without the name trick!