When Should You Evolve Eevee into Umbreon? The Ultimate Guide

As an Eevee enthusiast and longtime Pokémon fan, one of my personal favorite Eeveelutions has always been the mysterious Umbreon. But timing an Eevee evolution into this elusive Dark-type can be tricky if you don‘t know the exact method.

In this guide, I‘ll share expert tips on exactly when and how to guarantee your Eevee becomes the majestic midnight Pokémon known as Umbreon…

Meet the Moonlight Pokémon

Before evolving, let‘s first appreciate why Umbreon is so coveted by players…

With formidable bulk and access to disruption moves like Snarl, Umbreon shines competitively as a defensive wall that can spread status effects. According to Pikalytics 2023 usage stats, Umbreon ranks as the:#2 most used Eeveelution in doubles (13.9% usage)#5 most used overall Pokémon in VGC 2023 doubles

I‘ve personally used Umbreon to great effect as a toxic staller on my Gen 3-5 in-game teams. And collectors value Umbreon‘s sleek black sheen in its rare shiny form.

So whether battling online or decorating your base, Umbreon brings useful strengths few other Pokémon can match.

Evolving Eevee into Umbreon: Requirements

Evolving Eevee into Umbreon requires meeting several key criteria:

• Level Up at Night – Eevee must reach the desired level to evolve while it is nighttime in your game (between 8pm and 4am)
• High Friendship (minimum 220 points, 2 hearts in Amie) – boost via treats, grooming, Pokémon Camp
• No Fairy Moves – Eevee cannot know a Fairy-type move or you risk unwanted Sylveon

Tip: Use a Soothe Bell to increase friendship gain if struggling to reach 2 hearts quickly.

If done correctly, your Eevee will evolve into Umbreon on its very next level up that occurs at night!

Exact Friendship Thresholds

According to current Gen 8 mechanic tests, you need your Eevee to have at least 220 friendship points for Umbreon/Espeon evolutions in Sword/Shield.

While 2 hearts (Great Friends) satisfies this, I recommend going a bit higher if possible to be safe:

Data Source: Serebii

As you can see, by hitting Ultra Friends (3 hearts) at 255 points, you guarantee clearing the 220 point evolutions threshold – with some buffer room in case you lose a couple points somewhere.

Preventing Unwanted Evolutions

Now you might be wondering – how do I stop my high friendship Eevee becoming Espeon or Sylveon instead of Umbreon?

No Fairy Moves

Firstly, do not let Eevee learn any Fairy-type moves while leveling it up. Babydoll Eyes and others will activate Sylveon evolution instead once friendship criteria are met. Delete old moves via Move Reminder if needed.

Time it Right

Secondly, the time of day matters! Only level up high friendship Eevee at night to get Umbreon specifically. Daytime is Espeon time.

I recommend evolving between 12 midnight and 5am to be absolutely safe. This gives ample nighttime buffer well away from the 8pm-4am boundary where the game may register "daytime" instead.

If you accidentally level too early/late and get Espeon, you can quit without saving to redo more carefully.

Umbreon‘s Best Builds & Moves

Once you have your coveted Umbreon, let‘s discuss how to utilize it effectively…

Umbreon thrives as a defensive wall and disruption Pokémon rather than an attacking sweeper. It has massive bulk with base 95/110/130 defenses, but only 65 attack and 60 special attack.

Still, with the right build Umbreon can stall out opponents and sway matches.

Bulky Support Set

For doubles battles, I recommend an Impish nature Umbreon with moves like Protect, Snarl, Foul Play, and Yawn. Hold Leftovers for recovery, and max HP and Defense EVs.

This set utilizes Umbreon‘s tankiness to spread status effects, disrupt opponents, and whittle their HP while protecting injured teammates. Yawn forces switches to bring in favorable matchups too.

In recent months, Snarl Umbreon variants have ranked among the top 10 most common Pokémon on Battle Stadium Singles and VGC 2023 leaderboards – a testament to Umbreon‘s utility!

Specially Defensive

Alternatively consider a Calm nature with Toxic, Protect, Moonlight, Heal Bell to handle special attacks. Max HP and SpDef investment bolsters Umbreon into a magic tank. Wish over Moonlight provides team support but is less reliable solo.

If held items are allowed, the Roseli Berry automatically cures poison/burn status on Umbreon which protects its bulk.

Offensive Variants

While less common, Jolly or Adamant natures boost Umbreon‘s mediocre attack stat. Strong physical STAB moves like Bite, Crunch, Assurance, and Payback let it surprise opponents expecting passive support. Just don‘t ask Umbreon to sweep full teams!

Move Pool Summary

Here are some other notable moves in Umbreon‘s diverse toolkit to round out move sets:

• Curse – Drops Speed for Attack/Defense boosts. Also curses foes if Ghost-type.
• Double Team – Raise evasiveness to annoy foes
• Confuse Ray – Start mind games
• Sand Attack – Lower accuracy
• Pursuit – Punish switches
• Dark Pulse – Strong special STAB

And don‘t forget utility moves like Toxic, Yawn, Protect, Wish, and Helping Hand!

Evolving Shiny Eevee into Umbreon

For collectors, obtaining a rare shiny Umbreon is the dream. Luckily the same friendship + night method works for shiny Eevees.

However, extra care must be taken to avoid Sylveon. Having high affection and knowing Fairy moves risks unwanted pink Sylveon instead!

Here are fail-safe steps:

1. Raise base Eevee friendship to 200-255 points (Ultra Friends)
2. Delete all Fairy moves via Move Reminder, relearn if needed later
3. Only level up at midnight to pre-dawn night specifically
4. Shiny Eevee will become glorious black-blue Umbreon!

Note the 220 point minimum should still work, but I suggest going a bit higher on shinies in case of fluke.

Midnight is also safer than the 8pm earliest night window – less ambient light early AM. You‘ve likely spent long hours chain fishing or Masuda breeding for that shiny – don‘t risk messing up at the last second!

Umbreon‘s Availability & Event History

While Eevee has been abundantly distribued for years, Umbreon itself has had limited event appearances:

• Gen 3 Colosseum Starter – In Pokémon Colosseum, Wes‘ starter Eevee could be evolved into Umbreon. A Ribboned shiny LV10 version was usable in Ruby/Sapphire!
• Gen 4 HGSS Event – The PCNYc version from Pokémon Center stores was transferable to Gen 4. Also in Johto‘s HGSS.
• Gen 5 Global Link – Available as a Hidden Ability DW Umbreon
• Gen 6 XY Anime Tie-In – An event Umbreon themed after Gary‘s was released 2013
• Gen 7 Alola Event – Umbreon was obtainable in 2017 to promote the Sun/Moon anime specials
• Gen 8 SwSh Raid Event – Dark Hidden Ability Umbreon featured in Max Raid Dens during 2020-2021

Outside special distributions, Umbreon‘s otherwise only readily obtainable evolution requires a bit more strategy compared to casual methods like Fire/Water stones or simple Trade item use. But that extra thought pays dividends!

While I love sylveon too, I still believe dedicated Umbreon trainers will find all that late night Eevee level grinding ultimately rewarding…

Now go watch the sunrise with your brand new nocturnal comrade! The moonlight summoning ritual is complete. Enjoy your wonderful black blessed Eeveelution!