Evolving Sky-High Popularity: Why the Pokémon Fandom Loves Eeveelutions (Featuring a Selection of the Best Eeveelution Cards)
The enduring popularity of Eevee and its evolutions will forever make them among the most iconic Pokémon of them all.
Ever since Eevee and its three original evolutions—Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon—were introduced all the way back in Pokémon’s first generation, Eevee and the now eight Eeveelutions have remained among the biggest fan favorites out of all 1,025 Pokémon across nine generations to date.
Such is the popularity of Eevee and its evolutions that Eevee is the only Pokémon with a day in its honor. “Eevee Day” takes place on 21 November—a date selected because in Goroawase, the conversion of Japanese characters to numbers, ”Eevee” can be read as “1121”. Not only that—The Pokémon Company has designated 2025 as the “Year of Eevee”.
The massive popularity of the Eeveelutions has many layers and facets to it—going far beyond the ‘mons themselves. They’ve been used as the faces of major marketing campaigns; have had featured roles in the Pokémon video games, anime, and manga; have had countless pieces of Pokémon fan art and fanfiction centered around them, and have featured on some of the most iconic Pokémon TCG cards.
But just what is it about the Eeveelutions that’s made them so adored by Pokémon fans? Let’s now take a deep dive.
The Concept
The first point to mention has to be the very concept underpinning Eevee and its evolutions. Right from the jump, the whole gimmick surrounding Eevee was its ability to evolve into multiple different Pokémon due to its unstable DNA; in Gen 1 it was the only Pokémon with branched evolutions.
The man behind Eevee was Motofumi Fujiwara, a former Game Freak employee. His idea behind Eevee was a “blank slate” Pokémon—a relatively featureless Pokémon which serves as a background upon which the Eeveelutions could be based. In turn, the Eeveelutions were intended to embody the type into which they evolve while also retaining unmistakable Eevee-like features.
These ideas elevated the status of Eevee and its evolutions and are just one of the reasons why the Eeveelutions are so loved by the fans. As an example, take a look at any Eevee or Eeveelution Full Art Pokémon TCG card. It only takes one glance to know that the card in question has a vibe all of its own—one that unmistakably belongs to no other Pokémon besides Eevee or one of its evolutions. It’s for this reason that the two Pokémon TCG sets built around the Eeveelutions were such megahits. (More on that later.)
The Eeveelutions in the Pokémon Video Games, Anime, and Manga
Eevee and its evolutions have seen their profile elevated by a slew of video game, anime, and manga appearances. For example, in the video games, Eevee or an Eeveelution is the player’s starter Pokémon in Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee!, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, and Pokémon Colosseum. In Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon, the player could challenge the nine Eevee users who each owned either Eevee or an Eeveelution.
In the Pokémon anime, five notable characters have owned an Eevee; four of them ended up evolving. The Eeveelutions were also spotlighted in anime short Pokémon: Eevee & Friends. In the Pokémon Adventures manga, two major characters owned an Eevee; both would go on to evolve. This frequent highlighting of Eevee and its evolutions in the video games, anime, and manga has further served to keep the Eeveelutions at the forefront of the Pokémon franchise.
The Eeveelutions in the Pokémon TCG
Eevee and its evolutions have a long and storied history in the Pokémon TCG. For example, between 2003 and 2006, the Pokémon Players Club was active. Members could accumulate EXP points by fulfilling certain criteria, then cash them in for a promotional Gen 3 Shiny Eeveelution card. From lowest amount of EXP required to highest, these cards were Vaporeon ☆, Jolteon ☆, Flareon ☆, Espeon ☆, and Umbreon ☆ which required the maximum total of 70,000 EXP. To this day, these cards—especially Umbreon ☆—remain iconic and sell for thousands of dollars per copy.
In 2021, Gen 8 set Eevee Heroes [S6a] was released to tremendous fanfare. As implied by its name, it was centered around Eevee and its evolutions—and it ended up being far and away the biggest hit of its entire generation. Standout Eeveelution cards from Eevee Heroes [S6a] included the Hyper Rare (HR) versions of Leafeon VMAX, Glaceon VMAX, Sylveon VMAX, and of course, a card which to this day is spoken of in near-reverential tones: the HR version of Umbreon VMAX better known to the community as “Moonbreon”.
Many regard Moonbreon as one of the greatest cards of all time, if not the single greatest. A copy of a Moonbreon card today sells for close to US$2,000.
More recently, Gen 9 set Terastal Festival ex [SV8a] was released in December 2024 and was again centered around the Eeveelutions. As one might expect, the standout cards of the set were 10 Special Art Rare (SAR) Pokémon-ex cards depicting Eevee and its evolutions—unsurprisingly, the standouts were those of the three most popular Eeveelutions: Umbreon ex, Sylveon ex, and Espeon ex.
It was even possible for Eevee ex and all its Pokémon-ex Eeveelutions—all in SAR form—to be found in a single God Pack.
Other notable selections included Master Ball Mirror cards which were all reprints of previously existing Eeveelution cards—but this time around with the much rarer Master Ball Mirror print on them. Once again, the three aforementioned Eeveelutions topped the Master Ball Mirror list.
Now, let’s take a look at some standout cards featuring Eevee or one of its evolutions.
Eeveelution Squad and Its Impact on the TCG
No discussion of the Eeveelutions’ popularity can truly be complete without mentioning the wildly popular webcomic Eeveelution Squad, one of the most popular pieces of Pokémon fan content of all time. Written and illustrated by EV-Zero between April 2016 and March 2021, the webcomic raised the already sizable fan appeal of the Eeveelutions to new heights.
Containing five main chapters and 12 special chapters, Eeveelution Squad rose to such popularity that it spawned not only audio versions of each main and special chapter, but also large quantities of fanfiction and fanart. In addition, the fact that the three most popular Eeveelutions are Umbreon, Sylveon, and Espeon is—at least in part—the result of the influence of Eeveelution Squad. This is because the two most popular character “ships” of Eeveelution Squad were Black Silverbolt (Umbreon) X Silvia Sunsinger (Sylveon) and Black Silverbolt X Shining Pearl (Espeon).
Eeveelution Squad is a big reason why Pokémon TCG cards depicting Espeon, Sylveon, and especially Umbreon often far outvalue those of their fellow Eeveelutions. In both Eeveelution-centric sets, the most valuable cards have depicted Umbreon, followed by Sylveon, then Espeon—in that order. Even though Eeveelution Squad wrapped up years ago, its impact will ensure that future Umbreon, Sylveon, and Espeon cards are certain to retail for serious money and likely be featured on future cards which will themselves become iconic.
What the Eeveelutions Represent
One final aspect regarding the Eeveelutions’ popularity might not lie in the Pokémon themselves—but in what they mean to the fans. For example, there are no better Pokémon than Eevee and its evolutions to represent the ideas of striving to live up to one’s potential, choosing one’s own destiny in life, and staying true to oneself.
In addition, the Eeveelutions have also been used by the fandom to represent diversity and inclusivity. Since the Eeveelutions span so many different types and have their own niches in the TCG, video games, and elsewhere while remaining firm fan favorites after so many years, they have often been used as a metaphor for how everyone ought to find acceptance no matter their background or identity.
The enduring popularity of the Eeveelutions can’t be questioned—they occupy a unique position within the Pokémon fandom. We’ll close with this thought: if Pikachu is the “face of the Pokémon franchise”, there’s a case to be made that the Eeveelutions are the “soul of the Pokémon franchise”.
Now that you know why the Eeveelutions have the status they do among the Pokémon fandom, why not browse the SNKRDUNK App to check out our impressive selection of Eeveelution cards? Pick your favorite Eeveelution from the list below and check out what we have waiting for you.
Eevee
Vaporeon
Jolteon
Flareon
Espeon
Umbreon
Leafeon
Glaceon
Sylveon
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