In the Pokémon franchise, Eevee has always been a special case. For starters, it’s the only Pokémon with eight different evolutions to choose from. Each of these Eeveelutions—Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon, and Sylveon—have different types and different ways to evolve from Eevee. The Fairy-type Sylveon, for example, evolves with high friendship and a Fairy-type move in its moveset in the mainline games like Scarlet and Violet.
Evolving Eevee in Pokémon Go is a bit different, though. Rather than using specific stones or teaching Eevee certain moves, Eevee will randomly evolve into Flareon, Jolteon, or Vaporeon unless other requirements are met for one of the other Eeveelutions. In Sylveon’s case, the player must get their Eevee to 70 Buddy Hearts and use 25 Eevee Candy.
Related: Pokémon Go Eevee Evolution guide
There’s also a well-known convenient shortcut Pokémon Go players can use one time per Eeveelution. The trick involves naming your Eevee to pick exactly what it evolves into. For example, “Sparky” will give you a Jolteon, “Rainer” will give you a Vaporeon, and “Pyro” will give you Flareon. Likewise, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, and Glaceon also have designated nicknames for this evolution method. But does this trick also work for the newest Eeveelution, Sylveon?
Does the Eevee evolution name trick work for Sylveon in Pokémon Go?
Yes, Eevee can be given a specific nickname to quickly evolve it into Sylveon without the 70 Buddy Hearts. The special name for Sylveon is “Kira.”
Once your Eevee is named “Kira,” you just need to use 25 Eevee Candy on it. As with all of the other Eeveelution name tricks, this will only work once. After evolving Eevee into Sylveon with the “Kira” nickname, you’ll have to work for the 70 Buddy Hearts if you want to evolve another Eevee into the Fairy-type.