'Pokémon Go' Umbreon or Espeon: How to evolve Eevee into a Gen 2 'Mon with the Tamao trick

Pokémon Go Gen 2 is here, and that means two new evolution options for Eevee: Espeon and Umbreon. Here's how to pick which new eeveelution you get via the naming trick.

Pokémon Go Umbreon vs Espeon: The Eevee naming trick still works

Remember how awesome it was when you discovered that you could force Eevee in Pokémon Go to evolve into Flareon, Jolteon or Vaporeon just by changing the Eevee's name? 

You can do the same thing now for the two new Eeveelutions! The two names you need to learn to evolve the new evolutions, Espeon and Umbreon, are once again a reference to the Pokémon anime. 

Before we dive in, it's important to note that this trick only works once for Espeon and once for Umbreon. You won't be able to guarantee any more evolutions than that. So make sure you check your Eevee's IVs if you want to get the best Espeon or Umbreon possible in Pokémon Go.

Pokémon Go Umbreon or Espeon: How to evolve your Eevee into a Gen 2 Pokémon

To control Eevee's evolution in Gen 1, you would rename the "Rainer," "Sparky" or "Pyro," to get a Vaporeon, Flareon or Jolteon, respectively. Rainer, Sparky and Pyro were Pokémon trainers in the anime series who each owned one of the three Eeveelutions. 

According to Bulbapedia, in the main Pokémon games, the Kimono Girls are Pokémon trainers who each train one of Eevee's evolutions. In the Pokémon anime, Espeon was owned by a Kimono Girl named Sakura, while Umbreon was owned by a Kimono Girl named Tamao.

So, to guarantee an evolution from Eevee into Espeon, just rename the Eevee "Sakura," close and reopen Pokémon Go to make sure the name change registers, then evolve the renamed Eevee. To guarantee an evolution into Umbreon, rename the Eevee "Tamao" instead, then follow those same steps.

Pokémon Go Umbreon vs Espeon: Which Eevee evolution is better?

Eevee's first three evolutions included Vaporeon, who has been on the top of the best attacker and defender lists since the game was released last year. That made Eevee a prized Pokémon, because you could ensure your Eevee evolved into a Vaporeon by using the naming trick.

Espeon and Umbreon are untested combatants in the Pokémon Go gym battling game. We won't know for sure who the new, best endgame Pokémon in general are until the Gen 2 data has been crunched and we see which Pokémon start appearing regularly on top of gyms in the game. Therefore, we don't know how Espeon and Umbreon are going to measure up.

Silph Research Group has been breaking down the stats of the new Johto Pokémon, however, and as all species share the same basic stats, we can see that Espeon is an attacker with low HP, while Umbreon is undoubtedly a gym defender. So take that into considering if you only have enough Eevee candies for one evolution.

Check out more Pokémon Go guides, tips and tricks

If you're booting up the game for the first time in a while to get ready for Gen 2, be sure to check out Mic's guides on how to get stardust, how to determine how long it will take you to reach level 40, the kind of Pokémon you get from 10-kilometer eggs, how to create new PokéStops, how to maximize your chances of catching Pokémon and how PokéStops distribute Pokémon eggs. Also check out how to catch Gen 2 baby Pokémon, our analysis of post-balance update Chansey and Rhydon and everything you need to know about finding the long-awaited Pokémon Ditto.