Pokémon is a wonderful and mythical world of fantastical creatures that has survived for a quarter century in the form of anime, playing cards, collectible toys, and of course, a role-playing video game. Longtime fans can name a large percentage of the 908 creatures that have been released so far. Some people’s knowledge of Pokémon begins and ends with Pikachu. There is nothing at all wrong with that kind of casual fandom, but I feel like I must do a service and at least let you know about the other wonderful creatures you can raise in the universe where these monsters do battle, play, work, and keep people company. It’s time to play WHO’S THAT POKÉMON???!?!?
SYLVEON (No. 700)
Evolution Line – Eevee (No. 133) → Sylveon (Pokémon is happy and knows a Fairy-type move)
Type – Fairy
First Appears In – Pokémon X and Y
The secondary franchise mascot is known for the cute tuft of fur below their adorable lil’ head but also for being able to evolve into eight different Pokémon. Sylveon is the latest one, introduced when the Fairy-type was also introduced in Generation VI. Eeveelutions, along with starters, fossils, and pseudo-legendary Pokémon, are among the most sought-after and versatile ones in the game. Sylveon is no different. With their combination of aesthetic beauty, special bulk, and a color scheme that has made them the mascot for an entire group of people.
Aesthetics and Biology – From the pastel color scheme to the taffeta ribbon-like appendages dancing in the wind off their neck and ears to the lil’ bows, Sylveon was meant to be the frilliest, fanciest, girliest Pokémon yet. For as “feminine” as the aesthetics are, however, something about the way they were built and created has appealed to the trans community. Is it Sylveon’s color scheme, which is has the same core colors as the Trans Pride Flag? That could be it. You can get into the discussions about body dysmorphia or whatever among yourselves, but that’s not something I am qualified to do. All I can say is that trans Pokémon fans worldwide have latched onto Sylveon as their personal mascot, and they’ve selected a fine creature to stand for them.
The bows and ribbon feelers are not just for aesthetics though. Sylveon’s most widespread job outside of the battling games is for therapy. They are a comfort Pokémon, which explains their inviting, enticing design. Form gives way to function, as the bows and feelers all emit soothing pheromones to help their partners feel at peace, physically or mentally. The Fairy-typing also is more than just a symbolic designation. Fairy-types are immune to Dragon-type attacks, which gives Sylveon symbolic importance as a bulwark against the scariest, least understood type in the game in the Dragon.
In the Games – Eevee is a rare Pokémon in the first six or so generations. It wasn’t until the tail-end of Generation VII when it gained prominence as a co-mascot with Pikachu, which all drew back to Pokémon Yellow. You get Pikachu as a starter but your rival, Blue/Gary/whatever vulgar name you gave him, receives an Eevee. That paradigm gave rise to the Let’s Go duo of games where Eevee got co-billing. For all intents and purposes, that rise in prominence actually helped make Eevee become even rarer. Pikachu has been prized as a rarity every game in which it has been included, from Red/Blue all the way up through Legends: Arceus.
Sylveon is one of the three Eeveelutions gotten by making your base happy, along with Espeon and Umbreon. Happiness takes work, so if you choose to embrace the frilly pink wonder that is Sylveon, you have to make your companion Eevee happy. It’s not nearly as cumbersome as it sounds, although it’s also not nearly as easy as throwing an elemental stone at them and seeing them turn into Leafeon, Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, or Glaceon1. All that circumstance suggests Sylveon is more of a late-game Pokémon, which is more or less correct. They’re meant to be one anyway. Fairies are the bulwark against Dragons, and Dragons are the quintessential late game menaces. You no longer have to fear Goodra or Dragonite or whatever because you can just throw in Sylveon and scare the daylights out of them.
However, Sylveon in Legends: Arceus is perhaps the easiest Eeveelution to procure. You can find Eevee scuttling around the Horseshoe Plains if you look long enough. They’re rare, but they’re not necessarily a once-in-a-lifetime happenstance meeting. It’s almost a mirror of Red/Blue with Pikachu in Viridian Forest. No matter how hard you try to get Espeon or Umbreon, you will undoubtedly forget that your Eevee knows Baby-Doll Eyes, and thus you will get a Sylveon. And that’s a good thing! Sylveon is a rock that can absorb Fighting and Dark attacks (both of which are abundant), shake off Dragon attacks, and be able to hit nearly everything you face in the in-game hard enough with a little help from some teammates to take care of pesky Fire, Steel, and Poison-types.
The Nerd Section – Each Eeveelution has a spread where three of their stats will be in the 60s and the other three will be 95/110/130. Some of these builds make total sense. For example, Jolteon has 110 base Special Attack and 130 base Speed. It is built to shoot Thunderbolts and Shadow Balls with reckless abandon. Others, like Flareon, have puzzling builds where the stats randomly are distributed in a way that makes them kinda useless competitively. Fortunately, Sylveon has one of the smarter builds. With 95 base HP, 110 base Special Attack, and 130 base Special Defense, Sylveon is made to come in to absorb special moves while dishing out in kind. Additionally, their hidden ability, Pixilate, gives them access to the most powerful Fairy-type attack in the game, STAB Fairy Hyper Beam. Of course, using Hyper Beam in competitive battles has the drawback of leaving yourself wide open, but fortunately, Gen VII has Z-Moves and Gen VIII has Dynamax. Moves like Hyper Beam then become powerful building blocks for the peak boosted attacks.
The special bulk comes in handy with a wide variety of special moves. Eevee is a charmed Pokémon in that they come with a ton of nifty support moves that help out tons in the metagame. Moves like Wish, Heal Bell, Baton Pass, and Yawn are frequently-seen and highly useful moves that can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Although the 95 base HP is a little on the lean side, the 130 base Special Defense more than makes up for it.
Standard Set - Smogon
Calm Nature (Special Defense ↑, Attack ↓)
Ability - Pixilate (All Normal-type moves become Fairy-type moves)
EVs - 252 HP/188 Defense/68 Special Defense
Hold Item - Leftovers or Heavy-Duty Boots
- Hyper Voice
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell
I generally don’t like going to Smogon for movesets, not because they’re not good, but because I generally, philosophically disagree with their “formulate everything you do in a video game for babies by doing loads of math” mindset. THAT BEING SAID, their movesets are good for that reason, they do a lot of math and get all kinds of calculations and probabilities formulated. Sylveon’s Defense is on the stinky side, so the heavy investment there makes sense. “Not Very Effective” can be pretty effective if you have, say, a Sirfetch’d working with an insane 135 base Attack either with Swords Dance or a Choice Band boosting a Close Combat. Anyway, this cleric set allows Sylveon not only to heal themselves but other teammates whose sole purpose it is to attack like a mindless drone with Wish and Heal Bell. Protect is a great scouting move, and Hyper Voice backed by Pixilate gives Sylveon a powerful STAB move that will chunk even the bulkiest walls. The Smogon set also gives Mystical Fire as a backup move if you don’t think you want or need a set with Heal Bell. Sylveon is walled to hell by Steel-types, so Mystical Fire can help keep them honest. Your mileage may vary.
My Set - Fukk U, JK Rowling
Modest Nature (Special Attack ↑, Attack ↓)
Ability - Pixilate
EVs - 212 HP/252 Special Attack/44 Special Defense
Hold Item - Choice Specs/Leftovers/Weakness Policy
- Moonblast
- Hyper Beam
- Mystical Fire
- Shadow Ball
I don’t have the patience for support sets, which might be why I’m a terrible metagame battler. That being said, this set makes so much sense for a Pokémon built to stand and deliver. You could use Hyper Voice instead of Moonblast in there, but the mere spectre of running into a Kommo-O with Soundproof might make Moonblast the default STAB option here. Hyper Beam is there if you need a boost to finish off a battle or use as a base for an ultra-powerful Twinkle Tackle in Gen VII or Max Starfall in Gen VIII. The other two moves simply are for coverage given Sylveon’s mostly threadbare (by design) movepool. Mystical Fire is a wonderful tool to combat Steel-types, while Shadow Ball is a nice utilitarian attack that can hit nearly everyone for nice damage. I would recommend either the Choice Specs or Weakness Policy so you can get free boosts, but I wouldn’t blame anyone for going for Leftovers if they value attrition over overwhelming the opponent.
Finale – Power creep is a real thing, and many times, the attempts to get people to latch onto newer Pokémon through sheer force of excess fall flat because people see through the attempts at making new creatures great out of a tell, don’t show strategy. Sylveon is one of the best newer Pokémon because it feels like they could have been deployed among the original 151. There’s such a homey feel to this one, and it’s no surprise that an entire community of marginalized people have latched onto them. Sylveon is authentic and a wonderful addition to your team, be it in the game or the metagame.
Prior WHO’S THAT POKÉMON:
Venusaur
Mimikyu
Haxorus
Blaziken
Heracross
Mismagius
Elemental stones are a recent thing for both Leafeon and Glaceon, but they kinda just gave up on making you seek out a specific area in the game to be able to evolve Eevee into those two by the time you get to Galar.