Yeah, I love Sonic Rush

196: Espeon

...But first, a hot take about Eeveelutions as a concept...

Gold and Silver treated Eevee fans to not just one, but two new evolutions to mess around with. Though to this very day one thing that strikes me as lame is just to what capacity the Eeveelutions are implemented under, as far as design goes. The first three had at least slightly varying body shapes, but compare that to all five newer Eeveelutions, and...

They're all dangerously close to being the exact same creature but with different bits added on. The only ones that are all that different are Espeon for having skinnier legs and Sylveon for at least having a different face structure, but other than that, that's just about it. I feel like the strength of a Pokemon line with a huge variety of evolutions to chose from is, well, just that. The variety. Something Eeveelutions definitely feel like they sorely lack with them looking like the same dog-fox-cat-thing but dressed differently. Especially when their whole schtick is being evolutionary adaptations to specific environments.

That's ultimately why I kinda prefer to take Eeveelutions on their value separately, cause as a group their samey-ness really brings them down. And this is coming from someone that likes these critters, mind you. I just feel like their concept gets short-handed in favor of looking pretty and easy to sell merch with. Especially the later into the series they get.

Just wanted to say all that to get it out of the way. So, as for Espeon on its own, I do like Espeon, though as per usual it leaves a lot to be desired to me as a design. I like its oversized ears and fluffy cheeks, definitely gives the thing a bit of a lynx vibe. And the mostly empty-looking eyes work well for a Psychic type. I just wish there was a bit more that made it look more obviously "Psychic."

The split tails are neat, but they don't really serve anything for the design for me. I feel like it should've leaned further into a sun motif, since Umbreon is rather obviously moon-inspired and the two are meant to be opposites. Carrying around a glowing crystal ball with its tails would definitely be the easiest way to accomplish this. If I were to go more extreme, I'd try to find a way to make its eyes at least "look" merged into one, to not only give the suggestion of a visor or sunglasses, but also emphasize its cold, calculating look. The Psychic type is so associated with a single eye as a symbol anyway, so why not?

My sleep schedule, but as a Pokemon

197: Umbreon

Umbreon I like just a smidge better than Espeon, because I feel like it better encompasses the concept of a nocturnal Eeveelution than Espeon does for a day-time one. The minimalist colors work in its favor this time around, with its all-black body looking pretty sweet, and nicely broken up with those bright red eyes. Very much gives off the energy that you wouldn't want to see those peering at you when you're wandering around after dark.

Add in the glowing ring patterns on its body and hey, while the design still isn't made wild, it's still doing something fairly unique. Maybe not for today's standard, cause there's a decent number of mammalian creatures with glowing markings all across media at this point, but for 1999? This wasn't too bad. It kinda makes me wish Umbreon had a bit more of a horror slant to it, because it'd definitely be a unique take for a nocturnal horror monster to have glowing parts on it. If nothing else, it's at least pretty unique for a darkness-themed creature.

The one bummer about Umbreon is that it doesn't really embody the Dark type very well. The Dark type roughly translates to an "Evil" type in Japan, meaning it's meant to be more of a "villainous" type. Obviously no Pokemon is inherently villainous, especially not all Dark types, Dark types DO have a tendency to be based on things traditionally associated with villainy or even just plain being an asshole. Umbreon doesn't really do this in any capacity, but eh. It's less sorely missed here than Espeon's almost complete lack of "Psychic" features.