Umbreon is a mammalian Pokémon which has a sleek, black body with four slender legs and crimson eyes. It has two pairs of pointed teeth (one in the upper jaw and one in the lower jaw) which are visible when its mouth is open. It has long, pointed ears and a bushy tail, each with a yellow band around them. Its forehead and legs have yellow rings on them.
Umbreon's evolution is the result of Eevee being exposed to the light of the moon, which alters its genetic structure. Umbreon's yellow rings glow when it is excited, such as when it leaps to attack. They also glow when moonlight shines on them, filling Umbreon with a mysterious energy. Umbreon is nocturnal and as such, it has powerful night vision. Its black fur helps it hide in the darkness of night while waiting for its prey. When it spots the target, its rings gain a dim yet ominous glow, and it lunges for the prey's throat before eating it. Whenever Umbreon gets angry, it secretes and sprays poisonous sweat into the offender's eyes to protect itself. This Pokémon is rare in the wild, and is more often found in urban areas under the care of people.
Main series
Major appearances
Umbreon made its debut in Power Play!, where it was revealed that Gary's Eevee had evolved into one.
Gladion's Umbreon debuted in A Glaring Rivalry!, having evolved from an Eevee he had rescued as a toddler.
Other
In Trouble's Brewing and Espeon, Not Included, Tamao, one of the Kimono Sisters, owns an Umbreon. It rescued Sakura's Eevee from Team Rocket when they disrupted the Kimono Sisters' tea ceremony.
In Strategy Begins at Home!, Johanna used an Umbreon in a two-on-two Contest Battle alongside Glameow, where they went up against Dawn's Piplup and Pachirisu. In Challenging a Towering Figure!, it attended the start of the Festival Battle Challenge. In DPS01, it battled Piplup and Cyndaquil before the match was called off.
Virgil's male Umbreon debuted in Team Eevee and the Pokémon Rescue Squad!, along with an Eevee and her other evolutions at the time. In a flashback, it was revealed that he evolved from an Eevee when he and Virgil got lost in a forest and had to spend a night there. Umbreon reappeared in Lost at the League! and Strong Strategy Steals the Show!, and in a flashback in Curtain Up, Unova League!.
In Eevee & Friends, a mysterious Umbreon was with an Eevee and its evolved forms, including the newly introduced Sylveon. It is friends with a Weavile, Gible, Gothita, Gothorita, and Gothitelle.
In Turning Heads and Training Hard!, a Trainer's Umbreon was summoned to help Ilima's Eevee perform Extreme Evoboost. In the Poké Problem segment of the next episode, it saw Ilima and Eevee off.
An Umbreon appeared in Night and Day, You are the Ones!, under the ownership of Soleil, having evolved from a male Eevee. He reappeared in a flashback in Reuniting for the First Time!.
Minor appearances
In Johto Photo Finish, Gary's demonstration featured an Umbreon evolving from an Eevee.
In A Bite to Remember, Brock's demonstration featured an Umbreon evolving from an Eevee.
An Umbreon appeared in A Fan with a Plan.
Multiple Umbreon appeared in Destiny Deoxys.
In Giratina and the Sky Warrior, an Umbreon was together with an Eevee and the other six Eeveelutions at the time.
In The Battle Club and Tepig's Choice!, Ash called up the Pokédex entry for Umbreon, having mistaken a blackened-up Tepig, which broke out of a warehouse, for one.
In Tag Team Battle Inspiration!, Serena's fantasy featured an Umbreon as she imagined what her Eevee could evolve into.
Two Trainers' Umbreon appeared in The First Day of the Rest of Your Life!.
Three Umbreon appeared in The Power of Us, with one under the ownership of a Trainer, the second being wild, and the third appearing during a flashback.
In I Choose Paradise!, a Trainer's Umbreon was at the Pokémon Paradise Resort.
A Trainer's Umbreon appeared in We Know Where You're Going, Eevee!.
In To Train, or Not to Train!, an Umbreon was at the Eevee Evolution Lab.
An Umbreon appeared in a fantasy in On Land, In the Sea, and to the Future!.
A Trainer's Umbreon appeared in The Future is Now, Thanks to Strategy!.
Pokédex entries
Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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EP171
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Umbreon
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Ash's Pokédex
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Umbreon, the Moonlight Pokémon. When an Eevee has had sufficient training and is exposed to moonlight, it evolves into an Umbreon.
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Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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BW004
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Umbreon
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Ash's Pokédex
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Umbreon, the Moonlight Pokémon, and an evolved form of Eevee. The rings of Umbreon's body glow faintly when exposed to the moon's aura, and it gains a mysterious power.
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BW102
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Umbreon
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Ash's Pokédex
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Umbreon, the Moonlight Pokémon. The rings in its fur glow when the moon shines on them.
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Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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JN079
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Umbreon
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Chloe's Rotom Phone
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Umbreon, the Moonlight Pokémon. A Dark type. As a nocturnal Pokémon, Umbreon's large eyes can distinguish prey even during the darkest of nights. When its skin is able to absorb moonlight, the circles on its body faintly glow, and a strange power is awakened.
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GOTCHA!
An Umbreon briefly appeared in GOTCHA!, under the ownership of Karen.
Pokémon Evolutions
An Umbreon appeared in The Show, under the ownership of Zuki. It was used in the Kimono Girls' performance of the destruction of the Brass Tower, where it represented the night that fell before the incident.
Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure
An Umbreon appeared in JBA5, under the ownership of Karen.
Pokémon Adventures
In The Last Battle VII, Karen owns an Umbreon that is the cornerstone of her team, as in the games. It apparently evolved from the Eevee she had since her childhood.
Greta of the Battle Arena used an Umbreon in her battles with Guile Hideout and Emerald. It easily defeated his Dusclops before falling to his Sudowoodo, which went on to win the match, earning him the Guts Symbol. It first appeared in Swanky Showdown with Swalot.
An Umbreon appeared in Pleased as Punch With Parasect, under the ownership of a Kimono Girl.
An Umbreon appeared in a fantasy in Sylveon Enchants.
Pokémon Colosseum Snatcher Leo
Similarly to the games, Wes owns an Umbreon, which debuted in CSL1.
Pokémon Colosseum Snatchers
An Umbreon first appeared in PCS1, under the ownership of Wes.
Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys
In Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys, Bill has both an Umbreon and its counterpart Espeon.
Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All
An Umbreon appeared in GDZ47, under the ownership of a thief.
Pokémon Pocket Monsters
An Umbreon appeared in A Challenge to the Elite Four, under the ownership of Karen.
- Eevee cannot evolve into Espeon or Umbreon in FireRed and LeafGreen due to the lack of a time system. In order to be obtained and added to the Pokédex in these versions, an Eevee must be traded to Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald Versions, evolved there, and then traded back, or else traded from Pokémon Colosseum or Pokémon XD.
- According to the Diamond and Pearl Pokédex, Umbreon, Glaceon, and Leafeon have identical footprints.
- Umbreon is the only non-Psychic-type Pokémon to be able to have the Synchronize Ability.
- Umbreon is the only Eeveelution that had a unique type combination in its debut generation.
- Umbreon was designed by Atsuko Nishida.[1]
- Umbreon's English name was suggested by Jeff Kalles, who assisted in the naming of many Generation II Pokémon.[2]
- Umbreon is tied with Mega Gyarados and Hoopa Unbound for the highest base Special Defense of all Dark-type Pokémon.
- In the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga, Black's Umbreon does not have the signature yellow rings on its limbs.
- In the Pokémon of the Year poll held by The Pokémon Company in 2020, Umbreon was voted as both the most popular Generation II Pokémon and the most popular Eeveelution, receiving 67,062 votes. It was also voted as the fifth most popular Pokémon overall.
- Umbreon's Pokédex entries from Pokémon Gold, Stadium 2, LeafGreen, HeartGold, Sun and Sword refer to "poisonous sweat", which might be a holdover from the Pokémon Gold and Silver Spaceworld '97 demo, where Burakkī (later romanized as Blacky) is a Poison-type Pokémon.
Origin
Umbreon's origins are uncertain, though it could be based on a black cat, which was considered to be an omen of bad luck (in most Western countries, contrary to Japan's viewpoint in which it is considered lucky) and can be interpreted as the reasoning behind the Dark typing. Its long ears are similar to those of a hare and may originate from the East Asian legends concerning a Moon rabbit.
The rings on Umbreon's body resemble Egyptian lunar markings and jewelry that have been associated with animal sculptures, such as cat statues of the Egyptian goddess Bastet. While Bastet was originally a lioness warrior and the goddess of the sun, Greeks occupying ancient Egypt toward the end of its civilization changed her into the goddess of the moon. This change may have drawn some of the inspiration for the Pokémon's lunar theme. Furthering the lunar theme, Metamorphoses is a narrative poem that involves the Roman Goddess of the moon, Diana, change into the form of a cat as she flees to Egypt.
Additionally, Umbreon may be inspired by Tezcatlipoca, a central deity in Aztec religion who took the form of a black jaguar that had yellow horizontal bands, and was associated with the night sky.
Name origin
Umbreon may be a combination of umbra (darkest part of a shadow in an eclipse; Latin for shadow) and eon (an immeasurably long period of time, possibly referring to how long evolution takes naturally). Eon is a suffix all Eevee evolutions share and was Eevee's English prototype name.
Blacky may be a combination of black and 月 tsuki (moon).