After 13 Years, Pokémon Winds & Waves New Eeveelution Is Perfectly Obvious

Published Sep 26, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. Pokémon Winds & Waves is set to become the franchise's next major chapter, introducing a completely new generation of creatures, locations, mechanics, and mysteries for fans to discover. Every new era of Pokémon brings speculation about which familiar species could get fresh evolutions or forms, but there's arguably no more highly anticipated or requested example than Eevee. Eevee remains one of the most recognizable and marketable Pokémon in the entire franchise, with its branching evolution line becoming nearly as iconic as Pikachu itself. However, despite the popularity of the Eeveelutions, Pokémon has gone more than a decade without expanding the family. The most recent Eeveelution was Sylveon, who debuted with Pokémon X and Y in 2013, meaning several generations have passed without a new addition. With Winds & Waves now opening the door to another wave of Pokémon designs, expectations are once again building around whether Eevee's unusually long evolution drought could finally come to an end, and the answer is perfectly obvious. If Pokemon's Next Eeveelution Was An Ekans, It Would've Bitten Us Pokémon Winds & Waves is practically begging for a new Eeveelution, and even if Pokémon has yet to confirm that another one is actually coming, the new type is right there staring us in the face. The biggest clue is right in the name. Winds and Waves is built around a region of windswept islands surrounded by a vast ocean, with the games' official description emphasizing both the environment and the forces of nature that players will encounter. If Game Freak wanted to introduce an Eeveelution that immediately reflected the identity of this generation, Flying would be the most straightforward option imaginable. Vaporeon has represented Water since the original Pokémon games, so there would be little reason for Game Freak to introduce another Water-type evolution for Eevee. That makes the "Winds" side of the title much more interesting, especially when looking at how Eeveelutions have historically been introduced. Pokémon has often added them in pairs, with Espeon and Umbreon arriving together in Gen 2 and Leafeon and Glaceon following in Gen 4. Sylveon was the exception as the only new Eeveelution introduced on its own. If Winds and Waves finally ends the Eeveelution drought, a Flying-type evolution could therefore be only part of the equation, potentially arriving alongside a second unused type that complements the game's themes. Fans reached the same conclusion almost immediately after Winds & Waves was announced, with Flying-type Eeveelution concepts and speculation spreading throughout the community. That doesn't amount to evidence that one exists, but it shows just how naturally the idea fits the game's theme. Winds & Waves Second Eeveelution Type Is Less Clear If a Flying-type Eeveelution does arrive in Pokémon Winds and Waves, history suggests it could easily have company. Ground would arguably be the strongest candidate, creating a natural earth-and-sky pairing with Flying while fitting a generation seemingly built around landscapes shaped by wind and water. Rock could serve a similar purpose, particularly if the new region emphasizes islands, cliffs, or coastal environments. Dragon is another compelling possibility simply because it remains one of Eevee's most conspicuous missing types, and is a fan-favorite option to boot. Eevee already evolves into several types traditionally associated with special attacks, including Fire, Water, Electric, Psychic, Dark, Ice, Grass, and Fairy, making Dragon feel like a natural omission to address eventually. Ghost could also work well if Winds and Waves draws heavily from regional mythology or supernatural island folklore. There is also a more dramatic possibility, which would be an entirely new Pokémon type altogether. Nothing announced for Winds and Waves so far confirms that Gen 10 will expand the existing 18-type system. However, Eevee has already been used to introduce a new type before. Sylveon debuted alongside the Fairy type in Pokémon X and Y, effectively becoming one of the new type's flagship Pokémon. If Game Freak has a 19th type planned for Gen 10, a brand-new Eeveelution would therefore be one of the most fitting ways imaginable to introduce it. After going without a new Eeveelution since Sylveon debuted in 2013, Pokemon Winds & Waves has the perfect opportunity to end that drought.