Michael starts the adventure with a single Pokémon, an Eevee inherited from his father. Shortly after the start of the game, you have to choose its evolution: a permanent choice that shapes your whole team.
How to evolve it
In Gateon Port, a shop sells the evolution items. One particularity of XD: Espeon and Umbreon are also obtained with an item, without relying on happiness and the time of day as in the Game Boy Advance games. You can only choose one evolution.
The five possible evolutions
Which one should you choose?
| Evolution | Type | Strengths in XD |
|---|---|---|
| Vaporeon | Water | Very sturdy, effective against the many Fire, Ground and Rock Pokémon of Cipher. The safest choice. |
| Jolteon | Electric | Very fast; useful against the Water and Flying Pokémon that are common on Citadark Isle. |
| Flareon | Fire | High Attack, but few physical Fire moves in this generation: the hardest to make the most of. |
| Espeon | Psychic | Strong Special Attack; effective against Fighting and Poison Pokémon. |
| Umbreon | Dark | Very bulky; an excellent defender, useful against Psychic and Ghost Pokémon. |
The rest of the team is built with Shadow Pokémon: see the list of the 83 Shadow Pokémon.
