Espeon is the result of an Eevee trusting a Pokémon Trainer very much, then being leveled up during the day.
Physiology
Resembling a cat, it has lavender fur, large ears with dark purple or blue ear insides and long tufts of fur below them, a red gem on its forehead and a pair of pupiless eyes with white irises and purple scleras. Espeon has four slim legs and tiny paws. Its slender tail, which is forked into two at the end like a Buizel's, helps it to foresee possible futures. Its catlike appearance and sparkling red gem have caused some to mistake it for a relative of Persian, however, this gem merely augments its psychic powers.
Gender differences
None.
Special abilities
Espeon has developed Psychic powers due to a combination of great loyalty to its trainer and sunlight, with several signature special abilities attributable to its fine, sensitive fur. This very fine fur, which has the look and feel of velvet, is so sensitive, that as air currents pass through it, Espeon is able to sense things such as minute shifts in the air, and predict changes in the weather or the opponent's next move. Like most fully evolved Pokémon, Espeon can learn Hyper Beam or Giga Impact. One would also assume that Espeon can learn Power Gem due to being a gem-bearing Pokémon, but it cannot. Connecting with its affinity to sunlight, it is able to learn the healing move Morning Sun.
Behavior
Espeon are very loyal to their trainers and will protect them from harm. They enjoy basking in full sunlight. The tip of its forked tail quivers when it is predicting its opponent's next move.
Espeon is extremely loyal to any trainer it considers to be worthy. It is said that this Pokémon developed its precognitive powers to protect its trainer from harm.
An Espeon is extremely loyal to any trainer it considers to be worthy. It is said to have developed precognitive powers to protect its trainer from harm.
Espeon and Umbreon are the only Starter Pokémon to be received fully evolved. It also, along with Umbreon, is the only Pokémon to be received as a starter Pokémon as well as another.
Despite its HeartGold and SoulSilver Pokédex entries, Espeon does not have the Forewarn ability.
Origin
It appears to be based on legend of the nekomata, also known as bake-neko. Nekomata are mysterious fork-tailed goblin cats. They are said to be very intelligent and possess incredible powers. There are also tales of faithful nekomatas who would help their owner throughout harsh struggles, which is much like an espeon's strong loyalty to it's trainer. It also resembles a carbuncle, a Latin-American mythological beast which had a jewel on its forehead. Its forked tail may also be related to its ability to see the different, forking paths of fate. It has long caracal-like ears and an elegant feline body. In the anime, as well as games like Mystery Dungeon and Poképark Wii, Espeon displays very catlike behavior, such as curling up to sleep, rubbing, licking itself, high jumping and climbing skills, and mewing. It may also be based on a sphynx cat, a breed of hairless cat with large ears and pink skin, although Espeon's pink coloration comes from its fur as oppose to its skin. The tipped ears and fur on it's head look like those of a lynx. It also bears some physical resemblance to fennec foxes.
Name origin
Espeon's name is derived from ESP, or extra-sensory perception, a branch of psychic abilities. The -eon suffix, common to all Eeveeevolutions, comes from Eevee's prototype English name and possibly refers to the ending suffix of evolution itself. Espeon's Japanese name is derived from a combination of エスパー esupaa, lit. ESPer or a psychic, and フィール fiiru, the word "feel" in English, because of its extraordinary sensory abilities. Some think that the Japanese name might come from the fact that its forked tail looks similar to a capital letter "F." However, Espeon's forked tail is based on the legend of the nekomata which is just a splitting of one tail and has nothing to do with the letter "F."
In other languages
German: Psiana - From psychic. Ends with -a like every Eeveelution in German.
French: Mentali - From mental. Ends with -li like every Eeveelution in French.
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.