The release of Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee is forcing Pokemon fans both new and old to wonder a very important question: just how do you pronounce Eevee anyway?
Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee are now available on Nintendo Switch and beyond a few version-exclusive Pokemon, buyers should be happy no matter which version they pick up. At least, that’s what anyone would have said before this latest controversy came to light. The voiceover in Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee has shaken a well-established Pokemon name pronunciation that’s stood for decades, leading Pokemon trainers to question: just how are you supposed to pronounce Eevee?
For those who have begun playing Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee, or for those who are familiar with the Pokemon anime throughout the years, Eevee itself has a unique way of pronouncing its own name. To clarify, Eevee, like Pikachu and many other Pokemon, says its name often when vocalizing and communicating with its trainer. And when Eevee says its own name, it sounds like “Eh-Veh,” “Eh-Vay,” or “Eh-Voi.” It would be easy to assume that this is the correct pronunciation of Eevee.
However, that pronunciation doesn’t jive with both the phonetic reading of Eevee or its generally accepted spoken pronunciation from the Pokemon anime. This pronunciation goes all the way back to the 1998 Pokemon TV show episode “The Four Ivui Brothers” in which the Pokedex itself say it the phonetic way, E. V. or “ee-vee.” Though funnily enough, the brothers’ last name is a reference to the Japanese name for Eevee, Eievui (sounds like “ee-voo-ee”), another pronunciation entirely.
So what’s the correct way to pronounce Eevee? If you’re going by the official Nintendo stance, the way the anime pronounces it (E. V.) would be the right one. But the more correct answer would be: however you want to name your Eevee. That’s really the beauty of Pokemon. Every trainer gets to name or refer to their own Pokemon however they choose, the same as whether they choose Let’s Go Pikachu or Let’s Go Eevee.
If Pokemon Let’s Go players prefer to refer to their Eevee as “Eh-Veh” because that’s what it sounds like when they speak, then that’s absolutely great. Maybe their Eevee is secretly thinking, “I’ve been trying to tell them how to pronounce my name this whole time! Finally, someone understands.”
Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee is available now exclusively on Nintendo Switch.
