I remember my first Pokemon VHS clearly. It was Volume 13: Wake Up Snorlax. I only remember it so well because of the absolute fit I pitched over the back cover featuring the Eevee Brothers episode - y’all remember them? In the 40th episode of Pokemon, Ash and his pals stumble upon four siblings that all train some kind of Eevee or Eevee evolution, Eeveelution, if you will. It’s a sad, kind of weird episode that I’m ridiculously nostalgic for, and I really wish the Pokemon anime would brin💝g the brothers back.
If you’re unfamiliar, the episode introduced us to brothers Mikey, Rainer, Sparky, and Pyro.꧙ It’s a dead giveaway on who trained who, but little Mikey had an Eevee, while his older brothers had Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon. The brothers are kind of awful, pressuring the youngest into evolving his Eevee with their choice of evolution, and they never really ask what it is that he wants. They’re a real pushy bunch, even going on to tell Ash and Brock to evolve Pikachu and Vulpix, as the trio doesn’t seem to understand much outside of raw battle power. In a little kid’s moment of panic, Mikey abandons his Eevee with food and water in a nearby forest. Um, what?
Yeah, it’s a tad weird, but I get it. Mikey is a child, and he’s stressed, so he does the best he can to protect Eevee from the pressures placed on it by his siblings and drops it off in the woods. Ash, Misty, and Brock bring little Eevee back and it’s, of course, thrilled to see him. Team Rocket attacks, and everyone flies into action to save the Eevees. After the battle, Mikey comes cle🌞an about how annoying his brothers are, and they accept his decision not to evolve it. As a child, this was the kind of riveting drama I craved, but as an adult, it’s all kind of hilarious. Regardless, I love the Eevee Brothers episode, and I want to see them come back.
Just think about it; there are now eight Eeveelutions. We need five more bro♑thers and an Espeon, Glaceon, Umbreon, Leafeon, and Slyveon. Pokemon could have the nine Eevee brothers, each training their own Eeveelution, and for some reason, one is abandoned by a tree in the wild again. Just kidding, but it was a cute concept I hope to see return.
I realize nine siblings is a bit wild, so I will even accept “The Eevee Brothers (and their cousins)” as an extension of that episode. It’s been years though since we saw the original four, and I wonder whatever became of those guys. Did little Mikey make his Eevee so happy🎶 it became Sylveon? Did their parents have more Eevee training kids? Perhaps a divorce, followed by some Eevee Brady Bunch situation? The people deserve to know.
The idea was cute, and not really something we saw again. I figure Pokemon has brought enough characters back to check in and remind you that they once existed, it only seems fitting we see these guys again. Pokemon Go even has references to them, you use the names Rainer, Sparky, and Pyro to evolve their respective ‘mons, so the Pokemon Company certainly never forgot about them. I mis🅠s you, weird Eevee Brothers, I hope you at least return with a Slyveon.