Japan kicks off Eevee Day celebration with multiple game events

Celebrating the day: As part of the celebration, the Pokémon Company released an “Eevee Mass Outbreak” event in its game “Pokémon Scarlet and Violet,” where players will frequently encounter the adorable creature thanks to its increased spawn rate across the Paldea region and the land of Kitakami. The event, which runs Nov. 17-23, will give players the chance to catch Eevee with different marks depending on where they captured the creature.

“Pokémon Sleep” is also celebrating Eevee Day with a week-long event in which players will have a higher probability of encountering Eevees and its many evolutions during sleep research and receive 1,121 sleep points on Nov. 21, among other features.

Meanwhile, the Pokémon Company’s mobile game “Pokémon Masters EX” is celebrating Eevee Day with an “Eight Days of Eevee Sweepstakes,” where fans can win goodies, including seasonal figures, Pokémon TCG products and in-game gems.

It became official: Eevee Day became an official day in Japan after the Project Eevee team approached the Japan Anniversary Association on Nov. 21, 2018.

How it was chosen: The date was chosen as a play on the Pokémon’s name, which is pronounced as “iibui” in Japanese. According to SoraNews24, the first letter of Eevee’s name, “i,” sounds like the first part of “ichi,” which is the numerical Japanese word for the number one. Meanwhile, “bu” has some similarity in the pronunciation of “fu” in “futatsu,” which is used when counting “two” things. That said, “i-i-bu-i” can be translated to “1-1-2-1” or 11-21 (Nov. 21).

Similarly, Nov. 21 as Eevee Day can be compared to how May 4 or “May fourth” became “Star Wars” Day, as in “May the Fourth (force) be with you.”

Its cuddly appearance: According to Junichi Masuda, the game director for the 2018 “Pokémon Yellow” remake “Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu” and “Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee,” Eevee’s popularity could be due to how cuddly it looks.

“I think it’s also popular because it looks like it has a lot of potential to grow or evolve, but it also looks childlike or kind of cute like a baby,” Masuda explained to IGN in 2018. “It’s kind of a Pokémon that is full of hope and dreams and is looking towards the future.”

How fans are celebrating: Several fans on X are celebrating Eevee Day by sharing artwork of the Pokémon.

Its history: Eevee was released as part of the first generation of Pokémon in “Pokémon Blue and Red” and “Pokémon Yellow.”