Pokemon Go players were unhappy about the amount of work needed to evolve Eevee into Sylveon, and now they're just downright confused.
Sylveon was officially added to Pokemon Go this week meaning all Eeveelutions are now available in-game. Sylveon's addition should be cause for celebration, and for the most part, it is. However, the amount of work needed to ensure your chosen Eevee becomes a Sylveon has sparked some backlash from players.
There is the neat workaround that requires nothing more than renaming your chosen Eevee, of course. Only a few hours after Sylveon had debuted, trainers had already discovered the name needed to make sure your Eevee becomes a Sylveon is Kira. However, that only works once per trainer. Every Eevee after that needs to be subject to Niantic's requirements if you want to guarantee it evolves into a Sylveon.
On top of the 25 candies you will need to evolve your Eeevee, you will also need to make it your buddy Pokemon and earn 70 hearts before hitting evolve. Well, at least that's what Niantic said to begin with. As has now been highlighted on Reddit, Niantic has since been telling trainers that it is "not necessary" to earn 70 hearts with your Eevee to make sure it becomes a Sylveon.
The trouble is, Niantic has neglected to explain what exactly it means by that comment. The official word is that 70 hearts is the requirement, which needs an awful lot of grind just for one Pokemon. The tweet in question shows Niantic Support asking to continue the conversation in the enquiring trainer's DMs. Frustrating as the follow-up conversation has not been shared. Why Niantic wouldn't want that information readily available is also unclear.
There's a very real chance the scenario Niantic is referencing is the aforementioned Eevee name change. However, as already highlighted, that's only good for a one-time use. Using hearts to evolve Eevee into Sylveon is a cool idea as it directly relates to the affection an Eevee needs to become a Sylveon in the main series of Pokemon games. However, 70 hearts is a little much, and the kind of grind most Pokemon players are unable or unwilling to put into a game that is supposed to be fun.