Which Eevee is The Best Eevee?

There’s no Pokémon in TCG Pocket with more variations than Eevee—a whopping 7 in total! But which one deserves a spot in your deck?

Of those 7, only four are functionally different (the rest are just alternate art), and just three can actually attack. In this post, we’ll see how these three stack up by diving into the math behind their average (expected) damage—and then we’ll uncover which one truly stands out in real gameplay.

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Which Eevee Does the Most Damage?

The first question we might ask is:

Of the Eevee cards that can attack, which one should I expect to do the most damage over the long term?

Let’s compare our three distinct variations.

Eevee A1-206

Tackle 20

Eevee A1-206 keeps things nice and simple. No coin flips, no surprises:

\[ \mathbb{E}[\text{Tackle}] = 20 \]

Every time you use this card, you and your opponent expect 20 damage.

Eevee A2-126

Quick Attack 10+

“Flip a coin. If heads, this attack does 20 more damage.”

A2-126 is the new kid on the block, and it has a bit of variability thanks to its coin flip. To determine how it holds up against A1-206, we look at the expected value of Quick Attack’s damage.

Expected Value is a way to measure the average outcome of a random variable. For example, if you asked, “What’s the expected value of a standard die roll?” you’d add its possible outcomes and divide by 6:

\[ \frac{1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6}{6} = 3.5 \]

There is no “3.5” face on a die, but if you roll it many times, the long-term average will approach 3.5.

Quick Attack has two possible outcomes, each with a 50% chance:

• 30 damage (if heads)

• 10 damage (if tails)

So \({E}[\text{Quick Attack}]\) is:

\[\begin{split} \begin{align*} &= \left(\frac{1}{2}\right) \times 30 + \left(\frac{1}{2}\right) \times 10 \\ &= 15 + 5 \\ &= 20 \end{align*} \end{split}\]

Eevee A1a-61

Continuous Steps 20×

“Flip a coin until you get tails. This attack does 20 damage for each heads.”

Eevee A1a-61 has built up quite a reputation. Many of us have stories of this adorable card toppling high-HP EX Pokémon all on its own. But does it really hit harder on average? To find out, we’ll consider the Multiplication Rule.

When two or more events are independent, one outcome doesn’t affect the other. For independent events \(A\) and \(B\):

\[ P(A \cap B) = P(A) \times P(B). \]

For example, the probability that two coins are both heads in a row, that is \(P(H \cap H)\) will be the probability that the first coin flip was heads times the probability the second coin flip was heads, that is \(\left(\tfrac{1}{2}\right) \times \left(\tfrac{1}{2}\right) = \left(\tfrac{1}{4}\right)\)

For Continuous Steps, you keep flipping until you get tails. So the probability of getting exactly \(k\) heads in a row before tails is \(\left(\tfrac{1}{2}\right)^{k+1}\) (that’s \(k\) heads and 1 tails).

Now, consider all the possible outcomes:

\[\begin{split} \begin{align} P(T) &= \tfrac{1}{2} \\ P(HT) &= \tfrac{1}{2} \times \tfrac{1}{2} = \tfrac{1}{4} \\ P(HHT) &= \tfrac{1}{2} \times \tfrac{1}{2} \times \tfrac{1}{2} = \tfrac{1}{8} \\ P(HHHT) &= \ldots \end{align} \end{split}\]

Each of those outcomes has its own probability. If you multiply the number of heads (\(k\)) by the probability of having exactly \(k\) heads, then sum all those products from \(k=0\) to \(\infty\), you get a classic geometric series. The neat result is that this infinite sum equals 1:

\[ \sum_{k=0}^{\infty} k \left(\frac{1}{2}\right)^{k+1} = 1. \]

In other words, on average, you’ll get 1 head per attempt before flipping tails.

That leads us to the expected damage for Continuous Steps:

\[ \mathbb{E}[\text{Cont. Steps}] = 20 \times 1 = 20 \]

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Which One Is The Strongest?

If we just look at expected damage, it’s a three-way tie at 20. On paper, they’re identical! But when you actually play, each behaves differently:

• Tackle (A1-206) is always reliable, never flashy.

• Quick Attack (A2-126) offers a small coin-flip bonus.

• Continuous Steps (A1a-61) can be hilariously massive or utterly disappointing.

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Or Are They?

Let’s be real: that tie doesn’t tell the whole story.

Eevee is a Basic Pokémon, most often attacking early game against other Basic Pokémon that haven’t had time to evolve. Since no Basic Pokémon has 20 HP or less, A1-206 is never knocking anything out in one hit. But the other two Eevees at least have a shot:

• A lucky Quick Attack might reach that 30-damage sweet spot.

• A very lucky Continuous Steps can, in theory, one-shot anything… even if the odds get slim for higher HP targets.

Let’s see how often each Eevee can actually secure a knockout based on HP tiers:

HP	Count	Examples
30	3	Tynamo, Magikarp
40	3	Flabébé, Joltik, Rattata
50	30	Weedle, Venonat, Caterpie …
60	105	Bellsprout, Petilil, Oddish …
70	44	Bulbasaur, Paras, Scyther …
80	33	Tangela, Heatmor, Magmar …
90	8	Pinsir, Bruxish, Salazzle …
100	9	Lapras, Moltres, Articuno …
110	7	Regice, Onix …
120	17	Pikachu ex, Chansey, Mewtwo …
130	11	Zapdos, Zapdos ex …
140	13	Articuno ex, Moltres ex …
150	14	Snorlax, Mewtwo ex …

One-Hit Knockout (1HKO) Chances

HP	Tackle 1HK0	Quick Attack 1HK0	Cont. Steps 1HK0
30	0%	50%	25.0%
40	0%	0%	25.0%
50	0%	0%	12.5%
60	0%	0%	12.5%
70	0%	0%	6.25%
80	0%	0%	6.25%
90	0%	0%	3.12%
100	0%	0%	3.12%
110	0%	0%	1.56%
120	0%	0%	1.56%
130	0%	0%	0.781%
140	0%	0%	0.781%
150	0%	0%	0.391%

Two-Hit Knockout (2HKO) Chances

HP	Tackle 2HK0	Quick Attack 2HK0	Cont. Steps 2HK0
30	100%	75%	24.927%
40	100%	75%	24.927%
50	0%	25%	18.665%
60	0%	25%	18.665%
70	0%	0%	12.408%
80	0%	0%	12.408%
90	0%	0%	7.718%
100	0%	0%	7.718%
110	0%	0%	4.591%
120	0%	0%	4.591%
130	0%	0%	2.637%
140	0%	0%	2.637%
150	0%	0%	1.465%

We can then ask:

If we grab a random Basic Pokémon, what’s the chance Eevee can KO it in one hit? Or in two?

By multiplying these probabilities by the counts in each HP tier and summing up, we get:

	Tackle	Quick Attack	Cont. Steps
1KHO	0%	0.5%	8.19%
2KHO	2.02%	12.87%	13.29%

From this, it’s pretty clear A1a-61 with Continuous Steps stands out as the best 1-hit ad 2-hit KO Eevee. A2-126 with Quick Attack grabs second place—especially when you consider those 2HKOs on lower HP Pokémon. (It would be interesting to see if actual opening Pokémon popularity changes these numbers.)

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Conclusion

On paper, all three Eevee cards tie at 20 damage on average. But once you factor in the real dynamics of gameplay, each behaves very differently:

• Eevee A1-206 (Tackle) is ultra-consistent but can’t pull off early knockouts in today’s meta.

• Eevee A2-126 (Quick Attack) gives you a 50% shot at a modest power spike and can occasionally 1HKO low-HP targets.

• Eevee A1a-61 (Continuous Steps) can theoretically drop anything in a single turn, though you’re banking on some lucky flips.

If you like coin-flipping for a chance at big hits, A1a-61 is your best friend. If you prefer a safer, slightly boosted damage output, A2-126 is almost as good of a choice. And if 20 reliable damage is all you need, A1-206 won’t ever surprise you (or your opponent).