Yes.
The Umbreon in front of Ayako had evolved based on the idea Tetsuya had previously proposed to Professor Oak: high Affection combined with leveling up at night.
The latter condition was not difficult, especially for an Eevee that had yet to evolve.
The real difficulty lay in raising its Affection.
According to data-based deductions by Professor Oak and Professor Rowan,
if Affection were measured on a scale of one hundred, with one hundred being the maximum, then Eevee's unstable genes could only be triggered into evolution through Affection once it reached at least eighty-five to ninety points.
That was quite a high number.
After all, most Pokemon were no less intelligent than humans, and compared to humans, they were even more delicate and perceptive when it came to emotions.
That was why some people were naturally beloved by Pokemon, while Pokemon that saw others did not even want to acknowledge them.
Those people believed they hid their thoughts well, but to a Pokemon's senses, everything was plain to see.
Take Tetsuya's Togekiss, for example. The conditions for Togepi to evolve into Togetic were similar to those for Umbreon. Even he had spent more than half a year getting its Affection to the required level.
That was only because he had a decent understanding of Affection. Otherwise, it would never have happened so quickly.
Therefore,
it was perfectly normal for Umbreon to only appear after an entire year—Espeon did not even have a trace of an appearance yet.
Compared with the Dark Type former, Tetsuya believed that Espeon, a Psychic-type Pokemon capable of mastering quite a few Psychic-type moves, would certainly drive even more Trainers wild with excitement.
"I heard Wallace mention you."
Ayako's face was full of smiles. "He said you're a very talented Trainer and quite accomplished as