Umbreon first appeared as anEevee inThe Rivalry Revival, where it was used in abattle againstAsh and hisPikachu.Brock commented that, by the looks of its shiny coat and bright eyes, Gary trained it very well. In battle, it backed up this observation by dodging or blocking all of Pikachu's attacks without taking any notable damage, resulting in a clear victory for Gary.
Gary took Eevee with him when he left for theJohto region. Itevolved sometime prior toPower Play!, where it was shown to be battlingAlex Davis'sAlakazam. During the battle, it was shown to be extremely agile, dodging all of Alakazam's attacks with ease while dealing strong hits back to it, eventually winning the match without having taken a single blow. Afterwards, Ash enthusiastically challenged Gary, but Gary declined as Umbreon had defeated Pikachu before, along with that his remaining team did not impress him. Later, Gary and Umbreon helped Ash foil one ofTeam Rocket's plans as Umbreon severed a cable to theirmecha withTackle. It later illuminated a room withFlash so that Ash could find the lever to the dam mechanism. It then added its own strength to the effort to turn the lever, which ultimately succeeded.
It was not used in Gary's battle with Ash at theSilver Conference, although it did appear on his profile. Gary left Umbreon atProfessor Oak's lab when he left on adventures with just hisBlastoise.
InIll-Will Hunting!, Umbreon repelled aGolbat from one ofJ's henchmen withSand Attack. Gary's knowledge of the area, combined with Umbreon's agility, resulted in the Golbat accidentally disturbing a hive ofBeedrill, which distracted the henchmen long enough for Gary, Ash, Brock, andDawn to escape with theShieldon thatJ was hunting. It was called on again to sabotage J's ship, usingShadow Ball to cause explosions and then tackling J's henchmen withElectivire to allow Ash to retrieve Shieldon.
InFighting Fear with Fear!, Gary used Umbreon to battleAsh's Gligar in a practice match. Gligar fled from Umbreon's Shadow Ball, showing that it was unable to battle because of its phobia. Gary called off the battle and gave Ash a Razor Fang to evolve it.
InThe Needs of the Three!, Umbreon spotted J's ship before being used to battleSaturn's Toxicroak. It attempted to usePsychic, but was badly hurt early in combat by Toxicroak'sX-Scissor attack before it could attack. Gary was helpless to do anything, as Toxicroak was too fast for his Pokémon, allowing J to capture thelake guardians.
InThe Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!, Umbreon was seen alongside Gary when he reunited with Ash. After a brief conversation between the two, Umbreon left with Gary to continue traveling.
Personality and characteristics
As an Eevee, it was pointed out by Brock that it was well trained due to its bright eyes and glossy coat, with Tracey adding that the Evolution Pokémon looked ready to evolve at any given moment. Like its Trainer, it was shown to be confident and smart.
Umbreon was also a very adept battler, being often used by Gary in several different strategies. Umbreon is also one of Gary's most important Pokémon, often seenoutside of its Poké Ball.
Despite debuting at the end of theOrange Islands saga, Umbreon was not shown to be damaged by an attack until the battle withSaturn's Toxicroak, 501 episodes later.
It was also never defeated in battle onscreen untilBattling in the Freezing Raid!, 1,071 episodes after Umbreon’s debut.
