Hitting Level 42 in Pokemon GO Is About to Get a Lot Harder

If you're still struggling to hit the lofty requirements of the old Pokemon GO level 40 cap, this isn't going to mean much for you for a while yet. But if you're currently hovering around the 40-41 range, hitting Pokemon GO level 42 missions are changing. And not for the better. You're in for a rough ride.

In the very near future, one of the requirements to hit Level 42 in Pokemon GO will be tweaked to require evolving Eevee into Sylveon. That might not sound so bad without the proper context, but active players probably just let out an audible sigh.

The method of evolving Eevee into Sylveon in Pokemon GO is no laughing matter. Rather than it being luck-based or down to the time of day, Sylveon requires a whopping 70 Hearts on top of Eevee's usual 25 Candy cost.

How to Earn Buddy Hearts in Pokemon GO

Earning Hearts for your Eevee to evolve this way means a heck of a lot of walking around with it set as your buddy and making sure it's properly fed. It's a time-consuming process that's likely going to hold players back, blocking them from achieving level 42 for quite some time.

And this new mission isn't replacing any of the other requirements for hitting Level 42, either. It's merely a consequence of Pokemon GO adding a new Eeveelution to the game.

Players already had to evolve Eevee into each of its then seven different forms; Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Umbreon, Espeon, Galceon, and Leafeon. Now, Sylveon is part of that long list. Worse still, evolutions don't retroactively apply. You need to have the mission unlocked at the time of evolving said Eevee for it to count.

Updated Pokemon GO Level 42 Missions

If you've used the Eevee name trick for each of its evolutions already, you have to go through the laborious steps to achieve each one again naturally. With Sylveon now available, anyone who has already used the latest Sylveon name trick will need to become best buds with their next Eevee.

Here are the new Pokemon GO Level 42 Requirements:

• Earn 7,500,000 XP
• Evolve Eevee into each of its unique evolutions.
• Use items to evolve Pokemon 15 times.
• Make 3 excellent throws.
• Use 200 berries to help catch Pokemon.

For what it's worth, Sylveon is the last Eeveelution. For the time being, at least. Introduced in Pokemon X and Y, we've now gone two generations without another. And with remakes Pokemon Shining Diamond and Brilliant Pearl being this year's mainline Pokemon games, there's no reason to expect another Eeveelution being introduced any time soon.

Hop to it, though, Trainers: before Game Freak gives Niantic a reason to update the task again.