Evolution is onꩲe of the most exciting aspects of any Pokémon game, making Pokémon bigger, stronger, and even more formidable in battle. There are many different ways a Pokémon can evolve, and with each generation comes new methods and nuances, involving specific items, friendship, or beauty ratings.
Evolution may not be required to have a winning team, but it’s pretty darn cool. It’s a bizarre pro♏cess, taking one form of Pokémon and changing them into something totally different. They can take on new types, alter their move sets, and get beefed up stats. Read on for all the weird and wonderful things you never knew about Pokémon evolution.
10 🌳 ♌ Evolution is Separate From Aging
Evolution is linear, with one species evolving and growing into a new, stronger form. Viewed in this way, it’s easy to compare it to the aౠging process. Professor Rowan’s research in Ge🌞neration 4 delves into whether or not it’s a form of maturity, but evolution is actually very different from aging.
For one thing, Pokémon are able to breed regardless of their evolutionary stage, e.g. both a Pikachu and Raichu can breed. The exception to this is baby ꦗPokémon, which – alongside the breeding mechanic – were introduced in Generation 2. Baby Pokémon such as Pichu cannot breed (thankfully).
9 ༒ U♔pside Down Evolution
Most Pokémon evolve from simply reaching a specific level. Some require in-game items or trades. But there’s nothing that we can do out✃side of the game to trigger evolution, right? Wrong!
Inkay, the Dark/Psychic squid Pokémon – introduced in Pokémon X and Y – can evolve once it reaches level 30, and the way it does s🔯o is totally unexpected. As Inkay levels up, turn your 3DS upside down and this will trigger an evolution, allowing Inkay to become Malamar. It is the only species so far to use t𒈔his bizarre method of evolving.
8 Some Need a Friend to Help Them Evolve 🅘
If strange requirements for individual Pokémon weren’t enough, some species even require the presence of other specific Pokémon to evolve. Pancham, for example, will not evolve into Pangoro unless a Dark-type Pokémon is in the trainer’s team. It makes sen🦄se since Pangoro takes on a dual typing of Fighting and Dark.
Mantyke has evenℱ stricter needs, only evolving if the trainer has a Remoraid in their party. If they do, it will evolve into Mantine. Remoraid is the only Pokémon so far to be required for another’s evolution. It must feel pretty special!
7 🐓 Stats Can Alter Evolutionary Forms
Another unique evolution process – Tyrogu💎e, the baby Fighting-type Pokémon can evolve into three different forms, depending entirely on its stats. Once it reaches level 20, Tyrogue can evolve into Hitmonlee, but only if its Attack stat is higher than its Defense.
If Tyrogue has higher De🌼fense than Attack, it will become Hitmonchan. However, f its Attack and Defense stats are the same, it will evolve into Hitmontop. That’s the trickiest one, as the stats must be exactly the same or Tyrogue will notܫ be able to become Hitmontop.
6 Some ♕Pokémon Evolve Very Late
Larvesta is a pretty unique Pokémon to start with, with itself and its evolution being the only Bug/Fire-ꦰtypes in the series. But there’s something else notable about Larvesta; out of all the Pokémon who evolve via leveling up, Larvesta takes the longest.
Only when it reaches level 59 will Larvesta finally be able to turn into Volcarona. Thatꦯ’s pretty high for a standard evolution. Most Pokémon will get there in their 20s or 30s. Still, ꧑better late than never!
5 𒅌 Porygon-Z Can Be Evolved Twice at Level 1
Of course, leveling up is not the only way that Pokémon can reach their evolved forms. Some will evolve as a reaction to a specific𒈔 iteꦬm. Porygon can be given the item Up-Grade, which will trigger its evolution into Porygon2. In Generation 4, yet another evolved form was released, this time called Porygon-Z.
Give a Porygon2 the Dubious Disc and it will become Porygon-Z. Since these two evolutions require items, Porygon is currently the o💃nly Pokémon who can be evolved twice while staying at level 1.
4 𒐪 Gender Can Affect Evolution
You may think that the gender of Pokémon only matters for breeding, but it affects evolution as well. A good example of this is Combee, whose species is pretty similar to our own bees, in that t🌼here are more male than female. Where we have our queen bees, female Combee can evolve into Vespiquen, whereas the males cannot.
With the Snorunt species, both males and females can evolve into Glalie, but if you have a Dawn Stone, you can use i✅t to evolve a female Snoru🍌nt into Froslass. Who said it was a man’s world?
3 Some Pokemon Can Evolve Into T𓂃wo 🌳
In some cases, evolving a Pokémon can actually result in two new creatures! It may not be immediately obvious, but if you have a Nincada and allow it to evolve at level 20, it won’t just be the evolution, Ninjask, that y🔯ou get out of the deal.
If you have an empty slot in your party and at least one Pokéball in your bag, the shell Nincada sheds w𒁃ill turn into Shedinja, a Bug/Ghost-type. It’s a cool concept, allowing a discarded part of the old Pokémon to have its own life. And hey, you get two for the price of one.
2 💮 Evolution Methods Change Depending On The Game
The different methods through which our Pokémon evolve aren’t always consistent. There are currently two species who can reach their evolved forms in various ways: Eevee and Feebas. Espeon and Umbreon come into play when Eevee is leveled up with a strong friendship with the trainer and depending on the time of day. However, in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, these evolutions depend on that friendship coꦿupled with either a Sun or Moon shard, because this game lacks a clock.
Similarly, Feebas’s evolution, Milotic, depends on a high beauty condition until Generation 5. From that point on, the Prism Scale item ꦡwas added to allow Feebas to evolve without this condition.
1 Nobody Knows What Evolution Reall༒y Is
Sometimes the most fascinating concepts in our world are those that we don’t understand, and that logic stands in the Pokémon world as well. Evolution is complicated and multi-faceted, and t🍬he coolest part is that, even according to the in-game professors, it’s far fro꧅m being fully understood.
In our world, evolution takes thousands and thousands of years. The instantaneous ‘evolution’ process that most Pokémon go through is closer to metamorphosis, wꦍhere an animal's body takes on massive changes (such as the transition from caterpillars to butterflies). The only certainty is that Pokémon evolution is a mysterious ability, and they are the only creatures that can do it.