Although they’re ostensibly traditional , the franchise has always separated itself from contemporaries by placing a detailed emphasis on party building. Generation I boasted 151 different Pokémon, and at the center of trading & battling was the Evolution system. Not every Pokémon has the capacity to evolve, but most do. Some simply by leveling, others by trading, a🅠nd through Evolutionary Stones in a few instances.
Heading into Generation II, naturally expanded the series’ roster while evolving the very nature of Evolution. Beyond there being♏ new ways to evolve Pokémon (primarily through the Happiness system,) several alternate Evolutions were introduced. Alternate Evolutions let Pokémon like Poliwhirl evolve into either Poliwrath or Politoed, but that’s just one evolution Gold & Silver introduced.
5 Bellossom
Aside from leveling up naturally, Evolutionary Stones were one of the only other means of evolving Pokémon in Generation I. Generation II adds more ways to evolve Pokémon, but it𓆉 also expands the Stone system outright. The Sun Stone has been added to the mix as a counter to the Moon Stone, with Gloom being a notable user💯.
In Generation I, Gloom evolved into Vileplume by being given a Leaf Stone. In Generation II, Gloom evolves into Bellossom by being given a Sun Stone. Sun Stones can be found as early as the Bug Catching Contest– specifically as the priz𝐆e for ☂first place. This is the only means of getting a Sun Stone in-game, but only 5 Pokémon require the Stone to evolve.
In regards to choosing between﷽ Vileplume or Bellossom for Gloom, Bellossom can take a bꦿit more damage (notable enough for a Grass-Type,) but Vileplume ultimately has much better STAB bonuses while doing consistently higher damage. 🔯It’ll fall faster than Bellossom, but it’s ultimately the better of the two Pokémon. That said, neither are all that spectacular in G🐼eneration II.
4 Politoed
In conjunction with leveling and Evolutionary Stones, certain Pokémon could only evolve through the trading process. While this does lock out some fan favorites– Alakazam and Gengar to name a few– it’s a nice way of encouraging players to vary up their๊ team that works exactly as it should in an online age.
Still, that doesn’t change how frustrating it could be to miss out on unique Pokémo🐎n because there wa🅺s no one to trade with. Where Poliwhirl could evolve into Poliwrath by being given a Water Stone in Generation II, it can now evolve into Politoed if traded to another Trainer while holding a King’s Rock.
On t🌞hat note, it’s worth discussing held items. Generation II allows Pokémon to essentially equip an item at a time– whether said item be c𝕴onsumable (triggered automatically in battle,) or passive while offering buffs. There are a few ways of finding a King’s Rock, but the earliest is in the SlowPoké Well.
Politoed has an interesting design and is by no means a bad Pokémon, but anyone lacking a trade partner isn’t missing out. Poliwrath is an all around better Po🐼kémon in Generation II compared to its counterpart. The only issue will be finding a Water Stone in a reasonable timeline.
3 Slowking
Unlike Poliwhirl who’s locked into their evolution without outside means, SlowPoké will evolve into Slowbro at Level 37. As a reಌsult, it’s very easy to miss the fact that SlowPoké has an alternate Evolution in Generation II: Slowking. Just like Politoed, players evolve SlowPoké into Slowking by trading them away while holding a King’s Rock.
In terms of key differences, Slowbro and Slowking have almost identical move pools but differ when it comes to their Defenses. Slowbro has much higher Defense than Slowking, whereas Slowking’s Special Defense towers over Bro’s. Picking one over the other is really a matter of which stat is more important to the Trainer. When it comes down to it, though, Slowbro is ea🧔sier to obtain and doesn’t waste a King’s Ro🐟ck in the process.
2 Hitmontop
With the introduction of Eggs & breeding in Generation II came the inclusion of pre-evolution Pokémon, usually ❀framed as “baby” Pokémon like Pichu. Tyrogue is one notable pre-evo, not only because it isn’t a baby, but for i♔ts complex, branched Evolution process. Tyrogue simply has to be Level 20 to evolve, but its stats play a key role in what it becomes.
If Tyr🍨ogue’s Attack stat is higher than its Defense, it’ll evolve into Hitmonlee. If Tyrogue’s Defense stat is higher than its Attack, it’ll evolve into Hitmonchan. If Tyrogue’s Attack and Defense stats are equal, it’ll evolve into the newly in♒troduced Hitmontop. Of the three evolutions, Hitmontop is by far the best, but also the most difficult to trigger.
Keeping Tyrogue’s Attack and Defense stat even until Level 20 is easier said than done and is going to require s🥀ome decent preparation and likely RNG abuse to get just right. All🌌 things considered, it’s worth it for one of Gen II’s cooler Fighting-Types.
1 Espeon & Umbreon
The Friendship system was introduced in Pokémon Yellow specifically & solely for Pikachu. Over the course of the game, Pikachu’s affection for the player could rise and fall depending on how well they did in battle, how often Pikachu 🍌is kept at full health, an🍃d how often Pikachu is knocked out.
Friendship pertains to all Pokémon in Generation II, with a base of 70 for normal Pokémon, 120 for Egg Pokémon, and 200 for Friend Ball Pokémon. The face of evo✤lution in Generation I, Eevee was given two new evolutions tied to this mechanic. At a high enough Friendship level, Eevee will evolve into Espeon when leveling up during the day & Umbreon when leveling up at night.
Of the two Pokémon, Umbreon is arguably more useful in Generation II (owing to Dark’s specific role as a Psychic counter,) but both Espeon and Umbreon are worth using. Espeon being a Psychic Type makes it fairly useful when reaching Kanto and has high enough speed to sweep. Umbreon, on ൩the other hand, lacks speed but can tank most anything. Umbreon can’t deal the same amount of damage as Espeon, but can chip away at most parties with ease.