One of the most utilized game mechanics in the Pokémon series is Pokémon evolution. It’s an integral part of the games, and for most Pokémon isn’t something you can get around. In most cases, 🔯evolution just sort of happens naturally, but as the games have gone on there have been multiple variations onꦓ Pokémon evolution that have been added in.
Some of these are fairly straight forward, while others are highly dependent upon various factors. ♒Everything from location, gender, moveset and whatever else you can think of can be used as an evolution condition. Here are all of them ranked from easiest to hardest.
15 ꦛ Reaching a Certain Level
This is the most common and easiest method of evolution out there. It’s pretty standard. Most Pokémon will evolve at a certain level. Starters always evolve this way, often at around the same level. T🧔his may be the easiest method out there, but is definitely the grindiest – making it a pretty long process depending on the Pokémon. Some Pokémon that evolve like this will take you a good chunk of൩ your playthrough to evolve.
14 🥂 Evolutionary Stone 💃
This next method of evolution stems from the opposite extreme. Instead of being a long task, stone evolution is unsurprisingly quick. There are ten different stones🅠 currently, and each affects a specific group of Pokémon.
The only downside about this method is acquiring the stones. Stone evolution allows trainers to pick which level they want their Poké๊mon to evolve, and is great for trainers who like to plan around certain moves.
13 Trading
Trading Pokémon is a pretty popular method of evolution, though in most cases trainers’ trade between friends – with the intention of getti♒ng the traded🌳 Pokémon back after its evolution.
Trading can be a bit of an annoyance if you don’t have anyone you trust that’s willing to trade witꦉh you. It’s a quic🐽k process but requires a bit of patience.
12 ꦰ Sto🎐ne Evolution Based on Gender
This next method of evolution is pretty much identical to your standard stone evolution, with one extra condition added in. While certain Pokémon may require a stone to evolve, trainers have to🎀 be careful they get the right gender of Pokémon for that specific stone.
There is a small group of Pokémon in the ⛦game that only evolve if they’re a certain gender and exposed to a certain stone. So getting that combo right without prior knowledge can be tricky.
11 🧜 High Friendship ও
It’s a prevalent theme in the Pokémon games. The idea🧜 of befriending your Pokémon is one that the series has bas🃏ed itself on for years, with Pokémon being companions as much as they are battle partners. Some Pokémon take this to the next level though, and actually require trainers to raise their friendship in order to evolve. It can be a long process and really makes you take extra care of the Pokémon in question.
10 Time-Dependent 🎃
The Gen II introduced a day and night mechanic and it instantly became a favorite among fans. It made the world seem way more alive and versatile. One ꦇway that was achieved was the introduction of time-dependent evolution methods.
Certain Pokémon only evolve during the day while others during the night. It’s a neat concept, but trainers have to be aware of when they’re training their Pokémon if✨ they🍎 want it to work out.
9 Trad☂ing With a Held Item 𒆙
Held items are pretty versatile pieces of your inventory in the Pokémon games. They can be used to buff certain stats and in certain situations, as a trigger for evolution whenᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ held by specific Pokémon in a trade.
It’s a pretty easy process all in all, but the main challenge it presents is finding or acquiring the held item, and then finding someone 📖trustworthy to trade with.
8 𓄧 Knowing a Certain Move
At this point, it’s become clear that evolution isn’t as clear cut as it started out in the original games. With so many different factors that g✤o into it, pretty much anything can be used to trigger evolution.
In certain cases, a Pokémon’s moveset can actually determine whether or not it evolves. There isn’t really any way ꧃of knowing which moves allows which Pokémon t👍o evolve unless that’s checked in advance – so this method can be easy to miss.
7 🌠 Held Item Dependent Evolution
This next method of evolution was first introduced in Gen IV. It’s basically just as it sounds, as certain Pokémon will only evolve if holding a certain item. This ca🅠n be paired with other parameters, like with Sneasel.
Once the evolution is comp💎lete, the held item will disappear. So trainers will hav🎀e to weigh the value of each before proceeding.
6 🐼 Pokémon That Only Evolve Through Unique Methods ꧂
This is more of a broad category, as each method of evolution has specific triggers depending on the Pokémon you want to ev🗹olve.
There are some pretty interesting ones out there; ♏such as Mantyke evolv🌼ing into Mantine with a Remoraid in the party, or Inkay evolving into Malamar if leveled up while the 3DS is upside-down.