Pokémongames have always used an evolution mechanic to facilitate team growth throughout a playthrough. Pokémon usually start as small, unassuming creatures, but with time and effort, they can become much more powerful. There are dozens of ways to evolve a Pokémon, from simply leveling up to using certain items to traveling to certain locations.
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Some of these evolutions are quite easy and will happen without the player even having to do anything but play the game. Others, on the other hand, require methods that are so time-consuming or obscure thatmany players never even bother. While having a ton of different evolution methods keeps the game interesting, it can also lead to some Pokémon not getting the love they deserve.
10 Volcarona Takes Forever To Evolve
Larvesta has the distinction of being the Pokémon that starts to evolve at the highest level, as it doesn't turn into a Volcarona until level 59. Hydreigon evolves from its middle stage at level 64, but it's a lot easier to use a Zweilous in battle than a Larvesta. With its highest stat being an 85 Attack, Larvesta is going to be lagging behind all the other Pokémon on its team at its level, as most of them will have evolved at least once already. Its not uncommon for a player to have actually finished the game's main story before leveling all their Pokémon to level 60, meaning that Larvesta might never evolve during the core journey.
9 Goodra Is Weather Dependent
Starting in Generation III,Pokémongames have included overworld weather effects that translate to in-battle conditions.The Goomy line, introduced in Gen VI, took advantage of the rain effect in its evolution line.
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To reach its final form, Goodra, Sliggoo must hit at least level 50 while in a rainy area, or a foggy area in Generation VII. To make things more difficult, a Goomy doesn't become a Sliggoo until level 40, meaning that players who want a Goodra on their team will have to make do with a first-stage Pokémon for most of their journey, then track down a rainy area.
8 Basculegion Has To Take A Ton Of Damage
Pokémon Legends: Arceusintroduced several unique evolution methods, among them being the new evolution for the White-Striped form of Basculin. To evolve into this new Water/Ghost type, a Basculin must take at least 294 damage from recoil damage, such as by using Wave Crash or Double Edge. While this doesn't need to be all in one battle, the count will reset if the Basculin faints. While this is not the most difficult process, it is time-consuming and requires the player to be extremely careful not to let their Basculin take too much damage or risk losing all the progress they have made.
7 Pre Generation V, Milotic Relied On The Beauty Stat
Milotic evolves from Feebas when traded holding a Prism Scale in Generation V onward, making it quite easy to obtain. However, in prior generations, Milotic was a lot harder to evolve. Rather than a simple trade evolution, Feebas had to havea Beautiful condition of at least 170, which could be earned by feeding it Pokéblocks or Poffins made from dry, blue berries.
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This method is actually still present in games with no way to raise the Beautiful condition, and a Feebas transferred from earlier games can still evolve by this method.
6 Hitmontop Has To Be Perfectly Balanced
Tyrogue was introduced in Generation II as a pre-evolved form linking the Gen I Pokémon Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. Once it hits level 20, a Tyrogue will evolve into a Hitmonlee if its Attack is higher than its Defense, while it will become a Hitmonchan if the reverse is true. However, a third form was also introduced in Gen II. Hitmontop is the result if a Tyrogue levels up with an Attack and Defense stats that are exactly equal. Between EVs, IVs, and Natures, it can be extremely difficult to exactly manage this split.
5 Polteageist Comes In Two Flavors
The Black Tea Pokémon, introduced inPokémon SwordandShield,featured a quirk to its evolution process that is so finicky some players might never have noticed it. Sinistea, the pre-evolved version of Polteageist, actually comes in two forms: a Phony Form and an Antique Form. A Phony Sinistea will evolve when given a Cracked Pot, while an Antique Sinistea needs to be given a Chipped Pot. The only way to tell the difference is by looking on the underside of the Pokémon's teacup for a faint mark, which is extremely easy to miss.
4 Escavalier And Accelgor Swap Places
Plenty of Pokémon evolve via trade, but Karrablast and Shelmet have a uniquely tied evolution method. They are both Bug types, with Karrablast being based on a beetle that eats snails and Shelmet being based on a snail. When traded for one another, the bug inside the Shelmet leaves its armored shell, evolving into the extremely fast Accelgor, or the Shell Out Pokémon. Karrablast then moves into the empty shell, becoming the heavily armored Escavalier, the Cavalry Pokémon.
3 Ursaluna Needs An Item And A Full Moon
Legends: Arceusintroduced evolved forms for several existing Pokémon, Ursaring among them. Ursaluna is one of the rideable Pokémon in that game, but to attain one for themself the player will need to first acquire a Peat Block.
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This can be found while riding Ursaluna or purchased from Ginter as a "Hunk of Coal." With Peat Block in hand, the player will need to wait until a full moon.Legends: Arceusfeatures eight different moon phases, which change every two nights. This means a player looking to get an Ursaluna will either need to do a lot of sleeping or waiting.
2 Alcremie Comes In Dozens Of Different Flavors
It's actually not that difficult to get a Milcery to evolve into an Alcremie. What is difficult, however, is getting a Milcery to evolve into a specific Alcremie. Alcremie has nine different base forms, each obtained by spinning the player character around a set number of times in a set direction at a specific time of day. To make things even more complicated, the Milcery must be holding a sweet, which can come in seven different flavors. There is no mechanical difference between the different forms, but players who want a specific look to their Alcremie will have a lot of hoops to jump through.
1 Sirfetch'd Has To Crit, But Not Too Hard
For the longest time, the Gen I Pokémon Farfetch'd was the butt of countless jokes for not having an evolution. This all changed with the introduction of Galarian Farfetch'd and its evolved form Sirfetch'd. To attain this form, a Galarian Farfetch'd must score three critical hits in a single battle. This is a tall order, but the odds can be evened in several ways. Farfetch'd's signature item, the Leek, boosts its critical hit chances, as do moves like Focus Energy and Leaf Blade. The real trick becomes finding a Pokémon that can tank three crits without fainting and not knocking out the Farfetch'd in the process.
NEXT:10 Strangest Pokémon Evolutions, According To The Pokédex
