• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Ridiculous methods of evolution

Aggron989

Pokémon anime fanatic
Joined
Jul 30, 2015
Messages
104
Reaction score
75
So here's my list of Pokémon that have, in my opinion, ridiculous ways of evolving:

Inkay into Malamar - Holding the 3DS upside down is too specific and most people would never figure that out without looking it up first.
Eevee into Leafeon/Glaceon, Nosepass into Probopass, Magneton into Magnezone, etc. etc. - Location-based evolutions require that they come up with a new location for each region.
Feebas into Milotic (prior to Generation V) - Maxing out a condition is too specific and again, nobody would think to guess that. And it also becomes impossible to evolve Feebas if the sheen meter fills up before the condition is maxed.
Eevee into Sylveon - Pokémon-Amie, as well as learning a Fairy-type move? Seriously? A Moon Stone would make a lot more sense here.

Thoughts?
 
I've said it before and i'll say it again. Eevee into Leafeon should be level up while holding the heat rock, and Glaceon should be the icy rock. Completely doing away with the arbitrary need for moss/ice boulders in the map. My logic behind this is holding a commonly available item isn't too much of a hassle, and those particular Eeveelutions were introduced in the same generation as the weather rocks. Also, the evolution can be performed at whichever level you want without difficulty, whereas using a location means having to switch out a number of times if the Eevee in question isn't levelled up enough to take on the other mon in that area. (Of course Gen VI Exp share fixes that problem, but what about the gens prior to that?)

Inkay's evolution is fitting and perfect and i wouldn't want to see that go. It's not particularly difficult (other than looking it up, but that info was disseminated quite handily when Inkay was revealed).

Sylveon really isn't that hard to obtain, is it? They needed a way to showcase Pokemon amie. It's just one pokemon and since Eevee learns Charm at a really low level is possible really early.

You have a point with Feebas. It takes time and skill (and it's best to practice on a useless mon first) to pokeblock your way to Milotic. That whole sheen/feel mechanic was a pile of crap.

Here's one that really bothers me. Wurmple. It shouldn't be randomly based on some invisible number. Either give us a way to see that number or give us a way to choose Silcoon or Cascoon. (Like night/day evos the same as Espeon & Umbreon. I know that it wasn't implemented that way to begin with because the gen III game didn't have night/day, but that mechanic is fixed, tied to the console itself, and there's no reason to continue using an inferior archaic evo method.)
 
So here's my list of Pokémon that have, in my opinion, ridiculous ways of evolving:

Inkay into Malamar - Holding the 3DS upside down is too specific and most people would never figure that out without looking it up first.
Eevee into Leafeon/Glaceon, Nosepass into Probopass, Magneton into Magnezone, etc. etc. - Location-based evolutions require that they come up with a new location for each region.
Feebas into Milotic (prior to Generation V) - Maxing out a condition is too specific and again, nobody would think to guess that. And it also becomes impossible to evolve Feebas if the sheen meter fills up before the condition is maxed.
Eevee into Sylveon - Pokémon-Amie, as well as learning a Fairy-type move? Seriously? A Moon Stone would make a lot more sense here.

Thoughts?

Completely agree with all of those. They're way too much.
 
Wurmple. I wanted to use a Dustox in Sapphire, and it literally took me two days of grinding to get lucky and get the personality value for a Cascoon instead of a Silcoon. At least throw me a bone and let me know what it's going to evolve into before I level it up! IF you're going to do that, I would suggest having a guy nearby where you first catch Wurmple in the game say something like "Oh, you have a Wurmple! Can I look?" Select Yes, and the text will be something like "... Hm.... Oh, yes! This Wurmple looks like the type to evolve into a _____!" This is perfect!

Also, Tyrogue is a chief offender. How the hell does one reasonably get a Hitmontop?!

And needing rain to evolve Sligoo is fine with me, but not having Rain Dance work is BS. Whoever decided that to be the case deserves to die by fire.
 
I actually really like Inkay's method. Sure, it's non-intuitive, but it's pleasantly quirky and suits its motif.

I do dislike Leafeon and Glaceon's method, though, and I guess by extension, Magnezone's and Probopass's as well, because they actually limit the region's design freedom. Now they keep having to shoehorn in locations for the Moss Rock, Ice Rock, and magnetic field. They have done okay so far, but I expect that it can only be kept up for so long before it really begins to feel forced/repetitive. Of course, they could always just not include them, but then they're affecting the potential Pokémon distribution for the game. It is a lose-lose situation. I like PickleMendip's "holding weather rocks" idea.

Milotic and Hitmontop are also far more trouble than they are worth.

The day/night requirement of Gliscor's, Weavile's, Happiny's, Tyrantrum's, and Aurorus's methods all seem very arbitrary as well, but those aren't too hindering.
 
I do dislike Leafeon and Glaceon's method, though, and I guess by extension, Magnezone's and Probopass's as well, because they actually limit the region's design freedom. Now they keep having to shoehorn in locations for the Moss Rock, Ice Rock, and magnetic field. They have done okay so far, but I expect that it can only be kept up for so long before it really begins to feel forced/repetitive. Of course, they could always just not include them, but then they're affecting the potential Pokémon distribution for the game. It is a lose-lose situation. I like PickleMendip's "holding weather rocks" idea.
to be fair, they were able to be incorporated into Hoenn without difficulty, and most of the areas they evolve at (forests, ice area, "electric" area) are staples in region design now. not to mention i think HGSS just didn't include them, so they have done it before.

The day/night requirement of Gliscor's, Weavile's, Happiny's, Tyrantrum's, and Aurorus's methods all seem very arbitrary as well, but those aren't too hindering.
Gliscor is inspired by bats and Weavile is inspired by cats and possibly weasels. all three are nocturnal creatures. Aurorus has some inspiration from auroras and so evolves at night. Tyrantrum evolves during the day to just not be completely the same. Happiny is completely arbitrary though, as far as i can tell.

And needing rain to evolve Sligoo is fine with me, but not having Rain Dance work is BS. Whoever decided that to be the case deserves to die by fire.
i mean, it rains enough in Kalos so it's not too offensive that player-triggered rain doesn't work.
 
I'm surprised no one mentioned ones like Pancham and Mantyke. You actually need another Pokemon on-hand in order to evolve them (Dark-type for the former and Remoraid for the latter), so that makes it rather tricky, especially if you're not sure how/when you can get the "requirements" for them.

I actually find Inkay's evolution method to be rather fitting for its quirky nature. I mean, it isn't that difficult to execute, so it's not really that big of a burden to do.

I don't really mind too much about Glaceon and Leafeon, as Eevee is known to evolve to better suit its environment, but it would be much simpler if they decided on an idea like the weather rocks or usage of other stones, especially in Glaceon's case, as the Ice Rock is usually very late in the game.

Most trade-based evolutions annoy me, as you either need a friend or have two games + consoles to evolve them. Those types of evolutions really bother me. While, yes, trading is all part of the games, it still rather irksome if you don't have access to another player/console.
 
Mantyke's evolution requiring a Remoraid and Pancham's requiring a Dark-type Pokémon in the party absolutely are far more ridiculous. It's even more ridiculous that Slowpoke was not retconned to evolve into Slowbro while a Shellder's on the team or traded for a Shellder to evolve into Slowking.
 
Shelmet and Karrablast. Technically, it makes all sorts of sense based on the dex entries and designs, but seriously it's very annoying. Trade evolutions were already annoying, and throwing in the most narrow specification is troublesome. I could see a trade requirement like "evolves when traded with a X type Pokemon!" Or something more easy, like holding an item. Again, shelmet and Karrablast make sense, but it's so annoying.
 
Shelmet and Karrablast. Technically, it makes all sorts of sense based on the dex entries and designs, but seriously it's very annoying. Trade evolutions were already annoying, and throwing in the most narrow specification is troublesome. I could see a trade requirement like "evolves when traded with a X type Pokemon!" Or something more easy, like holding an item. Again, shelmet and Karrablast make sense, but it's so annoying.

Shelmet and Karrablast was one of the other annoying evolutions that occurred to me after I posted this. I suppose it makes it easier that Juniper tells you how to evolve Pokémon in B2W2, but the fact that it can ONLY be traded with a specific other Pokémon is too much. I like the idea of Karrablast getting Shelmet's hard shell and Shelmet becoming much faster through the evolution, though.
 
The "Inkay" method. If not for the fact that Malamar looks like Inkay upside-down (that, and using the internet), I wouldn't have known that utilizing the 3DS's gyroscope to hold it upside down would have evolved.
 
Friendship evolution wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't for the fact that YOU CAN FIND POKEMON THAT EVOLVED VIA FRIENDSHIP IN THE WILD IN SOME GAMES.

I can forgive baby Pokemon, since most of them are added in later gens, but not new fully evolved Pokemon. Like, you can find wild Leavanny and wild Lopunny in Unova. Seriously, did they just befriend a random tree or something?


Also, the fact that Steelix (a Pokemon that evolved from trade while holding a certain item) can be found in the wild in some games bother me too. Unless someone purposefully releases a bunch of Steelixes into the wild, it's just wrong.

I appreciate you trying to diversify methods of evolution, Game Freak, but please stay consistent in the future.
 
Friendship evolution wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't for the fact that YOU CAN FIND POKEMON THAT EVOLVED VIA FRIENDSHIP IN THE WILD IN SOME GAMES.

I can forgive baby Pokemon, since most of them are added in later gens, but not new fully evolved Pokemon. Like, you can find wild Leavanny and wild Lopunny in Unova. Seriously, did they just befriend a random tree or something?


Also, the fact that Steelix (a Pokemon that evolved from trade while holding a certain item) can be found in the wild in some games bother me too. Unless someone purposefully releases a bunch of Steelixes into the wild, it's just wrong.

I appreciate you trying to diversify methods of evolution, Game Freak, but please stay consistent in the future.
I doubt they become friends with a random tree. They probably became friends with another pokemon..
 
Eh, I can't say I find any of them to be ridiculous. Inkay's is the strangest one, but it's quirky. It'd be handy if an in-game NPC told you about that, though. If you didn't know about it beforehand and didn't look online, you may not know about it.

The only ones that bother me are the trade evolutions. Trading to evolve is fine in theory but when you have no-one to trade with, it's a bother.
 
Evolution Stones, because it can be bothersome to get more than one of each kind. Same with Metal Coats. Trade evolutions can also be frustrating when you have no one to trade with and don't want to be ripped off in the GPS.
 
Friendship evolution wouldn't bother me so much if it weren't for the fact that YOU CAN FIND POKEMON THAT EVOLVED VIA FRIENDSHIP IN THE WILD IN SOME GAMES.

I can forgive baby Pokemon, since most of them are added in later gens, but not new fully evolved Pokemon. Like, you can find wild Leavanny and wild Lopunny in Unova. Seriously, did they just befriend a random tree or something?


Also, the fact that Steelix (a Pokemon that evolved from trade while holding a certain item) can be found in the wild in some games bother me too. Unless someone purposefully releases a bunch of Steelixes into the wild, it's just wrong.

I appreciate you trying to diversify methods of evolution, Game Freak, but please stay consistent in the future.

Meh, the Twerps always befriend random, wild Pokémon in the anime. Sometimes they even evolve, like that Butterfree in Unova. -.-

I guess that's what happens in those situations. The Pokémon bonded with a trainer who didn't catch it.

As for wild trade evolution Pokémon... I think Steelix is actually the only one of its kind. But then again, its Dex entries clearly state that a Steelix is formed when an Onix goes down into such depths that the pressure transforms rock into steel. So lore-wise it does make sense. These are just Onix that have surfaced from deep underground.
 
Hopefully GF would wisen up a bit more for Gen 7 and accept, say, Onix + Metal Coat for Steelix search results. Otherwise, I agree, there should be an alternate method to trade-based evolutions. (For example, have Onix hold a Metal Coat and do 30-50 Battles while holding that to evolve into Steelix.)

With Evolution stones, I wonder why the stones are no longer sold in shops like was the case in Gen 1...
EDIT:
Lumiose City sells Water, Leaf, and Fire Stones. but yeah, otherwise i don't understand why the evolution stones are so restricted.
Sorry, completely forgot about that. But this still stands for the Lightning/Thunder Stone, though...
 
Last edited:
With Evolution stones, I wonder why the stones are no longer sold in shops like was the case in Gen 1...
Lumiose City sells Water, Leaf, and Fire Stones. but yeah, otherwise i don't understand why the evolution stones are so restricted.

You can get as many evolution stones of any kind you need through Secret Super Training. It's just tedious while you're waiting for the regimen to actually give you the prize you want.
 
Please note: The thread is from 8 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom