Highlights
- Some Pokemon in the franchise have unconventional evolution requirements that challenge players in new ways, such as Feebas and Tyrogue.
- Basculin and Nincada are examples of Pokemon with unique evolution methods that involve specific conditions and circumstances.
- Eevee has multiple branching evolutions, some of which require specific friendship levels or time of day, adding complexity to its evolution process.
While there are many facets to Game Freak's Pokemon franchise that have made it both fanatically beloved and wildly successful, one of the mainstay features has been the ability for players to evolve their companions into more powerful specimens. From Kanto to Kalos and Alola to Paldea, evolution has been integral to the Pokemon series, allowing players to power up their favorites through leveling or using a certain item.
However, there are some Pokemon that eschew the standard methods of evolution for the convoluted and bizarre. Whether it be oddly specific battle conditions or even encroaching into the player's real life, the Pokemon franchise has introduced evolution requirements that really do give a whole new challenge to 'Gotta Catch 'Em All.'
1 Feebas
Introduced in the Hoenn region, players will find it challenging to even find and catch a Feebas due to its rarity. Even when one does, evolving Feebas proves to be even more of a slog. To evolve a Feebas into the objectively more useful Milotic, players are required to raise its 'Beautiful' condition to a high level and then level it up normally.
All in all, the method of raising beauty proves to be a grind for very little in return. Indeed, when Contests were all but shelved from Generation 5 onward, a new item called the Prism Scale was introduced solely to replace the beauty stat method for Feebas' evolution, showcasing that completing this ugly duckling story is a big ask for the majority of players.
2 Tyrogue
The Johto region saw the introduction of numerous 'baby' Pokemon, and one such pre-evolution was for the classic Fighting-type pair Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan in the form of the adorably tenacious Tyrogue. Also evolving into the Generation 2 Pokemon Hitmontop, players jauntily leveled their Tyrogue to level 20 before realizing that they have very little control over the evolution they receive.
For some reason only understood by the Game Freak staff, the final evolution of Tyrogue is based solely on its stats: more Attack makes Hitmonlee, more Defense makes Hitmonchan, and equal Attack and Defense makes Hitmontop. Of course, one cannot know the stats of a Pokemon until capture, so players will have to sort through many a baby martial artist before landing on the correct stats for their preferred evolution.
3 Basculin
In its original region of Unova, the two-formed fish Pokemon Basculin had no evolution. It was only in Generation 8 and the introduction of the ancient region Hisui that players were met with the white-striped form of Basculin, as well as its ghostly evolution Basculegion.
As epic as this Water/Ghost-type beast is, getting a Basculin to evolve into it requires quite an effort. To achieve it, Basculin must be leveled up after losing at least 294 points of HP to recoil damage. The Pokemon does not even learn a move that can cause recoil damage until Wave Crash at level 44, meaning that players will be waiting a good while before owning a Basculegion.
4 Nincada
Nincada is a Generation 3 Bug/Ground-type Pokemon that evolves at level 20 into Ninjask, which sounds quite standard as evolutions go. It is the byproduct that appears in the unaware player's party after the evolution that is the more unexpected.
Part of a unique evolution that sees Nincada evolve into two Pokemon simultaneously, the ghostly shell that is Shedinja will appear in an empty slot of the player's party as long as they have a free space and a spare Pokeball on hand. With this, we see an evolution method that is bizarre not in its execution but in its result, as the shedded skin of Nincada cast off during its transformation into Ninjask is given life in the form of Shedinja.
5 Eevee
Notwithstanding the overload of cuteness, another reason for Eevee's lasting effect on fans of the franchise is due to its variety of branched evolutions, with three in existence from its introduction all the way back in Generation 1 and a further five added throughout the years.
Granted, some of these evolution methods are quite straightforward and not particularly strange, with Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon only requiring an Eevee to be given the corresponding elemental stone. Some, however, are much more complicated. For example, evolving Eevee into Generation 2 evolutions Espeon and Umbreon not only requires players to raise an Eevee's friendship with them through hours of companionship but also requires a specific time of the day.
6 Bisharp
There are many Pokemon designs from the Unova region that seep with creativity, including the uniquely typed Dark/Steel Pokemon Pawniard and Bisharp. Drawing inspiration from chess pieces and military individuals, players most likely expected this to be all, considering that Pawniard evolves into Bisharp at the considerably high level of 52.
Mouths dropped then when, in Generation 9, an evolution of Bisharp was revealed in the form of Kingambit. Mouths dropped even further when the method of said evolution became apparent. To evolve Bisharp, one must use it to defeat three other Bisharp that are holding the Leader's Crest item before leveling up. Found in the wild of region Paldea, those who challenge these Bisharp must also contend with the hordes of Pawniard that they lead.
7 Gimmighoul
When Generation 9 came and pushed the number of Pokemon over 1000, one of these creatures would have the honor of being crowned the 1000th Pokemon. However, the eventual 1000th Pokemon, Gholdengo, is not the focus here, with it in actuality being its pre-evolution and Pokemon number 999, Gimmighoul.
In a bizarre fashion, unlike any other evolution method, players must traverse the Paldea region in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, finding Gimmieghoul coins in order to one day evolve Gimmighoul into Gholdengo. It is not just 10 or 20, though, as the greedy little ghost requires a massive 999 coins before it is able to evolve, making this evolution one of the most expansive in Pokemon.
8 Ursaring
It took Game Freak over 20 years and six generations to finally give Pokemon Ursaring an evolution. This new evolved form named Ursaluna debuted in 2022's Pokemon Legends: Arceus in the Hisui region. If players want to evolve this bear into an even larger and meaner bear, players will have to rely on celestial bodies.
Ursaring must be given the item Peat Block during a full moon in order to evolve. Admittedly, the moon cycle of Pokemon Legends: Arceus can be manipulated to create the desired condition, but players of the mobile game Pokemon Go will literally have to wait for the actual Moon to be full in the actual sky to see Ursaring evolve into Ursaluna.
9 Milcery
The sentient blob of cream that is Milcery was introduced to players in Generation 8 games Pokemon Sword & Shield and, further to its strangely adorable appearance and cooking aesthetic, created further delight when gamers discovered the sheer malleability and variety in its evolution.
The type of Alcremie (the evolved form of Milcery) players will receive depends on a plethora of factors that are akin to a recipe in itself, involving held sweets, time of day, and direction in which the trainer spins. Out of the 9 major forms Alcremie can take, it is probably Rainbow Swirl that is the most complex, requiring players to spin counterclockwise for more than 10 seconds during a specific hour of the day in Pokemon Sword & Shield only.
10 Inkay
Despite the multitude of different methods in which one can evolve their Pokemon across the many games in the franchise, players could always take solace in the fact that it would never encroach onto their real lives. That is until the squid Pokemon Inkay was introduced in Generation 6. To evolve this unassuming little cephalopod into Malamar, players have to literally turn their console upside-down while it levels up at level 30.
Being highly unlikely for players to accidentally come across, paired with the utter uniqueness and bizarreness of this evolution method, it seems likely that many a player of Pokemon X & Y simply assumed that Inkay was not capable of evolution. In fact, if it were not for the great design and useful Dark/Psychic typing of Malamar, it probably would have stayed that way.