Evolution in the Pokémon games is often seen as a cut-and-dried affair: when they evolve, they get stronger. When Machop evolves, for instance, it becomes several feet taller and infinitely more muscular. When Machoke evolves, in turn, it actually develops two more arms for twice the punching prowess. You can see where we’re going with this.
Pokémon do receive stat buffs on evolving, and often super significant ones. Does this mean that they’re always more effective in battle than they were in their previous form, though? Not at all. Let’s take a look at some Pokémon you may be better off never evolving (or should hold off on doing so).
10 Rhydon
From the moment you first saw Rhyhorn, you knew that this beast of a creature was designed to do two things: tank hits and strike back with all the destructive fury it can muster. This evolution line resembles a tank on legs, so it’s no surprise that they make effective… tanks.
Having weaknesses to absolutely everything ever is a bit of an issue (poor rugged-yet-vulnerable Rock-types), but Rhydon’s not letting that get it down. When holding an Eviolite (which boosts the defenses of a Pokémon that can still evolve), this thing’s defensive stats are absurd. It’s a better pick than Rhyperior when you aren’t opting for pure damage.
9 Chansey
Speaking of Eviolite, let’s just get the item’s most controversial user out of the way: the dreaded Chansey. You wouldn’t think this adorable and benevolent pink puffball would want to crush your hopes and dream into sad, salty fragments of defeat, but just wait until it gets going.
Blissey’s Special Defense and HP are famously absurd, but a Chansey holding an Eviolite is even tougher to break through. If you don’t have a powerful Fighting-type on hand, you’re going to have a bad time. Said bad time is usually punctuated by Soft-Boiled, Mimimize shenanigans and ragequits.
8 Doublade
When Aegislash was introduced in Generation VI, it quickly established itself as one of the best (and therefore most popular) Pokémon in the meta. Its unique Stance Change Ability allows it to be both very powerful and very defensive; a devastating force when played correctly.
Honedge’s second form, Doublade, has been a popular pick too. Its physical Defense is just as high as that of Shield forme Aegislash (base 150), making it very hard to take down with an Eviolite applied (watch out for special moves though). Base 110 Attack can be really threatening after a Swords Dance or two, but you’ve got to be able to work around its lack of reliable healing.
7 Porygon2
Porygon 2 isn’t quite as notorious as Chansey when it comes to Eviolite users, but it can be just as difficult to deal with. Every competitive player has felt the special kind of pain that only this quirky little digital duck can inflict on a player’s soul.
Porygon’s final form, PorygonZ, is a powerful glass cannon, while Porygon2 takes the opposite approach. It lacks a little offensively, but it can slowly boost up, heal off damage and use its nice coverage to soften up a team nicely. You’ll need some serious firepower (or Toxic) to take it out.
6 Growlithe
Yes, we all know how the world feels about puppies. We’re not suggesting that’s a good enough reason to never evolve Growlithe. Arcanine is, in fact, a consistently popular pick, boasting great, balanced stats, the powerful Intimidate Ability and all kinds of other qualities.
Hold your horses and/or majestic adult flaming doggos for a moment, though. Growlithe evolves when exposed to a Fire Stone, and stone evolutions have always been problematic for one major reason: the evolved form rarely learns any new moves. In Growlithe’s case, you’ll permanently lose access to Heat Wave and Flare Blitz (both excellent Fire-type moves) if you choose to evolve before level 38. Growlithe’s a special case for this list: you want to evolve it, yes, but be very careful about when.
5 Murkrow
Honchkrow isn’t exactly a Pokémon that has set standard competitive play alight. Still, it’s a powerhouse of a Dark/Flying Pokémon that can devastate teams with its very strong priority, good coverage and Moxie Ability. How can its pre-evolved form, Murkrow, compete with that?
Well, it can’t. It does something completely different, but just as effective. Eviolite Murkrow is so much fun to use, with its Prankster Ability, Feather Dance to weaken physical attackers, range of supportive options and recovery. It’s not easy to pull off, but players who prefer tricky strategies to brute force will have a blast with Murkrow.
4 Dusclops
That’s the choice players often have to make, when it comes to the Eviolite item. Pre-evolved forms don’t have the offensive stats their fully-evolved counterparts do, but they tend to be able to take hits better (a lot better, in many cases). Here’s a case in point: Dusknoir is a bulky Ghost-type that can return some decent punishment of its own. Dusclops, meanwhile, has essentially zero in terms of power, but it takes hits like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Terminator movies.
Pain Split and Night Shade are Dusclops’ moves of choice, as it whittles away at opposing Pokémon in the slow-yet-inevitable way that some players seem to love.
3 Pikachu
Well, yes, Pikachu is the adorable little mascot of the franchise, and that alone is enough reason not to evolve it for some. Beyond that, though, Game Freak have ensured that Pikachu is more viable than Raichu in some respects.
The Pikachu-exclusive item Light Ball doubles the little rodent’s Attack and Special Attack. This makes it much more powerful than Raichu, in exchange for 20 base Speed and a minor buff to its non-existent defences. It’s a bit of a novelty, for sure, but one that can be surprisingly effective.
2 Golbat
If you’re looking for a hyper offensive bat Pokémon, Crobat is the way to go. It has decent mixed offenses and a dazzling 130 base Speed. If you want to go the tankier route, Eviolite Golbat definitely won’t let you down.
With reliable healing and a nice range of supportive moves, Golbat is a defensive Pokémon that will fit quite well on a variety of different teams. Give it a try if you haven’t yet, you might be surprised.
1 Ferroseed
For our final entry, we’re going to dive into Little Cup. This metagame revolves around unevolved and baby at level 5, so it’s no surprising that Eviolite is just so common here.
One of the items’ best users is Ferroseed. Now, Ferrothorn is known and feared as a defensive Pokémon that hits super hard too. While Ferroseed is very passive in comparison, it’s as tough to crack as its spiky little metallic body would suggest.