Past releases have included plenty of strange evolution methods, such as Karrablast and Shelmet from Pokemon Black and White only evolving when traded for one another, unlike other trade-exclusive evolutions. These mechanics are interesting because the whole Pokemon community comes together when secrets of new games are yet to be discovered, and that alone is a good reason for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet to bring them back. There are many examples of wacky evolutions across all the generations of Pokemon games, but some of the more recent ones set a new bar for the future.
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Weird Evolution Requirements Across the Pokemon Franchise
Some Pokemon only evolve under extremely specific circumstances that are quite difficult to discover on one’s own, as they tend to happen only by accident and sheer luck the first time around. An example of this logic is that Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire introduced a Pokemon called Milotic, which only evolved from Feebas if the base form’s Beauty stat was equal to or greater than 170. This wasn’t clear when the game launched, and it only became common knowledge later. A similar thing happened with Pokemon Sun and Moon’s Rockruff, which could evolve into Dusk Form Lycanroc only when reaching level 25 or above between 5 PM and 5:59 PM, so long as it has the Own Tempo Ability.
On the Switch, similar methods would have been controversial due to the date and time change functions, but Pokemon Sword and Shield did have some of the weirdest evolutions in the series. Chief among them is probably the way Galarian Yamask evolves into Runerigus, something that only ever happens if players walk under a specific stone arch in the Dusty Bowl area when Yamask has lost a total of 49 or more HP without fainting or being healed, and only from level 34 and above. This is such a specific evolution requirement that it’s amazing to think players still figured it out as quickly as they did; it’s a testament to evolution’s ability to encourage exploration and make a team out of the Pokemon community.
Gen 8 also introduced Milcery and Alcremie, with the former evolving into the latter when players spin their character clockwise or anti-clockwise and at specific times of the day or for a specific duration, with multiple Alcremie variants being available. Not only that, but Pokemon Sword and Shield also have multiple toppings for Alcremie to sport, making it a very peculiar pocket monster. Another compelling example is the case of Nincada evolving into Ninjask and Shedinja, which is the only Pokemon to evolve into two separate creatures at the same time in the entire series.This can only ever happen with Shedinja being added to the party if players have an empty party slot and an available Poke Ball when the evolution into Ninjask happens.
Something similar happens with Mantyke evolving into Mantine, which requires players to have a Remoraid in the party for the base form to evolve while leveling up. Another weird evolution requirement is that of Inkay and Malamar, with Inkay only evolving at or after level 30 while holding the console upside down. Overall, there are multiple ways these requirements could be brought back to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and it could be entertaining to discover new ones by searching Generation 9’s open world for clues. Scarlet and Violet should break new ground in strange evolution conditions as a way of bringing the Pokemon community together.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet release for Nintendo Switch on November 18, 2022.
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