Evolving and Powering Up Pokémon




pokemon-go-evolving-and-power-up

Evolve and Power Up will make your Pokémon stronger. But the decision on which Pokémon to power up and when to evolve is surprisingly a complicated decision to make. Let us help you with the process so that you will get the most out of your Pokémon’s battling capabilities.

 

Evolve

Some Pokémon could be evolved to a higher form and an evolve button will be visible at those Pokémon page. Evolving Pokémon requires candy of the specific species so there are Pikachu Candy, Rattata Candy, and so on. The number of candies required varies between 12, 25, 50, 100, and 400 depending on the rarity of the Pokémon.

 

Evolve is the fastest way to make your Pokémon stronger but the most important is to know when to evolve which Pokémon. When evolving, few things will happen:

  • The Pokémon will evolve to its next form.
  • The combat power (CP) will go up and your Pokémon will become stronger. But its level will remain the same, meaning that the semi-circle arc that you see at the top of the Pokémon will remain the same. The Pokémon’s individual value (IV) will remain the same too.
  • The Pokémon’s weight, height, and move set will be re-rolled for the higher form Pokémon. It is possible that it will result in a weaker or stronger move set.
  • The trainer gains 500 XP. This could be used to your benefit and is the fastest way to level up your trainer if combined with a lucky egg.

 

Now you know that evolve will instantly make your Pokémon stronger. So when should you evolve your Pokémon?

 

When to Evolve a Pokémon

If you want a strong Pokémon

  • The trainer is at least level 15. As you level up, you will catch Pokémon with higher CP, so the CP 800 Vaporeon which might be your strongest Pokémon right now, will be placed aside few levels down the line.
  • The Pokémon has high CP so that you do not have to waste lots of candy and stardust for power up later.
  • The Pokémon has high IV value. This is probably the most important aspect as not every Pokémon is born equal, the IV will stick with the Pokémon even after evolution and power up. IV will affect the Pokémon’s battle capabilities in attack, defence and HP. You can check the Pokémon’s IV with an IV Calculator.

If you want to level up your trainer quickly

  • The 500 XP for each evolve could be used to amass lots of experience if combined with the effect of a Lucky Egg.
  • The 30 minutes timespan of a Lucky Egg could be used to evolve roughly 70+ Pokémon.
  • Before activating the Lucky Egg, double check that you have the required amount of Pokémon and candy for mass evolution. Pidgeys, Caterpies, and Weedles will be the easiest since each evolution only costs 12 candies. After exhausting these, Rattatas could be used as well with a 25 candy cost per evolution.
  • Remember that after each evolution, you will get back 1 candy and if you decide to transfer the evolved Pokémon back to the professor, you can get back another candy.
  • Evolving to a new Pokémon that you have not encountered before will give you an extra 500 XP or 1000 XP with Lucky Egg.
  • Trainer below level 20 could easily gain 3+ levels within a Lucky Egg session.

 

When Not to Evolve a Pokémon

  • The Pokémon has very low CP, perhaps your trainer level is still low. No matter how perfect is a Pokémon’s IV, if it has a low CP, it is not worthy to evolve as you’ll soon realize that the number of stardust and candies required to power up a Pokémon will escalate quickly. You are likely to find Pokémon with higher CP and strong IV down the line.
  • The Pokémon has low IV, and the IV will remain the same even after evolution. So it won’t fare very well against Pokémon of similar CP.

 

Power Up

Power Up is basically raising your Pokémon’s level, training it for maximum potential. The white semi-circle bar above your Pokémon indicates where it’s at till maximum level. Every time you power up your Pokémon, you will push its level higher, increasing its CP by spending candy and stardust. Every 4 power up requires more stardust and eventually more candy. The base damage power will not increase as you power up, but its damage will increase based on damage modifiers.

 

So when should you Power Up your Pokémon?

 

When to Power Up a Pokémon

  • The trainer is at least level 20, but even so, i will not recommend to power up a Pokémon upon reaching that level. Maxing a Pokémon level costs lots of stardust and candies which could be used more efficiently. Wild Pokémon maxes out at level 30 meaning that as your trainer levels up, you will encounter much higher CP Pokémon. Usually Pokémon will be replaced every 5 or so level. So what seems like a strong Pokémon now will be easily encountered in the wild.
  • When your trainer stops to level up every one or two days then it might be worthy to power up some Pokémon since you will be using them longer.
  • When the Pokémon is near its maximum potential or level, meaning that the Pokémon is near its maximum CP. You can check this from the arc above the Pokémon. The cap will increase as the trainer gains level.
  • The Pokémon has strong IV. This is probably more important than CP as CP could be raised by power up but a Pokémon’s IV will stick with it even after evolution or power up. The Pokémon’s IV will affect its capabilities in combat for attack, defense and HP.
  • The Pokémon is fully evolved and has a good combination of move set. After evolution, the Pokémon’s move set will be randomized again. Sometimes you have to evolve quite a bit to find the moves that you want.

 

When Not to Power Up a Pokémon

  • The Pokémon has very low CP, perhaps your trainer level is still low. No matter how perfect is a Pokémon’s IV, if it has a low CP, it is not worthy to power up as you’ll soon realize that the number of stardust and candies required to power up a Pokémon will escalate quickly. You are likely to find Pokémon with higher CP and strong IV down the line.
  • The Pokémon has low IV, and the IV will remain the same even after evolution or power up.
  • The Pokémon has bad combination of move set. After evolution, the Pokémon’s move set will be randomized again. Sometimes you have to evolve quite a bit to find the moves that you want.

 

Evolve and Power Up FAQ

Is it better to Power Up or Evolve your Pokémon first?

Evolving a Pokémon will have its move set randomized again. It could turn out to be stronger or weaker for that species. So I would not recommend to power up a Pokémon until you have a fully evolved Pokémon with a move set that you like. Also make sure that it has a strong IV which will directly affect the Pokémon’s battling capabilities.