How to Evolve Pokémon in Pokémon GO

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: May 17, 2024

Pokémon in Pokémon GO can only evolve when you have a certain number of that particular Pokémon’s Candy. For example, you need 50 Pikachu Candy to evolve Pikachu. You can get more Pikachu Candy by capturing more Pikachus and by transferring Pikachus to Professor Willow. You should evolve your Pokémon as soon as you can because they become more powerful when evolved.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Finding the Amount of Candy You Need for Evolving Pokémon

Whenever you catch a Pokémon, such as a Pikachu, you collect both Pikachu Candy and Stardust.^{[1]
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Research source} You need a certain number of Pikachu Candy to evolve a Pikachu (and Spearow Candy to evolve a Spearow, etc.).
Click on the red and white Pokéball in the bottom center of your screen. This will open another menu, which should be green.

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Click on one of them (a Pikachu, for example).
On the page for the Pikachu, you should see a picture of the Pikachu, its HP (hit points), the type, weight, and height. You can also see Stardust and a number next to some orange “Pikachu Candy.” This number is the number of Pikachu Candies that you currently have.
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Look at the bar that says “Power Up.” Right below that, look at a bar that says “Evolve,” right below the number of Candy that you have. This is the button that you should press to evolve your Pokémon if you have enough Candy.^{[2]
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- If you have enough Candy, press “Evolve.”
- If you don’t have enough Candy, collect more Candy.
- Typically, you will need between 25 and 50 Candies to evolve your original Pokémon. However, these numbers will increase after you evolve your specific Pokémon for the first time.^{[3]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Collecting More Candy By Catching Pokémon

If you want to evolve a Pikachu, you will need to catch more Pikachus.
You will go back to your list of Pokémon.
Look for Pokémon, which will pop up on your screen. They will look like small, dinosaur-ish animals that will appear on your screen relatively near to you.
You may need to walk closer to the Pokémon before you can click on it. Your phone will open a screen that looks like a camera to the outside world with the Pokémon inserted into the camera frame.
Using your thumb or forefinger, “throw” the ball toward the wild Pokémon you want to catch. Press the ball, move your finger toward the Pokémon, and release.
Sometimes the wild Pokémon move or your aim is not quite right. Try throwing the ball farther if you miss the first time.
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Collect the Candy and stardust from your caught Pokémon. If you catch a wild Spearow, for example, you earn Spearow Candy.^{[4]
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- You will typically get 5-10 Candies the first time you catch a new species, and 3-5 Candies for every duplicate catch.^{[5]
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There is no way to control which wild Pokémon will come to you, so you may need to wait a while until you’ve captured enough of a particular Pokémon to evolve that Pokémon.

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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Collecting More Candy By Transferring Pokémon to Professor Willow

Click on the red and white Pokéball in the bottom center of your screen.
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View your list of Pokémon. Assess which ones you have duplicates of and which ones you want to evolve. For example, if you have two Pikachus, and one has 21 CP and the other has 11 CP, you would probably want to keep/evolve the one with 21 CP and transfer the one with 11 CP. The one with more CP and HP will be more powerful in the battlefield.^{[6]
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- This strategy works best for Pokémon that you can collect a lot of (like Pidgey or Rattata). If you get two rarer Pokémon, you might want to save them and not transfer them to Professor Willow.
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Press the Transfer button and say that yes, you are sure that you want to transfer. Transferring a Pikachu to Professor Willow will give you Pikachu Candy. You cannot undo a transfer. Do not transfer the Pokémon if it is your last Pokémon; you won’t have one left to evolve!^{[7]
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- You will get one Candy for each Pokémon you transfer to Professor Willow.^{[8]
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Community Q&A

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Question

I chose Squirtle to be my starter Pokemon. I really want to have a Pikachu. How do I get a Pikachu?

Paintbrush AJ

Community Answer

If you didn't get Pikachu as your starter, you can always find it in the wild, or by possibly hatching it out of a 2KM egg.

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Question

Is there a way to control which Pokemon a certain Pokemon evolves into?

Paintbrush AJ

Community Answer

All the the Pokemon in GO have only one evolution except for Eevee, which you can control the particular "eeveelution" of by renaming it Rainer for Vaporeon, Pyro for Flareon, and Sparky for Jolteon.

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Question

How can I see what the Pokémon it will evolve into looks like?

Bun bun

Top Answerer

Internet search for the name of the Pokémon and it should appear in Images.

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Tips

Try playing Pokémon GO in a variety of areas to ensure that you have the best chances of getting the Pokémon you want.

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Visit Pokéstops to get Pokéballs. If you have more Pokéballs, you can catch more Pokémon.

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Warnings

Try not to get frustrated if you can’t find a particular Pokémon. There is no way to control which wild Pokémon come to you.

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Look where you are going while you play this game. It is easy to look down at the screen and forget about your surroundings.

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