Stone-Cold Moves: A Deep Dive into Pokémon Learning After Evolution
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Yes, Pokémon can learn moves after evolving with a stone, though the process differs from Pokémon that evolve through leveling up. Stone evolutions often come with a trade-off: while your Pokémon immediately becomes stronger, its ability to learn new moves via leveling diminishes or even stops entirely. However, there are still ways for your stone-evolved Pokémon to acquire new abilities.
The Stone Evolution Trade-Off
When a Pokémon evolves using an Evolution Stone, it undergoes a significant transformation. It gains stat boosts and access to new abilities, but the method of acquiring those abilities shifts. Pokémon that evolve via level up typically have a move pool that expands as they gain experience. Stone evolutions, however, usually have a much smaller, if any, level-up move pool.
This means that after evolving with a Fire Stone, Water Stone, Thunder Stone, or any other Evolution Stone, your Pokémon might only learn one or two moves exclusively available to its evolved form through leveling. Beyond those, it becomes reliant on other methods like Technical Machines (TMs), Technical Records (TRs), Move Tutors, and even breeding to expand its move repertoire.
The Importance of Timing
While stats remain unaffected by the timing of stone evolution, move acquisition is impacted. It is crucial for trainers to consider this before using a stone. For example, if your Pikachu knows a specific Electric-type move you find essential, you might want to wait until it learns that move through leveling before using a Thunder Stone to evolve it into Raichu.
Relearning and Breeding for Missing Moves
Fortunately, the Pokémon world offers solutions for trainers who evolve their Pokémon too soon. Move Relearners are NPCs in the game who allow your Pokémon to remember previously learned moves. While they can’t teach moves exclusive to a pre-evolution, they can restore moves that your Pokémon’s current form has learned or could have learned through leveling.
Breeding also offers a pathway to acquiring desired moves. Certain moves, known as Egg Moves, can be passed down from parents to their offspring. This can enable a stone-evolved Pokémon to learn moves it wouldn’t normally have access to, adding further customization to your team.
Move Acquisition Methods Post-Evolution
- Leveling Up: As mentioned, the primary method for many Pokémon diminishes after a stone evolution. However, some stone-evolved Pokémon will still learn a few moves through leveling, so always check their move set lists.
- TMs and TRs: These items teach your Pokémon new moves, regardless of their evolution stage. TMs are often reusable, while TRs are typically single-use items, making them more valuable.
- Move Tutors: Certain NPCs in the game can teach your Pokémon specific moves in exchange for items or in-game currency.
- Breeding: As noted earlier, breeding allows Pokémon to inherit moves from their parents, expanding their move pool beyond what they could normally learn.
- Event Moves: Occasionally, special events will grant Pokémon access to unique moves that they cannot learn through any other means. Keep an eye out for these opportunities!
Why Stone Evolution Is Still Worth It
Despite the potential limitations on move learning, stone evolution provides a significant power boost. The immediate stat increases and access to new abilities often outweigh the reduced level-up move pool, making it a worthwhile trade-off for many trainers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Will my Pokémon’s stats be different if I evolve it earlier versus later using a stone?
No. The timing of stone evolution does not affect the final stats of your Pokémon. A level 100 Ninetales will have the same stats whether Vulpix was evolved at level 1 or level 30.
2. Can an Everstone prevent stone evolution?
No, an Everstone cannot prevent evolution caused by an Evolution Stone. The Everstone only prevents evolutions triggered by leveling up, happiness, or other means.
3. Can I relearn moves that my pre-evolution form could learn but my evolved form can’t?
No, you cannot. Move Relearners can only teach your Pokémon moves that its current form can learn. Any moves exclusive to the pre-evolution are lost upon evolving.
4. What happens if I use an Evolution Stone on a Pokémon holding an Everstone?
The Pokémon will evolve despite holding the Everstone. Evolution Stones override the effect of the Everstone.
5. Can a Pokémon learn moves after forgetting them?
Yes. In most modern Pokémon games, you can use a Move Relearner to teach your Pokémon any move it could previously learn through leveling up in its current evolution stage.
6. Does it matter which Evolution Stone I use?
Yes! Each Evolution Stone is designed to work on specific Pokémon. For example, a Fire Stone evolves Pokémon like Vulpix, while a Water Stone evolves Pokémon like Eevee into Vaporeon.
7. Where can I find Evolution Stones?
Evolution Stones can be found in various locations depending on the game. They may be hidden in the environment, obtained through trainer battles, purchased at stores, or received as rewards for completing quests.
8. What are the different types of Evolution Stones?
Common types of Evolution Stones include Fire Stones, Water Stones, Thunder Stones, Leaf Stones, Moon Stones, Sun Stones, Shiny Stones, Dusk Stones, and Dawn Stones. There are others, and new stones may be introduced in new games.
9. Is there any reason not to evolve my Pokémon with a stone?
The main reason to delay stone evolution is if you want your Pokémon to learn a specific move via leveling that it cannot learn after evolving.
10. What is the weakest Eevee evolution?
Opinions vary, but Glaceon is often considered one of the weakest Eeveelutions due to its typing and reliance on specific conditions for evolution.
11. Can you un-evolve a Pokémon?
No, you cannot un-evolve a Pokémon. Once a Pokémon has evolved, it cannot revert to its previous form.
12. Is there any reason to keep a Pokémon un-evolved?
Some trainers prefer to keep certain Pokémon un-evolved because they like their appearance or because the un-evolved form might have access to moves or abilities that are unavailable to the evolved form. Check out sites like GamesLearningSociety.org, the Games Learning Society, for fun information on the world of gaming.
13. Should I power up my Pokémon before evolving it?
It is generally recommended to evolve your Pokémon first to see what moves it learns. If you are happy with the move set, then you can invest resources in powering it up.
14. At what level do Pokémon stop learning moves?
It varies from Pokémon to Pokémon. Some Pokémon stop learning moves around level 50, while others continue learning moves until level 60 or even later.
15. Can breeding help my stone-evolved Pokémon learn new moves?
Yes! Breeding is a valuable tool for teaching stone-evolved Pokémon moves they wouldn’t normally learn. By breeding with a Pokémon that knows a desired move, the offspring can inherit that move as an Egg Move. This adds a significant layer of customization to your team.