E – Evolution

A high level of nostalgia means that this year my chosen theme for the 2016 A to Z challenge is Pokemon. Whether you yourself have a similar level of sentimentality or you’ve never really gotten into it, I hope that you enjoy this month of posts as I indulge my nostalgia.

I’ve mentioned it a few times, and even a passing familiarity with Pokemon should lend itself to one of the most common effects in game. As you battle your Pokemon they get stronger and level up, and when you hit certain levels, the Pokemon evolves into it’s next form.

Evolution is not merely a physical change of appearance either. The base stats (Attack, Speed, Defence etc) change, they may learn different moves at different time and levels, and in some cases they may gain a new type.

Thinking about Pokemon by evolution, you can classify them into four types: Baby Pokemon, Basic Pokemon, Stage 1 Pokemon and Stage 2 Pokemon. There are never more than three Pokemon in an evolution chain (so a chain will never go from baby to stage 2) but some Pokemon do branch out rather than having a straight chain.

 

There are some Pokemon that do not evolve, but these are the minority. Ignoring Legendary Pokemon (which tend to have one form and only one form (again, ignoring mega evolutions, that’s coming up later in the month)) 90% of all Pokemon evolve/form part of an evolution chain.

I said at the start that levelling Pokemon up was how you evolved them, and although that is the most common method, it is not the only one. Some Pokemon evolve when exposed to mystical stones, associated with different types (Thunder Stone, Leaf Stone, Moon Stone, etc), some evolve when you trade them, other evolve when they level with certain conditions, like day/night, friendship, or the weather. There’s even one Pokemon you evolve by holding the Nintendo 3DS upside-down when it levels.

So straight chains are pretty easy, there’s two or three Pokemon in the chain and set conditions for those evolutions. However, some Pokemon do not have a set chain, some have branches instead. And the most wonderful and complicated of these is Eevee:

 

 

Eevee is the basic Pokemon, the brown and cream one at the front, and it can evolve into any of the eight Pokemon you see behind it: Jolteon, Flareon, Vaporeon, Umbreon, Espeon, Leafeon, Glaceon and Sylveon, who are collectively refereed to as the Eeveelutions. Each of them has a different type, and there are different methods to evolve each one, most of the time involving an appropriate evolutionary stone. Thankfully, this is about the most complicated branching, most Pokemon branches involve a choice between two paths. My most common branch is starting with a Ralts, into Kirlia, and then you have the choice of Gallade or Gardevoir, and I choose Gardevoir most of the time, it’s a favourite of mine (that and my boyfriend tends to like Gallade so we can have duels between the two of them and it’s hilarious fun).

Of course, there is the option to not evolve Pokemon. You can cancel an evolution when it happens, or get them to hold a certain item called an Everstone to stop the process. Why would you do this? Well unevolved Pokemon gain xp slightly faster, they learn different moves at different levels, sometimes not even learning a certain move at all after you level them, and some people don’t like the aesthetics of the evolved versions of Pokemon. It’s all a personal choice, and sometimes just depends on the Pokemon in question. For instance, never evolve Pikachu before it learns Thunderbolt, as Raichu doesn’t learn any moves from levelling!

 

Pokemon of the Day

E is for Espeon

Espeon is one of the evolutions of Eevee, and evolves after gaining a high level of friendship with the trainer and levels during the day or it when it is exposed to a sun stone. Espeon is a psychic type Pokemon with lilac fur and a third eye, which is focused its psychic powers, which it can use to protect it’s trainer from harm and predict opponents moves.

Handily, I have already mentioned the Eeveelutions above. My favourite eeveelutions are the second pair that came out in generation 2 – Umbreon and Espeon. Espeon here is the psychic evolution, is very elegant and graceful, and is actually the starter Pokemon, alongside Umbreon, for the trainer in Pokemon Colosseum. And no, I can’t choose between Umbreon and Espeon, so don’t make me. I love my graceful city cat/dog/four-legged mammals.