Post by goldensandslash on Jul 26, 2019 22:31:05 GMT
With Pokémon Sword and Shield coming out soon, the time has come once again to explore a new region and catch all the Pokémon in it.
Well, okay, not really. We're not going to catch them ALL, we're only going to catch SOME of them. The reason? There is no National Dex in Sword and Shield. So at most, you can only get some of them.
It's a decision that has been met with a lot of controversy. Actually, saying "a lot" is probably an understatement. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is probably the angriest that the Pokémon fandom has ever been.
But let's take a step back and look at this. Let's pretend that you want to put every Pokémon in your game. This includes all evolutions and all form changes. Let's take a look at what that entails. In this thread, I will explain every evolution method and form change. After seeing them all, I think you'll agree that putting ALL of these into a single game is near-impossible.
EVOLUTION METHODS
So, for the most part, Pokémon fall into three categories: evolves by reaching a certain level, doesn't evolve, and miscellaneous. We're going to take a look at this last category. I'm obviously not going to list off every single level up evolution, as that would take forever. And the ones that don't evolve are not really interesting to talk about here. So let's take a look at all the other evolution methods that aren't just "pile on a bunch of Exp. Points".
So, starting in Gen 1, we got Evolution Stones. These are one-time use items that you can use on a Pokémon to get them to evolve right away.
The most notable evolution here is Pikachu, since that's the franchise mascot. To keep it in its cute and marketable form forever, Game Freak made it so that Pikachu will never evolve no matter how much experience Pikachu obtains. Instead, it needs a Thunder Stone to evolve into Raichu. If you're in Alola when this is done, you get an Alolan Raichu instead. The Thunder Stone could also be used in Gen 1 to turn Eevee into Jolteon. And despite this being a stone since Gen 1, the Thunder Stone can only be used on one other Pokémon: Eelektrik into Eelectross. Weird that this has existed since Gen 1 and yet only three Pokémon can use it.
Gen 1 also gave us other stones though, like the Fire Stone. This can evolve Vulpix into Ninetales, Growlithe into Arcanine, and Eevee into Flareon. Years later, it also got the ability to evolve Pansear into Simisear.
The Leaf Stone in Gen 1 let you evolve Gloom into Vileplume, Weepinbell into Victreebel, and Exeggcute into Exeggutor (or Alolan Exeggutor if this is done in Alola). Later games added Nuzleaf into Shiftry and Pansage into Simisage as possible Leaf Stone evolutions.
The Water Stone was initially used by Poliwhirl (into Poliwrath), Shellder (into Cloyster), Staryu (into Starmie), and Eevee (into Vaporeon). Later games added Lombre (into Ludicolo) and Panpour (into Simipour).
The final evolution stone in Gen 1 was the Moon Stone. Since the Moon Stone isn't named after a specific type, I guess they figured that they could be vague and let this stone be used on whatever they wanted. You can use it to evolve Nidorina into Nidoqueen, Nidorino into Nidoking, Clefairy into Clefable, and Jigglypuff into Wigglytuff. Later games also added Skitty into Delcatty and Munna into Musharna as possible Moon Stone evolutions.
The counterpart to the Moon Stone is the Sun Stone, which was added in Gen 2. At the time, it could only be used to evolve Gloom into Bellossom and Sunkern into Sunflora. Later games also let you evolve Cottonee into Whimsicott, Petilil into Lilligant, and Helioptile into Heliolisk.
No stones were added in Gen 3, but we did get new ones in Gen 4. The Shiny Stone can evolve Roselia into Roserade or Togetic into Togekiss. Later games also let you use it to evolve Minccino into Cinccino or Floette into Florges.
The opposite of the Shiny Stone is the Dusk Stone. This evolves Murkrow into Honchkrow, Misdreavus into Mismagius, Lampent into Chandelure, and Doublade into Aegislash.
The final stone introduced in Gen 4 was the Dawn Stone. This could evolve Kirlia into Gallade and Snorunt into Froslass. But there's a catch: this only works with one gender. Only a male Kirlia can evolve into Gallade and only a female Snorunt can evolve into Froslass.
The final evolution stone (for now) is the Ice Stone, introduced in Gen 7. It can evolve an Alolan Sandshrew into an Alolan Sandslash or an Alolan Vulpix into an Alolan Ninetales. This is a bit odd since the regular Sandshrew evolution into Sandslash is just a level up, but whatever. It's what they decided to do.
By the way, I wish that these Stones could do something in-game other than evolve a small group of Pokémon. Maybe powering up moves of that type when held? I digress.
Anyways, the only other evolution method in Gen 1 is trading. Why exactly a Pokémon mutates into another when it finds a new trainer is kinda... unclear. But whatever.
Gen 1 lets you use trading to evolve Kadabra into Alakazam, Machoke into Machamp, Graveler into Golem, and Haunter into Gengar. And, of course, you can also evolve Alolan Graveler into Alolan Golem this way. Later Pokémon that could evolve by trading include Boldore (into Gigalith), Gurdurr (into Conkeldurr), Pumpkaboo (into Gourgeist), and Phantump (into Trevenant).
That's not all, though. Gen 2 introduced a bunch of new trade evolutions too, but with a twist. These Pokémon would be required to hold a certain item while traded in order for the evolution to occur.
The Metal Coat could be used to evolve Scyther into Scizor or Onix into Steelix. The King's Rock can evolve Poliwhirl into Politoed or Slowpoke into Slowking. The Up Grade can evolve Porygon into Porygon2. And the Dragon Scale can evolve Seadra into Kingdra.
Gen 3 didn't have any new trade evolutions save for one: Clamperl. It evolves when traded if holding a item. If holding the Deep Sea Tooth, it will evolve into Huntail. If holding the Deep Sea Scale, it will evolve into Gorebyss.
Gen 4 added a bunch of new items for already-existing Pokémon to create trade evolutions. Rhydon evolves into Rhyperior while holding the Protector, Electabuzz evolves into Electivire while holding the Electirizer, Magmar evolves into Magmortar while holding the Magmarizer, and Dusclops evolves into Dusknoir while holding the Reaper Cloth. Lastly, to expand on a previous trade evolution, you could also now evolve Porygon2 into Porygon-Z if it was traded while holding the Dubious Disc.
In Gen 5, they made trade evolutions even weirder. Shelmet and Karrablast both evolve when traded, but only when they are traded for each other. Something happens while being traded that causes each one to gain some of the characteristics of the other. This lets you evolve Shelmet into Accelgor and Karrablast into Escavalier.
Gen 6 added two more trade evolutions with hold items: Spritzee evolves into Aromatisse while holding the Sachet, and Swirlix evolves into Slurpuff while holding the Whipped Dream.
That's all that was introduced in Gen 1, but let's move on to Gen 2. Gen 2's main new evolution method was friendship. Once a Pokémon's happiness reached its maximum, then it would evolve upon gaining a level up.
The Pokémon that evolve this way are Golbat (into Crobat) and Chansey (into Blissey). There were also a bunch of babies that evolved this way: Pichu (into Pikachu), Cleffa (into Clefairy), Igglybuff (into Jigglypuff), Togepi (into Togetic). Going beyond Gen 2, other babies that evolve this way are Azurill (into Marill) and Munchlax (into Snorlax). Non-babies from later generations that evolve by friendship are Buneary (into Lopunny), Woobat (into Swoobat), and Swadloon (into Leavanny). Gen 7 also added Alolan Meowth, which only evolves into Alolan Persian with friendship, even though regular Meowth is just a level up evolution. And Gen 7 also added Type: Null evolving into Silvally with friendship as well.
There are also some Pokémon that evolve by friendship that weren't mentioned above. That's because in addition to high happiness, they also need it to be a certain time of day when you level them up in order for the evolution to occur.
This started in Gen 2, where an Eevee with high happiness will evolve into Espeon during the day or Umbreon during the night. This also applies to a lot of the Gen 4 baby Pokémon. Budew can only evolve into Roselia with friendship during the day and same with Riolu evolving into Lucario. On the flip side of the coin, Chingling will only evolve into Chimecho with friendship during the night.
Time evolutions don't stop there. The fossil Pokémon from Gen 6 both evolve at Level 39, but Tyrunt will only evolve into Tyrnatrum during the day, and Amaura will only evolve into Aurorus at night. These aren't the only Pokémon that work this way. Fomantis will only evolve into Lurantis at Level 34 during the day, and Yungoos will only evolve into Gumshoos at Level 20 during the day. To balance this out, Alolan Rattata will only evolve into Alolan Raticate at Level 20 during the night, and Cubone will only evolve into Alolan Marowak at Level 28 during the night.
Of course, there's one more Pokémon in Alola that relies on the time of day: Rockruff. It will always evolve into Lycanroc at Level 25, but it's a bit more complicated. If it evolves in the day in Sun or Ultra Sun, Lycanroc will be in its Midday form, and if it evolves at night in Moon or Ultra Moon, it will be in its Midnight Form. This makes these evolutions both time-specific and game-specific. What's interesting here is that, from a programming perspective, you don't really NEED two versions for this evolution method. You can easily change this into a time-based evolution without separating it by game. But wait, there's more. Let's talk about Lycanroc's Dusk form. This may very well be the most specific requirement you can get. Rockruff will only evolve into a Dusk Form Lycanroc if, when it hits its evolution at Level 25, the Rockruff has a certain ability (Own Tempo, obtainable only via Nintendo Event, and not available via any normal means as either a regular ability or a hidden ability), and you are playing between the hours of 5:00pm and 6:00pm, and you are playing Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon. That... is really specific.
That's not all -- Gen 4 also added time-based evolutions with held items. Sneasel evolves into Weavile when it levels up at night while holding the Razor Claw. Gligar similarly evolves into Gliscor when it levels up at night while holding the Razor Fang. Lastly, Happiny evolves into Chansey when leveling up while holding the Oval Stone during the day.
Speaking of Happiny, um... this technically isn't evolution, but... breeding baby Pokemon sometimes requires you to hold an Incense item in order to obtain them, to explain why you couldn't get them from breeding before. Specifically, Azurill, Wynaut, Budew, Chingling, Bonsly, Mime Jr., Happiny, Munchlax, and Mantyke each require a certain kind of Incense: Sea, Lax, Rose, Pure, Rock, Odd, Luck, Full, and Wave, respectively.
While we're talking about breeding, I'll bring up Manaphy and Phione. A Manaphy that is bred will produce a Phione Egg, and a Phione can be bred to produce more Phione, but despite that, Phione will never evolve into Manaphy.
Also on the topic of breeding, let's talk about the Baby Pokémon Tyrogue. Tyrogue evolves based on its stats. When it reaches Level 20, if its Attack is higher than its Defense, then it will evolve into Hitmonlee. If the Defense was higher, then it will evolve into Hitmonchan. And if they were equal, then it will evolve into Hitmontop.
Another unique evolution method is Feebas. Feebas evolves into Milotic when it levels up after its Beauty stat is maxed out. And in Gen 3-4, that was the only way you could get a Milotic. But then Gen 5 got rid of Contests, and so this evolution method was unobtainable, though a Feebas with high Beauty already could be transferred and then evolved in any game that lacks contests. But fret not, because Gen 5 introduced an alternative way to evolve a Feebas into a Milotic. The new held item, the Prism Scale, could evolve Feebas simply by trading a Feebas that was holding it. Contests exist once again in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and the original Beauty method does still work, but it is probably a lot easier just to do a trade.
Remember the Dawn Stone? You know how I mentioned it was gender-specific? Well, turns out it's not the only gender-specific evolution. An example of this is Burmy. A male Burmy will evolve into Mothim at Level 20, but a female Burmy will evolve into Wormadam at Level 20 instead. There's an added distinction here in that Wormadam's form will be dependent on what form Burmy was in at the time of its evolution.
Other Pokémon aren't so lucky, and only have one gender capable of evolution. Combee evolves into Vespiquen at Level 21, but only when female. Salandit evolves into Salazzle at Level 33, but only when female.
Espurr is a bit different. It evolves at Level 25 into Meowstic, regardless of its gender. However, male and female Meowstic have very different movesets and abilities, and are effectively two completely different Pokémon, even if this is just a form difference.
Some Pokémon in Gen 4 will evolve into new Pokémon only if they know a certain move. Aipom evolves into Ambipom by leveling up while it knows the move Double Hit. Mime Jr. evolves into Mr. Mime and Bonsly evolves into Sudowoodo by leveling up while they know the move Mimic. Lickitung will evolve into Lickilicky by leveling up while it know the move Rollout. Lastly, Tangela, Yanma, and Piloswine will evolve into Tangrowth, Yanmega, and Mamoswine respectively by leveling up while they know the move Ancient Power.
This was later expanded upon in Gen 7. Steenee will only evolve into Tsareena by leveling up while it knows Stomp, and Poipole will only evolve into Naganadel by leveling up while it knows Dragon Pulse.
There were also location-based evolutions introduced in Gen 4. Eevee could evolve into Leafeon or Glaceon by leveling up in an area that has a mossy rock or an icy rock, respectively. There happens to be such a location in every game (except HeartGold/SoulSilver) since these evolutions were introduced.
Magneton and Nosepass evolve into Magnezone and Probopass when leveled up in Mt. Coronet in Gen 4. However, since then, this has been expanded to include any area that has a magnetic field, and much like Eevee, there is one of these in every game except HeartGold and SoulSilver. In Gen 7, Charjabug evolves into Vikavolt by being leveled up in a magnetic field area as well.
Gen 7 also introduced Crabrawler, which only evolves into Crabominable by leveling up at Mount Lanakila. Since this has only been in one game, it's unclear what the exact properties of the region are, but it probably just needs to be a sufficiently cold area.
And although not a location per se, Sliggoo will only evolve into Goodra at Level 50, but only if it is leveled up in a place where it is raining. And it can't be rain that you set up using Rain Dance or Drizzle. The rain has to be in the overworld before the battle starts.
Another unique evolution is Pancham. It evolves into Pangoro at Level 32, but only if you have a Dark-type Pokémon on your team. If you want even more specificity, Mantyke will only evolve into Mantine by leveling up while you have a Remoraid on your team. No other Pokémon will allow it to evolve: it must specifically be a Remoraid.
And now for more unique evolutions! Eevee will only evolve into Sylveon by leveling up while it knows a Fairy-type move, but only if it has at least two hearts of affection in Pokémon-Amie. This means that there will likely be Pokémon-Amie or a similar feature in every game going forward, or they will give it a new method like they did with Feebas.
Wurmple will evolve at Level 7 into either Silcoon or Cascoon, but which one you get is chosen completely at random. It's based on a complex equation involving its personality value, which is generated before you even catch it, and cannot be viewed or modified by the player in any way.
Nincada will evolve at Level 20 into Ninjask, and if you have an empty slot on your team at the time, Shedinja will also appear in that empty slot. This appearance doesn't negate the Ninjask either, so you can actually get both of them this way. Starting in Gen 4, you also need to have a Poké Ball in your bag in order for Shedinja to appear.
Cosmoem evolves at Level 53, but it has a branched evolution. It will evolve into Solgaleo if you are playing Sun or Ultra Sun, and it will evolve into Lunala if you are playing Moon or Ultra Moon. This is independent of the Cosmoem itself. If you catch it in Sun version and evolve it there, it will become a Solgaleo, but that exact same Cosmoem can be traded to Moon version before evolving, and it will become a Lunala instead. This would be tricky to replicate in future games, particularly if they ever release a single game instead of two versions, but perhaps they can give it a new method like they did with Feebas. And actually, there already is a method (kinda) available: the Sun Shard and the Moon Shard. These were items that you could obtain in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness and could be used to evolve Eevee into Espeon or Umbreon, since XD: Gale of Darkness didn't have a clock in it. Maybe we'll get these back for Cosmoem? Only time will tell.
Inkay is perhaps the strangest one. It only evolves into Malamar at Level 30, but only when you are holding the 3DS upside-down. I guess Nintendo needs to put a motion sensor in all consoles going forward now.
But perhaps even stranger than that is the case of evolving Meltan into Melmetal. These Pokémon can be transferred from Pokémon Go to Pokémon: Let's Go! Pikachu and Eevee, but they cannot ever be evolved there. The only way to evolve them is in Pokémon Go itself, by spending 400 Meltan Candy to evolve it. This is really time-consuming and difficult. I'm assuming they'll change it in future games.
Any other Pokémon either doesn't evolve or does so by level up.
FORM CHANGES
So, the first form change was arguably in Gen 1. That would be Nidoran, who had different versions depending on gender. They had different movesets, different evolutions, different stats, etc. Just about everything about them was different. However... this is kinda iffy. While I have no doubt that this would be a form change proper if it was done today... that wasn't really a thing back in Gen 1. As such, these two are classified as two different species with two different Pokédex numbers. They are pretty much two different Pokémon. The one connection that they have is that if you breed them, then an Egg from either species will sometimes hatch into the other one. (This was repeated in Gen 3 with Volbeat and Illumise, an Egg from either species has a chance of hatching into the other one instead.)
The first Pokémon with multiple forms that was absolutely no-doubt-about-it multiple forms was Unown. When you encounter one, it looks like a letter of the alphabet. There are 26 possibilities, one for each letter. Once obtained, though, the form is locked and cannot be changed. Starting in Gen 3, they also added a ! form and a ? form as well. However, these forms are purely cosmetic. All 28 forms learn the exact same move, have the same abilities, and so forth.
Gen 3 then gave us Castform. Its form changes depending on the weather. In Sunny Day, it becomes a Fire-type. In Rain Dance, it becomes a Water-type. In Hail, it becomes an Ice-type. Interestingly, there is no form for Sandstorm. Also, oddly enough, Castform's alternate forms always look the same regardless of whether Castform is shiny or not. They aren't colored differently or anything. You couldn't tell a shiny Castform from a non-shiny Castform unless it was in its regular form.
Spinda also has several possible forms. Though purely cosmetic, there are 4294967296 different spot patterns that Spinda can have. It is dependent on its personality value, which is impossible to view or to interact with. And with over four billion forms, I imagine that it's likely that there are some Spinda forms that have never once been seen by a human player, though I have no way of knowing that.
The first form-changing Pokémon that could actually swap its forms freely was Deoxys. It has its Normal Form, but can also switch into Attack Form, Defense Form, or Speed Form. This massively increased its Attack/Special Attack, its Defense/Special Defense, or its Speed respectively. And it also got different movesets to go along with this. In Gen 3, the form you got was dependent on the game you were playing. It was in Attack Form in FireRed, Defense Form in LeafGreen, and Speed Form in Emerald. All other games, such as Ruby and Sapphire and any spinoffs had it in its Normal Form. And these were game-locked. If you traded it to another game, it would immediately change form to match its new game. For all future games beyond Gen 3, there existed meteorites somewhere in the game, and when you go to these meteorites with a Deoxys on your team, it will let you swap between these forms freely.
Gen 4 gave us Burmy, who creates a cloak around itself made out of items in the area. When you first encounter it, it will be made of leaves. Take it to a desert environment and it will make one out of sand. Take it to the city and it will make one out of trash. This happens automatically just by battling with Burmy in different environments. The cloaks are purely cosmetic though and don't do anything on Burmy. That is, until it evolves. A male Burmy will evolve into Mothim and ditch this gimmick entirely. A female, however, will evolve into Wormadam. When this happens, whatever cloak Burmy is wearing at the time becomes permanent, which will change Wormadam's type, stats, and movepool.
We also have Cherrim, which changes from its Overcast Form to its Sunshine Form whenever Sunny Day is in effect. This is due to its ability Flower Gift. In this form, not only will it get an increase to its Attack and Special Attack, but so will its ally in a Double Battle. So Cherrim is like Castform, except it gets a stat boost, and it only works for one type of weather.
Shellos has two forms: its West Sea form and its East Sea form. Mt. Coronet divides Sinnoh in two, with West Sea Shellos being found on the west of it and East Sea Shellos being found on the east of it. This change also extends to Shellos's evolution, Gastrodon. They cannot be changed, but there's no differences between them and it's purely cosmetic. How did these work in future games? Well, it's complicated. In Black/White, they just weren't available in the game. In Black 2/White 2, there was an in-game trade for one. Male players could trade for a West Sea Shellos, and female players could trade for an East Sea Shellos. In X/Y, you could find Gastrodon in the Friend Safari, but only in West Sea Form. In Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, you could find Shellos on Route 103 or Route 110 as a Hidden Pokémon after you defeat Groudon/Kyogre. It'd be West Sea Form in Omega Ruby, and East Sea Form in Alpha Sapphire. In Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, Gastrodon could be obtained in various locations throughout Alola, but always in its East Sea Form. However, Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon also had an in-game trade for a West Sea Shellos. So these kinda became game-specific. However, if you obtain a Shellos or Gastrodon of either form and then breed it, the resulting offspring will be the form of its parent, regardless of which game you are playing or which form that is.
Gen 4 also introduced gender differences. For example, a female Pikachu has a heart-shaped tail in Gen 4 onwards. Most of these are barely noticeable, but there are some such as Pyroar, Unfezant, or Jellicent that are very different. To list all of these would take way too long, and most people seem to agree that these are not real form changes. The one that absolutely *is* a form change is Meowstic, since it gets different moves depending on its gender.
Rotom has many different forms that can be changed depending on which appliance you integrate it with. It is an Electric/Ghost type, and that was originally true regardless of form. Starting in Gen 5, though, it would change type depending on which appliance it is in. Heat Form is Electric/Fire, Wash Form is Electric/Water, Mow Form is Electric/Grass, Frost Form is Electric/Ice, and Fan Form is Electric/Flying. Each one can learn one move that the others can't, but will forget that move automatically if it changes form. In Gen 7, Rotom also can possess the player's Pokédex, thereby enabling a lot more features, but this form can never be used in battle, so it doesn't really matter.
Giratina exists in its Altered Form by default, but by giving it the Griseous Orb held item, which powers up its moves, it will change into its Origin Form.
Shaymin's default is Land Form, but with use of the Gracidea item, it will become Sky Form, changing from Grass to Grass/Flying and gaining new stats. But it will revert back to Land Form whenever it is night, when it is frozen, when you put it into the PC, when you transfer it to Pokémon Bank, or when you put it in the Day Care.
Arceus is a Normal-type, but can become any other type by using any of its Plates. Additionally, if it is holding a Z-Crystal, it will change form just as though that Z-Crystal was a Plate of that type. The only catch is that in order to change forms with a Z-Crystal, Arceus needs to know a move of that type as well.
We're not done with Gen 4 yet, because it also gave us the Spiky-Eared Pichu. This can only be obtained in HeartGold/SoulSilver. In order to get it, you need to take a shiny Pichu that was obtained in a Nintendo Event to the Ilex Forest. There, you'll see a little scene about how this Pichu traveled through time with Celebi. The Spiky-Eared Pichu is unable to evolve or traded/transferred to another game. Other than that, it behaves just as a normal Pichu. While the inability to be transferred outside of the game that you obtain it in sadly means that this form is no longer obtainable... it isn't fully in the past yet. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, one of Pichu's alternate costumes is the Spiky-Eared Pichu, thereby bringing this form back, albeit in a non-Pokémon game.
Gen 5 gave us Basculin, which has two forms: a red-striped form and a blue-striped form. The only differences between these is that they can have different abilities. Each can be found in different locations and it's easier to find one than the other, though which is which depends on which version you are playing.
Gen 5 also gave us Darmanitan. It's ordinarily just a generic Fire-type evolution of Darumaka, but if it has its Hidden Ability, Zen Mode, then it will shift into its Zen Mode Form when it reaches half health or less. In this form, it has less Speed but much more Special Attack, Defense, and Special Defense. Oh, and it becomes Fire/Psychic.
Deerling and Sawsbuck each have four different forms: one for each season. As the seasons change, so will they, both in the wild and on your team. However, once placed in the PC, they will stop changing forms until withdrawn. As seasons no longer exist after Gen 5, this means that this gimmick was completely removed. All Deerling and Sawsbuck found in the games after Gen 5 are in Spring Form and cannot change. However, if you transfer a Deerling or Sawsbuck from Gen 5 that has another form, it will keep that form and be unable to change it. If bred in a game that doesn't have seasons, the Deerling Egg will be whatever form the parent was in.
Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus are all legendaries that can change to their Therian Forms with the Reveal Glass item. These forms have new abilities and stats.
Kyurem is Ice/Dragon and is a normal Pokémon with nothing really noteworthy about it until the DNA Splicers are obtained. At that point, you can use them to fuse Kyurem with either Zekrom or Reshiram to create either Black Kyurem or White Kyurem. This consumes the other Pokémon, and actually removes it from your party until you separate it again. And you do need to separate it in order to trade or transfer Kyurem to another game. The fused versions have different moves, abilities, and stats than the ordinary Kyurem and even the ordinary Zekrom and Reshiram. They really are unique Pokémon in their own right.
Keldeo has a sort of lame form change. It is always in Ordinary Form until it learns Secret Sword, which no other Pokémon can learn. When it has this move, it becomes Resolute Form, which is purely a cosmetic change. That's it. No real need for this form, really. I guess it does telegraph to your opponent whether Keldeo has the move or not, but... is that really worth warranting another form?
Meloetta is, by default, in its Aria Form, which is Normal/Psychic. When it uses Relic Song in battle, it changes into Pirouette Form, which is Normal/Fighting. It will remain in this form for the remainder of the battle, and will become Aria Form again afterwards. Pirouette Form also has higher Attack and Speed.
Genesect has a very minor form change. It's all cosmetic, but if Genesect is holding one of four Drives, it will have the drive on its back change color to match it. This isn't COMPLETELY cosmetic, as having a Drive equipped will change the type of the move Techno Blast when you use it, but it is mostly a cosmetic change.
In Gen 6, Vivillon has 18 different color patterns on its wings. Which one you can encounter in the wild depends on the real-world location of your 3DS. It's purely cosmetic, but it is fun to try and collect them all. Why? Because if you breed one, it WON'T pass the form onto the offspring. It will look at your 3DS and try to find where you are. So the only way to get them all is to trade with other players in other locations, as follows:
* Archipelago Form is found in Puerto Rico, Anguilla, the Dominican Republic, and the Yucatán region of Mexico.
* Continental Form is found in Denmark, Germany, and South Korea.
* Elegant Form is found in most areas of Japan.
* Garden Form is found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand.
* High Plains Form is found in the Western United States and in the British Columbia province of Canada, although some players have reported finding the Continental Form in Colorado, so this is unclear.
* Icy Snow Form is found in the far northern regions of Norway and Russia, as well as Canada's Northwest and Yukon Territories.
* Jungle Form is found in Malaysia, Columbia, and Singapore.
* Marine Form is found in most of Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
* Meadow Form is found in most of France and in Catalonia (Spain).
* Modern Form is found in the central and southeastern United States.
* Monsoon Form is found in India, Hong Kong, Okinawa, and Taiwan.
* Ocean Form is found in Hawaii and Réunion.
* Polar Form is found in Alaska, the northeastern United States, Sweden, and large sections of Canada.
* River Form is found in Australia, the Canary Islands (Spain), and several African countries.
* Sandstorm Form is found in the Middle East.
* Savanna Form is found in Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia.
* Sun Form is found throughout Latin America and in the Northern Territory of Australia.
* Tundra Form is found in Hokkaido, Norway, and Iceland.
In addition to that, Vivillon also has Fancy Form and Poké Ball Form. These ones can only be obtained in Nintendo Events. The changes are purely cosmetic though.
Flabébé and its evolutions (Floette and Florges) have different colored flowers depending on the flowers in the grass where you encountered them. They can be yellow, white, red, blue, or orange. These are purely cosmetic and cannot be changed. There is also data in the game for AZ's Eternal Flower Floette that resembles the Ultimate Weapon. This one isn't just cosmetic. It cannot evolve, but it can learn the move Light of Ruin, which no other Pokémon can learn. Despite this form and this move existing in the coding of all Pokémon games since X and Y, it has never been officially released, and so the only way to obtain it is by cheating, hacking, or trading with someone who has done so.
Furfrou is basically a poodle that you can groom into various haircuts. Initially, you can only give it a haircut into Star Form, Heart Form, or Diamond Form, but as you do various things in Lumiose City, you accumulate the city's "style points", which unlocks more and more things around the city for you to do. This lets you get other forms: Dandy Form, Matron Form, Debutante Form, La Reine Form, Kabuki Form, and Pharaoh Form. Giving it a haircut to any of these forms costs you 500 Pokémon Dollars, and it will revert back to Natural Form automatically after five days have passed. These form changes are purely cosmetic.
Gen 6 also gave us Aegislash. Its ability, Stance Change, lets it switch back and forth between Blade Form and Shield Form, which is incredibly powerful, since Blade Form has 150 base Attack and Special Attack, and Shield Form has 150 base Defense and Special Defense.
There's also Pumpkaboo and Gourgeist. These pumpkin Pokémon come in different sizes, although it's very difficult to tell them apart when you don't have two on-screen simultaneously to compare with each other. They come in Small Form, Average Form, Large Form, and Super Form. They're mostly identical, but the larger ones have more HP and less Speed than the smaller ones. Gourgeist (but not Pumpkaboo) also gets higher Attack on larger forms. If bred, the resulting offspring will have the same size as its parent. The other interesting thing about it is that its held item when you encounter it in the wild will be a Miracle Seed. However, only the Super Size version can hold this item (and does so with 100% chance). Other versions cannot have a held item in the wild.
Xerneas is kinda dumb. It has Neutral Form and Active Form. I don't really get why this is the case, because it is always in Active Form always. Neutral Form really only appears in marketing material, and very rarely at that. To be honest, until I made a list of all form changes for this thread, I completely forgot that this existed.
Hoopa is a Psychic/Ghost in its default form, known as Confined Form. But when you use the Prison Bottle item on it, it turns into Unbound Form, which is Psychic/Dark. It also gets a massive increase to all of its stats and has new moves. But after three days, it goes back to its Confined Form.
Gen 6 also introduced Mega Evolution, which gave some Pokémon a new form that they could Mega Evolve into. Some of them were introduced in X and Y, and some weren't introduced until later, in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire also introduced Primal Reversions for Groudon and Kyogre, which are pretty much Mega Evolutions but with a new name. (Well, and a Primal Reversion doesn't count towards your "one Mega Evolution per battle" limit.)
Pikachu, the franchise mascot, also got some new forms in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. This was the Cosplay Pikachu. It could wear one of five cosplays. Each cosplay came with a signature move that Pikachu could not otherwise learn. It was intended to be used for Contests. The Rock Star Form could learn Meteor Mash. The Belle Form could learn Icicle Crash. The Pop Star Form could learn Draining Kiss. The Ph. D Form could learn Electric Terrain. The Libre Form could learn Flying Press. However, this Pikachu could not evolve nor be traded or transferred to another game. As Cosplay Pikachu cannot be obtained in any future games, this one was just left in the past.
But Gen 7 players can still rejoice, as Pikachu picked up seven new forms in Gen 7. These are the Cap Forms. Obtainable only via event, a Pikachu with a cap will... well... wear a cap. That's it. These are the caps that Ash wore in the TV show, so pick up whichever one reminds you of your favorite season. These caps are mostly cosmetic, with the only restrictions on them being that a Pikachu with a cap cannot evolve or breed. The Pikashunium Z will allow a Pikachu with a cap to use the Z-Move 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt (an upgraded Thunderbolt), which a normal Pikachu cannot use, but that's the only advantage you get. However, since a normal Pikachu can still use the Pikanium Z to upgrade Volt Tackle to Catastropika, I don't really see the point.
There are also plenty of Gen 6 Pokémon that got new forms in Gen 7. So let's talk about those next.
The first is Greninja. It got the Ash Form, which changes its stats and the effect of the move Water Shuriken. To turn into Ash Form, a Greninja simply has to cause a single opponent to faint. After that, it will remain in Ash Form until the battle ends, at which point, it reverts back. The only way to get a Greninja into this form, though, is if the Greninja has the ability Battle Bond, which is neither its normal ability nor its Hidden Ability. Such a Greninja can only be obtained via Nintendo Event. A Greninja with Battle Bond cannot breed.
Zygarde, in Gen 6, is just a giant slug. But in Gen 7, it got a little more complicated. You had to collect little Zygarde cells. When you got enough of them, you could get a Zygarde into its 10% Form, its 50% Form (the one from Gen 6) or its Complete Form. There's a lab in the game that lets you alternate between these, provided that Zygarde has Power Construct as an ability.
And of course, if we're talking about Gen 7 giving new forms to old Pokémon, we need to talk about Alolan Forms. Rattata/Raticate, Raichu, Sandshrew/Sandslash, Vulpix/Ninetales, Diglett/Dugtrio, Meowth/Persian, Geodude/Graveler/Golem, Grimer/Muk, Exeggutor, and Marowak all have different typings and movesets than their original Kanto forms. This is especially good in Let's Go! Pikachu and Eevee, which (mostly) only has Gen 1 Pokémon. By allowing Alolan Forms to exist as well, you fix the type imbalances in Gen 1. If you only looked at "pure Gen 1", there were not enough Ice, Steel, Dragon, Ghost, or Dark types. (Heck, there were no Dark types at all.) These forms are locked though, and you cannot swap back and forth between them. The only small control you get is with Pokémon that have a base form with no Alolan form, but an evolution with an Alolan form. These are Pikachu, Cubone, and Exeggcute. Which way they evolve depends on whether you are inside or outside of Alola when the evolution happens. Even in a Gen 7 game, if you are outside Alola (such as being in Ultra Space) when the evolution happens, you will get the regular version of the Pokémon.
For new Pokémon in Gen 7, we start with Oricorio. It has a different form depending on which of the four islands you found it on, due to the different types of nectar on each island. And yes, you can use the different Nectar items to change its form. Each form has a different type (Baile Form is Fire/Flying, Pom-Pom Form is Electric/Flying, Pa'u Form is Psychic/Flying, and Sensu Form is Ghost/Flying). Additionally, Oricorio is the only Pokémon that can learn the move Revelation Dance. This move's type changes depending on Oricorio's form.
Next up is Rockruff. When it evolves into Lycanroc, it can be one of three forms: Midday Form, Midnight Form, and Dusk Form. After evolution, it is locked and the form cannot be changed. I already talked about this in my evolution methods section above.
Wishiwashi is a fairly unimpressive fish. It starts out in its Solo Form and has the worst stats in the game, even worse than the previous record-holder Sunkern. However, it has the ability Schooling. With this ability, if Wishiwashi is Level 20 or above, then it will transform into its School Form, becoming hundreds of Wishiwashi working together. When in School Form, its stats multiply by more than sextuple (except HP and Speed), massively increasing its power. However, if its HP falls below 25%, then it will revert back to Solo Form, so you have to be careful.
Silvally was a man-made Pokémon that was an attempt to create an approximation of Arceus. Its ability, RKS System, allows it to change types depending on the Memory that it is holding. These Memory items also change the type of its exclusive move, Multi-Attack.
Next up is Minior. It has the ability Shields Down and is the only Pokémon with that ability. This ability makes it immune to status ailments. But once its HP is below 50%, its outer shell will break and change it from Meteor Form to Core Form. Meteor Form has higher Defense and Special Defense, but Core Form has higher Attack and Special Attack, as well as much higher Speed. But that's not all. The Core Form comes in seven different colors: Red Core Form, Orange Core Form, Yellow Core Form, Green Core Form, Blue Core Form, Indigo Core Form, and Violet Core Form. These are purely cosmetic, and cannot be changed, so be sure to grab your favorite.
Next, we come to Mimikyu. It has the ability Disguise, which lets it start the battle in Disguised Form. In Disguised Form, it cannot take any damage. However, whenever it would take damage, it instead switches into Busted Form. Busted Form receives damage as normal, so this form change basically just gives you one free turn per battle. After the battle ends, though, Mimikyu will be back in Disguised Form and can provide another free turn in the next battle.
Lastly, we have Necrozma. Necrozma is very similar to Kyurem. You can use the N-Solarizer to have Necrozma absorb Solgaleo, thereby fusing the two and creating Necrozma in Dusk Mane Form. You can also separately use the N-Lunarizer to have Necrozma absorb Lunala in order to create Necrozma in its Dawn Wings Form. These two forms allow Necrozma to use Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist Beam, respectively, and also allow it to use the Z-Moves that were previously only available to Solgaleo and Lunala. You can use the N-Solarizer and N-Lunarizer to unfuse them if you want to, but you really don't want to. Not only are their base stats FAR superior to the two original Pokémon, but their typing changes as well. While Necrozma is ordinarily a Psychic-type, it will become Psychic/Steel if fused with Solgaleo, and Psychic/Ghost if fused with Lunala. But wait, there's more! If you give either the Dusk Mane or Dawn Wings Necrozma a Ultranecrozium Z to hold, it will transform into Ultra Necrozma, which is Psychic/Dragon and has far more stats than it has any right to have (97 HP, 167 Attack, 97 Defense, 167 Special Attack, 97 Special Defense, 129 Speed). As if that weren't broken enough, it also gets the Neuroforce Ability, which gives all of its moves 1.25x power if they would be super effective. But wait, there's more! Remember that Ultranecrozium Z? Well, that's a Z-Crystal, and if Ultra Necrozma has the appropriate move (Photon Geyser), and there's no reason why it ever shouldn't, then it can use the Z-Move Light That Burns the Sky. This move is a Psychic-type move with 200 power that never misses, and whether it's physical or special is chosen based on Ultra Necrozma's stats. It looks at Attack and Special Attack and decides based on whichever one is higher. Oh, and any abilities that the opponent has that would weaken or prevent the damage from this move are nullified during the attack. This means that Ultra Necrozma is basically way too overpowered.
Well, okay, not really. We're not going to catch them ALL, we're only going to catch SOME of them. The reason? There is no National Dex in Sword and Shield. So at most, you can only get some of them.
It's a decision that has been met with a lot of controversy. Actually, saying "a lot" is probably an understatement. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is probably the angriest that the Pokémon fandom has ever been.
But let's take a step back and look at this. Let's pretend that you want to put every Pokémon in your game. This includes all evolutions and all form changes. Let's take a look at what that entails. In this thread, I will explain every evolution method and form change. After seeing them all, I think you'll agree that putting ALL of these into a single game is near-impossible.
EVOLUTION METHODS
So, for the most part, Pokémon fall into three categories: evolves by reaching a certain level, doesn't evolve, and miscellaneous. We're going to take a look at this last category. I'm obviously not going to list off every single level up evolution, as that would take forever. And the ones that don't evolve are not really interesting to talk about here. So let's take a look at all the other evolution methods that aren't just "pile on a bunch of Exp. Points".
So, starting in Gen 1, we got Evolution Stones. These are one-time use items that you can use on a Pokémon to get them to evolve right away.
The most notable evolution here is Pikachu, since that's the franchise mascot. To keep it in its cute and marketable form forever, Game Freak made it so that Pikachu will never evolve no matter how much experience Pikachu obtains. Instead, it needs a Thunder Stone to evolve into Raichu. If you're in Alola when this is done, you get an Alolan Raichu instead. The Thunder Stone could also be used in Gen 1 to turn Eevee into Jolteon. And despite this being a stone since Gen 1, the Thunder Stone can only be used on one other Pokémon: Eelektrik into Eelectross. Weird that this has existed since Gen 1 and yet only three Pokémon can use it.
Gen 1 also gave us other stones though, like the Fire Stone. This can evolve Vulpix into Ninetales, Growlithe into Arcanine, and Eevee into Flareon. Years later, it also got the ability to evolve Pansear into Simisear.
The Leaf Stone in Gen 1 let you evolve Gloom into Vileplume, Weepinbell into Victreebel, and Exeggcute into Exeggutor (or Alolan Exeggutor if this is done in Alola). Later games added Nuzleaf into Shiftry and Pansage into Simisage as possible Leaf Stone evolutions.
The Water Stone was initially used by Poliwhirl (into Poliwrath), Shellder (into Cloyster), Staryu (into Starmie), and Eevee (into Vaporeon). Later games added Lombre (into Ludicolo) and Panpour (into Simipour).
The final evolution stone in Gen 1 was the Moon Stone. Since the Moon Stone isn't named after a specific type, I guess they figured that they could be vague and let this stone be used on whatever they wanted. You can use it to evolve Nidorina into Nidoqueen, Nidorino into Nidoking, Clefairy into Clefable, and Jigglypuff into Wigglytuff. Later games also added Skitty into Delcatty and Munna into Musharna as possible Moon Stone evolutions.
The counterpart to the Moon Stone is the Sun Stone, which was added in Gen 2. At the time, it could only be used to evolve Gloom into Bellossom and Sunkern into Sunflora. Later games also let you evolve Cottonee into Whimsicott, Petilil into Lilligant, and Helioptile into Heliolisk.
No stones were added in Gen 3, but we did get new ones in Gen 4. The Shiny Stone can evolve Roselia into Roserade or Togetic into Togekiss. Later games also let you use it to evolve Minccino into Cinccino or Floette into Florges.
The opposite of the Shiny Stone is the Dusk Stone. This evolves Murkrow into Honchkrow, Misdreavus into Mismagius, Lampent into Chandelure, and Doublade into Aegislash.
The final stone introduced in Gen 4 was the Dawn Stone. This could evolve Kirlia into Gallade and Snorunt into Froslass. But there's a catch: this only works with one gender. Only a male Kirlia can evolve into Gallade and only a female Snorunt can evolve into Froslass.
The final evolution stone (for now) is the Ice Stone, introduced in Gen 7. It can evolve an Alolan Sandshrew into an Alolan Sandslash or an Alolan Vulpix into an Alolan Ninetales. This is a bit odd since the regular Sandshrew evolution into Sandslash is just a level up, but whatever. It's what they decided to do.
By the way, I wish that these Stones could do something in-game other than evolve a small group of Pokémon. Maybe powering up moves of that type when held? I digress.
Anyways, the only other evolution method in Gen 1 is trading. Why exactly a Pokémon mutates into another when it finds a new trainer is kinda... unclear. But whatever.
Gen 1 lets you use trading to evolve Kadabra into Alakazam, Machoke into Machamp, Graveler into Golem, and Haunter into Gengar. And, of course, you can also evolve Alolan Graveler into Alolan Golem this way. Later Pokémon that could evolve by trading include Boldore (into Gigalith), Gurdurr (into Conkeldurr), Pumpkaboo (into Gourgeist), and Phantump (into Trevenant).
That's not all, though. Gen 2 introduced a bunch of new trade evolutions too, but with a twist. These Pokémon would be required to hold a certain item while traded in order for the evolution to occur.
The Metal Coat could be used to evolve Scyther into Scizor or Onix into Steelix. The King's Rock can evolve Poliwhirl into Politoed or Slowpoke into Slowking. The Up Grade can evolve Porygon into Porygon2. And the Dragon Scale can evolve Seadra into Kingdra.
Gen 3 didn't have any new trade evolutions save for one: Clamperl. It evolves when traded if holding a item. If holding the Deep Sea Tooth, it will evolve into Huntail. If holding the Deep Sea Scale, it will evolve into Gorebyss.
Gen 4 added a bunch of new items for already-existing Pokémon to create trade evolutions. Rhydon evolves into Rhyperior while holding the Protector, Electabuzz evolves into Electivire while holding the Electirizer, Magmar evolves into Magmortar while holding the Magmarizer, and Dusclops evolves into Dusknoir while holding the Reaper Cloth. Lastly, to expand on a previous trade evolution, you could also now evolve Porygon2 into Porygon-Z if it was traded while holding the Dubious Disc.
In Gen 5, they made trade evolutions even weirder. Shelmet and Karrablast both evolve when traded, but only when they are traded for each other. Something happens while being traded that causes each one to gain some of the characteristics of the other. This lets you evolve Shelmet into Accelgor and Karrablast into Escavalier.
Gen 6 added two more trade evolutions with hold items: Spritzee evolves into Aromatisse while holding the Sachet, and Swirlix evolves into Slurpuff while holding the Whipped Dream.
That's all that was introduced in Gen 1, but let's move on to Gen 2. Gen 2's main new evolution method was friendship. Once a Pokémon's happiness reached its maximum, then it would evolve upon gaining a level up.
The Pokémon that evolve this way are Golbat (into Crobat) and Chansey (into Blissey). There were also a bunch of babies that evolved this way: Pichu (into Pikachu), Cleffa (into Clefairy), Igglybuff (into Jigglypuff), Togepi (into Togetic). Going beyond Gen 2, other babies that evolve this way are Azurill (into Marill) and Munchlax (into Snorlax). Non-babies from later generations that evolve by friendship are Buneary (into Lopunny), Woobat (into Swoobat), and Swadloon (into Leavanny). Gen 7 also added Alolan Meowth, which only evolves into Alolan Persian with friendship, even though regular Meowth is just a level up evolution. And Gen 7 also added Type: Null evolving into Silvally with friendship as well.
There are also some Pokémon that evolve by friendship that weren't mentioned above. That's because in addition to high happiness, they also need it to be a certain time of day when you level them up in order for the evolution to occur.
This started in Gen 2, where an Eevee with high happiness will evolve into Espeon during the day or Umbreon during the night. This also applies to a lot of the Gen 4 baby Pokémon. Budew can only evolve into Roselia with friendship during the day and same with Riolu evolving into Lucario. On the flip side of the coin, Chingling will only evolve into Chimecho with friendship during the night.
Time evolutions don't stop there. The fossil Pokémon from Gen 6 both evolve at Level 39, but Tyrunt will only evolve into Tyrnatrum during the day, and Amaura will only evolve into Aurorus at night. These aren't the only Pokémon that work this way. Fomantis will only evolve into Lurantis at Level 34 during the day, and Yungoos will only evolve into Gumshoos at Level 20 during the day. To balance this out, Alolan Rattata will only evolve into Alolan Raticate at Level 20 during the night, and Cubone will only evolve into Alolan Marowak at Level 28 during the night.
Of course, there's one more Pokémon in Alola that relies on the time of day: Rockruff. It will always evolve into Lycanroc at Level 25, but it's a bit more complicated. If it evolves in the day in Sun or Ultra Sun, Lycanroc will be in its Midday form, and if it evolves at night in Moon or Ultra Moon, it will be in its Midnight Form. This makes these evolutions both time-specific and game-specific. What's interesting here is that, from a programming perspective, you don't really NEED two versions for this evolution method. You can easily change this into a time-based evolution without separating it by game. But wait, there's more. Let's talk about Lycanroc's Dusk form. This may very well be the most specific requirement you can get. Rockruff will only evolve into a Dusk Form Lycanroc if, when it hits its evolution at Level 25, the Rockruff has a certain ability (Own Tempo, obtainable only via Nintendo Event, and not available via any normal means as either a regular ability or a hidden ability), and you are playing between the hours of 5:00pm and 6:00pm, and you are playing Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon. That... is really specific.
That's not all -- Gen 4 also added time-based evolutions with held items. Sneasel evolves into Weavile when it levels up at night while holding the Razor Claw. Gligar similarly evolves into Gliscor when it levels up at night while holding the Razor Fang. Lastly, Happiny evolves into Chansey when leveling up while holding the Oval Stone during the day.
Speaking of Happiny, um... this technically isn't evolution, but... breeding baby Pokemon sometimes requires you to hold an Incense item in order to obtain them, to explain why you couldn't get them from breeding before. Specifically, Azurill, Wynaut, Budew, Chingling, Bonsly, Mime Jr., Happiny, Munchlax, and Mantyke each require a certain kind of Incense: Sea, Lax, Rose, Pure, Rock, Odd, Luck, Full, and Wave, respectively.
While we're talking about breeding, I'll bring up Manaphy and Phione. A Manaphy that is bred will produce a Phione Egg, and a Phione can be bred to produce more Phione, but despite that, Phione will never evolve into Manaphy.
Also on the topic of breeding, let's talk about the Baby Pokémon Tyrogue. Tyrogue evolves based on its stats. When it reaches Level 20, if its Attack is higher than its Defense, then it will evolve into Hitmonlee. If the Defense was higher, then it will evolve into Hitmonchan. And if they were equal, then it will evolve into Hitmontop.
Another unique evolution method is Feebas. Feebas evolves into Milotic when it levels up after its Beauty stat is maxed out. And in Gen 3-4, that was the only way you could get a Milotic. But then Gen 5 got rid of Contests, and so this evolution method was unobtainable, though a Feebas with high Beauty already could be transferred and then evolved in any game that lacks contests. But fret not, because Gen 5 introduced an alternative way to evolve a Feebas into a Milotic. The new held item, the Prism Scale, could evolve Feebas simply by trading a Feebas that was holding it. Contests exist once again in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and the original Beauty method does still work, but it is probably a lot easier just to do a trade.
Remember the Dawn Stone? You know how I mentioned it was gender-specific? Well, turns out it's not the only gender-specific evolution. An example of this is Burmy. A male Burmy will evolve into Mothim at Level 20, but a female Burmy will evolve into Wormadam at Level 20 instead. There's an added distinction here in that Wormadam's form will be dependent on what form Burmy was in at the time of its evolution.
Other Pokémon aren't so lucky, and only have one gender capable of evolution. Combee evolves into Vespiquen at Level 21, but only when female. Salandit evolves into Salazzle at Level 33, but only when female.
Espurr is a bit different. It evolves at Level 25 into Meowstic, regardless of its gender. However, male and female Meowstic have very different movesets and abilities, and are effectively two completely different Pokémon, even if this is just a form difference.
Some Pokémon in Gen 4 will evolve into new Pokémon only if they know a certain move. Aipom evolves into Ambipom by leveling up while it knows the move Double Hit. Mime Jr. evolves into Mr. Mime and Bonsly evolves into Sudowoodo by leveling up while they know the move Mimic. Lickitung will evolve into Lickilicky by leveling up while it know the move Rollout. Lastly, Tangela, Yanma, and Piloswine will evolve into Tangrowth, Yanmega, and Mamoswine respectively by leveling up while they know the move Ancient Power.
This was later expanded upon in Gen 7. Steenee will only evolve into Tsareena by leveling up while it knows Stomp, and Poipole will only evolve into Naganadel by leveling up while it knows Dragon Pulse.
There were also location-based evolutions introduced in Gen 4. Eevee could evolve into Leafeon or Glaceon by leveling up in an area that has a mossy rock or an icy rock, respectively. There happens to be such a location in every game (except HeartGold/SoulSilver) since these evolutions were introduced.
Magneton and Nosepass evolve into Magnezone and Probopass when leveled up in Mt. Coronet in Gen 4. However, since then, this has been expanded to include any area that has a magnetic field, and much like Eevee, there is one of these in every game except HeartGold and SoulSilver. In Gen 7, Charjabug evolves into Vikavolt by being leveled up in a magnetic field area as well.
Gen 7 also introduced Crabrawler, which only evolves into Crabominable by leveling up at Mount Lanakila. Since this has only been in one game, it's unclear what the exact properties of the region are, but it probably just needs to be a sufficiently cold area.
And although not a location per se, Sliggoo will only evolve into Goodra at Level 50, but only if it is leveled up in a place where it is raining. And it can't be rain that you set up using Rain Dance or Drizzle. The rain has to be in the overworld before the battle starts.
Another unique evolution is Pancham. It evolves into Pangoro at Level 32, but only if you have a Dark-type Pokémon on your team. If you want even more specificity, Mantyke will only evolve into Mantine by leveling up while you have a Remoraid on your team. No other Pokémon will allow it to evolve: it must specifically be a Remoraid.
And now for more unique evolutions! Eevee will only evolve into Sylveon by leveling up while it knows a Fairy-type move, but only if it has at least two hearts of affection in Pokémon-Amie. This means that there will likely be Pokémon-Amie or a similar feature in every game going forward, or they will give it a new method like they did with Feebas.
Wurmple will evolve at Level 7 into either Silcoon or Cascoon, but which one you get is chosen completely at random. It's based on a complex equation involving its personality value, which is generated before you even catch it, and cannot be viewed or modified by the player in any way.
Nincada will evolve at Level 20 into Ninjask, and if you have an empty slot on your team at the time, Shedinja will also appear in that empty slot. This appearance doesn't negate the Ninjask either, so you can actually get both of them this way. Starting in Gen 4, you also need to have a Poké Ball in your bag in order for Shedinja to appear.
Cosmoem evolves at Level 53, but it has a branched evolution. It will evolve into Solgaleo if you are playing Sun or Ultra Sun, and it will evolve into Lunala if you are playing Moon or Ultra Moon. This is independent of the Cosmoem itself. If you catch it in Sun version and evolve it there, it will become a Solgaleo, but that exact same Cosmoem can be traded to Moon version before evolving, and it will become a Lunala instead. This would be tricky to replicate in future games, particularly if they ever release a single game instead of two versions, but perhaps they can give it a new method like they did with Feebas. And actually, there already is a method (kinda) available: the Sun Shard and the Moon Shard. These were items that you could obtain in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness and could be used to evolve Eevee into Espeon or Umbreon, since XD: Gale of Darkness didn't have a clock in it. Maybe we'll get these back for Cosmoem? Only time will tell.
Inkay is perhaps the strangest one. It only evolves into Malamar at Level 30, but only when you are holding the 3DS upside-down. I guess Nintendo needs to put a motion sensor in all consoles going forward now.
But perhaps even stranger than that is the case of evolving Meltan into Melmetal. These Pokémon can be transferred from Pokémon Go to Pokémon: Let's Go! Pikachu and Eevee, but they cannot ever be evolved there. The only way to evolve them is in Pokémon Go itself, by spending 400 Meltan Candy to evolve it. This is really time-consuming and difficult. I'm assuming they'll change it in future games.
Any other Pokémon either doesn't evolve or does so by level up.
FORM CHANGES
So, the first form change was arguably in Gen 1. That would be Nidoran, who had different versions depending on gender. They had different movesets, different evolutions, different stats, etc. Just about everything about them was different. However... this is kinda iffy. While I have no doubt that this would be a form change proper if it was done today... that wasn't really a thing back in Gen 1. As such, these two are classified as two different species with two different Pokédex numbers. They are pretty much two different Pokémon. The one connection that they have is that if you breed them, then an Egg from either species will sometimes hatch into the other one. (This was repeated in Gen 3 with Volbeat and Illumise, an Egg from either species has a chance of hatching into the other one instead.)
The first Pokémon with multiple forms that was absolutely no-doubt-about-it multiple forms was Unown. When you encounter one, it looks like a letter of the alphabet. There are 26 possibilities, one for each letter. Once obtained, though, the form is locked and cannot be changed. Starting in Gen 3, they also added a ! form and a ? form as well. However, these forms are purely cosmetic. All 28 forms learn the exact same move, have the same abilities, and so forth.
Gen 3 then gave us Castform. Its form changes depending on the weather. In Sunny Day, it becomes a Fire-type. In Rain Dance, it becomes a Water-type. In Hail, it becomes an Ice-type. Interestingly, there is no form for Sandstorm. Also, oddly enough, Castform's alternate forms always look the same regardless of whether Castform is shiny or not. They aren't colored differently or anything. You couldn't tell a shiny Castform from a non-shiny Castform unless it was in its regular form.
Spinda also has several possible forms. Though purely cosmetic, there are 4294967296 different spot patterns that Spinda can have. It is dependent on its personality value, which is impossible to view or to interact with. And with over four billion forms, I imagine that it's likely that there are some Spinda forms that have never once been seen by a human player, though I have no way of knowing that.
The first form-changing Pokémon that could actually swap its forms freely was Deoxys. It has its Normal Form, but can also switch into Attack Form, Defense Form, or Speed Form. This massively increased its Attack/Special Attack, its Defense/Special Defense, or its Speed respectively. And it also got different movesets to go along with this. In Gen 3, the form you got was dependent on the game you were playing. It was in Attack Form in FireRed, Defense Form in LeafGreen, and Speed Form in Emerald. All other games, such as Ruby and Sapphire and any spinoffs had it in its Normal Form. And these were game-locked. If you traded it to another game, it would immediately change form to match its new game. For all future games beyond Gen 3, there existed meteorites somewhere in the game, and when you go to these meteorites with a Deoxys on your team, it will let you swap between these forms freely.
Gen 4 gave us Burmy, who creates a cloak around itself made out of items in the area. When you first encounter it, it will be made of leaves. Take it to a desert environment and it will make one out of sand. Take it to the city and it will make one out of trash. This happens automatically just by battling with Burmy in different environments. The cloaks are purely cosmetic though and don't do anything on Burmy. That is, until it evolves. A male Burmy will evolve into Mothim and ditch this gimmick entirely. A female, however, will evolve into Wormadam. When this happens, whatever cloak Burmy is wearing at the time becomes permanent, which will change Wormadam's type, stats, and movepool.
We also have Cherrim, which changes from its Overcast Form to its Sunshine Form whenever Sunny Day is in effect. This is due to its ability Flower Gift. In this form, not only will it get an increase to its Attack and Special Attack, but so will its ally in a Double Battle. So Cherrim is like Castform, except it gets a stat boost, and it only works for one type of weather.
Shellos has two forms: its West Sea form and its East Sea form. Mt. Coronet divides Sinnoh in two, with West Sea Shellos being found on the west of it and East Sea Shellos being found on the east of it. This change also extends to Shellos's evolution, Gastrodon. They cannot be changed, but there's no differences between them and it's purely cosmetic. How did these work in future games? Well, it's complicated. In Black/White, they just weren't available in the game. In Black 2/White 2, there was an in-game trade for one. Male players could trade for a West Sea Shellos, and female players could trade for an East Sea Shellos. In X/Y, you could find Gastrodon in the Friend Safari, but only in West Sea Form. In Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, you could find Shellos on Route 103 or Route 110 as a Hidden Pokémon after you defeat Groudon/Kyogre. It'd be West Sea Form in Omega Ruby, and East Sea Form in Alpha Sapphire. In Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, Gastrodon could be obtained in various locations throughout Alola, but always in its East Sea Form. However, Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon also had an in-game trade for a West Sea Shellos. So these kinda became game-specific. However, if you obtain a Shellos or Gastrodon of either form and then breed it, the resulting offspring will be the form of its parent, regardless of which game you are playing or which form that is.
Gen 4 also introduced gender differences. For example, a female Pikachu has a heart-shaped tail in Gen 4 onwards. Most of these are barely noticeable, but there are some such as Pyroar, Unfezant, or Jellicent that are very different. To list all of these would take way too long, and most people seem to agree that these are not real form changes. The one that absolutely *is* a form change is Meowstic, since it gets different moves depending on its gender.
Rotom has many different forms that can be changed depending on which appliance you integrate it with. It is an Electric/Ghost type, and that was originally true regardless of form. Starting in Gen 5, though, it would change type depending on which appliance it is in. Heat Form is Electric/Fire, Wash Form is Electric/Water, Mow Form is Electric/Grass, Frost Form is Electric/Ice, and Fan Form is Electric/Flying. Each one can learn one move that the others can't, but will forget that move automatically if it changes form. In Gen 7, Rotom also can possess the player's Pokédex, thereby enabling a lot more features, but this form can never be used in battle, so it doesn't really matter.
Giratina exists in its Altered Form by default, but by giving it the Griseous Orb held item, which powers up its moves, it will change into its Origin Form.
Shaymin's default is Land Form, but with use of the Gracidea item, it will become Sky Form, changing from Grass to Grass/Flying and gaining new stats. But it will revert back to Land Form whenever it is night, when it is frozen, when you put it into the PC, when you transfer it to Pokémon Bank, or when you put it in the Day Care.
Arceus is a Normal-type, but can become any other type by using any of its Plates. Additionally, if it is holding a Z-Crystal, it will change form just as though that Z-Crystal was a Plate of that type. The only catch is that in order to change forms with a Z-Crystal, Arceus needs to know a move of that type as well.
We're not done with Gen 4 yet, because it also gave us the Spiky-Eared Pichu. This can only be obtained in HeartGold/SoulSilver. In order to get it, you need to take a shiny Pichu that was obtained in a Nintendo Event to the Ilex Forest. There, you'll see a little scene about how this Pichu traveled through time with Celebi. The Spiky-Eared Pichu is unable to evolve or traded/transferred to another game. Other than that, it behaves just as a normal Pichu. While the inability to be transferred outside of the game that you obtain it in sadly means that this form is no longer obtainable... it isn't fully in the past yet. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, one of Pichu's alternate costumes is the Spiky-Eared Pichu, thereby bringing this form back, albeit in a non-Pokémon game.
Gen 5 gave us Basculin, which has two forms: a red-striped form and a blue-striped form. The only differences between these is that they can have different abilities. Each can be found in different locations and it's easier to find one than the other, though which is which depends on which version you are playing.
Gen 5 also gave us Darmanitan. It's ordinarily just a generic Fire-type evolution of Darumaka, but if it has its Hidden Ability, Zen Mode, then it will shift into its Zen Mode Form when it reaches half health or less. In this form, it has less Speed but much more Special Attack, Defense, and Special Defense. Oh, and it becomes Fire/Psychic.
Deerling and Sawsbuck each have four different forms: one for each season. As the seasons change, so will they, both in the wild and on your team. However, once placed in the PC, they will stop changing forms until withdrawn. As seasons no longer exist after Gen 5, this means that this gimmick was completely removed. All Deerling and Sawsbuck found in the games after Gen 5 are in Spring Form and cannot change. However, if you transfer a Deerling or Sawsbuck from Gen 5 that has another form, it will keep that form and be unable to change it. If bred in a game that doesn't have seasons, the Deerling Egg will be whatever form the parent was in.
Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus are all legendaries that can change to their Therian Forms with the Reveal Glass item. These forms have new abilities and stats.
Kyurem is Ice/Dragon and is a normal Pokémon with nothing really noteworthy about it until the DNA Splicers are obtained. At that point, you can use them to fuse Kyurem with either Zekrom or Reshiram to create either Black Kyurem or White Kyurem. This consumes the other Pokémon, and actually removes it from your party until you separate it again. And you do need to separate it in order to trade or transfer Kyurem to another game. The fused versions have different moves, abilities, and stats than the ordinary Kyurem and even the ordinary Zekrom and Reshiram. They really are unique Pokémon in their own right.
Keldeo has a sort of lame form change. It is always in Ordinary Form until it learns Secret Sword, which no other Pokémon can learn. When it has this move, it becomes Resolute Form, which is purely a cosmetic change. That's it. No real need for this form, really. I guess it does telegraph to your opponent whether Keldeo has the move or not, but... is that really worth warranting another form?
Meloetta is, by default, in its Aria Form, which is Normal/Psychic. When it uses Relic Song in battle, it changes into Pirouette Form, which is Normal/Fighting. It will remain in this form for the remainder of the battle, and will become Aria Form again afterwards. Pirouette Form also has higher Attack and Speed.
Genesect has a very minor form change. It's all cosmetic, but if Genesect is holding one of four Drives, it will have the drive on its back change color to match it. This isn't COMPLETELY cosmetic, as having a Drive equipped will change the type of the move Techno Blast when you use it, but it is mostly a cosmetic change.
In Gen 6, Vivillon has 18 different color patterns on its wings. Which one you can encounter in the wild depends on the real-world location of your 3DS. It's purely cosmetic, but it is fun to try and collect them all. Why? Because if you breed one, it WON'T pass the form onto the offspring. It will look at your 3DS and try to find where you are. So the only way to get them all is to trade with other players in other locations, as follows:
* Archipelago Form is found in Puerto Rico, Anguilla, the Dominican Republic, and the Yucatán region of Mexico.
* Continental Form is found in Denmark, Germany, and South Korea.
* Elegant Form is found in most areas of Japan.
* Garden Form is found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand.
* High Plains Form is found in the Western United States and in the British Columbia province of Canada, although some players have reported finding the Continental Form in Colorado, so this is unclear.
* Icy Snow Form is found in the far northern regions of Norway and Russia, as well as Canada's Northwest and Yukon Territories.
* Jungle Form is found in Malaysia, Columbia, and Singapore.
* Marine Form is found in most of Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
* Meadow Form is found in most of France and in Catalonia (Spain).
* Modern Form is found in the central and southeastern United States.
* Monsoon Form is found in India, Hong Kong, Okinawa, and Taiwan.
* Ocean Form is found in Hawaii and Réunion.
* Polar Form is found in Alaska, the northeastern United States, Sweden, and large sections of Canada.
* River Form is found in Australia, the Canary Islands (Spain), and several African countries.
* Sandstorm Form is found in the Middle East.
* Savanna Form is found in Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia.
* Sun Form is found throughout Latin America and in the Northern Territory of Australia.
* Tundra Form is found in Hokkaido, Norway, and Iceland.
In addition to that, Vivillon also has Fancy Form and Poké Ball Form. These ones can only be obtained in Nintendo Events. The changes are purely cosmetic though.
Flabébé and its evolutions (Floette and Florges) have different colored flowers depending on the flowers in the grass where you encountered them. They can be yellow, white, red, blue, or orange. These are purely cosmetic and cannot be changed. There is also data in the game for AZ's Eternal Flower Floette that resembles the Ultimate Weapon. This one isn't just cosmetic. It cannot evolve, but it can learn the move Light of Ruin, which no other Pokémon can learn. Despite this form and this move existing in the coding of all Pokémon games since X and Y, it has never been officially released, and so the only way to obtain it is by cheating, hacking, or trading with someone who has done so.
Furfrou is basically a poodle that you can groom into various haircuts. Initially, you can only give it a haircut into Star Form, Heart Form, or Diamond Form, but as you do various things in Lumiose City, you accumulate the city's "style points", which unlocks more and more things around the city for you to do. This lets you get other forms: Dandy Form, Matron Form, Debutante Form, La Reine Form, Kabuki Form, and Pharaoh Form. Giving it a haircut to any of these forms costs you 500 Pokémon Dollars, and it will revert back to Natural Form automatically after five days have passed. These form changes are purely cosmetic.
Gen 6 also gave us Aegislash. Its ability, Stance Change, lets it switch back and forth between Blade Form and Shield Form, which is incredibly powerful, since Blade Form has 150 base Attack and Special Attack, and Shield Form has 150 base Defense and Special Defense.
There's also Pumpkaboo and Gourgeist. These pumpkin Pokémon come in different sizes, although it's very difficult to tell them apart when you don't have two on-screen simultaneously to compare with each other. They come in Small Form, Average Form, Large Form, and Super Form. They're mostly identical, but the larger ones have more HP and less Speed than the smaller ones. Gourgeist (but not Pumpkaboo) also gets higher Attack on larger forms. If bred, the resulting offspring will have the same size as its parent. The other interesting thing about it is that its held item when you encounter it in the wild will be a Miracle Seed. However, only the Super Size version can hold this item (and does so with 100% chance). Other versions cannot have a held item in the wild.
Xerneas is kinda dumb. It has Neutral Form and Active Form. I don't really get why this is the case, because it is always in Active Form always. Neutral Form really only appears in marketing material, and very rarely at that. To be honest, until I made a list of all form changes for this thread, I completely forgot that this existed.
Hoopa is a Psychic/Ghost in its default form, known as Confined Form. But when you use the Prison Bottle item on it, it turns into Unbound Form, which is Psychic/Dark. It also gets a massive increase to all of its stats and has new moves. But after three days, it goes back to its Confined Form.
Gen 6 also introduced Mega Evolution, which gave some Pokémon a new form that they could Mega Evolve into. Some of them were introduced in X and Y, and some weren't introduced until later, in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire also introduced Primal Reversions for Groudon and Kyogre, which are pretty much Mega Evolutions but with a new name. (Well, and a Primal Reversion doesn't count towards your "one Mega Evolution per battle" limit.)
Pikachu, the franchise mascot, also got some new forms in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. This was the Cosplay Pikachu. It could wear one of five cosplays. Each cosplay came with a signature move that Pikachu could not otherwise learn. It was intended to be used for Contests. The Rock Star Form could learn Meteor Mash. The Belle Form could learn Icicle Crash. The Pop Star Form could learn Draining Kiss. The Ph. D Form could learn Electric Terrain. The Libre Form could learn Flying Press. However, this Pikachu could not evolve nor be traded or transferred to another game. As Cosplay Pikachu cannot be obtained in any future games, this one was just left in the past.
But Gen 7 players can still rejoice, as Pikachu picked up seven new forms in Gen 7. These are the Cap Forms. Obtainable only via event, a Pikachu with a cap will... well... wear a cap. That's it. These are the caps that Ash wore in the TV show, so pick up whichever one reminds you of your favorite season. These caps are mostly cosmetic, with the only restrictions on them being that a Pikachu with a cap cannot evolve or breed. The Pikashunium Z will allow a Pikachu with a cap to use the Z-Move 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt (an upgraded Thunderbolt), which a normal Pikachu cannot use, but that's the only advantage you get. However, since a normal Pikachu can still use the Pikanium Z to upgrade Volt Tackle to Catastropika, I don't really see the point.
There are also plenty of Gen 6 Pokémon that got new forms in Gen 7. So let's talk about those next.
The first is Greninja. It got the Ash Form, which changes its stats and the effect of the move Water Shuriken. To turn into Ash Form, a Greninja simply has to cause a single opponent to faint. After that, it will remain in Ash Form until the battle ends, at which point, it reverts back. The only way to get a Greninja into this form, though, is if the Greninja has the ability Battle Bond, which is neither its normal ability nor its Hidden Ability. Such a Greninja can only be obtained via Nintendo Event. A Greninja with Battle Bond cannot breed.
Zygarde, in Gen 6, is just a giant slug. But in Gen 7, it got a little more complicated. You had to collect little Zygarde cells. When you got enough of them, you could get a Zygarde into its 10% Form, its 50% Form (the one from Gen 6) or its Complete Form. There's a lab in the game that lets you alternate between these, provided that Zygarde has Power Construct as an ability.
And of course, if we're talking about Gen 7 giving new forms to old Pokémon, we need to talk about Alolan Forms. Rattata/Raticate, Raichu, Sandshrew/Sandslash, Vulpix/Ninetales, Diglett/Dugtrio, Meowth/Persian, Geodude/Graveler/Golem, Grimer/Muk, Exeggutor, and Marowak all have different typings and movesets than their original Kanto forms. This is especially good in Let's Go! Pikachu and Eevee, which (mostly) only has Gen 1 Pokémon. By allowing Alolan Forms to exist as well, you fix the type imbalances in Gen 1. If you only looked at "pure Gen 1", there were not enough Ice, Steel, Dragon, Ghost, or Dark types. (Heck, there were no Dark types at all.) These forms are locked though, and you cannot swap back and forth between them. The only small control you get is with Pokémon that have a base form with no Alolan form, but an evolution with an Alolan form. These are Pikachu, Cubone, and Exeggcute. Which way they evolve depends on whether you are inside or outside of Alola when the evolution happens. Even in a Gen 7 game, if you are outside Alola (such as being in Ultra Space) when the evolution happens, you will get the regular version of the Pokémon.
For new Pokémon in Gen 7, we start with Oricorio. It has a different form depending on which of the four islands you found it on, due to the different types of nectar on each island. And yes, you can use the different Nectar items to change its form. Each form has a different type (Baile Form is Fire/Flying, Pom-Pom Form is Electric/Flying, Pa'u Form is Psychic/Flying, and Sensu Form is Ghost/Flying). Additionally, Oricorio is the only Pokémon that can learn the move Revelation Dance. This move's type changes depending on Oricorio's form.
Next up is Rockruff. When it evolves into Lycanroc, it can be one of three forms: Midday Form, Midnight Form, and Dusk Form. After evolution, it is locked and the form cannot be changed. I already talked about this in my evolution methods section above.
Wishiwashi is a fairly unimpressive fish. It starts out in its Solo Form and has the worst stats in the game, even worse than the previous record-holder Sunkern. However, it has the ability Schooling. With this ability, if Wishiwashi is Level 20 or above, then it will transform into its School Form, becoming hundreds of Wishiwashi working together. When in School Form, its stats multiply by more than sextuple (except HP and Speed), massively increasing its power. However, if its HP falls below 25%, then it will revert back to Solo Form, so you have to be careful.
Silvally was a man-made Pokémon that was an attempt to create an approximation of Arceus. Its ability, RKS System, allows it to change types depending on the Memory that it is holding. These Memory items also change the type of its exclusive move, Multi-Attack.
Next up is Minior. It has the ability Shields Down and is the only Pokémon with that ability. This ability makes it immune to status ailments. But once its HP is below 50%, its outer shell will break and change it from Meteor Form to Core Form. Meteor Form has higher Defense and Special Defense, but Core Form has higher Attack and Special Attack, as well as much higher Speed. But that's not all. The Core Form comes in seven different colors: Red Core Form, Orange Core Form, Yellow Core Form, Green Core Form, Blue Core Form, Indigo Core Form, and Violet Core Form. These are purely cosmetic, and cannot be changed, so be sure to grab your favorite.
Next, we come to Mimikyu. It has the ability Disguise, which lets it start the battle in Disguised Form. In Disguised Form, it cannot take any damage. However, whenever it would take damage, it instead switches into Busted Form. Busted Form receives damage as normal, so this form change basically just gives you one free turn per battle. After the battle ends, though, Mimikyu will be back in Disguised Form and can provide another free turn in the next battle.
Lastly, we have Necrozma. Necrozma is very similar to Kyurem. You can use the N-Solarizer to have Necrozma absorb Solgaleo, thereby fusing the two and creating Necrozma in Dusk Mane Form. You can also separately use the N-Lunarizer to have Necrozma absorb Lunala in order to create Necrozma in its Dawn Wings Form. These two forms allow Necrozma to use Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist Beam, respectively, and also allow it to use the Z-Moves that were previously only available to Solgaleo and Lunala. You can use the N-Solarizer and N-Lunarizer to unfuse them if you want to, but you really don't want to. Not only are their base stats FAR superior to the two original Pokémon, but their typing changes as well. While Necrozma is ordinarily a Psychic-type, it will become Psychic/Steel if fused with Solgaleo, and Psychic/Ghost if fused with Lunala. But wait, there's more! If you give either the Dusk Mane or Dawn Wings Necrozma a Ultranecrozium Z to hold, it will transform into Ultra Necrozma, which is Psychic/Dragon and has far more stats than it has any right to have (97 HP, 167 Attack, 97 Defense, 167 Special Attack, 97 Special Defense, 129 Speed). As if that weren't broken enough, it also gets the Neuroforce Ability, which gives all of its moves 1.25x power if they would be super effective. But wait, there's more! Remember that Ultranecrozium Z? Well, that's a Z-Crystal, and if Ultra Necrozma has the appropriate move (Photon Geyser), and there's no reason why it ever shouldn't, then it can use the Z-Move Light That Burns the Sky. This move is a Psychic-type move with 200 power that never misses, and whether it's physical or special is chosen based on Ultra Necrozma's stats. It looks at Attack and Special Attack and decides based on whichever one is higher. Oh, and any abilities that the opponent has that would weaken or prevent the damage from this move are nullified during the attack. This means that Ultra Necrozma is basically way too overpowered.