Which Pokemon Will Get Second Generation Evolutions in Pokemon Go?

When Niantic released Pokemon Go earlier this month, some fans were upset that the game only contained the original 151 Pokemon seen in Pokemon Red and Blue. While the original Pokemon remain nostalgic favorites, the franchise has since expanded to include 721 different species of Pokemon. Although it’s not expected that Niantic Labs will add the other 570 Pokemon all at once, the game developer has hinted that it’s already planning to add the “Second Generation” Pokemon from Pokemon Gold and Silver in a future update of the game.

Pokemon Gold and Silver added 100 new species of Pokemon to the game, several of which are evolved forms of Pokemon already in Pokemon Go. That means you might want to start stockpiling candies of these eleven Pokemon so you can quickly add new Pokemon to your Pokedex once the future update is released:

[Note: This article discusses hypothetical stats for Generation 2 Pokemon. For the record, Niantic uses stats from the core Pokemon video games to calculate a Pokemon’s base stats in Pokemon Go. If a Pokemon has high attack stats in the normal Pokemon video games, it will also have high attack stats in Pokemon Go. In fact, it’s possible to calculate every single Pokemon’s base stats in Pokemon Go, which is precisely what a few players have done online. While it’s possible that Niantic will change how Pokemon Go determines its stats, we’re going to assume that they’ll keep things consistent should they decided to add more Pokemon into the game.]

Golbat -> Crobat

Zubat is one of the most common Pokemon in Pokemon Go, but all those Zubat Candies will come in handy to get Crobat, Golbat’s evolved form. Crobat picks up a second pair of wings when it evolves, which makes it one of the fastest Pokemon in the games. Unfortunately, Pokemon Go doesn’t place a high value on speed stats, which means Crobat’s usefulness might be limited. 

It’ll be interesting to see how many candies it will take to evolve Zubat into Golbat after Crobat is added into the game. Like many other “one stage” evolutions, Zubat currently requires 50 Candies to evolve into Golbat. But once Crobat is added into the game, Zubat has a “two stage” evolutionary line, which means it should only need 25 Candies to evolve into Golbat and 100 Candies to evolve into Crobat. 

 

Gloom -> Bellossom

The first of several Pokemon on this list with “divergent” evolutions, Gloom can evolve into either Vileplume or Bellossom. Vileplume is a stinky Pokemon based off a corpse plant, but Bellossom isn’t an elegant Pokemon that would be at home on the Alolan islands of Pokemon Sun and Moon. Unlike Vileplume, Bellossom is a pure Grass type, meaning that it doesn’t have a weakness against Psychic attacks, but picks up weaknesses to Bug and Poison types. 

Bellossom should have stronger defense stats than Vileplume, but Vileplume has better attack stats and doesn’t have as many weaknesses. What will be interesting is whether Niantic will program some way to control Gloom’s evolution (similar to the Eevee naming trick) so that you don’t waste 100 Oddish Candies to pick up a duplicate Pokemon. 

 

Poliwhirl -> Politoed

Poliwhirl is a “Tadpole” Pokemon, so it makes sense that at least one of its evolutions would look like a frog. While Poliwrath looks like a more muscular version of Poliwrath, Politoed looks exactly what a frog Pokemon is supposed to look like. Unlike Poliwrath, which is a Water/Fighting dual type, Politoed is a pure Water Pokemon, which means it lacks Poliwrath’s weaknesses to Flying and Psychic attacks. However, it has weaker overall stats than Poliwrath, which could greatly limit its effectiveness in Pokemon Go. Politoed does have access to interesting moves like Hyper Voice and Perish Song, but unless Niantic gets creative, there won’t be much reason to want Politoed except to complete your Pokedex.

Eevee -> Umbreon and Espeon

One of the first Easter eggs discovered in Pokemon Go involved how to “force” your Eevee to evolve into one of its three Generation I evolved forms. However, that trick won’t come in handy when Pokemon Go introduces two more Eevee evolutions, Umbreon and Espeon, into the game. 

Umbreon is a Dark Type Pokemon, the only Type of Pokemon that hasn’t appeared in Pokemon Go so far. In addition to having a type advantage over Psychic Types, Umbreon also has strong defense stats and should be one of the stronger defenders in the game. Espeon is a Psychic Type, but doesn’t really have any particularly strong stats that stand out from other Psychic types. 

Although neither Pokemon was owned by one of the Eevee brothers, Gary (Ash’s first rival) had an Umbreon in the anime, so it’s certainly possible that Niantic could add another Easter egg to help players get at least one guaranteed Umbreon. 

Slowpoke -> Slowking

Slowpoke and Slowbro both have reputations as…well, slow Pokemon, but Slowking is considered one of the game’s most intelligent Pokemon. You might remember Slowking from Pokemon The Movie: 2000 as the sage Pokemon that helped Ash and his friends rescue the world from the Legendary Birds’ rampage.

Despite it’s slow reputation, Slowbro has some of the strongest stats in Pokemon Go and has one of the highest potential CPs in Pokemon Go. Based on our calculations, Slowking and Slowbro will have the same attack, defense and stamina stats, meaning there really won’t be any difference between the two Pokemon. At the end of the day, I guess it’s all about whether you want a Slowbro that wears a Shellder on its head or its tail.

Onix -> Steelix

Although everyone hoped that Onix would as fierce as the giant rock snake seen in the Pokemon anime, it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment in Pokemon Go. Onix’s evolved form Steelix is an equally mixed bag. Steelix is a Steel type Pokemon, which means it loses its weaknesses to Grass and Steel attacks but becomes vulnerable to Fire attacks. Steelix is perfect for players who want Pokemon with high defense, as Steelix has the second highest Defense stat of any Pokemon in the games.  However, its poor Attack and Stamina stats means that it won’t have a very high CP or be very effective in Pokemon Go. Steelix also has a Mega Evolution, which could come in handy if Niantic ever figures out how to add that mechanic to the game.

Scyther -> Scizor

Scyther trades in its signature scythe blades for powerful clamps when it evolves into Scizor. While Scyther has plenty of weaknesses thanks to its Bug/Flying pairing, Scizor is only weak to Fire attacks, which will give it a big advantage when defending gyms. Scizor doesn’t have particularly strong stats (in fact, its Max CP actually drops a little bit because of how Pokemon Go calculates CP) but the Bug/Steel pairing is one of the best dual types in Pokemon, which makes Scizor a “must get” Pokemon.

Seadra -> Kingdra

Like many other water Pokemon, Seadra is a pretty run of the mill Pokemon, both in terms of stats and designs. However, Seadra evolves into Kingdra, which should be a staple at Pokemon Go gyms after it debuts. Other than Legendary Pokemon and Tyranitar (who has Dragonite-esque stats), Kingdra will have the highest maximum CP of any Generation II Pokemon because of its high all around stats. Because it’s a Water/Dragon dual type, Kingdra loses all of Seadra’s weaknesses, although it picks up weaknesses to Dragon and Fairy attacks. You’d best stock up on Horsea Candies now, because Kingdra is definitely a Pokemon you’ll want in your arsenal. 

Porygon -> Porygon2

Porygon trades its sharp polygonal edges for smooth curves when it evolves into Porygon2. Porygon2 is essentially a souped up version of Porygon and it has all of the same strengths and weaknesses as its pre-evolved form. However, Porygon2 gets a pretty decent boost in both attack and defense and should top out at a CP of 2290. Porygon are considered an uncommon Pokemon by many Pokemon Go players, so Porygon2 could be the jewel in many players’ collections. 

Chansey -> Blissey

Poor Chansey. Although it has the highest Stamina stat in Pokemon Go (meaning it has the highest potential HP of any Pokemon in the game), Chansey has some of the lowest Attack and Defense stats, meaning it can’t really do much but absorb a beating. Chansey’s evolved form, Blissey, isn’t much better. Although it has marginally better defense stats, Blissey still can’t attack, so it will have a low CP and limited uses in gym battles. Blissey should probably stick to healing Pokemon like it does in the anime, because it won’t be much good in Pokemon Go.