Pokémon Evolution Items: Unova Stone now enables Gen 5 evolutions!

In order to evolve some Pokémon, you're going to need certain Evolution Items. Here's the down low on them!

In Pokémon Go, most Pokémon that can evolve do so by accumulating enough candies of the species and hitting the evolve button. However, a select few need specific Evolution items in addition to the usual set number of candies. Each generation has brought new Evolution Items, though they cannot all be obtained in the same way. Fortunately, we're here to walk you through how to obtain and use these unique items.

What are Evolution Items anyway?

Evolution Items items which, in conjunction with a set amount of candies, can be used to evolve a select few species of Pokémon:

• Sun Stone: Evolves Gloom into Bellossom, and Sunkern into Sunflora.
• King's Rock: Evolves Poliwhirl into Politoed, and Slowpoke into Slowking.
• Metal Coat: Evolves Onix into Steelix, and Scyther into Scizor.
• Dragon Scale: Evolves Seadra into Kingdra.
• UpGrade: Evolves Porygon into Porygon 2.
• Sinnoh Stone: Evolves Sneasel into Weavile, Electabuzz into Electivire, Roselia into Roserade, Rhydon into Rhyperior, Murkrow into Honchkrow, Porygon2 into Porygon-Z, Togetic into Togekiss, Magmar into Magmortar, Misdreavus into Mismagius, Gligar into Gliscor, Dusclops into Dusknoir, Swinub into Mamoswine, Aipom into Ambipom, Yanma into Yanmega, Tangela into Tangrowth, Lickitung into Lickilicky, Kirlia (male only) into Gallade, and Snorunt (female only) evolves into Froslass.
• Unova Stone: Evolves Pansage into Simisage, Pansear into Simisear, Panpour into Simipour, Lampent into Chandelure, Minccino into Cinccino, Munna into Mucharna, and Eelektrik into Eelektross.
• Glacial Lure Module: Evolves Eevee into Glaceon.
• Mossy Lure Module: Evolves Eevee into Leafeon.
• Magnetic Lure Module: Evolves Nosepass into Probopass, and Magneton into Magnezone.

If and when you get one, it'll show up in your Items list alongside your Poké Balls, Potions, Lucky Eggs, etc.

What level do you have to be to get an Evolution Item? Is it really level 10?

Several of the more potent items in Pokémon Go only become available when you reach higher levels, like Max Revive. Evolution Items are the same. They currently seem to "unlock" only at level 10.

Arguably, getting all the Pokémon and candy you need to use all the Evolution Items should take about as long, if not longer, than getting to level 10. But still, it would be nice to be able to collect Evolution Items right from the start.

Can you just buy Evolution Items in the Pokémon Shop?

Generally, no. Unlike Lucky Eggs, Incense, and Storage upgrades, you can't buy most Evolution Stones in the Pokémon Shop no matter how many Poké Coins you have or are willing to spend. The only exception to this are the elemental Lure Modules. These items aren't strictly for Evolution but are the only way to obtain four evolutions right now.

How do you get Evolution Items in Pokémon Go?

Most Evolution items are given out by PokéStops, just like Revives, Ultra Balls, and Razz Berries. Visit a PokéStop, give it a spin, and there's a tiny chance a Sun Stone, King's Rock, Metal Coat, Dragon Scale, or UpGrade, will pop out along with the usual Poké Balls and Potions.

However, the Sinnoh Stones and Unova Stones are more difficult to get. Currently, they are rewards for specific Research tasks and Research Breakthrough, as well as for PVP battles and Team Go Rocket Battles.

The Elemental Lure Modules are perhaps the easiest to obtain as they can be purchased in the Pokéshop

Do 7-day streaks guarantee you an Evolution Item?

The very first 7-day streak right after the launch of Gen 2 resulted in so many people getting Evolution Items the hope was it would be a sure thing for subsequent 7-day streaks. It didn't. At least not for a while.

As of the week of March 19, 2017, Pokémon Go restored the guaranteed Evolution Item for your 7-day streak spin. The item is determined at random, so there's no telling what you'll get. Could be all the ones you need in a row, or could be the same one over and over again. I, for one, got more Upgrades than I have ever caught Porygon! But, it is guaranteed!

What are the odds of getting an Evolution Item from a PokéStop?

Low. Very low. The lowest.

It's been guessed that any given PokéStop has a 20% chance of giving you a Pokémon Egg. Max Potion and Max Revive might be closer to 1%. Evolution Items seem to have a drop rate even lower than that. Something like 0.3%. Some people get them after a few hundred spins. Others, a few thousand. Yeah. The lowest. There are also five different kinds, which makes the odds of getting any specific Evolution Item even lower.

Random Number Generators — and math — are tricky things, though. At 20%, you'd think you'd get an Egg every 5 PokéStops, but as anyone who's played Pokémon Go for anything length of time knows, you might go 10 or 15 stops before getting one, then get 6 in a row.

The same has proven true with Evolution Items, only to an even greater extreme. The average seems to be one item every 300 or so spins. But again, that means out of 3000 spins you might get 10 items, but you might also go 2000 spins between getting items.

It took me 30 days and 2660 spins to get at least one of each of the Evolution Items. (I ended up with 3 extra Sun Stones and 1 extra King's Rock.) That includes a 10 day period where I spun 1073 times without getting anything. Despite rumors to the contrary, neither the buddy I had at the time, nor the time of day, seemed to have any direct relationship to the items I got.

Now that 7-day streaks will absolutely award them again, hopefully, it'll be a bit faster.

Once you get an Evolution Item, can you just keep on using it or does it burn out?

Evolution Items are single use only. Yeah. Tears. You need one for every evolution you want to make. So, to evolve two Onix into two Steelix, you need two Metal Coats. To evolve a Poliwhirl into Politoed and Slowpoke into Slowking, you need two King's Rocks.

Spin. Spin. Spin. Spin. Sigh. Spin.

When you finally get an Evolution Item, how do you use it?

Using an Evolution Item is the easy part.

1. Tap on the Poké Ball menu button at the bottom center of the game screen.
2. Tap on the Pokémon button at the bottom left of the menu screen.
3. Tap on the Pokémon you want to evolve.
4. Tap on the second/bottom Evolution button.
5. Tap on Use This Item on your Pokémon to confirm. (It'll show the specific Evolution Item you'll be consuming.)
6. Enjoy!

Once the evolution is done, the Evolution Item will be spent.

Help, how do you ditch all the Evolution Items clogging up your bag?

While it can be hard getting those first few Evolution Items, some are clearly more useful than others. You probably won't ever have enough Sinnoh Stones but you'll only need a couple Upgrades, even if you keep a living Pokédex. So, when you're sitting on a dozen Upgrades or Dragon Scales, you might want to clear some space up in your inventory.

1. Tap on the Poké Ball menu button at the bottom center of the game screen.
2. Tap on the Items button at the bottom right of the menu screen.
3. Tap on the Delete button (looks like a trash can) to the right of the Evolution Stone you want to discard.
4. Hit the Plus or Minus buttons to choose the number of items you want to discard.
5. Hit Yes to confirm.

What are Sinnoh Stones?

With the addition of Gen 4, new evolution methods have been introduced. One of those is Sinnoh Stones, which are items that can evolve a number of Pokémon.

How do I get Sinnoh Stones?

You can get them after a 7-day PokeStop streak like any other evolution item, through Special Research Tasks, or by battling against the three team leaders on Community Day, or by doing a PvP battle with another trainer.

How do Sinnoh Stones work?

Just like every other evolution item. Once you have one and the appropriate amount of Candy, just go to the page of the Pokémon you want to evolve and evolve away.

Which Pokémon evolve using Sinnoh Stones?

A lot of them. Necessary to evolve a whopping 18 Pokémon, the Sinnoh Stone is currently the most useful of the Evolution Items. Here's the current list:

• Sneasel into Weavile
• Electabuzz into Electivire
• Roselia into Roserade
• Rhydon into Rhyperior
• Murkrow into Honchkrow
• Porygon2 into Porygon-Z
• Togetic into Togekiss
• Magmar into Magmortar
• Misdreavus into Mismagius
• Gligar into Gliscor
• Dusclops into Dusknoir
• Swinub into Mamoswine
• Aipom into Ambipom
• Yanma into Yanmega
• Tangela into Tangrowth
• Lickitung into Lickilicky
• Kirlia into Gallade
• Snorunt into Froslass

We're using Lures to Evolve Pokémon now too?

Lures are the other 4th gen Evolution Item, though only special ones will evolve Pokémon. The three special Lures that can evolve Pokémon are Magnetic Lures, Mossy Lures, and Glacial Lures.

How do I get these special Lures?

You can buy them for 200 PokeCoins in the shop. That's it.

How do I evolve a Pokémon using one of these Lures?

You have to use one of the Lures at PokeStop, just like you would with a normal Lure Module. In addition to attracting Pokémon of a specific type to the PokeStop, it'll also enable evolution for specific Pokémon as long as you have spun the PokéStop and stay in range.

Which Pokémon evolve using these Lures?

• Glacial Lure: Eevee into Glaceon
• Mossy Lure: Eevee into Leafeon
• Magnetic Lure: Magneton into Magnezone and Nosepass into Probopass

What are Unova Stones?

With the advent of Gen 5, new evolution methods have been introduced. One of those is Unova Stones, which are items that can evolve a number of Pokémon. Unova Stones are currently being used in place of Elemental Evolution Stones from the core games.

How do I get Unova Stones?

Currently, the easiest way to get Unova Stones is through a 7-day research breakthrough but they are also rewards for certain Special Research tasks and in the new Team Go Rocket Leader battles.

How do Unova Stones work?

Just like every other evolution item. Once you have one and the appropriate amount of Candy, just go to the page of the Pokémon you want to evolve and evolve away.

Which Pokémon evolve using Unova Stones?

Only a few so far but expect more to be added to this list as more of Gen 5 is introduced.

• Pansage into Simisage
• Pansear into Simisear
• Panpour into Simipour
• Lampent into Chandelure
• Eelektrik into Eelektross
• Minccino into Cinccino
• Munna into Musharna

Any Evolution Item or Pokémon Go questions?

Do you have any questions about Evolution Items in Pokémon Go? Any tips for fellow Trainers? Drop them in the comments below and be sure to check out our Complete Pokédex as well as our many Pokémon Go Guides so you too can become a Pokémon Master!