How to evolve Gen 2 in Pokémon Go: Candy, items, and more!

Which Pokémon will get new evolutions in Gen 2, what candy should you save, and how will evolution items work?

Update: Update: Pokémon Gen 2 evolutions are coming this week! Here's what you need to do now!{.update}

Pokémon Go has begun releasing the Gen 2 Pokémon from the Johto Region in Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver video games. Starting soon, you'll be able to evolve Espeon, Umbreon, Steelix, Kingdra, Porygon2, Blissey, and more. But, you'll need more than just Candy to do it — you'll need the all-new Evolution Stones!

BREAKING: Pokémon Go 2 launching Feb 18!

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Which Pokémon are getting new evolutions in Gen 2?

With the release of Gen 2, some Pokémon that currently have no evolutions will be getting their first, and some with existing evolutions will be getting extra or split evolutions. Here's the list!

• Golbat to Crobat
• Gloom to Bellossom (split)
• Poliwhirl to Politoed (split)
• Eevee to Espeon (split)
• Eevee to Umbreon (split)
• Slowpoke to Slowking (split)
• Onix to Steelix
• Scyther to Scizor
• Seadra to Kingdra
• Porygon to Porygon 2
• Chansey to Blissey

Which Pokémon should you have ready to evolve?

You don't have to have already evolved Pokémon, like Golbat, Gloom, Polywhirl, or Seadra ready for new third-stage or split evolutions. You simply have to have the base level Pokémon and enough candy to do both evolutions. You certainly can keep the evolved ones ready to evolve again, but you can also keep your options open, in case you catch an even better base level with higher CP and stats, which will result in an even better new evolution when they become available. Either way, here's who you'll need:

• Zubat or Golbat for Crobat
• Oddish or Gloom for Bellossom (split)
• Poliwag or Poliwhirl for Politoed (split)
• Eevee for Espoen (split)
• Eevee for Umbreon (split)
• Slowpoke for Slowking (split)
• Onix for Steelix
• Scyther for Scizor
• Horesea or Seadra for Kingdra
• Porygon for Porygon 2
• Chansey for Blissey

What are Evolution Stones and how do they work?

Evolution Stones are items that trigger new or newly split evolutions. You'll be able to collect them from PokéStops, like you do Pokémon Eggs, and use them to unlock the new Gen 2 evolutions and splits.

• Sun Stone: Evolve Gloom to Bellossum.
• Kings Rock: Evolve Poliwhirl to Politoed, Slowpoke to Slowking
• Metal Coat: Evolve Onix to Steelix, Scyther to Scizor
• Dragon Scale: Evolve Seadra to Kingdra
• Up Grade: Evolve Porygon to Porygon 2

There are no details yet on how Evolution items will work but we'll update as soon as we know!

What about Espeon and Umbreon?

When Pokémon Go launched there was an Easter egg that let you force Eevee to evolve into Flareon, Jolteon, or Vaporeon by re-naming them after their trainers, the brothers from the original animated series: Pyro, Sparky, and Rainer respectively.

Espeon is associated with daytime and Umbreon with night time, so it's possible when you choose to evolve your Eevee might have an effect on which evolution you get.

We'll have to wait and see!

And Chansey to Blissey?

No word yet. Getting Blissey could be as simple as having 50 or 100 Chansey Candies and hitting the "Evolve" button. Or there could be some sort of surprise involved. We'll update as soon as we know!

Should you have multiple Pokémon and Candy ready for the split evolutions?

Yup! To cover all your bases, you'll probably want to have 3 to 5 Pokémon ready to evolve. That way, you'll likely get at least one new evolution, even if the game is stacked against you. If not, hey, it's three chances for a decent moveset. Here are the one's you want some coverage on:

• 3 to 5 Oddish or Gloom for Bellossom (split)
• 3 to 5 Poliwag or Poliwhirl for Politoed (split)
• 3 to 5 Eevee for Espoen (split)
• 3 to 5 Eevee for Umbreon (split)
• 3 to 5 Slowpoke for Slowking (split)

Should you save your best Pokémon for the new evolutions?

You'll always want a good evolution if you can get one, and that means a Pokémon that's appraised really well in game terms, and has high CP and high stats (IV). Since movesets are what can really make a difference, though, and they're determined at random when you do the evolution, it's impossible to guarantee any results. (Beyond "if at first you don't get a good moveset, evolve and evolve again!")

The Pokémon with the highest potential CP, and the ones you'll want to max out, are:

• Blissey (3000+)
• Espeon (3000)
• Scizor (2800+)
• Porygon2 (2500+)

What candy will you need to evolve and how much?

Until the new Gen 2 evolutions are live, all we can do is make an educated guess as to how much candy will be needed. Still, it's worth the guess. Just remember, the final numbers could be higher, because capriciousness of game balance.

• 100 Zubat candy for Crobat
• 100 Oddish candy for Bellossom (split)
• 100 Poliwag candy for Politoed (split)
• 25 Eevee candy for Espeon (split)
• 25 Eevee candy for Umbreon (split)
• 50 Slowpoke candy for Slowking (split)
• 50 Onix candy for Steelix
• 50 Scyther for Scizor
• 100 Horesea for Kingdra
• 50 Porygon for Porygon 2
• 50 Chansey for Blissey

To cover your split evolution bases, you'll really want 3x to 5x for those Pokémon:

• 300 to 500 Oddish candy for Bellossom (split)
• 300 to 500 Poliwag candy for Politoed (split)
• 75 to 125 Eevee candy for Espeon (split)
• 75 to 125 Eevee candy for Umbreon (split)
• 150 to 250 Slowpoke candy for Slowking (split)

If you have all that in place, you should be able to evolve all your Gen 2 Pokémon the minute they're made available!

What new evolutions will come to Pokémon Go with Gen 4?

Gen 4? We're not even fully into Gen 2 yet! But, sigh, okay!

• Magneton to Magnezone
• Lickitung to Licklicky
• Rhydon to Rhyperion
• Happiny (baby) to Chansey
• Tangela to Tangrowth
• Mime Jr. (baby) to Mr. Mime
• Electabuzz to Electivire
• Magmar to Magmortar
• Eevee to Leafeon
• Eevee to Glaceon
• Porygon2 to Porygon-Z
• Munchlax (baby) to Snorlax
• Togetic to Togekiss

There are also Gen 3 and Gen 4 pre- and post-evolutions for some of the new Pokémon introduced in Gen 2. Stay tuned!

Any Pokémon Go Gen 2 questions?

If there's anything else you want to know about the evolutions or about Pokémon Go in general, drop it in the comments below.