Throughout many Generations of the iconic Pokémon series, certain Pokémon achieve evolution through special Evolution Stones. However, the type of Stones and which creatures transcend to new forms has changed over the years of new titles in the franchise. Around 40 different pocket monsters require specific Stones to transform into a Pokémon with better battle stats.

Not to be confused with stone evolutions in Pokémon GO, the main series only demands that you give a Pokémon the right Stone to transform. There are only a couple of exceptions or limitations to this rule, with the specific gender of some creatures being a prerequisite for evolution. As new regions have been added, some Pokémon have alternate evolutions with the same Stone depending on their location.

Generation 1 (Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow)

Most of the Pokémon in Pokémon Red and Blue only evolved through leveling up, but a surprising 16 different creatures used a Stone to gain a new form. There were five types of Stones introduced with the debut Generation and the spin-off Pokémon Yellow. The Fire Stone, Thunder Stone, Water Stone, Leaf Stone, and Moon Stone all gave new potential to your team members.

When these Stones are applied to a Pokémon you want to evolve, the process cannot be reversed in many Generations. Be careful to choose the right path for a creature like Eevee, who has multiple Stone Evolutions, since you can usually only get this Pokémon once in most games.

Generation 2 (Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal)

In Pokémon Gold and Silver, a new Sun Stone was added to make new evolutions possible from the Pokémon in the Johto and Kanto regions. Since this Generation included both regions to explore, all the evolutions from the previous games were included in these titles as well. Only two Stone Evolutions were part of this era, but the rare item used to create their transformations made them unique.

Generation 3 (Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald/FireRed/LeafGreen)

A ton of Pokémon made up the new Hoenn region, with old Stones becoming applicable to never-before-seen creatures that arrived in Generation 3. Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald only had three new evolutions: Water Stone, Leaf Stone, and Moon Stone. It should be noted that this also applies to the remastered versions of the Gen 1 games with PokémonLeafGreen and FireRed.

Generation 4 (Pokémon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum/HeartGold/SoulSilver)

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl not only created the Shiny Stone, Dusk Stone, Dawn Stone, and Oval Stone for new evolutions but also gave older creatures a chance to finally transform. Older Pokémon from past generations can now evolve using the items from these games. Like the last Generation, this rule would also carry over to the Gen 2 remakes of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Generation 5 (Pokémon Black/White/Black 2/White 2)

The unique Pokémon Black and White series and subsequent sequels marked a significant change in the Pokémon series, but the use of Stones for evolutions was still present. Many Pokémon from Generation 5 used older Stones to evolve since no new Stones were added to any game. Only eight Pokémon have powerful forms that are obtained directly from Stone Evolution.

Generation 6 (Pokémon X/Y/Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire)

Pokémon X and Y follow the same pattern as the previous Generation, with only three Pokémon using older Stones to evolve. Generation 6 once again did not introduce any new type of Stone for evolution as some games in the past had. Only the Sun Stone, Shiny Stone, and Dusk Stone saw any use with the new creatures added to the regions from these titles.

Generation 7 (Pokémon Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon)

Generation 7 saw much larger changes to Stone Evolutions through the Alolan variants of Pokémon that reflected the colorful, tropic Alola region. Alternate forms of Pokémon from past Generations had new evolutions that could only be achieved with Stones that would normally not affect them. This was pretty rare, though, with only three creatures having this striking change in PokémonSun and Moon.

The Ice Stone was also added to these games and is directly tied to the evolutions of Pokémon residing in the Alola region.

Generation 8 (Pokémon Sword/Shield)

Pokémon Sword and Shield also included variants, this time from the region of Galar, to make Galarian exclusive evolutions. There were also some changes to how some Pokémon evolved, with ones who ordinarily did not need a Stone now being able to use one to transform. While only one Galarian variant needs a Stone for evolution, the broader change impacts two other Pokémon in this Generation.

Generation 9 (Pokémon Scarlet/Violet/Arceus)

While Pokémon Scarlet and Violet follow the traditional rules of Stone Evolution with only three new Pokémon using the classic items for evolution, Pokémon Arceus is a different story. The open-world spin-off has two region-specific evolutions tied to the Stones in the Hisui region. Thankfully, no new Stones differ from what you've seen before; they are just unexpected evolution routes.

Every evolution connected to Evolution Stones lets you get a member of your team that has morphed into their strongest form in the Pokémon series, letting you take on Gym Leaders with far more confidence.

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  Pokemon

  Summary:

  Spanning over twenty-five years, Pokemon, known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is the multimedia franchise created jointly by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures. Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in association with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, Pokemon is set in fictional worlds where people live together with tamable creatures known as Pokemon. Humans who catch, raise, and battle the creatures are known as Pokemon Trainers. They head out on extensive journeys across their continents to raise their Pokemon with the ultimate goal of competing in tournaments to become the champion. Pokemon spans several massive properties, from a long-running animated series to a successful trading card game, to the medium that started it all, video games. In addition, Pokemon began the "two-game" trend where two versions of a game would release and include different Pokemon/features between the versions, encouraging players to meet up with others and trade so they could "catch 'em all."

  Created by:

  Satoshi Taijiri, Ken Sugimori, Junichi Masuda

  First Film:

  Pokemon: The First Movie

  Latest Film:

  Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle

  First TV Show:

  Pokemon

  First Episode Air Date:

  1997-04-01

  Current Series:

  Pokemon

  Video Game(s):

  Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Pokemon Snap, Pokémon GO

  TV Show(s):

  Pokemon