10 Single Stage Pokemon That Need an Evolution

Highlights

• Evolving single-stage Pokemon like Carnivine and Delibird could give them the boost they need to shine in battles.
• Pokemon like Emolga and Chatot could benefit from new evolutions to enhance their strengths and utility in gameplay.
• Giving Pokemon like Falinks and Shuckle evolutions could improve their stats and add new layers to their already interesting designs.

The major strength of the Pokemon franchise is in its recognizable characters, featuring strong designs and excellent theming. With more than 1000 iconic monsters there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

The evolution mechanic, where one Pokemon can become a different Pokemon through a variety of methods, adds another layer of complexity and interest to the whole system. This gives people more options and allows Pokemon designs to change while keeping the core of what was there before. But not all Pokemon evolve, and sometimes that’s a good thing – but there are some single-stage Pokemon that deserve a new evolution.

10 Carnivine

Who Doesn’t Love a Floating Bug Trap?

Carnivine is a Grass type Pokemon based around the Venus fly-trap. It’s a relatively weak Pokemon, but its goofy design definitely has some appeal. But it doesn’t evolve into anything, nor does it have any alternative forms, which means it gets forgotten in a forest of objectively better choices to use.

But an evolved form for Carnivine could get it just what it needs to stop it languishing on the benches. A stat boost, a new design which builds on the old, and poor little Carnivine could see a lot more use.

9 Delibird

Santa’s Little Helper

Introduced all the way back in Generation 2, Delibird is an Ice and Flying type Pokemon whose lore suggests a strong connection to Christmas and gift-giving. Delibird has a really cute design, and it even received a futuristic Paradox variant form in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

But Delibird in its base form isn’t very strong at all, making it hard to use. A new evolution could change all of that while keeping what makes Delibird great.

8 Emolga

Pikachu As a Flying Squirrel

Emolga is a super cute, Electric and Flying type squirrel Pokemon. Emolga is charming, has a great typing which renders it immune to Electric type’s only weakness, and a cool Hidden Ability.

But Emolga is also a very weak Pokemon with a shallow movepool. It’s even been unavailable for several generations, including in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. An evolution for Emolga could fix its most glaring inadequacies while building on its great design, giving the opportunity for fans old and new alike to enjoy this Pokemon.

7 Chatot

Little Chatterbox

Chatot’s simple but clean design is sweet, and in its debut had a unique mechanic where it could ‘speak’ during battle with the player’s voice using a pre-recorded phrase. This alone won Chatot many dedicated fans.

But Chatot is a relatively weak Pokemon, meaning many players simply can’t keep one on their team in the later parts of the game. An evolution for Chatot could enhance all of its best traits and help it see a bit more use while keeping everything that made it great in the first place.

6 Hawlucha

Destined For Greater Things

Hawlucha is a Flying and Fighting type bird Pokemon with a really fun design, and colors that pop. It’s fun to use and has good overall stats, so it’s reasonably popular. But something about the design feels like it’s got room for something more.

The design is somewhat basic, and Hawlucha could easily receive an evolution which boosts its stats a little and gives it a fresh new look and feel.

5 Falinks

Little Soldier Men

Falinks is a neat little Pokemon formed out of a combination of different units, where one Falinks is the leader of several others. Combinations of Pokemon merging to create one Pokemon has been used since the original games with Pokemon, such as Magneton and Dugtrio, so Falinks is a nice nod to that.

But Falinks isn’t the strongest Pokemon, and it feels like a first-stage rather than a single-stage Pokemon. An evolution for Falinks could give it a much needed boost to its stats and the chance for a cool new design.

4 Shuckle

The Best Defense is the Best Defense

The unassuming, weird little Bug and Rock type Shuckle has a surprising number of fans in the world of Pokemon despite its somewhat odd looks and lackluster attacking stats. But Shuckle has rock-solid defensive stats and a fun design, which makes many fans wish it had just that little bit more utility.

An evolution for Shuckle could capitalize on its great defense while giving it a litle more offensive power, and also take the design theme to the next level.

3 Spinda

The Odd Bear Out

Spinda is a neat little Pokemon from Generation 3’s Hoenn with a really fun gimmick – there are literally billions of possible combinations of spots it can have as its pattern. But Spinda as a Pokemon is kind of weak, so despite its fun gimmick and unique lore, it doesn’t see much use.

And most other bear Pokemon have at least one evolution, such as Pancham which evolves into Pangoro, or even little Teddiursa which has two evolutions. Updating Spinda from a single stage to a double or even triple stage Pokemon, while keeping its unique gimmick intact, could pour some life into an often forgotten Pokemon.

2 Durant

Where’s The Queen?

Durant is a Bug and Steel type Pokemon based around ants. It’s a single-stage Pokemon, but its inspiration gives it some strong contenders for a new evolution. Some Durant could evolve into a powerful queen-type evolution, and others could evolve into a warrior archetype.

The potential for a split evolution is high, and this could give Durant some nice new utility while giving players some very fun options for their Durant.

1 Kantonian Farfetch’d

A Farfetch’d Suggestion

Kanto’s Normal and Flying type duck Pokemon Farfetch’d is a single-stage Pokemon introduced way back during the very beginning of the Pokemon franchise. Since its introduction, it’s had a legions of dedicated fans, many of whom have wanted nothing more than an evolution for their beloved Pokemon.

Unfortunately for them, Kantonian Farfetch’d never got one. A regional variant of Farfetch’d with a different typing and a different design was introduced in Generation 9’s Galar, but only Galarian Farfetch’d can evolve into the magnificent Sirfetch’d – leaving poor Kantonian Farfetch’d high and dry.