Players that have been with thePokemonfranchise from the beginning will vividly remember the arduous task oftraining particular Pokemon. But as the series has progressed, items like Exp. Share and Exp. Candies have smoothed this process out, making it easier for players to train some of the hardest Pokemon relatively quickly.
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However, some trainers may want to play the newerPokemongames more traditionally, forgoing Exp. Candies to expedite the evolution process. While Exp. Share is now a permanent feature of modern-day titles; players can still experience the arduous task of training Pokemon with significant level gaps between evolutions, whether that be Dragon-types or the occasional outlier like Magikarp or the Slakoth line.
10Dreepy
Dreepy is a relatively hard Pokemon to find inPokemon SwordandShield, located at the Lake of Outrage. This area isonly accessible via the Water Rotom Bike, and there’s only a 1 to 2 percent chance that players will happen upon a Dreepy there. As this is locked pretty far into the game, Dreepy will be between the levels of 50 and 52, meaning it will immediately evolve into Drakloak once it’s leveled up.
Players who want more time with the tiny little Dragon/Ghost-type can hatch a Dreepy and raise it from scratch. But be warned, Dreepy won’t evolve into Drakloak until level 50, and the Pokemon doesn’t exactly have the best stats as a first-stage evolution - particularly with its base HP stat at 28.
9Axew
Like most Dragon-types, it’ll take trainers a while until they can add Axew to their party inPokemon BlackandWhite. The pure Dragon-type can be caught in Mistralton Cave, but trainers will need Surf to get there. This HM can be obtained by League Champion Alder, but players can’t trigger the event until they’ve defeated Mistralton City Gym Leader Skyla.
Once in the cave, Axew can be encountered between levels 30 and 31, making it easier to train into Fraxure. But asAxew can be found a lot earlierin the likes ofPokemon ScarletandViolet, it’ll take players a while to level up the little Dragon-type to its mid-evolution Fraxure and eventually Haxorus.
8Slakoth
Slakoth and its evolutionary line are unique in that its first and final forms have the Truant ability, meaning they only move every two turns. This can be highly annoying when training Slakoth, as it has a low base Speed stat as it is. While it doesn’t take Slakoth that long to evolve into Vigoroth at level 18, the Truant ability makes it feel as though the Pokemon is moving at, quite literally, a sloth’s pace.
The only good thing about getting to Slaking is that it’s beefy, and its stats rival that of some of the most powerful legendary beasts in the series. By teaching it Giga Impact or Hyper Beam, two attacks that require a move to recharge, trainers can somewhat utilizethe otherwise useless abilityto their advantage.
7Pupitar
Having evolved from Larvitar at level 30, it takes a while for Pupitar to reach its final evolutionary stage of Tyranitar at level 55. Pupitar’s stats improve significantly from its starting evolution, but the anticipation of wanting it to evolve into Tyranitar can make the level gap feel even longer than it is.
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While there are a select few games in the series where Pupitar can be found roaming in the grass or the overworld, most of the time players will need to train Larvitar up to evolve into Pupitar before even thinking about adding Tyranitar to their team.
6Shelgon
Like Pupitar, Shelgon isn’t exactly the most interesting mid-evolution. The wait for it to evolve into Salamence is relatively long, with a gap of 20 levels between them. BesidesPokemon VioletandPokemon Pearl, the only way to obtain Shelgon is by catching a Bagon. So a shortcut into adding Salamence to their team is out of the question.
InPokemon RubyandSapphire, Bagon is found at Meteor Falls between levels 25 to 35, making it less challenging to evolve into Shelgon. But those wanting to spend more time with the baby Dragon-type can breed it and train it to Salamence from level 1.
5Toxel
Toxel is a baby Pokemon in the truest sense of the term. The easiest way to obtain Toxel is by receiving an egg at the Pokemon Nursery on Route 5 inPokemon SwordandShield, which is available after defeating the Grass-type gym leader Milo in Turffield. Toxel can also be caught on Route 7, but by hatching the egg, players can raise the little Pokemon from level 1 for the ultimate challenge.
Toxel’s stats aren’t ideal, and it benefits from the Exp. Share more than any other Pokemon until it reaches a suitable enough level to hold its own in battle. From there,evolving into Toxtricityat level 30 takes quite a while.
4Deino
Much like other Dragon-types in the series, obtaining Deino is locked until pretty far intoPokemon BlackandWhite, meaning players won’t have that much time to experience the Pokemon as itevolves into Zweilousrelatively quickly. For some, that’s a good thing, but for others that want to bond with Deino for a little longer, it can be a bummer.
Those who want to train Deino from the beginning via breeding can expect a long and arduous task ahead of them, as Deino doesn’t evolve into Zweilous until level 50. And even if trainers were to add Deino to their team after finding it in Victory Road, the Pokemon would already be between levels 38 to 40, meaning there’s still a while to go before it evolves into its second stage.
3Goomy
When it comes to Goomy, discourse usually surrounds Sliggoo as it can only evolve into pseudo-legendary Goodra while it’s raining or foggy outside of battle. But the road to its second evolution is just as strenuous, as Goomy can only transform into Sliggoo once it hits level 40.
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Goomy can be caught between levels 31 and 32 in its original game,Pokemon XandY,making this a little less complicated. But Goomy can be found much earlier in subsequent games, making that level gap even larger. While Goomy’s base stats aren’t that bad, they increase significantly once it reaches its final evolution.
2Noibat
Unlike most Dragon-types in the Pokemon franchise, Noibat only has one evolution past its first stage. Thankfully, Noivern isn’t capped at an unrealistically high level and is easy to evolve once caught within Victory Road or Terminus Cave inPokemon XandY.
In the most recentPokemongames, Noibat can be found much earlier and at lower levels, so trainers can expect a hefty level gap until they can evolve Noibat into its final evolution, Noivern. Or, in the case ofPokemon ScarletandViolet, they can also catch their second stage roaming the night skies of Paldea.
1Magikarp
Magikarp has long been seen as a joke in thePokemonfranchise, with it only being able to learn three moves - the infamous Splash, Tackle at level 15, and Flail at level 25. So between levels 1 to 15, players are stuck with either bringing Magikarp out and then back into their party to get a bit of Exp. or by utilizing the Exp. Share and Exp. Candies to the point that it knows a move with at least some damage.
Thankfully,Magikarp evolves into Gyaradosby level 20. But when the flailing fish only knows one move that does absolutely nothing for a fair amount of time, training it to this point can be one hell of a task. Particularly since players can’t even teach Magikarp anything outside its movepool, as TMs and HMs won’t work on this Pokemon.
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