A handful of Pokémon can’t evolve with Candy alone — they need a specific evolution item on top of it. Here’s every evolution item currently in Pokémon GO, what it unlocks, and where to actually get one.
Every Evolution Item and What It Unlocks
| Item | Evolves |
|---|---|
| Sun Stone | Gloom → Bellossom, Sunkern → Sunflora, and a few other Grass-line Pokémon |
| King’s Rock | Poliwhirl → Politoed, Slowpoke → Slowking |
| Metal Coat | Onix → Steelix, Scyther → Scizor |
| Dragon Scale | Seadra → Kingdra |
| Up-Grade | Porygon → Porygon2 |
| Sinnoh Stone | A wide range of Gen 1-3 Pokémon evolving into their Gen 4 forms, including Rhydon → Rhyperior, Electabuzz → Electivire, and Magmar → Magmortar |
| Unova Stone | Several Gen 5 Pokémon, including Lampent → Chandelure, Minccino → Cinccino, and the Pansage/Pansear/Panpour trio |
| Gimmighoul Coins | Gimmighoul → Gholdengo |
Every evolution item still requires the normal Candy cost for that evolution on top of the item itself — the item unlocks the evolution, it doesn’t replace the Candy requirement.
How to Get Evolution Items
The most reliable source is your daily PokéStop streak: your 7th spin in a row each day guarantees an evolution item among the bonus rewards, and it rotates through whichever items are currently in the pool. Beyond that, Sinnoh Stones and Unova Stones specifically can also come from Research Breakthrough rewards, with Sinnoh Stones additionally available from GO Battle League rewards and Unova Stones from defeating Team GO Rocket Leaders.
Which Evolutions Skip the Item Entirely
Not every unusual evolution needs an item — some are locked behind other conditions instead, like walking a certain distance as your Buddy (Espeon, Umbreon) or evolving during specific weather. Our Beginner’s Guide to Pokémon GO covers Eevee’s full branching evolution line, and the buddy system guide explains the walking and affection requirements behind buddy-locked evolutions.
Should You Save or Spend Evolution Items?
Since most evolution items only unlock one or two specific Pokémon each, it’s usually fine to spend one the moment you get it if you already have the Candy — they don’t do anything sitting in your inventory, and new items cycle back through the PokéStop streak reward pool regularly. The one exception is Sinnoh Stones and Unova Stones, which unlock several different evolutions each — it’s worth checking which of your Pokémon actually benefits most (usually whichever raid attacker or PvP pick is the highest priority) before spending one.
The Apple Items: Tart Apple, Sweet Apple, and Syrupy Apple
Applin’s evolution line works differently from every other item-based evolution and is easy to miss if you haven’t run into it yet. Instead of a single item plus the normal Candy cost, Applin needs 200 Candy and 20 of a specific Apple item to evolve:
| Item | Evolves | Candy Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Tart Apple | Applin → Flapple | 200 Candy + 20 Tart Apples |
| Sweet Apple | Applin → Appletun | 200 Candy + 20 Sweet Apples |
| Syrupy Apple | Applin → Dipplin | 200 Candy + 20 Syrupy Apples |
Apples drop from PokéStop spins like other evolution items, but Syrupy Apples specifically show up more often at PokéStops with an active Mossy Lure Module, so popping one is the fastest way to stock up if you’re going for Dipplin.
Dipplin has a further evolution into Hydrapple that skips items entirely but adds its own unusual requirement: it costs 400 Applin Candy, and you must catch seven Dragon-type Pokémon while Dipplin is set as your buddy before the evolution becomes available.
