Devolution
Devolution (Japanese: 退化 degeneration) is the process by which an evolved Pokémon reverts to its previous form. This process is much less common than Evolution due to being impossible within the core series games. In most media in which it exists, devolution is often instigated through artificial means, such as sprays or genetic engineering.
In the core series games
While devolution is not possible within the core series games as a mechanic, the notion is referred to by Slowbro's numerous Pokédex entries. Said entries claim that if the Shellder falls off, the Slowbro turns back into a Slowpoke. It is said that if Slowking loses its Shellder, it forgets everything it has learned.[1]
A similar situation applies to Exeggutor, as it is stated in its Pokédex entries that if one of its heads were to fall off, that head would become an Exeggcute.
Silvally, a Pokémon who had previously gone by the name Type: Full were given control helmets to prevent its RKS System from functioning. This had caused the Pokémon to be renamed to Type: Null, essentially devolving it into an inferior species. Type: Null, both in lore and gameplay, can evolve back into Silvally.
In Melmetal's Pokédex entry for Pokémon Sword, it is stated that, at the end of a Melmetal's lifespan, its leftover shards will return to being Meltan.
In the spin-off games
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
The only Pokémon games in which devolution is possible are games from the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series games of the Nintendo 3DS.
In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity, the Devolve Orb is a Wonder Orb that devolves all enemies in the room.
In Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, the player and their partner evolve and later devolve three times during the game's main story, thanks to the Harmony Scarves they wear.
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Pokémon Trading Card Game
Pokémon cards can devolve in Pokémon Trading Card Game video games, which contain cards that can cause devolution.
Pokémon UNITE
Before a Unite Battle, all participating Pokémon are reduced to level 1 through the power of Aeos energy.[2] This seemingly also induces devolution in the affected species, however the process is not seen within the bounds of the video game. Pokémon with baby forms, such as Pikachu and Mr. Mime, are never seen in such stages and presumably do not devolve that far, while Azumarill only devolves to Marill.
The opening cinematic for Pokémon UNITE shows Talonflame, Slowbro, Greninja, Cinderace, and Garchomp enveloped by a blue aura and devolving into their base forms of Fletchling, Slowpoke, Froakie, Scorbunny, and Gible, respectively. Notably, Pikachu, Mr. Mime, Absol, Lucario and Snorlax are seen enveloped in the same blue aura but are unaffected.
In the Practice Area mode, if the player uses the Reset Level function in the Practice Options menu to return a Pokémon to Level 1, that Pokémon will devolve back into their base form. Just like Evolution, Pokémon are invincible while devolving. The same visual effects from Evolution indicate devolution.
In animation
Pokémon the Series
In Pokémon the Series, the subject of devolution has rarely been brought up. Brock explicitly states in Electric Shock Showdown that Evolution cannot be reversed, effectively confirming the nonexistence of devolution within the series. This was reconfirmed in A Stealthy Challenge!, where Bonnie asked Frogadier to devolve into Froakie so she could see it evolve again, but Clemont explained that it doesn't work that way. However, special circumstances have caused some Pokémon to devolve in the series.
Pokémon the Series: XY
In Dream a Little Dream from Me!, Ash's Pikachu had a nightmare featuring Frogadier having devolved into Froakie. Clemont's Bunnelby, which appeared as a Diggersby in the same nightmare, also devolved back into its first stage later in the dream.
Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon
The first known instance of a real devolution in the series occurred when Faba fitted Silvally with a restraining mask, thereby turning it into a Type: Null.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
In The Gates of Warp!, Pokémon in an alternate world version of Sinnoh devolved due to Dialga and Palkia's battle, with most of them eventually reverting all the way into Eggs. In Showdown at the Gates of Warp!, this battle was revealed to have been orchestrated by Alternate World Team Rocket to make Pokémon easier to steal and train to serve them. Once they had been defeated, Ash, Dawn, Goh, Chloe, and their alternate world counterparts prayed for Arceus to stop the fight, which it did. Afterwards, Dialga and Palkia restored the reverted Pokémon to normal, fulfilling everyone's wish.
In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
Red, Green & Blue arc
Before Vee, Red's Eevee, evolved into Espeon, he had been the subject of an experiment by Team Rocket, which allowed him to evolve into any of his three Evolutions that were known at the time. He was also able to devolve back into an Eevee and evolve into a different Eeveelution. Although this does mean that devolution is possible in Pokémon Adventures, the artificial means through which this was achieved and the lack of any other instances of devolution suggest that it may not be possible through natural means.
Pokémon Pocket Monsters
Unlike any other media, Pokémon are capable of devolving just as easily as they evolve in Pokémon Pocket Monsters. This became especially evident when Red's Clefairy and Pikachu evolve into Clefable and Raichu respectively, then revert to their original forms, as well as when Green's Charmander evolved into Charizard and then turned back into Charmander.
Pokémon Horizon
Akira's Rockruff has the unique ability to evolve into Lycanroc and then devolve into Rockruff again, thanks to the strange red stone on its neck. It also has the ability to change in between its Midday and Midnight Forms while being evolved.
In the TCG
In the TCG, devolution is possible, albeit only through effects rather than as a rule of the game. Examples include Mew's Devolution Beam attack, Flareon's Undevelop Poké-Power, and the Devolution Spray Item card.
Devolution is performed by removing one or more of the Evolution cards on top of the Pokémon and moving them to another zone. Typically, the cards return to their owner's hand. This leaves one of the lower stages of that Pokémon visible, and that prior card is now in play. Devolution is only possible for Pokémon that have already evolved, meaning they are an evolved Pokémon. This is not to be confused with an Evolution Pokémon, which is just a Pokémon card that has a Stage which is not Basic, Restored, Baby, LEGEND, or V-UNION. For example, if Frogadier from BREAKpoint uses its Water Duplicates attack to put other Frogadier onto the Bench, the other Frogadier cannot be devolved because they are unevolved Pokémon and therefore do not have previous Evolutions. It should also be noted that a Pokémon cannot be devolved past whichever card was put into play without Evolution. That card will remain in play no matter what effect is trying to devolve the Pokémon, even if that card happens to be an Evolution card.[3] To continue the example, if any of the unevolved Frogadier evolve into Greninja, then they are evolved Pokémon and can be devolved. However, an effect that attempts to remove multiple Evolution cards like Shining Jirachi's Stellar Reign attack would only remove the Greninja; Frogadier would stay in play.
Devolving a Pokémon LV.X has a strange effect, as a Pokémon LV.X is not an Evolution card. This means one can only devolve a Pokémon LV.X that is an evolved Pokémon. If so, then the Evolution card below the LV.X card is removed. In most cases, this means that the Pokémon LV.X is now a Level-Up of a card it does not Level-Up from. This causes the LV.X card to be removed from play, leaving the prior Evolution in place. The rulebook is unclear about where the LV.X card goes after that.[4]
A Pokémon that devolved cannot evolve on the same turn, unless some other effect allows it to evolve in spite of this.
One of the primary purposes of devolution is reducing the maximum HP of a Pokémon, as HP usually increases as a Pokémon evolves. If, after devolving, a Pokémon has more damage counters on it than its current maximum HP, it is Knocked Out. Another use case is reusing effects, such as Abilities, that activate when a Pokémon evolves, although reusing effects in this manner is usually restricted to happening over two turns due to the Evolution rules unless there is a second Pokémon in play that can evolve into the Pokémon card that was removed from the first Pokémon.
The following is a list of cards that can induce devolution.
Pokémon cards
Pokémon cards that devolve user's own Pokémon
| Pokémon cards that devolve user's own Pokémon Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats. | ||||||||||
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| Card | Type | Mark | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # | ||
| Mew | 
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Wizards Black Star Promos | 
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8 | Unnumbered Promotional cards |
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8 | |||
| Wizards Black Star Promos |
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9 | Mystery of the Fossils | 
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| Unown |
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EX Unseen Forces | 
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D/28 | Golden Sky, Silvery Ocean |
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046/106 | |
| Mew |
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Nintendo Black Star Promos |
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040 | PCG-P Promotional cards |
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080/PCG-P | |||
| PCG-P Promotional cards |
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085/PCG-P | ||||||||
| Ninetales δ |
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EX Dragon Frontiers | 
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8/101 | Offense and Defense of the Furthest Ends |
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030/068 | |
| Flareon | 
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Rising Rivals | 
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19/111 | Bonds to the End of Time | 
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011/090 | |
| Jolteon | 
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Rising Rivals |
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26/111 | Bonds to the End of Time |
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028/090 | |
| Vaporeon | 
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Rising Rivals |
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34/111 | Bonds to the End of Time |
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014/090 | |
| Porygon-Z | 
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Ancient Origins | 
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67/98 | Bandit Ring | 
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067/081 | |
Celebi 
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Lost Thunder | 
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19/214 | Super-Burst Impact | 
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015/095 |
Pokémon cards that devolve opponent's Pokémon
Trainer cards
Trainer cards that devolve user's own Pokémon
| Trainer cards that devolve user's own Pokémon Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card | Type | Mark | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # | ||
| Devolution Spray | I | Base Set | 
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72/102 | Expansion Pack | 
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| Dragons Exalted | 
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113/124 | Dragon Blast | 
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048/050 | |||
| BW-P Promotional cards |
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196/BW-P | ||||||||
| Fates Collide | 
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95/124 | Awakening Psychic King | 
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067/078 | |||
| Evolutions | 
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76/108 | Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary | 
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075/087 | |||
| Hyper Devolution Spray | T | Neo Discovery | 
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73/75 | Crossing the Ruins... |
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| Pokémon Web | 
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031/048 | |||||||
| Devolution Spray Z | I | 
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Unbroken Bonds | 
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166/214 | Full Metal Wall | 
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044/054 |
| Suspicious Watch | I | 
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Mega Symphonia | 
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057/063 | ||||
Trainer cards that devolve opponent's Pokémon
| Trainer cards that devolve opponent's Pokémon Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card | Type | Mark | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # | ||
| Mystery Plate γ | T | Skyridge | 
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135/144 | Split Earth | 
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085/088 | |
| Ancient Technical Machine Rock | T | EX Hidden Legends | 
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85/101 | Undone Seal |
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076/083 | |
| Technical Machine: Devolution | PT | 
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Paradox Rift | 
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177/182 | Ancient Roar | 
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063/066 |
| Stellar Miracle Deck Build Box | 
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029/044 | ||||||||
| Terastal Fest ex | 
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161/187 | ||||||||
| Battle Partners Deck Build Box | 
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030/045 | ||||||||
| Premium Trainer Box MEGA | 
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034/043 | ||||||||
Energy cards
Energy cards that devolve user's own Pokémon
| Energy cards that devolve user's own Pokémon Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card | Type | Mark | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # | ||
| Retro Energy | E
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Skyridge |
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144/144 | Mysterious Mountains | 
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088/088 | |
References
- ↑ 絵で見るヤドンずかん｜ ヤドンパラダイス｜ポケモンだいすきクラブ
- ↑ NEW INFORMATION REVEALED FOR Pokémon UNITE, Press release
- ↑ Compendium ruling
- ↑ Platinum: Rising RIvals Rulebook, via Judge Ball
Related articles
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