Should I Power Up Before Evolving
BREAKING: Trainers are in a frenzy debating the optimal strategy: Power up Pokémon before or after evolving? The answer could drastically impact your combat effectiveness.
The question of whether to power up a Pokémon before or after evolving has plagued trainers since the game's inception. This article cuts through the noise, providing a concise answer based on rigorous analysis and community findings to maximize your Pokémon's potential.
The Great Power-Up Debate: Before or After?
For years, trainers have speculated on the best method. Many theories have circulated, leading to widespread confusion.
The core question revolves around whether powering up a Pokémon influences its stats upon evolution, or if the evolution process rerolls these values independently.
The Argument for Powering Up First
Proponents of powering up before evolving argue that it's a more efficient use of stardust and candies. They believe that investing in a Pokémon before evolving ensures you're only upgrading a creature with inherently good stats.
The logic is that you avoid wasting resources on a Pokémon that may evolve into a weaker form. This minimizes the risk of powering up a Pokémon that ultimately disappoints.
The Argument for Evolving First
The opposing viewpoint asserts that evolution entirely resets the Pokémon's stats and move sets. Therefore, powering up beforehand offers no inherent advantage.
This strategy advocates evolving first to see what moveset the evolved form obtains. A poor moveset would render the investment in powering up useless.
Data-Driven Analysis: What the Research Shows
Extensive community research, including simulations and data analysis, reveals a key finding: the order does NOT matter. The evolved Pokémon's stats and potential are determined by the base Pokémon's inherent stats, not the order of powering up and evolving.
Specifically, the IVs (Individual Values) of a Pokémon are fixed at the time of capture. These IVs, which are hidden, dictate the Pokémon's potential and are not affected by the evolution process or prior power-ups.
Regardless of whether you power up before or after evolving, the final Combat Power (CP) and Hit Points (HP) will be the same, given the same number of power-ups and identical IVs.
The Catch: Movesets
While the *CP and HP* remain consistent, there's one crucial factor: Movesets.
The moveset a Pokémon learns upon evolution is entirely random. A powerful Pokémon with high IVs can still be significantly less effective with a suboptimal moveset.
The optimal strategy, therefore, leans towards evolving first. This allows trainers to assess the moveset before committing significant stardust and candy to powering up.
Stardust Efficiency: The Bottom Line
The real concern for trainers is always resource management. Stardust and candy are precious.
Evolving first lets trainers quickly filter out Pokémon with undesirable movesets. This prevents the unnecessary investment of stardust into a Pokémon that won't be used in battles or raids.
Community Impact and Expert Opinions
Leading Pokémon Go researchers, like those from Silph Road, have consistently published data supporting this conclusion.
Their findings, based on large-scale statistical analysis, demonstrate conclusively that the order of powering up and evolving does not affect potential CP or HP but does influence movesets.
Conclusion: Evolve Then Power Up (with Caution)
Based on the available data and expert analysis, the recommended strategy is to evolve your Pokémon first.
Evaluate its moveset after evolution. Only power up Pokémon with optimal movesets to maximize your investment of stardust and candies.
Trainers should stay informed about future game updates that could potentially alter these mechanics. Always prioritize smart resource allocation based on the latest findings.
