If it happened to me, then it can happen to you. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s worst evolution method is preventing players from evolving their beloved Pawmo and Rellor over hours and dozens of levels. By the time I went on Reddit to figure out why my Paldean electric mouse wasn’t evolving, he was already level 52 (despite being able to evolve at level 19). The game never told me why I had to suffer so needlessly, so I’ll explain instead. You’re welcome.
Certain Pokémon in the new games have a special evolution method. You have to take them out of their Pokéballs and “walk” them in the “Let’s Go!” feature. This is fine in theory, but there are several frustration factors. For one, you can’t run too quickly. Otherwise, the Pokémon will go back into its Pokéball. So I forced myself to walk the entire length of the Glaseado Mountains. Did I mention there’s no step-counter or any other method of checking your progress? Entering regular battles also cancels out walking for some players. That’s how I ended up walking my level 52 Pawmo everywhere without realizing that he was nowhere close to evolution. My biggest issue was that my steps weren’t being counted at all.
Here’s why some people have been blocked from evolving them: Players were likely using the wrong “walk” button like I had. See, there are two buttons for sending out your Pokémon. One is R, which helps you target specific opponents in the wild. The other is ZR, which is the trigger button that actually counts for evolution. So no matter how much they walk, players who are using the R button will never be able to accumulate the steps they need.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launched with a ton of bugs, so I can understand why the “Let’s Go!” evolution didn’t seem to get the attention that it needed. But it doesn’t make it any less frustrating when my Pawmot becomes the last member of my team to evolve. I’d already collected almost every single gym badge, and those extra attack points could have been useful!
I know that it’s video game logic, but there’s just something so funny about my entire ordeal. I’d journeyed for dozens of hours, had a whole adventure with him, and my Pawmo did not evolve into Pawmot. Once I walked it in the correct way, he evolved within minutes. Spoiled, much?