Most Pokémon evolve, but 201 of the 1,025 species don't evolve at all and don't evolve from anything either. Fans call these "single-stage" Pokémon, which is a handy term but not an official one. More than half of them are Legendary, Mythical, Ultra Beast or Paradox Pokémon. The other 88 are regular Pokémon, like Lapras, Ditto, Shuckle, Absol and Mimikyu.
All the counts on this page come from the evolution data in our Pokédex.
Two meanings of "can't evolve"
People mean two different things when they say a Pokémon can't evolve:
- It has no evolution family at all. It doesn't evolve, and nothing evolves into it. That is the 201 single-stage Pokémon on this page.
- It is the last stage of its family. Charizard can't evolve, but Charmander and Charmeleon evolve into it. Counting those too, 568 species can't evolve any further.
This page is about the first kind.
How the 201 split up
| Group | Single-stage species |
|---|---|
| Legendary | 63 |
| Mythical | 21 |
| Paradox | 20 |
| Ultra Beast | 9 |
| Regular Pokémon | 88 |
Most Legendary Pokémon stand alone. The few that evolve come in families, like Cosmog, which becomes Cosmoem and then Solgaleo or Lunala. Two Ultra Beasts, Poipole and Naganadel, form a family, so 9 of the 11 are single-stage.
All 88 regular Pokémon that don't evolve
These are the single-stage Pokémon that aren't Legendary, Mythical, Ultra Beast or Paradox, by the generation they first appeared in.
| Gen | Count | Pokémon that do not evolve (not Legendary, Mythical, Ultra Beast or Paradox) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Kangaskhan, Pinsir, Tauros, Lapras, Ditto, Aerodactyl |
| 2 | 7 | Unown, Shuckle, Heracross, Delibird, Skarmory, Smeargle, Miltank |
| 3 | 18 | Sableye, Mawile, Plusle, Minun, Volbeat, Illumise, Torkoal, Spinda, Zangoose, Seviper, Lunatone, Solrock, Castform, Kecleon, Tropius, Absol, Relicanth, Luvdisc |
| 4 | 5 | Pachirisu, Chatot, Spiritomb, Carnivine, Rotom |
| 5 | 13 | Audino, Throh, Sawk, Maractus, Sigilyph, Emolga, Alomomola, Cryogonal, Stunfisk, Druddigon, Bouffalant, Heatmor, Durant |
| 6 | 5 | Furfrou, Hawlucha, Dedenne, Carbink, Klefki |
| 7 | 14 | Oricorio, Wishiwashi, Comfey, Oranguru, Passimian, Pyukumuku, Minior, Komala, Turtonator, Togedemaru, Mimikyu, Bruxish, Drampa, Dhelmise |
| 8 | 11 | Cramorant, Falinks, Pincurchin, Stonjourner, Eiscue, Indeedee, Morpeko, Dracozolt, Arctozolt, Dracovish, Arctovish |
| 9 | 9 | Squawkabilly, Klawf, Bombirdier, Cyclizar, Orthworm, Flamigo, Veluza, Dondozo, Tatsugiri |
Generation 3 has the most, with 18. A lot of them come in pairs that don't evolve into each other: Plusle and Minun, Volbeat and Illumise, Zangoose and Seviper, and Lunatone and Solrock.
Some have forms that change how they look, but forms are not evolution. Unown has 28 forms, one for each letter from A to Z plus ! and ?, and it is still a single Pokémon that never evolves.
The strongest ones
Without an evolution to wait for, many single-stage Pokémon start out fairly strong. These are the highest base stat totals among the 88:
| Pokémon | Type | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Lapras | Water/Ice | 535 |
| Dondozo | Water | 530 |
| Dhelmise | Ghost/Grass | 517 |
| Aerodactyl | Rock/Flying | 515 |
| Cryogonal | Ice | 515 |
| Shuckle | Bug/Rock | 505 |
| Dracozolt | Electric/Dragon | 505 |
| Cyclizar | Dragon/Normal | 501 |
| Pinsir | Bug | 500 |
At the other end, Luvdisc and Smeargle are weak, but Smeargle has a trick: it is the only Pokémon that can learn almost any move, using Sketch.
Pokémon that used to stand alone
Plenty of Pokémon that once had no evolution got a new relative in a later game. Sometimes it was an evolution, like Scyther getting Scizor in Generation 2. Sometimes it was a baby, like Snorlax getting Munchlax in Generation 4.
| Pokémon | Debut | Stood alone until | First relative added |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farfetch'd | Gen 1 | Gen 8 | Sirfetch'd |
| Onix | Gen 1 | Gen 2 | Steelix |
| Chansey | Gen 1 | Gen 2 | Blissey |
| Scyther | Gen 1 | Gen 2 | Scizor |
| Porygon | Gen 1 | Gen 2 | Porygon2 |
| Lickitung | Gen 1 | Gen 4 | Lickilicky |
| Tangela | Gen 1 | Gen 4 | Tangrowth |
| Snorlax | Gen 1 | Gen 4 | Munchlax |
| Sudowoodo | Gen 2 | Gen 4 | Bonsly |
| Murkrow | Gen 2 | Gen 4 | Honchkrow |
| Gligar | Gen 2 | Gen 4 | Gliscor |
| Sneasel | Gen 2 | Gen 4 | Weavile |
| Stantler | Gen 2 | Gen 8 | Wyrdeer |
| Qwilfish | Gen 2 | Gen 8 | Overqwil |
| Corsola | Gen 2 | Gen 8 | Cursola |
| Girafarig | Gen 2 | Gen 9 | Farigiraf |
| Dunsparce | Gen 2 | Gen 9 | Dudunsparce |
| Basculin | Gen 5 | Gen 8 | Basculegion |
| Duraludon | Gen 8 | Gen 9 | Archaludon |
That's 19 of the 31 in our data. The others got babies or evolutions in Generation 2 to 4, like Wobbuffet (Wynaut), Roselia (Budew and Roserade) and Misdreavus (Mismagius).
Dunsparce and Girafarig waited the longest. Both first appeared in Gold and Silver in 1999 and only gained evolutions in Scarlet and Violet in 2022. Dunsparce evolves into Dudunsparce when it levels up knowing Hyper Drill. Girafarig evolves into Farigiraf when it levels up knowing Twin Beam.
The regional form exceptions
Some Pokémon only evolve in one form:
- Normal Farfetch'd still doesn't evolve. Galarian Farfetch'd evolves into Sirfetch'd after landing three critical hits in one battle.
- Only Galarian Corsola evolves, into Cursola.
- Only Hisuian Qwilfish evolves, into Overqwil.
Regional forms covers every form like this.
Could more get evolutions?
The pattern so far says yes. Generations 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 all gave new relatives to older Pokémon, and Legends: Arceus and Scarlet and Violet added several to Pokémon from the 1990s. Nobody outside Game Freak knows which ones are next, though.
For the opposite end, Pokémon with many evolutions, read Pokémon with the most evolutions. For how evolution works in general, read how does Pokémon evolution work. Want to practise? Evolution Order in our games asks you to put each family in the right order.