When one thinks of Pokémon evolutions, alongside the expected new design, the next thing that comes to mind is access to flashier and more powerful moves. Some even gain access to relatively powerful moves as soon as they evolve, such as in the case of Venasaur and Petal Dance. Not only is Petal Dance an incredibly powerful move, but it also offers the ability to stun one's opponent. Many final evolution moves either deal a ton of damage or cause status effects, oftentimes both.
However, evolution isn't equal across all Pokémon, as there are actually quite a few Pokémon who actually miss out on their chance to gain some of their best moves if they're evolved as soon as possible. This mostly applies to Pokémon that can be evolved at any time, such as those that require the use of stones, as they don't tend to learn more than a handful of moves after their evolutions. Also keep in mind that none of this really applies if one is playing Sword or Shield, as the Move Reminder eliminates this problem.
10 Growlithe Has Access To Flare Blitz While Arcanine Does Not
Flare Blitz is an incredibly powerful Fire-type move that also slightly damages the user. Most Pokémon that have access to this move can learn it once per evolutionary form, but this isn't the case when it comes to Growlithe.
Although Growlithe can be evolved at any time using a Fire Stone, it'll miss out on Flare Blitz if trainers evolve it too early. While the level Growlithe learns this move varies from generation to generation, it's typically between levels 40 and 55, which is a long time to wait, but well worth it.
9 Minccino Misses Out On Monstrous Physical Moves If Evolved Too Early
It's hard to not want to evolve stone-based Pokémon as soon as one is able to, and Minccino is no exception. Its evolved form has such cute, fluffy tails, and even looking past an upgraded design, evolution is typically a goal that most players want to race toward.
However, Cinccino, unfortunately, doesn't learn any of its best moves after it's evolved. It's advised to wait until around Level 50, as Minccino gets access to extremely hard-hitting moves like Slam, Hyper Voice and Last Resort.
8 Roserade Can't Learn Roselia's Best Offensive Moves If Evolved Before Level 60
Roserade is quite the beautiful Grass-type Pokémon that was introduced in Generation 4 alongside a handful of other new evolution stages for old favorites. However, if players are looking to get the most out of its move set, they shouldn't evolve Roselia until around Level 60.
Petal Dance is an incredibly potent move that Roselia doesn't learn until Level 60 in the current generation. If players are looking for a slightly earlier power spike, they can settle for Petal Blizzard at Level 45, but that's still a lot of time without their evolution.
7 Both Vulpix And Alolan Vulpix Have To Wait Until 56 For Their Best Move
Vulpix has always been an incredibly beloved Pokémon, and this popularity only skyrocketed whenever it got an equally adorable Alolan form. Both versions of Ninetales are wonderfully designed as well, giving off an elegance that players also love, but it's a lot of waiting to unlock their full potential.
Both versions will have to wait until Level 56 to be evolved in order to hit their most powerful move. Vulpix learns Fire Blast while its Alolan counterpart learns Blizzard, two incredibly powerful moves that both come with a small chance to inflict super-helpful status effects.
6 Munna Doesn't Learn All Of Its Best Moves Until Its 40s And 50s
Introduced in Generation V, Munna is a cute Psychic-type that also packs a powerful punch. Its evolved form, Musharna, is perhaps even better designed, but trainers will be waiting until a little over Level 50 if they want to make the most of it.
Starting at Level 36 and continuing every 4 levels until Munna hits 48, it learns Psychic, Moonblast, Dream Eater and Future Sight. That's an entire move set worth of moves that trainers might miss out on if they rush getting their Musharna too early!
5 Shellder Can't Evolve Until Level 48 If It Wants Hydro Pump
Although Shellder's design isn't too basic thanks to the oversized, stuck-out tongue it sports, it doesn't have anything on how cool its evolved form, Cloyster comes across. Several of its stats, most notably Defense, also practically double after evolution, so it'd make sense to want to evolve it as soon as possible.
However, if trainers want their Cloyster to have access to Hydro Pump, they're going to have to keep Shellder around until Level 48. It's well worth the wait, though, as Cloyster doesn't have any other water-type moves that come close.
4 Raichu Will Have To Stay As Pikachu Until Level 44 To Get Access To Thunder
It doesn't matter when trainers decide to evolve their Pichu into Pikachu, but if they're looking for the electric mouse's final evolution, it sadly isn't that simple. Although Pikachu learns an arsenal full of shocking Electric-type moves such as Spark, Discharge, and Thunderbolt, none of them can compare to Level 44's Thunder.
This particular wait isn't as hard as others given Pikachu's iconic design, as well as the fact that it only needs to hit the mid-forties instead of fifties or even sixties like some others.
3 Clefairy Can Learn Moonblast Whereas Clefable Can't
Clefairy is an incredibly cute Pokémon that's always had its fans, and Clefable is a great evolution that adds to its design without taking away from any of its cuteness. However, Clefable is another case that won't learn its most powerful offensive move if it is evolved before Level 44.
Moonblast is a highly potent move, and Clefairy doesn't really learn any high-damage moves outside of this, making it hard to skip. If one simply wants to use their Clefable to heal others, they'll have to wait even longer until Clefairy learns Healing Wish at Level 48.
2 Whimsicott Learns Solar Beam At Level 48, A Must-Have Alongside Sunny Day
Cottonee and Whimsicott are both incredibly cute Pokémon, and it seems at first glance like one would want to evolve their Cottonee as soon as possible. After all, both its Attack and Special Attack stats can grow to more than double after evolution, which is nothing to sneeze at.
However, if trainers are too fast with this particular evolution, they miss out on Solar Beam. This is a must-have on Whimsicott given the fact that it also learns Sunny Day in its late-thirties, meaning the one-turn charge time of this powerful move can be completely negated.
1 Helioptile Has To Wait Until Level 44's Thunder Unlock To Evolve
Helioptile is a Pokémon that's arguably better designed than its evolutionary counterpart, lessening the blow of its best move not being learned until Level 44, much like Pikachu. Of course, it's still likely that trainers will want to evolve them in the mid-to-late game regardless, thanks to the stat cap increase.
Thankfully, Thunder is the last move on its list to learn, so Heliolisk is obtainable earlier than many other stone evolutions. It learns Thunderbolt eight levels prior, which is useful to have as well. While it's not quite as strong as Thunder, it has a one hundred percent hit rate.