Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have released, bringing forth the ninth generation of Pokémon and, with them, their odd ways to evolve them. Over the generations, there have been multiple unconventional tactics to evolve Pokémon beyond increasing levels. As a result, Trainers have had to do everything from playing the game at certain times to flipping their systems around.
The Paldean Ghost-type Gimmighoul looks to take the evolution task to a new level. While Pokémon have dropped items before, including special items (such as Farfetch'd with its leek), Gimmighoul has coins. These Gimmighoul Coins may seem insignificant initially, but they play a vital role in this Pokémon's evolution.
Gimmighoul Has Two Forms
Gimmighoul can be found around Paldea in two separate forms: the Chest Form and the Roaming Form. This Ghost-type Pokémon can most easily be caught by locating it in its Chest Form on top of towers near ruins in the West Province. However, Trainers looking to capture Gimmighoul will want to be careful not to overlook the Pokémon hiding inside its chest. Trainers can only capture Gimmighoul when in Chest Form in Scarlet and Violet (Roaming Form can only be caught in Pokémon GO), so if the player did not want to catch Gimmighoul and instead caused the Pokémon to faint, it will grant them Gimmighoul Coins.
To find Gimmighoul's Roaming Form, players will have to watch for them while exploring Paldea. Trainers will know when the Roaming Form is nearby as the game will play a musical indicator to warn them. Once found, the Roaming Form will give players a few coins but most commonly only one. These will not be standard coins that the player uses to purchase items but instead Gimmighoul Coins.
How To Evolve Gimmighoul Into Gholdengo
Gimmighoul's evolution is known as Gholdengo. According to its Pokédex entry "Its body seems to be made up of 1,000 coins." This is actually a huge hint for how to evolve the Pokémon, as players must collect 999 Gimmighoul Coins to evolve it into the Steel/Ghost-type Gholdengo.
Due to the large number of coins required to evolve Gimmighoul to Gholdengo, there are a few methods to collect 999. The first method is to farm Gimmighoul in the West Province. Each fainted Gimmighoul will provide 50 Coins. After defeating 20 Gimmighoul, players will have enough to evolve the Pokémon into Gholdengo. The second method is to find enough Roaming Form Gimmighoul. The Roaming Form respawns after a while, so players can return to areas where they previously found the Pokémon to gather more coins.
Roaming Form Gimmighoul can be found throughout Paldea, but there are areas they frequent more than others. There are seven located in South Province Area One, six in South Province Area Two, two in South Province Area Four, and one in South Province Area Six and West Province Area One. South Province Area One and Two are where players are most likely to find the Pokémon. The majority of them in Area One are wandering around the ruins and Los Platos. The ones in Area Two are mostly hiding behind rocks and on farms. Those in Area Four can be found behind the Watchtower and under the bridge to West Province. The one in South Province is behind a sign leading to Alfornada, and the final in West Province is on the sign outside the Alfornada Cavern.
It may seem like a lot of work, but evolving Gimmighoul is worth it. Gholdengo adds the Steel-type to the Pokémon and has impressive health and special attack base stats. The combination of types also gives it quite a few immunities and resistance, with the only true weaknesses being Ground, Ghost, Fire, and Dark.