Do You Earn Stardust When Evolving in Pokémon Go?

ByJames Dorn Last Update on

No. You do not directly earn any Stardust when evolving Pokémon in Pokémon Go. The amount of Stardust earned is entirely dependent on catching Pokémon. However, evolving plays an integral role in an effective Stardust earning strategy.

As a level 40 Pokémon Go player and gaming content creator who has caught over 20,000 Pokémon and earned millions of Stardust, I‘ve analyzed the mechanics and gameplay elements related to earning Stardust extensively. This comprehensive guide will explain the relationship between evolving Pokémon and earning Stardust, and provide tips to maximize your Stardust gains.

Stardust Sources

Stardust is earned exclusively from the following sources:

  • Catching Pokémon – The primary source of earning Stardust. The base amount per catch varies by species between 100-1,600 with legendary Pokémon awarding the most. So the more you catch, the more Stardust you get. Catching the same species gives Candy but no bonus Stardust.

  • Weather Boosts – Catching Pokémon in weather that matches their type (e.g. Water-type in Rainy weather) greatly increase the Stardust awarded for that catch. Weather boosting grants approximately 4% more Stardust and levels the captured Pokémon to up to level 35, increasing CP.

  • Hatching Eggs – Egg hatches provide a decent amount of Stardust in addition to Pokémon Candy. 2km eggs yield 800 Stardust, 5km eggs provide 1,400 Stardust, and 10km eggs grant 2,800 Stardust. The amount is the same whether hatching a common Pokémon like Starly or a rare one like Gible.

  • Go Battle League – Participating in the PVP (PvP) Go Battle League and winning battles in the various modes offers rewards that can include Stardust, stones to evolve Pokémon, Rare Candy, and additional encounters for earning Stardust through catching. But the Stardust comes from the catches, not the battles themselves.

So in summary, while vital to Pokémon Go progression, activities like evolving, trading, completing NPC battles, etc do not directly award any Stardust.

The Role of Evolving in Earning Stardust

As covered above, evolving Pokémon does not directly grant Stardust. However, evolving plays an integral role in an effective Stardust earning strategy by incentivizing key Stardust-generating activities:

Encourages More Catching

  • Evolving requires using Pokémon Candy. Candy is ONLY obtained by catching Pokémon. You cannot earn Candy through other game mechanisms. To evolve, you must catch Pokémon to obtain the required Candy. So resulting in more catches and hence more opportunities for Stardust.
  • The Candy-evolution requirement conveys an indirect, value to catching and maximizing Candy storage over time rather than a blind collection of diverse Pokémon in terms of enabling Pokémon progression.
  • For some evolutionary lines like Pidgey (requiring only 12 Candy to evolve), it‘s feasible to evolve multiple Pokémon in a short grinding session. But for others like Bagon, 125 Candy is needed to reach its highest evolution, meaning it will take the dedicated trainer far more catches to finally evolve a Salamence.

Pidgey to Pidgeot evolution requires less Candy than Bagon to Salamence

Powers Up Pokémon for Other Rewards

Evolved forms have better base stats leading to greater Combat Power (CP) than unevolved lower stage Pokémon at the same level. The resulting CP boost enables you to:

  • Take Down Raids and Gyms to Earn Items to Catch More Pokémon – Having sufficiently strong Pokémon with type advantage matchups lets you defeat level 3 Raids and above. These grant Premium Raid Passes, Technical Machines, Rare Candy, and other useful items for catching and powering up more Pokémon.
  • Rank Up in Go Battle League for Stardust Rewards – Your evolved battle ready Pokémon can help achieve a higher rank in Go Battle League, unlocking greater Stardust reward bundles at the end of each season.

So evolving provides power, just not direct Stardust.

An evolved Tyranitar has much higher CP than lower stage Larvitar

Trainer Level Gains from Evolving Grow Stardust Income

While evolving provides no immediate Stardust, leveraging evolution to accelerate Trainer level does indirectly improve earning capability over time by:

  • Unlocking higher CP Pokémon encounters.
  • Granting access to stronger Raid bosses with better Stardust bundles.
  • Increasing the daily Catch bonuses that provide large Stardust rewards.

Power leveling with mass evolution sessions maximizes experience point (XP) gains by evolving many Pokémon back-to-back under Lucky Egg boosts. By some estimates, a trainer can benefit from over 60,000 XP per hour at peak efficiency with this technique!

For example, Pidgey only requires 12 Candy to evolve into Pidgeotto. So catching 4 Pidgeys provides enough to evolve 1 already. Repeat this process dozens of times under a Lucky Egg 30 minute boost, while being careful not to miss the evolution animations that grant the +500 XP, and you‘ll zoom up in level and overpower pokemon in no time!

Utilizing Weather Bonuses for Evolving and Catching

Catch rates and sites like PokeBattler provide dynamic catch opportunity guidance on where active weather boosted Pokémon are spawning for bonus Stardust.

Stack weather bonuses with:

  • Catch Streaks
  • Excellent throws
  • Curve balls
  • Silver Pinap Berries

And suddenly you can rapidly stockpile tons of high level Pokémon from each session. Using mass evolution runs after building up hundreds of weather boosted catches causes large XP gains towards quicker leveling.

The key is tying dynamic knowledge of available weather spawns as catch-efficient Stardust boosts into your evolving plans.

Maximizing Reward Systems Around Evolution

With evolution‘s integral ties to advancement explained, here are some tips for maximizing benefits related to the activity:

Choose Candy Efficient Evolutions

For mass evolves, optimize for Pokémon like Caterpie and Weedle requiring only 12 Candy to reach final stage, or Pidgey needing just 25 to fully evolve. This saves rare Candy for rare Pokémon without substitutable Candy like legendaries.

Attack Raids Selectively After Evolving

Use Pokémon typing and move advantages to counter current tier Raid bosses after evolving up counters like Machamp to defeat Normal-type Snorlax Raids. Avoid mismatches like Ice-type Cloyster against Fire-type Flareon Raids. This preserves potions and revives while earning rewards.

Level Friendships Strategically

Power up friend levels to increase Pokémon trading potential. Trade Candy abundant evolutions between friends to reroll stats and then evolve the best candidates later. Trading before evolving risks getting bad stats and wasting effort.

Closing Thoughts

While you unfortunately do not directly gain any Stardust for evolving Pokémon, evolving plays a vital role in improving catching, rewards systems, and advancement that all contribute to earning more Stardust over time. Follow the guidance provided in this guide to ensure you maximize your Stardust income through strategic use of evolution!

Let me know if you have any other Pokémon Go questions. Happy hunting travelers!

James K. Dorn, a passionate gamer deeply immersed in the world of video gaming. My journey in gaming is not just about playing; it's about exploring every facet of the games I love. I am particularly fascinated by the intricate worlds of role-playing games like "The Witcher" series and "Elder Scrolls: Skyrim," where every decision shapes the story.

As a strategy game enthusiast, I spend hours devising tactics in games like "Civilization VI" and "StarCraft II," always eager to share my strategies with fellow gamers. I'm also an ardent follower of the ever-evolving landscape of indie games, finding gems like "Hollow Knight" and "Celeste" that offer unique, compelling experiences.

My content isn't just reviews; it's about deep dives into game mechanics, storytelling, and the art of game design. I love dissecting the narratives of games like "The Last of Us" and discussing the innovative gameplay of titles like "Death Stranding."

Being at the forefront of gaming news, I eagerly anticipate and share insights on upcoming releases like the next big open-world adventure or the latest in the "Final Fantasy" series. My goal is to build a community where we not only play games but also appreciate the artistry and effort behind them. Join me in this gaming journey, where every session is an adventure, and every game is a story waiting to be told.

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