What Pokémon Has 400 Candies to Evolve? An In-Depth Look
As a hardcore Pokémon GO player and content creator, I get asked this question a lot – "What Pokémon takes 400 candies to evolve?" After playing since 2016 launch, I‘ve become quite an expert on evolution requirements!
The answer is Swablu. This cute little blue bird Pokémon requires a whopping 400 of its candies before it can evolve into the majestic dragon/flying-type Altaria.
In this in-depth article, we‘ll take a close look at Swablu, Altaria, and a few other 400-candy evolutions. I‘ll share evolution tips, analysis on which are worth powering up, and insights as a competitive player on their usefulness in battle leagues. Let‘s dive in!
Why Does Swablu Need So Much Candy?
Game Freak likely made Swablu‘s evolution requirements so steep to balance out the power of its evolved form Altaria. With impressive dual dragon and flying typing in addition to solid stats (see below), this musical Humming Pokémon packs quite a punch!
Altaria Base Stats:
| HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | 70 | 90 | 70 | 105 | 80 | 490 |
So essentially, you must put in a ton of work to add an Altaria to your lineup. But trust me – based on personal experience, it‘s fully worth it in both GO Battle League and raid battles!
How To Efficiently Earn Swablu Candy
Here are my top tips for scoring Swablu candy as efficiently as possible based on years of Pokémon GO gameplay:
- Make Swablu Your Buddy: You can earn candy every 1km or 5km walked with Swablu as your buddy Pokémon. Turn on adventure sync to rack up extra distance!
- Hunt Swablu Nests: Swablu nesting grounds switch up every two weeks. Check sites like TSR Atlas to find current nest locations!
- Hatch Eggs: Both 10KM and Rare Candy eggs have a small chance to contain Swablu. Using super incubators speeds up the process.
- Catch With Pinap Berries: Double your candy (6 per catch) from any wild Swablu you spot with Pinaps.
- Battle In Swablu Raids: Rarely seen as 1 or 3-star raids, but can solo for candies.
- Catch Weather Boosted Versions: Windy weather spawns award extra candies upon catch!
Through all these methods combined, I can reliably bank ~75 Swablu candies during a standard 1-2 hour daily play session while going after other goals.
Other Pokémon Needing 400 Candies
Swablu isn‘t alone in its high evolution cost category! Here are the other Pokémon GO creatures that require 400 of their candies to reach final evolution form:
Magikarp
The OG 400 candy evolution, introduced in 2016. This floppy Fish Pokémon turns into the mighty dragon attacker Gyarados. Still seen often near water.
Gyarados Base Stats:
| HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 | 125 | 79 | 60 | 100 | 81 | 540 |
Wailmer
Gen 3 addition and a less common spawn, but a terror near the tops of GO Battle League formats when evolved into tanky Wailord (especially in limited Cup formats).
Wailord Base Stats:
| HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 170 | 90 | 45 | 90 | 45 | 60 | 500 |
Meltan
This mythical Steel-type creature can only be obtained by transferring Pokémon to Pokémon HOME app. But once you register it in GO, you can use HOME‘s Mystery Box to spawn Meltan. Evolves into Melmetal.
Melmetal Base Stats:
| HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 135 | 143 | 143 | 80 | 65 | 34 | 600 |
Noibat
Very rare dragon/flying Gen 6 Pokémon, but Noivern has incredible well-rounded stats for PVP and raiding. Keep an eye out during windy weather or near caves!
Noivern Base Stats:
| HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | 70 | 80 | 97 | 80 | 123 | 535 |
Stufful
Another newer addition as part of Gen 7, Stufful candy can only be earned by catching its first stage – the adorable teddy bear Bewear is unavailable in the wild.
Bewear Base Stats:
| HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | 125 | 80 | 55 | 60 | 60 | 500 |
Wimpod
And finally the latest 400 candy requirement Pokémon, Wimpod arrived in 2020‘s Gen 8 update. Finding and catching this bug/water type out in the wild allows evolution up to formidable Golisopod.
Golisopod Base Stats:
| HP | Attack | Defense | Sp. Atk | Sp. Def | Speed | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | 125 | 140 | 60 | 90 | 40 | 530 |
Are These Pokémon Worth Powering Up?
In my opinion as a competitive player focused on GO Battle League, Master League Classic, and challenging top-tier raid bosses – 100% yes!
All the mentioned 400-candy evolutions have stats and movesets that make them incredibly viable picks. Of course perfect IV versions are ideal, but high level weather boosted catches can get close enough with enough investment.
Each fills certain team needs:
- Gyarados: Incredible dark and water type DPS.
- Altaria: Dragon breath damage + bulk.
- Wailord: Meta tank for limited tournaments.
- Melmetal: Steely resolve and Thunderbolt/Rock Slide coverage.
- Noivern: Fast dragon damage dealer.
- Bewear: Surprisingly dominant fighter despite odd look.
- Golisopod: Meta relevant bug move damage soaker.
Plus, the amount of candy and dust required to reach max evolution means very few players actually utilize these species in battle parties. That gives you an unpredictable edge against the endless stream of Machamps, Mewtwos, Dialgas, and other common threats at higher tiers.
Trust me – after narrowly losing a tournament match because an opponent‘s Altaria swept my entire back line, I vowed to grind out my own! No regrets.
Closing Thoughts
And there you have it – the complete guide to Pokémon GO‘s hefty 400-candy requirement category. Swablu kicked this piece off, but Magikarp originates the category and several awesome additions joined the club over the years.
Evolving these uncommon creatures to their final forms represents a major achievement. The sheer investment makes powering them up a point of passion and pride!
Based on my competitive experience and analysis, every one of these 400 candy Pokémon can perform at elite levels. They make fine additions to Battle League teams or against Raid Bosses. Their uncommon presence also helps surprise seasoned opponents.
I hope this guide gave you some new motivation to go grind out candy for one of these epic evolutions! Let me know in the comments which one you think looks coolest at max form. And as always, thanks so much for reading!
