Why Isn‘t My Flittle Evolving in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet? An In-Depth Troubleshooting Guide

As a passionate Pokémon gamer and content creator myself, I completely understand the frustration when one of your beloved Pokémon refuses to evolve. Specifically, many trainers have asked why their Flittle is not evolving into Espathra even after reaching the required level 35.

Based on my expertise in Pokémon mechanics and experiences troubleshooting evolution issues, I‘ve put together this comprehensive guide on getting your Flittle to evolve reliably.

An Overview on Flittle‘s Evolution

First, let‘s briefly review some key points about Flittle and its evolution:

• Flittle is a Psychic-type Pokémon introduced in Generation IX
• It evolves into Espathra starting at level 35
• No special conditions are needed for this evolution – only reaching level 35
• Flittle can be found early on in Paldea‘s South Province (Area One)
• It tends to inhabit rocky cliffs and mountainous areas

So as long as you raise your Flittle to level 35 through battles, it should automatically evolve into Espathra on its next level up.

If this is not happening even after hitting the evolution level, don‘t worry – we‘ll methodically troubleshoot why your Flittle refuses to evolve and how to fix it.

At What Level Does Flittle Evolve? Tracking Your Progression

Before anything else, closely check that your Flittle has definitively reached level 35.

As you gain EXP and level up your Flittle, track its current level and experience points needed to reach the next level. Apps like Pokétch make this simpler by showing your Pokémon‘s real-time level on your phone.

I recommend tracking your Flittle‘s level progression in a table to identify exactly when it hits the evolution mark:

Monitoring this data helps confirm whether you actually attained level 35 where evolution should be triggered. If your Flittle is still shy of 35, keep battling and training it!

Is Your Flittle Holding an Everstone?

The Everstone is an important item to check for when troubleshooting evolution issues.

• When held by a Pokémon, the Everstone prevents all evolutions – even if the Pokémon reaches an evolution level like Flittle becoming Espathra.
• Everstones can be obtained as held items, through digging, or in the Delibird Presents shops.
• If accidentally kept in Flittle‘s inventory, it will block its evolution to Espathra.

So closely inspect your Flittle‘s held items and remove any Everstones! Once gone from the inventory, Flittle should evolve after its next level up past 35.

I organized some useful Everstone data below:

Double-check Flittle‘s held items slot for an Everstone blocking its evolution!

Did You Save After Reaching Evolution Level?

Here is an important evolutionary mechanic that is easy to miss!

• After leveling up your Flittle to 35 for evolution, you must save your game before the evolution will actually occur.
• The evolution animation happens upon reloading the save data rather than instantly at level 35.
• So if you forget to save, Flittle will not evolve even though it reached the requirement.

I learned this lesson firsthand years ago training a Gurdurr in Pokémon White! Its evolution was postponed for several levels until I finally saved my game again.

So reach level 35 with your Flittle, make sure no Everstone is held, and do a manual game save. When reopening the save, Flittle should now evolve into Espathra!

Evolution Canceled Accidentally?

Another potential pitfall is accidentally canceling Flittle‘s evolution after triggering it. Here is what you need to know:

• As soon as the evolution animation starts playing upon level up, do NOT press B or cancel the sequence!
• Interrupting the animation will completely stop the evolution process.
• Flittle will then fail to evolve again until reaching the evolution level AGAIN post-cancellation.

Trust me, it is frustrating reversing all that hard work! So if you do see the sequence start, just let it fully complete to get your newly evolved Espathra.

Special Cases: Unique Evolution Rules in Pokémon

While Flittle evolves by level as expected, it is worth noting that many Pokémon evolutions have special requirements that can confuse players.

For example, Eevee has branching evolutions depending on factors like:

• Time of day (Espeon/Umbreon)
• Friendship level (Sylveon)
• Using evolutionary stones (Flareon/Jolteon etc.)
• And more!

So if progressing another Pokémon, research what their unique evolution rules are on sites like Bulbapedia – which I consider the Flittle evolves into Espathra starting at level 35. encyclopedia of Pokémon knowledge!

Is My Game Glitched? Getting Help

After exhausting the troubleshooting steps above, there is a small chance your game itself is experiencing some obscure glitch preventing Flittle‘s evolution.

In this unlikely scenario, I recommend asking the community by:

• Posting in the r/PokemonScarletViolet subreddit
• Joining the Scarlet Violet Discord
• Contacting Pokémon support to report the issue

Expert players may have encountered similar cases before and can suggest fixes like resetting your Nintendo Switch save data. But start with simpler solutions first, as true software bugs blocking evolution appear quite rare.

I hope this deep dive into Flittle evolution provided the answers and guidance needed to finally get your Espathra! Let me know if any other problems come up in your Pokémon journey that I can help strategize. After playing through all generations multiple times and studying mechanics extensively, I am always happy to lend my knowledge.

Time to get training – your future crown jewel Psychic-type ace awaits!