One of the most important and exciting aspects of training Pokemon is evolution. Evolution is when a Pokemon reaches a certain level of strength or meets certain requirements to trigger a grand transformation into an even more powerful being.

For many trainers, evolution comes with a rewarding feeling after all the time and effort spent training and caring for their partner Pokemon. However, there are also times when a Pokemon will evolve with unexpected results, for better or worse. And even though the Pokemon might get a helpful boost in power, the evolution itself doesn't always make a lot of sense.

Updated November 22, 2023, by Jon Eakin: Pokemon is a series that continues to move forward, with new Pokemon being discovered with every game released. As the lore of the Pokemon world deepens, the logic of evolutions is often explained in their Pokedex entries, but some still just don't add up. Read below to find more Pokemon evolutionary lines that will have you scratching your head than ever before.

13 Geodude Line

Rocky Ground For Logic

Geodude is a perfectly perfect Pokemon. It's a Rock Pokemon, and therefore, it's a rock. It has a face and some arms to give it expression, and it floats. When it evolves into Graveler, it loses the ability to float in favor of a pair of stubby legs for some reason, but it grows much larger and gains a secondary set of arms. You can't argue that, overall, that's a reasonable path for evolution to take.

Then we get to Golem, whose head protrudes vulnerably from a body that, while still rocky, is a different texture of rock from before. The head, arms, and legs are now made of skin for no clear reason, and it loses that second set of arms. Overall, Golem gets a rough deal here, and it makes no sense.

12 Diglett Line

A Huddle Is Not An Evolution

Dugtrio feels like three Diglett are trying to pull a fast one. It's the Pokemon equivalent of three kids in one trenchcoat trying to sneak into a movie theater. It can't be overstated how ridiculous this is, even for Pokemon; it's three Diglett grouped together, and we're all falling for it.

Other Pokemon have grouped evolutions, but they usually have a logic behind them. Magnemite fuse together when they evolve, while Maushold tells a visual story of the Tandemaus it evolved from having started a family. The Pokedex entries for Dugtrio even acknowledge that it's three Diglett, so just what is the definition of evolution in the series?

11 Luvdisc Line

It Doesn't Evolve, But We Can See Its Evolution

Technically, Luvdisc has no evolutionary line because it doesn't evolve. That's precisely why we've included Luvdisc. It makes no sense that it doesn't evolve.

Luvdisc is a Pokemon that doesn't evolve at all, which is the thing that is so odd about it. It's a pink, heart-shaped Water Pokemon from Generation III. Then we look to Alomomola. A pink, still vaguely heart-shaped Water Pokemon introduced only two generations later.

Alomomola looks so much like it could be an evolution of Luvdisc; it's baffling that they aren't related in any way. Keeping them separate creates a feeling of redundancy; why do we need both if they have nothing to do with each other?

10 Yamper Line

He Was A Good Loaf

There are many Pokemon based on dogs, but there is only one corgi - Yamper. Because corgis have such distinguishing physical traits with their elongated bodies and extra short legs, it would make sense to carry over those traits to Yamper's evolution, Boltund.

Unfortunately, Boltund resembles a completely different dog breed from Yamper. In contrast to the corgi, Boltund looks more like a hound dog with long legs made for running.

9 Oddish Line

She Doesn't Even Go Here

In the first generation of Pokemon, Oddish's evolutionary line was simple. Oddish, Gloom, and Vileplume all had dark blue bodies with plants sprouting from their heads.

It wasn't until Generation II that the evolutionary line started to make less sense with the addition of Bellossom. While the original members of the Oddish line all have bare blue bodies, Bellossom has a green one with a hula skirt, making it more of a stepchild to the family.

8 Dratini Line

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

Dratini is a long blue serpent, and Dragonair is a longer blue serpent, but their fully evolved form, Dragonite, is not a blue serpent at all.

Instead, Dragonite is a plump orange dragon with arms and legs that its pre-evolutions lacked. With its orange skin and green wings, it coincidentally resembles a Charizard more than its own evolutionary line.

7 Feebas Line

Too Good To Be True

Feebas is known in the Pokemon universe as one of the ugliest creatures. It's a simple brown fish with blue fins and pink lips, and not much else can really be praised for its appearance.

On the other hand, its evolution, Milotic, is considered the most beautiful Pokemon ever. In contrast to the dullness of Feebas, Milotic has very vibrant blue and red scales on its elegant serpentine body. Although this is an amazing glow-up, it would make more sense if at least one key feature linked Milotic back to its roots as a Feebas.

6 Snorunt Line

This Evolutionary Line Is On Thin Ice

Snorunt is a small, cute Ice-type Pokemon who occasionally visits humans as a sign of good fortune. While it is a very wholesome little guy, Snorunt's nature changes drastically when it evolves into either Glalie or Froslass.

If a female holds a Dawn Stone, Snorunt will evolve into Froslass, who will freeze handsome men and keep them as decorations in its home. Otherwise, it will evolve into Glalie, who possesses the face of a fiend and the jaw of a savage.

5 Clamperl Line

This Eely Doesn't Make Sense

As its name suggests, Clamperl is a resting pink pearl inside a clam shell. However, if traded with a Deep Sea Scale or Deep Sea Tooth, it can evolve into two different Pokemon that look nothing alike.

Exposure to the Deep Sea Scale will turn Clamperl into Gorebyss, whose pink color and shell accents more closely resemble its pre-evolution. On the other hand, the Deep Sea Tooth will evolve Clamperl into Huntial, whose spotted blue and orange appearance looks like it should be in a completely different evolutionary line.

4 Magikarp Line

Making A Splash

Since Generation I, Magikarp and Gyarados have been symbols of defying the odds and exceeding expectations. Similar to Feebas and Milotic, it will take a lot of time and dedication to get the feeble Magikarp to evolve into the ferocious Gyarados.

While the Feebas line goes from ugly to beautiful, the Magikarp line goes from one of the weakest Pokemon to one of the strongest. Magikarp is most known for its useless attack, Splash, and after splashing around for twenty levels, Magikarp will somehow evolve into one of the most feared beasts of the sea.

3 Slowpoke Line

It Can Unevolve

Certain specials of Pokemon are known to coexist well together, and that's exactly the case of Slowpoke and Shellder. In fact, a Shellder is present in both of Slowpoke's evolutions. It will either be biting on a Slowbro's tail or a Slowking's head.

Some aspects of this evolutionary relationship, however, do not make sense. One is that Shellder typically looks like a purple clam, and yet it somehow appears as a spiky conch on Slowbro and Slowking. In addition, it is said that if either Slowbro or Slowking lose their Shellder, they will revert to being a Slowpoke.

2 Manaphy Line

Uniquely Strange

Most Pokemon can be bred to hatch eggs of their pre-evolutions. This usually does not include the rare Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, but Manaphy is the exception.

If Manaphy is bred with a Ditto, its egg will hatch into Phione. In a shocking twist, Phione cannot actually evolve back into Manaphy despite being its baby. Therefore, this evolutionary line is a unique one that works backward from Manaphy to Phione.

1 Remoraid Line

This Has To Have Been A Mistake

Remoraid appears to be a typical blue fish with nothing special about it. Naturally, one would expect it to evolve into something that resembles a larger blue fish, but in reality, it evolves into Octillery, a red octopus with yellow dots.

If Remoraid and Octillery had any sort of physical resemblance, the jump from blue fish to red octopus might be passable. But the two look nothing alike and would be better off as two completely separate species.