How to evolve Gimmighoul, explained

Generation IX of Pokémon is well underway, and it’s brought a full 120 new monsters you gotta catch. How many do you have to catch? Well, you should know that by now. 

With that sort of range of diversity comes a mixed bag. Sure, sometimes it means that long-ignored animals and objects get their own Pokémon analogues – Flamingos, for example, are finally represented, as are pieces of sushi. Have you ever wanted to catch a piece of sushi and force it to fight for its life? Pokémon has you covered.

There are light Pokémon and heavy Pokémon and Pokémon that are made out of trash. It’s mesmerizing. The flip side of this phenomenon: sometimes the people deg new creatures get tired, and we wind up with Pokémon that are best described as “just little guys.”

Gimmighoul – Pokédex designation no. 999 – is one such little guy. He’s a little guy who loves gold, and he hides in a treasure chest much of the time, but he is also, inescapably, just a little guy. If you want to turn him into something more than just a little guy, transforming him into Gholdengo (a decidedly more medium-sized guy) you’ll need to follow a specific set of guidelines.

From Gimmighoul to Gholdengo in less than a thousand coins

Evolution is a tricky thing. In nature, it occurs after millions of years of trial and error. In the majority of Pokémon, it happens after a creature participates in enough bloodsport. In the case of Gimmighoul – who, again, is a little guy who loves gold – it’s all about that gold.

Gimmighoul will only evolve after you, its faithful owner, have collected 999 Gimmighoul coins. You’ve probably noticed that a handful of the things will pop up in your inventory any time that you either battle or capture a Gimmighoul, but you can also pick up a fair number of them by visiting an NPC on the west side of Medali (West) periodically. Leave him alone for longer, and he’ll have more coins for you when you come back.

Once you’ve got 999 coins in your bag, all you have to do is level up your Gimmighoul one solitary time. Boom, you’ve got yourself a Gholdengo, a Steel/Ghost type Pokémon with an astonishing array of learnable moves and, quite possibly, the Good as Gold ability, which negates status effect attacks. What’s even better? After carrying around just shy of a thousand gold coins in your knapsack for countless hours, you’ll have the sort of core strength that most 10-year-olds only dream of.

Go beat up some stranger’s pets with your Gholdengo, then shame them with your sick abs, you animal.