In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, you must choose Cyndaquil, Rowlet, or Oshawott to be your first partner in the quest of completing Professor Laventon’s Pokedex.
I went with Cyndaquil, who seemed like a solid choice at first. The first few areas don’t have many enemies that can deal with your fire attacks during the first levels, and by the time you have Quilava, your Pokémon will be significantly more powerful than he was in his previous form.
Although it might take a while to take your starter Pokémon to its final form, especially when compared to how quickly Wurmple evolves all the way to Beautifly, it doesn’t take too long to get them to the second form.
Besides, there is a simple way to speed up that process, and I’m sure we can help you with that. So if you’re wondering how to evolve your starter Pokémon fast in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, this guide is here to help you with that.
How to Evolve Cyndaquil, Rowlet, or Orshawott Quickly
You need to get your started Pokémon to level 17, so they can evolve. There are no other special conditions. It is not complicated or hard, but it can be a bit annoying. Luckily, there is a way to make your Cyndaquil, Rowlet, or Oshawott reach their first form that won’t take too long.
Clearly, your starter Pokémon must always be in your team. That’s how we can achieve what we want. Most importantly, though, it must always be your Pokémon of choice for everything you find in your way.
My Cyndaquil was doing it all, from breaking rocks to fighting enemies, and I quickly gathered many experience points, causing it to be stronger than the others. I didn’t know at first but putting Pokémons to look for berries, or do any other kind of chore, makes them earn experience points to your entire team, but mostly to the Pokémon you used.
So my advice is to grind some battles and roam around shaking trees to accumulate all the experience you can until the fights become a bit too easy. Once you get to that point, advance to an area where the Pokémon are stronger and do it again. It’s that simple.
Catching Pokémon also gives you some experience points. If you are fighting, throwing Pokéballs, and constantly making your first partner work, it won’t take long for your starter Pokémon to reach the needed level. At this point, you should already know how to evolve a Pokémon, so go ahead and do it.
Final Thoughts
In the end, starter Pokémon don’t have special conditions to evolve. All you need to do is get them to level 17 quickly, and doing so requires a bit of grinding. This is a Pokémon game, and some level of grinding should be expected.
However, there is more to do than battling for you to earn some experience, which can make the entire process less annoying and much less repetitive than it usually is in older games. I find refreshing that I can grind those final experience points needed in a way I can also get some money.
In the end, Pokémon titles are some of the best JRPG on the Switch, and grinding is definitely something constantly seen in the genre.