Top 10 Times Pokemon Went Berserk After Evolving

“A Breed Stampede!”

Right when all hope seemed lost, Piloswine saved the day with a clutch evolution into Mamoswine that sent Team Rocket blasting off again. Unfortunately, that’s not where it's tantrum ended. Being an ice type, the fully-evolved mammoth proceeded to give Dawn quite the chilly greeting. If it weren’t for her quick thinking, the Twinleaf Town native would’ve met her maker via the pointy side of a Mamoswine tusk. Thank Arceus for Pokeballs, right? Mamoswine’s furious charge stings even worse when you remember Dawn raised it up from its very first stage. Sometime during its evolution, Mamoswine went from a cute critter to a one-man stampede.

“Fighting Ire with Fire!”

Chimchar’s always had the power to scorch anything in its path. Putting the fires out, though? That’s a bit trickier. The blaze became an even bigger problem when it evolved into Monferno. Unable to reign itself in anymore, Monferno burned through Team Rocket, ally Pokemon, and even Ash himself. Thankfully, the support of its trainer was just what Monferno needed to put that firepower to good use. A few words of encouragement later, the new-and-improved Infernape debuted with a killer Mach Punch. It’s a good thing the fire-type got its temper under control when it did, or else it may have completely burned itself out.

“Exploud and Clear!”

You may want some earplugs for this one; Exploud doesn’t come with a mute button. While it started out as an average, well-behaved Loudred, a fight with Ash’s Treecko triggered a dual-evolution, and a serious mean streak. From that point on, Exploud marched to the beat of its own drum. Even if that tune sent it marching away from its trainer. With his Pokemon refusing to follow any orders, trainer Guy had no choice but to voice his own concerns. Also known as decking Team Rocket personally. Exploud was so impressed, he returned to his trainer, and even turned down the volume a bit. Hopefully it wasn’t too late for Ash’s eardrums.

“Sword and Shield, Slumbering Weald!”

It’ll take more than a run-of-the-mill exterminator to get this Centiskorch out of town. Mostly because Centiskorch is the size of the town! After spontaneously Gigantamaxing, the once-docile Galar Pokemon lost all control of its fiery powers. Ash tried his best to quell the inferno, but even a combination of Pikachu, Riolu, and Dragonite couldn’t keep Centiskorch down. If anything, it just made it angrier. Luckily, Leon swooped in just in time to save Ash and the town from becoming, well, ashes. You know things are dangerous when one of the strongest Champions in history has to start making house calls.

“Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon”

Ash’s Charmeleon suffered from some serious teenage mood swings, and they only got worse when it matured into Charizard. On the bright side, he picked a good time to evolve. When Ash is plucked into the air by a rampaging Aerodactyl, Charmeleon finally feels the bond between partner and trainer, and uses it to ascend to the next stage. Kind of. In reality, Charmeleon only evolved to show Aerodactyl who’s who. Saving Ash was just a happy coincidence. Charizard would have roasted him, too, if he’d gotten in the way. Hey, at least we got a cool fight out of it.

“Primeape Goes Bananas”

Living up to his typing, Mankey spent most of his anime debut itching for a good fight. He didn’t care much where he got it from; hero, villain, or Pokemon. As if that’s not intimidating enough, Team Rocket’s negligent treatment helped it evolve into the even feistier Primeape. You can probably guess how well that turned out. A few punches, a lot of hiding, and some hopeless counters later, Primeape had wiped the floor with most of the main cast. Humans included. Even Brock got the daylights knocked out of him. All things considered, it’s a miracle Ash caught Primeape without getting a black eye.

“Sword and Shield: "From Here to Eternatus!"”

This is a classic case of good news-bad news. To start with the good, Eternatus’ runoff energy let Team Rocket’s Meowth Gigantamax. The bad news? The power completely goes to his head, turning him into a mindless monster wreaking havoc across Galar. This is the same Meowth that spent decades trying and failing to catch a Pikachu, and now, he’s leveling whole stadiums on a whim. If Jessie and James weren’t running for their lives, we’d almost be proud of the cat. Given how it turned out, maybe it’s for the best this is the first and only time Meowth officially evolved in the series.

“The Aura Storm!”

No one said mastering Mega Evolution would be easy, and gym leaders are no exception. Turns out, the transformation doesn't just give Korinna’s Lucario a massive surge in power. It also turns him into a ferocious beast who doesn’t leave his rage in the ring. Neither Korinna nor Ash could diffuse the situation, which continued to escalate until Lucario’s Bone Rush attack almost became a Bone “Crush.” At that point, he wasn’t even aiming for Pikachu anymore. He was going for Ash. If another Lucario hadn’t stepped in when they did, “Pokemon” would’ve needed a new main character for the Kalos arc.

“Pokémon Shipwreck”

Look, it’s no small secret that Magikarp is pretty much the most useless Pokemon in all of existence. But, even rookies know that, with enough care, it can evolve into the mighty Gyarados. Sadly, it seems like James skipped that day in Trainer School. After being scammed into buying the lowly fish, he took his anger out on the Pokemon with a clean kick off their raft. It just so happens that was the moment Magikarp evolved into Gyarados, and it wasn’t too happy about being thrown overboard. Team Rocket and the others narrowly escaped becoming fish food. And, trust us, that wasn’t for a lack of trying on Gyarados' part.

“Tentacool & Tentacruel”

We shouldn’t have to say it, but don’t feed the fish. Especially don’t feed them Team Rocket’s blend of Super Secret Stun Sauce. If you want to know why, just look at what happened to this poor colony of water-types. The concoction didn’t just make the Tentacool evolve; it turned them into Kaiju-sized monsters capable of leveling whole cities. The Tentacruel caused so much destruction, they got the whole episode temporarily banned from English channels. Apparently, you don’t need experience points, a trainer’s bond, or anything else to make a strong water type. No, evidently, a few gallons of sludge is all it takes to put the cruel in Tentacruel.


Which Pokemon frenzy left a lasting impression on you? Let us know in the comments below!