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Pokémon GO – Starter Evolutions: How To Get Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur and Raichu

Pokémon GO gives you four starters to choose from: Charmander, Bulbasaur or (if you know the trick) Pikachu. Beyond the very beginning of the game, though, the three of them can become much more of a pain to find. Their evolved forms, on top of that, are even more rare, but they are worth having because they are about the closest thing to legendaries that can be acquired without special events. Read on for some tips on how to get Raichu, Blastoise, Venusaur and Charizard in Pokémon GO!

The easiest but most tedious way to get any of the starter evolutions is by evolving from the low forms. To do that you need starter candies, and the easiest way to get starter candy is by hatching eggs, as a hatched Pokémon will provide far more candies than a catch will. None of the evolutions can be found inside any of the eggs; however, there is actually a good shot of finding Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle inside of one of the 2km eggs.

Raichu is, of course, the evolved form of Pikachu. Both are electric types, and statistically, electric types are most commonly found around universities and colleges. Luckily these also tend to be places with loads of Pokéstops. Additionally, electrics tend to pop up in suburbs and parking lots or other heavily paved and/or dry areas. Raichu is more likely to appear when your experience level is higher, but Pikachus are common anyways, so hunt for Pikachu and when you get 50 Pikachu Candy, use it to evolve one into a Raichu.

Charizard is a fire and flying type, while Charmeleon and Charmander are straight fire types, and fire types tend to spawn in hot climates, such as desert and hot Mediterranean climates. So if you live in the Western USA or Middle East or north Mexico, they will be everywhere, making these great locations to find Charmander, Charmeleon or Charizard. Interestingly, beaches are also common locations due to the sand. If you don’t live near any of these areas, residential areas and suburban neighborhoods are also common fire spawn points. Charizard, being a flyer, can sometimes be found in parks and forests too.

Squirtle, Wartortle and Blastoise are straight water types, and as such, they are the most likely to appear near large water sources such as oceans, lakes and rivers. The higher your level, the better your chances of finding the more evolved types but even if you aren’t finding Wartortle or Blastoise, grind for Squirtles and use candy to evolve them.

Bulbasaur, Ivysaur and Venusaur are grass and poison type, and grass types show up the most frequently at golf courses and in farmland, although parks and meadows are also common places to find them. Poison types tend to spawn in marshes, swamps and other wetlands, as well as in industrial areas although that is a bit less common. So these three are a bit more spread out and common. Higher experience levels mean higher chances of finding Ivysaur and Venusaur although with enough Bulbasaur Candy, you can evolve your way up to the top tier.