Evolving Purified Pokémon in Pokémon Go: A Complete Analysis

Yes, it is absolutely worth evolving purified Pokémon in Pokémon Go due to the stat improvements and cost reductions. While shadows maintain higher DPS, purified Pokémon reach much higher max CP and gain more bulk. For Master League and Raids, the combat boosts from purification make them excel when fully powered up. This guide will provide a detailed look at why purification is so effective for evolution.

Introduction to Purified Pokémon

For those unfamiliar, purified Pokémon originate as “shadow” Pokémon that have been corrupted by Team Rocket. After you rescue and capture them, you can spend Candy and Stardust to “purify” them and return them to normal.

The purification process provides some great benefits:

• IVs increase by +2 for each stat (up to 15)
• Level raises to 25
• Stardust & Candy costs reduced for powering up and evolving
• Learns the special move Return

However, they do lose the +20% attack bonus that shadow Pokémon get. So let’s dive into the pros and cons of evolving purified Pokémon.

Why Evolve Purified Pokémon

Here are the top reasons why evolving purified Pokémon is so advantageous:

Reaches Much Higher Maximum CP

The CP formula heavily weights the attack stat. By reducing attack 20%, a shadow Pokémon’s max CP is also reduced compared to its normal and purified counterparts.

For example, a perfect shadow Metagross has a max CP of 3,395 compared to 3,791 when purified. That’s a massive 400 point difference!

Higher CP directly translates to higher performance in Raids, Gyms, and Master League PvP.

Increased Defense and HP for Bulk

While they lose some DPS, what purified Pokémon gain in defense and survivability is often worth the tradeoff.

Defense weighted 22% in the CP formula, so the 20% reduction for shadows is very significant. Purified Pokémon can simply last longer in battles.

Combined with their increased HP from higher IVs, purified Pokémon excel at withstanding damage compared to their shadow versions.

Cheaper Investment Costs

It takes a monumental amount of resources to max out Pokémon to Level 50. Purified Pokémon reaching high CP is much more achievable.

To illustrate, for a purified Metgross, the Candy/Stardust costs to get from Level 25-50 is around:

• 360,000 Stardust & 354 Candy (Purified)
• 440,000 Stardust & 364 Candy (Shadow)

That’s a savings of 80,000 Stardust and 10 Candy just by being purified!

Lower evolution costs also make building teams of fully-evolved Pokémon far cheaper long term.

Higher IVs and Chance of Perfect

The +2 IV buff gives purified Pokémon much better stats overall. Excellent IVs are needed to maximize CP.

Amazing IV shadows are rare, but purification gives strong odds for perfection:

IVs	Wild Odds	Trade Odds	Purified Odds
100%	1 in 4096	1 in 64	13/13/13+ shadow

A perfect 15/15/15 Pokémon is very prestigious – purification lets you obtain these much easier!

Special Move Return

All purified Pokémon learn Return, a solid 90 power Normal-type move.

On Normal types, it provides excellent neutral coverage. Other Pokémon benefit from having a second charged move.

While not game-breaking, it’s a nice bonus that adds versatility.

compared to Shadow Pokémon

Shadow Pokémon are also powered up versions of regular Pokémon. So how do purified Pokémon compare?

• Shadows retain the +20% attack bonus when purified. This provides higher DPS.
• However, shadows have -20% defense. They dish out damage but faint faster.
• Shadows are more expensive to evolve and power up to high CP. The costs add up.
• For PvE, shadows are superior main attackers. But in PvP, defense and HP matter more.

Here are some examples of when purified can outclass shadows:

• Master League PvP – purified have higher max CP
• Gyms/Raids – purified last longer with better bulk
• Cheaper Mega Evolutions – similar DPS but costs less to Mega Evolve purified

Carefully consider your needs when deciding whether to purify or not. Both have different strengths.

When to Purify Before Evolving

Based on purification mechanics, here are some best practices:

• Purify first, then evolve second – this saves the most Candy.
• Target high IV shadows – these have the best chance at perfection when purified.
• Keep good PvE shadows purified – the defense boost helps them survive longer.
• Only purify extra copies – maintain a shadow version for the attack.
• Trade shadows first for chance at lucky – lucky purified are insanely cheap to power up.

Species with future Megas like Charizard, Gengar, and Gyarados are great purification candidates for cheaper Mega Evolution.

Expert Insights on Purification

Here are some additional thoughts from my experience as a top Pokémon Go expert and player:

• Rare Candy is very scarce – reduced evolution costs help save this limited resource.
• Periodically, limited research tasks reward shadow Pokémon – purify them for the IV boosts.
• Be selective when purifying. Purify useless shadows for transfer instead of good attackers.
• Trading low IV shadows first can improve their IVs after purification.
• Maxing out six Pokémon of each species is end-game content. Cheaper power-ups really help.
• Start acquiring XL Candy early. Purified Pokémon need less to reach Level 50.

I hope these tips help provide extra context on why purification synergizes so well with evolution.

Downsides to Consider

Of course, purifying Pokémon does come with some disadvantages to weigh:

• They lose their 20% damage bonus from being shadow. This reduces DPS.
• Special/rare shadow Pokémon lose value if purified. Some are collectors items.
• The cost to add a second charge move is not discounted. Do this before purifying.
• Return may not improve movesets if the Pokémon already has good coverage.

For the very best attackers like Mewtwo, keeping them shadow is likely better long term. But for most species, extra bulk from purification makes them better overall.

Conclusion

Overall, the improvements from purifying Pokémon combine excellently with evolution mechanics in Pokémon Go. The IV and level boosts allow them to reach much higher maximum CP. And the reduced costs make building teams of strong evolved Pokémon far more achievable.

While shadows maintain higher DPS, the traits gained from purification often make up for it with increased bulk and affordability. If you’re looking to evolve a Pokémon to its maximum potential, purification is almost always the optimal way to go.

I hope this comprehensive guide shed light on the positives (and negatives) of evolving purified Pokémon. Let me know if you have any other questions!