Before we talk about Primeape’s evolution, we have one question. Who doesn’t love Primeape? The generation one Pokémon has some serious anger issues and packs a heck of a punch, the latter of which serves as a painful reminder that you can’t hug one, no matter how fluffy it looks. Well, for those of you that love Mankey and Primeape, guess what? We’re here to tell you how to evolve Primeape in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Yes, the Nintendo Switch game finally introduces a third stage to this evolution line.
We have no problem admitting that Primeape is one of our favourite ‘mon, but should you still need to decide on yours, our Pokédex guide can help you out, as it lists all of the creatures across every generation. Or, if you just need some aid in Paldea, our Pokémon Scarlet and Violet gym leaders, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet legendaries, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet multiplayer articles are a great read.
Anyway, on to how to evolve Primeape.
For some, it’s still unbelievable that Primeape has an evolution, especially as it’s a gen one creature from Kanto, and it went eight generations without getting an evolution.
Who is Primeape?
Primeape is a fighting-type who hails from Kanto, though it’s available to catch in multiple regions. As part of the very first generation of Pokémon, Primeape cracks the top 100 when it comes to Pokédex entries, being number 57. It’s a second-stage creature who evolves from Mankey and is well-known for its bad temper, going into furious tantrums at a moment’s notice.
Plus, it’s not uncommon for it to chase you down should you be unfortunate enough to wake it from its slumber. Honestly, we kind of relate with Primeape on this one.
Who is Primeape’s evolution?
Primeape evolves into Annihilape, a gen 9 Pokémon that serves as a fighting and ghost Pokémon, offering a different dimension to the OG evolution gen 1 Pokémon evolution line. Annihilape is widely considered to be one of the best creatures in Scarlet and Violet, so knowing how to evolve Primeape is crucial.
How do I evolve Primeape?
Like some other evolutions, such as Linoone, Golbat, and Eevee, you don’t evolve Primeape through the traditional level-up means. There are a couple of steps to take if you want to evolve Primeape into Annihilape in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet:
- Evolve a Mankey or catch a Primeape
- Get Primeape to level 35
- Teach it rage fist
- Use rage fist 20 times
- Level up your Primeape
Where do I find Primeape in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?
Of course, before you can evolve Primeape, you actually need to catch one. As our fighting Pokémon weakness guide indicates, fighting Pokémon such as Primeape are weak to bird Pokémon and flying Pokémon in general, so consider that when you try to catch one. Anyway, Primeape appears from the mid-game onwards in these areas:
- All across the East Province
- Around area one in the North Province
Or you can catch a Mankey from:
- All across the West Province
- Around area five in the South Province
- Around area one in the South Province
Should you opt to evolve a Mankey, you need to get it to level 28 to get Primeape.
How do I evolve Primeape in Pokémon Go?
Unfortunately, for all you Annihilape lovers out there, you can’t get Primeape’s evolution in Pokémon Go yet. If and when that changes, we’ll update this guide with what you need to know. We suspect that in a similar vein to Ralts’ evolution (if you want Gallade), you’ll need to take some extra steps beyond candy to evolve Primeape when the time comes.
However, you can evolve Mankey into Primeape if you feed it 50 candy, so at least the first evolution in this line is easy to achieve. It’s a wise move, too, as Primeape is one of the strongest Pokémon out there.
There you have it, everything you need to know on how to evolve Primeape. If it’s Rockruff’s evolution, Scyther’s evolution, Murkrow’s evolution, Bisharp’s evolution, Floette’s evolution, Misdreavus’ evolution, or Wurmple’s evolution that interests you, take a look at our article. To see what else this franchise has to offer, check out our picks for the best Pokémon games. Or, if you’re not done monkeying around, it’s our monkey Pokémon guide that you should read.