Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: How to evolve Primeape and get Annihilape

How to evolve Primeape in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet isn’t quite as straightforward as you might expect from Pokemon evolution. The latest monster-catching RPGs continue the series’ tradition of throwing a handful of unorthodox evolution methods that don't use evolution stones into the mix, and the Primeape evolution is one of them.

To evolve Primeape, the angry monkey needs to learn a specific move and use it a set number of times before evolution happens. The caveat is that Scarlet and Violet don’t tell you which move and what guidelines cover using it.

Once you do get Primeape to evolve, you end up with one the most unique Fighting types and a rising star in the Gen IX meta.

How to evolve Primeape in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

How to get Primeape in Scarlet and Violet

You can get Primeape in a couple of ways. One is catching Mankey and evolving it, but later in the game, you can catch a wild Primeape and do some memory manipulation to get the move you need to trigger its evolution.

Mankey location in Scarlet and Violet

You can find Mankey quite early in your Paldean journey. The angry lil’ critters roam the fields along the path west of Cortondo up to roughly where the bridge connecting South Province and West Province is. In keeping with the early game location, these Mankey are probably going to be at a level lower than 20.

Makney evolves into Primeape at level 28, but you can speed the process along with EXP Candies earned through completing Tera Raids if you’re impatient.

Primeape location in Scarlet and Violet

Wild Primeape grump around the fields of South Province Area 4 and Glaseado Mountain. It’s worth noting that the Pokemon you encounter in South Province Area 4 may not include Primeape until you have a few Gym badges. When we checked early in the game, we only found the likes of Riolu and Charcadet wandering around.

You can also trade for a Mankey or Primeape if you have a kind friend willing to lend you their monkey. Should your Primeape not know Rage Fist, you can relearn the move pretty quickly.

How to evolve Primeape and get Annihilape

Primeape evolves into Annihilape when you use Rage Fist 20 times. Primeape learns Rage Fist at level 35, but there’s a slight catch. You have to use Rage Fist 20 times without visiting a Pokemon Center in between. Make sure to keep plenty of potions on hand to heal your mad monkey if need be, or just pick fights with weak Pokemon.

Is Annihilape good?

Annihilape is, frankly, a weird Pokemon, but in a good way. This new evolution is a Fighting and Ghost dual type, which helps mitigate the threats from Psychic types, but also opens a weakness against Dark types. They have high attack, but low special attack. Rage Fist and Shadow Claw are going to be your main sources of Ghost-type damage.

Annihilape gets a slight attack and defense boost over Primeape as well, so while it isn't a substantial upgrade, this new evolution can fill a niche spot on your team and fill it well. Early evidence from Scarlet and Violet's emerging meta suggests Rage Fist is pretty much all you need on Annihilape anyway. The ape's low speed means they almost always get hit first, which powers up the move.

Not thrilled with Annihilape? There's plenty more new Paldea Pokemon to add to your roster and help you tackle Paldea's Gyms and Titans on your way to becoming Champion.