Pokemon GO Players Aren’t Happy With 9th Anniversary Pokemon

Pokemon GO players have discovered that Gimmighoul with a 9th anniversary coin cannot evolve in-game, which has dissatisfied fans. The annual event is one of the most anticipated celebrations in Pokemon GO, but its 2025 edition has been off to a rocky start.

On July 1, 2025, Pokemon GO launched its 9th Anniversary Party with several limited bonuses, such as increased chances of becoming Lucky Friends and obtaining Lucky Pokemon. Like in previous anniversary events, party-hat Kanto starters are spawning more frequently. However, the 9th anniversary stood out for debuting party-hat Ivysaur and Venusaur, costumed evolutions that hadn’t been available for years. Another major costumed Pokemon debut was Gimmighoul holding a 9th anniversary coin, an event-exclusive variant. While its release was initially met with excitement, players have now pointed out an important drawback to the critter.

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On the Pokemon GO fan subreddit, user No_Media378 shared their frustration after finding out that 9th-anniversary-coin Gimmighoul isn’t able to evolve into Gholdengo, and called out the developers for not warning players about it. “I really wish they’d put a disclaimer that it can’t evolve because I was so excited to evolve it!” wrote the fan. Quite a few players agreed with their concerns and criticized Pokemon GO‘s approach to the costumed Pokemon. Another post by The-PainTrain- commented that receiving a hard-to-catch Pokemon as a limited reward without the possibility to evolve is “a slap in the face to the players.” A third post by greendino71 expressed the same displeasure and added that costumed Gimmighoul is too tough to obtain even with Ultraballs. It is worth noting that prior to the 9th anniversary event, Gimmighoul could only be obtained by connecting to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. However, costumed Gimmighoul is currently a reward from Pokemon GO‘s current Research Tasks.

Pokemon GO’s 9th Anniversary-themed Gimmighoul Isn’t Able to Evolve

Ordinarily, evolving Gimmighoul in Pokemon GO is no easy feat. Players require 999 Gimmighoul coins from Golden PokeStops. As part of the anniversary celebrations, PokeStops have a chance of turning gold without Golden Lure Modules. Unfortunately, Pokemon GO reported a severe bug where Golden PokeStops would turn blue as soon as players reached them. This issue frustrated many fans who claimed they couldn’t earn any coins. Regardless, the developers stated that the bug was purely visual and shouldn’t affect rewards.

Although 9th-anniversary-coin Gimmighoul cannot evolve in Pokemon GO, its standard and shiny versions can. There are more major Pokemon debuts happening in July as well. Hisuian Lilligant is making its long-awaited debut for Pokemon GO‘s July 12 Raid Day, while the Gen 6 monster Honedge and its evolutions are coming on July 22.