'Pokémon Go' Special Items Update: How to get special items to evolve Gen 2 Pokémon

Impact
By Alex Perry

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, Pokémon Go finally got its huge Gen 2 update on Thursday. More than 80 new Pokémon from the franchise's second generation were added to the game, which is the best excuse to reinstall the app in months.

That's not all, though. The update also added a bunch of new special items that can evolve your old Pokémon into their second generation forms, as well as some new berries. 

Pokémon Go special items: How to get special items after the Gen 2 update

Kotaku has a useful guide to the new evolution items and berries. Basically, just like with anything else in Pokémon Go, the best way to get these new items is to play the game like you always have. Specifically, keep spinning those PokéStops because that's where the berries and other items drop.

There are five evolution items to find: Metal Coat (Scyther, Onix), King's Rock (Poliwhirl, Slowpoke), Sun Stone (Gloom, Sunkern), Dragon Scale (Seadra) and Upgrade (Porygon). Having one of those items isn't enough to evolve a Pokémon on its own, though. You'll also need some candies to do it. For example, to evolve Onix into Steelix, you need a Metal Coat and 50 Onix candies. 

The two new berries have much less profound effects on the game, but they are worth seeking out. Pinap Berries will double the number of candies you get from catching a Pokémon, while Nanab Berries will make Pokémon easier to catch by slowing their movements.

Again, just keep visiting Pokéstops and spinning that disc to find these special items. This is Pokémon Go, so you can't do any of this from your couch. Get moving.

Check out more Pokémon Go guides, tips and tricks

If you're booting up the game for the first time in a while to get ready for Gen 2, be sure to check out Mic's guides on how to get stardust, how to determine how long it will take you to reach level 40, the kind of Pokémon you get from 10-kilometer eggs, how to create new PokéStops, how to maximize your chances of catching Pokémon and how PokéStops distribute Pokémon eggs. Also check out how to catch Gen 2 baby Pokémon, our analysis of post-balance update Chansey and Rhydon and everything you need to know about finding the long-awaited Pokémon Ditto.