How to catch Machop and evolve it into Machoke, Machamp in Pokémon GO?

Pokémon GO is a spin-off game developed by Niantic and The Pokémon Company in 2016 and is vastly different compared to other games in the franchise. While the older Pokémon games mostly stuck to the RPG formula with some exceptions, Pokémon GO is an augmented reality game released for the iOS and Android mobile platforms.

In Pokémon GO, players utilize the GPS on their mobile devices to physically travel to locations o capture Pokémon in an AR environment. This means that certain Pokémon can only be caught at specific locations while others are pretty common all around the world. Today, we will be talking about an old classic Pokémon, Machop, and how to acquire it in Pokémon GO.

Capturing Machop

Machop is a Fighting-type Pokémon introduced in the original generation one games of Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue/Green, and Pokémon Yellow. It is considered to be a fan favorite and there is generally a way to easily capture one in the mainline games. That works a little differently in Pokémon GO, however.

In Pokémon GO, Machop can be encountered in various places around the world. According to most player reports, Machop has a higher encounter rate and chance of spawning in or near stadiums, sports arenas, or gyms. Being a Fighting-type Pokémon, it would only make sense to encounter Machop at any competitive facility.

A Shiny variant of Machop was released during the Battle Showdown event of 2019. Although the encounter rate is extremely low, as is with most Shiny Pokémon, that chance can be increased during specific events that release.

Evolving Machop

Machop is a three-stage Pokémon, with Machop itself being the first stage. The Machop family tree looks like this:

• First stage: Machop
• Second stage: Machoke
• Third stage: Machamp

As it evolves, Machop tends to get progressively stronger while learning new moves. So if you want to evolve your Machop, the first step is to get it to its second stage, Machoke. Players can do this by acquiring candies, which are somewhat similar to the Rare Candies in the mainline Pokémon games.

To evolve a Pokémon in general, they need to be fed a set amount of candies, which can differ from Pokémon to Pokémon. Although other evolution methods exist, this is the most common one and Machop follows this route as well. To evolve into Machoke, players need to feed a total of 25 candies to Machop.

Once it evolves into a Machoke, the next step would be evolving it into a Machamp. There are two ways to go about this. Players can either go down the candy route again, feeding Machoke 100 candies to evolve it into a Machamp, or they can trade their Machoke with a friend to evolve it into a Machamp. Long-time players of the franchise will recognize the trading method and it makes its return in Pokémon GO.

Regardless of whatever method players choose to use, it is undeniable that Machamp is a powerful asset that fits any team composition.