How to Evolve Hakamo-o

Hakamo-o evolves into Kommo-o upon reaching level 45. The evolution process requires no evolutionary stones, held items, or specific time of day. Players only need to accumulate experience points through battles, Rare Candies, or Exp. Candies.

In modern generations like Sword and Shield or Scarlet and Violet, Exp. Candies L and XL offer the fastest route to level 45. Farming Tera Raid Battles or Max Raid Battles yields enough candies to evolve Hakamo-o in minutes. Alternatively, battling high-level Chansey or Blissey with a Lucky Egg equipped accelerates the leveling curve significantly.

Canceling the evolution by pressing 'B' halts the process, but Hakamo-o will attempt to evolve again at level 46 and every subsequent level up. Keeping it unevolved offers no competitive advantage, as Hakamo-o lacks the base defensive stats to utilize Eviolite effectively in higher competitive tiers.

Rating: 8.5/10. Evolving Hakamo-o grants access to Kommo-o, a premier setup sweeper in the current metagame. Kommo-o boasts a 600 Base Stat Total, cementing its pseudo-legendary status. Its Dragon/Fighting dual typing provides excellent neutral offensive coverage across most competitive tiers.

Kommo-o excels specifically as a late-game sweeper or a mixed wallbreaker. The signature move, Clangorous Soul, sacrifices 33% of its maximum HP to boost all its stats by one stage. This omni-boost turns Kommo-o into a nearly unstoppable force if positioned correctly against passive defensive Pokémon.

Pokedex.me is an unofficial fan-site, and our competitive analysis focuses on standard Smogon OU and VGC formats. In these environments, Kommo-o forces opponents to play aggressively to prevent it from setting up. Its base 85 Speed is mediocre initially, making the speed boost from Clangorous Soul or Dragon Dance mandatory for a successful sweep.

Kommo-o’s viability hinges heavily on its excellent ability pool. Bulletproof grants immunity to ball and bomb moves, completely walling Gengar's Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb, or Cinderace's Pyro Ball. This forces opponents to rely on suboptimal coverage moves to deal damage.

Soundproof blocks Roar, Bug Buzz, and opposing Clangorous Soul or Clanging Scales, making it an excellent counter to specific sound-based attackers and preventing phazers from ruining a sweep. Overcoat, the hidden ability, provides immunity to weather damage and powder moves like Amoonguss's Spore, which is highly relevant in VGC.

The primary drawback of evolving Hakamo-o is inheriting Kommo-o's severe 4x weakness to Fairy-type attacks. A single Moonblast from Clefable or Flutter Mane will result in an immediate knockout, even after a Special Defense boost. It also carries 2x weaknesses to Flying, Psychic, Ice, and Dragon.

• Pros: Unpredictable movepool, exceptional setup options, three highly viable defensive abilities.
• Cons: Base 85 Speed leaves it outpaced by common threats before boosting; extreme vulnerability to Fairy-types dictates strict team building requirements.

The Clangorous Soul moveset is the most dominant path for a newly evolved Kommo-o. A standard EV spread uses 252 Special Attack and 252 Speed with a Timid nature. The moveset typically features Clangorous Soul, Clanging Scales, Flamethrower, and Aura Sphere or Focus Blast.

Flamethrower is non-negotiable coverage. It melts Steel-types like Gholdengo and Corviknight that resist Dragon-type STAB moves. Players equipping Kommo-o with a Throat Spray item gain an additional +1 Special Attack boost when using Clangorous Soul, resulting in a +2 SpA, +1 Spe sweeper in a single turn.

Alternatively, the Dragon Dance variant utilizes Kommo-o's base 110 Attack. This set runs Dragon Dance, Close Combat, Outrage or Dragon Claw, and Iron Head or Poison Jab. Iron Head specifically targets the Fairy-types that otherwise wall this setup, punishing switch-ins like Iron Valiant or Hatterene.

Kommo-o fits perfectly on Hyper Offense and Bulky Offense teams looking for a dedicated win condition. Teams utilizing dual screens (Reflect and Light Screen) from Grimmsnarl or Alolan Ninetales provide the necessary bulk for Kommo-o to use Clangorous Soul without dropping into KO range from priority moves.

Players must pair Kommo-o with robust Steel or Poison types. Gholdengo, Kingambit, or Toxapex absorb the Fairy and Flying attacks aimed at Kommo-o. A slow pivot using U-turn or Volt Switch from Corviknight or Rotom-Wash safely brings Kommo-o onto the field against favorable matchups.

Stall teams or purely defensive builds should avoid Kommo-o. It lacks reliable recovery outside of Drain Punch or Leftovers, meaning it cannot function as a long-term wall. If your team cannot confidently remove the opponent's Fairy-types, Kommo-o will become dead weight in the match.

In VGC Double Battles, Kommo-o operates differently than in Singles formats. The omnipresence of fast Fairy-types makes setting up Clangorous Soul highly risky without proper redirection. Players utilize Amoonguss with Rage Powder or Clefairy with Follow Me to absorb single-target attacks while Kommo-o sets up.

Protect is a mandatory move in VGC for Kommo-o, replacing coverage options like Flamethrower or Aura Sphere. Scouting for Terastallization is critical, as opponents will frequently Tera into a Fairy-type to secure a surprise knockout on Kommo-o.

Defensively, Kommo-o heavily benefits from Terastallization itself. Tera Steel or Tera Poison flips its 4x Fairy weakness into a resistance, allowing it to survive a Dazzling Gleam and retaliate with a boosted Flash Cannon or Poison Jab. Tera Normal is also utilized defensively to block Ghost-type attacks while synergizing with the Boomburst move for massive spread damage.

Item selection drastically alters Kommo-o's damage output and survivability. Throat Spray remains the most optimized item for special sweeping variants. Activating Clangorous Soul triggers the Throat Spray, granting a free +1 Special Attack boost on top of the omni-boost, maximizing immediate breaking power.

For Dragon Dance physical sets, Lum Berry provides a crucial safety net against status conditions. Will-O-Wisp from Skeledirge or Thunder Wave from Dragapult completely neuters a physical sweep. The Lum Berry cures the status instantly, punishing passive defensive plays.

Leftovers offers passive recovery for bulky setup sets utilizing Iron Defense and Body Press. This specific set completely ignores Attack and Special Attack stats, relying on a +2 or +4 Defense stat to deal massive damage with Body Press while shrugging off physical hits from threats like Kingambit or Dragonite.