Evolution lines across generations
An evolution line looks fixed, but it has grown over time. Later games added pre-evolutions, the baby Pokémon, to families that used to start further along. That means a Pokémon's stage, its position in its line, depends on the era you are playing. This guide explains the baby Pokémon that reshaped the family trees and why rayquizz counts evolution stage by generation rather than treating it as a single fixed number.
Generation 2 introduced the first babies
The original games had no baby Pokémon. Generation 2 added a wave of them by putting new first stages in front of familiar faces: Pichu before Pikachu, Cleffa before Clefairy, Igglybuff before Jigglypuff, plus Tyrogue, Smoochum, Elekid, Magby, and Togepi. Overnight, Pokémon that had been the start of their line became the middle. Pikachu is a clear example. In the first games it was a first-stage Pokémon that evolved into Raichu. From Generation 2 onward it sits in the middle, with Pichu below it and Raichu above.
Generation 4 added more
Generation 4 continued the idea with another set of babies: Happiny before Chansey, Munchlax before Snorlax, Mime Jr. before Mr. Mime, Bonsly before Sudowoodo, Budew before Roselia, Mantyke before Mantine, Chingling before Chimecho, and Riolu before Lucario. Chansey is the neat case here. For three generations it was a single-stage Pokémon with no pre-evolution. Once Happiny arrived in Generation 4, Chansey became a middle stage. Play an era before Generation 4 and it counts as a first stage again.
How rayquizz counts stage
When a guess is scored on evolution stage, rayquizz only counts the pre-evolutions that existed in your chosen era. If your generation range ends before Generation 2, Pikachu has no Pichu behind it and reads as a first-stage Pokémon. Extend the range forward and it becomes a middle stage. Chansey behaves the same way around the Generation 4 line. Hundreds of Pokémon have a stage that shifts like this, so the setting quietly changes a lot of answers.
Using it to your advantage
If you play in a narrow early range, forget the babies exist. Treat Pikachu, Clefairy, and Chansey as the starts of their lines, because in that era they are. If you play the full modern dex, remember that a surprising number of old favourites are now middle stages. Matching the stage clue is often about matching the era in your head to the era in the settings.