Some thoughts on evolution based on dialogue snippets:
1) The speed by which an individual evolves doesn't necessarily mean anything in regards to his power level.
Henri evolved 4 times in 4 days. He also seems depressed about it. Lisa claims that Henri would be one of the most powerful HERO captains if he "embraced" his power. Of course this could be because it's possible he'd been level 5 the longest, but I doubt that this is the case, as most captains used to be friends and probably have similar ages.
2) A level 5 individual has unlocked all the powers that he can possibly unlock.
There are a lot of indicators that this is the case. Evolving early does not mean that you potentially lose the chance to unlock powers. It's also possible that the evolution process teaches the superhuman how to use these powers. Examples:
- MC unlocked his tail during his 2nd evolution trance. However the tail can also be used during the diner deadend in the very early stages of the game.
- Ella tried for a long time to achieve her natural 5th evolution. Once she evolved she unlocked new abilities like the one that forces her body to resist change.
- Xanthe also claims that this is the case. At level 5 a superhuman is complete and he knows all there is to know about his abilities. He can still improve, but no new ones.
3) Triggering the evolution is pretty much a random event. Mastery, Training and Power do not matter. However there are some recurring triggers mentioned in the anecdotes.
- Achieving a certain state
This happened to Jake who managed to evolve by casting the Imprint command. It also almost happened to MC when he tried to increase his size too much.
- Power Depletion
This is how MC and Alice 2nd evolution worked. They reached past their breaking point during their respective fights and their state of mind triggered an evolution. Theoretically, the MC's 3rd evolution also involved power depletion according to the narrator although Xanthe claims it was artificially induced through exposure.
- Monster infection / Exposure to Monster material
This is an oddball. Ella mentions a case where a superhuman evolved once by power depletion, and again by a monster bite in the same day (he monsterified). Xanthe on the other hand seems to think that it requires a large amount of monster material for the trigger to happen.
4) Training and increasing Power are the best protection against monsterification.
- This is mentioned both by Ella and Xanthe. Xanthe also seems to think that his own serum has the risk of monsterification and he is only willing to give it to superhumans that are powerful and/or have spent enough time in their current level.
- According to Ella, this protection against Monsterification is subtle, especially during the later evolutions. The evolutionary process itself becomes easier and easier but it's still dangerous, perhaps increasingly so.
5) The third evolution is what seperates the boys from men.
- Xanthe mentions this during his lecture. At level 3 the body understands that it can no longer limit the power, so it creates the necessary mechanisms for continuous improvement.
- Ella also claims something of the sort, calling the 3rd evolution unfair compared to the previous two.
- It's technically possible for a level 3 to be as strong as a level 5, although according to Ella, the level 5 improves faster than the level 3, just like the level 2 improved faster than the level 1.
