Oh no it's definitely earned and foreshadowed. It's not an asspull or a deus ex machina or anything like that. I'm just saying that for me the impact was not where it was intended to land. It was not an oh shit moment, when I played it. It was a "Oh for fucks sake." I rolled my eyes. I did not clench my fists.Cole's evolution is not a copout, it was heavily foreshadowed. It was mentioned multiple times that he was a peak level 3 and was ready for an evolution.
Maybe you think this dilutes how special evolving is, for Cole to reach level 4, but keep in mind that he clearly monsterfied to a degree (the claws on his hands and feet, and the gem on his chest), even more than Jake (when he evolves, one arm becomes longer than the other, and his teeth become very sharp). Despite all his preparation, he still wasn't ready for level 4.
This is not me saying it's bad writing or universally badly recieved. Just that you won't always get the resonance with the audience you're looking for.
Edit: Though I should say I dispute Cole himself as a source for how powerful or how ready he was. That little shit would claim he was about to get stronger than Berhnardt soon, just you wait.