Evolution question

I know a similar question has been answered but no matter how I word this in google I can't quite find the answer so sorry if it's already been asked.

I understand that at least for the first time I need both the weapon and passive item max upgraded to evolve it - and I have also noticed that I have gotten chests that would let me evolve my weapon even though the corresponding passive wasn't upgraded all the way.

But do I even need to equip the corresponding passive at all to evolve a weapon after it has been evolved once?