Exact Definition of "evolves from" (Rare Candy vs others)

[Suboptimal]

I understand what Rare Candy does, and I have read its errata.

I understand from rulings like 614 and this much more recent forum thread that card text about something that "evolves from" something else means very literally that the card says "Evolves from" followed by the name of the other card (matched according to the rule book's specification, currently on page 21).

What I don't understand is how the former aligns with the latter.

Just to concretize this, Rare Candy obviously does work to put, e.g. Shiftry TEF 5 onto Seedot TEF 3 because that Shiftry says "Evolves from Nuzleaf" and Nuzleaf TEF 4 says "Evolves from Seedot". Shiftry TEF 5 doesn't actually mention Seedot, though. In contrast, I am almost certain the Expert Nurturer attack of Indeedee SVI 153 isn't meant to allow putting Shiftry TEF 5 onto Seedot TEF 3, but the wording "a card that evolves from 1 of your Pokémon" doesn't seem particularly distinct from "a Stage 2 card in your hand that evolves from that Pokémon" on Rare Candy.

What is the exact definition of "evolves from" in general? Is Rare Candy's definition of "evolves from" different? If so, do any other cards use the definition from Rare Candy? If so, how can I tell which ones?

I get that the wording for how Rare Candy actually works would be awkward to state using the meaning of "evolves from" elsewhere as far as I understand it, but I don't understand how to distinguish which version a particular card intends if both are possible.

This is a somewhat distinct question that actually just occurred to me in the course of writing this, and I didn't find a ruling for it, either; therefore, I guess I will ask it, too. For Rare Candy, are all possible evolution chains ever printed on any Pokémon cards considered or only those on cards that are in the format being played?

As a sidenote and purely out of curiosity, is Rare Candy the only card in the Standard format that requires the knowledge of a card that might (validly) not be present to use correctly?

Finally, I'd like to extend my apologies if this is well-tread ground. I looked for an answer to this in the rule book. I looked for answers by implication in the compendium of rulings. Although I tried, searching this forum for this particular point was minimally useful because "evolves from" is treated as the single word evolves, which is obviously extremely common.

 

[PokePop]

Rare Candy gets to skip the Stage 1 because the card text very clearly says that you go from the Basic to the Stage 2 and skip the State1.
Here is the text of Rare Candy:
"Choose 1 of your Basic Pokémon in play. If you have a Stage 2 card in your hand that evolves from that Pokémon, put that card onto the Basic Pokémon to evolve it, skipping the Stage 1. You can’t use this card during your first turn or on a Basic Pokémon that was put into play this turn."

You're focusing on "evolves from" and ignoring ALL the other text.
That other text is what makes the card allow going from Basic to Stage 2.
You have to have that other text in order to skip the Stage 1. Its not more difficult than that.

You can't fail playing a Rare Candy so worrying about Evolutions that are not in the format or in your deck is moot.
You can't play a Rare Candy to try to get an evolution that you don't have in your hand. Period