It will probably be easier to understand with a link to the Primal Companion Archetype from the PFSRD site.
The animal companion gains a pool of evolution points that can be used to temporarily give the companion evolutions as if it were an eidolon. A primal companion hunter uses her hunter level to determine the number of evolution points gained, limitations on how often an evolution can be selected, and so on. Whenever she gains a level, she must decide how these points are spent, and they are set until she gains another level.
Activating these evolutions on the animal companion is a swift action. A primal companion hunter can use this ability for 1 minute per day per hunter level. This duration need not to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1-minute increments. An animal companion transformed in this way cannot exceed the maximum number of attacks available to the eidolon of a summoner whose class level equals that of the hunter. While transformed in this way, the animal companion's type changes to magical beast, though the primal companion hunter still treats it as an animal for the purpose of the Handle Animal skill.
If a primal companion hunter's animal companion is dead, she can apply these evolutions to herself instead of to her animal companion. Uses of this ability count toward the hunter's maximum daily duration of evolution use.
This ability replaces animal focus.
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The bold part is the errata'd part of the strikethrough part. The major difference between the two I see is that the errata'd part doesn't have the limitation that the evolution points are set between uses of the ability.
However, the next ability introduced in the Primal Companion archetype reinforces that limitation.
At 8th level, once per day as a swift action, a primal companion hunter can touch her animal companion and grant it one evolution that costs up to 4 evolution points. The companion must meet the prerequisites of the selected evolution. Unlike the evolutions from primal transformation, this evolution is not set; it can be changed each time the hunter uses this ability.
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So could one use the Primal Transformation ability to grant their Animal Companion different evolutions with each use of the ability?
I'm asking because the limitation of set evolutions were removed from said ability with errata.
Either the Primal Surge ability is in need of errata in case it refers to Primal Transformation pre-errata, or they deliberately meant for the Primal Surge ability to introduce the limitation to the Primal Transformation ability. (Because of word count?)
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The eidolon takes a form shaped by the summoner's desires. The eidolon's Hit Dice, saving throws, skills, feats, and abilities are tied to the summoner's class level and increase as the summoner gains levels. In addition, each eidolon gains a pool of evolution points based on the summoner's class level that can be used to give the eidolon different abilities and powers. Whenever the summoner gains a level, he must decide how these points are spent, and they are set until he gains another level of summoner.
Since the animal companion gains evolution points that can be used as if it were an eidolon, it seems to me that you'd pick your companion's evolution points at each level up.
The major difference between the two is the number of evolution points the animal companion gets. It's an insanely small number compared to what it used to be. The usage of the ability should remain the same.
Alright, yeah that sounds logical.
Thanks for the quick reply.