diff --git a/.github/workflows/gc-native-roots.yml b/.github/workflows/gc-native-roots.yml
index 24a63890c8..94c59c4277 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/gc-native-roots.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/gc-native-roots.yml
@@ -133,6 +133,7 @@ jobs:
             otool -l "/tmp/$name" | grep -q "sectname __llvm_stackmaps" \
               && { echo "::error::$name still carries __llvm_stackmaps — the compact rewrite did not run"; exit 1; }
             PERRY_STATEPOINTS=1 PERRY_GC_FORCE_EVACUATE=1 PERRY_GC_VERIFY_EVACUATION=1 \
+            PERRY_GC_HEAP_LIMIT=8 PERRY_GC_INCREMENTAL=0 PERRY_CONSERVATIVE_STACK_SCAN=off \
               "/tmp/$name" > "/tmp/$name.out" 2> "/tmp/$name.err"
             diff "/tmp/$name.oracle" "/tmp/$name.out" \
               || { echo "::error::$name output diverged from the pinned oracle"; exit 1; }
@@ -257,6 +258,7 @@ jobs:
             # holding, not the enforcement being absent.
             PERRY_STATEPOINTS=1 PERRY_GC_SAFEPOINT_ONLY=strict \
               PERRY_GC_FORCE_EVACUATE=1 PERRY_GC_VERIFY_EVACUATION=1 \
+              PERRY_GC_HEAP_LIMIT=8 PERRY_GC_INCREMENTAL=0 PERRY_CONSERVATIVE_STACK_SCAN=off \
               "/tmp/so-$name" > "/tmp/so-$name.out" 2> "/tmp/so-$name.err"
             diff "/tmp/so-$name.oracle" "/tmp/so-$name.out" \
               || { echo "::error::$name diverged from the oracle under the safepoint-only contract"; exit 1; }
@@ -303,6 +305,7 @@ jobs:
             # cannot see a slot the walker never reached.
             PERRY_STACKMAP_WALKER=verify PERRY_GC_TRACE=1 \
               PERRY_GC_FORCE_EVACUATE=1 PERRY_GC_VERIFY_EVACUATION=1 \
+              PERRY_GC_HEAP_LIMIT=8 PERRY_GC_INCREMENTAL=0 PERRY_CONSERVATIVE_STACK_SCAN=off \
               "/tmp/w-$name" > "/tmp/w-$name.verify.out" 2> "/tmp/w-$name.verify.err"
             diff "/tmp/w-$name.oracle" "/tmp/w-$name.verify.out" \
               || { echo "::error::$name diverged from the oracle under PERRY_STACKMAP_WALKER=verify"; exit 1; }
@@ -311,6 +314,7 @@ jobs:
             # unwind: the bisection control. Same roots, platform unwinder only.
             PERRY_STACKMAP_WALKER=unwind PERRY_GC_TRACE=1 \
               PERRY_GC_FORCE_EVACUATE=1 PERRY_GC_VERIFY_EVACUATION=1 \
+              PERRY_GC_HEAP_LIMIT=8 PERRY_GC_INCREMENTAL=0 PERRY_CONSERVATIVE_STACK_SCAN=off \
               "/tmp/w-$name" > "/tmp/w-$name.unwind.out" 2> "/tmp/w-$name.unwind.err"
             diff "/tmp/w-$name.oracle" "/tmp/w-$name.unwind.out" \
               || { echo "::error::$name diverged from the oracle under PERRY_STACKMAP_WALKER=unwind"; exit 1; }
@@ -351,6 +355,34 @@ jobs:
           fi
           echo "bridge refused the try-carrying probe, as expected (#7327)"
 
+      # #7336: the evacuation arm was VACUOUS. The probes drive collection with
+      # `gc()`, which takes `manual_collect` — a full mark-sweep behind a forced
+      # conservative scan — and `PERRY_GC_FORCE_EVACUATE` is read only on the
+      # MINOR path. Measured: `copied_objects` and `moved_objects` were 0 on
+      # every probe, while `--require-fp-walks` passed because it asserts a walk
+      # HAPPENED, not that it FOUND anything. That is #6942/#6946 repeating, the
+      # one CLAUDE.md records as costing months of meaningless green.
+      #
+      # The arms above now drive the minor path. This asserts they actually
+      # moved something, so the gate fails if it ever goes inert again.
+      - name: The evacuation arm must actually evacuate
+        if: ${{ !cancelled() }}
+        run: |
+          set -uo pipefail
+          export PERRY_RUNTIME_DIR="$PWD/target/perry-dev"
+          export PERRY_NO_AUTO_OPTIMIZE=1
+          fail=0
+          for probe in benchmarks/gc_ratchet/probes/*.ts; do
+            name=$(basename "$probe" .ts)
+            [ "$name" = "09_try_catch_roots" ] && continue
+            PERRY_STATEPOINTS=1 ./target/perry-dev/perry "$probe" -o "/tmp/ev-$name" >/dev/null 2>&1 || continue
+            PERRY_STATEPOINTS=1 PERRY_GC_FORCE_EVACUATE=1 \
+              PERRY_GC_HEAP_LIMIT=8 PERRY_GC_INCREMENTAL=0 PERRY_CONSERVATIVE_STACK_SCAN=off \
+              PERRY_GC_DIAG=1 "/tmp/ev-$name" > /dev/null 2> "/tmp/ev-$name.err" || true
+            python3 scripts/gc_evacuation_liveness_assert.py "/tmp/ev-$name.err" --probe "$name" || fail=1
+          done
+          exit $fail
+
   native-roots-rs4gc-aarch64:
     runs-on: macos-14
     timeout-minutes: 90
@@ -406,6 +438,7 @@ jobs:
             otool -l "/tmp/rs4gc-$name" | grep -q "sectname __llvm_stackmaps" \
               && { echo "::error::$name still carries __llvm_stackmaps — the compact rewrite did not run"; exit 1; }
             PERRY_RS4GC=1 PERRY_GC_FORCE_EVACUATE=1 PERRY_GC_VERIFY_EVACUATION=1 \
+            PERRY_GC_HEAP_LIMIT=8 PERRY_GC_INCREMENTAL=0 PERRY_CONSERVATIVE_STACK_SCAN=off \
               "/tmp/rs4gc-$name" > "/tmp/rs4gc-$name.out" 2> "/tmp/rs4gc-$name.err"
             diff "/tmp/rs4gc-$name.oracle" "/tmp/rs4gc-$name.out" \
               || { echo "::error::$name diverged from the pinned oracle under RS4GC"; exit 1; }
diff --git a/changelog.d/7338-evacuation-arm-was-vacuous.md b/changelog.d/7338-evacuation-arm-was-vacuous.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..38f7a3c01a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/7338-evacuation-arm-was-vacuous.md
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+`gc-native-roots`' forced-evacuation arm evacuated nothing, on every probe.
+
+The probes drive collection with `gc()`, which takes `manual_collect` — a full
+mark-sweep behind a forced conservative scan — and `PERRY_GC_FORCE_EVACUATE` is
+read only on the *minor* path. Measured: `copied_objects` and `moved_objects`
+were 0 on all eight probes, and 5 of 8 matched zero stack-map records while the
+conservative scan did the rooting. The existing `--require-fp-walks` assert
+passed throughout, because it checks that a walk *happened*, not that it *found*
+anything.
+
+This is #6942/#6946 repeating — the case CLAUDE.md records as costing months of
+"passes under evacuation" that meant nothing — inside the gate whose results were
+being used to argue for making statepoints the default.
+
+The evacuation arms now drive the minor path
+(`PERRY_GC_HEAP_LIMIT=8 PERRY_GC_INCREMENTAL=0 PERRY_CONSERVATIVE_STACK_SCAN=off`),
+under which all 8 probes move: 5,946 to 90,271 objects copied each. A new
+`scripts/gc_evacuation_liveness_assert.py` requires at least one copying minor
+that copied at least one object, and names the cause when it finds none —
+`manual_collect` (wrong path) or an ineligible copying minor (#7255).
diff --git a/scripts/gc_evacuation_liveness_assert.py b/scripts/gc_evacuation_liveness_assert.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..5501bf25ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/gc_evacuation_liveness_assert.py
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Assert a forced-evacuation run actually evacuated something (#7336).
+
+`PERRY_GC_FORCE_EVACUATE=1` is read only on the *minor* path. A probe that
+drives collection with `gc()` takes `manual_collect`, a full mark-sweep behind a
+forced conservative scan, and evacuates nothing — the run is green and the arm
+measured no moving collector at all.
+
+That is not hypothetical: it is #6942/#6946, which CLAUDE.md records as costing
+months of "passes under evacuation" that meant nothing. The `gc-native-roots`
+evacuation arm was repeating it — `copied_objects` and `moved_objects` were 0 on
+every probe, while `--require-fp-walks` passed because it asserts that a walk
+*happened*, not that it *found* anything.
+
+So this asserts the subject was live: at least one copying minor ran, and it
+copied at least one object. Reads `PERRY_GC_DIAG=1` output on stderr.
+
+    gc_evacuation_liveness_assert.py trace.err --probe 01_nursery_churn
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import argparse
+import re
+import sys
+
+COPIED = re.compile(r"copied_objects=(\d+)")
+ELIGIBLE = re.compile(r"\[gc-copy-minor\] eligible=(\w+)(?: fallback=(\S+))?")
+MANUAL = re.compile(r"\[gc-scan-fallback\] site=manual_collect")
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    ap = argparse.ArgumentParser()
+    ap.add_argument("trace")
+    ap.add_argument("--probe", default="<probe>")
+    ap.add_argument("--min-copied", type=int, default=1)
+    args = ap.parse_args()
+
+    text = open(args.trace, "r", errors="replace").read()
+    copied = sum(int(m) for m in COPIED.findall(text))
+    ran = text.count("[gc-copy-minor] ran ")
+    ineligible = [m for m in ELIGIBLE.findall(text) if m[0] != "true"]
+
+    if copied >= args.min_copied and ran > 0:
+        print(f"{args.probe}: evacuation live — {ran} copying minor(s), {copied} objects copied")
+        return 0
+
+    print(f"::error::{args.probe}: the forced-evacuation arm evacuated NOTHING "
+          f"({ran} copying minors, {copied} objects copied). The arm is vacuous: "
+          f"it proves the program ran, not that a moving collector did (#7336).")
+    if MANUAL.search(text):
+        print("::error::Saw `site=manual_collect` — this probe drives GC with `gc()`, "
+              "which is a full mark-sweep behind a forced conservative scan. "
+              "PERRY_GC_FORCE_EVACUATE is read only on the MINOR path (#6942/#6946). "
+              "Drive the minor path instead: PERRY_GC_HEAP_LIMIT=8 "
+              "PERRY_GC_INCREMENTAL=0 PERRY_CONSERVATIVE_STACK_SCAN=off.")
+    if ineligible:
+        kinds = sorted({f or '?' for _, f in ineligible})
+        print(f"::error::Copying minor was ineligible; fallback(s): {', '.join(kinds)}. "
+              "PERRY_CONSERVATIVE_STACK_SCAN=off is usually what makes it eligible (#7255).")
+    return 1
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())