Pokemondiffers from most RPG series, not only because of its ubiquitous status in pop culture, but its dominance in one particular genre, the monster collecting genre. The series stands out because the titular monsters and the opportunity to raise them is the main selling point. They are the player’s party members in a simplistic journey, instead of a posse of protagonists starring in a complex journey like some other RPGs. While the idea of what a Pokemon could be as well as the creatures’ origins and role in their world have evolved as time went on, the core of the series remained the same.
While the developers used to be happy to leave most Pokemon alone after introducing them, the series has gradually come up with new methods to spice up or polish evolutionary lines as time went on. Gen 2 started the trend by giving plenty of Pokemon from the previous generation new evolutions. Gen 4 famously went further with its own “Sinnoh Evolutions.” Later games, such asSwordandShield, integrated regional forms into giving new evolutions to older Pokemon. FuturePokemongames, including the upcomingScarletandViolet, should stop normalizing this and go back to making new evolutions a permanent part of the original line.
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Lack of Guaranteed Loyalty
ModernPokemongameshave been divisive in a way that the older games never had to endure. One particular criticism is the strict yearly cycle that allegedly jeopardizes the games’ quality. The contemporary way to implementing new evolutions to older Pokemon may be the end of result of such practices. While it is logical to have regional variants turn into something entirely new, because of how the different environment affects the Pokemon in question, the games’ reliance on regional variants to revisit older Pokemon remains problematic.
One thing that made Pokemon like Kingdra,Crobat, and Scizor in Gen 2, as well as the likes of Togekiss, Gliscor, and Roserade in Gen 4 is how they changed evolutionary lines and people’s perception of them forever. These Pokemon, before their lines were finally complete, were at best creatures with an appealing design and memorable role in the anime. At worse, they were a nuisance with less than stellar battle capabilities.
The evolved forms they subsequently got made them a temporary part of the training, rather than the final result. They finally had a place in both single-player teams and competitive battling. This was especially the case with what Gen 4 did. Many of thesePokemon were introduced in Gen 2, whose roster had a plethora of un-evolved monsters with designs that pop, but were not enough for players to ignore their mediocre capability. With so many Pokemon that have yet to meet their full potential despite their fans, it is strange that the people behind this juggernaut of a series never bothered going back to what Gen 2 and Gen 4 started.
While Pokemon like Obstagoon, Sirfetch’d, and Cursola have understandably won people over, they should not be the norm. Farfetch’d and Corsola might at least have new forms in some capacity nowadays, but their regular forms are left with nothing.Pokemon Legends: Arceusdid something similar. Qwilfish and Stantler, two other Pokemon that have evolved from or into another monster, finally got evolutions, but strictly in a regional context. This might mean that these Pokemon will never have a “’regular” new evolution, since the regional variants covered these demands.
While adding depth to thePokemonuniverse’s different regions is nice, the series should not forget what it used to do with evolutions. Some Pokemon are simply incapable of keeping up with their more popular counterparts unless their line permanently changes. Ceasing Gen 8’s habit of limiting new evolutions to regional variants would makethe upcoming ninthPokemongenerationa potential blessing for neglected Pokemon.
