So do the likes of Girafarig, Beheeyem and Pyroar. It's not only Kanto 'mons that become lost in obscurity as time goes by, but they're disproportionately well represented among those lifted out of it.
I don't think people have a problem with Kanto getting attention per se. The problem comes when Kanto gets attention and hardly anbody else does. Repeatedly. Megas were quite fine in that respect; there was a lot of Kanto representation, but most other gens got their share too. If anything, the issue of Gen VI was just that Kanto 'mons were put too much towards the frontline in-game in XY. The "KANTOOOOO" meme seems to be more recent than that, it's a late Gen VII thing, but I think its roots are found in Gen VI (even though Megas had little to do with it): The overuse of Kanto in XY made fans aware of the favouritism, and from then on Game Freak seems to have doubled down on it. Kanto 'mons overwhelm Gen VII almost as much as they did Gen VI, then there was a dedicated Kanto game in LGPE, and still we're seeing Kanto over-represented in Gen VIII, as if LGPE wasn't enough. Even after fans began expressing that they've had enough of Kanto now, and wish for other generations to get a share of the limelight, the Kanto pandering coupled with an apparent neglect of later generations continues in full force.
What we're seeing with the KANTOOOO meme, and which I think is a legitimate concern in light of Dexit, is fans starting to lose hope for their post-Kanto favourite 'mons. If your favourite Pokémon is something obscure like Crawdaunt or Aromatisse, and Game Freak says they'll cut down on Pokémon representation in future games while continuing to frontline Kanto (and the current generation, but that one will be dropped like a hot potato the minute the next gen is out), what can you expect for your favourite 'mon? The hopes of it getting an upgrade was slim enough already, but now it has to compete for even being in the games. The whole Dexit discussion is a separate topic for a separate thread, but combined with Kanto favouritism it sends a very strong, if inadvertent message: "Don't get too attached to anything unless it's from Kanto; we won't give it any attention and may not even keep it around in the future". And if that's the case, why stick around with the franchise if it contines to frontline Pokémon you don't care for, while forgetting the ones you do? If the reason why you're a fan is effectively removed from the games, why would you keep buying them? I don't think Pokémon has quite lost it yet, and it's still a little too early to tell exactly how Gen VIII will fare, but I think the strategy chosen for the next few games will make or break the future of the franchise.
Hard(ish) disagree. I'm the guy who's been doing the regular dex updates on the official Sword and Shield news thread, and from a representation standpoint Kanto doesn't really have much of a lead. Lemme get the latest stats real quick, keeping in mind these aren't considering leaks...
Kanto - 49 (46 original, 3 regional variants)
Johto - 31 (22 original, 5 cross-gen evolutions, 4 cross-gen pre-evolutions) (+3)
Hoenn - 33 (30 original, 2 regional variants, 1 cross-gen pre-evolution) (+1, I already had Shiftry counted last update)
Sinnoh - 34 (21 original, 10 cross-gen evolutions, 3 cross-gen pre-evolutions) (+2)
Unova - 64 (all original) (+6)
Kalos - 28 (27 original, 1 cross-gen evolution)
Alola - 28 (all original) (+1)
Galar - 30 (28 original, 2 cross-gen evolutions)
Total - 296 (+12)
Percentages (Rounded down, now going down to nearest tenth for overall Galar Dex %)
Kanto - 32% of Kanto mons, 16.5% of Galar Pokedex
Johto - 31% of Johto mons, 10.4% of Galar Pokedex
Hoenn - 24% of Hoenn mons, 11.1% of Galar Pokedex
Sinnoh - 31% of Sinnoh mons, 11.4% of Galar Pokedex
Unova - 41% of Unova mons, 21.6% of Galar Pokedex
Kalos - 41% of Kalos mons, 9.4% of Galar Pokedex
Alola - 32% of Alola mons, 9.4% of Galar Pokedex
Galar - 10.1% of Galar Pokedex
At first it seems Kanto has a pretty big lead, but that's only in terms of overall Galar Pokedex. When you look at representation from the home dex and compare it to others, Kanto only has a measly 1% lead over Johto and Sinnoh, and is tied with Alola. It's actually Unova and Kalos who have the disproportionate lead, especially Unova who wins both categories. Now this is obviously incomplete and could be upset in the final product, but for now there's not much cause for concern roster-wise.
And it's not like the other generations' obscure and unpopular Pokemon have been totally axed. We've seen Vespiquen, Maractus, Unfezant, Qwilfish and more confirmed. This is also Cherrim's first appearance in a regional Pokedex since Diamond, Pearl and Platinum: It was catchable in games like ORAS but only via postgame activities.
So on those two fronts - representation and usage of less popular/liked Pokemon - I'd say Gens 2-7 and their fans have nothing to worry about. The only admittedly biased point is alternate forms like Gigantamaxes and Galarian forms, but you never know, those could turn around with more reveals!
Can we please, please,
please stop shitting our pants over Gen 1 stuff? This shit is getting [REDACTED]-tier annoying and repetitive. We get it, GF likes Kanto mons, now let's move on please and judge these forms on their own merits.