Pokemon that were more prominent in a generation besides their own

[Yung Dramps]

Here's a random-ass thing that just popped into my head, no clue if it's enough to sustain a whole thread but here we go.

Ya ever look at a certain Pokemon and think "Huh, this little guy got more exposure in a future generation than the one it debuted in"? Whether it be a mainline game, the countless bits and bobs of spinoff media or even more meta things like competitive play, what are some cases you can think of concerning Pokemon that saw the height of their popularity and exposure only after their debut generations closed out?

Mantine may be a Gen 2 mon, but it would take all the way until Gen 7 for its golden age to come about. The opening pair of Alola games started out by giving it probably the biggest buff of any of the old mon buffs it did, not only bumping up its HP by 20 points but also finally giving it reliable recovery in Roost. These changes may have not made it Skarmory-tier, but they were more than enough to make it a niche but usable option as a bulky water type even in the highest echelons of Smogon play. At a more casual level USUM really kicked things into overdrive by introducing Mantine Surf, an entire generally well-received minigame based around the manta ray.

This is a little less cut-and-dry since the Treecko line has always been well-liked, but Grovyle specifically got some major street cred in Gen 4 by being one of the most beloved central characters of that generation's Mystery Dungeon titles that it didn't really have before or since.

 

[Ironmage]

Well, time to bring up my favourite again.

Skarmory in gen 2 is a 5% encounter on a completely optional route, and has no notable trainers that use it. Skarmory in gen 3 is admittedly still a 5% encounter, but on a required route with its own small sidequest that requires going through the grass constantly, and gets to be the champion's lead. Then it manages to be the first boss in PMD. Skarmory, along with the Slugma line, are mons that I have a really hard time remembering they are from gen 2 and not gen 3.

This could probably be said of several gen 2 mons, but I'm most aware of the ones that show up more in gen 3 since that was my starting generation.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Mandibuzz. (and Braviary to a lesser extent too).

Mandibuzz was introduced in Black and White (Gen 5), but in its debut generation it was extremely obscure. Not a single NPC Trainer in BW1 used Vullaby or Mandibuzz (at least Braviary got to be used by one of the Riches and Cynthia post-game). Braviary is to a lesser extent also obscure but at least got one representation in BW2 Both Rufflet and Vullaby also obtained very late in the game, and despite being a relatively common encounter, people at that point aren't concerned with catching new mons and are on their way to the League to deal with N as soon as possible, so it's easy to pass by. Granted, it's a bit more prevalent in BW2 where there's a free Mandibuzz on Route 4 in Black 2 and some NPCs actually do use Mandibuzz. The same goes for Braviary likewise. That being said, Rufflet and Vullaby are still not used at all by any NPC trainers.

Mandibuzz and its pre-evolution Vullaby get considerably more spotlight in Gen 7, where Vullaby is (unfortunately) obtainable early in Moon (and likewise, Rufflet in Sun) and a handful of NPCs use it, and furthermore, it's also used by Kahili of the Elite Four, so it gets a chance to have some prominence in Sun and Moon as well as USUM, giving Mandibuzz and its counterpart Braviary considerably more spotlight in these games. Braviary's Dex entries even give it a place of cultural importance in the Alola region where it's revered in the region as a hero of the sky.

Both are also seen in Sword and Shield where they are very prevalent in the Wild Area. Still, while both are Gen 5 Pokémon, they are very obscure in their debut games, so much so that I needed to look them up on the Internet back then to realize they even existed.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

There's a Gen II theme emerging, but

Tyranitar.

Despite it being unthinkable now for a pseudo-legendary to not get star billing in their own generation, Tyranitar is completely anonymous in GSC. Neither the Rock-type or the Dark-type specialist use it, nor does the Champion nor the most powerful Gym Leader. Instead Dragonite takes centre stage once again. It took until Gen III for Tyranitar to get some decent exposure, firstly as the most powerful Shadow Pokemon in Colosseum and then as part of Blue's team in FRLG.

Since then it's proudly taken its place alongside the other pseudos and regularly gets used by prominent trainers in most main series installments. Gen VI obviously gave it a Mega evolution, and it outranks Hydreigon in the B2W2 Unova Pokedex listing as the final non-legendary Pokemon in the dex (which is often the spot reserved for that gen's pseudo). It very much got the plaudits it deserved later on, but damn if GSC wasn't spectacularly unkind to it.

(Also Mantine gets a good bit of exposure in B2W2 too, being one of Marlon's prominent Pokemon and apparently the one which taught him to swim.)

There are a few others which spring to mind, such as Eevee, but it's late where I am so I'll leave them for now and someone else will probably beat me to them.

 

[Zebes]

Really interesting topic and I'm looking forward answers.

Espeon (and possibly Umbreon) would be a great example for it. It wasn't good in GSC because training by happiness is annoying and it only learns Psybeam at level 36. Adding to that, Kadabra/Alakazam outclasses it in every way and is way more consistent in the game, having a better level up movepool and easier to get. There is no important trainer using it, except for Sabrina which is in post-game anyway and uses Alakazam too. The same could have been said for Umbreon because it's not particuarly good in game but at least it's the signature mon of Karen and it's incredibly painful to face and you can't forget it.

Pokemon Colosseum is really the time to shine for Espeon. It's not only the starter, leading to great exposure and is the best Pokemon in the whole game. It also doesn't face competition with another Psychic-type seeing as it's the only one available (except for Meditite but ir's a physical attacker). It will just run through the game, having a solid level up movepool and except for like Weevil's Tyranitar has no troubles cleaning the opponent team. Umbreon isn't as good but still having it as a starter is cool too.

Really, Pokemon Colosseum was great in showcasing Espeon (and Umbreon) on the jacket and showcasing a heavily underrated Pokemon in Espeon. It's an amazing special Glass clanon that is sadly overshadowed by Alakazam in other gens.

 

[The Mind Electric]

Azumarill is not very good in its debut generation. It has respectable HP and Defense/Special Defense, but its Attack/Special Attack and Speed are pretty awful. Doesn't help that the strongest STAB it gets by level up in gen 2 is fucking Bubble Beam.

Then it got Huge Power, physical Water moves in the next generation, and a Fairy type a couple generations after that. After those buffs, it's quite good, because its previously bad Attack stat is doubled by Huge Power and it can use that Attack to fight Dragon types. Just don't use one with Thick Fat.

 

[Hugin]

Espeon was actually good in GSC, but you had to know how. Eevee learns SAtk-powered Bite at 30, so an Espeon that evolves between 30 and 36 is actually ridiculous, being able to sweep opposing Psychic trainers easily. And intentionally delaying evolution until then makes the Happiness less painful. I didn't feel like it was overshadowed it's opening gen, but that may just be that I loved it and used it in multiple runs as a kid.

Slugma/Magcargo are big ones for me. In GSC, they're a 5%-35% encounter on Kanto's cycling road and nowhere else. IIRC, the only trainer who uses one is Blaine. They don't even have a cool factor like Houndoom. Then Gen III comes along and they're available relatively early, are so common as to be basically a forced encounter, and are prominently used by one of the evil teams AND Flannery. Plus their ability is in high demand for people who want to breed. I regularly forget that they WEREN'T introduced in Hoenn's Fiery Path.

 

[Scorpio]

Meditite family, Roselia, and Chimecho, three Pokémon that were rather obscure in Gen 3. Come Gen 4 though, Roselia got a baby and an evo, plus the former was right at the start of the game. The Meditite family was placed way earlier in your quest in Sinnoh, and while Chimecho itself probably remained a bit obscure (I think one trainer uses it, and it’s still rather rare in the wild), its new prevo Chingling is very prominent, appearing quite a bit in the wild (even in places where IMO Chimecho should be more common)

 

[Wukong]

Houndoom was used by prominent trainers like Archer and Karen but never really found a true home until Platinum Sinnoh. Only in Platinum did it finally become a viable option for an in game team, nearly ten years after it was first introduced. Johto was not kind to its own Pokémon at all.

 

[Siggu]

Why not begin with the most recent example?



Outside of the DP remakes, I can't really think WHY would they suddenly advertise Bidoof so much this year.

 

[AquaticPanic]

I have no idea why but Sun and Moon gave the Hypno line out of all things some highlights. Notably:

• In the first Grand Trial, a Skull Grunt uses a Drowzee. This is, from a game design standpoint, because you'd be expected to use Fighting types to beat the Normal trial, so the game finds an excuse to slip in a Psychic type in there for a mix up. But for out of all Psychic-Types in the game (or anything SE vs Fighting really, not like Zubat isn't common amongst Skull Grunts), Drowzee is the one picked for whatever reason.

​

• In Royal Avenue's Market, there's a person dressed up as Hypno attempting to get money

​

• It shows up in the School Mysteries Side Quest, using an illusion to pose as a teacher​

​

• There's an entire side quest centered around figuring out which of 3 Hypno commited a crime, each having a different moveset that could've aided in commiting a crime​

​

• Lastly, it's Faba's ace. Somehow, Hypno of all creatures managed to be selected to become the Ace of an Antagonist Team Admin.​

 

[Siggu]

Lastly, it's Faba's ace. Somehow, Hypno of all creatures managed to be selected to become the Ace of an Antagonist Team Admin.

Do not forget the part where Faba's clearly established to dislike children...

 

[The Mind Electric]

Outside of the DP remakes, I can't really think WHY would they suddenly advertise Bidoof so much this year.

Because it's adorable and kind of a meme. Perfect for online advertising.

 

[Siggu]

Because it's adorable and kind of a meme. Perfect for online advertising.

Maybe, but they could have done that any time before, especially with that Canada Day meme they did. But why now? If it's not because of the remakes, I'm clueless.

 

[The Mind Electric]

Maybe, but they could have done that any time before, especially with that Canada Day meme they did. But why now? If it's not because of the remakes, I'm clueless.

From what I've seen, GF has a history of being slow to figure things out. They do it, but slowly. Wouldn't surprise me if they've only just now realized that Bidoof has massive meme marketing potential after the response to BD/SP.

 

[R_N]

Maybe, but they could have done that any time before, especially with that Canada Day meme they did. But why now? If it's not because of the remakes, I'm clueless.

they started doing bidoof stuff last year and a small bit the year prior too

Likely it's just been a push the social media arm has been pushing internall for a while since it's a cute marketable pokemon with a strong amount of recgonizability and meme status.

 

[AquaticPanic]

Why not begin with the most recent example?



Outside of the DP remakes, I can't really think WHY would they suddenly advertise Bidoof so much this year.

I mean, you kind of answered yourself. Bidoof is a popular Gen 4 mon and they have announced the Gen 4 remakes + a new Sinnoh game, its pretty clear the reason why Bidoof is being advertised is because of the remakes.

 

[NaturalTropius]

Hm! There are actually quite a lot of these, I'd say. Here are a few.

Oddly enough, Geodude to an extent! It was far more low-key in Gen I- being mostly reserved for Hikers and caves in the midgame. But come Gen II, it's suddenly one of the best Pokemon in the game- and an insanely early encounter as well! It goes from something that was occasionally used to what is about the most useful thing not named Abra in Johto, and even though it isn't really used by in-game opposing trainers much more, it's got what basically is a starring role in GSC.

Magnemite for B2W2- while it's useful and obtainable basically everywhere beforehand, it wasn't until B2W2 where it became an early encounter. Same deal as Geodude- became utterly broken as an option. To a lesser extent, Elekid/Magby as well.

Teddiursa in XD- from rare late-game encounter in GS to a guaranteed catch at the start of the game, and a really good one too!

Buneary, Zorua, and Inkay in USUM all were brand new encounters to the beginning-game, as opposed to early-mid or mid-game encounters. USUM in my opinion did a lot for quite a few lesser-seen Pokemon that lucked into making it onto Melemele.

 

[lucariomaster2]

Be honest: Did you ever realize that Skarmory, Slugma, Chinchou, or Natu were gen II? Admittedly I'm biased because Sapphire was my first "proper" game (I owned and tried to play Gold beforehand, but I was clueless to the point of not knowing how to exit the player's house at the start of the game). So my first introduction to those four and their evolutionary lines wasn't in Johto, but in Hoenn. Additionally, all of them are incredibly out-of-the-way encounters in Johto that you would only find if you were specifically looking for them, but they're all uncommon at worst in Hoenn (Skarmory is the rarest of the bunch, but it shows up in 2 required battles so you'll at least see it).

 

[QuentinQuonce]

There's a Gen II theme emerging, but


View attachment 361275

Tyranitar.

Despite it being unthinkable now for a pseudo-legendary to not get star billing in their own generation, Tyranitar is completely anonymous in GSC. Neither the Rock-type or the Dark-type specialist use it, nor does the Champion nor the most powerful Gym Leader. Instead Dragonite takes centre stage once again. It took until Gen III for Tyranitar to get some decent exposure, firstly as the most powerful Shadow Pokemon in Colosseum and then as part of Blue's team in FRLG.

Since then it's proudly taken its place alongside the other pseudos and regularly gets used by prominent trainers in most main series installments. Gen VI obviously gave it a Mega evolution, and it outranks Hydreigon in the B2W2 Unova Pokedex listing as the final non-legendary Pokemon in the dex (which is often the spot reserved for that gen's pseudo). It very much got the plaudits it deserved later on, but damn if GSC wasn't spectacularly unkind to it.

(Also Mantine gets a good bit of exposure in B2W2 too, being one of Marlon's prominent Pokemon and apparently the one which taught him to swim.)

There are a few others which spring to mind, such as Eevee, but it's late where I am so I'll leave them for now and someone else will probably beat me to them.

Okay so I just woke up and I'm amazed that no one has beaten me to it, so...

Eevee.

In Gen I, Eevee is just kind of... there. It's fairly easy to miss if you don't already know where it is; it evolves three ways and has the whole lore about having an unstable genetic makeup, yadda yadda, but IIRC no NPCs use Eeveelutions in battle until Yellow, when Blue has one as his starter and evolves it differently depending on how well you battle him. It was a cool and popular Pokemon at the time, but it was fairly unexceptional in terms of raw star power.

Gen II made Eevee more of a "big-name" Pokemon, and more properly embedded the idea that Eevee can change into a potentially unlimited array of forms by adding the cool and highly coveted Espeon and Umbreon to its evolutionary family. A boy in Ecruteak City expresses confusion that his Eevee evolved into Espeon while his friend's evolved into Umbreon, saying that they were both raising them the same way. Several NPC trainers use Eevee and its Eeveelutions, not least Karen, Sabrina, and the five Kimono Girls. Bill gives the player an Eevee as a gift. Breeding means that the player has a chance to get all five Eeveelutions, which makes raising it all the more interesting.

Gen III continued along this theme - Colosseum elevated Espeon and Umbreon to starter Pokemon, and FRLG's nonexistent in-game clock meant that the twosome were even more coveted than before. Finally XD made Eevee a starter, something I guarantee a lot of players wanted ever since Blue snatched the Eevee meant for the player in Yellow. An opponent in the Orre Colossem has all six forms as his team. Finally, in the anime, while no main character had had an Eevee of their own in the original series, Gary obtained one in Johto which became an Umbreon, and May hatched one in Hoenn.

Gen IV gave Eevee the Grass-type and Ice-type evolutions a lot of fans had expected, with Eevee once again being a gift Pokemon via Bebe and Hayley, but also finally catchable in the wild for the first time. Even though neither Leafeon or Glaceon was a game-defining mon in the way Espeon and Umbreon were, the addition of two more evolutions meant that Eevee continued being popular and much-discussed throughout Gen IV. It got no new evolutions in Gen V, but remained prominent thanks to the whole family receiving nifty new Hidden Abilities only obtainable via event-exclusive FunFest missions or by yet again being a gift Pokemon.

In Gen VI Eevee became the sole older Pokemon to get a cross-generational evolution in the form of Sylveon. As with Leafeon and Glaceon, the addition of a new evolution meant that attention stayed firmly on Eevee in Gen VI. Once again, there's a special one-time Eevee in the form of an in-game trade. Gen VII once again made it a prominent gift Pokemon thanks to it being the first Egg the player can receive - but that's not all. It was given its own game - transformed into a starter Pokemon in Let's Go, with a brand-new form and a grab-bag of new moves like Bouncy Bubble and Freezy Frost. And as if that wasn't enough, Game Freak decided it needed a Gigantamax Form just in case anyone wasn't aware of it enough yet. And then it also became the starter Pokemon in Cafe Mix.

Eevee is quite possibly the only Pokemon which has actually seemed to become more prominent in every single generation. Not even, say, Gengar, Charizard, or Lucario can boast that - they've gotten neat new tricks in Mega Evolutions and Dynamax, but they've had generations "off". Gengar and Charizard didn't manifestly improve in Gen II or IV and Lucario stayed more or less the same in Gen VII. But Eevee has been the recipient of delightful new toys and tricks every single generation to the point where I'm amazed it took as long as it did for it to end up headlining its own game.

 

[Fluke]

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Okay so I just woke up and I'm amazed that no one has beaten me to it, so...

Eevee.

View attachment 361402


In Gen I, Eevee is just kind of... there. It's fairly easy to miss if you don't already know where it is; it evolves three ways and has the whole lore about having an unstable genetic makeup, yadda yadda, but IIRC no NPCs use Eeveelutions in battle until Yellow, when Blue has one as his starter and evolves it differently depending on how well you battle him. It was a cool and popular Pokemon at the time, but it was fairly unexceptional in terms of raw star power.

Gen II made Eevee more of a "big-name" Pokemon, and more properly embedded the idea that Eevee can change into a potentially unlimited array of forms by adding the cool and highly coveted Espeon and Umbreon to its evolutionary family. A boy in Ecruteak City expresses confusion that his Eevee evolved into Espeon while his friend's evolved into Umbreon, saying that they were both raising them the same way. Several NPC trainers use Eevee and its Eeveelutions, not least Karen, Sabrina, and the five Kimono Girls. Bill gives the player an Eevee as a gift. Breeding means that the player has a chance to get all five Eeveelutions, which makes raising it all the more interesting.

Gen III continued along this theme - Colosseum elevated Espeon and Umbreon to starter Pokemon, and FRLG's nonexistent in-game clock meant that the twosome were even more coveted than before. Finally XD made Eevee a starter, something I guarantee a lot of players wanted ever since Blue snatched the Eevee meant for the player in Yellow. An opponent in the Orre Colossem has all six forms as his team. Finally, in the anime, while no main character had had an Eevee of their own in the original series, Gary obtained one in Johto which became an Umbreon, and May hatched one in Hoenn.

Gen IV gave Eevee the Grass-type and Ice-type evolutions a lot of fans had expected, with Eevee once again being a gift Pokemon via Bebe and Hayley, but also finally catchable in the wild for the first time. Even though neither Leafeon or Glaceon was a game-defining mon in the way Espeon and Umbreon were, the addition of two more evolutions meant that Eevee continued being popular and much-discussed throughout Gen IV. It got no new evolutions in Gen V, but remained prominent thanks to the whole family receiving nifty new Hidden Abilities only obtainable via event-exclusive FunFest missions or by yet again being a gift Pokemon.

In Gen VI Eevee became the sole older Pokemon to get a cross-generational evolution in the form of Sylveon. As with Leafeon and Glaceon, the addition of a new evolution meant that attention stayed firmly on Eevee in Gen VI. Once again, there's a special one-time Eevee in the form of an in-game trade. Gen VII once again made it a prominent gift Pokemon thanks to it being the first Egg the player can receive - but that's not all. It was given its own game - transformed into a starter Pokemon in Let's Go, with a brand-new form and a grab-bag of new moves like Bouncy Bubble and Freezy Frost. And as if that wasn't enough, Game Freak decided it needed a Gigantamax Form just in case anyone wasn't aware of it enough yet. And then it also became the starter Pokemon in Cafe Mix.

Eevee is quite possibly the only Pokemon which has actually seemed to become more prominent in every single generation. Not even, say, Gengar, Charizard, or Lucario can boast that - they've gotten neat new tricks in Mega Evolutions and Dynamax, but they've had generations "off". Gengar and Charizard didn't manifestly improve in Gen II or IV and Lucario stayed more or less the same in Gen VII. But Eevee has been the recipient of delightful new toys and tricks every single generation to the point where I'm amazed it took as long as it did for it to end up headlining its own game.

One little thing you forgot to mention: in SM and USUM, Eevee was one of the few who was fortunate enough to get its own signature Z-Move: Extreme Evoboost.

Also the anime has pushed Eevee even harder in recent times than in the past. In the XY anime Serena got an Eevee that eventually evolved into a Sylveon. Lana has a special Eevee in the SM series. And now in the current Journeys series, Chloe has an Eevee as her starter Pokémon. Ever since XY at least one main character has gotten an Eevee to align with the attention it's been receiving in the recent generations.

 

[Siggu]

As much as I don't like it, Eevee has indeed got a lot of attention starting with XY.

Which is kind of weird at the same time, as while it was a consistent merch Pokémon through its entire existence, it was kind of a side note (in a "yeah, it's popular, but not THAT much" way) until it was suddenly plastered everywhere.

Could say the same about Charizard (with the little massive difference that I like it).

 

[R_N]

Definitely agreed about eevee. I made a similar comment a couple years ago, especially how it kicked into overdrive in gen 7.
For all intents and purposes it's basically the series' second mascot now.

 

[Ironmage]

Here's some more gen 1 mons, now that we're taking a break from bashing gen 2.

There aren't any notable late-game bug trainers in gen 1 to make use of these two mons, and any other trainer that just happens to take a bug type used venomoth instead. They're a version-exclusive pair, because why would you need more than two not completely awful bug-types one one file?

In gen 2, Scyther gets to be Bugsy's ace/only useful mon and an evolution, and pinsir gets a new counterpart that fits much better (the Hercules and Stag beetles are famous rivals in japanese pop culture). Though, it would take until later for these two to get out from under the shadow of the gen 2 additions: scyther in gen 5 for being a 500 BST evioloite user, pinsir in gen 6 for finally getting a STAB that could measure up to Heracross' Megahorn.