Pokemon that were more prominent in a generation besides their own

[Gangsta Spongebob]

In-Game:



The most contrete example of this to me is the Meditite line. They're really forgettable in Gen 3, and while not superstars they are a lot more memorable in DPP, at least in my opinion. Apparently Game Freak thought this too, as Wild Meditite can be found using the Sinnoh Sound feature in HGSS, despite a Hoenn Sound already existing.

Competitive:



Scizor was super meh comp-wise in Gen 2 and 3 due to it having a bad movepool. Its best attacks were Hidden Power, Silver Wind, and Reversal, so you're best off just using it for Baton Pass. It wasn't fully buffed in DP but by Platinum it got Bullet Punch, U-Turn, Superpower, Bug Bite, Physical Pursuit, the list goes on. It went from a mediocre at best Pokemon to a king of the Meta.



It's ironic as from what I understand Snorlax is basically mandatory in every RBY Team, but is somehow even more prominent in GSC.

 

[bdt2002]

In-Game:



The most contrete example of this to me is the Meditite line. They're really forgettable in Gen 3, and while not superstars they are a lot more memorable in DPP, at least in my opinion. Apparently Game Freak thought this too, as Wild Meditite can be found using the Sinnoh Sound feature in HGSS, despite a Hoenn Sound already existing.

Competitive:



Scizor was super meh comp-wise in Gen 2 and 3 due to it having a bad movepool. Its best attacks were Hidden Power, Silver Wind, and Reversal, so you're best off just using it for Baton Pass. It wasn't fully buffed in DP but by Platinum it got Bullet Punch, U-Turn, Superpower, Bug Bite, Physical Pursuit, the list goes on. It went from a mediocre at best Pokemon to a king of the Meta.



It's ironic as from what I understand Snorlax is basically mandatory in every RBY Team, but is somehow even more prominent in GSC.

All three of these Pokémon makes for good examples, especially the last two in competitive like you said. Scizor was buffed to the moon in Platinum, and actually didn't get access to its new Ability until then if you only played Pearl, as Scyther was originally a Diamond exclusive (I had to fact check this late into posting, I didn't know this until I double-checked the DP postgame!) and any transferred in Gen 3 Scyther/Scizor had to have Swarm instead. Moving onto GSC Snorlax, it's safe to say that this thing received a few buffs despite its top tier performance in RBY. It absolutely loves the new Special Defense stat, and was one of only two fully evolved RBY Pokémon (the other being Slowbro if you're wondering) to benefit from the universal addition of a 6.25% critical hit ratio. The non-Ghost-Type version of Curse is a move that seems almost tailor-made for Snorlax, and its already wide movepool was buffed even further with options like Belly Drum, Shadow Ball, Hidden Power and an improved STAB Self-Destruct. Held items also grant every Pokémon an indirect buff, so there's that.

 

[Ironmage]

If we're including competitive activity, we probably also need to note every mon that got a weather-setting ability after their original game (Ninetales and Politoed in gen 5, Torkoal, Pelliper, Gigalith, and Vanilluxe in Gen 7).

 

[Melons-N-Soda]

In the games themselves, Meowth is another Kanto Pokemon whose had an up and down streak.

In regular Red and Blue, Meowth/Persian are version exclusives to Mankey's line of all things, available on a few early-ish routes and is one of the best Pokemon to take advantage of Gen 1's dumb crit mechanics thanks to STAB Slash, but thanks to the anime, they ended up becoming pretty memorable Pokemon, and display more prominently in Yellow, being apart of the teams of both Giovanni and Jessie/James.

Gen 2 was no different than in Red and Blue. Version exclusive, but the route it was on had much stronger Normal-type options like Tauros or Miltank.

Gen 3 saw Meowth gain the Pickup ability which made it useful in FRLG, somewhat at least. In Emerald, you could get a Meowth for Skitty in the post-game oddly enough.

Gen 4 saw Meowth/Persian gain Technician, giving them minor niches in lower echelons of competitive play, but not enough to give them high marks. Persian was outclassed by Ambipom in Gen 4 UU and faces competition with Purrugly in the tiers below that.

Gens 5 and 6, same deal really.

Gen 7 though is Meowth's first appearance in regional dex since Johto, and it gets a spanking new form to boot. Alolan Persian is considered more competitively viable than its Kantonian counterpart in no part thanks to Fur Coat being such a good ability, even with its doofy looking head. Kanto Meowth also roams around the players home in the Alola games too.

Gen 8 gives it yet another regional variant, the only Pokemon so far to have more than one, and one that evolves into an entirely new species. (I personally like Perrserker more than both forms of Persian actually) It also gains a non-evolving variant that can Gigantamax much like Pikachu and Eevee.

Its a case where its surprising they took so long to give Meowth prominence again in the games themselves. Its been in the anime since the very beginning, but unlike other Pokemon made famous by the anime such as Pikachu and even Wobbuffet, its taken quite a while to reach a level where its easily noticeable.

Honorable mention goes to Kingler. Appears in the Galar Dex when it hasn't popped up in any regional dex since Johto prior, and gains a Gigantamax form. Ash had one in the anime but among the tons of Pokemon he had in Kanto/Orange Islands, Kingler is in the bottom half of them in terms of memorability. Hitmons had a similar break to Kingler but IMO are more memorable in Kanto/Johto than in Galar despite Bea having Hitmontop.

 

[Yung Dramps]

I dunno why, but Legends Arceus seems to be absolutely enamored with the Spheal line and I'm all for it. It's been all over the place in the game's marketing, from camera shots to key art to the Hisui map. It even got a star role in today's official Hisuian Voltorb animation!

 

[TheMantyke]

This pokemon is probably best described now as "evil Furret". It's in the same situation where it's from Gen 2, but has only really gotten popular within the last four years thanks to internet things. I just wish I could remember it's name...

 

[Pikachu315111]

This pokemon is probably best described now as "evil Furret". It's in the same situation where it's from Gen 2, but has only really gotten popular within the last four years thanks to internet things. I just wish I could remember it's name...

View attachment 392719

Is Slugma really that hard to remember? It's "Slug" + "Magma", it's the animal its based on and then what it's made out of. Also the only notable thing I know that's been done with Slugma lately is the Poketoons episode featuring it. What "internet things" are you talking about? Like, I know in TeamFourStar's Nuzlocke of SoulSilver they got a Slugma from an Egg which they treated like it was their child (annoying a lot of fans until it got OHKOed by an Arbok), but that's a very niche case.

 

[TheMantyke]

Slugma

Hide

SLUG MA BALLS LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO

edit: okay so this post isn't just a one liner reply, I would in fact say that Slugma is a pretty easy Pokemon to forget. Like, honestly, the easiest way for someone to encounter him has been playing through Coliseum or doing the post game FRLG ruby stuff on Mt. Ember. Stark Mountain's there too, but yeah, still post game. It's out of the way post game in GSC, in HGSS you need to use some cryptic code to actually use it before the post game, and at this point I'm actually looking up what other regional dexes Slugma is in because it's that low key a Pokemon...

I have now remembered upon this look up that Slugma is in the Volcano in RSE ORAS too and it's one of the few fire types available. This thing's putting in work over time to be this forgettable when it's that accessible in a game.

Being incorporated into the storm of Ligma memes has given it some new life and it's probably the most the Pokemon has been on people's minds in years.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Being incorporated into the storm of Ligma memes has given it some new life and it's probably the most the Pokemon has been on people's minds in years.

No, not really. That's probably even more niche than the TFS thing I mentioned.

I have now remembered upon this look up that Slugma is in the Volcano in RSE ORAS too and it's one of the few fire types available. This thing's putting in work over time to be this forgettable when it's that accessible in a game.

BUT mentioning this I do remember that for a small while people thought that Torkoal was an evolution of Magcargo until better sprites/official artwork revealed Torkoal was a turtle (then again in Pokemon a snail evolving into a turtle would only be just as strange as a fish evolving into an octopus).

 

[Aduro]

The most contrete example of this to me is the Meditite line. They're really forgettable in Gen 3, and while not superstars they are a lot more memorable in DPP, at least in my opinion. Apparently Game Freak thought this too, as Wild Meditite can be found using the Sinnoh Sound feature in HGSS, despite a Hoenn Sound already existing.

The physical special split definitely helped Meditite and Medicham. Meditite wasn't even banned in Gen III LC, and medicham straight-up had to run shadow ball as a coverage move.
Suddenly medicham went from a very limited wallbreaker to being an unprecedented psyshic type physical sweeper than could also annihilate steel type walls.

 

[Cheryl.]

This mon, while pretty beloved today, is probably one of the most obscure mons from its home generation. I mean, who ACTUALLY knew Mantine could be found in Gen 2 by surfing on the routes near Cianwood City? Probably not most people who weren't actively trying to complete the Dex, especially cause you'd already have a Water type to Surf with at that point in the game. It's a shame too, Mantine is honestly super unique for a Water type due to being part Flying and a huge special tank. It doesn't get much love in Gen 3 either, although it is catchable.

Now, with Gen 4, it does change for the better, slightly. Mantyke was added and is actually a common encounter in the routes it's found in! A decent number of trainers have the mon as well, unlike the past generations where Mantine was pretty much only seen in the wild. It gave the line more exposure to the playerbase, and to me personally, it grabbed my attention. Wow, I'd really like to use that mon! ...And then you realize they shoved Mantyke to the 8th gym town, even in BDSP with the Underground.

Mantine didn't receive much exposure past that small spotlight in Gen 4, but with the buffs given to it in recent generations, it's become a lot more well-known in the competitive scene at least, and that makes me happy. It's certainly not the best mon out there, but it's got a lot of unique traits that I wish the main games would help it show off more.

 

[Aduro]

This mon, while pretty beloved today, is probably one of the most obscure mons from its home generation. I mean, who ACTUALLY knew Mantine could be found in Gen 2 by surfing on the routes near Cianwood City? Probably not most people who weren't actively trying to complete the Dex, especially cause you'd already have a Water type to Surf with at that point in the game. It's a shame too, Mantine is honestly super unique for a Water type due to being part Flying and a huge special tank. It doesn't get much love in Gen 3 either, although it is catchable.

Now, with Gen 4, it does change for the better, slightly. Mantyke was added and is actually a common encounter in the routes it's found in! A decent number of trainers have the mon as well, unlike the past generations where Mantine was pretty much only seen in the wild. It gave the line more exposure to the playerbase, and to me personally, it grabbed my attention. Wow, I'd really like to use that mon! ...And then you realize they shoved Mantyke to the 8th gym town, even in BDSP with the Underground.

I think one of hte things that Mantine is most famous for is also the surfing minigame in Gen VII. Its not a terrible way to get bottle caps.

 

[Cheryl.]

I think one of hte things that Mantine is most famous for is also the surfing minigame in Gen VII. Its not a terrible way to get bottle caps.

I... completely forgot that existed I guess they DID acknowledge Mantine after Gen 4 after all!

 

[Yung Dramps]

what the unown text says

They did it. The madmen actually did it. It took 6 and a half generations, several of which it did not appear in the mainline games of AT ALL, but after all this time Legends Arceus has come and done the impossible: Without any new sort of new super form or major mechanical changes, it made UNOWN unironically fun.

Those who haven't played it yet, progressed enough or at least not aware of anything about the game yet might be in shock and awe. How did they do it? Well, it's simple: Unlike in DPPt, the Unown aren't all crammed into Solaceon Ruins, at least not right away. Instead you must hunt them across the world as Korok Seed-style collectables where you'll find them in silly situations, whether it be Unown-I lodging itself into the dirt like a plant or Unown-W pretending to be the eye of the Jubilife Village Magikarp statue. Once you get all of them this way you may then catch extras at Solaceon Ruins where you can even find Alpha versions. The best part is that for the collection portion you are given hints for each symbol, but they are all in Unown text. The brilliance of this set-up and how it ties into the Unown's theming in a clever way needs no further elaboration.

But that's not all! Upon catching them, they're not as useless in battle as you'd think from previous outings. Hidden Power is of course back, but not only is it now their signature move (as it always should've been frankly), but it now changes to the optimal super-effective type for whatever it's fighting rather than a set type based on IVs. Of course it's still Unown and this is still its only move, so it's not some monster now, but it's still a cool little gimmick. It also is a cool bit of subtle storytelling as it uses the same mechanics as Legend Plate Judgment on Arceus, solidifying the connection between the two without saying a word.

Legends Arceus marks the first time I have ever heard anyone unironically say they WANT to seek out all of the Unown forms. Not just as a chore for the sake of completionism but because their utilization is simply that innately engaging. And that's amazing.

 

[R_N]

Honestly I only sought them out as a chore

 

[AquaticPanic]

what the unown text says

They did it. The madmen actually did it. It took 6 and a half generations, several of which it did not appear in the mainline games of AT ALL, but after all this time Legends Arceus has come and done the impossible: Without any new sort of new super form or major mechanical changes, it made UNOWN unironically fun.

Those who haven't played it yet, progressed enough or at least not aware of anything about the game yet might be in shock and awe. How did they do it? Well, it's simple: Unlike in DPPt, the Unown aren't all crammed into Solaceon Ruins, at least not right away. Instead you must hunt them across the world as Korok Seed-style collectables where you'll find them in silly situations, whether it be Unown-I lodging itself into the dirt like a plant or Unown-W pretending to be the eye of the Jubilife Village Magikarp statue. Once you get all of them this way you may then catch extras at Solaceon Ruins where you can even find Alpha versions. The best part is that for the collection portion you are given hints for each symbol, but they are all in Unown text. The brilliance of this set-up and how it ties into the Unown's theming in a clever way needs no further elaboration.

But that's not all! Upon catching them, they're not as useless in battle as you'd think from previous outings. Hidden Power is of course back, but not only is it now their signature move (as it always should've been frankly), but it now changes to the optimal super-effective type for whatever it's fighting rather than a set type based on IVs. Of course it's still Unown and this is still its only move, so it's not some monster now, but it's still a cool little gimmick. It also is a cool bit of subtle storytelling as it uses the same mechanics as Legend Plate Judgment on Arceus, solidifying the connection between the two without saying a word.

Legends Arceus marks the first time I have ever heard anyone unironically say they WANT to seek out all of the Unown forms. Not just as a chore for the sake of completionism but because their utilization is simply that innately engaging. And that's amazing.

Spoilers

Not only are they super fun to hunt but they are also genuinely pretty useful for when you want to complete/perfect the dex. A huge amount of Pokémon have tasks where you need to defeat them with Super-Effective moves, and that's where Hidden Power comes in. While Unown isn't the strongest mon out there, a decent amount of these mons are found at lower levels so you can just grind some levels with the Alpha Chansey & Blissey while having your unown in the back so it can get levels and start OHKOing stuff

Now of course this isn't a flawless plan, for Pokémon with multiple weaknesses of the same value (Say, Tangrowth who needs to be defeated by Poison moves, but is equally weak to Bug, Fire, Ice and flying as well; Gabite needing to be defeated by Dragon but Hidden Power always rolling Ice over Dragon because Ice is 4x while Dragon is 2x, etc), but a decent portion of the mons that need to be defeated by a certain type either have it as their biggest weakness (Combee and Yanma needing Rock, Croagunk line needing Psychic, etc) or only have one weakness (Stunky, mono electrics, mono normals, etc)

The funniest part is that you could use Legend Plate Arceus for this - after all it has much better stats and comes at a way higher starting level - but in my opinion Unown is genuinely better because Judgement only has 5 PP and you only get to have a single Arceus while Hidden Power has triple the PP and you can catch as many unowns as you'd like, meaning you can complete more of the task at once instead of having to go back to camp so often to heal up PP

I never though I'd see the day half my post game team is made up of Lvl 75 Unowns with maxed out stats for unironic reasons, but here we are and I'm loving it

 

[Samtendo09]

Spoilers

Not only are they super fun to hunt but they are also genuinely pretty useful for when you want to complete/perfect the dex. A huge amount of Pokémon have tasks where you need to defeat them with Super-Effective moves, and that's where Hidden Power comes in. While Unown isn't the strongest mon out there, a decent amount of these mons are found at lower levels so you can just grind some levels with the Alpha Chansey & Blissey while having your unown in the back so it can get levels and start OHKOing stuff

Now of course this isn't a flawless plan, for Pokémon with multiple weaknesses of the same value (Say, Tangrowth who needs to be defeated by Poison moves, but is equally weak to Bug, Fire, Ice and flying as well; Gabite needing to be defeated by Dragon but Hidden Power always rolling Ice over Dragon because Ice is 4x while Dragon is 2x, etc), but a decent portion of the mons that need to be defeated by a certain type either have it as their biggest weakness (Combee and Yanma needing Rock, Croagunk line needing Psychic, etc) or only have one weakness (Stunky, mono electrics, mono normals, etc)

The funniest part is that you could use Legend Plate Arceus for this - after all it has much better stats and comes at a way higher starting level - but in my opinion Unown is genuinely better because Judgement only has 5 PP and you only get to have a single Arceus while Hidden Power has triple the PP and you can catch as many unowns as you'd like, meaning you can complete more of the task at once instead of having to go back to camp so often to heal up PP

I never though I'd see the day half my post game team is made up of Lvl 75 Unowns with maxed out stats for unironic reasons, but here we are and I'm loving it

Spoiler

That Hidden Power buff did give Unown a much needed battle-related utility or utility in general, didn’t it? A step in the right direction, I’ll say.

Safe to say that the Teddiursa line become more associated with Hisui than in Johto thanks to being more prominent in the formee than in the latter, especially regarding Ursaluna, Ursaring’s new evolution.

 

[PokePoindexter]

Spoilers

Also, let's not forget Gen 2's spiked balloon getting both a regional variant and evolution. Qwilfish actually saw some fringe competitive play in past gens, so it'll be interesting to see if Overqwil can make an impact in the modern day (assuming we'll ever be able to use it there, that is).

 

[Aduro]

Spoiler

That Hidden Power buff did give Unown a much needed battle-related utility or utility in general, didn’t it? A step in the right direction, I’ll say.

Safe to say that the Teddiursa line become more associated with Hisui than in Johto thanks to being more prominent in the formee than in the latter, especially regarding Ursaluna, Ursaring’s new evolution.

Hide

Yeah, Ursaring is a version exclusive. And it is buried away in victory road, so I'm not sure that anyone was using that line in gen II anyway. Its very late in the game to add a normal type to your team. Although I did use one in Gale of Darkness as it was available early, and pickup made it pretty useful.

Unown is definitely at its best in the generation. But I think it was already better known in Gen II because it had a main role in the third movie. Arguably the best pokemon movie.

 

[R_N]

Hide

Yeah, Ursaring is a version exclusive. And it is buried away in victory road, so I'm not sure that anyone was using that line in gen II anyway. Its very late in the game to add a normal type to your team. Although I did use one in Gale of Darkness as it was available early, and pickup made it pretty useful.

Unown is definitely at its best in the generation. But I think it was already better known in Gen II because it had a main role in the third movie. Arguably the best pokemon movie.

Hide

Yeah Unown in Gen 2 had an entire area dedicated to it, several puzzles dedicated to unlocking more, a full gimmicky pokedex, a prominent movie role as you said and basically had a dedicated TCG set to it. It debately had more "things" going for it than a lot of other Pokemon going for it.

Its stint in LA is definitely more prominent than recently just by default, but like...Unown really had a big foot forward to begin with, and when it comes back in games it tends to continue having a fair amount about it because its entire thing is its a pokemon you collect 28 versions of.

 

[Hugin]

Scyther in Gen 1 was a version exclusive you could only get from the Safari Zone or Game Corner, had a shallow movepool, and an iffy typing. Gen 2 added a gym battle against it, made it available early, gave it actual attacks, and added an evolution. Definitely a glow-up.

 

[Aduro]

Scyther in Gen 1 was a version exclusive you could only get from the Safari Zone or Game Corner, had a shallow movepool, and an iffy typing. Gen 2 added a gym battle against it, made it available early, gave it actual attacks, and added an evolution. Definitely a glow-up.

Scyther also appeared prominently in the orange islands arc of the anime. The orange league was just a few months before the release of Gold and Silver and teased a lot of stuff from Johto.

 

[Nokocchi]

I dunno why, but Legends Arceus seems to be absolutely enamored with the Spheal line and I'm all for it. It's been all over the place in the game's marketing, from camera shots to key art to the Hisui map. It even got a star role in today's official Hisuian Voltorb animation!

Hide

It is also notable one of only three Pokemon lines(the others being Paras and Vulpix) to not be any of the following catagories:
-A Gen IV Pokemon or evolutionary relative
-A Gen I-III Pokemon found in at least one version of the Sinnoh dex
-A Pokemon that gained a new form, evolution, or group member in Legends

 

[Robcore]

I'm genuinely surprised that nobody has mentioned Magmar yet;

Hidden away near the end-game in the Pokémon Mansion in Pokémon Blue only - albeit known more commonly as being Blaine's ace in the animé, although weirdly enough doesn't get added to his roster on Yellow - Magmar takes more of a starring role in Pokémon Gold and Silver due to it's early availability and quick access to both Fire Punch and Thunderpunch and a useable Headbutt, whilst remaining solid right throughout the game due to it's coverage.

Provided you've not chosen Cyndaquil, Magmar can be found before the fourth gym at a relatively similar level to the rest of your Pokémon so doesn't require too much training. If you're lucky enough to catch him on a day that the Bug Contest is on, you've got a plateau to level him up quickly at by saying Fire Punch PP for the likes of Beedrill, Butterfree, Scyther and Pinsir. Of the five remaining gym leaders he is super effective against two - Pyrce and Jasmine - and is usable against Morty and Chuck; only against Clair does he struggle although can KO Gyarados with Thunderpunch.

 

[Nokocchi]

Hidden away near the end-game in the Pokémon Mansion in Pokémon Blue only - albeit known more commonly as being Blaine's ace in the animé, although weirdly enough doesn't get added to his roster on Yellow

the episode only aired very shortly before Yellow came out in Japan, so his team in the game was likely finalized even before the first draft of that episode was made by the anime scriptwriters.