Meowth/Perrserker
I love cats, but I have always felt that the original Meowth is a pretty boring Pokémon. It feels like a prime example of a boring Kanto Pokémon that was in dire need of some changes in order to make it interesting. I thought they did very well with Alolan Meowth, and the same goes for Galarian Meowth. I think that giving a beard to a Pokémon is a great way to make it cooler. It worked for Alolan Golem, and it works for Galarian Meowth as well. It does look a bit ridiculous, and I remember that when I first saw it in the game, I really couldn’t believe it was Meowth! But it isn’t
too ridiculous, so I think it is fine. I consider it "silly in a good way", similar to Alolan Exeggutor. Perrserker feels more serious, which suits it very well. I think it hits just the perfect balance of being similar yet also different to Galarian Meowth at the same time. I also like how they are inspired by Vikings, I think it is really cool because I like Vikings. Though I might be biased as I am from Scandinavia and the Vikings are my ancestors. Either way, the combination of cats, beards and Vikings make Galarian Meowth and Perrserker two awesome Pokémon. I used a Perrserker on my Tundra team and it was great.
Ponyta/Rapidash
Ponies! The Ponyta line is yet another boring old Kanto Pokémon which was in serious need of getting spiced up in order to become more interesting. It took eight generations, but they finally did something with it, and I love it! Instead of a generic fire-horse, Ponyta became more of a magical unicorn-style horse. As I am a brony, I highly approve of this. It is just so cute, and I think the color scheme really manages to capture the “magic” feeling just so fantastically well. Rapidash is not as cute, but it feels like it is a very natural continuation of Ponyta, which is great. I still wish it was an alicorn though, but whatever! It is still fantastic and I love it. I used a Galarian Rapidash on my Armor team and it was fun.
Slowpoke/Slowbro/Slowking
Sad as it is, Slowpoke is my least favorite Galarian form. I don’t dislike it, but I think it is just too similar to regular Slowpoke without any real upgrades or changes. It isn’t bad, but compared to all the others, it is “only” okay. But it is still Slowpoke, and Slowpoke is a fun Pokémon, so I still like it. Slowbro is better though. It is different from regular Slowbro in a very unexpected way. Shellder on the hand instead of on the head? Really weird, but it works. I guess it becomes a sort of hand-cannon which ties in well with its signature move. Then there’s Slowking, which I think was just plain unexpected. When it was first revealed, we got to see the body but the head was hidden. I knew they were up to something special with its head since they were hiding it. But I was still surprised when it was fully shown. I had expected something different, but I was not prepared for this! Slowking got taken over by Shellder? Really creepy but still a very cool concept. I like it a lot. It really looks like a lunatic maniac wizard or something, which is cool.
Farfetch'd/Sirfetch'd
I have always been a fan of Farfetch'd. It is my second favorite Normal/Flying Kanto bird, beaten only by Dodrio. I have used the original Farfetch’d to great success in some older games. Notably R/B, but also FR/LG. I was really happy when I played Sword and saw that Farfetch’d had gotten a regional variant. It looks quite a bit more menacing compared to regular Farfetch'd, which is cool. The leek it carries is also notably bigger. Regarding Sirfetch'd, I accidentally got spoiled on its existence during the pre-release for the games. I remember that I was happy but also surprised when I saw it, they finally gave Farfetch’d some attention by giving it an evolution! Little did I know then that it was not the only thing they had done as they had given Farfetch’d a regional variant as well. Either way, I really like Sirfetch’d, used one on my in-game team in Sword and it was cool. I like how it carries a sword and shield, nice way to reference the names of the games and it makes it look like a soldier from older times.
Weezing
Yet another excellent example of how to successfully make a boring old Kanto Pokémon interesting. I have never cared much for Koffing or the original Weezing (sorry, Smogon!) but Galarian Weezing is a lot of fun! Instead of just being a generic flying bomb, it gets hats with smoke coming out if them, moustaches and eyebrows. I also find the black/green color scheme to be a lot more visually appealing than the purple colors of original Weezing. I used a Galarian Weezing on my Tundra team and it was pretty great there.
Mr. Mime/Mr. Rime
I have never been overly fond of Mr. Mime. It has always felt a bit unsetting to me. I think one reason is that it lacks one defying human trait: a nose. Which is something Galarian Mr. Mime has. I think it looks a lot more fun and less creepy than original Mr. Mime. It is also a dancer, and the way it dances around in the games is so funny! Mr. Rime looks more like an old man with a cane, it makes me think of Charlie Chaplin and clowns, which is great.
Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres
The only legendaries with regional variants so far. I think the birds were a great choice for legendaries to give a regional variant to because honesty, if they were going to bring back the birds once more, they needed to do something special with them. Which they did! They each got a regional variant and they are all awesome. Articuno feels like a psychic mastermind, Zapdos landed and became a roadrunner, while Moltres is burning with Darkness! This has the side effect of their names becoming a bit misleading though, just like for Alolan Sandshrew and Sandslash. I like to call the birds Psychicuno, Fightdos and Darktres because of their new types.
Corsola/Cursola
Corsola is underappreciated. I think it is one of many Gen 2 Pokémon which could benefit from getting a bit more attention. And now they decided to give it some more attention by giving it a new form, in which they killed it! Poor thing! I really like this concept though, it is simple but still very dark. Cursola is an evolution I never thought would happen, but it is great and I like it too.
Zigzagoon/Linoone/Obstagoon
At first, I thought it was weird how these guys had their tongue out. But several Gen 1 Pokémon do the same thing, so I guess it isn’t exactly new. Then I learned that they were based on glam rockers which tend to do that as part of their style or image, so that made it understandable and okay. Either way, they are all great. Zigzagoon and Linoone moved to Galar, and they became badgers! Really cool. Obstagoon is yet another unexpected evolution, I never thought they would give an evolution to Linoone out of all Pokémon. But it is great, I like it a lot. I used an Obstagoon on my Armor team and it was great there, my best memory is when I used its combination of Guts and Facade to turn the tables against Klara in her cheating battle!
Darumaka/Darmanitan
The Darumaka line went from fire to ice. I was so happy when I saw them in the game. Darumaka no longer looks happy but it is still cute, and I think Darmanitan looks silly in a good way. A snowman yeti-monkey with a giant snowball on its head… I love it. I am also happy that they kept Zen Mode and made a completely different approach to it for Galarian Darmanitan. It became a fiery snowman. It seems Japan has a thing for fire and ice in combination, I have seen it in other video games too, I guess it is a cultural thing of some kind? I approve of it either way though. I used a Galarian Darmanitan on my mid-game team and it was great there.
Yamask/Runerigus
Yamask isn’t too different from its regular form, but it is still great so that’s all okay. Runerigus on the other hand, is on a whole new level. Completely different from Cofagrigus in every possible way… and that’s a good thing, since it is a completely different Pokémon. So I approve of that. It seems to be based on runes with a snake motif, which is really cool. I like how it has a Viking-theme just like Galarian Meowth and Perrserker. I used Runerigus on my Tundra Team and it was pretty good there.
Stunfisk
Galarian Stunfisk really takes trapping to a whole new level. I was so happy when I first saw it in the game. I got surprised at first, I thought I saw a Poké Ball, but it looked smaller than usual. So I approached it, but got into a Pokémon battle instead. Against a Stunfisk! That was a very positive surprise for me since I didn’t know that Stunfisk had a regional variant before I saw it at that point, learning about it by seeing it in the actual game was great. I really like how it is designed to be a trap that fools people (and Pokémon?) into thinking it is just a regular Poké Ball laying on the ground. Fantastic concept on the whole.