Pokemon Evolutions that disappointed you?

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Also Mega Evolution in general. I dislike most of the Mega designs and outside of the 3 stage mons that got them, they really felt like a message that the single or two stage mons that got them were going to be locked out of a possible future evolution down the line. Now, there's no confirmation this is actually the case, but it feels way less likely now that they'll make, say, a Lucario evolution in the future or a Sableye evo.

Lucario is one of those Pokemon that I don't think needs an evolution and nor can I envision a normal Lucario evo to begin with.

It's insanely marketable and popular by itself which is one thng, but as a whole this is one of those cases where even though it's a two-stage line, Lucario feels pretty "complete" in my eyes. It's a Pokemon that's so perfect as it is and I couldn't ask for more from it, and that's my DP kid bias speaking partially I admit but I don't think it ever needed anything, but a normal evo is the last thing I could ever envision for it.

While I love three-stage lines, especially those outside of starters and pseudos, I think some single stage and two-stage Pokemon are perfect as they are and don't need to be expanded. Heracross is an example of a single-stage Pokemon I like and which feels very complete.

Sableye I admit is a bit of a bummer, since it's pretty terrible on its own in battle, but it is what it is there.

I also believe they prioritize worldbuilding over giving anything buffs on purpose, whether it's evos, Megas, or regional forms or whatnot. Some Pokemon are just not meant to evolve further in Game Freak's eyes nor do they have any intention of giving them an evolution. And as much as I love cross-gen evos, that's also okay sometimes.

 

[Samtendo09]

Lucario is one of those Pokemon that I don't think needs an evolution and nor can I envision a normal Lucario evo to begin with.

It's insanely marketable and popular by itself which is one thng, but as a whole this is one of those cases where even though it's a two-stage line, Lucario feels pretty "complete" in my eyes. It's a Pokemon that's so perfect as it is and I couldn't ask for more from it, and that's my DP kid bias speaking partially I admit but I don't think it ever needed anything, but a normal evo is the last thing I could ever envision for it.

While I love three-stage lines, especially those outside of starters and pseudos, I think some single stage and two-stage Pokemon are perfect as they are and don't need to be expanded. Heracross is an example of a single-stage Pokemon I like and which feels very complete.

Sableye I admit is a bit of a bummer, since it's pretty terrible on its own in battle, but it is what it is there.

I also believe they prioritize worldbuilding over giving anything buffs on purpose, whether it's evos, Megas, or regional forms or whatnot. Some Pokemon are just not meant to evolve further in Game Freak's eyes nor do they have any intention of giving them an evolution. And as much as I love cross-gen evos, that's also okay sometimes.

I agree with Lucario not needing a normal evo, given how iconic it is to the point of setting a really high bar, and a new evolution would undermine it. It is also partially why Zoroark, an expy of sort, ended up not succeeding as much due to the line event-locked despite not being a Legendary or Mythical.

Speaking of worldbuilding, I find it amusing to this day that Duraludon, a Pokémon with 535 BST and nothing special like Type: Null is, not only received an evolution in the generation right after Sword and Shield (with DLC, granted), but also happens to be 600 BST akin to Pseudo-Legends or Mythicals. And the worldbuilding reason? “Oh, Duraludon just happen to need more alloy to evolve.”

I wouldn’t doubt someome would negatively post about Archaludon (given this thread’s title) but this is something to point it out for potential worldbuilding reason. And of course you’ll need more than worldbuilding to have more than a few fans liking it!


To stay on subject of the thread, Pignite and Emboar being the third Fire/Fighting starter in a row doesn’t end well due to being yet another line of mixed Fire starter that didn’t have enough bulk to find success in competitive. Going from the quadruped Tepig to suddenly another Fire / Fighting in Pignite, while the other starters remained monotyped, feels like a big slap in the face back when expectations for different type combinations were speculated.

To be fair with the Tepig line, they have a highest Attack of any starter line thus capable of brute forcing their way in casual playthroughs and even speedrunning at the beginning (until people noticed Emboar’s heavyweight entry animation adds up so many seconds to the point Stoutland eclipse it in faster seconds pacing) so the potential is there, but otherwise, the line as a whole have a much more mixed reception compared to the Torchic line and the Chimchar line.

Not helping is that Emboar have it worst compared to:

• Samurott, that is not only more popular and makes Oshawott line beloved overall, just got a cooler looking regional form while staying true of it’s quadruped fully evolved starter roots and the fully quadruped fully evolved starter…
• And Serperior that have a more unique sihoulette and unmistakengly good thanks to Contrary, with the Snivy line having a much more favorable reception compared to the past…

And it might partly explain why Tepig is selected as one of the three starters alongside Totodile and Chikorita for Legends: Z-A, to allow the Emboar species to finally shine be it a new Mega Evolution or a Kalosian form.

 

[Omastar68]

well maybe wurmple's evos. It applies to some others anyways. Wurmple is only physical itself, evolves into one of 2 duds, and those will go specail so yeah. I guess this is reachig cause bugs evo fast, but remember that Beautifly is awful and dustox is bad. beautifly I esp dislike, dustox at least doesn't waste the small bst total in much more atk lol iirc

 

[Codraroll]

Speaking of pseudo-legendaries, which I'm normally very fond of:



Dragapult is a bit disappointing to me, because the good ideas of its design began and ended with its iconic head. It is basically a B-2 Spirit bomber with a tail, arms, and legs, and also more-than-a-little reminiscent of a Diplocaulus. It should be so cool.

However, any part of its body below its neck seems like an afterthought. For some reason, most art and its in-game models pose Dragapult in an awkward mid-air sitting pose, with its tiny hands and tiny legs dangling uselessly in front of it. Its teeny-tiny claws are constantly splayed in a dainty-looking "waiting for the nail varnish to dry" pose, wrists bent down for maximum daintiness. Its very long tail is usually bent in an awkward U shape off to the side (when is that ever a natural pose for a tail to assume?), being only a little interesting at the rare occasions where the art team manages to render its tip transparent.

Not even the TCG manages to pose Dragapult's body in any interesting ways, it's mostly the standard spread-legs, crotch-forward mid-air sitting position, (except that one card that only shows its head - and its dainty little hands can just be seen at the edge of the picture).

I suspect it's possible to draw Dragapult in a way that doesn't make its arms and legs appear weak, vestigial, and robbed of all purpose. Have it cling to a wall, or using them to steer mid-air, or something. But for whatever reason (possibly related to it being such a long and narrow Pokémon?), it never happens. Dragapult seems forever doomed to sit awkwardly in mid-air, its body doing nothing but being connected to its very cool head, and its tail carefully positioned to the side so it doesn't mess up the silhouette.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

I actually adore Dragapult and consider it my favorite of the pseudos (with Tyranitar and Garchomp as close seconds).

That said, I can sort of see where you're coming from, but I also have another perspective on the matter. To me, Dragapult feels like a design that is meant to shine when it's in proper action, ie full motion in the midst of battle, rather than in any stationary position.

It especially shows in the fact that it's designed more of a tricky speedster in terms of its battle capabilities and has a sleek, lithe appearance as opposed to the bulkier and more imposing frames of most pseudo-legendaries.

Dragapult looks at its coolest when it flies around, and it can move at a extremely fast speeds and as a Ghost-type, it can vanish and reappear at will (something its SV Pokedex entries also allude to) and sneak attack. Its signature move Dragon Darts is really cool and funny (shooting Dreepy out of its horns like missiles) and Dragapult's design shines around that, but it also just looks really good in full action and animation because of how speedy and movable its design is.

This is an excellent example of how cool Dragapult can look in action:

Or these two:

----

But yeah, Dragapult really feels like one of those Pokemon who shines best when in full action. It's a really sharp contrast to, say, Tyranitar, who looks really good in static poses, like sprites and artwork, and in poses its design oozes power, but it looks incredibly clumsy and awkward the moment it starts to move.

In general Dragapult's case is also kinda applicable to a lot of Pokemon introduced in Sword and Shield (and even Legends: Arceus). Their designs aren't too standout when you see them in stationary poses or in art, but they shine most when you see them in action. It shows particularly with the starters and the Legendaries, for one. Rillaboom, Cinderace, and Inteleon don't look impressive in a vacuum in their poses, but when you see Rillaboom beating its drums, or Cinderace kicking around a fiery soccer ball, or Inteleon sniping and gliding, that's where the magic really shines. Same with, say, Zacian and Zamazenta when they're in combat and using their signature moves.

The same goes with a good deal of Gen 8 Pokemon from SwSh and PLA, because I feel that generation was primarily focused on full blown action sequences being where the Pokemon shined. XY's Pokemon shined in stationary acts or facial expressions (Amie), while SM's Pokemon shined in walking or running motion, but SwSh feels like a case where the new Gen 8 Pokemon shine in full action sequences. Dragapult is in line with the likes of the fully evolved Galar starters and the wolves+Eternatus+Urshifu+Calyrex, especially since Dragon Darts had a very personalized animation for Dragapult like several other signature moves did at the time.

 

[RocketSurgery]

I suspect it's possible to draw Dragapult in a way that doesn't make its arms and legs appear weak, vestigial, and robbed of all purpose. Have it cling to a wall, or using them to steer mid-air, or something. But for whatever reason (possibly related to it being such a long and narrow Pokémon?), it never happens. Dragapult seems forever doomed to sit awkwardly in mid-air, its body doing nothing but being connected to its very cool head, and its tail carefully positioned to the side so it doesn't mess up the silhouette.

The two instances I can think of where Dragapult is doing something with its arms and/or legs are:

1) eating kibbles in Pokemon Journeys:

2) launching dreepy at Flygon while perched on a rock in Twilight wings:

I don't mind too much that it doesn't use its arms for much; it feels very T-Rex that way. Otherwise I like to imagine that it does a lot of swordfighting with its tail, which I think would probably look goofy(/ier) if Dragapult didn't have arms and legs.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

The two instances I can think of where Dragapult is doing something with its arms and/or legs are:

1) eating kibbles in Pokemon Journeys:

View attachment 764031

2) launching dreepy at Flygon while perched on a rock in Twilight wings:

View attachment 764033

I don't mind too much that it doesn't use its arms for much; it feels very T-Rex that way. Otherwise I like to imagine that it does a lot of swordfighting with its tail, which I think would probably look goofy(/ier) if Dragapult didn't have arms and legs.

Dragapult standing on the ground on all fours is cursed and I wish I hadn't seen it.