Hello all! In a follow up to my recent thread on Pokemon usage by main characters in main series games I thought I’d share something else that I worked on. This is a study into what Pokemon ‘deserve’ to be in the Winds and Waves regional Pokédex the most based primarily on how often they were used in the Switch era with a bit of thrown in historical data as well. I invented a kind of mathematic ‘formula’ for working out who was the most deserving which I’ll lay out below.
Methodology
The basic premise for my scoring system is this: higher number, least deserving. But how are the numbers calculated? I’ll list the score for each regional Pokédex and then breakdown how I determined each score.
Ok, so that’s how the scores are calculated for the Switch era, but there are also two additional scores from historical games to add too. This first one is a bit complicated but I think it makes sense. Each Pokemon not in either the Paldea or Galar Pokédex (not including DLCs) receives -1 for every Generation since their last appearance (remakes and Legends games DO NOT count). For example, Unown hasn’t been in a regional Pokédex since Gen IV so it gets -4 to its total. The second is simply counting the total amount of generations where the Pokemon appears in the regional Pokedex and adding it to it to the total. Pokemon only in third versions (Platinum, BW2, USUM) get 0.5 for that gen instead of 1.
Hopefully things are making sense so far. As a further example, here is how the calculation works when looking at a particular Pokemon. For this instance, we’ll use Raichu.
Raichu is present in the Paldea Pokédex, the Lumiose Pokédex, the Galar Pokédex, the Hisui Pokédex, the Sinnoh Pokédex and the Kanto Pokédex. It has also featured in the regional Pokedex in 8 generations.
That makes its score 5+3+3+1.5+1+1+8 giving it a final total of 22.5.
For an example at the other end of the spectrum let’s look at Purugly.
Purugly is not in S/V, PLZA or SwSh. It is in the Hisui and Sinnoh Pokédexes. The last time is it was in the main generational games regional Pokédex was Gen 4. It has only ever appeared in 1 generations regional Pokédex.
That makes its score 1.5+1-4+1 giving it a total of -0.5.
Findings
Kanto
Something to bare in mind as I start with Kanto is that I separated out regional forms and non-regional forms into two separate entries and did not count either for games in which there were only transferable and not obtainable in the wild. Hence Rapidash does not count as being in Sword and Shield and Galarian Slowbro does not count as being in Scarlet and Violet. Additionally Alolan forms were only awarded 0.5 for being in LGPE.
The top spots for Kanto are:
Alolan Raticate - 0.5
Raticate - 1
Alolan Persian - 2
Alolan Marowak - 2
Weezing - 2
Discounting regionals the top 5 is:
Raticate - 1
Weezing - 2
Rapidash - 2.5
Farfetch'd - 3
Omastar & Kabutops - 3
Pretty clear pattern here of Pokemon who got regional forms having their Kantonian forms underused. Raticate and Weezing haven't featured in a regional Dex since B2W2. The Nidos just miss out on the top 5 with a score of 4, as does Fearow.
The bottom few are as expected Gyarados, Raichu, Gengar and the Eeveelutions. Gyarados and Raichu have only missed one generation (Gen V) scoring a whopping 22.5 each.
Johto
The top spots for Johto are:
Unown - 0.5
Ledian - 2.5
Furret - 3
Magcargo, Corsola and Milank - 4
Unown the obvious one here, and a hard Pokemon to bring back due to the lore and general uselessness. PLA and BDSP saved it from real obscurity but it hasn't been in a regional dex since Gen IV. Ledian and Corsola's only Switch appearance were in the BDSP post-game while Magcargo and Furret only made it into the S/V DLC.
Bottom few for Johto were Umbreon, Espeon, Heracross, Tyranitar and Sudowoodo.
Hoenn
Probably the most interesting Gen as it has been the most neglected by GameFreak during the Switch era and generally throughout the history of the series.
The top spots for Hoenn are:
Linoone, Beautifly, Dustox and Swellow - 0.5
Delcatty - 1
Walrein, Exploud, Castform, Huntail and Gorebyss - 2
A lot of low scorers here. A lot of early game Hoenn Pokemon haven't been seen much for a long while and aren't in many dexes. The Wurmple line hasn't been seen since Sinnoh, while Linoone, Delcatty and Exploud have been absence since Kalos. Walrein is only in the Hoenn Dex and the B2W2 Unova Dex but it pushed up a bit by PLA and SwSh DLC.
The bottom few for Hoenn are Glalie, Gardevoir, Pelipper (hasn't missed a gen since it was introduced!), Whiscash and Sableye.
Sinnoh
This whole Gen is skewed a bit by Legends: Arceus but there are still a few Pokemon that haven't been seen in a core main series game in a while.
The top few for Sinnoh are:
Purugly - 0.5
Tangrowth - 1.5
Biberal, Wormadam, Mothim and Chatot - 2.5
Carnivine - 3
Purugly is the standout here. Hasn't been in a dex since Platinum and it's only Switch appearances are PLA and BDSP. Desperately needs a bit of attention. Tangrowth's last Dex was B2W2 while the rest haven't made it in since Kalos.
The bottom spots for Gen IV are Lucario (duh), Glaceon, Leafeon, Abomasnow and Hippowdon.
Unova
I hadn't realise until I made this but Sword and Shield are to Unova what Kalos is to Kanto. Like half the Dex is in Galar, it's crazy.
The top spots for Unova are:
Darmanitan - -2
Bouffalant - -0.5
Zebstrika and Leavanny - 0.5
Stoutland, Hisuian Lilligant, Carracosta, Archeops, Hisuian Zoroark, Swanna and Hisuian Braviary - 2.5
The top 4 haven't been in a regional dex outside of Unova with Unovan Darmanitan being uncatchable in the wild on the Switch. Bouffalant's only Switch appearance was the SwSh DLC while Zebstrika and Leavanny are only in the SV DLC.
The bottom spots for Unova are Krookodile, Bisharp, Basculin and Hydreigon.
Kalos
Another Gen that is thrown of by a Legends game but still a fair few Pokemon that haven't appeared in a regional dex since Kalos.
The top spots for Kalos are:
Furfrou - 3.5
Hisuian Goodra - 4
Hisuian Avalugg - 4
Tyrantrum - 5
Aurorus - 5
There is also a huge amount of Pokemon on 8 who are basically all the Kalos Pokemon that weren't in SV. Not much to say here besides Furfrou should be in Winds and Waves.
Bottoms spots are Noivern, Goodra, Sylveon, Hawlucha and Avalugg. Goodra and Sylveon have been in every regional Dex since introduction while Hawlucha and Noivern only missed base Sun and Moon.
Alola
Once we get to these later gens there really isn't much between the Pokemon due to the small amount of possible games but there is still a couple of Alola Pokemon that have received less attention than the others.
The top spots for Alola are:
Toucannon - 2.5
Minior - 2.5
Comfey - 4
And then a whole bunch of Pokemon that weren't only in base Sword and Shield on 5.
These three all skipped the Galar and Paldea dexes but Comfey was in both DLCs. Minior and Toucannon only made it into the SV DLC.
The bottom spots are split between the 6 Pokemon than have been in Alola, Galar and Paldea - Mudsdale, Mimikyu, Tsareena, Salazzle, Oranguru and Passimian.
Galar and Hisui
I grouped these together but like Alola there isn't much between the entire Pokédex.
Top spots go for Galar go to:
Wyrdeer, Ursaluna, Bloodmoon Ursaluna and Sneasler - 2.5
Orbeetle, Eldegoss, Dubwool, Boltund, Centiskorch, Obstagoon, Cursola, Dracozolt, Dracovish, Arctozolt and Arctovish - 4
This is basically just divided between the PLA Pokemon that weren't in SV DLC or PLZA DLC and the Galar Pokemon that weren't in SV at all or PLZA at all.
Bottom spots are Falinks (been in all games since release bar PLA), Indeedee, Toxtricity and Corviknight.
Paldea
Going to be honest, I didn't even bother doing Paldea. Simple rule is 'was it also in the PLZA DLC?'. If yes, it can skip Winds and Waves if not, then I guess it can be in Winds and Waves. Obviously DLC only Pokemon like Poltchageist and Hydrapple get priority.
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. I tried my best to make the data as readable as possible. This project took up a fair few hours of my life. Let me know what Pokemon you think should be in the Winds and Waves Regional Dex, and which ones should miss out too. If there is anything you think I should have done differently with the methodology let me know and I'll see if I can tweaked it.
I haven’t accounted for the Pokemon already shown to be in WiWa in the reveal trailer as I created this dataset before it came out so congratulations to Ledian and Swellow for coming in from the cold! Pelipper, I hate to see you again.
TL;DR: free Purugly, Raticate, Walrein, Unown, Darmanitan and Bouffalant.
Gyarados, Lucario, Hippowdon, Pelipper, Bisharp, Hawlucha, we need some space. It's not you, it's me.
Methodology
The basic premise for my scoring system is this: higher number, least deserving. But how are the numbers calculated? I’ll list the score for each regional Pokédex and then breakdown how I determined each score.
- Lumiose Pokédex - 3
- Hyperspace Pokédex - 1.5
- Paldea Pokédex - 5
- Kitakami and Blueberry Pokedex - 2.5
- Galar Pokédex - 3
- Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra Pokédex - 1.5
- Hisui Pokédex - 1.5
- Sinnoh Pokédex (BDSP) - 1
- National Pokédex (BDSP) - 0.5
- Kanto Pokédex (LGPE) - 1
Ok, so that’s how the scores are calculated for the Switch era, but there are also two additional scores from historical games to add too. This first one is a bit complicated but I think it makes sense. Each Pokemon not in either the Paldea or Galar Pokédex (not including DLCs) receives -1 for every Generation since their last appearance (remakes and Legends games DO NOT count). For example, Unown hasn’t been in a regional Pokédex since Gen IV so it gets -4 to its total. The second is simply counting the total amount of generations where the Pokemon appears in the regional Pokedex and adding it to it to the total. Pokemon only in third versions (Platinum, BW2, USUM) get 0.5 for that gen instead of 1.
Hopefully things are making sense so far. As a further example, here is how the calculation works when looking at a particular Pokemon. For this instance, we’ll use Raichu.
Raichu is present in the Paldea Pokédex, the Lumiose Pokédex, the Galar Pokédex, the Hisui Pokédex, the Sinnoh Pokédex and the Kanto Pokédex. It has also featured in the regional Pokedex in 8 generations.
That makes its score 5+3+3+1.5+1+1+8 giving it a final total of 22.5.
For an example at the other end of the spectrum let’s look at Purugly.
Purugly is not in S/V, PLZA or SwSh. It is in the Hisui and Sinnoh Pokédexes. The last time is it was in the main generational games regional Pokédex was Gen 4. It has only ever appeared in 1 generations regional Pokédex.
That makes its score 1.5+1-4+1 giving it a total of -0.5.
Findings
Kanto
Something to bare in mind as I start with Kanto is that I separated out regional forms and non-regional forms into two separate entries and did not count either for games in which there were only transferable and not obtainable in the wild. Hence Rapidash does not count as being in Sword and Shield and Galarian Slowbro does not count as being in Scarlet and Violet. Additionally Alolan forms were only awarded 0.5 for being in LGPE.
The top spots for Kanto are:
Alolan Raticate - 0.5
Raticate - 1
Alolan Persian - 2
Alolan Marowak - 2
Weezing - 2
Discounting regionals the top 5 is:
Raticate - 1
Weezing - 2
Rapidash - 2.5
Farfetch'd - 3
Omastar & Kabutops - 3
Pretty clear pattern here of Pokemon who got regional forms having their Kantonian forms underused. Raticate and Weezing haven't featured in a regional Dex since B2W2. The Nidos just miss out on the top 5 with a score of 4, as does Fearow.
The bottom few are as expected Gyarados, Raichu, Gengar and the Eeveelutions. Gyarados and Raichu have only missed one generation (Gen V) scoring a whopping 22.5 each.
Johto
The top spots for Johto are:
Unown - 0.5
Ledian - 2.5
Furret - 3
Magcargo, Corsola and Milank - 4
Unown the obvious one here, and a hard Pokemon to bring back due to the lore and general uselessness. PLA and BDSP saved it from real obscurity but it hasn't been in a regional dex since Gen IV. Ledian and Corsola's only Switch appearance were in the BDSP post-game while Magcargo and Furret only made it into the S/V DLC.
Bottom few for Johto were Umbreon, Espeon, Heracross, Tyranitar and Sudowoodo.
Hoenn
Probably the most interesting Gen as it has been the most neglected by GameFreak during the Switch era and generally throughout the history of the series.
The top spots for Hoenn are:
Linoone, Beautifly, Dustox and Swellow - 0.5
Delcatty - 1
Walrein, Exploud, Castform, Huntail and Gorebyss - 2
A lot of low scorers here. A lot of early game Hoenn Pokemon haven't been seen much for a long while and aren't in many dexes. The Wurmple line hasn't been seen since Sinnoh, while Linoone, Delcatty and Exploud have been absence since Kalos. Walrein is only in the Hoenn Dex and the B2W2 Unova Dex but it pushed up a bit by PLA and SwSh DLC.
The bottom few for Hoenn are Glalie, Gardevoir, Pelipper (hasn't missed a gen since it was introduced!), Whiscash and Sableye.
Sinnoh
This whole Gen is skewed a bit by Legends: Arceus but there are still a few Pokemon that haven't been seen in a core main series game in a while.
The top few for Sinnoh are:
Purugly - 0.5
Tangrowth - 1.5
Biberal, Wormadam, Mothim and Chatot - 2.5
Carnivine - 3
Purugly is the standout here. Hasn't been in a dex since Platinum and it's only Switch appearances are PLA and BDSP. Desperately needs a bit of attention. Tangrowth's last Dex was B2W2 while the rest haven't made it in since Kalos.
The bottom spots for Gen IV are Lucario (duh), Glaceon, Leafeon, Abomasnow and Hippowdon.
Unova
I hadn't realise until I made this but Sword and Shield are to Unova what Kalos is to Kanto. Like half the Dex is in Galar, it's crazy.
The top spots for Unova are:
Darmanitan - -2
Bouffalant - -0.5
Zebstrika and Leavanny - 0.5
Stoutland, Hisuian Lilligant, Carracosta, Archeops, Hisuian Zoroark, Swanna and Hisuian Braviary - 2.5
The top 4 haven't been in a regional dex outside of Unova with Unovan Darmanitan being uncatchable in the wild on the Switch. Bouffalant's only Switch appearance was the SwSh DLC while Zebstrika and Leavanny are only in the SV DLC.
The bottom spots for Unova are Krookodile, Bisharp, Basculin and Hydreigon.
Kalos
Another Gen that is thrown of by a Legends game but still a fair few Pokemon that haven't appeared in a regional dex since Kalos.
The top spots for Kalos are:
Furfrou - 3.5
Hisuian Goodra - 4
Hisuian Avalugg - 4
Tyrantrum - 5
Aurorus - 5
There is also a huge amount of Pokemon on 8 who are basically all the Kalos Pokemon that weren't in SV. Not much to say here besides Furfrou should be in Winds and Waves.
Bottoms spots are Noivern, Goodra, Sylveon, Hawlucha and Avalugg. Goodra and Sylveon have been in every regional Dex since introduction while Hawlucha and Noivern only missed base Sun and Moon.
Alola
Once we get to these later gens there really isn't much between the Pokemon due to the small amount of possible games but there is still a couple of Alola Pokemon that have received less attention than the others.
The top spots for Alola are:
Toucannon - 2.5
Minior - 2.5
Comfey - 4
And then a whole bunch of Pokemon that weren't only in base Sword and Shield on 5.
These three all skipped the Galar and Paldea dexes but Comfey was in both DLCs. Minior and Toucannon only made it into the SV DLC.
The bottom spots are split between the 6 Pokemon than have been in Alola, Galar and Paldea - Mudsdale, Mimikyu, Tsareena, Salazzle, Oranguru and Passimian.
Galar and Hisui
I grouped these together but like Alola there isn't much between the entire Pokédex.
Top spots go for Galar go to:
Wyrdeer, Ursaluna, Bloodmoon Ursaluna and Sneasler - 2.5
Orbeetle, Eldegoss, Dubwool, Boltund, Centiskorch, Obstagoon, Cursola, Dracozolt, Dracovish, Arctozolt and Arctovish - 4
This is basically just divided between the PLA Pokemon that weren't in SV DLC or PLZA DLC and the Galar Pokemon that weren't in SV at all or PLZA at all.
Bottom spots are Falinks (been in all games since release bar PLA), Indeedee, Toxtricity and Corviknight.
Paldea
Going to be honest, I didn't even bother doing Paldea. Simple rule is 'was it also in the PLZA DLC?'. If yes, it can skip Winds and Waves if not, then I guess it can be in Winds and Waves. Obviously DLC only Pokemon like Poltchageist and Hydrapple get priority.
If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. I tried my best to make the data as readable as possible. This project took up a fair few hours of my life. Let me know what Pokemon you think should be in the Winds and Waves Regional Dex, and which ones should miss out too. If there is anything you think I should have done differently with the methodology let me know and I'll see if I can tweaked it.
I haven’t accounted for the Pokemon already shown to be in WiWa in the reveal trailer as I created this dataset before it came out so congratulations to Ledian and Swellow for coming in from the cold! Pelipper, I hate to see you again.
TL;DR: free Purugly, Raticate, Walrein, Unown, Darmanitan and Bouffalant.
Gyarados, Lucario, Hippowdon, Pelipper, Bisharp, Hawlucha, we need some space. It's not you, it's me.
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