Summary
APokemonfan has shared a neat chart documenting the Gen 1 Pokemon evolutionary lines that haven’t received any kind of major change. While some of these Pokemon had scrapped additional evolution or pre-evolution concepts leak onto the internet, they ultimately haven’t seen any new members join their lines since thePokemonseries premiered.
Pokemonhas come a long way over the decades, expanding the original 151 creatures into over a thousand. A large number of these are brand new Pokemon, but others are those who have been added to existing evolutionary lines over the course of the series. For example, it would take26 years for Mankey to receive its third evolution, Annihilape, as the third entry didn’t arrive untilPokemon Scarlet and Violet. While The Pokemon Company doesn’t seem to shy away from looking at older Pokemon to give new evolutions to, these 19 Pokemon lines have gone untouched.
Reddit user GhostLord37 shared a post of the 19 Pokemon evolutionary lines that haven’t received a new form, evolution of any kind, regional variant, Gigantamax, or a Convergent Species. In all, the 19 evolutionary lines include those of Spearow, Ekans, Nidorina, Nidorino, Paras, Venonat, Psyduck, Bellsprout, Doduo, Seel, Shellder, Drowzee, Goldeen, Staryu, Omanyte, Kabuto, and Dratini lines, as well as Ditto and Mew. GhostLord37 noted that some of these were set to receive an evolution at some point in the development of the games but were ultimately scrapped, which has beendiscovered throughPokemonleaksover the years.
Do Pokemon Fans Want More These 19 to Change?
Plenty ofPokemonfans have weighed in on these 19 Pokemon. Opinions on whether any of these need additions vary. Some fans said that it surprises them that popular creatures like Psyduck haven’t gotten much attention over the years. One lamented that Arbok hasn’t received a Galarian form like itsanime Team Rocketcounterparts Weezing and Meowth. Some felt that a few of these Pokemon never got their fair time to shine, like Seel and Dewgong, which can only be caught late in the Gen 1 games and thus often overshadowed by other Water and Ice-types. However, some Pokemon fans felt that these Pokemon didn’t need any further additions.
What, if anything, The Pokemon Company decides to do with these lines going forward remains to be seen. Withnew Mega Evolutions arriving inPokemon Legends: Z-A, it’s possible that some of these Pokemon could receive a long overdue update. However, adding to or updating any long-established Pokemon like these is a delicate matter as to not make them over- or under-powered, while also avoiding stepping on the legacy of the well-known Pokemon they’d stem from. Whether these neglected evolutionary lines get any attention will become clearer when more information arrives about the next entry in the series.
Pokemon
Pokemon is a franchise that needs no introduction. One of the most successful media empires in history, Pokemon spans games, television, films, manga, merchandise, music, and more.
