A few guidelines. No Mega Evolutions. That's a different animal and I haven't play the Gen III sequels yet. No oddities based on stats or the meta game; I'm not part of that proponent. Component? Also, nothing mundane. This mostly means Bug types, but it also applies to over-discussed topics. Conversely, nothing about certain methods. I don't know why the Nidos evolve with a Moon Stone. Nobody understands the Nidos; they bypass any and all kinds of logic. Finally, if I didn't list yours and it fits the guidelines, leave a comment below.
First, my personal favorite, Golbat into Crobat. Crobat was the first cross-generation Pokemon to be listed in the Pokedex, even before Pichu. That's no small feat! How does it evolve? Like Blissey and the Baby Pokemon (and the new Eeveelutions, but not the same), it evolves through happiness.
Happiness. What do you think of when you think of happiness? Smiling, enjoyment, a grimacing bat.
Yeah, that was a lucid decision.These creatures have, like, nothing in common. The odd choice to invert the main palette is weird enough, but Crobat, after being happy enough to evolve, looks more pissed than ever. Its mouth is smaller too. Now how can a fang specialist get anything done?
Crobat best fits into the "if it were an animal, it would be screwed in the wild" category of odd evos. Another Pokemon that fits this category is Vigoroth into Slaking, since its ability leaves it more open to danger, although its increased strength probably prevents anything from killing it.
Aesthetically, two big downgrades are Graveller into Golem and Haunter into Gengar. In both cases, the Pokemon loses a huge battle tactic. Let's forget that most evolutions in the first generation looked either nothing or too close to their family members. Losing two arms is probably a huge blow to the Rock/Ground type, and I'm guessing a bit jarring. Although it's arguably not as bad as how Haunter feels about certain changes, according to an old Nintendo-approved Pokemon 4koma only released in Japan. Which I have!
Speaking of Golem and Gengar, how about trade evolutions? One theory states the reason for certain Pokemon evolving is because they want to impress you to the point of taking them back, as they feel abandoned. I'm not buying into that one too much. Okay, maybe Machoke and Kadabra could qualify, as they seem to have a superiority complex (given the brain /brawn). But when Pokemon evolve, they don't like YOU anymore. Why change who they are if they don't want you? But it is the most sound explanation, so maybe it just needs a bit of fine-tuning.
A big star in this category is Bellossom. You know the drill. They're shorter than Gloom, they don't have the Poison type, making them the only single-type to evolve from a dual-type. Frankly, I wonder why they exist. Smoochum to clarify "No, Jynx was always purple, ha ha!" Politoed, because a tadpole evolving into a tadpole with arms evolving into a bulkier tadpole with arms didn't make much sense. Tyrogue to tie the Hitmons together. Bellossom to... to... replicate nature?
My biggest gripe with Bellossom is her lack of the Poison type. I thought with the new game, she'd gain a Fairy type. "Finally, it all makes sense now!" It makes no sense now. We have multiple Fairy Pokemon with Grass-elements to them, and only two are Grass/Fairy, neither are Bellossom. So now she has leftover moves that she receives no STAB with. Okay, I know STAB because it spells "stab". Maybe a Mega would help the poor plant.
I always thought this one was strange simply for existing. Porygon, the scapegoat for the Electric Soldier seizure disaster, has an evolution, which ALSO has an evolution. Certain Pokemon seem to be distanced by the Pokemon Conglomerate, like Qwilfish and Stantler, neither of which has an evolution, mega, or new niche since their introduction. This is in comparison to Luvdisc, Delibird and Unown, who, despite the changin' world, never grow along. Luvdisc's possible evolution Alomamola, new Fairy typing or mega? Nothing. Delibird's new hidden ability? A duplicate. Unown using Fairy-type for Hidden Power? Fairy cannot be a Hidden Power. It's like they're being taunted.
Yet Porygon, who was blamed for so much panic, has evolved twice and grown. Maybe it's because it was never the issue, and that despite the calamity, Porygon is an amazing Pokemon, and those that start bad get left behind, no matter what fancy traits they may gain.
If there's one thing the developers haven't learned, it's that a good Pokemon evolution needs timelessness. Where to start? In Generation II, Eevee could evolve into two new forms based on the time of day. In Gen III, the day/night cycle was removed, making the only source of time-telling the clock in the bedroom. That was Ruby and Sapphire. In Fire Red and Leaf Green, you were screwed. Fortunately, the DS had an internal clock, so the cycle returned with multiple new Pokemon to take advantage. Happy end, yes? No. Heart Gold and Soul Silver, despite having a forest and a ice cavern to accommodate, did not include a Mossy or Icy Rock to let Eevee evolve into its new forms. This also affected Magneton and Nosepass. Since then, each game has an area to accommodate location evolution. And Sylveon can evolve just fine in the Gen III remakes. For now.
Other issues include Feebas, weird enough in its own right. Not only super hard to find, Gen III made Feebas evolve into Milotic through high beauty. The only Pokemon to evolve through contest stats, Gen IV included contests, to the annoyance of all. Gen V, mercifully, disbanded contests and gave it a scarf instead. Come the remakes, Feebas can now evolve in both ways. Once a spoiled Pokemon, always a spoiled Pokemon.
Generally, the developers have amazing ideas, but one non-idea showed that they were learning. In Gen V, season were introduced. What did it do? Change the scenery, certain very minor activities, open or close areas, and change the appearance of two Pokemon. When I heard about seasons, I thought they were going to play into an evolution, maybe an attack. Nope. After the Gen V sequels, the seasonal elements were removed, opting for an Autumnal area, a few snowy roads, a beach, and that's it. Testing the waters is smart; don't create a Pokemon around a possible feature. You can remove the feature, but not the Pokemon.
Sometimes, evolution can be pointless, like Rhydon into Rhyperior. #notallrhyperior Sometimes it's essential. Like, almost always. I think an evolution is better than mega because you get permanent security. But at the end of the day, it's not how big or strong your Pocket Monster is, but how you use it. So go ahead! Take out your Weedle and face against a Luxray with pride!
Hey, ever notice like, no one ever keeps Pocket Monsters in their pockets? I think everyone uses belts. It should be Beltmon.
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