As we already know, no matter how much Twitter screaming one does, it never seems to rectify the fact that not every Pokémon will be making the leap to Sword and Shield when the new games arrive on the Switch in November. However… is that really a bad thing? We’re headed toward having 1,000 Pokémon in the game, not all of them are home runs. Thus, today we’ll be going over ten Pokémon that Sword and Shield can just kind of… ditch. They’ll come around in Generation Nine or something. With at least one from every generation included, there really is a healthy mix here to discuss. Let’s jump into it.
10 Parasect
Remember the mushroom thing from twenty years ago that was being controlled by a parasite? You can stay behind. Look, Parasect isn’t bad or anything, but who do you see clamoring to make sure they can bring their Parasect into Generation Eight? There’s someone out there, sure, but those who really want to see Parasect are simply too far and too few. There’s plenty of other viruses and mushrooms to choose from. Foongus is the best mushroom boy there is.
9 Unown
Oh, look. The alphabet. My… favorite Pokémon? Unown made a lot of promises they really couldn’t keep. They were supposed to be these awesome, lore-heavy Pokémon that were incredibly powerful. They spell and know one move. Does anyone really need these boys around again? Sure, if we have some ruins area that is important to the story they’ll be there… but really Game Freak, don’t waste your time with these guys. There are others we want.
8 Claydol
Who’s checking on Claydol anymore? Seriously, when was the last time you thought about Claydol. Better yet, when was the last time that you thought, “Hm… I should really get around to using Claydol at some point sooner or later?”
Have you ever done that ever? Claydol is really one of the most forgettable Pokémon that Generation Three has to offer. Is it poorly designed? No. Is it well designed? Well… kind of? There’s nothing about Claydol that is important. Thus, we will see this one at some point further down the road.
7 Skuntank
Y’all good with this one? I’m good with this one. The Big Skunk Boi species, this Pokémon was essentially the grunt pick for Team Galactic back in the Sinnoh region. This one really isn’t bringing anything too neat to the table. It is a very large skunk with a weird tail. Woohoo? Most of the Sinnoh Dex is great and full of interesting Pokémon. Most. Not all. Skuntank, unfortunately, you just don’t do anything to assure your spot in the Galar Region.
6 Elemonkeys
With Simisear literally being voted the least loved Pokémon of all time… did you really expect any less from this list? Probably the worst thing that Generation Five brought to the table was the Elemonkeys. Let’s see… there’s Simisear, Simipour and… Simileaf? Simigrass? Ok looked it up and it’s Simisage. See? That’s how forgettable these Pokémon are! The Elemonkeys are simply boring. They’re predictable and bring nothing new to the table. Hopefully, we don’t see these familiar faces when Generation Eight rolls around. Knowing Game Freak though, they’ll end up in there somehow.
5 Musharna
Not as bad as the Elemonkeys for sure… but what’s even going on here? Musharna is a weird one. Starting out as a weird plot device as Munna being kicked by Team Plasma, Unova’s Musharna then turns into a floating pink dream elephant? Yeah, that’s probably the best description of this one. Musharna isn’t a bad Pokémon by any means, but it is one that most fans will likely be okay with waiting until Generation Nine to see again.
4 Diggersby
Dislike. Big Dislike. If anything is worse than Bunnelby it’s certainly Diggersby. Who wanted this thing? Diggersby is large and in charge. What it is in charge of I can’t quite say… but there’s definitely something probably maybe. A whole evolutionary line of, “no thanks,” Bunnelby and Diggersby can stay in Generation Six. We’ll be fine without you for a bit, seriously. Don’t worry about us, you just stay right there. We’ll come back for you in 2021 or something, pinky promise.
3 Aromatisse
Hey Aromatisse. Love the little leg thing you’ve got going on in your artwork, but you’re going to have to stay behind for a bit. Why, you might ask? Because we just don’t need you in Galar. Come on, we’ve got Galarian Zigzagoons to be hanging around with, we don’t have time for you! You’re kind of cute… but also just a bit too weird to make any segment of the fanbase really miss you in Generation Eight.
Unless you get a Galarian plague doctor form… then you can stay. So basically just flip from what you are to the exact opposite level of terrifying and you can come along.
2 Crabominable
Imagine you’re interviewing a bunch of crabs for a Head Crab job position. Are you going to give that position to Crabominable? This man doesn’t even look like he knows where he is half the time. He probably doesn’t know that he even applied for the job. There is just a lot of better crab Pokémon out there (like its pre-evolutions). Kingler and Crawdaunt come to mind. They’re just all-around a better package. You’ll get your chance again one day Crabominable. Unfortunately, today just is not that day. Probably not tomorrow either but we’ll see.
1 Gumshoos
Gumshoos is just a bit much. Sure, it was a cute little reference in 2016… but we don’t need that energy anymore. Gumshoos has got to go. Honestly, Generation Seven has some pretty good designs, with there only being a few misses here and there. Gumshoos just really lacks that spark that all of the other Alolan Pokémon have that make them special. We’ll see you around Gumshoos, just hopefully not in the Galar Region.
NEXT: 10 Things Sword And Shield Should Take From Earlier Pokemon Games
