Tim Rattay of Nintendo Life published a list of Pokémon which he believe deserve a “second chance.” His list is solid. I thought about my own contributions, limiting myself to Pokémon which (A) I do not perceive to be especially popular and (B) that have not received updates (such as new forms, evolutions, or pre-evolutions) or prominence (competitive or otherwise) in recent entries. I will submit Hypno, a generation one psychic Pokémon that was horrifically punished by the generation two special split but also arguably achieved its power apex thanks to being able to be traded from the generation two games to the generation one games with Amnesia. Alas, the special split more or less rendered Hypno, a cool Pokémon, offensively impotent from generation two on. Game Freak should right that wrong (for Dewgong as well as Hypno). NLJ readers may know the Hypno line has a special place in my heart thanks to my catching a shiny Drowzee in Pokémon Gold way back when.
Re; Pokémon That Deserve a Second Chance
While the most popular Pokémon take centre stage for the franchise’s 30th anniversary, I figured space should be made to honour the PokéMisfits that didn’t stand the test of time. These include oddities that only the staunchest Poké Maniacs will recall, others of minor notoriety that deserve more love, and phased-out mascots. While they may be easily written off as sideshows, these Pokémon still played roles (in some cases, infamously) in keeping the franchise on top for all these years.