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Should regional variants become a series mainstay?

Should’ve regional variants be a mainstay of the series from now on?

  • Yes

    Votes: 106 77.9%
  • No

    Votes: 15 11.0%
  • Unsure

    Votes: 15 11.0%

  • Total voters
    136

Johnny Boy

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One of the things I loved the most about generation seven was the inclusion of regional variants. It was just super cool how different environments had an effect on certain Pokémon’s appearances and typings. So this got me thinking, should regional variants of older pokemon be a thing for future regions going forward?
 
There's a lot of things that need to be series mainstays that aren't. Not really sure what they're going to do about variants, on one hand they tend not to carry things like this over into new generations, but since it's a region based mechanic they could probably get away with making it a permanent feature. Or they might have some new type of variant that's something different. Hard to really predict with this one, I think the concept of having new forms of old Pokemon will definitely stay but everything else is up in the air.
 
I think it's brilliant, so long as they don't overdo it. They can give a fresh spin on less popular species, for one, giving them new movesets, abilities, and even typings without "saving over" the originals. It could also be an interesting way to enliven older games in remakes: imagine a Kanto-version Espurr or a Sinnoh-version Heatmor, to pick regions and Pokemon largely at random.
 
Alola had very few Regional Variants. Even if Ultra SuMo add none they should stay so underrated/underused Pokemon get love
 
I went for "unsure". I like the idea but the execution often leaves something to be desired. It started as something awesome with great designs and good reasons for those designs, and then went to 'because pancakes' and we only got joke forms after that mostly. If we keep getting shit like Alolan Dugtrio, Persian and the Geodude line then I'm really not interested. I'm too afraid what they might do to some of my poor fav mons ^^;
 
I went for "unsure". I like the idea but the execution often leaves something to be desired. It started as something awesome with great designs and good reasons for those designs, and then went to 'because pancakes' and we only got joke forms after that mostly. If we keep getting shit like Alolan Dugtrio, Persian and the Geodude line then I'm really not interested. I'm too afraid what they might do to some of my poor fav mons ^^;
Even though I voted 'yes', this covered my sentiments perfectly. My favourite Pokemon, all the time shunned by GameFreak, but when it finally got attention, it became ‘ becuase Pancakes’ like Soki said. This is probably the last thing Raichu is getting, but it botched up the entire appeal of the original Raichu. Even worse, they made regular Raichu uncontainable in SM.

All the Alolan forms revealed during datamine or later failed to appeal to me. The only Pokemon which made it to my favourites list solely due to its Alolan form is Ninetales.

If GameFreak are willing to make 'great’ Regional forms like Ninetales, then go for it, but no thanks if Regional form slots are taken up by failed MemeMons like Dugtrio.

I think Regional Variants should continue, but I don’t think they would continue. They'd probably end up like Megas.
 
Yes. The series revolves around evolution as a big theme, and Pokemon evolving/adapting to suit different environments fits too perfectly with that. Unlike Megas, which were an evolution in a straight line sort of way, regional variants explore a Pokemon in a branched way, where it can shoot off into many different results depending on the circumstances. They can breathe new life into some of the more forgotten Pokemon or can just revisit a Pokemon and how it would adapt based on an idea they may already have for it. It also doesn't make much sense that only Pokemon in Alola (and only ones from Kanto in Alola) would experience these sorts of changes.

It shouldn't go anywhere, especially if they are concerned about the number of Pokemon getting too big.
 
It absolutely should stay but it won't I'm pretty sure.
Unlike Megas which I hate with a burning passion, I love regional variants because they gave some forgotten pokemon a breath of fresh air, with new abilities, types and movepools. I really did enjoy them especially the ones that completely changed their types and not just slapped a Dark type on them. I wished they would have given us so many more and not just Kanto pokemon.
Sadly they will be forgotten just like megas were.
 
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It absolutely should stay but it won't I'm pretty sure.
Unlike Megas which I hate with a burning passion, I love regional variants because it gave some forgotten pokemon a breath of fresh air, with new abilities, types and movepools. I really did enjoy them especially the ones that completely changed their rypes and not just slapped a Dark type on them. I wished they would have given us so many more and not just Kanto pokemon.
Sadly they will be forgotten just like megas were.

I’m not sure about them being forgotten. The developers have stated in some past interviews that they are a bit concerned about the number of pokemon becoming too big, as we are well past the 800 mark now. Regional variants are a perfect way to work around that since it can make veteran mons relevant and it makes players find new ways to battle with them as a result.
 
As some post above said, they screwed them up in SM. Their job was to give a bunch of mons a beach and tiki look, but no, they used this very nonsense philosophy of"We need to balance the types lacking in both Gen I and Gen VII" and together with boring designs made a disaster. However, they deserve a second chance, as they can be very creative and imaginative and they would please many fans of older generations. People already like the variants more than Z-moves, and they don't need tons of items or bracelets to appear in a game.
 
Why not? It's a great way to add more pokemon without having to increase the dex numbers. Though I do agree that regional designs deserve good backstory. I love everything about Alolan Raichu - including the pancake theme, but I'm disappointed that it doesn't explain anything about the surfing theme and how it is supposedly connected to the Surfing Pikachus from previous generations. AND IT DOES NOT LEARN SURF.

It's great to see older pokemon get some spotlight through regional designs, but I wish they'd give better details and differentiate the movesets to match the pokemon concept.
 
I just wonder how current regional variants will be available in the future. Will Alolan Marowak and Ninetales be available outside of Alola? Or will people be forced to utilize Pokemon Bank, or a paying service like it, to transfer fan favorites over? How will breeding regional variants work outside their region? Especially if things like new Egg Moves become applicable to said Pokemon in the future.
 
I just wonder how current regional variants will be available in the future. Will Alolan Marowak and Ninetales be available outside of Alola? Or will people be forced to utilize Pokemon Bank, or a paying service like it, to transfer fan favorites over? How will breeding regional variants work outside their region? Especially if things like new Egg Moves become applicable to said Pokemon in the future.

Simple, just make a safari zone where you can catch regional variants. Problem solved.
 
I just wonder how current regional variants will be available in the future. Will Alolan Marowak and Ninetales be available outside of Alola? Or will people be forced to utilize Pokemon Bank, or a paying service like it, to transfer fan favorites over? How will breeding regional variants work outside their region? Especially if things like new Egg Moves become applicable to said Pokemon in the future.

Well, it'll be a long time between now and SM remakes in 14th gen or whenever the hell we get them, so they pretty much have to make them available in some way. They could easily make them available through methods such as Island Scan, Swarms, etc. Hell, outside of Kanto they don't even need to do that much, they could make the Alola forms available regularly with no real issue.
 
I think regional variants deserve to be a mainstay far more than Mega evolution, honestly. While they were kind of hit-or-miss (Alolan Raticate did the seemingly impossible and ended up being the first Dark-type I dislike), the ones they got right - Marowak, Muk, Ninetales, Sandslash, even Raichu and Exeggutor - showed the concept has merit.

Just make some friggin' Bug-type Alolan forms and non-Gen I Alolans. Please.
 
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