Hisuian Forms and Evolutions Discussion

[Pulsaro23]

Probably because it’s a simple and realistic explanation as to why these forms weren’t seen in modern-day Sinnoh.

Isn't it just as simple and realistic to assume that they're not extinct, just extremely rare, in modern Sinnoh and that they can only be found in a few select places?

Plus (and I feel like I've said these things before, but whatever):

• Of course the Hisuian forms haven't appeared in modern Sinnoh before. Regional Forms weren't a thing during Gen IV, let alone Regional Forms of a past version of a region.
• If they managed to retcon Mega Evolutions, Sylveon, Baby Pokémon/New Evolutions (the latter having been introduced long before the Pokéverse was a thing), isn't it just as likely to assume that the Hisuian forms will just be retconned into BDSP?

Isn’t this rationalized by the idea that there’s a Pokémon multiverse, including universes with Megas and universes without them?

Wouldn't the Pokéverse also explain why Hisuian forms would now be present in Sinnoh, even though they never appeared in DPPt? Couldn't you say that the Hisui region is the past version of the Sinnoh from BDSP, rather than the one from DPPt, explaining why we never saw them before in Gen IV?

I don't know, I still find it strange that the first assumption people have about these forms are "they're extinct in modern Sinnoh", with most going like "yeah, that sounds about right" and leaving it at that, when there's just as many explanations for why they might still be present in modern Sinnoh, even if we never saw them before.

I think the difference here is that Hisui takes place in the past, approximately a century or two ago by the looks of it, so it's not an unreasonable conclusion that the Hisuian forms have died out since then: plenty of real-life animal species have gone extinct in time frames as short if not shorter than the gap between Hisui and modern day Sinnoh. Especially for the Pokemon who could already be brought into Sinnoh but still don't evolve into their Hisuian forms (like Stantler). That said, it's not unlikely for said forms to have survived elsewhere: I can easily see Hisuian Growlithe still being around in a China-inspired region, for example.

And those species could also just have become more rare instead of going extinct in that time period. It's just as likely for them to have gone from "Perfectly Fine" to "Endangered", as it is for them to have become extinct in those few centuries., especially since IRL examples tend to involve either great cataclysms (which seems unlikely, considering modern Sinnoh doesn't differ too much from Hisui, outside of having less cities) or excessive human... let's say, interference (which, considering what franchise we're talking about, I find it hard to believe that they'd touch on that subject (beyond maybe just a Poké Dex mention, at best), not to mention how that would really clash with the whole harmony between humans and Pokémon thing that they usually do through most games).

Also, that whole example with Wyrdeer could be easily explained by Stantler having a Hisuian Form (which is what they did for Obstagoon, Sirfetch'd, Runerigus and all the other evolutions from SWSH) and that form evolving into Wyrdeer, while regular Stantler remains unevolvable. Same for Basculin and Basculegion. Actually, not gonna lie, it's pretty weird seeing history repeat itself so soon, with people doing the same thing they did during the whole Sword and Shield pre-release discussions, where I remember seeing all those posts about Sirfetch'd and the explanations for its existence during SWSH even though Farfetch'd couldn't evolve in previous games (such as it being a Galar-only evolution), only for the games to come out and reveal that Farfetch'd just has a Galarian Form now.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Also, that whole example with Wyrdeer could be easily explained by Stantler having a Hisuian Form (which is what they did for Obstagoon, Sirfetch'd, Runerigus and all the other evolutions from SWSH) and that form evolving into Wyrdeer, while regular Stantler remains unevolvable. Same for Basculin and Basculegion. Actually, not gonna lie, it's pretty weird seeing history repeat itself so soon, with people doing the same thing they did during the whole Sword and Shield pre-release discussions, where I remember seeing all those posts about Sirfetch'd and the explanations for its existence during SWSH even though Farfetch'd couldn't evolve in previous games (such as it being a Galar-only evolution), only for the games to come out and reveal that Farfetch'd just has a Galarian Form now.

tbh, I'm kinda skeptical about Stantler having a Hisuian form because Wyrdeer already looks so much like it and is Psychic/Normal, so it feels rather pointless to give Stantler one. Besides, Stantler having a Hisuian form if anything would just strengthen the arguments that it went extinct: at least if Wyrdeer evolves from regular Stantler, all that would be needed to be done in future games is slap a "reintroducing species back to Sinnoh" plotline to get Wyrdeer to appear again. Same goes for Rufflet/Hisuian Braviary.

 

[Super-Luke]

tbh, I'm kinda skeptical about Stantler having a Hisuian form because Wyrdeer already looks so much like it and is Psychic/Normal, so it feels rather pointless to give Stantler one. Besides, Stantler having a Hisuian form if anything would just strengthen the arguments that it went extinct: at least if Wyrdeer evolves from regular Stantler, all that would be needed to be done in future games is slap a "reintroducing species back to Sinnoh" plotline to get Wyrdeer to appear again. Same goes for Rufflet/Hisuian Braviary.

Basculegion is also too similar to normal Basculin

 

[Pulsaro23]

tbh, I'm kinda skeptical about Stantler having a Hisuian form because Wyrdeer already looks so much like it and is Psychic/Normal, so it feels rather pointless to give Stantler one. Besides, Stantler having a Hisuian form if anything would just strengthen the arguments that it went extinct: at least if Wyrdeer evolves from regular Stantler, all that would be needed to be done in future games is slap a "reintroducing species back to Sinnoh" plotline to get Wyrdeer to appear again. Same goes for Rufflet/Hisuian Braviary.

Wyrdeer's gray-and-white fur and differently-shaped antlers makes me think that it likely evolves from Hisuian Stantler. As for the pointlessness of making a Regional Variant of a mono-type Pokémon that just has a second type added to it, I'd like to introduce you to Alolan Ratatta, Alolan Raichu, Galarian Weezing, Galarian Linoone and Obstagoon, Galarian Yamask and Runerigus... huh, I just noticed, crazy how a lot of the Regional variants and Regional evolution (though the latter are a bit more balanced numbers-wise) seem to keep one of their original types. Point is, Game Freak is more than capable (and very likely, if you look at all the forms we got so far) to make a Regional variant where the only changes in typing is them adding a new type or replacing one of the two types with another one.

Also, are Pokémon only available through the Poké Radar considered as native to Sinnoh? 'Cause, if not, it would still be just as likely for Hisuian Stantler to be present in Sinnoh and not be extinct, but rather be a rare sight. And now that I think about it, they could even just straight up replace regular Stantler with Hisuian Stantler, if the Poké Radar (or something similar to it) makes a comeback.

Basculegion is also too similar to normal Basculin

And Sirfetch'd is more similar to regular Farfetch'd than Galarian Farfetch'd (not to mention the many Regional Forms that basically look the same as their regular from, except for a minor detail or two, like Alolan Diglett or Galarian Yamask). Just saying.

 

[Phosphene]

Isn't it just as simple and realistic to assume that they're not extinct, just extremely rare, in modern Sinnoh and that they can only be found in a few select places?

Sure. But I guess extinction is a more exciting/interesting topic to discuss. Plus, I think a few people here have entertained that idea.

• If they managed to retcon Mega Evolutions, Sylveon, Baby Pokémon/New Evolutions (the latter having been introduced long before the Pokéverse was a thing), isn't it just as likely to assume that the Hisuian forms will just be retconned into BDSP?

Eh, we don't know how faithful BDSP is going to be, nor do we know what the roster looks like. We may only get gen 1-4 Pokémon in those games, which I think contributes to the issue of whether or not Hisuian forms will appear.

with most going like "yeah, that sounds about right" and leaving it at that

What? There's a decent amount of discussion in this forum about the fate of the Hisuian forms and I wouldn't say almost everyone is saying "yeah, [extinction] sounds about right."

Is it unrealistic to say that Hisuian forms just migrated to a different region over time? I won't lie, I immediately noticed how shishi-influenced the Hisuian Growlithe looked in the trailer which made me think of Gen IX speculation for a Chinese-based region. It's a bit far-fetched, but I don't think it's impossible to suspect that the older forms may have went to another region, right? It's all speculation of course.

Edit: I should note that a similar creature is found in Japan as well, so take that as you may lol.

It's also only been one generation since they were introduced. They could appear natively in a different region later down the line.

I guess the Pokemon world could be different, but Legends: Arceus isn't set far back enough for those Pokemon to become fossils in the present. I believe that process can take thousands of years.

I don't think they need to go to that much trouble. Just say they migrated or "they just appeared suddenly one day". It wouldn't be the first time something was just handwaved like that.

 

[Super-Luke]

Wyrdeer's gray-and-white fur and differently-shaped antlers makes me think that it likely evolves from Hisuian Stantler. As for the pointlessness of making a Regional Variant of a mono-type Pokémon that just has a second type added to it, I'd like to introduce you to Alolan Ratatta, Alolan Raichu, Galarian Weezing, Galarian Linoone and Obstagoon, Galarian Yamask and Runerigus... huh, I just noticed, crazy how a lot of the Regional variants and Regional evolution (though the latter are a bit more balanced numbers-wise) seem to keep one of their original types. Point is, Game Freak is more than capable (and very likely, if you look at all the forms we got so far) to make a Regional variant where the only changes in typing is them adding a new type or replacing one of the two types with another one.

Also, are Pokémon only available through the Poké Radar considered as native to Sinnoh? 'Cause, if not, it would still be just as likely for Hisuian Stantler to be present in Sinnoh and not be extinct, but rather be a rare sight. And now that I think about it, they could even just straight up replace regular Stantler with Hisuian Stantler, if the Poké Radar (or something similar to it) makes a comeback.

And Sirfetch'd is more similar to regular Farfetch'd than Galarian Farfetch'd (not to mention the many Regional Forms that basically look the same as their regular from, except for a minor detail or two, like Alolan Diglett or Galarian Yamask). Just saying.

I disagree Sirfetch'd is different. However we will see who will be right

 

[Pulsaro23]

Eh, we don't know how faithful BDSP is going to be, nor do we know what the roster looks like. We may only get gen 1-4 Pokémon in those games, which I think contributes to the issue of whether or not Hisuian forms will appear.

I mean, I never said that all the Hisuian forms will appear in BDSP (especially considering the precedent they just set with LGPE and SWSH). But some of them, like the Stantler and Growlithe ones, I definitely see appearing in them.

Plus, I think a few people here have entertained that idea.

What? There's a decent amount of discussion in this forum about the fate of the Hisuian forms and I wouldn't say almost everyone is saying "yeah, [extinction] sounds about right."

I think you missed the "in modern Sinnoh" part, which most of the posts you quoted still support (since they're discussing the Hisuian forms being forced to migrate from Sinnoh, thus no longer being present in Sinnoh, meaning that they're considered extinct in present-day Sinnoh). I'll say though that "completely extinct" is more of an idea that's more popular on Reddit than here, but I still believe that assuming that they're now extinct in Sinnoh to be a bit much.

 

[Oriden]

Yes; it might turn out that the yet to be seen Eeveelutions could start to appear in the Legends series!! Steel could be from a distant future region perhaps! i sort of feel like they won't all take place in the past!

XD Uh... don't think we'd get a based-in-the-future Legends game considering that defies the definition of legends.

I personally think that the trickiest Hisuian Pokemon absence to explain is Basculegion, especially if it evolves from regular Basculin: in the past it evolved due to strong currents ensuring only a select few Basculin survived, and those would be the ones to evolve. With how different modern Sinnoh is to Hisui, it's not too much of a stretch to assume that currents can no longer get strong enough to kill off Basculin, meaning none have accessed the Basculegion stage in a very long time. Either that or we could perhaps see a modern Basculegion variant. Maybe Water/Poison or Poison/Ghost to reflect the higher levels of pollution, which would now be the main Basculin killer?

If we assume Basculin swim in from the ocean, then it could also be that the group that typically came to Hisui eventually moved on to places with weaker currents, such as Unova, thereby killing fewer Basculin but eliminating the ability to evolve into Basculegion. That would provide a background in which the group didn't go extinct in any way, they just stopped showing up because apparently Sinnoh's waters suck.

Wyrdeer's gray-and-white fur and differently-shaped antlers makes me think that it likely evolves from Hisuian Stantler. As for the pointlessness of making a Regional Variant of a mono-type Pokémon that just has a second type added to it, I'd like to introduce you to Alolan Ratatta, Alolan Raichu, Galarian Weezing, Galarian Linoone and Obstagoon, Galarian Yamask and Runerigus... huh, I just noticed, crazy how a lot of the Regional variants and Regional evolution (though the latter are a bit more balanced numbers-wise) seem to keep one of their original types. Point is, Game Freak is more than capable (and very likely, if you look at all the forms we got so far) to make a Regional variant where the only changes in typing is them adding a new type or replacing one of the two types with another one.

Wyrdeer's grey-and-white fur and differently-shaped antlers are actually probably a reference to it having lived longer than other stantler- considering the massive beard.

I think you missed the "in modern Sinnoh" part, which most of the posts you quoted still support (since they're discussing the Hisuian forms being forced to migrate from Sinnoh, thus no longer being present in Sinnoh, meaning that they're considered extinct in present-day Sinnoh). I'll say though that "completely extinct" is more of an idea that's more popular on Reddit than here, but I still believe that The idea entertained

Because you're basically arguing in favor of something that could only be fanon, or featured in an anime episode at best, since there's no opportunity at this point for a modern-day Sinnoh game to feature these pokemon. BDSP is releasing well ahead of Legends Arceus, so it's not possible for them to appear in those games without a later DLC, and that would be incredibly unlikely for them to just add them in since they'd want to push the new forms and evolutions as incentive for people to buy both games.

 

[Phosphene]

but I still believe that assuming that they're now extinct in Sinnoh to be a bit much.

I was going to edit my previous post but I'll just put this here.

Legends is the first main series game explicitly set in a time before the present, in a region that appears to be pre-industrial. I think this lends itself to the theories of these Pokémon going extinct considering it's not exactly too farfetched nor too dark of an idea (I also hesitant to say that most people are just assuming they're extinct, moreso providing an interesting explanation for why we didn't see them). Sure Hisuian forms (or at least some of them) could be retconned into modern Sinnoh--and I bet no one would be surprised if that did happen--but that probably doesn't make for as interesting a discussion.

Also, yeah I could have used better quotes but I'm pretty sure I saw people suggesting ideas other than extinction. They're probably somewhere in a BDSP thread.

 

[Cute Charm]

tbh, I'm kinda skeptical about Stantler having a Hisuian form because Wyrdeer already looks so much like it and is Psychic/Normal, so it feels rather pointless to give Stantler one. Besides, Stantler having a Hisuian form if anything would just strengthen the arguments that it went extinct: at least if Wyrdeer evolves from regular Stantler, all that would be needed to be done in future games is slap a "reintroducing species back to Sinnoh" plotline to get Wyrdeer to appear again. Same goes for Rufflet/Hisuian Braviary.

It's been hinted at many of times that Stantler has reality distorting antlers but isn't psychic. In fact, going by the second Space World demo, it was never psychic in a game before despite learning psychic moves. It would make a lot more sense to have a Normal/Psychic Stantler with white fur and a non-green shiny form than not have one.

Also, who knows, maybe they've already tried reintroducing Stantler by bringing Johtonian Stantler back to Sinnoh, but it never worked since they never had the ability to evolve? So now they're just stuck with swarms of Johtonian Stantler roaming the region. I doubt BDSP will add the gen 5 mons into the dex. Unless they do decide to patch them in when Legends releases. But they've really put too much emphasis on preserving the feel of the original Diamond and Pearl to do something like that.

I was going to edit my previous post but I'll just put this here.

Legends is the first main series game explicitly set in a time before the present, in a region that appears to be pre-industrial. I think this lends itself to the theories of these Pokémon going extinct considering it's not exactly too farfetched nor too dark of an idea (I also hesitant to say that most people are just assuming they're extinct, moreso providing an interesting explanation for why we didn't see them). Sure Hisuian forms (or at least some of them) could be retconned into modern Sinnoh--and I bet no one would be surprised if that did happen--but that probably doesn't make for as interesting a discussion.

Also, yeah I could have used better quotes but I'm pretty sure I saw people suggesting ideas other than extinction. They're probably somewhere in a BDSP thread.

It's kind of apparent by the Galaxy HQ that it's only Hisui/Sinnoh that's barren and "pre-industrial". Meaning that when more people started moving to Sinnoh, the native pokemon probably got pushed farther and farther out of the region if not fully extinct. The most likely candidates for full on extinction are probably the hypothetical Hisuian Stantler, Wyrdeer, Basculegion, and the Hisuian Growlithe line. It could also just be that they're completely extinct in one place but thriving in another. Which could be how they end up in future games. Like maybe someone just trades you a Hisuian Growlite for a normal one and you can breed more of them.

 

[Super-Luke]

It's been hinted at many of times that Stantler has reality distorting antlers but isn't psychic. In fact, going by the second Space World demo, it was never psychic in a game before despite learning psychic moves. It would make a lot more sense to have a Normal/Psychic Stantler with white fur and a non-green shiny form than not have one.

Also, who knows, maybe they've already tried reintroducing Stantler by bringing Johtonian Stantler back to Sinnoh, but it never worked since they never had the ability to evolve? So now they're just stuck with swarms of Johtonian Stantler roaming the region. I doubt BDSP will add the gen 5 mons into the dex. Unless they do decide to patch them in when Legends releases. But they've really put too much emphasis on preserving the feel of the original Diamond and Pearl to do something like that.


It's kind of apparent by the Galaxy HQ that it's only Hisui/Sinnoh that's barren and "pre-industrial". Meaning that when more people started moving to Sinnoh, the native pokemon probably got pushed farther and farther out of the region if not fully extinct. The most likely candidates for full on extinction are probably the hypothetical Hisuian Stantler, Wyrdeer, Basculegion, and the Hisuian Growlithe line. It could also just be that they're completely extinct in one place but thriving in another. Which could be how they end up in future games. Like maybe someone just trades you a Hisuian Growlite for a normal one and you can breed more of them.

I don't know... In Stantler's pokédex description it says that he has "psychic powers"
So a real evolution would make more sense to me.

 

[vivian20]

The point is, they´re called Hisuian forms. If they existed in present Sinnoh, they would just be called Sinnohan forms. The fact that they are called Hisuian forms actually confirms that they cant be found in modern Sinnoh. In a world in which fossils can be revived, its unlikely we wont see them in future games, but they wont be wild, just like alolan pokemon arent wild in galar or Kanto.

 

[Pulsaro23]

Wyrdeer's grey-and-white fur and differently-shaped antlers are actually probably a reference to it having lived longer than other stantler- considering the massive beard.

Again, this brings back memories of Sirfetch'd. Why is it no longer a Flying-type? Because it's holding a sword and shield and can no longer fly, even though some flightless birds are still Flying-type. Why have we never seen it before? Because it's an evolution only possible in Galar, somehow. How do they deal with the Eviolite? They could change how it works on Farfetch'd. At this point, considering how Game Freak have done things before, I'll be shocked if Wyrdeer didn't evolve from a Hisuian Stantler. Right now, its antlers and fur color are as much a sign of its age and it evolving from a regular Stantler, as they are proof of it evolving from a Hisuian Form, so until we get more details about PLA, I feel like we'll be arguing in circles with this one.

Because you're basically arguing in favor of something that could only be fanon, or featured in an anime episode at best, since there's no opportunity at this point for a modern-day Sinnoh game to feature these pokemon. BDSP is releasing well ahead of Legends Arceus, so it's not possible for them to appear in those games without a later DLC, and that would be incredibly unlikely for them to just add them in since they'd want to push the new forms and evolutions as incentive for people to buy both games.

At this point, it's no more fanon than believing that they're extinct because we've never seen them in modern Sinnoh (even though the last time we saw modern Sinnoh was over 12 years ago). I already gave a few ideas of how GF could implement it either in the based game or post-release. Like them pulling a Galarian Slowpoke (which, last I checked, was part of a free update, and not a full-blown $30 DLC) and allowing you to catch some of the pre-evolutions, but making it impossible for them to evolve until a certain time or until they add a certain item, just to generate more hype for PLA and let players get a feel for how these new from play. Or them making a non-DLC free update, where they add the Hisuian Forms and their evolutions to the games, especially since, last I heard, they're gonna add Home compatibility to both BDSP and PLA post-launch in 2022, so it's not that crazy to believe that they may add some of the models in as well, later on. And, as I said in my last post, it's entirely possible that some of these forms (those of post-Gen IV Pokémon) to not be available in BDSP, meaning that people would still have an incentive to buy PLA (not to mention that Legends has a lot more going for it than just new Regional Forms, that they'd be able to put a few of the new forms in BDSP without taking away from the hype for these games).

Sure Hisuian forms (or at least some of them) could be retconned into modern Sinnoh--and I bet no one would be surprised if that did happen--but that probably doesn't make for as interesting a discussion

Honestly, I'd say that depends on how you look at it. For example, imagine if Hisuian Forms were still present in Sinnoh, except there's fewer of them and they're considered the equivalent to the endangered animals of our world. Imagine finding one, catching it and forcing it to battle on your behalf or using it as an HM slave (if HM are somehow in the game). That would be an interesting issue to deal with. In fact, you could even have an NPC added to the game that talks about Hisuian Forms and, when they see that you have one in your party, questions the player's action or brings up the dangers of catching endangered Pokémon and the effect it would on the species. Even without the NPC, you'd still have an interesting dilemma to to deal with, potentially on the same level as the N and Team Plasma's views, that could spark a lot of discussion. Plus, whether they're extinct or endangered, you'd still have the questions of what led to their current status and the question of whether there might be more Hisuian Forms in the world. I find that to be a more interesting discussion that them being gone from Sinnoh and (maybe) settling in another region.

Also, yeah I could have used better quotes but I'm pretty sure I saw people suggesting ideas other than extinction. They're probably somewhere in a BDSP thread.

Maybe, but I still keep seeing it constantly, whenever discussions regarding them comes up, and it's becoming a bit tiring to see this idea get more and more traction with little to no pushback, other that them migrating to another region. So I'm gonna be providing the pushback until we get more concrete evidence or until someone gives me an irrefutable argument that convinces me otherwise, no matter how unpopular it may be, just to keep the discussion balanced, as all things should be.

 

[Cute Charm]

I don't know... In Stantler's pokédex description it says that he has "psychic powers"
So a real evolution would make more sense to me.

I mean...technically Wyrdeer is a real evolution. Just possibly for a currently unseen Stantler. It's not like it's a mega evolution or anything.

It seems like the only way pokemon are getting evolutions now (outside of possibly Eevee.) is to have regional variants or regional evolutions. So in a way they haven't fully gone back on their word about not making anymore evolutions to old pokemon because the variants are new by technicality. Not to mention it's getting to the point where there's going to have to be something introduced later on that can make your pokemon turn into it's regional evolutions. Like it won't work with pokemon that have regional variants like Meowth or Farfetch'd. But it could work on pokemon like Mime Jr., Cubone, Exeggcute, ETC. where their first stages are the same. So it's not like they're going to just up an forget about them anytime soon.

On a side note, am I the only one thinking that Wyrdeer was originally supposed to be in SWSH but got cut and moved to Legends? Not just because the English name has "Wyrd" in it, but also because of heraldry.

 

[Super-Luke]

I mean...technically Wyrdeer is a real evolution. Just possibly for a currently unseen Stantler. It's not like it's a mega evolution or anything.

It seems like the only way pokemon are getting evolutions now (outside of possibly Eevee.) is to have regional variants or regional evolutions. So in a way they haven't fully gone back on their word about not making anymore evolutions to old pokemon because the variants are new by technicality. Not to mention it's getting to the point where there's going to have to be something introduced later on that can make your pokemon turn into it's regional evolutions. Like it won't work with pokemon that have regional variants like Meowth or Farfetch'd. But it could work on pokemon like Mime Jr., Cubone, Exeggcute, ETC. where their first stages are the same. So it's not like they're going to just up an forget about them anytime soon.

On a side note, am I the only one thinking that Wyrdeer was originally supposed to be in SWSH but got cut and moved to Legends? Not just because the English name has "Wyrd" in it, but also because of heraldry.

Yes sorry by real I meant by normal Stantler.
Probably some regional forms have been discarded and put on Legends. But I don't think for Wyrdeer

 

[Emmy]

On a side note, am I the only one thinking that Wyrdeer was originally supposed to be in SWSH but got cut and moved to Legends? Not just because the English name has "Wyrd" in it, but also because of heraldry.

Seems a bit of a stretch to me.

 

[Esserise]

As far as the name goes, I'd probably chalk it up to coincidence, since its name was likely first conceived of in Japanese and then translated into a comparable English pun.

 

[Oriden]

At this point, it's no more fanon than believing that they're extinct because we've never seen them in modern Sinnoh (even though the last time we saw modern Sinnoh was over 12 years ago). I already gave a few ideas of how GF could implement it either in the based game or post-release. Like them pulling a Galarian Slowpoke (which, last I checked, was part of a free update, and not a full-blown $30 DLC) and allowing you to catch some of the pre-evolutions, but making it impossible for them to evolve until a certain time or until they add a certain item, just to generate more hype for PLA and let players get a feel for how these new from play. Or them making a non-DLC free update, where they add the Hisuian Forms and their evolutions to the games, especially since, last I heard, they're gonna add Home compatibility to both BDSP and PLA post-launch in 2022, so it's not that crazy to believe that they may add some of the models in as well, later on. And, as I said in my last post, it's entirely possible that some of these forms (those of post-Gen IV Pokémon) to not be available in BDSP, meaning that people would still have an incentive to buy PLA (not to mention that Legends has a lot more going for it than just new Regional Forms, that they'd be able to put a few of the new forms in BDSP without taking away from the hype for these games).

You're comparing it to a single pokemon given out to promote additional content for the game it's been given out to. Legends Arceus isn't an extension of BDSP, so it wouldn't make sense to just hand over exclusive content for an entirely different $60 game. And receiving one pokemon via mystery gift or whatever wouldn't remotely indicate that they still exist in the wild in Sinnoh.

It seems like the only way pokemon are getting evolutions now (outside of possibly Eevee.) is to have regional variants or regional evolutions. So in a way they haven't fully gone back on their word about not making anymore evolutions to old pokemon because the variants are new by technicality. Not to mention it's getting to the point where there's going to have to be something introduced later on that can make your pokemon turn into it's regional evolutions. Like it won't work with pokemon that have regional variants like Meowth or Farfetch'd. But it could work on pokemon like Mime Jr., Cubone, Exeggcute, ETC. where their first stages are the same. So it's not like they're going to just up an forget about them anytime soon.

On a side note, am I the only one thinking that Wyrdeer was originally supposed to be in SWSH but got cut and moved to Legends? Not just because the English name has "Wyrd" in it, but also because of heraldry.

As far I recall, they wouldn't be going back on their word because they never actually said that? There is nothing stopping them from just adding new evos.

And nah, Wyrdeer's name in Japanese translates to "strange" something- some device for scaring deer, based off of stantler's Japanese name. The wyrd/weird is almost a direct translation.

 

[Emmy]

One last thing to consider about Wyrdeer is that the website mentions how its fur is highly prized (by whom as it's listed under newly discovered Pokémon?) for usage in clothing...something that parallels exactly with how the Ainu value the Yuk Deer which can only be found in - you guessed it, Hokkaido (Sinnoh). Plus they are thought to have genetically diverged from the Sika Deer that Stantler is based off of so it feels extremely natural for them to be Hisuian Pokémon.

 

[Mr. MoonStone]

What? There's a decent amount of discussion in this forum about the fate of the Hisuian forms and I wouldn't say almost everyone is saying "yeah, [extinction] sounds about right."

It's not exactly the dominating opinion on this particular forum, but the extinction theory has been somewhat popular on certain subreddits, twitter, and other forums (especially on the reveal day). Hence, my comment about the migration theory. It's not that the extinction idea is too "dark" or difficult to explain in more modern context either, just a different theory on things.