Summary
Gen 10Pokemongames will likely launch roughly three years afterPokemon Scarlet and Violet, which would slate them for a November 2025 release, assuming The Pokemon Company doesn’t want to push them back to improve quality and launch them alongside the 30th anniversary of the franchise. Regardless,Gen 10Pokemongamesare probably going to shake the franchise’s formula as much as recent entries in the series have done, be it by introducing a nineteenth type or making big changes to staple features and traditions. A good thing Gen 10 can do to bridge the gap between innovation and tradition is to add several cross-gen evolutions, and the Kalos Pokedex is a good place to start.
Cross-gen evolutions inPokemongames have long been a thing, starting all the way back in Gen 2 titles, and ever since they’ve been a staple of the series thanks to how well-received they usually are, and how well they can complement a given evolutionary line.Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Kingambit was arguably one of the best cross-gen evolutions ever thanks to how popular it became and how strong it still is in the competitive meta, for example. Still, Kalos is full of critters with untapped potential, and some of them could use this treatment in Gen 10.
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Diggersby
Diggersby has a rather unique design that fully takes advantage of its real-life inspiration by making it a creature that burrows into the ground and digs the earth with its hybrid ear arms. Being Normal/Ground also makes it unique, although creatures like Ursaluna and the more recentBloodmoon Ursaluna in The Teal Mask DLCfor Gen 9 take it to another level. With a movepool and base stat total that leave something to be desired, a cross-gen evolution for Diggersby could make it a great Pokemon.
Gogoat
Recently in the spotlight due toPokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Geeta controversy, Gogoat is not a bad critter and still has its niche. Its base stat total is more akin to that of starters than anything else, and an evolution could take it even further and increase it to something like 580, which would be interesting to see. This cross-gen evolution could even add a type to Gogoat’s Grass type, with a good candidate being Rock due to this mountain goat’s habitat and Pokedex entries. The only Grass/Rock Pokemon in existence are Lileep and Cradily, outside of Ogerpon with the Cornerstone Mask, and an extra one would be nice to see.
Pangoro
While Pangoro has a goodPokemontype comboin Dark/Fighting, it is vastly outclassed by its Legendary counterpart, Urshifu. Pangoro’s base stat total of 495 doesn’t help it shine a whole lot, especially with its 4x weakness to Fairy and lack of powerful moves. With the base inspiration for this creature being pandas, Pangoro could get a cross-gen evolution that makes it slower, but tankier and more powerful, making it valuable in a Trick Room team, more than its current iteration could ever hope to be.
Noivern
IfPokemonGen 10 adds another typeto the chart, and if that type is Sound, a great Pokemon to bring back to give it a cross-gen evolution would be Noivern. Noivern is one of the few sound-based Pokemon in the series, having several moves tied to sound mechanics, such as Boomburst or Hyper Voice, and having them become Sound-type moves could make this critter’s evolution a menace to reckon with. Even if Sound is not added as a type inPokemongames, Noivern evolving into a new creature would make it stand out much more, hopefully adding to its movepool, base stat total, and overall unique design.
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