15 Pokemon Scarlet & Violet need to bring back before I lose my mind

It’s only a precious few months left until Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet come out to subvert everyone’s expectations. That could be good, that could be bad. Everyone seems to be speculating things far bigger than I think this game will deliver so it’ll be interesting. But as for me, I have one simple request. And Game Freak, I NEED you listening. Let my precious children free.

Maybe there should be some context. See, Pokemon has well around 900 Pokemon depending on how you want to count them and many of those also have multiple forms; Alolan, Galarian, Hisuian, etc. So it’s no surprise Game Freak, with their itty bitty staff, painted themselves in a corner forcing them to drastically reduce the amount of in-game Pokemon to under 300 in many new Pokemon games. It’s fine. Arceus was great and Sword and Shield, despite some flaws, was very fun. But this also means that there are some Pokemon we haven’t seen in a while.

For someone like myself, who has been transferring Pokemon from one game to the next since that was an option for 20-odd years, I have a couple of Pokemon that have been trapped in Pokemon Home with nowhere to go for a good while now and that need remedied. So, let’s boot up Pokemon Home and see who’s been in there for a bit that needs freeing.

Keep in mind this is just part of the big ol’ list of Pokemon that have been missing, but these are the 15 I really want back in randomized order. I also included the best Pokedex entry for each. I will not argue this, I’m just right.

15) Kecleon

Kecleon, the “color swap” Pokemon, is one of the most unique Pokemon out there. While the concept of a normal type seems meh at first, Kecleon possesses a really cool ability. When you hit it with a move, it becomes that type. Given, that it’s not a defensive beast so it still has to SURVIVE that first hit.

But for people playing through the story, it’s really fun to have on your team because the constant changing of form makes for interesting opportunities, especially if you have moves that change with the type.

Plus, it would be really cool to suddenly notice one of these kids hiding somewhere mostly invisible. Maybe they can be like the Unown in Pokemon Legends Arceus in which you have to discover some of them.

14) Scatterbug/Spewpa/Vivillon

Listen, Game Freak, I fully understand why there’s less Pokemon in modern games. I do. So why not bring this boy back? Scatterbug and it’s evolved forms look REALLY cool and the Vivillon comes in a staggering 20 patterns based on where you captured it, or, in the case of my Pokeball Vivillon, from an event years ago.

I’m not gonna dog the classics like Butterfree, but New Pokemon Snap really showed up how pretty Vivillon can be if you allow them to shine, bringing color and variety to any climate.

13) Castform

Castform is not the most useful of Pokemon as it’s just a little tiny normal boi, but I love it so much. Not only is it cute as hell, but it changes form based on the weather.

It’s really fun in story mode because every time your opponent drops a move like Sunny Day or Blizzard, Castform will become that type automatically meaning it will get a defensive boost against the type of move your opponent just raised the effectiveness of.

Not only that, but in a large open world, it would be really cool if Castform changed form shortly before the weather change so you could have one as a buddy that forecasts the upcoming weather change. Would it be beneficial? Nah. But would it be cool? YUP.