When Pokémon Red and Blue first debuted back in 1996, there were 151 Pokémon in total. With the recent release on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, that number has now surpassed 1000. Still, these first 151 Pokémon each hold a place in many of our hearts as being among our first ever companions in the world of Pokémon. 

As the generations have passed, many of these original Pokémon have been given new evolutions and forms. From Mega Evolution to Gigantomaxing, these new forms help rejuvenate these Pokémon in terms of popularity and viability, but not all of the Kanto Pokémon have maintained the same levels of popularity. Let’s take a look at some original Pokémon who could use a little bit more attention. 

Staryu/Starmie

For how cool Staryu and Starmie were in the anime, these two haven’t seen much action since their original debut. Misty uses them in her gym battles, but no other boss trainers have used them in any of their other games. Water/Psychic is a really strong typing, and these two have access to wonderful moves like Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and Recover. Maybe something like a regional variant with slightly different typing could help bring these Starmie back to the forefront.

Paras/Parasect

Paras and Parasect are…. Not very good. Being 4x weak to both Fire and Flying definitely isn’t great, and their movepool isn’t too good either aside from learning Spore, a 100% accurate move that puts your opponent to sleep. The Pokémon was recently featured in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but hasn’t had any new evolution or forms added. Maybe someday we’ll see our little mushroom crab get an evolution, but I just can’t see it happening.

Nidoking and Nidoqueen

How the heck have this family of poisonous buff rabbits not been touched since the original games? The main boss from Red and Blue, Giovanni, uses these two, but they’re not really relevant in any other games. You can catch them in other games like HeartGold and SoulSilver, and were recently included in the Sword and Shield DLC, the Crown Tundra, but they haven’t had much of an impact. It’s probably my bias for these being some of my favorite Pokémon, but I really want to see them make a comeback with a new regional form. Maybe if we ever get another Legends game? Who knows. The only thing certain is that I’ll do a happy dance when that day finally arrives.

Who did we forget? Are there any other Kanto Pokémon that you think needs a bit more attention? Dewgong? Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee? Missingno? Let us know in a comment, or join the conversation on the Boss Rush Discord. 

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