"Should-Be" Early Route Pokémon

There are many different Pokémon from which to choose at the beginning of any new game in the franchise, but is that enough? I feel as though there are creatures in each region that would be better off if they too were included in the ranks of the early routes, but for whatever reason are locked behind other areas instead. So let's go through and see which Pokémon I would promote to start of the game status!

[@fanusobscurus4309]

Let us all remember the greatest early game Pokemon. The level 13 Salamance from gen 7.

[@Frog-ux5qu]

Level 13? Pathetic. I only have Level 9 Salamences

[@Joseph_Biten]

Wait wut is this true?

[@CJ-dp4tx]

Ben Aegis it’s a pain in the rear and takes forever, but yes.

[@marcdiosdebronce388]

@@Joseph_Biten yeah haha

[@spogeti2009]

No it’s heracross

[@TheHazard36]

Remember in Generation 7 when you couldn't evolve Eevee into Glaceon until the Pokemon League

[@tyrant-den884]

That's nothing. Have you tried evolving the Eevee Bill gives you in Gold and Silver?

[@nothinpurrsonal]

Or having to beat the game to get Leafeon in Black 2 and White 2

[@shanez1215]

Also not being able to get Vikavolt until like island 3 or 4 after getting Grubin from island 1?

[@JJKSauce]

Tyrant-Den If you want Jolteon, there’s this lass named Dana in the route west of Ecruteak City that can give you a thunderstone if you get her Poké Gear number. However, the catch is that it doesn’t learn an electric move until around level 50 and you have to breed for another Eevee (You get it at level 20) if you want it to learn Thundershock since Jolteon learns it at level 16.

[@zememerr2329]

@@nothinpurrsonal Both Leafeon and Glaceon are postgame in BW2 actually. That, plus fishing and breeding for whatever reason

[@diophantine6677]

Murkrow in the Ilex Forest and Misdreavus in the Sprout Tower or Dark Cave

[@BabusGameRoom]

Larvitar in Dark Cave, but in the back so there's incentive to go back. Misdreavus could've been in a later tower, and maybe a Day-only spawn to contrast with Gastly's Night-only spawn.

[@Ivan-ho1pd]

Please!... I want my early route murkrow!

[@thebestworst8002]

I’m surprised Marty didn’t have a Misdreavus. When I played the game for the first time, I thought that there was only 1 ghost type line

[@UmbraStarWolf]

Houndour in johto in some route at night

[@tompatterson1548]

@@thebestworst8002 THe poison type gym.

[@mspaddythedog]

I won't lie, I didn't know what a Clobbopus was until just now.

[@BronduBrondu]

What is a clobbapus?

[@maxjohnston5235]

@@BronduBrondu cloobopus is what evolves into an octopus fighting type called grapploct

[@countclackula7390]

Genwunner This is a joke dont be offended plz

[@spino650]

I knew what it looked like but didn't know it's name because I didn't bother encountering it. Edit: watching the video more and just found out that it can only be found in tall grass

[@liamdoes8580]

Honestly grapploct was like my favourite pokemon in gen 8

[@jackmiles655]

Houndour Easily like you can’t find it until KANTO WHEN ITS A JOHTO POKEMON it makes me sad ok

[@emperorcubone]

Yeah, I'd just take "anywhere in Johto," as better than nothing...

[@jackmiles655]

Emperor Cubone AT LEAST before the Elite 4

[@konstantinoechsler6659]

I always liked houndoom but ive never really had it in a Team because I couldnt get it early on.

[@jackmiles655]

DJ Pumbs same

[@TheDeathmail]

To be fair, I feel that it shouldn't be considered a "Johto" Pokemon... Kanto and Johto are so close to each other that they should nearly be considered the same region... so I feel that lore wise, it over all makes sense that Gen 2 Pokemon live in Kanto rather than Johto and that some Gen 1 Pokemon actually live in Johto rather than Kanto... if you think about it, Gen 2 retcon'd a lot of Gen 1...

[@tyrant-den884]

Ice-types. What the heck are those things doing in the late game?

[@slightlyuncomfortable]

dragon killing balance, presumably?

[@fortymcmeme3846]

What the F*** is an ice type

[@Zachstro]

Forty e that’s a reasonable response

[@popnpets8022]

SlightlyUncomfortable fairy types: we don’t care about such “balance”

[@tyrant-den884]

@@slightlyuncomfortable which I let them get away with in the first two generations since they were still trying things out, but by gens 3 and 4 they should have known better.

[@PokeDan]

I hated how long it took before I could catch a Clobbopus in Sword and Shield. Good stuff!

[@emperorcubone]

I never even had a chance to try one, it was just too late...

[@BabusGameRoom]

I caught the evolution before Clobbopus, and I thought it was part of another family or something.

[@kahboom76]

I actually got one from the power spots in the wild area before the second gym

[@frenchfry55]

I grabbed Clobbopus because it was too cute and I thought it's evolution was ehhhhh, but couldn't keep the little guy because he wasn't the right level

[@yeetusdefeetus]

YES. I had a grappoloct on my team and it was my mvp! Shame because i love clobbo boi as much as grapple boi

[@breado_deado]

I swear the best thing about an emperor cubone video is the unique and interesting topic he talks about

[@nataliehopkins1395]

Minncino and it’s evolution CARRIED my team through the elite four in gen 5. No regrets.

[@Steveofthejungle8]

I wouldn’t have used it but I got one as my first random shiny ever so I had to put it on my team. Bye, bye Serperior

[@omegaforcezero5440]

Yeah!! Same here

[@leejackkenemore498]

I don't know I feel like stoutland is the best normal type ever

[@jakk2631]

I really want to use pawniard but it so weak when you get it I wish It apred anywhere before 7th gym

[@robertlupa8273]

@@jakk2631 And evolved earlier. Heck, Grimsley had to have an _underleveled_ Bisharp because of how late it evolves.

[@lilpetz500]

The clobbopus thing really was a mess, I literally went into the game wanting one as a team staple but didn't bother because you don't really have an option to raise your own when a tough fully evolved one will just chase you down all over the late game. Even like the 3rd town had a cute jacket themed around it that I ended up wearing instead of actually training one. It's the same poor design that locks some of my other favourite Pokemon like sneasel out of being popular team members in playthroughs. They should have some sort of system where you choose what path you take through the region.

[@GhostlyWaffle]

Jokes on you I found one in a den

[@MrMitchbow]

I really missed out on Pokémon like houndour and finneon and sneazel and swablu and smeargle and even dumb old dunsparce and teddiursa because of stupid game design. And what about all those Pokémon put in late game that are clearly inferior to their mid game alternatives pretty much relegating those late mons to niche roles or dex completion. And don’t get me started on trade evolutions >:(

[@tuxedobird]

Straw Berry Wow, you either need to go into a game really lucky, fully researched or going online? Wow, it’s almost as if that’s an awful solution.

[@dogvetusa]

This is why I think (pseudo) legendaries are crap. You get them later game and as the generations go (minus sword/shield) you get a bigger collection to collect ( wtf (u)s(u)m) and you likely arent going to use them

[@archerestarcher]

@@dogvetusa I trained up the free Extreme Speed dratini from HGSS to make her (got a female) part of my team and I don't have any regrets doing so. I was 10 at the time so named the Dratini Elsa due to the blue-ish colour but still. Some people are willing to use pseudo legendaries.

[@intodewood0598]

Random opinion: One of these times, there should be an ice type 1st gym.

[@kirin1230]

Maybe as a second gym. A first seems unfair toward the starter choice. i prefer first gyms where the level of difficulty is the same no matter what starter. An ice gym would be too easy for a fire type and hard for a grass type.

[@nickdentoom1173]

Some gyms are way to OP to put early on. If you have Ice as the first gym, Gamefreak is basically forced to put in a fire or fighting type on an early route. The only time where Ice could have been a thing, was in Kalos, because we got get Litleo and Pansear early. Dragon type is never gonna be first either, since Dragon resists Water, Fire and Grass.

[@nintendosega100]

Cookie Johto basically ragged on Chikorita the whole time and people still got though it. Ice types only have one resistance and that’s to themselves and a lot of weaknesses. They’d be ideal first gym challenges.

[@nintendosega100]

Nick den Toom No type is too OP with the right tools to defeat them. There’s weak Pokémon of every type. Ice is one of the worst types in the game, I don’t know why they keep putting them near the end of the game or having the strongest trainers wield them. The ice type gym leader would be even easier than the three first rock gyms we’ve had. As for dragon, have easily accessible ice, fairy or other dragon types. Steel types for resistance as well. Early stage dragons are extremely weak.

[@kirin1230]

@@nintendosega100 Hmm, very far point, but it would still be easier for a fire type unless all the gym's pokemon where dual typed with something that resisted fire, which would also probably make grass good against them. That could actually be pretty fair.

[@jgr7487]

even though I know that Marill is a Gen 2 pkmn, it feels more like a Gen 3 one because of how early you find it in Hoenn.

[@emperorcubone]

Azurill helps that too, but people say the same about Natu; they didn't even see it until Hoenn...

[@eevee1583]

I used to think Skarmory was a gen 3 Pokemon because it's more commonly found on route 113 then wherever it is gen 2

[@mayayamato7351]

dude me too. i never saw skarmory in crystal. in sapphire tho yeah, i saw it. so it feels like a hoenn mon.

[@kirin1230]

I agree with this thread. So many Johto pokemon seemingly found a home in Hoenn. It's kind of nice that they were able to get more of a spotlight. IT didn't feel like an afterthought.

[@librathebeautifulwarmonk1283]

Skarmory Slugnab and Marill all feel like gen 3 Pokemon while Sneasel, Aipom and Gligar feel like gen 4

[@BlackKoiRecords]

These were spot on. I would have on my honorable mentions murkrow, misdreavus, and houndour. EDIT- They also should have given you your fossil WAY earlier in Red/Blue/Yellow

[@liamwhite3522]

Oh god, FOSSIL Pokemon. It's so weird that they just decided to put the restoration centre in the LAST TOWN IN THE GAME. Put it in Pewter, but maybe gate it off until Lt. Surge, so there's still time to wonder what thos fossil could be.

[@zoruafox7512]

Houndour definitely shouldn’t be early but definitely not kanto only either considering it’s better then the fire starters and heck even moltress. Still outclassed by ho-oh. Victory road for houndoom and an earlier route at night for houndour only seems fair.

[@tyrant-den884]

My issue isn't that they restore your Fossils late, it's that they are restored to WATER types in a town you can only reach is you already have a surf user, in the same building as a guy who gives you a Lapras.

[@nickdentoom1173]

@@liamwhite3522 No, put the lab in Saffron City in the Silph Co building. It makes sense to have it there, since Silph Co also made the Master Ball and Porygon.

[@leonardofarias8843]

@@liamwhite3522 Them what you do with Aerodactyl

[@thebestworst8002]

Venonat-agree Marril-agree Swablu-I used one in my original hoenn play through and I thought it came at the perfect time. Something like spheal would have made more sense as it’s only available in an optional cave and you can’t even see its evolutions until the elite four Glameow-I’m surprised this isn’t in the same route as stunky in diamond. I agree that they both should be earlier Chinchino-O think this is suppose to be unova’s clefairy. Why isn’t it earlier? Noibat-this thing evolves way too late to be an early game mon. Togedemaru-agree Clobapus-I completely forgot this thing existed

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

I remember that someone put Noibat on a list of hard to evolve Pokemon once; the reason being it's early availability in gen7 combined with it's low stats making it difficult to put up with training until it finally evolves. In fact, it is because of this reason that I remembered that I would disagree with it being on this list personally.

[@nidohime6233]

Glameow is exclusive to Pokémon Perl, it doesn´t apperad in Diamond.

[@zoruafox7512]

Honestly i only would use noibat if it appeared late enough to evolve quickly via exp share. It’s stats and level up movepool are atrocious on par with zubat but at least zubat has the decency to evolve into golbat halfway through. And also noibats stats are only slightly better then crobat.

[@thetexican98]

He treaded real carefully with his wording for swablu. You get it after 9 towns! But also it's found after only 3 badges

[@smaugthefiredrake7840]

Completely agree, especially RE: Swablu and Noibat. He specifically said evolving early so you get the use out of them is essential and then lists Pokemon that evolve in their 30s/40s. The whole point of early route Pokemon is that they get strong QUICKLY so you can use them in your team as valuable assets to help you past the early gyms if you're new to the game and need to rely more on raw strength than maybe type weaknesses etc. (basically how I played when I started out as a kid - evolution meant strong, yay now I can get through that gym by slamming the same moves as before still). Experienced players who would be willing to put the effort in to raising a weak Noibat aren't going to care that you get it later since they're the type to go looking for it. And it's not the same as Magikarp since that thing evolves at level 20, which is still very early game. Plus, just in general, aren't dragons SUPPOSED to be rare and hard to get? Isn't that sort of the point? I know it's not always the case but 'getting a dragon early on' isn't actually something I want, I want to have to seek them out and earn them BECAUSE they're dragons so 'mythical and rare'.

[@nazeersadek6705]

This is a very interesting topic I agree with all your picks but I’ll also add Murkrow, Houndour and slugma since they are Johto Pokémon but you’ll only find them in Kanto

[@keantully-mclelland1383]

At least in the johto remakes you can get that slugma egg from the guy in the pokemon centre

[@zoruafox7512]

Houndour literally outclasses all the starters gen 2 and moltress in gen 2. It shouldn’t be kanto only but very end of jhoto considering they are your best fire type option unless you got ho-oh. Or bare minimum last place you would be required to go for the story before getting ho oh at night.

[@nazeersadek6705]

Zorua Fox ya that route after blackthorn city would be ideal for houndour

[@nazeersadek6705]

Kean Tully-Mclelland oh I didn’t know that lol

[@amesstarline5482]

@@zoruafox7512 It would make choosing a Chikorita worth it, for diversity.

[@jumborancher]

Mantyke in D/P bc it is right before victory road, and we have to surf to get it. Which means we probably already have a strong water type. It needs to be way earlier in the game.

[@emperorcubone]

I didn't even think about that one, but yeah! I mean it's a baby Pokemon after all...

[@zjzr08]

@@emperorcubone I guess it was easy to evolve, only needing Remoraid in the party regardless of level...still, being in the waters of Route 213 (and maybe removing some of the rocks there in the south) may be better.

[@rishabhanand4973]

@@emperorcubone i feel like baby pokemon as a concept should be done away with. The only baby pokemon i like are riolu, magby, elekid, smoochum, bonsly, and mantyke. And they should just be regular pokemon.

[@DarthLiam-gd1wc]

@@rishabhanand4973 I don't think that will ever happen.

[@YamatoFukkatsu]

Personally, I don't get why Ice types are usually never found until very late in the game. I mean, most people would agree that Ice is the single worst type out there (at least defensively), so why they're frequently treated like an end game thing is beyond me. On another note, Ice Heal may be the single most useless item there is. Not only is freezing an extremely rare status condition, almost exclusive to Ice type moves and with a mere 10% chance of occurring from each of them, but by the time you're even encountering Ice type Pokemon (or Ice type attacks, for that matter), you'll almost certainly have already had access to Full Heals well before then, so why even bother at that point? To be fair about Clobbopus, it's far from the only time a previous evolution seemed completely pointless. I mean, remember all the baby forms of Pokemon from earlier generations? I guess for whatever it's worth, raising unevolved Pokemon can serve as some sort of challenge if you decide to hatch them from eggs. Though by the time you're able to breed Pokemon, you have much better leveling options available to you anyway, including the daycare where you bred for it in the first place (and it's not like gen8 made things any harder with its mandatory EXP Share), so this would be a REALLY novelty purpose. I guess in Clobbopus's case, it's even worse because it evolves through a move, a move which can easily be passed on to the baby to evolve immediately. Still, I guess breeding serves as at least some kind of excuse (something that the likes of gen1 Venonat or Seel don't have).

[@Jasonwolf1495]

I specifically start black 2 in winter to get early swinub.

[@JOCoStudio1]

Having a choice between some baby pokemon as well as (or instead of) a traditional starter could make them more worthwhile. Depending on the options available to you, it could give you one fairly powerful pokemon relatively early on if you evolve it, much like a starter.

[@janew2108]

Ice type being end game goes all the way back to red and blue. It doesn’t really make sense for many other gens, but it stuck.

[@benthescientist]

I hate the lack of early game ice types

[@jaschabull2365]

I think ice's late encounter placements are probably lore-related reasons - an ice type would likely be at home in something like a mountain or tundra, which is a pretty imposing backdrop, so it's more suited to the later side of the game - it would be a bit strange for a kid just having left home only to start scaling Mt. Everest or something. Though, then again, I guess you could say the same about spelunking, and caves often show up pretty early. It is a bit contrary to their effectiveness in-game, now that I think of it.

[@eveoflegends8135]

I used a Clobbopus in my Shield play through because I happened to find one in a max raid when I first went to the wild area and it is my favourite pokemon from gen 8 lol

[@Garfewloid]

Nice dude

[@RyoneFuushiba]

My experience with finding a Clobbopus was getting it in wonder trade. After I had already beaten the main story. I remember going "wait, what is this thing and why is it so cute, I hope it evolves into something nice." Then seeing the dex entry appear made me just cry when it appeared beside it's evolution.

[@Onion__Duck]

When I first played Pokemon Silver I really liked Dolphan. Annoyed you couldn't get phanpy until the final gym, on a route where you can find the evolved form nonetheless. At least this was addressed in Crystal.

[@Used__Napkin]

Same thing with Tediursa, instead of being available under Blackthorn they made it a rare encounter at Dark Cave.

[@myggmastaren3365]

You should be able to find a (guaranteed) dawnstone in omega ruby /alpha sapphire before the end of victory road. Having a kirlia and not a gallade for the entire main game is just ridiculous

[@SoaringSoul27]

Luckily you can get them from doing certain super training courses. Though I doubt most 1st time players even bothered with it til post game for competitive play.

[@tyrant-den884]

What are you basic? Just get a Gardevoir.

[@librathebeautifulwarmonk1283]

@@tyrant-den884 Isn't Gardevoir the basic one?

[@c0ldbrew618]

this is such a good idea for a video. another few ideas i had would be having yanma earlier in Johto and barboach in hoenn

[@emperorcubone]

I'm blanking right now on where to even find a Yanma, so that's probably a good idea...

[@queeniefucker8686]

@@emperorcubone You can get it pretty early, in Route 35, right before the National Park. With an 1% Encouterrate... Or when its Swarming... But you CAN get it

[@Garfewloid]

@@emperorcubone I only rember it for Yanmega.......

[@thebestworst8002]

In HGSS you can get yanmega and it is actually pretty good

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

@@queeniefucker8686 Marill (which did make it onto his list) is also a swarming Pokemon encounter in gen2. I actually was able to catch one in that generation without waiting for a swarm to occur, as luck would have it.

[@generalsynnacle23]

Houndour, Murkrow, and Misdreavus get shafted *hard* in Gen 2, lesser so in HGSS with Misdreavus being obtainable before you challenge Chuck, but Houndour and Murkrow are both still unobtainable until post-game. Houndour fits perfectly in either Mt. Mortar, Burned Tower, or a night-time exclusive Pokemon on selective early-game routes like Hoothoot is. Murkrow? Two words: Ilex Forest. Onto Gen 3; a few Pokemon who I personally believe deserved more recognition and proper placement for their stats are Spoink, Meditite, and Spheal. Spoink is only obtainable on the mini-route north of the town where Flannery's gym is located, meaning it's usually overlooked as players already have a Kirlia by that point, so placing it on the route between Roxanne's Gym and the Whismur Cave would be the perfect home for it. Meditite is only found in one place: Mt. Pyre, which is extremely late into your journey when you already have a Gardevoir and Hariyama covering any potential slots for the underrated Medicham. Giving it a home in the caverns next to Brawly's Gym would make a lot of sense, since he uses one himself despite the fact that his is extremely underleveled compared to those found at Mt. Pyre. Finally, Spheal is only found in Shoal Cave under specific timezones throughout the day, which makes sense. The problem though, is that Shoal Cave isn't reachable without a Pokemon with Surf after the 6th badge. By that point, you've already got a dedicated Water-type on your team like Sharpedo, Whiscash, Crawdaunt, and Ludicolo to name a few. Simply placing it earlier in your journey would give more attention to it, such as the route directly north of Roxanne's Gym, along the shoreline. Gen 4 is where I really get triggered due to a lack of proper management of new Pokemon. Skorupi and Tangela are both Pokemon that seem like perfect candidates for Eterna Forest, yet none of them are obtainable until, at very least, after defeating Maylene, which is nearing the halfway point in your journey.

[@Cgreen123]

I agree with a ton of these TBH, the starting routes always feel like they’re holding out on us. I would love to have some of these pokes in earlier routes to spice it up a little.

[@themp4130]

I disagree with swablu. I think if it was on an earlier route it would outshine tailow by a huge amount bc as much as i love it and swellow i would always pick swablu before it. I would say speahl for gen3 since it can only be found right before the 7th gym iirc and would evolve practically instantly to sealeo. Honorable mentions are imo corpfish and barboach though im not sure when u can catch one of those for the first time. Im glad spheal was so early into pokemon XD :)

[@trainershade1937]

iirc, both Barboach and Corphish are locked behind the Good Rod, being instantly obtainable after the fact, so you need to have access to Surf to get them. In other words, post 4th badge (or 3rd if you skip Brawly in the originals). I'm pretty sure in the originals, Corphish also requires you to backtrack if you want one, as I don't think it appears anywhere East of Mauville.

[@billdeco08]

If more people caught Swablu early on then no one would probably catch Taillow, though I always went with Wingull.

[@flashaxl]

Add to the fact Alteria is a Dragon type. Dragon type always have this special place that it is not easily obtainable, certainly not from early route. In the early games, Dragon also has a lot of resistances and less weaknesses.

[@anexistingperson8540]

yeah, most of the mons that should be early in hoenn are water type.

[@thatgenericgamer7919]

@@flashaxl then agian there's always salmence before the second trial in alola

[@grumpylegodude2469]

I used a Minccino and she was my MVP did you know that Minccino gets technician with a tail slap plus stab she put holes in teams

[@tompatterson1548]

Cloyster can get OP, as well as mega heracross. She also gets skill link though.

[@slightlyuncomfortable]

@@tompatterson1548 i feel that while skill link is very reliable damage wise, a technician powered 5 hit tail slap would cause more damage for sure. it's just a matter of playing it safe with skill link or are you willing to gamble for high hitcount with technician.

[@tompatterson1548]

SlightlyUncomfortable fair enough

[@AffyMoon]

@@slightlyuncomfortable it's the old gaming question of reliability or potential. I personally prefer the more reliable damage of skill link building technician is really good when it works

[@LadyLeomon]

Someone else has already said it so I’ll agree with him: that in your Pokémon vids you talk about interesting/unique topics no other PokéTuber has brought up to date, and this is one of them! My suggestion for this topic would be Bagon in Hoenn, it evolves into Shelgon at lv35 which is later than any of the Starter Pokémon then finally into Salamance at lv45, again later than the Starters but still well worth the wait (to me anyway), this is the reason I traded a Bagon Egg to my OR game and it was a Salamance just in time to help her team-mates face Groudon! I did the same thing, again in OR, traded a Feebas Egg at the beginning and took great delight in taking down my foes with my cute baby Milotic after I got to the first Contest Hall! Then in AS I traded a Trapinch Egg, my Favourite Not-Bug Dragon has been with me since the startfirst as a tiny Trap-Jaw Pokemon and now happily backs up Kyogre in battle! Thanks for another awesome vid and stay safe Most Regal of Cubone 💙🐱💙

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

@Lady Leomon: ......You got it's evolution levels wrong; it evolves into Shellgon at level 30 and into Salamence at level 50. It's also interesting to note that it could be found very early in gen7, and you could even catch it's final evolution at a really low level on that same route via SOS calling. A friend of mine actually went out of his way to do this once

[@zoruafox7512]

Pseudo legends should be at most around the 6th through 8th gym for how early you can get them. If not post game mons. Like dratini caught in the safari zone. Salamence is one of the best pseudo legendary mons so it should be even later then most. Hence post game only. And considering emerald’s battle frontier actually makes catching mons for post game worth it it checks out. Unlike omega ruby and alpha sapphire which not only removed the best part of the region battle frontier but you already got a legendary mega dragon for free before the flying gym. What the crap do you need a salamence for? Online battles? People playing online battles be incredibly dumb usually you don’t need mence for that.

[@nickdentoom1173]

@@zoruafox7512 Around gym 5 is also good (Depending on the game).

[@GreyGaymer]

Fantastic video as always!! And oof, that gen 8 salt is SO REAL and I'm living for it

[@Garfewloid]

So much for early route diversity.

[@zjzr08]

@@Garfewloid It's hard to have any route diversity with only 10 freaking routes -- sure there's a wild area, but from what I see it seems like a wildcard place that seems a bit random at times, unlike at least before where there's a bit better segregation.

[@loulou3676]

I recommend the HGSS ROM hack "Sacred Gold/Storm Silver" for this! They made it possible to catch all ~500 (at the time) Pokemon in one game and so even early routes have a ton of choices because you can find Rattata, Bidoof, Sentret, Zigzagoon etc on the same route. It's really good for Nuzlocke challenges!

[@lucasflaming5330]

I actually think that catching seviper or zangoose as 1% encounters just north of rustburo would be better. Both of them are underutilized and are good pokemon that just happens to be in the most forgettable part of the hoenn region

[@plasmakatana8291]

I traded a newly hatched Seviper to use as a main in my Emerald. So much fun

[@shadycactus8669]

I even forgot where they are found in Hoenn lol

[@valasafantastic1055]

So true. They really did the adorable and well designed Clobbopus dirty. It would have been great early! You seem to have missed my favorite example for this list however Houndour in Jhoto wasn't until KANTO that makes no sense at all and was a very bad choice! Fun video thanks.

[@Yuzrnaime]

9:17 *Laughs in Cinccino being my 2nd favorite Pokemon*

[@coyraig8332]

Riolu. Evolves into a fan-favorite by friendship, but not available in its home game until around the 6th gym _as an egg_

[@kagari1426]

They needed to make glameow a better second form instead of garfield

[@danielthemaniel8601]

Purugly should have gender differences. Its female form could be its current form and its male form could be like a rabid feral cat

[@AdachiSimp]

Taking notes from your videos to use on my fan game, this one is great, totally an overlooked aspect. Keep up the great work

[@emperorcubone]

Can't wait to play it!

[@SomeGuyandHisHerps]

Make Houndour and Larvitar available before the post-game in Johto

[@khairulmikhaelilman8895]

Good God, I hate how late we could get noibat. I loved noivern so much when x and y were so announced it hurt to find that out

[@emperorcubone]

I didn't use a Noibat until I had already finished the game once, and could trade one over...

[@theosouris7063]

Honestly, this is why I love the Wild Area. You can catch so much random crap before you even fight Milo. I pulled up to the first gym with Froslass, Stunky, and Carkol my first time around. Milo didn’t stand a chance.

[@5Porygon]

Thank you so much for all videos you made. You are one of my absolutely best youtubers ever. :) Jsi borec.

[@CoolMintMC]

Okay, so like dude, I've been subscribed to you for quite awhile now, & this is SUCH AN ORIGINAL & GREAT IDEA! But seriously, I Love Your videos & genuinely unique Pokémon content. Thank you for your work. #Blessed 🍀🕊

[@emperorcubone]

Thank you so much!!

[@johnsinth8261]

awesome vid, outro is very cool as well as a cherry on top

[@cornbreadbros1214]

9:29 the beat and when the pictures show up match *perfectly*

[@Quartings]

I wish Vanillite evolved earlier to qualify it for being a decent early-route Ice type. There really aren't any besides Delibird in Gen 7 :(

[@thebestworst8002]

I don’t understand why they always shove ice types in the late game. The type isn’t even that good so can I use them earlier?

[@JosephRouen]

yeah, i also hope my boi croagunk will be easier to find in the sinnoh remakes

[@andreapareti324]

I really agree with your list!! It lines up pretty well with some of the changes I would make to the Regions' encounters. Only exceptions are Swablu and Noibat, I suppose, especially if you don't change the evolution levels as well, but you did say, for example, that Hoenn didn't really need one and you just mentioned Swablu basically for the sake of doing all Regions, so I get that as well.

[@Jred657]

For Swablu I’d probably put it on the route north of slate port where the bottom of cycling road/the trick house is, It’s potentially little too OP for brawly but with Wattson right after I feel like it evens it out

[@zoruafox7512]

That’s still too early considering it evolves into a dragon. If you let the player get swablu too early then no one would grab a trapinch for their dragon type and just use swablu. These two need to be at similar positions ideally with swablu slightly earlier as it starts off worse ( trapinch still has as much attack as its final evolution so it will still be able to hit hard till it evolves unlike swablu) swablu is practically placed perfectly in relation to trapinch so you would have to move trapinch back to compensate and that would absolutely break the game. Imagine having a base 100 attack ground stab mon for watson.

[@nintendosega100]

Swablu isn’t even that strong, like around Tailow level. It should be fine.

[@Jred657]

Zorua Fox maybe out it on the route between verdanturf and mauville? Or I’m the patches of grass before you go to fiery path/cable car

[@alexandercolefield9523]

honestly this is something that eats at my soul, some of my favorite all time Pokemon can only be found WAY later in the game

[@playerhateroftheyear1084]

hey you channel grew! i havent seen you on my feed in months! congrats on your growth

[@rainthedraconic402]

Croagunk should be available by trade in oreburgh for a kadabra. This means you have to get an abra to a high enough level to evolve it in the early game, to get a massive advantage against the first two gyms and a star on your team.

[@etherealdreamerart]

Love this video! Very interesting topic and I agree!

[@hondaaccord1399]

I think Clobbopus would've been a good fishing encounter for Hammerlocke and, more obscurely, the fishing spot next to Professor Magnolia's house!

[@abbyclark8648]

Great job with this video:)

[@emperorcubone]

Thank you! Great job on watching! :)

[@Portalcrafter]

Why do I think having most baby Pokémon available earlier, like in the early game forest, or cave or something like that, probably because they evolve into powerful Pokémon.

[@clupos74]

Togedemaru is literally my favourite Pokémon,and even I didn’t use it because it required you to actively search for it,train it to on par with your team and then replace a team member most likely,to use one you practically have to have decided at the beginning of the game

[@emperorcubone]

You know, it does seem kind of weird that the Pikachu clone would be so hidden late in the game. I mean it can still be at the power plant but just one route on an earlier island would make a huge difference...

[@DryBones271]

If you play Sword and Shield with the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra DLC added which you should, Clobbopus can be caught in Loop Lagoon which is accessible right after you do the boring beginning parts.

[@nielaerts9681]

Maybe a nice idea for another video: "Minigames that should be in Pokémon". I think you have the best and most original ideas for videos and this one would be really fun. Pokémon has pushed minigames always in to the poffins/pokeblock/... corner, the game could be so great if they used more creative ways. For example imagine that you could collect berries in a rainforest on the back of a Tropius, that would be sooooooo awesome. I am sure you would a nice time using your imagination for these minigames. Keep up the good work!

[@oliverhees4076]

1:13 I carried a Rufflet through my Sun playthrough because it's an early route Pokémon there (you can find it on Route 3). No regrets; it was cool using a Rufflet through most of the game and having it evolve right at the end.

[@charlescampbell93]

I think this was a great discussion video

[@LiamFromNewBarkTown]

Cool idea for a video as it's something I've always wished I could do in games. Fab reseon is Johto but its annoying how you can find more Kanto Pokemon in Johto, Things I've wanted to change.. Johto Houndour - Ilex Forest Murkrow - Ilex Forest Larvitar - Route 46 (with a 1% encounter rate in the route between Blackthorn City and Route 29, works out well cause after you get strength you can get to a small area at the foot of that area and have a Larvitar by the 3rd gym) Remoraid - Route 35

[@1Gameaddict11]

Funny your choices for gen 6 and 8. I ended up using those exact mons on my teams for those games from the start because i got them through wonder trade.

[@emperorcubone]

Well sure, it you go that way. But you could also get a level 100 shiny legendary. (Totally hacked though) :P

[@megabladechronicles962]

I wish Spheal was found earlier in Gen 3. Walrein is one of the most underrated pokemon around, and you can't catch its first form until you're at the eighth gym

[@Noppzzz]

I had a noibat in my usum playthrough right after the first trial, and even though it took aged to evolve, it was a very useful asset to the team!

[@spencermoney7700]

Clobbopus made me so mad my first playthrough. I already had a full team but I loved their design and, if I had known about it earlier, I definitely would've used it.

[@nickdentoom1173]

Well... there are multiple Kanto: Venonat, Poliwag/Staryu (At least give us another Water type option early on), Tangela Johto: Phanpy, Murkrow, Yanma Hoenn: Swablue/Spoink (Both could have been obtainable after Dewford, but before Mauville on route 110), its not too early, bot also not too late. Sinnoh: Same as you, Glameow and Stunky Unova: Deerling/Ducklett Kalos: Considering its weird, i also go with Noibat and Carbink. Alola: Komala, Togedemaru (Which i just btw and it performed better than Vikavolt ever did, its really underrated) and Bounsweet. Galar: Is also weird, because of the wild area. I would put Clobbopus earlier, while putting Rolycoly later (In the second mine). This is a cool concept idea. Maybe you can make it so you re-style the Pokemon obtainable on routes in the game to your image (Like some Pokemon that can be obtained late don't make sense, but some Pokemon that can be otbained early might not make sense either based on evolution level).

[@emperorcubone]

I would die for an early Phanpy, I love that thing! But I personally like Rolycoly right where it is; I think it's fine for having two evolutions...

[@nickdentoom1173]

@@emperorcubone The reason i put Rolycoly in the second mine, is that its pretty useless in the first 2 gyms and you can get Sizzlipede on the exact same route, which is quad effective against Milo, while Rolycoly is quad effective against Kabu's ace, so you can change them up depending on the gym.

[@salamanda550]

I adore both Deerling *and* Ducklett, and getting them before Castelia City would be fantastic.

[@chrisjohnsen8448]

At least Clobbopus got to be on the Isle of Armor, so that it's technically possible to have one before the first gym. But Houndour and Murkrow definitely should've been sooner in Johto.

[@TheKabuto90]

Isle of Armor also fixed another should-be early route mon in Morpeko, which while not nearly as egregious as Clobbopus, isn't quite strong enough to justify not being able to catch one until Route 7. I would know, I actually used it.

[@PapaSmerf008]

A totally random suggestion for a video or series (on a super old video that I am catching up on): what if each ability had a some passive effect out of combat. It would include things that already exist like flame body making eggs hatch faster, or compound eyes increases chance of finding a wild pokemon with a held item. With 200+ abilities, it could be a series but maybe just a one off of some of the best suggestions.

[@windmage0168]

11:03 "The *POINT." I see what you did there.

[@billybones9303]

During my first play through (blind) of shield I found a clobapuss raid after the second gym and had it on my team all game. Definitely should be accessed way earlier since it’s one of my favorite of the region

[@TKnHappyNess]

Kanto: Venonat CAN be found north of Cerulean in Yellow Sinnoh: I'd agree with Glameow being in the same route as Stunky in Pearl. A lot of other version exclusives are on the same routes Unova: Minccino is available on Route 4 in Pokemon White 2, and the part of the route where you find it is accessible before Burgh

[@VoxVocisCruora]

Not really on topic, but i really liked how early you could get a Joltik in sword/shield. They're my favorite pokemon of all time, but I never really had much time to play with one before, either because they weren't available early game, or I had already found my electric type for my team by the time I found them. Finding out Joltiks spawned before the first gym was such a pleasant surprise, and one I definitely took advantage of. Spending the whole game with one was an absolute delight. Also the way they play ball in camp is adorably hilarious, I love them so much. It was also fun getting super lucky and finding a Sizzlepede before the mines. Having one so early and annihilating the grass gym was so much fun.

[@seandaniels7938]

Dude your intro music made me wanna play x & y like not kidding I went on my DS and bought x since my copy was lost

[@shardtheduraludon]

Good luck playing your 3ds game on your ds

[@seandaniels7938]

@@shardtheduraludon smh what a loser

[@shardtheduraludon]

@@seandaniels7938 You legit said “I went on my DS and bought x” How’d you get a 3ds game on a DS?

[@BabusGameRoom]

Gen 1 definitely needed more Water types. Everything you said about Venonat also applies to them! I'm a firm believer that the sketchy fish guy should sell the Old Rod instead of a Magikarp, and it should give you a variety of Pokemon, but only at level 5. And a 50-60% chance of a Magikarp. They'd have been easy to level up in Mt. Moon. * Here's a list of water types available to players in the first HALF of the game: -Squirtle (a starter, so if you don't choose him, you're SOL) -Magikarp (Doesn't naturally learn any water type attacks, even when it evolves, in Gen 1) -TM11 and TM12 (Water Gun and Bubblebeam) * The Rods that let you catch water types aren't available until after getting your 4th badge and then completing an extra dungeon and THEN another route! And then everything you fish up is level 15, when your team is at LEAST 10 levels higher. Realistically, you could have 6 badges in Gen 1 before you find time to do some fishing, and by then you're also surfing.

[@emperorcubone]

Yeah... that's a good point. Especially ones that can be found on land like Psyduck and Slowpoke should be found without a fishing rod...

[@nickdentoom1173]

@@emperorcubone Agreed about Psyduck. Slowpoke was good where it was (Since lore-wise, if you put Slowpoke early, same has to apply for Shellder). I would personally put Psyduck and Poliwag early.

[@thebestworst8002]

You can get the super rod before the good rod in gen 1

[@Citizen5101]

Doing a Mono-Water run of RB turns into a Blastoise, Gyrados, Vaporeon run until after the Pokemon Tower. Electric and Fire aren't much better, but for a type with so many Pokemon they sure do limit what you can get for the longest time.

[@Degamer422]

I agree with your premise entirely. My favorite thing is monotype runs but that limit my choice of games quite a bit

[@feasibilyheretical]

Glameow is one of my personal favorite gen 4 pokemon i'd really like to see it get some more love it always reminded me of my cat, maybe a new regional form or evolution would be cool!

[@emperorcubone]

Purugly is one of the worst fates for any Pokemon to suffer, so I would love a regional Glameow evolution.

[@corporalkills]

I always wished you could get rarer types at the beginning like ice and ghost

[@swampy725]

Snoret can be good to

[@swampy725]

Cause he evolve into a gost type

[@swampy725]

Or she

[@babel_UV]

that was a good idea for a video

[@sandypanda9588]

I actually used a Togodamaru in my Ultra team and honestly he was my main stay I remember him being like a Psuedo tank due to its steel type

[@matthewkuscienko4616]

A friend of mine told me that he used a Togedamaru to beat Ultra Nekrozma once! But personally, I'm glad that they fixed it's biggest problem: in the not Ultra gen7 games, it got no physical steel type moves besides gyro ball; which despite making sense to be in it's movepool somewhere, it does NOT work well with it's high speed stat. But at least it can now get stuff like iron head, which is a massive improvement.

[@bugtypeeevee]

When I was a kid I thought you could find glameow outside of Valley Windworks and spent a long time trying to find it in the grass before giving up.

[@HogW1ld385]

Actually you can catch Clobbopus during your first time in the Wild Area. It just requires you to get a wishing piece and go out of your way to the Dusty Bowl. Sure most people wouldn’t think of going to that area until after the third gym but after my first couple runs through the game I experimented with the wild area and found a ton of Pokémon that you don’t realize you can get so early.

[@emperorcubone]

I was under the impression you couldn't even go to that part of the Wild Area until you beat that gym. Or at least it seems like the game actively discourages you from doing so...

[@HogW1ld385]

Emperor Cubone oh yeah you can go there immediately. But you can’t catch any of the Pokémon in the grass because they’re to high level so most people wouldn’t think of going that far (plus you don’t have a bike the first time through) And none of the dens will light up on their own until after the third gym but wishing pieces still work on them giving you access to a lot of “later” game Pokémon. It does take a lot of time though to gather wishing pieces that early though

[@NostalgiaConnoisseur]

What about almost every ice type ever? I hate how my favorite type is always shoved in the very end of the region where very few would actually catch them. They fixed it a little with the wild area, but you have few options for ice types when you first go there.

[@the_ark_king]

I agree with all of these Also if I were to choose one for PLA it'd have to be zorua When you find it, it's at way too low to be useful and it evolves fairly early, so putting it earlier would be a blessing

[@emperorcubone]

True, but I wanted to use a Hisuian Voltorb, and MAN did it take forever to get one!

[@Rarest26]

The only redeeming thing about Clobbopus is that you can get it in raids (which I did in my second playthrough of Sword), but yeah it needs to show up earlier. I think maybe as a rare fishing encounter like Arrokuda could work

[@gabriellockwood2780]

Game Freak watching this; working on LG G2-G8+, G4 Remakes, G9, etc.: "WRITE THAT DOWN!"

[@keksidy]

"Rufflet should not be an early route Pokemon." This. Just this. I tried doing a Professor Oak challenge in Sun and I forgot that it was on Route 3. I have to evolve that at Level f i f t y f o u r before I beat Hala

[@talenstout8324]

GRAPPLOCT IS ONE OF THOSE POKÉMON WHERE FOR IT’S FIRST TIME APPEARANCE YOU FIND THE EVOLUTION FIRST.

[@michaelkelleypoetry]

Articuno should be an early route Pokemon, completely destroying the hopes and dreams of would-be trainers with Level 5 starters.

[@Robin280497]

I never knew or simply forgot that Glameow and Stunky were version exclusive. But when you think about it, it somewhat makes sense, as both are the Ace Pokémon of a Galactic Admin. But that's not saying much, as both Carvanha and Numel are available in all Hoenn Games.

[@SilverDemon456]

I totally swapped out my flying type for Swablu when I encountered it. It's so cute! And it turns into a dragon!

[@octokid]

I honestly think in Black and White, there should've been more Pokémon before the first gym because besides the starter and the elemental monkey, you can only find 3 others of which 2 are normal types. I get they wanted to teach players type advantages but one or two extra Pokémon wouldn't have hurt

[@aurafox1]

Slugma is a pokemon I really feel like should have been available much earlier in Gold and Silver than it was. It's only available in Kanto and, of all places, on Cycling road? What? It would have made so much sense to find Slugma in the burned tower where you could actually use it against Jasmine and maybe get some use out of it.

[@Skystarry75]

I used Togedemaru in the battle tree with a Flygon, Minior, Primarina, Salazzle and Tsareena. They were all quite fun to use! But I made that team AFTER I reached the battle tree, and I was very careful about type coverage, move sets and EV/IV spreads.

[@nickdentoom1173]

Togedemaru is the best Pikaclone imo.

[@Astronic]

Really agree on Marill on Gen2. I always loved the pokemon but never found one

[@infy6359]

Just watch your old video about abilities you just predicted a ability dude💛 waiting for your 100k

[@emperorcubone]

Well, I'll be even more impressed if it does the same thing, in which case I'll be awaiting my royalty check...

[@xyannail4678]

Which one?

[@infy6359]

@@xyannail4678 quick draw

[@infy6359]

@@emperorcubone 😂

[@shanez1215]

I feel like GF almost hides pokemon to make the pokemon league tougher since you don't know what they're sending out. For example, you can technically get Spiritomb before the E4, but Cynthia was the first time most people saw it.

[@BaconNuke]

Clobbopus can be found in 1 and 2 star Dens in the Wild Area.. in the sections you have access to early game, like.. North Lake Miloch Bulbapedia says.. so you *can* find it and use it early on.. aka before the first gym :P

[@emperorcubone]

Sure you CAN find one there, but let's be honest, how many people are going to find one in the first little bit? Because if it's not there at the start you would have to spend hours either waiting for it to show up or doing other random raids to get enough points to buy more Wishing Stars. Most people wouldn't look up the exact location of this Pokemon let alone knew it existed...

[@ArcaneSky]

I actually got a low-ish level Cloppopus in a wonder trade after the second gym in my first Shield run and was really impressed. Then was disappointed when it showed up so late.

[@dew-it8744]

I remember I had a purrugly in a alpha Sapphire nuzlocke, it was the first nuzlocke I won(I really suck at Pokémon) it was my marage island encounter and it was quite good. It died to a sheer cold from glacia. RIP

[@jamaalpete9238]

Venonat can be found north of Cerulean City in Gen 1 Yellow as well, I was replaying it earlier this week and encountered one trying to find Abra...which I DID realize isn't there 😔😂

[@rickydavis4325]

Fun fact about swablu, you technically COULD get it early in Ruby and Sapphire if you used Pokemon Box (an early precursor to pokemon bank for the gamecube to hold pokemon from the 3rd generation). All you need to do is connect your copy to pokemon box once and you get an egg that contains it. While you can't necessarily catch it, being able to get it before the first gym isn't a bad consolation prize.

[@evanwestphal3073]

Ponyta is seen before the first gym in Platinum and evolves at level 40