This is becoming a bit of a modern age-old question, and Pokémon fans around have been asking it since the days of Ruby and Sapphire: why don’t the “Pikachu clones” get evolutions as well, to emulate Raichu? The upcoming Pokémon Scarlett and Violet games are set to be released in November, and we have recently been treated to several new Pokémon that will be released into this new region’s wilderness. And what do we have included in this new batch of powered-up pets? Well, another Pikachu clone is what it is, and it’s called Pawmi.
Now, as all of us Pokémon fans know, it is vital that we evolve our Pokémon if we want to become the Champion; they become more powerful, learn better moves, and generally look a lot cooler. There are some Pokémon that don’t need a little evolution boost because they are already fairly strong, but there are many that would benefit from one, and these “Pikachu clones” are a handful of ones that do.
Pretty much every Pokémon generation since the original games have included some kind of Pikachu like Pokémon that are similar in design, move set, typing, and overall cuteness. However, except for Marill (who is supposed to be the water type version of Pikachu) who gets an evolution in Azumarill, none of the others in the series gets the same treatment. The debate has gone to Reddit as well, with a user called rexshen laying it all out for us as you can see below.
Let’s break them down. Plusle and Minun both appeared in the Generation III games and are fairly weak, although could be seen as getting a pass when it comes to evolutions because they are both support Pokémon – fat load of good they are, though. Pachirisu was the next clone to be revealed in Generation IV and was even confirmed to be a relative of Pikachu in Pokemon Legends: Arceus. A Pokémon with a cool design and a tremendous amount of potential that was never reached due to it being stuck in a base form.
Emolga was another cool-looking Pokémon with great potential (it could have even been better suited as being Pachirisu’s evolved stage), but instead was left as was. Dedenne became the next very forgettable Pokémon crying out for another form before Mimikyu and Togedemaru followed suit as well. But alas, a change was made with Morpeko, and this “clone” came with a gimmick instead of an evolution, which made it slightly more interesting.
It does make one wonder, why have so many supposed clones of Pikachu in design, typing, and move set and only leave it like that? They all deserve some Raichu love as well, because Raichu is a bit of a badass and leaves Pikachu in its dust – sorry, someone had to say it. This new iteration could be one to break the mold anyway, but don’t hold your breath. You can find out if it does when Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are scheduled to be released on November 18, 2022, for Switch.
