Fans eagerly anticipate the upcoming remakes of Pokemon’s fourth generation, with Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Pokemon Shining Pearl hitting store shelves later in 2021. One thing has yet to be seen, though: can these remakes justify a full retail price by adding some new elements for fans of the series to discover?
Right now, these titles seem to be shaping up to be very faithful remakes. As almost every other remake added new elements, forms, or new Pokemon, though, some fans are hoping these titles follow suit. Whether with regional forms, Mega Evolution (which may or may not make a return to the franchise) or Gigantamax forms, It’s always great to see an old favorite critter given a new lease of life. Some need it more than others, though.
10 Empoleon: Time To Give It Another Tri(dent)
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl offers a very solid starter trio, but many fans have a particular soft spot for Piplup and its evolutionary line. Sadly, despite its often-physically-oriented Steel typing (many of the best Steel-type moves are physical attacks), Empoleon is mainly proficient in Special Attack. It doesn’t have the best movepool and its Speed is underwhelming at base 60.
However, its design is already so strong that a Mega Evolution feels like the best fit. Perhaps it could turn its steel fins into a suit of armor, to fit this Pokemon’s military inspiration and bulky nature. Throw in a steel trident as a weapon and a boost to its offensive stats and it would finally be a formidable foe.
9 Luxray: A Potential De-lux Edition
Luxray was an early favorite in Diamond and Pearl, but its popularity waned as a result of its slim moveset and pure Electric typing. It’s simply never good to be weak to Earthquake, and Luxray lacked the stats to take too many hits regardless.
Perhaps a regional variant would work best, something to accentuate its great design and maybe add a dual typing for some extra resistances. It already boasts a great 120 Base Attack, but certainly could do with a second STAB and a boost to its defenses if it ever wants to take on the greatest of them all. Considering the theme of mountains and snowy regions in Sinnoh, a regional variant with the Ice typing would certainly help Luxray destroy some of the tougher Dragon-type Pokemon.
8 Spiritomb: That’s The Spirit
When introduced in Diamond and Pearl, Spiritomb was an anomaly, as its dual Ghost/Dark typing meant it literally had no weaknesses. Sadly, the addition of the Fairy type changed that, but just having a single weakness is nothing to sniff at.
The idea of a trapped spirit appearing out of a stone is simply begging for a Gigantamax form, with Spiritomb perhaps losing control of the 108 spirits trapped within and projecting its form to wild proportions. It would be great to see a larger design. Imagine seeing the many spirits that create Spiritomb’s gruesome ghostly form, unleashed upon the battlefield in a stadium-filling apparition.
7 Drifblim: Can It Rise Up The Ranks?
Balloons are already scary if you don’t like loud noises, but Drifloon and its evolution Drifblim push that to the limit. Despite having a huge HP of base 150, though, the Blimp Pokemon suffers from some poor defensive stats.
However, a Gigantamax form could add some much-needed boosts to its bulk and make it a hugely effective wall. As for appearance, it’d be fantastic to see a form of Drifblim that runs with the balloon concept, maybe a gigantic version of the Pokemon that hovers over its foes and unleashes powerful attacks from above.
6 Rotom: Go Go Gadget Ghost
This Electric/Ghost type has already boasted several different forms, both inside the arena and outside (where it even appears as a Pokedex sometimes). Considering its aptitude for adapting new electronic forms, it would be great to see it utilize Mega Evolution to possess something larger than a washing machine.
Maybe Mega Rotom could go full Digimon and take the form of a tank (it certainly wouldn’t be the weirdest thing the franchise has done). As a slightly less dangerous idea, perhaps Mega Rotom could possess a radio tower and, with its new airwave-manipulating abilities, gain Psychic typing and telekinesis. Maybe these remakes could even feature Rotom Radio as a new channel.
5 Hippowdon: Breaking New Ground
This hefty herbivore already has distinct differences depending on gender, with the males being brown and the mighty creature gray if female. It’s also already fairly formidable, thanks to its high Attack and Defense. It’s a fantastic user of Earthquake and a good way to set up Stealth Rock. How about a regional form based on another type of hippo? Perhaps inspired by the pygmy hippo instead of the African hippo?
This variant could be found in forests and swamps like its inspiration, and maybe gain a second typing in Water to better represent its amphibious origins. Considering its Ground typing, the addition of the Water type would add some great moves to its arsenal without it gaining an Electric weakness.
4 Rhyperior: The New And Improved Rocky Pocket Monster Show
With a huge Attack at 140, a whopping 130 Defence and cannons for arms, Rhyperior means business. Thanks to the Solid Rock Ability, it’s also capable of taking a couple of hits. Still, this doesn’t mean fans can’t dream of more. Its Ground/Rock typing gives it excellent STAB coverage on very powerful moves, so one way forward is a Mega Evolution to simply make this beast hit even harder.
Its arms could grow into something resembling bazookas, ready to fire out rocks at explosive speed. The rest of its design, meanwhile, could use some jagged edges to make it more formidable. This lethal leviathan already hits like a truck, but the boosts to stats given by Mega Evolution could give it the extra push it needs to dominate in competitive play. Its sorely lacking Speed remains an issue, though.
3 Magnezone: More Like Danger Zone
This aggressive amalgamation of many Magnemites is already great competitively, with absurd Special Attack at 130 and a fantastic ability in Magnet Pull. As with many other Pokemon, however, it could still be pushed beyond its limits with a Gigantamax Form.
The whole UFO angle is already covered by one of the more outlandish-looking Gigantamax forms, Orbeetle. Instead, perhaps Magnezone could unleash its inner Voltron and make a huge mechanical monster out of thousands of Magnemite. There’s not much to improve here, stats-wise, but a boost to its average Speed certainly wouldn’t hurt. That additional HP would certainly help keep this intimidating iron giant on the battlefield as long as possible.
2 Heatran: Too Hot To Handle
Heatran’s design is arguably one of the weakest among Legendary Pokemon. As such, it could benefit from a regional variant (such as the one the elusive Legendary birds received In Pokemon Sword & Shield’s Crown Tundra expansion) and a similarly cool redesign to make it shine.
Its typing is considered a key to its success, but a more niche take on Heatran would have a place too. If nothing else, it would lose that devastating 4x weakness to Ground moves. Why not really push things to their limits? Game Freak could swap its ability to something like Speed Boost, to outmaneuver faster foes, or Adaptability to increase its damage output to absurd levels. It would undoubtedly be overpowered, but so much fun. As for design, this Pokemon needs to look fierce, brooding, and lethal to match its volcanic environment.
1 Giratina: Even Stronger? Why Not?
Giratina already received an Origin Forme in Pokemon Platinum. However, Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire turbocharged powerhouse Rayquaza, introducing Mega Rayquaza in the Epilogue ‘Delta Episode.’
It would be interesting to see Giratina make the most of a Gigantamax form, Perhaps it could even borrow from the aesthetic of the Distortion World and see Gigantamax Giratina grow so large and powerful it warps the very fabric of space and time around it (in a similar fashion to Eternatus and its ‘Eternamax’ form from the climax of Pokemon Sword & Shield). Eternamax & Giratina share enough in terms of origins and design that a connection between them would link the regions and the Gigantamax ability organically.
NEXT: Pokemon: The 10 Strongest Alternate Legendary Forms
