moon

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 22 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
Yeah, for the starters it was often the case, actually... Until Pignite and Quilladin xD But apart from those, I like a lot of middle evos. Some of my favorites that I think are better than the first and final stages are Charmeleon, Wartortle, Grovyle, Combusken (even though Blaziken is totally awesome as well!), Monferno, Dewott, Braixen, Flaaffy, Haunter, Seadra, Dragonair and Vigoroth.

Especially Grovyle I consider a lot better designed than Sceptile. Likewise with Dragonair and Dragonite though xD

In general I think many middle evos get the short stick because they are made to be too much of just a transition between the initial and final stages. What happened with Pignite and Quilladin and Servine, I mean? ._. The former two just bulkied up before their final, large forms. Servine has almost-hands before they eventually retract as Serperior. That just seemed a bit silly to me, so I haven't really been able to appreciate Servine much at all...

And don't get me started on Magneton and Klang >.<
paired with Ivysaur

Altairis

take me ☆ take you

Female
database database
Seen December 29th, 2022
Posted October 5th, 2018
5,170 posts
10.9 Years
Ivysaur, Bayleef, Quilava, Combusken, Dewott, Braixen, and Frogadier are all 3rd evos that I like significantly more than their final and first evos. It's weird, actually, I have noticed before this thread that I tend to like middle evos the most.

ORAS/XYBW

Gulpin

poisonous

Male
Seen January 16th, 2017
Posted November 25th, 2016
3,270 posts
16.7 Years
I definitely agree with most of the starter middle evo's being cooler than their relatives, especially Ivysaur, Wartortle, Croconaw, Bayleef, Grovyle, Marshtomp, Combusken, Monferno, Dewott, and Braixen. So almost all of them...
As for other evolutionary lines, the first one that came to mind was Fraxure. I love Fraxure (especially it's shiny) but I'm not a big fan of Haxorus at all.
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Oryx

CoquettishCat

Age 30
Female
Seen January 30th, 2015
Posted December 27th, 2014
13,184 posts
12.2 Years
I really do love the first gen middle evolutions. They looked like if the Pokemon were like...17 or 18. The other ones always struck me as 13 or 14, that awkward stage where no one looks good but everyone is trying.


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Not all men...

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That's right.

Age 30
Male
Seen February 7th, 2017
Posted December 26th, 2016
585 posts
10.8 Years
Haunter - It's definitely looking cooler and scarier than Gengar, although Gengar isn't bad, either.
Rhyhorn - Okay, when I first saw Rhyperior I was really disappointed. That hasn't changed to this day. How can an awesomely cool Rhyhorn turn into a fat, armored.... thing apparently wearing a bullet-proof west?
Dragonair - I like how Dragonite looks, like that goofy, careless dragon, and I love having it in my team. It's just that Dragonair has that beautiful, elegant appearance that can't br replaced that easily.
Grovyle - Definitely cooler than Sceptile. I've never really liked Sceptile at all :\

That's about all I can remember at the moment xD

isthatyoudan

doesn't work well with others...

Female
At my desk on the computer
Seen October 4th, 2014
Posted September 1st, 2014
395 posts
9.5 Years
I agree with all of the Grovyle mentions heartily. He is one of my favourites. A not-a-lot-of-mentions: I really liked frogadier more than my greninja.
Middle evos are pretty awesome. It's that middle-ground level. Just. no. Quiladin. ever. He ruined my pre-purchase plan of choosing Chespin.
All About Dan! (at the moment, at least)
Deep Thoughts...
The people of the Pokémon world aren't too creative. They named Pokémon after what sound they make. If we were like them, a cow would be called a "moo".

I'm Reading...
Just finished a volume of Soul Eater, volume 14. At this point, it has become very different compared to the anime, and I kind of like it. Some of the characters have gotten a lot more fleshed out (specifically the meister team of Ox, Kilik, and Kim), and things are happening quite differently. An exciting read.

I'm Playing...
The iPod music game, Cytus. While I may not know very many of the songs, I really like its music, and the gameplay is easy to pick up yet takes quite a while to master. A friend has seen me play it and he says I make it look easy, but I am still having a fun and challenging time. Definitely worth the price.
Seen December 6th, 2022
Posted December 6th, 2022
323 posts
10.3 Years
Wait...wait. There are actually people who think Wartortle is cooler than Blastoise?? Blasphemy, I tell you!!

Anyway, I find that there are very few cases where I think the middle stages of the starters are better than their final forms. The only one I can think of is Grovyle, even though I still think Sceptile is awesome looking. The rest of them? Well, there are a bunch that I think look cool in their middling forms, but the final forms almost always look better to me.

Anyway, going to other Pokémon, I have to say that I like Vigoroth more than Slaking. Also, I prefer Flaaffy to Ampharos just a little bit. Its just cuter, imo. Although, I do still like Ampharos. In general, though, I still prefer the final stages most of the time.

However, for me, design is secondary to the fact that the Pokémon get more powerful on evolution. That's what matters to me. If you come up with a level 100 Flaaffy against a level 100 Ampharos, you're probably gonna lose, especially if the latter chooses to Mega Evolve in battle.
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My Friend Safari type is Flying, with Fearow and Swanna.

Khoshi

とてもかわいい!

Age 24
Male
Sydney, Australia
Seen January 3rd, 2020
Posted October 16th, 2019
2,646 posts
10.1 Years
Flaaffy is just adorable. Why did it have to lose all its wool during evolution?

Oh. We're talking about coolness? Well then...Porygon2. I like how much smoother it is compared to Porygon, but unfortunately all its evolution got was the Rayman treatment. By that I mean its limbs float without support. I just like how the transition from Porygon to P2 went.

I also find Charmeleon more badass than Charizard. I don't know why, maybe its the head shape and facial expression it has? xD

Universe

all-consuming

Seen November 16th, 2016
Posted November 16th, 2016
2,239 posts
9.6 Years


One of my favorite Pokemon of all time happens to be a middle evolution, actually!

I seriously can't stand the fact that they had this awesome bipedal otter-samurai theme and decided to screw it all up by making Samurott 100% different from the previous two; as well as pressing him back down to a quadruped state. I absolutely hate that and can't stand Samurott because of it.

I was livid at Dewott's evolution reveal and prayed for it to be fake.

.. Oh well, at least Dewott turned out to be real. <3

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Ghost Lunis

BOO!

Male
The Shadows
Seen February 12th, 2018
Posted October 19th, 2014
2,074 posts
11.9 Years


One of my favorite Pokemon of all time happens to be a middle evolution, actually!

I seriously can't stand the fact that they had this awesome bipedal otter-samurai theme and decided to screw it all up by making Samurott 100% different from the previous two; as well as pressing him back down to a quadruped state. I absolutely hate that and can't stand Samurott because of it.

I was livid at Dewott's evolution reveal and prayed for it to be fake.

.. Oh well, at least Dewott turned out to be real. <3
The whole time I was reading everyone's responses, I was thinking of what to say on Dewott. You said it all for me so I'm just going to second this. I also want to set oshawott's design on fire. Dewott should definitely just be a stand alone pokemon.
wet dreams are made of this trade shop
Seen December 6th, 2022
Posted December 6th, 2022
323 posts
10.3 Years


One of my favorite Pokemon of all time happens to be a middle evolution, actually!

I seriously can't stand the fact that they had this awesome bipedal otter-samurai theme and decided to screw it all up by making Samurott 100% different from the previous two; as well as pressing him back down to a quadruped state. I absolutely hate that and can't stand Samurott because of it.

I was livid at Dewott's evolution reveal and prayed for it to be fake.

.. Oh well, at least Dewott turned out to be real. <3
Sorry, man, but I cannot disagree more. Samurott is actually one of my absolute favorite starters. Firstly, who cares that its very different from the previous two? Its not any more divergent than how different Blaziken is from Combusken or Torchic. Also, it still keeps with the samurai tradition. Its probably more like a samurai than Dewott in that it has swords that it can pull out of its arms and that sweet shell spike on top of its head. And it can get up on its hind legs, by the way.
FC: 3754-6774-9096

My Friend Safari type is Flying, with Fearow and Swanna.