I’m going to go over my opinion on every single line of Alolan formes in one post. Here goes.
Alolan Diglett/Dugtrio: What the hell is this? I get the origin, and therefore I get the typing, but this hair thing just looks stupid. Tangling Hair is a terrible ability, the design doesn’t appeal to me, it’s objectively worse than its Kantonian counterpart and probably my least favourite of the bunch. Diglett and Dugtrio were never favourites of mine anyway but they were always passable for me. These things on the other hand, not so much.
Alolan Exeggutor: Ever since I saw that Pokémon card with a long necked Exeggutor, I wanted it to exist. I know it’s a massive meme but that’s half the reason I enjoy this design. There’s a reddit page that exists to specifically to allow you to upvote your favourite fan created memetic sections of its neck further up the giant neck formed by the posted images. Also Dragon / Grass is intriguing. I’d say I like it slightly more than its Kantonian counterpart. Not my favourite, but welcome.
Alolan Geodude/Graveler/Golem: Now we’re talking. This to me was a really boring line of Pokémon before, but the electric type, honestly clever origin, goofy iron filing facial hair and Golem’s bloody rail gun absolutely make this into a line I’m not going to forget for a while. Definitely a success. Possibly the most improved design. Still not my favourite.
Alolan Grimer/Muk: I’d say this is a pretty notable improvement too. Less so design this time (I mean, it’s a bit more interesting) but more on actual gameplay. Poison Dark is a lot more workable and interesting than pure Poison. So I’d say this gets a pass from me too. Definitely better than Dugtrio.
Alolan Marowak: Another very welcome edition. Take Marowak, a concept I already like, give it a really interesting typing and new spin on the original concept and bam, you get a really appealing design with considerable competitive viability too. Still not the best improvement since I liked Marowak anyway but definitely a big step up from what it used to be. My 3rd favourite of the bunch.
Alolan Meowth/Persian: Say what you will about these but they’re honestly my favourite. Meowth-A looks like a smug muppet with its iconic shrugging pose, and I love the character it has as a result. Dark typing is fitting for a selfish arrogant cat. Persian’s fat head makes sense as a visual pun (big headed), is true to the cat it is based on (a British blue, being my favourite variety of domestic cat), and a feature I honestly find adorable, not ugly like most others. Massive fan of this one.
Alolan Raichu: Raichu was never different enough from Pikachu for me, but now it is. I love how it surfs, literally looks like an edible snack, has the psychic typing and has a gorgeous shiny. Another big improvement that definitely gets a pass from me.
Alolan Rattata/Raticate: These capture the rat like design a lot better than the originals in my opinion. Perhaps the dark typing and how fat they are is why. I don’t have much else to say other than I think they’re an improvement. Passable.
Alolan Sandshrew/Sandslash: Okay so first of all the igloo design is really adorable. The latter looks a bit too much like Sonic for my liking but I think it’s a perfectly fine and reasonably creative design in isolation (this is literally the last thing I would expect them to do with Sandslash) and I would give it a definite pass along with its prevolution.
Alolan Vulpix/Nintetales: Extremely adorable and majestic Pokémon respectively. The latter is my second favourite fairy type and my second favourite ice type to date. That’s quite an accomplishment, and it is also a massive change of pace compared to the original, which was already impressive. They somehow made the transition from fire to ice work extremely well. It’s also the best user of Aurora Veil and that’s definitely a good thing, the ice type needed a massive buff to hail this generation and it got two (the other being slush rush) which is really welcome. My second favourite Alolan Formes of the bunch.
To summarise, here is my order from favourite to least favourite:
Meowth/Persian
Vulpix/Ninetales
Marowak
Geodude/Graveler/Golem
Exeggutor
Raichu
Sandshrew/Sandslash
Grimer/Muk
Rattata/Raticate
Diglett/Dugtrio
