GameFreak had a lot of work to do with the DLC expansions to Pokémon Sword and Shield. The initial games were divisive among fans, so it was going to take serious effort to win them back. With all of the missing features, a weak end game, and some balance troubles, Sword and Shield needed serious help. And so, when the Isle of Armor released, it was inevitable that it would come under scrutiny.
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The result is that the Isle of Armor is a fun little slice of a game. It adds substantial side content through a separate story campaign and a new Wild Area to explore, but not much else. Certain features, like follower Pokémon, got limited to just the new area. And, most importantly, a lot of Pokémon are still waiting to get their green card. For some of these Pokémon, it’s an absolute shame they didn’t make it back in.
10 Pikipek Line
The Isle of Armor, in terms of its climate, is hotter than mainland Galar. It has many sandy beaches, a desert area, and a humid forest. While Pokémon has never really been a series for logical creature locations, those elements were in mind during the selection process. And the first to get selected is Pikipek, Sun and Moon‘s Route 1 bird.
Pikipek is a woodpecker, so it’s not exactly limited to warm climates, but its evolutions Trumbeak and Toucannon absolutely would be. In terms of Route 1 birds, Pikipek has a unique moveset compared to others, but isn’t the most interesting in typing. However, there aren’t too many incredible flying-types in Sword and Shield, so adding another wouldn’t hurt.
9 Mareep Line
Mareep is a sheep, electric and sleek, and the reason for its inclusion is not that deep. It’s one of the most popular of the Johto Pokémon and is another electric-type to add on. Plus, considering all the farmland on Galar, it was weird Mareep didn’t find its way into the initial release.
However, on the Isle of Armor, it would probably be harder to justify Mareep’s inclusion. It could fit in with Buneary in the first stop on the island, though. Plus, it’s a cute Pokémon that’s great for merchandise. GameFreak loves to make merch, so bringing it back is financially sound. It’s a different kind of electric-type, and is always fun to use in a playthrough.
8 Mankey Line
Mankey is an angry monkey, one of Red and Blue‘s fighting-types. It’s not nearly as memorable as Machop and not as special as the Hitmon-family, but it has a place in many trainer’s hearts. For those who played Pokémon Yellow, it was the ticket to beating Brock without breaking your back.
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Truth be told, Mankey and Primeape are just fun Pokémon. Although Gen 1 is overdone, its roster still has plenty of great Pokémon that deserve to make a return. Mankey could also find a spot in a number of different places on the Isle of Armor geographically. Hopefully, it’ll sneak into the next DLC area, The Crown Tundra.
7 Aipom
Speaking of monkeys, what happened to Gold and Silver‘s signature monkey, Aipom? The normal-type friend is high-energy and loves to slap around foes. It doesn’t tear up the competitive scene, but it serves its niche really well. It’s not a unique design, but it’s at least a fun one.
Aipom would also fit in well on the Isle of Armor. Much like Mankey, it fits into similar spots. It could easily have a home in the forest area of the island, waiting to get that sweet nectar like in Diamond and Pearl. It’s a funny monkey, and it should have made a return.
6 Aron Line
Ruby and Sapphire aren’t a generation known for their great rock-types. Lunatone and Solrock certainly aren’t anyone’s first rock-type of choice. A great Pokémon of choice is Aggron, the steel-type behemoth, and its smaller forms.
Aron is a cutie that works well as an early game steel-type, and lives in a number of different cave environment. There’s a pretty sizable cave system on Isle of Armor already home to another Gen 3 staple, Whismur. It would fit in perfectly with the rest of Isle of Armor cast. Plus, it would absolutely make for an incredible Gigantamax form, as shown by its already good Mega Evolution.
5 Nidoran Line
Back to Gen 1 Pokémon, a very memorable evolutionary line is the line for Nidoran. Nidoran evolves early enough, and it can very quickly boosted to its final form using a Moon Stone from Mt. Moon. It also has access to a number of great TM’s so its versatility was unmatched.
These days, Nidoran is mostly just a cool poison-type Pokémon. It can fit into a number of different environments and could easily work on the Isle of Armor. There have been rumors that the Nido-line will be making a return in The Crown Tundra, but rumors are worth very little. Regardless, it still should’ve returned in The Isle of Armor.
4 Lumineon
Lumineon is a very memorable Pokémon. This underwhelming water-type from Diamond and Pearl has next to no competition and is still terrible. Its design isn’t even that great, despite being Lumineon’s best feature.
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However, in an area filled with water areas and water-types, there was no better time to bring back Lumineon. It would fit in perfectly in the environment, and seeing it glow underwater might have been a cool graphical feature. It would still be bad, but it would at least be a unique choice. And, at the end of the day, every Pokémon deserves to make a return, even the bad ones.
3 Sewaddle Line
One of the returning Pokémon in The Isle of Armor is Venipede and its evolutions. Venipede is one of Gen 5’s early bug-types, and proves to be surprisingly decent. The other early bug-type is Sewaddle, a Pokémon that is also a grass-type and has a great design. Gen 5 is a game that has designs ranging from awful to amazing, and Sewaddle is towards the latter half.
Leavanny especially is a cool Pokémon, with leaf-like blades for arms and a surprisingly good attack stat. It’s far from the ultimate bug-type, but it’s better than a lot of the other options already available in Sword and Shield. Plus, it would fit in well on the Isle of Armor, so it absolutely should have made a return.
2 Hoppip Line
Hoppip is not a great Pokémon, its evolution line sure is adorable. These grass/flying types have a unique typing and roles in a team composition. They can be supportive, but why do that when you can teach it Swords Dance and have it go crazy with attacks?
In all seriousness, Hoppip is mostly just getting a pass because of its cute design. It could definitely use an overhaul in terms of moves it can learn early on, but it can be good with enough effort and patience. It wouldn’t shake up the competitive scene, but it would be nice to have it come back.
1 Chikorita
Chikorita gets a lot of flak from people online. Twitter polls frequently have it as the worst starter of all time, and that’s a shame. Chikorita is cute, its evolutions are cool, and it has a lot of different uses as a Pokémon. Chikorita deserves more respect than most Pokémon fans want to give it.
Where would it fit on the Isle of Armor? Well, it would be a special Pokémon along with the returning Kanto starters. And, along with Chikorita, the other Johto starters could have made a return as well. It’s a shame this didn’t happen, and it really is a shame that all of the starters didn’t make a return. Chikorita on this list represents all starters that should have returned.
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