Pokemon Go keeps ruining hundo ‘mons with silly clothes
The Pokemon Company/NianticPokemon Go loves throwing funny outfits onto ‘mons, but that can sometimes make them useless in battle if you happen to catch one with great stats.
Pokemon Go is a live-service game, so there’s much more incentive for cosmetics to be included than in the mainline games. Cosmetics are great event fodder when Niantic doesn’t want to add brand-new Pokemon.
This is why Pokemon Go has Armored Mewtwo, even though it has only appeared in the movies and has never been part of the video games. Relying on nostalgic elements of the franchise is a great way to get people to tune into the game.
The cosmetic Pokemon usually appear in special events related to holidays or real-world celebrations. This is why we have Christmas-themed mons and Halloween ones.
There are two big problems with this system. As outlined by users on the Pokemon Go Reddit, if an event Pokemon doesn’t have an evolution as part of the same event, then it can’t evolve. This means you can get a hundo ‘mon with perfect stats that can never reach its full potential.
The other problem is that most of the event ‘mons in Pokemon Go cannot be traded to Pokemon Home. If the Pokemon doesn’t have a variant in one of the mainline games, then it cannot be moved over, preventing you from bringing a hundo over into other titles.
This means that if you happen to find an incredibly rare Shiny or a Pokemon with amazing stats, then that hat will stop you from using it in the mainline games, where it would could be a perfect addition to your team.
All is not lost, however, as there’s always a chance that Niantic could introduce evolutions for the event Pokemon or that they will appear in future mainline games. However, the former is more likely than the latter, as Niantic has plenty of events that need new content.
It can take a long time to get a hundo via wild encounters or hatching, so players tend to cherish the ones they acquire. While it might be annoying to have a hundo that can’t evolve, it can still be loved for how rare it is, even if it’s locked to a single game.