Highlights

  • Pokemon Gen 10 needs to bring back or replace 12 Pokemon with unique abilities that create terrains or weather conditions to maintain a balanced meta and competitive formats.
  • Some Pokemon with unique abilities should always be included, particularly those that enable specific playstyles such as weather and terrain setters.
  • Game Freak can introduce new Pokemon with similar abilities to the ones that need to be replaced, but they cannot ignore the importance of maintaining these abilities for their respective playstyles.

Pokemon games constantly introduce new elements or change older ones in order to keep the series' classic formula as fresh as possible with every release, and a big part of this is the pocket monsters themselves. Adding new Pokemon to mix and match things up works extremely well, especially in modern games where not every existing critter is brought back, and some may need some competition for their respective niches. For example, with Aegislash not being in Gen 9, it made sense to add a new Steel/Ghost Pokemon like Gholdengo. As such, there are 12 Pokemon that put Game Freak in a rough spot because they either need a "replacement," or they need to come back in Pokemon Gen 10 games.

It's never easy to balance video games to the point that players have everything they might need without making it hard to have healthy meta and competitive formats. This is especially true for Pokemon games, and Gen 9 proved just as much. While creatures like Paradox Pokemon from Scarlet and Violet are unique and fun gimmicks, they can be polarizing and just a bit too strong in some cases, warranting for next games to skip their inclusion. What follows is that some Pokemon with unique Abilities that enable playstyles should always be included to some degree, and that comprises weather and terrain setters.

pokemon scarlet violet sword shield legendaries dynamax adventures shiny locked good bad why
Related
Why Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Players Are Flocking to Sword and Shield After The Indigo Disk

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players have a big reason to go back to Sword and Shield after The Indigo Disk, and they shouldn't overlook it.

Pokemon Gen 10 Must Bring Back Terrain and Weather Setters or Replace Them

pokemon gen 10 mainline games release date 2025 skip 30 anniversary development cycle good bad why

Every Terrain Setter in Pokemon Games Ahead of Gen 10

There are currently 17 Pokemon in the series with Abilities that directly create various terrains or weather conditions, but many of them end up rarely being available in competitive formats - especially early on. Likewise, these critters may be hard to come by in the wilds, if at all, and one might need to use Pokemon Home's transfer function to bring them over to their game. Not counting Legendary Pokemon and other exceptions, the list includes 12 Pokemon that can create terrain or set weather up just by entering the field.

Aside from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Miraidon, which is not guaranteed to be available at all in Gen 10, there are currently four Pokemon whose Abilities create a terrain when entering the battlefield. These include:

  • Indeedee (Female) - Psychic Surge: Applies Psychic Terrain when entering the battlefield
  • Rillaboom - Grassy Surge: Applies Grassy Terrain when entering the battlefield
  • Pincurchin - Electric Surge: Applies Electric Terrain when entering the battlefield
  • Galarian Weezing - Misty Surge: Applies Misty Terrain when entering the battlefield

There is a notable exception to this list in the form of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Arboliva. This tree-like Pokemon has the Ability Seed Sower, which creates Grassy Terrain whenever it's hit, which is a valuable tool for players to have when Rillaboom is not around - much like at the beginning of Gen 9. This Ability shows that Game Freak can use known gimmicks with unique twists to "replace" some Pokemon that would otherwise gut their niche if removed, and Rillaboom from Gen 8 was one of them.

Notably, be it through Tera Raids or DLC, all terrain setters came back to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet - albeit Galarian Weezing is not natively available in Gen 9 and must be transferred from Pokemon Home.

Every Weather Setter in Pokemon Games Ahead of Gen 10

Pokemon Torkoal
pokemon-ninetales
Pelipper from Pokemon Anime Cropped
pokemon politoed anime
Alolan Ninetales In The Pokemon Anime
Abomasnow pokemon
pokemon-go-glitch-shows-tyranitar-defending-a-gym-for-an-absurd-amount-of-time
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Hippowdon

In the same situation are weather-setting Pokemon. Aside from Koraidon, Groudon, and Kyogre, the list includes:

  • Torkoal - Drought
  • Ninetales - Drought
  • Pelipper - Drizzle
  • Politoed - Drizzle
  • Alolan Ninetales - Snow Warning
  • Abomasnow - Snow Warning
  • Tyranitar - Sand Stream
  • Hippowdon - Sand Stream

This category includes two Pokemon per weather type, which is great for offering more options to players who like to build around weather conditions, and it also means it's likely at least one per category will be brought back in Gen 10 and beyond. Pokemon Gen 10 games can always add new weather-setting Pokemon to their roster, but if not, then they are forced to bring back at least one per category. This is the ultimate conundrum: Pokemon Gen 10 can't leave these 12 Pokemon behind unless new ones with equal or similar Abilities are introduced, and the reason is that they enable their respective playstyles - which Game Freak can't ignore.