Why don't they ever make all three of the starters owned by the protagonists fully evolve?

Kathylikestoread

Kathylikestoread

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They have nothing against making two of the starters fully evolve, they've done that multiple times before. But, why don't they let all three of the starters fully evolve? Like, this is how it was in each series:
  • Indigo League: Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charizard
  • Gold and Silver: Bayleef, Quilava, Totodile
  • Advanced Generation: Sceptile, Blaziken, Marshstomp
  • Diamond and Pearl: Piplup, Torterra, Infernape
  • Black and White: Snivy, Pignite, Oshawott
  • XY: Greninja, Delphox, Chespin
  • Sun and Moon: Incineroar, Primarina, Rowlet
  • Journeys: Cinderace, Inteleon, Grookey
 
I second the above, and also I'll bet there are viewers out there that are so attached to a trainer's Pokémon that it wouldn't be the same for them if it evolved.

That said, I haven't watched Horizons in a while, but from between the last episode I saw and now...
Liko's Floragato evolved into a Meowscarada, Roy's Fuecoco evolved into a Crocalor, and Dot's Quaxly evolved too :O I don't know when I'm gonna start catching up, but I'm willing to bet my Pokédollars that Roy and Dot's Pokémon will hit their final stages in a future episode. If that's the case, I'm glad the anime producers are taking a different direction with this thing.
 
skynerel said:
I suspect it’s because of Marketing, the first stage pokemon always has plushies to sell and the more time they spend in their cute form the more they remind the viewer to get merchandise. Last evolutions don’t get the same amount of merchandise.
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I agree with this.
But I'm thinking Horizons is gonna end this trend for a change.
 
skynerel said:
I suspect it’s because of Marketing, the first stage pokemon always has plushies to sell and the more time they spend in their cute form the more they remind the viewer to get merchandise. Last evolutions don’t get the same amount of merchandise.
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I mean, I personally think that kids would love strong looking and fierce Pokemon like Charizard and Sceptile just as much as they love cute and small Pokemon like Piplup or Froakie.
 
Kathylikestoread said:
I mean, I personally think that kids would love strong looking and fierce Pokemon like Charizard and Sceptile just as much as they love cute and small Pokemon like Piplup or Froakie.
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They do, but the thing is that evolution is decided by which stage of the line is the most popular. Because as it turns out, sometimes the cuter early stages prove more popular than the cooler final stages.

For example, in the Piplup and Bulbasaur lines it is those first stages that seem to be far more popular than their evolved forms according to several popularity polls, but the exact opposite is true for the Charmander and Froakie lines.
 
I also don't imagine Rowlet or Grookey to be popular with young children, especially Grookey. The same goes for Crocalor and Quaxwell. Also, they gave Lana Primarina, and I've never heard anything about it being a popular Pokemon. Especially since the they try to target young boys more than girls, why would they have included it? I understand that they probably also try to target young girls through things like Contests and Showcases, but Lana wasn't really a girly character, so it was a little weird that they gave her Primarina. I mean, I can understand them giving May Skitty and Beautifly, Dawn Buneary and Pachirisu and Serena Sylveon, as they were all more openly feminine.
 
Kathylikestoread said:
I also don't imagine Rowlet or Grookey to be popular with young children, especially Grookey. The same goes for Crocalor and Quaxwell. Also, they gave Lana Primarina, and I've never heard anything about it being a popular Pokemon. Especially since the they try to target young boys more than girls, why would they have included it? I understand that they probably also try to target young girls through things like Contests and Showcases, but Lana wasn't really a girly character, so it was a little weird that they gave her Primarina.
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Rowlet is EXTREMELY popular. To the point that in the 2020 worldwide popularity poll it reached 16th place out of all Pokemon that existed back then.

Also, Pokemon is a franchise for everyone, not just boys. Otherwise Pokemon like Primarina wouldn't have even been made to begin with.
 
Marketing. It’s the same reason why Pikachu never evolved. Especially Rowlet in Sun and Moon where it ate an Everstone.

If a Pokémon is stuck in their second form, it’s either because it happened too late or the Pokémon is out of focus.
 
Karakuri18 said:
Fuecoco is the most popular of its line, but that hasn't stopped it from evolving.
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True, but at the same time it took the longest to evolve out of the three. There's also the fact that it's looking very likely that we will have all three fully evolved starters in the main cast for once.
 
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