Pokemon's Johto and Sinnoh stick out like a sore thumb compared to the other 7 regions

Each region in Pokémon the series has its own identity, whether it comes from the real-life location it's based on or the gameplay mechanics and creatures that can be found there. With Pokemon Legends: ZA recently give the Kalos region a chance to shine again after Pokemon X and Y left so many loose ends hanging, it's become painfully obvious that two other regions still lack something the rest of the franchise has already experienced. Pokémons Johto and Sinnoh regions are an odd outlier in the series for their lack of access to a key combat gimmick.

With Pokemon winds and waves on the horizon and rumored to have a new Gen 10 combat mechanic presumably weather-themed, it seems an ongoing Pokémon series trend will continue. Ever since Gen 5, almost all new Pokémon games released have had some type of twist on the traditional Pokémon battles. Some of these battle tricks are certainly more popular than others, but strangely the Johto and Sinnoh regions have never had access to any of them consistently Pokémons history.

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I've been playing Pokemon HeartGold for 86 hours, and this is my official Johto Pokemon Tier List

Based on my recent review of Pokemon HeartGold (as well as before), this is my tier list for Pokemon originally introduced in Johto.

Johto and Sinnoh lack a major battle mechanic that Pokémon's other regions have

The Johto and Sinnoh regions certainly have their own claims to fame. Johto is notorious for being a direct neighbor to Kanto and allowing players to visit the neighboring region in every game it has appeared in. However, aside from just being Kanto's neighbor, Johto gameplay is usually characterized by a slow leveling curve and a reliance on Gen 1 Pokémon.

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Light (15s)Medium (10s)Hard (5s)Permadeath (5s)

The Sinnoh region is infamous for being the home region of the same generation that introduced the Physical/Special Split in Gen 4. Other than this review, it has no truly unique combat tricks and is largely memorable for other reasons, such as the underground side activity and the difficult Champion Cynthia battle. While the lore of the Sinnoh region was more fleshed out Pokemon Legends: Arceusthe region seen in that game does not reflect modern Sinnoh but instead adopts the Hisui name to distinguish itself.

All of Pokemon's major battle gimmicks and the regions they're available in

Triple/Rotation Battles — Unova
Mega Evolution — Kalos, Hoenn, Alola, Kanto
Z-Moves — Alola
Dynamax — Galar
Terrastallization — Paldea, Kitakami, Unova

The trend of a generation battle gimmick started with Pokemon black and white introduces triple and rotation battles. While these battles weren't super relevant and largely unpopular, they paved the way for every subsequent one Pokémon generation to have some kind of battle twist. Gen 6 knocked it out of the park with Mega Evolution in Pokemon X and Yso much so that it stuck around in Gen 7 and has recently made a huge comeback in Gen 9 with Pokemon Legends: ZA. Aside from Mega Evolution, which was largely an afterthought in the postgame, Sun and moon introduced the Z-Move mechanic that allowed players to unleash an extremely powerful move once per battle. However, Z-Moves have remained exclusive to the Alola region.

Mega Evolution was absent in Gen 8, though Sword and shield made up for this loss with the addition of Dynamax and Gigantamax, which were made exclusive to the Galar region due to the power spots that appeared around the region after the Darkest Day. Gen 9's Terasallization mechanic technically exists in three different regions. Although originating from Paldea's Area Zero, Pokemon Scarlet and Violets DLCs see the phenomenon expand to Kitakami in The Teal Mask and Unova via Blueberry Academy in The Indigo Disk.

Johto and Sinnoh missed the boat for a unique battle gimmick

Kanto and Hoenn are the only two pre-Gen 5 regions that have access to any sort of combat gimmick, with Mega Evolution being possible in both. The presence of Mega Evolution in Kanto and Hoenn comes from the fact that both regions received remakes during Gen 6 and Gen 7, when the mechanic was still part of the generation's game system. Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire expanded on Mega Evolutions by X and Yintroduces new Megas to the Hoenn starters, as well as a host of other Gen 3 Pokémon. Although not a central part of the games, Mega Evolution is still possible in Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eeveewhich also takes the mechanic to the Kanto region.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

Johto remakes in the form of HeartGold and SoulSilver came in Gen 4, and Sinnoh remakes in the form of Brilliant diamond and brilliant pearl came in Gen 8, meaning both were right outside the window to experience Mega Evolution. Although Dynamax was present in Gen 8, its in-universe status as a Galar-exclusive phenomenon meant that it would not have been possible to appear in Pokemon BDSP. And with Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl being faithful remakes of the Gen 4 games, it's obvious why no combat gimmick was included.

A Johto remake feels overdue

Now that Mega Evolution has returned to the limelight with Legends: ZAthese regions have a chance to finally enter the limelight. Since Sinnoh just had remakes, it's unlikely the region will reappear anytime soon. However, Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver is now 16 years old, which means a return to Johto is more necessary than ever. A Let's go Johto the game has been on many fans' wishlists for some time, and it would be the perfect excuse to give the region access to Mega Evolution. Unfortunately, the future of Pokémon Gameplay detailed in last year's TeraLeaks points to the franchise moving away from this type of game, suggesting that Johto and Sinnoh may never see their own combat gimmicks.