Gen VIII Pokedex Review - Part 2: Galar and Gigantamax Forms!

Last time, we reviewed all the new Pokemon introduced in Sword and Shield, and now it's time to share our thoughts on all the new forms introduced, including both Galar forms and Giganatmax forms. Again, this post will contain spoilers, so if you want to go into the games spoiler-free, it might be best to come back later.

The Seventh Generation was the first to introduce us with regional variants with Sun and Moon, though at the time the forms were exclusive to the first generation of Pokemon. This time around they've heard fan feedback and given Galar forms (and evolutions!) to Pokemon outside of the first generation.

Meowth: We don't know what's been going on with Meowth recently. He already got an Alolan Form, and now has a Galar form, a Galar evolution, AND a Gigantamax form, and we're definitely not going to complain! His new form makes him a pure Steel type, and we must say we prefer it over his Alolan variant.
Perrserker: Meowth evolves into Perrserker, who still retains the Steel typing. It now has more of a viking theme to it which we really like, though most folks on the internet seem indifferent to this one. 
Ponyta: This one is probably most well known due to the infamous 24-hour livestream. At the time, people seemed annoyed that it wasn't a Fairy type, or at least Psychic/Fairy, but that all changes when it evolves. The mystery of the tailless Ponyta still remains though, so it's possible this was just a rendering glitch when making the livestream.
Rapidash: It's a nice design, but we're not a fan of the changes to its manes texture. They went form nice and fluffy on Ponyta, to very tentacle looking. It's still a good design, but if they changed the mane it'd certainly improve its look!
Farfetch'd: There really isn't much to say here. He just got angrier, a little darker, and carries around a much bigger leek. Oh, and he changed to a pure Fighting type.
Sirfetch'd: Pokemon fans have wanted to see an evolution to Farfetch'd for years, and were teased with what could have been during the Gold and Silver Spaceworld 2000 demo leak. Though 19 years later, GameFreak decided to revisit the concept and gave us the new and improved Sirfetch'd. This guy has a lot of personality just from looking at him, and instantly became a fan favorite when he got revealed

Weezing: The very first Galar form that was revealed to us, showing that the concept of Regional Forms would live on. Weezing became very loved and meme worthy (much like Alolan Exeggutor) when it was first revealed, but we don't really see the appeal. We think the design is decent at best, but really like the Poison/Fairy typing. We just wish Koffing received a Regional form to go with it's counterpart, Grimer.
Mr. Mime: We like the typing, we like the concept, but the execution just doesn't sit well with us. It seems like they were going for a puppet/marionette vibe, but the body proportions just seem off.
Mr. Rime: We like this one a lot better, but it's not a favorite or anything. The design is very cute, but we don't like the awkward tap dancing movements.
Corsola: This is a Galar form done right - a basic recolor with a few design tweaks here and there, but nothing too drastic. Corsola becomes a Ghost type and resembles dying coral, and still looks very cute despite being sad. This is definitely a favorite of ours, and we don't know why it wasn't revealed pre-release
Cursola: Corsola evolves into Cursola (a subtle, yet clever name change), keeping the Ghost type, and becoming a more expansive dead-coral-ghost-thing. We really love this one, but it's in game model doesn't do it justice since the colors are so washed out. Its official artwork is much better.

 

Zigzagoon: This one started it all, the first regional variant revealed that didn't belong to Kanto. We feel the same towards this guy as we do Corsola, a very subtle, yet effective change.
Linoone: It's not as cute as Linoone, but instead looks much cooler. From what was once a forgettable Pokemon, Galarian Linoone really brought Linoone back into the spotlight.
Obstagoon: You've probably seen the thousands of KISS references with this one, so we won't mention any here. As for the Pokemon itself, yeah it's pretty good. They were very smart by making this their debut line of Regional Evolutions.
Darumaka: Once again they gave us the Vulpix treatment, turning a Fire type to Ice... and it worked for a second time! Darumaka is already a cute Pokemon, and it's new ice body only adds to its cuteness!
Darmanitan: Darmanitan had a more drastic change than its pre-evolution, but we love it just as much. It has a really cool ability that makes it a real powerhouse, and we ended up using it on our team. It's raw power alone (along with our other VIP, Excadrill) managed to sweet through the League in no time!
Darmanitan (Zen Mode): Shockingly, they kept Darmanitan's Zen Mode ability as well which gives us a unique form of Galarian Darmanitan. Instead of adapting the Psychic type, it becomes the very first Ice/Fire type, and has a really cool (or hot?) design going on.

Yamask: The Galar forms this generation are really killing it! Yamask is yet again, such a simple change, but it looks so adorable. We know simple recolors probably aren't loved by everyone, but we really dig them.
Runerigus: This guy isn't hated by any means, but he doesn't seem to get much love either. That aside, we think this design is incredible and builds off Cofagrigus's design really well. Runeregus could have worked really well as a completely new Pokemon instead of a Galarian evolution, but we're glad the Yamask family got some love.
Stunfisk: Poor Stunfisk never seems to get much love, but we've always had a soft spot for this one. When we first saw it's Galar form words can not describe the amounts of joy we felt when we first saw it. Then weI realized it was a bear trap and it got a hundred times better. Yes, it's very basic, and yes it's poor in battle, but we still love this guy. It's shiny colors are a nice throwback to it's Unovan Form, which makes us love it even more. And no, we totally didn't spend three entire days looking for a Shiny Stunfisk... Ironically, or unironically, this is probably our favorite Galar form.

Charizard: We won't bother to mention how it's unfair Charizard got a G. Max form whilst the other Kanto starters got nothing, since that's been done to death at this point. It sure looks cool and menacing, but Charizard has received enough love over the years we don't really care enough. Sorry Charizard fans!
Butterfree: Honestly, it's just a larger Butterfree with different colored wings. Nothing too special, and nothing much to say either.
Pikachu: Similar to Butterfree, it's really just a bigger version of Pikachu with a longer tail. Though we really love the throwback to retro/fat Pikachu from the early days of Gen I.
Meowth: When this first got revealed, we were less than thrilled. It just seemed like they were trying to create more "meme hype" that they garnered from Alolan Exeggutor, and Galarian Weezing...  but that all changed once we used one in battle. It's cry is amazing and it's signature move, G. Max Goldrush, is really good for farming money. Meowth definitely ended up being an MVP over the last two generations!
Machamp: We're sure this has been said before, but Machamp kind of looks like one of the Titan's from Disney's Hercules. We don't hate it, but when you realize it's a Sword exclusive, and it's counterpart exclusive to Shield is much cooler, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.
Gengar: We may have lost Mega Evolutions, but it seems Gigantamax Gengar has taken  Mega Gengar's design and adapted it into it's G. Max form. In addition, they also used Mega Gengar's much loved Shiny coloration, that they made Shiny G. Gengar white, too! It's a really cool design, we just wish it wasn't a Shield exclusive.

Kingler: When we first saw it, we loved it, but when we finally saw one in battle, not as much. Its legs look too thin to support its body. Still, it's nice to see an underappreciated Gen I Pokemon get some love.
Lapras: Lapras has always been a fan favorite, and that doesn't change here. It has a really elegant look with its G. Max form. We just wish its overall design was a little less bulky. Oh, and again, this is a Shield exclusive...
Eevee: It's nothing special. It was obviously done to coincide with Pikachu, but unlike the former, it does't really have a "retro" design to go off, and instead just followed the trend of becoming bigger, and fluffier I guess.
Snorlax: So according to the Pokedex, the trees on Snorlax's belly are seeds from inside his belly that have grown and busted out upon Gigantamaxing... It's a little disturbing, but hey, apparently Dynamax and Gigantamax is just an illusion, and not an actual form change? That said, we really love G. Max Snorlax.
Garbodor: The odd one out, being the only Pokemon not from the Kanto/Galar region to receive a G. Max form, but we really like this one. We know Garbodor gets a lot of hate online, so maybe we just feel sorry for the guy.

Corviknight: Croviknight sure is a cool Pokemon, but it's G. Max form isn't really anything to get excited over. It's just worse version of Butterfree.
Orbeetle: Orbetle gets the "bigger is better" treatment, too, but at least they tweaked it's design a little more. The UFO look is expanded on here and makes Orbeetle that much cooler.
Drednaw: This time around, Drednaw was the last one we wrote an entry on when drafting this post. We kind of like it, but then we take another look at it and it changes. Then we look again, and we start liking it once more... Wash, rinse, repeat. Maybe if it stayed on all fours like its regular form we wouldn't change our minds as much.
Coalossal: Like Machamp, this also gives off a Titan vibe, but as we mentioned in our previous post, we like the tar vibes Coalossal gives off that remind us of Gogmazius, and this is only expanded on here. If we weren't Monster Hunter fans I doubt we'd like this design as much as we do.

Flapple/Appletun: These two share a spot due to having the same appearance. We kind of wish they looked different, because the one they share isn't really anything special. It would have been cool if this form combined the two, but it just looks like it's pre-evolution, Applin,  has broken free of it's apple.
Sandaconda: We love Sandaconda, but not so much its G. Max form, it's just a larger version of Sandaconda, trapped inside a tornado.
Centiscorch: Centiscorch is in the same boat as Sandaconda, minus the tornado. It's just more stretched out, and oddly enough reminds us of a flying carpet? We're not sure why we're getting that connection though.
Haterene: We previously mentioned they we like Haterene's design, and that still translates here, but we do wish the design was changed a little. We love that it's body seems to be trapped in it's helmet, and we love this design more than its regular form that we wish this was it's regular form, and it received a different G. Max form that had some more changes.
Grimsnarl: Anything that resembles Bayonetta is a win in our book, and the more slender design makes it so much more akin to the Umbran Witch. We just can't dislike this one, no matter how hard we try.

Alcremie: We didn't like this when it was first showcased, but it's kind of grown on us and left a much sweeter taste in our mouths. It's not a top tier design by any means, but it doesn't fall flat either. Oh, and sorry for all the cake puns!
Copperajah: Since we're already not the biggest fans of Copperajah, we aren't too keen on this form either. We didn't like how square its original design was, and that's only capitalized more this time round.
Duraludon: It's like they took Orbeetle's concept and tried to do the same here, by making it's new form resemble an object, this time being a skyscraper. But since Orbeetle already resembles a UFO, and Duraludon doesn't really resemble a sky scraper (looks more like an odd stapler to us), it doesn't work as well. Not bad, but not amazing.

There are two more that have yet to be revealed, so we'll be cryptic here for those that want to avoid spoilers. One of them just looks like Starman rehashed from the Mother series, but the other is really cool. We can't wait for this one to become available to the public!

So that's our thoughts on the new Pokemon this generation. It's sure been a long journey from reviewing the game to reviewing all the Pokemon, but it's definitely been worth it, and certainly is one of the better generations in recent years. As always, be sure to follow BidoofCrossing on Twitter and Tumblr to stay up to date with the latest Animal Crossing and Nintendo news.