My Top 10 Favorite Returning Pokemon in the Crown Tundra

Last week The Crown Tundra finally was released for Pokemon Sword and Shield and with it we had Over 100 old Pokemon returning in this game. Because of that, I wanted to list my 10 favorite Pokemon that have returned in The Crown Tundra with only 1 rule: No Legendaries.

Number 10:

Magmortar & Electivire

I know this first one are 2 Pokemon but they kind of go hand in hand. These guys have a special place in my heart because of the two of them as a duo, not as an individual. I’ve always been into playing competitive card games like YuGiOh and Hearthstone, but there was a time when I briefly played Pokemon competitively. I built a deck that revolved around Magmortar and Electivire as a duo, with moves that would power up if I had the other on my bench. Ever since I played that deck I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the duo, which is why they make it on this list as a team.

Number 9

Absol

Absol is easily one of the coolest looking Pokemon ever designed. Whenever I replay the Gen 3 games I always catch one, I always want to train one, Absols just look really cool and to see one in the wild in The Crown Tundra is great. It looks even cooler just chilling in the snow, doing its own thing.

Number 8:

Spirtomb

Pokemon Diamond was probably the game I spent the most time on across all games. Spiritomb was like a myth in my Schoolyard, it was so difficult to get back then. It being part of Cynthia’s team only made it even cooler, because wasn’t Cynthia’s team just the coolest back then? (I mean, it still is even now.) Now its back, and its still an adventure to obtain it.

Number 7:

Omantye

I felt like It would be rude not to praise Lord Helix here in this list, who makes a triumphant return. Its almost ridiculous how excited I got seeing Omantye swimming around in a river almost exclusively because of Twitch Plays Pokemon.

Number 6:

Metagross

Metagross has to be one of the coolest Pseudo Legendaries that have ever been released, and correct me if I am wrong but is it the only Pseudo Legendary that isn’t a Dragon?

Metagross was used by Steven in the Gen III games and the Psychic Steel Pokemon was a challenging foe. With that in mind, even its first evolution isn’t easy to catch in the wild here in the Crown Tundra. So far, my only experience with Beldums in the wild have been watching it slowly die to hail while it refuses to be caught. So, I wish you all the best of luck getting one in a ball.

Number 5:

Dragonite, Salamance and Garchomp

I decided to compile all of the returning Pseudo Legendary Dragon types all in one here to save you all having to read my reasoning for each one individually. These Dragons are some of the coolest Dragons in Pokemon, Dragonite is Iconic as being the first Pseudo Legendary, Salamance was Gen III’s big Dragon and Garchomp was among Cynthia’s Iconic team. Each of these Dragons are looked upon fondly by many Pokemon fans and its incredibly exciting to have these powerful Pokemon return in The Crown Tundra.

Number 4:

Zubat

This might sound crazy to hear that I was actually really excited to come across Zubats on my travels in the Crown Tundra, but there was something incredibly comforting in seeing a group of Zubats and Golbats in a cave. When I first saw them I was flooded with a wave of excitement and nostalgia, and immediately got in a battle with one. Needless to say, I am very happy to have them back.

Number 3:

Archeops

Archeops is among many of the fossil Pokemon from previous generations that just exists in the wild here in Galar. I noticed pretty quickly that Fossil Pokemon just exist in The Crown Tundra, which I found confusing but at the same time I was really happy to see Archeops. In Pokemon White I trained up an Archeops and attempted to use one competitively, so Archeops has a special place in my heart nostalgically.

Number 2:

Aggron

I remember the first time I saw Aggron and I honestly thought it was a pseudo legendary Pokemon, akin to Tyranitar. I was surprised to learn later on that it is not, it just looks really cool. Being able to catch an Aron so early in the Gen III games by the time it evolved you felt so cool using it. Now in the Crown Tundra I can happily say that feeling hasn’t changed, when I first saw Aggron chilling in a cave in the wild I had to catch my breath, it looked so cool.

Number 1:

Mudkip

I hadn’t looked at what Pokemon came back in the Crown Tundra before I started playing it, I was looking forward to running into familiar faces and not knowing what to look forward to. I was glad I did, because when I encountered a wild Combusken in a Dynamax adventure my excitement went through the roof. The Hoen Starters are here? And wild? I couldn’t believe it. I immediately went online to ensure I could get my sweet Mudkip. Mudkip is easily my favorite Gen III Starter and while you can’t catch a Mudkip in the wild, you can encounter a Marshtomp or a Swampert in the Dynamax Adventures which only makes it even more replayable after you catch every Legendary.

And that's it for my list. These are all my favorite Pokemon that have returned to Pokemon in The Crown Tundra but what are yours? Thanks for reading!