It can be hard to keep track of over 1,000 Pokémon in the franchise, but even the Pokémon Go developers at Niantic seem to have mixed up the details about Stantler and its evolution, Wyrdeer, as pointed out by Serebii’s webmaster, Joe Merrick.
Merrick shared a screenshot of Stantler’s Pokédex information in Pokémon Go on Dec. 3, with something looking a little off in the evolution section. Before Gen VIII, Stantler didn’t have an evolution. But when Legends: Arceus came around, they finally gave Stantler the glow-up it deserved with a new evolution tied to Hisui—Wyrdeer. Pokémon Go labels Stantler’s evolution into Wyrdeer as a “Hisuian form,” which may sound correct at first, considering Stantler needs to be in Hisui to evolve as one of its requirements in the mainline games. However, a Hisui-exclusive evolution isn’t always the same as a Hisuian form.
If a Pokémon species has regional forms, it means they have multiple forms, and this is not the case with Stantler or Wyrdeer. Examples of Pokémon with regional forms are the Legends: Arceus Starters. Decidueye, Typhlosion, and Samurott all gained Hisuian forms in Gen VIII even though their pre-evolutions didn’t. Like Stantler, the Starters need to be evolved in the Hisui region. But unlike the Starters who simply gained a new regional form, Wyrdeer is a completely new Pokémon and not an official Hisuian form.
Merrick used Scyther’s branch evolution, Kleavor, as a perfect example of a very similar case to Wydeer. Like Wyrdeer, Kleavor was a new evolution introduced in Legends: Arceus without being a regional form like Hisuian Lilligant or Hisuian Arcanine. With Scyther’s newer evolution, they could’ve done a Hisuian Scizor but went with Kleavor, an entirely new Pokémon instead, to add more to the Pokédex roster. Serebii’s webmaster pointed out how Pokémon Go isn’t treating Stantler’s evolution the same way as Scyther’s or other ‘mons like Ursaring, despite their similar evolution characteristics in the mainline games.
This, of course, isn’t a terrible mistake or anything, but it shows just how confusing the franchise is becoming as more Pokémon species and forms are thrown into the mix. We not only have regional forms but also convergent species (like Tentacool and Toedscool), Paradox counterparts, and anything else the devs want to throw at us in future generations. Nine generations in, there’s just so much information to take in when it comes to all things Pokémon. Even long-time fans like me can’t be expected to remember every single detail about every Pokémon, evolution, move, ability, etc. that has ever existed.
Wyrdeer is set to make its official Pokémon Go debut on Dec. 23.
