Gotta catch ‘em all? Yeah right. That tagline wasn’t as crazy back in the day. 150 Pokémon was doable and even with the sequels of Pokémon Gold/Silver, the 250 mark wasn’t that bad either.
800 plus creatures is a lot to ask for though especially considering there are regional forms and Shiny versions too. But wait, there is the potential for more. Some Pokémon variations, be it size or color, have only appeared in the anime. Out of the many out there, these ten designs are what fans are craving the most. Will they ever make it in the games?
10 Giant Dragonite
One of the very earliest episodes of the anime, Mystery at the Lighthouse, has Ash and the gang visit Bill. It is here that Bill reveals he is trying to study a giant Pokémon at his lighthouse. Toward the end it reveals itself and it looks like a Dragonite albeit the size of Godzilla compared to its normal slightly above human level.Some fans think Gigantamax is tied to this, although since that is seemingly just a simulation, it seems unlikely. Giant Pokémon do appear again in various forms like in a later entry, plus there was the episode about the Pokémon Park.
9 Duplica's Ditto
Another early episode, Ditto's Mysterious Mansion, finds Ash and friends stumbling upon what seems to be an abandoned mansion. It is here they meet Duplica and her Ditto. The rare thing about her Pokémon is the fact that it can’t transform its face. This makes every copy it tries to do look incredibly silly. Too bad there is no Ditto like this in the games. It did appear in the Detective Pikachu though so at least Game Freak and Nintendo didn't completely forget about it.
8 Golden Ho-Oh
In the very first episode of the anime, at the very end, Ash sees a golden bird soaring over a rainbow. This was later revealed to be Ho-Oh, a legendary Pokémon from Pokémon Gold/Silver. However, why it appears to be gold is a mystery as it is normally red and white, with rainbow tipped wings. In the Pokémon X entry it says, “A legend says that its body glows in seven colors. A rainbow is said to form behind it when it flies.” No Pokédex entry ever mentions any golden forms. However, the Shiny version does appear to be golden, but not exactly as it appears in the show.
7 Professor Ivy’s Pokémon
In the beginning of the anime exclusive area of the Orange Islands, Ash and the gang first appear on Valencia Island. For whatever reason the researcher there, Professor Ivy, has Pokémon with alternate patterns presumably because of the weather including Butterfree and Vileplume as just two examples.
This could have inspired the alternate versions for the Pokémon starting in Pokémon Sun/Moon. For those curious the name of the episode is Poké Ball Peril.
6 Pink Pokémon
Another island in this arc with strange properties is Pinkan Island. If Pokémon eat Pinkan Berries, they turn pink. Some Pokémon shown include Rhyhorn, Nidoking, Mankey, Vileplume, and many others. The name of the episode was called In The Pink.
5 Crystal Onix
Another Orange Islands episode, The Crystal Onix, finds the glassblower, Mateo on the hunt for an elusive crystallized Onix. He wants to capture it in the hopes it will inspire his artistry. While a crystal form of Onix hasn’t appeared in the games, that hasn’t stopped hackers from putting it into mods. It even has its own type, Crystal.
4 Ancient Pokemon
Getting back to the Kanto region, there is another episode that explores giant Pokémon, The Ancient Puzzle of Pokémopolis. In it Ash and friends help uncover ancient artifacts that presumably belonged to Pokémon. This eventually summons giant versions of Gengar Alakazam, who all have tribal markings on their skin as well. They battle to the death until a giant Jigglypuff emerges and puts them to sleep.
3 The Real Pikablu
Puka is the name of Victor’s Pikachu in the episode The Pi-Kahuna. The biggest difference with Puka is its dark blue eyes.
Other than that, and its affinity to surf, there is nothing special about it. Pikachu has learned to surf in the games but it has never received different eyes.
2 Golden Sudowoodo
All That Glitters Is Not Golden, is an episode wherein the gang meets a golden Sudowoodo. Keenan experimented on it before something went wrong resulting in its golden hue. Like most Pokémon on here, besides color, there is nothing exceptional about it. That makes two golden Pokémon on this list though.
1 Mewtwo Clones
In Pokémon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back, Mewtwo clones other Pokémon. His army of clones have distinct markings on them for whatever reason. Mewtwo doesn’t have them so it was presumably just a story reason to help viewers tell the difference. This also appears in the somewhat recent CG remake, Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution.
