Which is the best way of breathing new life into old Pokemon?

all of them

giving them a new evolution or a variant form is totally fine

megas are somewhat okay but really restrictive because you can only use one at a time and they tend to be either really niche or really overpowered

Case by case basis.

Horrible Pokemon(ie. Delibird, Yanma) can get new evolutions entirely. Mediocre 3 Stage Pokemon can get Megas. Already viable Pokemon can get Alolan counterparts.

Worth noting is buffs via Moveset, Ability, Items, etc.

Depends on the Pokémon.

Is the BST unforgivably low and room in the design for an evolution? Evolve.

Is the design complete but the stats too low? Mega.

Is the issue with typing or stat distribution? Alolan

>>27834850
I prefer new forms.

Cross gen evos are fine, but they are extremely hit/miss.

Mega evos go full power creep and ensure that the pokemon can't be further evolved later in the series

Forms are adaptable to any region, avoid power creep, plus can give very interesting new takes on a pokemon type and statwise

>>27834850
They are all fine.
>Already strong Pokemon should get regional variants as well as Pokemon that have potential.
>Fully-evolved Pokemon that aren't that good should get megas.
>Pokemon that are not that big, detailed or strong should get regular evolutions.
>Pokemon that are big and unevolved or only evolve once should get a baby to give them the potential to show up earlier in the game and completely their lines. People also use Pokemon with a much higher chance.

>>27834850
Evolutions and variants are both great, but having one shouldn't mean we can't have the other.

Megas are cancer.

New evos are a good idea but there are a lot of really executions

Megas are like what >>27834873 said, they're honestly a better idea for both gameplay and popularity but taking already strong and popular Pokemon and just making them better with no interesting gimmick ruined most of them

I really really like true alternate forms, because they don't seem to add to the vertical power creep and we get to see some imagination from older more beloved types

They're all good, but evolution would be better. Megas can be a double edged sword, either it's good or outright awful. Can't speak much for Alola forms since we don't know if it completely changes the Pokemon's BST, but we can already guess that the stat distribution is different. Whether or not it will hinder or help is to be seen. I would put Evolution on the same level as Megas, but Eviolite is a thing.

>>27834850
I'm gonna be honest. Getting tired of the megas, it was cool at first but it's pretty basic now. I'll take forms.

>>27834962
Pretty much this
I think it also depends on the particular Pokémon

>>27834850
if something is befitting of standard evolution, crossgen evo.

if it's a weak stone evolver or three stager, it's stats need to be rebalanced

if the design feels stale, cross-region variant.

Megas really didn't need to exist, and in creating them, Gamefreak started digging themselves into a hole with 'what deserves to be powered up and what doesn't, and the only way to be truly fair about it is to either scrap them entirely, or /never/ stop adding megas.

>>27834850
Gen 4's evolutions were great, despite some people hating them, and I'd like to see more of them. Thanks for posting the best of them, by the way, Yanmega is fucking amazing.
Megas, on the other hand, were shit. Alolan versions are very interesting too, and I'm curious as to how much they're going to change in comparison to the original mons.

>hipsters hating megas

Though Gengar looks like shit.

>>27835121
it's not being a hipster to say that megas really stagnate things and limit things going forward

>>27835121
I don't hate them anon, I just feel they were unnecessary and it only perpetuated a power-creep that desperately needed to be fixed.

>>27835121
It would have been fine if it wasn't given to Pokemon that were already really good.

>>27834850
2 and 3.
1 only if the base Pokémon has decent defenses so it can use eviolite. Otherwise it'd be completely useless and never be seen again, like Roselia.

Based on how Gamefreak works, Megas are the best.

With new evolutions its not the same Pokémon anymore. Also some Pokémon cant just evolve it.

Alolas are going to be a thing in SM only and its going to be only gen 1. Its a good idea but is wasted on a few instead of being more ample.

Megas give you an appearance change but its not permanent, it still is the same Pokémon and every gen has one. The latter gens need much more but that would be just a question of time. Also more shitmons got improved compared to the ones already strong.

Long term, the most viable is Alola forms, I think. Why not have a Psychic Meowth and a Fire Meowth, and a Steel Marowak etc etc. Much more room to expand in future gens.

>>27834850

I personally like the Alola Forms the best. Wish regional variants had been a thing earlier. Bitter aftertaste though because it's only Genwun. The fuck is up with that. Even Megas were multiple gens.
Megas are cool but the seriously overdid it. They really should've been more careful with what mons to give a Mega and carefully balance it. On the other hand Pokemon can have multiple megas so they are always something that can be fixed by just altering the stones.

And my least favorite are actually permanent evolutions. I don't get why /vp/ would like them more than Mega Evos. To me new Evos just make previous mons shitmons. Magmar is now on the same level as Charmeleon because Margmotar exiss. Same with Electabuzz same with Rhyhorn. And yeah yeah I know Eviolite and stuff but it really limits the Pokemon to a pre evo stall playstyle and it really doesn't fit to Pokemon like Magmar and Electabuzz. And hen the evos are still better but I don't like them cause they're ugly.
They should've just buffed the original Pokemon instead. Why couldn't they just give Margmar Magmotar's stats? Or at least make them equal like Scizor and Scyther. In the end it could turn out to be a cool Pokemon but the potential to forever ruin a mon is the biggest here.

>>27835365
I can agree about disliking Magmortar, but Electivire is 1000 times better than Electabuzz.
Most cross-gen evos are great, there are very few exceptions.

Regional forms are less of a boost than the other two. It just gives pokemon with different forms more attention rather than making them more relevant in battle.

Hard mode: make middle stage pokemon good

>>27835468

Idk even if the evo isn't bad like Weavile, which I actually do like, it still makes Sneasel irrelevant instead of making it more relevant. It really only alienates the fanbase rather brings it back because basically all your old bros get replaced by bigger uglier versions.
Evos can work for SOME Pokemon. But it ruins them more often than it helps them

>>27834850
Intergeneration evolutions

>>27835585

Offensive Eviolite?
Or: Pokemon now generally lose speed when evolving. Pre evos are fast than Evolved mons but are more fragile and are weaker.

>>27835674
In my opinion almost all cross-gen evos are better designs that their previous forms. The only exceptions I can think of are Lickilicky (this thing is just bad) and Magmortar (but not like Magmar was a great design to begin with).

I'm more accepting of Megas and alternate regional forms now than cross-gen evolutions, I like the ones we got but the pokedex is just getting too big.

That is unless they make a new generation where there are no new species altogether, just new regional forms, evolutions and megas.

>>27835585
More variants of Evolite, maybe a more specific version that only works on middle evolutions

>>27835712
I actually really like the idea that some pokemon would be faster in earlier stages and lose speed as they evolved.

>>27834898
This is a generally better way if it's not totally broken. A signature move, ability or moveset change can fix many pokemon, if not give them an interesting niche.

>>27835183
I don't get this mindset.
Say if Alolan Sandslash is viable that won't mean regular Sandslash will see any more use at all.

Yanma getting a Mega Evolution was probably the best thing to happen to the little guy.