in general i think other gens might have this be more interesting. Diamond and Pearl especially lock many of their new Pokemon as postgame only evolutions or Legendaries (and also Rotom), and has a famously limited regional dex. Like, what does the archetypical Unova hall of fame team look like? Starters, Krookodile, Chandelure? Maybe Stoutland?
UF8 posted...
in a way i kind of expected more people to say Drifblim
I think there's a simple reason why most people don't use Drifblim: its movepool is rancid ass so you do low damage, on top of it struggling statwise in most areas. It's the same with GSC Sudowoodo and Shuckle (low level and low stats), GSC Togepi (Togetic is not enough of a reward to bother), and RSE/ORAS Kecleon and Castform (low stats, bad moves).
Gift and Overworld Encounters do often get used, but only if they're worth in the first place.