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Meows is one of the most organically popular Pokemon in a good while, since Sprigatito was the clear favorite when the starters were revealed, followed by it topping that one poll shorty after SV dropped (after Tinkaton of course). Then the good showings continued when it got its obligatory shilling, however it was already set up for success with the explosion of both regular fanart and porn, doubled by the fact that both the other two starters had middling reception at absolute best, and complete revulsion at worst .
I definitely think it's a far cry from Incineroar, who's first form was a clear second favorite after Rowlet upon reveal, followed by a mixed reception during the Alola starters leak for being another Fire/Fighting looking type starter, who then got a ton of shilling in the anime, VGC and Smash, and then completely dropped by TCPI at the end of the generation, not getting any post generational support the same way Decidueye did with an alt form in PLA and things like Unite.
Obviously the generation isn't quite over yet and we still need more time to see if TCPI is going to drop the grass cat as fast as they did the fire cat, but in this instance I think TCPI backed the right horse going all in on the weedcat, unlike Gen 7 where they were all over the place with whichever Pokemon would get the most promotion, between Mimikyu, the Lycanrocs, Rowlet and Incineroar, and picked arguably the least popular out of all of them to get the most spotlight.
I say all that to say OP that you picked a weird and objectively wrong comparisson, how do you even quantify "no one gives a shit" as if we don't have regular Meowscarada threads, on top of it having the most fanart and the most bulbapedia hits over like 99% of the Paldea dex?
Tinkaton, Ceruledge and Meowscarda are the kings this generation, and for the first time possibly ever, TCPI is actually promoting the genuinely popular Pokemon instead of telling you to buy whichever pick they chose to shill.
