>>43253915As another example, there are some other curious parts about the early anime such as how the cast got seemingly random new Pokemon at times. Remember how bizarre Brock catching Zubat on a whim early on only to barely ever use it was? That paid off much later on in Johto once it evolved into Golbat and then the new Pokemon Crobat, much like how Misty caught a Poliwag in the Orange Islands that would eventually become a Politoed. Now, let's look at some other underused Kanto Pokemon:
Ash caught a Muk, but never used it until the league.
Misty caught a Horsea early on, only to barely use it and eventually dump it at her gym along with Starmie. She also had a Goldeen she barely ever used.
Brock got a Vulpix from a fellow Pokemon breeder, but ended up returning it in Johto.
Jessie got a Lickitung she barely ever used, and James randomly got a Victreebel that they made a point of saying that he caught as a Weepinbell.
Now, what do all those Pokemon have in common? That's right, they got a new evolutionary relative in the gen 2 beta.