>>43275542People have done a pretty good job pointing out that your logic on that post is objectively wrong. It's not the regional pika-clone, others that received island challenges are by no means shillmon, and it was initially revealed alongside Bewear (who was also heavily featured in the anime in association with team rocket) but isn't considered a shillmon.
Don't get me wrong, it probably has more merchandise than other Alola mons. At this point, it may be a shillmon. But I think you're ignoring it's initial popularity, whether as a result of it's concept or design. Before the games even released, mimikyu, alolan exeggutor (for it's goofy, memeable design), and Gumshoos (Trump resemblance) were all over the internet.
Then sound business decisions step in and account for the rest. Who the fuck wouldn't market their most popular assets? There have been times before when they've tried to shill a Pokemon and totally failed. Picking a Pokemon that's already popular to shill makes logical sense. They always try to shill the starters. They are currently trying to shill yamper. But if something emerges as a better option in the next year you can bet your bottom dollar it will have more merch and coverage than yamper.
