>>44391038I think most of them are fine. Ivysaur, Wartortle, Bayleef, Quilava, Croconaw, Grovyle and Dewott are the ones I would consider unique and good enough to stand on their own. These don't indicate that their evolved forms are lesser (of which I only consider Samurott to be) rather that they have attributes that make them completely worthwhile designs if you wish not to evolve them.
As for post-gen 5 I don't have much of an opinion other than I think Frogadier is 10x better looking than origami head tongue scarf frog.
As for why most people don't care about them, it's simply because the first stages are the icons of the beginning of a generation and the final stages are the end goal of those icons. The middle evos don't have much room in the thoughtspaces of most people because of this. They simply aren't marketed for much.
