>>47342042>>47342042>Although part of me thinks they were picked for gameplay purposes than throwing bones to underdogsI agree. There seems to a narrative going around that the starters were picked out of pity, Either from people are seething that their fav starter will be sitting out of Legends (while being the same ones bragging that their favs survived Dexit) and others who are genuinely confused about why theses three were picked.
The Legends really seems like Game's Freaks' passion project with SwSh mainly being made out of obligation. Even with all the thematic and practical reasons, it's entirely possible that the starters were picked mainly because Game Freak simply likes them and the only they were ignored for so long was due to some higher ups who either hate them or just don't consider them marketable enough for some reason.
As for your point on Typhlosion being built for land mobility, there could be a sort of digging/cave mechanic since it's a badger
