Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Player Points Out Big Missed Opportunity With Gholdengo (2024)

A fan of the new Pokemon Scarlet and Violet titles has noticed something interesting about one of the newest Pokemon to arrive in the franchise with the Generation 9 games, Gholdengo. This odd Pokemon has been among the more controversial creatures seen in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet so far, with many fans claiming that the series' 1000th Pokemon doesn't live up to the expectations they had.

Pokemon enthusiasts have had the opportunity to meet a huge range of new Pokemon in the new Generation 9 games - no less than 107 brand-new species, in fact. Many of the adorable new critters have become instant fan-favorites for Trainers trekking across the expansive Paldea region, as evidenced by some adorable Pokemon fan creations. At very least, the new starters seen in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet appear to be much more popular than their predecessors seen in Pokemon Sword and Shield, although not every new addition to the Pokedex has been so well-received by fans. Whether or not players have a love for Gholdengo, the evolution for the mysterious Gimmighoul, one fan has noticed what is potentially a missed opportunity for the Pokemon.

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First pointed out by a Pokemon fan named markimark1305 on Reddit, Gholdengo seems to be missing a move that would fit its design perfectly. The move Pay Day is a normal-type, damage-dealing attack which has historically been the signature move of Meowth and its evolutions across all regions, with the move's most noticeable feature being its ability to spawn money that can then be collected by the player after a battle ends. Since Gholdengo is labeled as the Coin Entity Pokemon thanks to its body literally being comprised of coins, it would be reasonable for fans to assume that Gholdengo is capable of learning and using Pay Day. Interestingly though, as this Reddit user pointed out in their post, Gholdengo is not actually capable of learning this move through any method at all.

As it turns out though, there's actually a good reason for this. According to information on Bulbapedia, Pay Day's move name in Japanese actually translates to "Coin for a Cat," which itself is reminiscent of a Japanese expression which essentially means that one shouldn't offer things to those incapable of appreciating them. This makes it reasonable for Pay Day to be the signature move of the cat Pokemon Meowth, as Gholdengo actually has its own similar unique move called Make It Rain.

As interesting as the characteristics of this golden Pokemon are, many fans consider it to be an overly-ridiculous Pokemon thanks to its wacky design. Though it hasn't generally been well-received by fans, players have thankfully been able to make friends with many other new Pokemon across the Paldea region in Scarlet and Violet instead.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is available on Nintendo Switch.

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