Baby Pokemon are basically cuter versions of evolved Pokemon, right?
Baby Pokemon have been around since Gen II and oddly enough, there aren't that many of them. There are only 19 Baby Pokemon. But there's still a lot to say about these little guys.
These Pokemon have their own different quirks and there's more to them than meets the eye. There are several things many fans might still not know about them. For example, the fact that they belong to the same Egg Group as Legendary Pokemon and that in order to hatch one there may be different steps than with other Pokemon.
10 Undiscovered Egg Group
Pokemon are separated into different Egg Groups. These categories determine how Pokemon can breed with each other. In order to breed, the two Pokemon must share their species or have one Egg Group in common. Plus, they need to be opposite genders. Genderless Pokemon can only breed with Ditto.
However, Pokemon that belong to the No Eggs Discovered Group, also known as Undiscovered Egg Group, cannot breed. Not even with Ditto. Baby Pokemon are a part of this Egg Group, along with Legendary Pokemon, Mythical Pokemon, and Ultra Beasts.
9 Friendship Evolution
It is not uncommon for Pokemon to require a strong with their trainer in order to evolve. This is the case with many Baby Pokemon. This means that it is typical for them to evolve once they reach the highest amount of friendship.
There's another weird thing many might not know, however, it happens only to Baby Pokemon introduced in Gen II. Baby Pokemon introduced in Gen II that evolved through maximum friendship, their evolved form will only evolve further through the use of an Evolution Stone.
8 Uproar
Most Baby Pokemon can learn the move "Uproar" via Move Tutor, whereas their evolved forms can't. This isn't the case for all Baby Pokémon though, there are some exceptions, but it's still odd. Perhaps it has to do with them being "babies". The move's description indicates that the user makes loud noises for three turns, preventing other Pokemon from falling asleep. Probably related to weeping infants that don't allow their parents to rest at night.
The Move Tutor system changed quite a bit in Pokemon Sword and Shield so this doesn't apply anymore. However, it's still interesting to understand how it worked prior to Gen VIII.
7 There Are Only A Few
Oddly enough, there aren't that many Baby Pokemon. There are hundreds of different Pokemon out there. However, there have only existed 19 different types of Baby Pokemon.
There are lots of Pokemon that don't have evolutions and don't evolve from anything. Not to mention how cute Baby Pokemon actually are. It'd be great if the Pokemon Company considered creating new Baby Forms for their fans. It'd be an awesome way to expand the Pokedex and create more diverse Baby Pokemon, new babies but with different dual-types.
6 Similarities
It seems that all Baby Pokemon have alike patterns. Perhaps there is some sort of unknown biological connection between them.
For example, many Baby Pokemon need similar items in order to hatch from an egg. There are quite a few that require an Incense for this to happen. Plus, it seems like quite a few of them require a strong bond with their trainer so that they can evolve.
This could simply be coincidental but there are undeniable patterns that reveal a clear connection between the 19 Baby Pokemon.
5 Late Introduction
More recent fans of the Pokemon franchise might not know this but most Baby Pokemon were introduced after their evolved forms. The only exceptions are Togepi, Riolu, and Toxel. These three Pokemon were actually introduced in the same generation as their evolved counterparts.
The fact that the evolved forms were introduced prior to the Baby Pokemon led to some unexpected but logical difficulties. If breeding a Snorlax (Gen I) another Snorlax would hatch from the egg, how would players breed for a Munchlax (Gen IV).
4 Three Perfect IVs
It was back in Gen III that players were finally able to catch a Baby Pokemon in the wild.
In Pokemon X and Y (Gen VI), every Pokemon that could be caught in the wild and were a part of the Undiscovered Egg Group would be guaranteed to have a minimum of three perfect IVs (Individual Values). This included Baby Pokemon.
It was a pretty neat feature because it gave gamers a reason to catch Baby Pokemon, besides completing their Pokedex. Unfortunately, this was not a feature applicable to Baby Pokemon in the games that were to follow.
3 They're A Bit Weird
This might be self-explanatory after what's already been mentioned but some fans consider Baby Pokemon to be somewhat odd.
Why's that? Well, players claim they might be unnatural. Certain Pokemon will breed and their egg will hatch another evolved form instead of the Baby form. Depending on the Pokemon, in order to receive a Baby Pokemon egg the player will have to give an Incense to the Pokemon.
The question is how does the Incense affect the breeding produce, especially if without it there will be no Baby Pokemon. However, this isn't the case for all Pokemon, as not all of them require the Incense to produce a Baby Pokemon.
2 Over Ten Years Baby-Free
Ever since Baby Pokemon were introduced in Gen II, there were quite a few to be released throughout the next Pokemon games. That was until the next Generation of Pokemon that did not add any new Baby Pokemon.
There was a gap of over 10 years until Toxel was added with the release of Pokemon Sword and Shield. there was a big gap between releases 10 years. And even though, at least there was a new Baby added. Just one might not feel like enough to some fans, especially taking into consideration how many new Pokemon were introduced with Sword and Shield.
1 Lack Diversity
There 19 different Baby Pokemon, which isn't much considering the amount of Pokemon that actually exist. However, the few Baby Pokemon that exist don't seem to be all that diverse.
7 out of 19 Baby Pokemon evolve into Pokemon that belong to the Fairy Egg Group and another 7 evolve into Pokemon that belong to the Human-Like Egg Group. If there ever were to be more Baby Pokemon in the future, it would be great to see more diversity, including Pokemon that belong to different Egg Groups.