gen_*_pokemon tags with Alolan and Galarian forms

Facts:
- Alolan forms were introduced in Gen 7. They are regional forms of Gen 1 Pokémon.
- Galarian forms were introduced in Gen 8. They are regional forms of Pokémon from multiple generations.

Some useful tags:
- Alolan form, Galarian form
- Gen 1 Pokemon, Gen 2 Pokemon, Gen 3 Pokemon, etc.

Issue:
- Alolan and Galarian posts don't seem to agree on the use of gen_*_pokemon posts.
- Should we use the generation where the species was introduced or the one where the variant was introduced?

Examples:
- Alolan Exeggutor: Gen 1 or Gen 7?
- Galarian Zigzagoon: Gen 3 or Gen 8?

Some Alolan posts:
- currently tagged gen_1_pokemon: post #3199721, post #3711326, post #3632281, post #3119009
- currently tagged gen_7_pokemon: post #3678100, post #3734253, post #3693829, post #3607759
- currently lacking a generation tag: post #3009636, post #3443715, post #3496022, post #3327324

Some Galarian posts:
- currently tagged gen_8_pokemon: post #3744240, post #3744242, post #3648254, post #3693829, post #3715435, post #3744243, post #3709977, post #3743552
- currently tagged with the other generation tag: post #3719383, post #3591756, post #3599071, post #3648504, post #3653789, post #3652856, post #3591191

My suggestion / personal preference:

I would suggest always using the generation where the Pokémon was introduced.

- tag all Meowth, Raichu, Mr. Mime, etc. as gen_1_pokemon (no matter whether from Kanto, Alola, or Galar)
- tag all Zigzagoon and Linoone as gen_3_pokemon (no matter whether from Hoenn or Galar)
- never use a tag like gen_7_pokemon for an Alolan form or gen_8_pokemon for a Galarian form

We already have the tags Alolan form and Galarian form, so arguably we don't need to use gen_7_pokemon and gen_8_pokemon to find those regional forms. A Meowth from Alola or Galar looks different to some extent, but they are all Meowth hence Gen 1 Pokémon.

I think this would be useful to search for the various forms of each generation, at least the ones from Galar:

• galarian_form gen_1_pokemon = Galarian forms of Meowth, Ponyta, Rapidash, Slowpoke, Farfetch'd, Weezing, Mr. Mime, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres
• galarian_form gen_3_pokemon = Galarian forms of Zigzagoon, Linoone, and new Regis

(the searches above are currently broken to some extent, because not all Alolan and Galarian Pokémon have the Gen tag where the species was introduced)

We can do the same with other form variants:

• mega_pokemon gen_1_pokemon = Mega Venusaur, Charizard X, etc.
• mega_pokemon gen_3_pokemon = Mega Absol, Gardevoir, etc.
• gigantamax gen_1_pokemon = Gigantamax Pikachu, Charizard, etc.
• gigantamax gen_8_pokemon = Gigantamax Corviknight, Drednaw, etc.
• shiny_pokemon gen_1_pokemon = Shiny Pikachu, Gyarados, etc.
• shiny_pokemon gen_2_pokemon = Shiny Entei, Umbreon, etc.

In particular, I see a problem with post #3744300: It is currently tagged as Gen 8 because of Galarian Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres (Gen 8 forms of Gen 1 Pokémon), but it is also tagged as Gen 2 because of Shadow Lugia. This does not seem very consistent. Shadow Lugia is a variant introduced in Gen 3, so if we wanted to tag forms by their generation, then (hypothetically) Shadow Lugia would be tagged Gen 3.

Other forms, for comparison:
I've singled out Alolan and Galarian forms, because other variants don't usually have the same problem. Generally, other forms seem to usually use the Gen posts when the Pokémon was introduced, not the one when the form was introduced. The tags are called "gen_*_pokemon", not "gen_*_pokemon_variant".

- Shadow Lugia is usually tagged Gen 2 rather than Gen 3 (Lugia is a Gen 2 Pokémon; Shadow Lugia was introduced in Gen 3)
- Mega Charizard X is usually tagged Gen 1 rather than Gen 6 (Charizard is a Gen 1 Pokémon; Mega forms were introduced in Gen 6)
- Primal Kyogre is usually tagged Gen 3 rather than Gen 6 (Kyogre is a Gen 3 Pokémon; Primal forms were introduced in Gen 6)
- Gigantamax Meowth is usually tagged Gen 1 rather than Gen 8 (Meowth is a Gen 1 Pokémon; Gigantamax forms were introduced in Gen 8)
- Question mark Unown is usually tagged Gen 2 rather than Gen 3 (Unown is a Gen 2 Pokémon; the question mark form was introduced in Gen 3)
- Zygarde is usually tagged Gen 7 regardless of form, rather than Gen 8 (Zygard is a Gen 6 Pokémon; it had a couple of forms introduced in Gen 7)
- Shiny Gyarados is usually tagged Gen 1 rather than Gen 2 (Gyarados is a Gen 1 Pokémon; Shiny forms were introduced in Gen 2)
- Heart-tailed female Pikachu is usually tagged Gen 1 rather than Gen 4 (Pikachu is a Gen 1 Pokémon; gender differences were introduced in Gen 4)

Previous discussion: topic #15030 (which I had created in 2018)

Please let me know what you think. Thanks for reading.

I have to disagree with this proposal. Alolan and Galarian are regional variants - they have major biological changes in comparison to their relatives, enough to warrant different Pokédex entries for both variants in the games. They're not just a new form, but rather a completely new species in their own right. Hell, some even evolve into different Pokémon now - Galarian Yamask evolves into Runerigus instead of Cofagrigus or even Galarian Cofagrigus, and Galarian Mr. Mime evolves into Mr. Rime while the OG Mr. Mime doesn't evolve at all.

I'm not aware of what exactly Shadow Lugia is (I have not played any of the XD games), but...
— Heart-tailed female Pikachu were a case of simply adding gender dimorphism to an existing species.
— ! and ? Unown look like they came from wherever the rest of the Unown variants did; they look pretty much the same as all the other Unown.
— All of the other examples you mentioned are temporary form changes that require the original Pokémon to exist (you need a Charizard to get either of the Mega Charizard forms, for example).
If Alolan/Galarian Pokémon only existed during a battle after using some exclusive Alolan/Galarian move or item, then I would agree that they should receive the same generation tag that their predecessor holds. However, that is not the case - a Galarion/Alolan Pokémon can never change into the Pokémon it was based off of, and vice versa. That is because they are not the same Pokémon, similar to how a snow leopard is not actually a leopard. If I recall correctly, these are the same reasons I used to explain why having the regional variants imply the OG Pokémon tags was a bad idea.

If you accept that these reimagined Pokémon are not form changes but very separate variants, then this problem has a very simple solution: Exeggutor comes from the Generation 1 Pokémon games, but Alolan Exeggutor comes from the Generation 7 Pokémon games. Therefore, they should receive different gen_x_pokemon tags.

This looks like a controversial topic. As said above, various Alolan and Galarian posts are already using different generation tags. Maybe one of us has the "right" answer, but that does not seem obvious to everyone else, otherwise everyone would probably be already tagging posts under the same rules. Either they are forms of the same Pokémon (so a Galarian Zigzagoon would be Gen 3), or they are separate Pokémon (so Gal Zig would be Gen 8).

As a separate idea, maybe we could simply disallow any kind of generation tags concerning Alolan and Galarian forms. So Gal Zig would not get any gen tags whatsoever. We already have Alolan form and Galarian form to search for these Pokémon.

Still, I guess I disagree with you on certain points. I know it's not up to me and I was hoping to reach an agreement. That said, it does seem pretty clear to me that Hoennian Zigzagoon and Galarian Zigzagoon are forms of the same Pokémon. I know that not everyone shares that view with me.

AngryZapdos said:

If I recall correctly, these are the same reasons I used to explain why having the regional variants imply the OG Pokémon tags was a bad idea.

This may be a separate matter (maybe to be discussed somewhere else), but in my opinion, all alolan_<species> and galarian_<species> should imply <species>. Adding the main species tag is already common practice. (you know, post #2448959 has both alolan_meowth and meowth)

AngryZapdos said:

Alolan and Galarian are regional variants - they have major biological changes in comparison to their relatives, enough to warrant different Pokédex entries for both variants in the games. They're not just a new form, but rather a completely new species in their own right.

Is there any text in the games saying that Alolan and Galarian forms are separate species in their own right? I think it's an important question. As in, do the games even settle this matter for us or is it just a matter of our opinion as fans? Please show me somewhere in official media saying that Alolan and Galarian forms are separate species in their own right.

You said "They're not just a new form". But they are forms at least. The Pokédex text treats them as forms of the same Pokémon, sometimes even using the word "form":
"Thought to be the oldest form of Zigzagoon" (Galarian Zigzagoon)
"This is Sandslash's form after adaptation to a frigid environment." (Alolan Sandslash)
"This variety of Zigzagoon is friendlier and calmer than the kind native to Galar." (Original Zigzagoon)

The Pokédex often mentions when the regional forms has split off:
"According to researchers, its diet is one of the causes of this change." (Alolan Raichu)
"After long years in the ever-snowcapped mountains of Alola, this Vulpix has gained power over ice." (Alolan Vulpix)
"The need to dig through volcanic rock in the ground has made them more powerful than the Diglett of other regions." (Alolan Diglett)
"As it grew taller and taller, it outgrew its reliance on psychic powers, while within it awakened the power of the sleeping dragon." (Alolan Exeggutor)
"This Pokémon was not originally found in Alola. Human actions caused a surge in their numbers, and they went feral." (Alolan Meowth)
"Living with a savage, seafaring people has toughened this Pokémon's body so much that parts of it have turned to iron." (Galarian Meowth)
"It lived in snowy areas for so long that its fire sac cooled off and atrophied." (Galarian Darumaka)
"It's said that these Pokémon were seen all over the Galar region back in the day." (Original Weezing)
"Weezing changed into this form for some reason." (Galarian Weezing, related to the quote above)

AngryZapdos said:

If Alolan/Galarian Pokémon only existed during a battle after using some exclusive Alolan/Galarian move or item, then I would agree that they should receive the same generation tag that their predecessor holds. However, that is not the case - a Galarion/Alolan Pokémon can never change into the Pokémon it was based off of, and vice versa.

Kantonian Cubone, Pikachu and Exeggcute evolve into Alolan Marowak, Exeggutor and Raichu in Alola. In other words, some regional forms change via evolution. It's also possible to breed eggs that don't share the same regional form as the parents.

In the anime, there are regional forms since generation 1. The Pokémon from Valencia Island and Pinkan Island are different. They are all from Gen 1, so no problem here. But if they were from Gen 2, would they be tagged gen_2_pokemon? Because I don't think they would.

AngryZapdos said:

(...) they are not the same Pokémon, similar to how a snow leopard is not actually a leopard

These are separate species, with a similar appearance and sharing the word "leopard" in the name. There are different examples: there are various kinds of dog, often way more different than Pokémon regional forms.

AngryZapdos said:
(comments about Unown and Pikachu)

I think I agree with you that "?" Unown and heart-tailed Pikachu look pretty much the same as every other Unown and Pikachu. It's just that in my opinion Kantonian and Alolan Muk also look pretty much like each other. Hence the comparison.

The appearance of regional forms is mostly similar:

Alolan Meowth = basically gray Meowth
Galarian Meowth = basically hairy Meowth
Alolan Exeggutor = basically long-necked Exeggutor (a long-necked Exeggutor also appears on the booster box of Jungle from TCG)
Alolan Muk = basically Muk with multiple colors
Galarian Yamask = basically Yamask carrying a different rock

You name it. Maybe Ponyta and Rapidash are a bit too far, but as a general rule the regional forms still look still pretty much the same Pokémon.

AngryZapdos said:
they have major biological changes in comparison to their relatives, enough to warrant different Pokédex entries for both variants in the games

Wait, about the Pokédex. I don't suppose this argument applies to all Pokémon with different Pokédex entries, right? For instance, would we tag all Gigantamax forms as Generation 8, and also Pikachu in a cap as Gen 7 because of their separate Pokédex entries? I don't think we should do this. As of generation 7 and more so in 8, it's become a pretty common thing to have separate dex entries for different forms of the same Pokémon.

Here are some Pokémon forms with separate Pokédex entries:

- Alolan forms
- Galarian forms
- Mega forms
- Gigantamax forms
- Normal/Cap Pikachu (and Gigantamax)
- 4 Forms of Castform
- All Spinda forms (just kidding)
- Normal/Sunshine Cherrim
- East/West Shellos
- East/West Gastrodon
- Red/Blue Basculin
- Black/White Kyurem
- Ordinary/Resolute Keldeo
- Normal/Eternal Floette
- Shield/Blade Aegislash
- 4 Sizes of Pumpkaboo
- 4 Sizes of Gourgeist
- 50%/10%/Complete Zygarde
- 4 Styles of Oricorio
- Midday/Midnight/Dusk Lycanroc
- Solo/School Wishiwashi
- Normal/Memory Silvally
- Meteor/Core Minior
- Standard/Zen Darmanitan
- Disguised/Busted Mimikyu
- Normal/Dusk/Dawn/Ultra Necrozma
- Normal/Original Magearna
- Normal/Gulping/Gorging Cramorant
- Amped/Low Key Toxtricity (plus Gigantamax)
- Each of the 9 Creams of Alcremie (plus Gigantamax)
- Ice/Noice Eiscue
- Full Belly/Hangry Morpeko
- Hero/Crowned Zacian
- Hero/Crowned Zamazenta
- Normal/Eternamax Eternatus

Danielx21 said:

This looks like a controversial topic. As said above, various Alolan and Galarian posts are already using different generation tags. Maybe one of us has the "right" answer, but that does not seem obvious to everyone else, otherwise everyone would probably be already tagging posts under the same rules. Either they are forms of the same Pokémon (so a Galarian Zigzagoon would be Gen 3), or they are separate Pokémon (so Gal Zig would be Gen 8).

As a separate idea, maybe we could simply disallow any kind of generation tags concerning Alolan and Galarian forms. So Gal Zig would not get any gen tags whatsoever. We already have Alolan form and Galarian form to search for these Pokémon.

Having no gen tags is not really a solution. Alolan/Galarian regional variants are Pokémon that come from generation 7 and generation 8 games respectively, and as such they should receive the gen_7_pokemon and gen_8_pokemon tags. Not only were they introduced in these game generations but they were very much advertised and presented as quintessential parts of the Alola and Galar regions.

Still, I guess I disagree with you on certain points. I know it's not up to me and I was hoping to reach an agreement. That said, it does seem pretty clear to me that Hoennian Zigzagoon and Galarian Zigzagoon are forms of the same Pokémon. I know that not everyone shares that view with me.

This may be a separate matter (maybe to be discussed somewhere else), but in my opinion, all alolan_<species> and galarian_<species> should imply <species>. Adding the main species tag is already common practice. (you know, post #2448959 has both alolan_meowth and meowth)

Making the regional variants' tags imply the OGs' tags makes it impossible to search specifically for posts with both a regional variant and its OG counterpart without the use of an extra tag(s) that would only exist to fix this easily preventable problem. The same could be said regarding the gen_x_pokemon tags (though to be fair, I imagine it would be a lot more common to find people searching for the former example).

Is there any text in the games saying that Alolan and Galarian forms are separate species in their own right? I think it's an important question. As in, do the games even settle this matter for us or is it just a matter of our opinion as fans? Please show me somewhere in official media saying that Alolan and Galarian forms are separate species in their own right.

The fact that there are seperate Pokédex entries for these regional variants at all is evidence enough for me - they don't just look different, they are different. One spites ice instead of fire, one is thirty feet taller and a dragon for some reason and another cleans the air instead of spewing out noxious gases. If you want hard evidence of the games outright stating "yes, these are different species" then I'm sorry but I don't have the time to spend trawling through all the game dialogue and Pokédex entries. Such proof may very well exist, but I'm not going to spend hours looking for it.

You said "They're not just a new form". But they are forms at least. The Pokédex text treats them as forms of the same Pokémon, sometimes even using the word "form":
"Thought to be the oldest form of Zigzagoon" (Galarian Zigzagoon)
"This is Sandslash's form after adaptation to a frigid environment." (Alolan Sandslash)
"This variety of Zigzagoon is friendlier and calmer than the kind native to Galar." (Original Zigzagoon)

Ah, this is a semantics misunderstanding; perhaps I should have used the proper grammar. In general, you could refer to these Alolan and Galarian regional variants as any number of words; you could call them versions, types, varieties, forms, variants or even redesigns and you would still be trying to convey the same point. However, I was referring to Pokémon who can change into different versions that have specifically been titled a "Forme" such as Deoxy's Speed Forme.

The Pokédex often mentions when the regional forms has split off:
"According to researchers, its diet is one of the causes of this change." (Alolan Raichu)
"After long years in the ever-snowcapped mountains of Alola, this Vulpix has gained power over ice." (Alolan Vulpix)
"The need to dig through volcanic rock in the ground has made them more powerful than the Diglett of other regions." (Alolan Diglett)
"As it grew taller and taller, it outgrew its reliance on psychic powers, while within it awakened the power of the sleeping dragon." (Alolan Exeggutor)
"This Pokémon was not originally found in Alola. Human actions caused a surge in their numbers, and they went feral." (Alolan Meowth)
"Living with a savage, seafaring people has toughened this Pokémon's body so much that parts of it have turned to iron." (Galarian Meowth)
"It lived in snowy areas for so long that its fire sac cooled off and atrophied." (Galarian Darumaka)
"It's said that these Pokémon were seen all over the Galar region back in the day." (Original Weezing)
"Weezing changed into this form for some reason." (Galarian Weezing, related to the quote above)

...

These are separate species, with a similar appearance and sharing the word "leopard" in the name. There are different examples: there are various kinds of dog, often way more different than Pokémon regional forms.

This is exactly why I mentioned snow leopards. Somewhere down the line a common ancestor produced both animals, which eventually evolved to where they are today as seperate species. This is exactly what the Pokédex is describing; new species being created after a common ancestor (the OG Pokémon) produced offspring which adapted to a new environment by undergoing genetic changes.

Kantonian Cubone, Pikachu and Exeggcute evolve into Alolan Marowak, Exeggutor and Raichu in Alola. In other words, some regional forms change via evolution. It's also possible to breed eggs that don't share the same regional form as the parents.

Again, this is the games emulating how common ancestors and adaption fits into evolution, with the result being new species. Since this is a fantasy game where these creatures evolve instantly, it's not too much of a stretch to imagine there's some weird gene backup in regional variant Pokémon DNA that allows for the common ancestor to be produced on occasion instead of the regional variant.

In the anime, there are regional forms since generation 1. The Pokémon from Valencia Island and Pinkan Island are different. They are all from Gen 1, so no problem here. But if they were from Gen 2, would they be tagged gen_2_pokemon? Because I don't think they would.

I don't think that we should base any of these decisions off of what the anime does. The anime is a seperate entity based off of the games we are currently trying to tag.

I think I agree with you that "?" Unown and heart-tailed Pikachu look pretty much the same as every other Unown and Pikachu. It's just that in my opinion Kantonian and Alolan Muk also look pretty much like each other. Hence the comparison.

The appearance of regional forms is mostly similar:

Alolan Meowth = basically gray Meowth
Galarian Meowth = basically hairy Meowth
Alolan Exeggutor = basically long-necked Exeggutor (a long-necked Exeggutor also appears on the booster box of Jungle from TCG)
Alolan Muk = basically Muk with multiple colors
Galarian Yamask = basically Yamask carrying a different rock

You name it. Maybe Ponyta and Rapidash are a bit too far, but as a general rule the regional forms still look still pretty much the same Pokémon.

Back to the snow leopards again, they look like leopards. However, they are definitely not leopards because they are actually snow leopards. Yes, some regional variants look more similar to their OG counterparts than others, but they are all still different species.

Wait, about the Pokédex. I don't suppose this argument applies to all Pokémon with different Pokédex entries, right? For instance, would we tag all Gigantamax forms as Generation 8, and also Pikachu in a cap as Gen 7 because of their separate Pokédex entries? I don't think we should do this. As of generation 7 and more so in 8, it's become a pretty common thing to have separate dex entries for different forms of the same Pokémon.

Here are some Pokémon forms with separate Pokédex entries:

- Alolan forms
- Galarian forms
- Mega forms
- Gigantamax forms
- Normal/Cap Pikachu (and Gigantamax)
- 4 Forms of Castform
- All Spinda forms (just kidding)
- Normal/Sunshine Cherrim
- East/West Shellos
- East/West Gastrodon
- Red/Blue Basculin
- Black/White Kyurem
- Ordinary/Resolute Keldeo
- Normal/Eternal Floette
- Shield/Blade Aegislash
- 4 Sizes of Pumpkaboo
- 4 Sizes of Gourgeist
- 50%/10%/Complete Zygarde
- 4 Styles of Oricorio
- Midday/Midnight/Dusk Lycanroc
- Solo/School Wishiwashi
- Normal/Memory Silvally
- Meteor/Core Minior
- Standard/Zen Darmanitan
- Disguised/Busted Mimikyu
- Normal/Dusk/Dawn/Ultra Necrozma
- Normal/Original Magearna
- Normal/Gulping/Gorging Cramorant
- Amped/Low Key Toxtricity (plus Gigantamax)
- Each of the 9 Creams of Alcremie (plus Gigantamax)
- Ice/Noice Eiscue
- Full Belly/Hangry Morpeko
- Hero/Crowned Zacian
- Hero/Crowned Zamazenta
- Normal/Eternamax Eternatus

In terms of the Pokédex, I'm not talking about how it displays images of different forms but rather how for instance both regular Yamask and Galarian Yamask each have separate entries. In Sword, Galarian Yamask's entry states "A clay slab with cursed engravings took possession of a Yamask. The slab is said to be absorbing the Yamask's dark power." while OG Yamask's entry is "It wanders through ruins by night, carrying a mask that's said to have been the face it had when it was still human.".

I agree with Zapdos here, I don't think regional variants belong in the same generation as their original form. It just feels intuitive to me to tag them as the generation the new form first appeared on. They might as well be a completely different pokemon from the base one on a conceptual level.

AngryZapdos said:

In terms of the Pokédex, I'm not talking about how it displays images of different forms but rather how for instance both regular Yamask and Galarian Yamask each have separate entries. In Sword, Galarian Yamask's entry states "A clay slab with cursed engravings took possession of a Yamask. The slab is said to be absorbing the Yamask's dark power." while OG Yamask's entry is "It wanders through ruins by night, carrying a mask that's said to have been the face it had when it was still human.".

I'm talking about text entries too, not images. For instance:

[Castform - Sunny Day]
"This is the form Castform takes on the brightest of days. Its skin is unexpectedly hot to the touch, so approach with care."

[Castform - Rainy Form]
"This is the form Castform takes when soaked with rain. When its body is compressed, water will seep out as if from a sponge."

[Oricorio - Baile Style]
"It beats its wings together to create fire. As it moves in the steps of its beautiful dance, it bathes opponents in intense flames."

[Oricorio - Pom-Pom Style]
"This Oricorio has sipped bright yellow nectar. Its bright, cheerful dance melts the hearts of its enemies."

[Gourgeist - Small]
"Small Gourgeist pretend to be children to fool adults. Anyone who falls for the act gets carried away to the hereafter."

[Gourgeist - Average]
"Eerie cries emanate from its body in the dead of night. The sounds are said to be the wails of spirits who are suffering in the afterlife."

[Pikachu - Gigantamax]
"Its Gigantamax power expanded, forming its supersized body and towering tail."

[Pikachu - with a cap]
"This form of Pikachu is somewhat rare. It wears the hat of its Trainer, who is also its partner."

I don't think leopard / snow leopard are the same situation as Meowth, Yamask, etc. As in, just because leopards / snow leopards exist as separate species, I don't think this is evidence that Pokémon regional forms are separate species. In other words, just because one thing exists, it does not mean that another thing exists.

To be specific: How do you check that a leopard and a snow leopard are different species? I guess a leopard and a snow leopard can't breed and generate fertile offspring. The Pokémon world is different: all kinds of Pokémon species can breed and generate fertile offspring.

About snow leopards, we don't use just the word "leopard" to refer to them. As in, if I see a snow leopard today, I wouldn't say "Here's a leopard." In the Pokémon world, people and game mechanics refer to Meowth just as a "Meowth" all the time, no matter whether it's from Kanto, Alola or Galar.

All Meowth have the same species name, category ("Scratch Cat"), Pokédex number, and index number (if I'm not mistaken).

Yes, regional forms have separate TEXT entries in the Pokédex, like Pumpkaboo, Lycanroc, Zygarde, Wishiwashi, Cherrim and all kinds of other forms of the same Pokémon. If separate Pokédex text entries were enough to consider separate species on their own right, then all these forms would be separate species as well.

AngryZapdos said:

Making the regional variants' tags imply the OGs' tags makes it impossible to search specifically for posts with both a regional variant and its OG counterpart without the use of an extra tag(s) that would only exist to fix this easily preventable problem. The same could be said regarding the gen_x_pokemon tags (though to be fair, I imagine it would be a lot more common to find people searching for the former example).

I think it's the other way around. What do people expect when they search meowth? I can't speak for everyone, but I'd like to see all Meowth, not just the white ones. This is important because of that point I said above: the official media often refers to these Pokémon without using words such as "Alolan" and "Galarian". The Pokémon characters often say things like "I have a Meowth"; they don't have to say "I have an Alolan Meowth" even if it's from Alola.

I could be mistaken, but nobody in-universe treats regional forms as separate species. In real life, I could say "That zoo has a leopard and a snow leopard." But in the Pokémon world, nobody says: "I have a Meowth and an Alolan Meowth." They would probably say something like: "I have two Meowth."

I created Alolan and normal / Galarian and normal. They have few posts. I could be mistaken, but it looks like we don't have many posts with these combinations. Another possibility: maybe create tags kantonian_meowth, kantonian_raichu, hoennian_zigzagoon, unovan_yamask, etc. I'm not saying we should do this. It's just an idea to be discussed.

AngryZapdos said:

I'm sorry but I don't have the time to spend trawling through all the game dialogue and Pokédex entries. Such proof may very well exist, but I'm not going to spend hours looking for it.

I wish you had the time to check the details in Pokémon media. In fact, multiple people use the forum and we have things like wikis and websites. Are "Meowth" and "Alolan Meowth" treated in-universe as entirely different species on their own right? Anyone can answer that.

Because I'd like to avoid discussing this on just our personal opinions as fans. I'd like to see some fact from official sources. I have checked Pokémon media and found people and Pokédex treating regional forms as forms of the same Pokémon in the ways described above. Separate Pokédex entries are a common thing for those forms nowadays.