As a series, Pokemon tries to give every ‘mon a chance to shine (and be shiny). Though the mainline games tend to leave some Pokemon out in the cold - like Gen 2’s ‘mons in its own gyms - there are several spin-offs around to pick up the slack. New Pokemon Snap, Pokemon Go, and Pokemon Unite, for example, give Pokemon a chance to shine that would otherwise be forgotten. Unfortunately, Tsareena hasn’t had that chance at all.

Tsareena is not the only Pokemon missing from the three big spin-offs - Unite has a relatively small cast and PoGo’s decision to skip Gen 7 as part of a Hoopa-infused piece of chaos means several victims are facing a delayed arrival. While New Pokemon Snap proves there are no bad Pokemon, the cast is deceptively small, featuring just over a fifth of all currently known ‘mons. Of those, Tsareena’s first stage, Bounsweet, even makes the cut.

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Tsareena might seem like a strange Pokemon to highlight then. The likes of Magmar, Ditto, Dragapult, and every Kalos starter all miss out on Snap too, and are far more popular than Tsareena - but this popularity is kind of the point. While those Pokemon may feel they've earned the right to be in New Pokemon Snap, they don't actually need it. Tsareena, who teeters on the edge of iconic in her vinyl thigh highs, just needs a tiny nudge to reach greatness. She just needs a chance.

Pokemon Anime Tsareena uses Sweet Scent making the air sparkle.

It's not just a case of 'I like her, therefore she should be in Snap'. My five favourite Pokemon - Gardevoir, Sylveon, Gengar, Absol, and Milotic - are all in the game already, while my sixth choice, Gyarados, was conspicuously absent and later joined the roster as part of the Mightywide River DLC. New Pokemon Snap has fed me. But Tsareena was a Pokemon born to be photographed. New Pokemon Snap is all about capturing Pokemon in their natural environment, and Tsareena would almost certainly play to the camera, making her an entirely new prospect the game is missing out on.

Humanoid Pokemon on the whole can be a little questionable. Though the likes of Machamp and Jynx have been there since 21 Hi Jump Kick Street, humanoid creatures have always felt like more of a Digimon thing, with the 'very clearly animals' Pokemon growing into the most popular. Tsareena is far more interesting though because she is so violently high femme, and Pokemon or not, is exactly the type of character we need more of. If you Google any Pokemon and the number 34 - first off, don't - you'll see that some people are interested in Pokemon for reasons besides battling. Though the online artists push the archetypes further, it can sometimes seem as though femme Pokemon were designed with appeal to this crowd in mind somewhere. Either that or the 'female only' Pokemon are deliberately crafted as motherly and tender. Gardevoir feels like both. Tsareena is different.

I know people call Tsareena 'the stripper Pokemon' - she's actually the fruit Pokemon - and the aforementioned thigh highs plus her long silky hair, fluttering eyelashes, and cotton wool junk in the trunk very clearly lean into Tsareena 34, but she feels more like a fighting game character than a girlish Pokemon. She's often labelled an ojou-type character, but I've never seen how that trope fits in with her haughty arrogance or physical design. While she fits basic stereotypes of sexiness, they come served with a side of 'she can kick your ass though' - she's not cast in the same kind of motherly role that other high femme Pokemon tend to be. That she fits the Cammy-Mileena-Nina Williams role so perfectly yet also misses out on the Pokemon fighting mashup, Pokken, is yet another example of the way Pokemon continues to disrespect one of its most interesting creations.

I've barely mentioned Unite, which too seems tailor-made for Tsareena. While the game isn't baby League of Legends, there are obviously some cues being taken from it, and Tsareena looks more like a Champion than any other Pokemon in existence. Add to that her high Attack stats and she feels perfect for the game, especially when so many players are desperate to go on the offensive and farm kills rather than score points.

All of the major Pokemon spin-offs should have a slot for Tsareena in their rosters, yet none of them seem able to find one. Several Pokemon are ignored by the series that created them - the Dex has just reached 1,000 and there's just no way to include them all, especially when Pikachu and Charizard still take a significant slice of the spotlight for themselves. With Tsareena so well suited to these games though, it feels like the series is missing a trick by not including her.

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