Poor Zygarde

Discussing third games and how things are changing brings to mind one particular Pokémon whose fate appears destined but instead meets a demise. That Pokémon is Zygarde, the "odd one out" of the XYZ trio of the sixth generation. Although it is almost as well-known as its X and Y counterparts, Xerneas and Yveltal, Zygarde has remained secondary to the other two. This is quite odd given its complementary role and intriguing development.

Like Rayquaza outside of Emerald and the remade third generation games, Zygarde is not really part of the main storyline proper. Zygarde is found in a cave with the three orbs for the fourth-generation "box legends" and only in the post-game. Zygarde's ability is Aura Break, which makes it obvious that it is meant to counter the Fairy Aura and Dark Aura abilities of Xerneas and Yveltal respectively. Zygarde gained new Formes by way of the anime and this soon appeared in Shuffle and Picross as well, but not in the main series.

Zygarde seemed to have things going good, and everything was pointing to signs of a "third game" (Z) or at least a second pair of games (speculated as XZ, YZ). But then this didn't happen, and Sun and Moon were announced instead. Instead of being put in the spotlight, Zygarde was relegated only to a Pokémon that was just purely obtainable in those games. The consolation was that it was possible to obtain the new Formes in the main series of games as well for the first time. Zygarde's role by this point was closed up.

Zygarde could have been the fodder for an epic third game like Rayquaza or a fusion-style game like Black 2 and White 2 (and most likely the upcoming Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon). Coincidentally, Zygarde and Rayquaza are both green, pitted against other contemporary legends that are red and blue, so Zygarde's roles could have been envisaged in the same way as Rayquaza. Therefore, the relegation of Zygarde in Sun and Moon seems like a total waste of effort and not giving enough "credit where credit is due", which is disappointing. Of course, this could all be changed in the future should Generation VI be revisited, though it would have to be a long one indeed for a Pokémon whose game fate is pretty much set.

Poor Zygarde. Here's to wishing that your honors may still be received in the future.