User blog:Hogwild94/Robots that would've evolved differently had they qualified/not qualified for one series

OK, earlier today, while a bit bored, I was reading some old list/blog posts on here. I re-read CrashBash's 'Bad Declines' list for the umpteenth time, and noted his critique of Killertron, how it perhaps might have remained competitive throughout its career had it not missed Series 3 and been part of the shift to full on combat. (Speaking of which, once Ragnabot is over, one of my planned Fantasy Series is a Series 3 with Gauntlet and Trial, with two robots going out in each)

I also re-read some of Datovidny's old robot summaries, partly as research as I'm planning to maybe start something similar at some point, and noted the following in their comments on Chip, commenting that, had they qualified for more series: "...maybe they would’ve learned more, and by Series 7, it would’ve been Spawn Again running away."

- Datovidny, on Chip

And those two things got me thinking. You see, the other day, I was watching a football video on YouTube about 'Teams That Sold Their Success'; one of these teams was Spurs, and the commentators remarked how annoyed they must be that they let Messrs Bale and Modric go, given their huge success at Real, and speculating where Spurs could be now had they stayed and were playing alongside Kane, Alli et al. (Though lets be thankful they aren't, as we all wanted Leicester to win last season, didn't we?) However, one comment on the vid pointed out that, had those two not gone to Real, they may not have become the stars they are now.

Similarly, Robert 'Traitor' Lewandwoski was due to move to Blackburn until the Icelandic volcano eruption caused his flight to be cancelled and the deal fell through; he joined Dortmund instead, and the rest is history. Had he gone to Blackburn, he almost certainly wouldn't have become who he is today.

So, I'm wondering: are there any robots who would've evolved differently had they qualified/failed to qualify for an earlier tournament?

For example, had the weaponless Dantomkia qualified for Series 4, would it have evolved into the mighty flipper it would later become? Actually, that's a bad example, because probably yes.

But seriously, can any of yous think of any robots that would've evolved differently had they qualified/not qualified for one series, or even entered it at all like Killertron? Thoughts welcome, and if I get enough, I will rank them based on what I think.