Greninja declining in popularity?

[thomaswiencek]

Do you guys think that Greninja is still declining in popularity?

 

[Cresselia92]

There is a good difference between less focus and lack of popularity. After all, Greninja is a Gen 6 Pokémon, so it makes sense for it to be temporarily put aside to focus more on the Gen 7 Pokémon, like Decidueye and Dusk Lycanroc.

I think Greninja is still very popular, but people simply prefer to focus more on the “new toys”.

 

[Cybersai]

Most pokemon generally lose a bit of popularity when their gen ends. The only exceptions are the ones Nintendo constantly shoves down our throats like Lucario or Charizard, to make sure they're always around, but all the others generally wane a bit.

 

[PinkIceFox]

Personally I never really saw the hype in greninja. The moment I found out that scarf was its tongue it lost any and all appeal to me. The other two final evolutions shine brighter than the one they gave Ash in my opinion. I think most of its popularity came from it being a ninja...

That said, I never really noticed a big change in its popularity beyond the usual 'new generation, forget about the old coolness we got new coolness'.

 

[Nicolas721]

Fandom-wise, he has been replaced by Lycanroc, Decidueye and Incineroar in many places, but he still has a decent fanbase.

Franchise-wise, his exposition was lowered down notably. Due to being a starter, he can't be widely available, however, he appeared in one trailer for USUM. Spin-offs are being made cheaper and childish, so there aren't much chances for him to appear, and he was excluded from Pokken. He is dead in the TCG and in the anime.

 

[Vortigern]

I fully admit that I don't get the love for Greninja, but I've conceded I'm in the minority on that.

I'm not sure I would say "he's not less popular, just has less of a focus." Starters tied to their generations like Charizard, Blaziken, and Sceptile retain a degree of popularity even when their generations aren't a focus. Maybe it's my generational bias (though I do try to be aware of it) but I don't see Greninja getting as much out-of-generation love as those others.
Hell, I'll go so far as to say that Decidueye and Incineroar have what it takes to completely supplant Greninja. Those two Gen7 starters have a certain memetic coolness to them that Greninja kind of lacks.