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- Jan 1, 2018
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Before I start this enormous countdown, I will first express my honorable mentions; those that were close to entering my top favorites list but just barely missed the cut. I still love every Pokémon here and even a good amount that won't even be mentioned! I say this because I will be giving 8 honorable mentions, one for each generation of Pokémon. With that out of the way, let's see the friends who might not have made the top 100, but are still special to me and I appreciate a lot as a Pokémon fan!
HONORABLE MENTION (GEN 1):
RAICHU
Fitting how the evolution to the most popular Pokémon in existence would be the first one on this huge list!
I find the whole Pikachu-line charming for obvious reasons. No I'm not one of those people who think Pikachu is too popular or overrated or whatever, but I actually think I do like Raichu more hence his place here over the lil yellow rat. I guess it's because of the whole underdog story Raichu's got going on. It's the "ugly lazy older brother" of the iconic Pika, so naturally it's not gonna have as much of a crowd even with the addition of a regional form in Generation 7.
With that said, I'm in the camp that does really appreciate Raichu's design; it does feel like a cool natural progression up from Pikachu while still keeping a lot of the cute factor! I like the more thicc legs given to Raichu, makes him look like a cross between a kangaroo and large house cat. Strange combination, but I find it really charming. And its Alola form is that but if it had a daily meal routine of Nutella and pancakes for breakfast lunch and dinner. Mood. I love how most Raichu are these snarky, cocky older siblings in comparison to the usually tame Pikachu and Pichu. The whole attitude these chodes tend to have really speaks to me on a spiritual level.
And even though Pikachu has that Light Ball item going for it, I find Raichu just as if not more fun to use in battle. It's a bit bulkier than Pikachu (though that's like comparing a glass teacup to an eggshell), and faster in both forms. I've found its speed to be helpful whenever I was using it, as letting it pull off either a sweep with Nasty Plot or use one of its nasty tricks like Nuzzle and Volt Switch is satisfying when I actually succeed with it lul.
So yea, Raichu is shockingly cool. I like Pikachu a lot too and I'll prolly lump him here too with Raichu cuz Wynaut, but if I gotta pick one for the honorable mention spot it's this chonker.
HONORABLE MENTION (GEN 2):
MEGANIUM
sigh.
Poor Meganium, you might as well call it the Pity Party Pokémon. Always feels like this Green Giant-lookin mofo gets the shaft in favor of more popular picks for starters. And whenever fans do give it attention, it's usually negative, rather it be because of its poor battle capabilities, weird design, or whatever random nitpick people have with it. Well I'm here to turn that around. Meganium is, contrary to the majority of the fanbase, one of my favorite Grass starters. I guess I'm just a sucker for nature in general, but I find Meganium to be an awesome plant dino. I get why some people can be turned away from it; the design is rather plain. But I think it's actually quite appealing this way. No big spots stripes or any other gimmicky quirk to this Pokémon, just a gentle Apatosaurus-like friend with a flower for neck decor. Its colors are soft on the eyes and it just has this cute factor that I just love (sticks with the whole Chikorita family). I dunno, I think it still holds up.
Unlike its stats....sheesh....it's like beating up a dead horse, or dino i guess. It's not that its stats are bad; its defensive stats are actually quite good especially for a starter. The biggest problems this gentle giant suffers is...it doesn't really do anything. It's movepool and coverage is more shallow than a preschool kiddie pool and anything it can do can be done much better by other Pokemon. Being a pure Grass type does nothing but hurt it even more both offensively and defensively. That's not to say it's completely a waste, but it's just a shame how Meganium is outclassed at pretty much everything. It's definitely not a battler, but I don't really mind too much.
Besides, in my opinion I think it's an excellent team player for any Johto journey! Yes, it's weak to the first two gym leaders and the majority of the Poison-types you'll be seeing from the Rocket dudes, but I think its good matchups get extremely overlooked. It's easily the best starter against Whitney's Miltank onslaught with insurance moves like Reflect, and it even has the best matchup with Clair's Kingdra when compared to Typhlosion and Feraligatr. And aside from Morty and the previously mentioned Falkner and Bugsy, I think its capabilities against the other bosses in the game are on par with that of the other two; just takes some getting used to as you won't be spamming Flamethrower or Surf 3 ways to Sunday like you would with the other two starters, I like its playstyle, and it won't be the last one of its kind to be mentioned in this journey.
Is it perfect? No. But it doesn't have to be, and I think Meganium is one of the more underrated creatures in the fabled Pocket Monster library.
HONORABLE MENTION (GEN 3):
FLYGON
It was a tough choice between Flygon and Sableye for this spot, and yet despite how much I love Sableye's concept and creepy design, I learned over time to really appreciate Flygon both as a Dragon-type and as a general Pokémon. I mean just look at this beauty! They don't call it the Mystic Pokémon for nothing. I find Flygon to be a rather beautiful design in both physique and color. It's a big ol' bugger friend with rhombus wings and pilot and protective goggles. This dude is like a mini-airplane I LOVE IT! Flygon is one of the Pokémon In instantly think of when I think about flying Pokemon. It's a unique high-flyer, especially with its typing and concept. An ant lion of all things becoming this majestic draconic beast. Definitely a classic design!
So much so that even Game Freak couldn't come up with a design that could live up to its standards (and yet Mega Garchomp exists eesh). It does leave poor Flygon out in the dust (ba dum tss) when it comes to battling it with the big boys, as it's hopelessly outclassed by the majority of the powerhouse Dragons reigning over the tiering rum. But I still think it's a very fun Pokémon to use, just send it out and let it rip stuff up with two great stabs and fantastic coverage on top of the single best typing and ability to combat entry hazards; you got a consistent offensive force with a solid amount of defensive merit. If this thing got a Mega it would've been a top-tier force for sure. But as is, it's still a great Pokémon. Just try to avoid raising Vibrava for as long as you can; that lil teenage bugger is borderline unusable in pretty much every way and makes it a pain to raise into Flygon. But it's definitely well worth it in the end. A Pokémon I find incredibly fun to use and fly around with, yet another underrated gem. It's a cult fan favorite for a reason!
HONORABLE MENTION (GEN 4):
HIPPOWDON
Hippos are cool man. They're these humongous hulking beats with jaws and bites stronger than my will to do anything meaningful in life. I can relate to these chunks of awesomeness, and that's what put Hippowdon here. I'm already a sucker for good Ground-types, and making a hippopotamus who lives in SAND? Epicepicepic YES TAKE MY MONEY. Hippowdon looks super awesome, 10/10 Hippo Pokémon.
Of course it also helps that this big lard is also a beast in battle. The mon just sits on it ass all day and just soaks up almost any physical hit for brunch. WITH reliable recovery, great offensive coverage, and the unique trait of being able to phase with Whirlwind?? Add on the fact that it's a weather setter with Sand, and you got a Pokemon that has a plethora of great unique individual traits that make it another fantastic team player.
Not much else to say here, hippos are friggin chads bruh.
HONORABLE MENTION (GEN 1):
RAICHU
Fitting how the evolution to the most popular Pokémon in existence would be the first one on this huge list!
I find the whole Pikachu-line charming for obvious reasons. No I'm not one of those people who think Pikachu is too popular or overrated or whatever, but I actually think I do like Raichu more hence his place here over the lil yellow rat. I guess it's because of the whole underdog story Raichu's got going on. It's the "ugly lazy older brother" of the iconic Pika, so naturally it's not gonna have as much of a crowd even with the addition of a regional form in Generation 7.
With that said, I'm in the camp that does really appreciate Raichu's design; it does feel like a cool natural progression up from Pikachu while still keeping a lot of the cute factor! I like the more thicc legs given to Raichu, makes him look like a cross between a kangaroo and large house cat. Strange combination, but I find it really charming. And its Alola form is that but if it had a daily meal routine of Nutella and pancakes for breakfast lunch and dinner. Mood. I love how most Raichu are these snarky, cocky older siblings in comparison to the usually tame Pikachu and Pichu. The whole attitude these chodes tend to have really speaks to me on a spiritual level.
And even though Pikachu has that Light Ball item going for it, I find Raichu just as if not more fun to use in battle. It's a bit bulkier than Pikachu (though that's like comparing a glass teacup to an eggshell), and faster in both forms. I've found its speed to be helpful whenever I was using it, as letting it pull off either a sweep with Nasty Plot or use one of its nasty tricks like Nuzzle and Volt Switch is satisfying when I actually succeed with it lul.
So yea, Raichu is shockingly cool. I like Pikachu a lot too and I'll prolly lump him here too with Raichu cuz Wynaut, but if I gotta pick one for the honorable mention spot it's this chonker.
HONORABLE MENTION (GEN 2):
MEGANIUM
sigh.
Poor Meganium, you might as well call it the Pity Party Pokémon. Always feels like this Green Giant-lookin mofo gets the shaft in favor of more popular picks for starters. And whenever fans do give it attention, it's usually negative, rather it be because of its poor battle capabilities, weird design, or whatever random nitpick people have with it. Well I'm here to turn that around. Meganium is, contrary to the majority of the fanbase, one of my favorite Grass starters. I guess I'm just a sucker for nature in general, but I find Meganium to be an awesome plant dino. I get why some people can be turned away from it; the design is rather plain. But I think it's actually quite appealing this way. No big spots stripes or any other gimmicky quirk to this Pokémon, just a gentle Apatosaurus-like friend with a flower for neck decor. Its colors are soft on the eyes and it just has this cute factor that I just love (sticks with the whole Chikorita family). I dunno, I think it still holds up.
Unlike its stats....sheesh....it's like beating up a dead horse, or dino i guess. It's not that its stats are bad; its defensive stats are actually quite good especially for a starter. The biggest problems this gentle giant suffers is...it doesn't really do anything. It's movepool and coverage is more shallow than a preschool kiddie pool and anything it can do can be done much better by other Pokemon. Being a pure Grass type does nothing but hurt it even more both offensively and defensively. That's not to say it's completely a waste, but it's just a shame how Meganium is outclassed at pretty much everything. It's definitely not a battler, but I don't really mind too much.
Besides, in my opinion I think it's an excellent team player for any Johto journey! Yes, it's weak to the first two gym leaders and the majority of the Poison-types you'll be seeing from the Rocket dudes, but I think its good matchups get extremely overlooked. It's easily the best starter against Whitney's Miltank onslaught with insurance moves like Reflect, and it even has the best matchup with Clair's Kingdra when compared to Typhlosion and Feraligatr. And aside from Morty and the previously mentioned Falkner and Bugsy, I think its capabilities against the other bosses in the game are on par with that of the other two; just takes some getting used to as you won't be spamming Flamethrower or Surf 3 ways to Sunday like you would with the other two starters, I like its playstyle, and it won't be the last one of its kind to be mentioned in this journey.
Is it perfect? No. But it doesn't have to be, and I think Meganium is one of the more underrated creatures in the fabled Pocket Monster library.
HONORABLE MENTION (GEN 3):
FLYGON
It was a tough choice between Flygon and Sableye for this spot, and yet despite how much I love Sableye's concept and creepy design, I learned over time to really appreciate Flygon both as a Dragon-type and as a general Pokémon. I mean just look at this beauty! They don't call it the Mystic Pokémon for nothing. I find Flygon to be a rather beautiful design in both physique and color. It's a big ol' bugger friend with rhombus wings and pilot and protective goggles. This dude is like a mini-airplane I LOVE IT! Flygon is one of the Pokémon In instantly think of when I think about flying Pokemon. It's a unique high-flyer, especially with its typing and concept. An ant lion of all things becoming this majestic draconic beast. Definitely a classic design!
So much so that even Game Freak couldn't come up with a design that could live up to its standards (and yet Mega Garchomp exists eesh). It does leave poor Flygon out in the dust (ba dum tss) when it comes to battling it with the big boys, as it's hopelessly outclassed by the majority of the powerhouse Dragons reigning over the tiering rum. But I still think it's a very fun Pokémon to use, just send it out and let it rip stuff up with two great stabs and fantastic coverage on top of the single best typing and ability to combat entry hazards; you got a consistent offensive force with a solid amount of defensive merit. If this thing got a Mega it would've been a top-tier force for sure. But as is, it's still a great Pokémon. Just try to avoid raising Vibrava for as long as you can; that lil teenage bugger is borderline unusable in pretty much every way and makes it a pain to raise into Flygon. But it's definitely well worth it in the end. A Pokémon I find incredibly fun to use and fly around with, yet another underrated gem. It's a cult fan favorite for a reason!
HONORABLE MENTION (GEN 4):
HIPPOWDON
Hippos are cool man. They're these humongous hulking beats with jaws and bites stronger than my will to do anything meaningful in life. I can relate to these chunks of awesomeness, and that's what put Hippowdon here. I'm already a sucker for good Ground-types, and making a hippopotamus who lives in SAND? Epicepicepic YES TAKE MY MONEY. Hippowdon looks super awesome, 10/10 Hippo Pokémon.
Of course it also helps that this big lard is also a beast in battle. The mon just sits on it ass all day and just soaks up almost any physical hit for brunch. WITH reliable recovery, great offensive coverage, and the unique trait of being able to phase with Whirlwind?? Add on the fact that it's a weather setter with Sand, and you got a Pokemon that has a plethora of great unique individual traits that make it another fantastic team player.
Not much else to say here, hippos are friggin chads bruh.
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