Does the Anime have an effect on the Popularity of some Pokemon?

[Rainbow-Rain]

Well, I was talking more in terms of gameplay rather than how they're showcased in the anime. Yes, compared to past starter sets, the Gen 8 starters are more balanced in their portrayal, but gameplaywise it's another story entirely, and Cinderace was clearly the favored one there.

Eh I wouldn't say Cinderace was entirely favored.

Rillaboom also is at the Top of VGC and is OU in Smogon.
Inteleon did admittedly get the short end of the stick tho

I guess it just feels more egregious to me when the games themselves start favoring certain Pokemon over others because 1) they generally feel like they do it less often than the anime does, and 2) the fact that conventionally cool Pokemon can be amazing makes it especially suck when other beloved Pokemon get the short end of the stick because it proves that the devs can make those Pokemon good, they just won't: I mean, just look at poor Luxray for example; there's a Pokemonwho has been very popular since its debut, yet absolutely terrible in competitive settings even after all this time...

Luxray is isn't the only case of this.

Decidueye is probably the most notorious case as it is by FAR the most popular Alola Starter but is the weakest out of the 3 Competitively and quite possibly the weakest Grass Starter in General next to Meganium being the only starter with a Type disadvantage against it's own Pre-evo (and the Hisui variant makes it even worse)

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Eh I wouldn't say Cinderace was entirely favored.

Rillaboom also is at the Top of VGC and is OU in Smogon.
Inteleon did admittedly get the short end of the stick tho

Luxray is isn't the only case of this.

Decidueye is probably the most notorious case as it is by FAR the most popular Alola Starter but is the weakest out of the 3 Competitively and quite possibly the weakest Grass Starter in General next to Meganium being the only starter with a Type disadvantage against it's own Pre-evo (and the Hisui variant makes it even worse)

Well, yeah, but Cinderace is Uber, so it's still clearly the most powerful one. I also recall that Chesnaught was OU in Gen 6 too because Bulletproof is actually a pretty decent Ability.

Also, I know Luxray isn't the only example. That's why I said "for example". I just didn't cite any others because the list of "popular Pokemon that are screwed over by gameplay" is sadly kind of enormous, so I just went for a Pokemon that has literally never even had so much as a break in competitive.

Or Flareon, possibly the poster boy of this; it's always been very popular but look how awful it's always been in competitive; they didn't even let it learn Flare Blitz until gen 6.

Honestly, even if Flareon had had Flare Blitz since the physical/special split it probably still would have been bottom tier anyway. Its stat distribution is just horrendous: the high Special Defense is absolutely wasted thanks to low Defense and HP, and low Speed means it often can't even take advantage of its good mixed offenses properly. That being said, the Eeveelutions in general do need some kind of major overhaul because all of them are in a major rut competitively in the current Gen. One would think that with how popular that family line is, the devs would throw them at least some kind of bone, but nope. Instead they lost coverage and other utility moves (when their movepool was already incredibly shallow to begin with) in Gen 8.

 

[Daren]

Honestly, even if Flareon had had Flare Blitz since the physical/special split it probably still would have been bottom tier anyway. Its stat distribution is just horrendous: the high Special Defense is absolutely wasted thanks to low Defense and HP, and low Speed means it often can't even take advantage of its good mixed offenses properly. That being said, the Eeveelutions in general do need some kind of major overhaul because all of them are in a major rut competitively in the current Gen. One would think that with how popular that family line is, the devs would throw them at least some kind of bone, but nope. Instead they lost coverage and other utility moves (when their movepool was already incredibly shallow to begin with) in Gen 8.

Yeah, poor Flareon has plenty of issues (checking Smogon it's always been NU or worse) but not letting it learn Flare Blitz was just a really obvious hole compared to the stats, which it's probably stuck with since GameFreak are very conservative with changing those.
*

Edit: Speaking of the thread I do wonder how much the show has to do with Meowth's popularity (hence it getting two regional variants). Cats are generally quite popular so the species might have always taken off, but he'd be a pretty prominent example of something the show gives plenty of attention.

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

Well, yeah, but Cinderace is Uber, so it's still clearly the most powerful one. I also recall that Chesnaught was OU in Gen 6 too because Bulletproof is actually a pretty decent Ability.

Chestnaught was OU?

Wow I never knew that given barely anyone talks about it.

I honestly feel like it may be the least popular Starter of all time? I don't for sure tho.

I guess that kinda reflects in the Anime where I think it only appeared in maybe one episode?

 

[Enzo]

So it is refreshing that we finally get a conventionally cute rabbit that is allowed to be just a rabbit for the most part. That being said, I still find it difficult to warm up completely to Cinderace because I feel like a lot of its success is... well, fabricated for lack of a better work. I feel like it was deliberately designed to be "the popular one" in a way

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who felt like this. Cinderace has been my favorite ever since it debuted because Scorbunny was my favorite of the Galar set, and I think that, out of the trio, Cinderace feels like the one who managed to keep the most out of it's base form's design, which is something I see people giving flake to both Rillaboom and Inteleon for, the latter's case being even more obvious.

But I have to agree: Cinderace feels too ''carefully fabricated'' imo. Like, we have the combo of a rabbit and a soccer player, two things that, albeit in widly different planes, are very popular. It's a Fire starter, which is something people tend to really like.

Then we have the competitive side: it has one of the most busted abilities in the entirety of the meta (just a repackaged Protean) and the best of the trio (even if Grassy Surge is still considered a very good ability on it's own, it doesn't compares), it has two very strong moves: 1) Pyron Ball is literally just as strong as Flare Blitz is and Cinderace doesn't suffers recoil damage, meaning it can basically blast Flare Blitz at it's heart desires without getting punished for it and 2) Court Change is arguably one of the biggest middle fingers you can give your opponent, by literally punishing your opponent by daring to use entry hazards. In summary: Cinderace was made to be both a good attacker and a good supporter.

And to finish it all off, it was given to the writers's favorite Golden Boy in the anime as his first Pokémon.

You know like,,, Cinderace almost feels like a ''Love Me Now!'' character in a way that just bothers me. I'm not gonna lie, I have some complicated feelings about it lmao.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Speaking of the thread I do wonder how much the show has to do with Meowth's popularity (hence it getting two regional variants). Cats are generally quite popular so the species might have always taken off, but he'd be a pretty prominent example of something the show gives plenty of attention.

That's actually an interesting point, because Meowth is probably the only Pokemon whose notoriety comes exclusively from the anime: while you could make a case for every other popular mon having at least some of their fame being influenced by the games (Starters are self-explanatory, Pikachu for being the first rare Pokemon encounter, the Eevee family for being so incredibly convenient for patching up type holes in a playthrough team, etc.), Meowth probably would have languished in near-total obscurity if it wasn't for its role in the anime.

Heck, even with the famous talking one being essentially one of the show's main characters, for decades it was still really hard to find anyone who even paid any attention to Meowth as a species until the games themselves started giving it forms. And it probably wouldn't have even gotten those if the anime one didn't exist.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who felt like this. Cinderace has been my favorite ever since it debuted because Scorbunny was my favorite of the Galar set, and I think that, out of the trio, Cinderace feels like the one who managed to keep the most out of it's base form's design, which is something I see people giving flake to both Rillaboom and Inteleon for, the latter's case being even more obvious.

But I have to agree: Cinderace feels too ''carefully fabricated'' imo. Like, we have the combo of a rabbit and a soccer player, two things that, albeit in widly different planes, are very popular. It's a Fire starter, which is something people tend to really like.

Then we have the competitive side: it has one of the most busted abilities in the entirety of the meta (just a repackaged Protean) and the best of the trio (even if Grassy Surge is still considered a very good ability on it's own, it doesn't compares), it has two very strong moves: 1) Pyron Ball is literally just as strong as Flare Blitz is and Cinderace doesn't suffers recoil damage, meaning it can basically blast Flare Blitz at it's heart desires without getting punished for it and 2) Court Change is arguably one of the biggest middle fingers you can give your opponent, by literally punishing your opponent by daring to use entry hazards. In summary: Cinderace was made to be both a good attacker and a good supporter.

And to finish it all off, it was given to the writers's favorite Golden Boy in the anime as his first Pokémon.

You know like,,, Cinderace almost feels like a ''Love Me Now!'' character in a way that just bothers me. I'm not gonna lie, I have some complicated feelings about it lmao.

It also has a lot of similarities to Lucario, another highly popular and marketable mon, to the point that they're being marketed as partners/counterparts. They both even have blue jorts incorporated into their designs

 

[KrspaceT]

I do hold it happens, you would just need a lot of time to isolate pre and post anime roles. If nothing else they are not independent and the anime feedback into the games on more ways than Pikachu

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

That being said, I still find it difficult to warm up completely to Cinderace because I feel like a lot of its success is... well, fabricated for lack of a better work. I feel like it was deliberately designed to be "the popular one" in a way, what with it getting two signature moves when its fellow Galar starters only got one each, and Cinderace's just so happen to be the best by a longshot. There's also the fact that it was given what is essentially Protean as an Ability, and seeing how that Ability belongs to the fandom darling of the Kalos starters Greninja, I don't think it was a coincidence. That to me just kinda takes away some of the charm. Like I'm not liking it of my own volition, but rather that I am being forced to like it. Does that make any sense?

Sure, you could argue that the anime in general does this for any and every Pokemon it features prominently, but in Cinderace's case I sorta feel like it was designed to be the favorite in every aspect, not just as an anime character.

I think that at least if Libero was more unique as an Ability I would like Cinderace a lot more than I currently do. As is I just feel like it's just "Greninja but Fire Bunny"

Lol this post also made me realize that if Cinderace is the Fire Greninja of Gen 8, then Inteleon is definitely the Water version of Braxien.

Both Inteleon and Braxien's notable Similarities:

-Both are the worst of their respective Trios competitively

-Both are very divisive in the Western fandom

-But both still manage extremely popular with the Eastern Fandom to the point of being the most popular members of their Evolutionary Lines.

-Both are more or less treated like Secondary Mascots compared Greninja and Cinderace. (Or rather living in their shadows)

-Both are treated as neither Comedy Relief nor are they the Shillmon Starter

-Both are usually associated with the Female Protagonist of their respective Generations. Fenniken line gets paired with Serena 90% of the time while Gloria gets paired with the Sobble Line 90% of the time

(Interestingly enough Serena was paired was Greninja in the Gotcha Video and the Manga while Gloria was paired with Cinderace in the Gotcha video and the Manga which also brings me back to my point about Inteleon and Braxien being the secondary Mascots)

-Both appeared in a Secondary Mobile Game (Pokemon Masters) compared the big Mobile Game they're pushing Greninja and Cinderace in (Pokemon Unite)

-Both Inteleon and Braxien get an uncomfortable amount of "Attention" from the horny crowd of the Pokémon fandom (Tho Braxien mainly gets this from the Male side of the Fandom while Inteleon mainly gets this from the Female side)

Inteleon and Braxien's Notable Differences:

-One is a Final Stage and the other is just a Middle Stage

- As stated above, One is a Water Type and the other is a Fire Type

-Inteleon actually managed to become very close to eclipsing Cinderace in popularity (even surpassing it in at least 2 official Popularity Polls) while Braxien is very popular in its own right, it never came anywhere even close to reaching Greninja's level of popularity,let alone eclipsing it



So yeah I have enough evidence to believe that Inteleon is truly the Braxien of Gen 8


I guess that would make Rillaboom = Chesnaught then?

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Incineroar as popular as they are because of Ash's?

Others have voiced opinions on the other Pokémon that I largely agree with but this just reminded me that this poor thing appeared for a literal nanosecond in SM, to the point that its Bulbapedia profile picture is literally taken from a quick camera pan where half its face is obstructed.

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

Others have voiced opinions on the other Pokémon that I largely agree with but this just reminded me that this poor thing appeared for a literal nanosecond in SM, to the point that its Bulbapedia profile picture is literally taken from a quick camera pan where half its face is obstructed.

Lmao

Maybe I should have mentioned Kukui's Incineroar instead lol

Also Smash Bros probably played major part in Incineroar's popularity. Much more so than the Anime

 

[Nicolas721]

Yes, it's not even a doubt, since the people in charge somewhat acknowledge it whenever they insert a Pokemon of the newest generation in the anime. Pokemon that I think owe everything to it are definitely Meowth (though he wasn't in the Kanto top 30 ), Wobbuffet, Mewtwo, Butterfree, Porygon (for better or worse), Togepi, Entei, Lati@s, Piplup, Infernape, Croagunk, Oshawott, Zygarde and Dedenne.

However there is a point to be made about the anime not having a big effect anymore. Thanks to the internet, Memes, fanarts and even short animations come up within hours of a Pokemon's reveal and are a crucial factor as to whether people feel attacted by that Pokemon or not. The games themselves are more sofisticated and can also potray different animations for a single Pokemon, so when the anime is released a Pokemon's behaviour is less surprising to see. There might be a hidden gem that might be waiting for a groundbreaking role in the anime to catapult is popularity, but I feel neither gens 7 or 8 havd had one and the popularity of their mons are more of their own merits.

Slightly off topic, but I don't mind when a popular Pokemon is bad at the metagame and honestly they shouldn't. Not everyone can be perfect and excell and everything even if we want it to, and there's some beauty to be found in that imperfection and that inability to be good at everything.

 

[Mew2]

You know, ever since Goh's Grookey has been caught and is causing trouble for the characters while never really getting any comeuppance and seeing the reactions here to it, I'm wondering if the animé has ever had a negative impact on the popularity of a Pokémon. Do you think have there been any Pokémon that lost popularity as time went on due to the animé? If so, who?

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

You know, ever since Goh's Grookey has been caught and is causing trouble for the characters while never really getting any comeuppance and seeing the reactions here to it, I'm wondering if the animé has ever had a negative impact on the popularity of a Pokémon. Do you think have there been any Pokémon that lost popularity as time went on due to the animé? If so, who?

I was actually wondering about that too!

But I don't think the Anime has ever truly made any Pokémon more unpopular

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

But I don't think the Anime has ever truly made any Pokémon more unpopular

They tried their damn best with Raichu in OS.
If I had a nickel for each kid telling me "Pikachu is better than Raichu cause it’s faster and special" I'd have an entire jar.

 

[nickdt]

Its kinda a funny thing to think about, since some Pokemon are popular despite barely appearing in the anime, take Typhlosion and Chandelure as examples.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

Seeing how Typhlosion never got much love in the anime, it does concern me that we won't get much of the Highphlosion. I mean, Typhlosion didn't even get to debut in Johto. I recall the only major appearance in the main anime was under the ownership of Flannery's grandfather. They had one in the Raikou special as well, but that wasn't the main anime series.

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

Seeing how Typhlosion never got much love in the anime, it does concern me that we won't get much of the Highphlosion.

I don't expect to see much of the Legends Pokemon in General unless there's a Time Travel Arc or flashbacks or something along the lines

It's Kinda hard showcase a species when they're Dead

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

I don't expect to see much of the Legends Pokemon in General unless there's a Time Travel Arc or flashbacks or something along the lines

It's Kinda hard showcase a species when they're Dead

With some species, I can understand being extinc. I mean like Hisuian Sneasel and Sneaseler. They just went extinct. With Hisuian Typhlosion though, its a variant of a Pokemon that is still very abundant. Professor Laventon mentions the energy of Mt. Coronet is likely what influenced the evolution. I don't know if its just a specific energy the mountain has or if it was tied to the rift that opened up. In the event that its the later, if another rift opened up, its possible Quilava could regain the ability to evolve into the Fire/Ghost variant.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

They tried their damn best with Raichu in OS.
If I had a nickel for each kid telling me "Pikachu is better than Raichu cause it’s faster and special" I'd have an entire jar.

I'll do you one better: I once encountered someone who honest to goodness thought that Pikachu was faster than Electrode (the undisputed fastest Pokemon in gens 1 and 2 and the fastest Electric-type until Regieleki's introduction) solely because of how the anime tended to portray Ash's as The Fastest Thing Alive.

I also kind of suspect that part of the reason Mimikyu was portrayed as downright terrifying, vindictive, and genuinely malicious in the anime was in an attempt to push back against the little bedsheet ghost's popularity, since Mimikyu had already gotten a lot more popular than Pikachu before the Sun and Moon anime had even premiered. Thank goodness it backfired spectacularly and people either ignored the "villainous" portrayal entirely or happily embraced it and only liked Mimikyu even more because of it. Like me

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

I'll do you one better: I once encountered someone who honest to goodness thought that Pikachu was faster than Electrode (the undisputed fastest Pokemon in gens 1 and 2 and the fastest Electric-type until Regieleki's introduction) solely because of how the anime tended to portray Ash's as The Fastest Thing Alive.

I also kind of suspect that part of the reason Mimikyu was portrayed as downright terrifying, vindictive, and genuinely malicious in the anime was in an attempt to push back against the little bedsheet ghost's popularity, since Mimikyu had already gotten a lot more popular than Pikachu before the Sun and Moon anime had even premiered. Thank goodness it backfired spectacularly and people either ignored the "villainous" portrayal entirely or happily embraced it and only liked Mimikyu even more because of it. Like me

I’m still angry that Mimikyu lost against Pikachu literally due to a blatant Deux Ex Machina.