Kyle’s Favorite Pokemon
Image Credit: Game Freak, The Pokemon Company
I find it very funny that Pokemon is such an important series to my life, but it’s somehow taken me this long to devote an entire article to it. I’ve talked about aspects that I liked (see my Superboss article) and things that I don’t like (see my Confront Characters article).
So in preparation for the release of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, I wanted to use this month’s article to talk about my favorite Pokemon from each generation!
A couple of ground rules. First is that regional variants of Pokemon are going to be counted for the game they originated in. For example: Galarian Weezing would count as a Gen 8 rep. Second: I’m not counting Mega Evolutions as their own Pokemon, since they’re more like upgrades to existing Pokemon. Finally, some of my picks might be a bit weird, but I’m factoring in both casual and competitive play (both Smogon Singles and VGC Doubles). Trying a bunch of different Pokemon is how I found a ton of my favorites.
Gen 1 - Zapdos
Image Credit: Game Freak, The Pokemon Company
Let’s kick this list off with the first of two Legendary Pokemon on the list. When it comes to Gen 1 Pokemon, there are a certain few that stand out to me. The three starters, as well as Pikachu and Eevee are iconic. Starmie is a Pokemon that refuses to get powercrept out of relevance. And the trio Pokemon like Dugtrio, Dodrio, and Magneton are goofy guys that I have a soft spot for.
Zapdos has always been a favorite ever since I was a kid, and really it’s just a bonus that he’s really good in competitive formats, specifically Singles. You’re going to learn that I like Pokemon that can fit multiple roles on a team. Zapdos has a great stat spread, allowing him to be a dedicated special attacker with moves like Thunderbolt, Heat Wave, and formally Hidden Power Ice, and I always preferred U-Turn over Volt Switch as my pivot option to circumvent those pesky Ground types.
But Zapdos also has great natural bulk, allowing it to act as a tank for the party. Electric and Flying is a great type for this. Because of the Flying type, Zapdos is immune to Ground, in exchange for being weak to Rock and Ice. Pair that with the Leftovers item, and the move Roost which restores half of Zapdos’s HP, while losing its Flying type for the turn, and you have a Pokemon that ends up being surprisingly hard to get rid of.
Zapdos is just a beast, no two ways about it. I think that it’s a real testament to his utility that he’s managed to stay relevant in competitive play even after almost 30 years. A Pokemon truly deserving of the Legendary title.
Gen 2 - Hitmontop
Image Credit: Game Freak, The Pokemon Company
I feel like this entry is a shock to people that know my opinions on Pokemon. After all, there’s a certain Gen 2 Bug/Steel type that I have always claimed to be my favorite Pokemon of all time. Yet here I am about to yap about a spinny boy. If this were a different list, say “Favorite Pokemon of Every Type” then Scizor would be here no problem.
Gen 2 had some tough competition for my favorite Pokemon. From killers like Heracross and Houndoom. To the greatest pseudo-legendary in all of Pokemon: Tyranitar. To staples like Skarmory and Ampharos. And I have to shout-out my boy Murkrow. But none of them can hold a candle to the versatility of Hitmontop!
My love and appreciation for Hitmontop mostly stems from the success I’ve had with him in VGC. Hitmontop has a lot of the tools that a great Doubles Pokemon needs. Great defensive stats, great support moves, and one of the best abilities in the series. Hitmontop’s movepool features a ton of moves with priority, meaning that he’ll usually go first if he clicks one of those moves. This includes supportive moves like Fake Out, Wide Guard, Quick Guard, Mach Punch, and Helping Hand.
Because of Hitmontop’s wide pool of priority support moves, you don’t need to worry about training his speed stat, since he’ll likely be going first anyway. Meaning that you’re able to train those EVs into his already naturally high defenses. His defense gets even better when paired with his Intimidate ability. This ability allows Hitmontop to lower the physical attack of both opponent Pokemon. Lowered attack means less damage taken by your Pokemon. And this ability will activate anytime Hitmontop enters the battle.
Hitmontop has seen his fair share of success in VGC, being featured on Wolfe Glick’s 2016 Worlds winning team. The idea behind using Hitmontop was to have Intimidate lower the offense of staple physical attackers (Primal Groudon, Mega Rayquaza, Mega Kangaskhan), and use Wide Guard to stop the bevy of multi-target attacks (Earthquake, Precipice Blades, Origin Pulse, Water Spout, Rock Slide). It also synergized well with Wolfe’s second Fake Out user: Raichu. Fake Out is a great move for stealing turns from your opponent, and being able to constantly have that option of cycling Fake Outs is a powerful tool.
As for my history with the sentient dreidel, he’s probably my most used Pokemon throughout my tenure in Sword and Shield. Not only did I use him to great success in a Draft League that my friends ran, but he was also part of my favorite VGC team that I built in that game. But I’ll talk about that later.
Scizor, I’m very sorry. I love you, and you’re still my favorite Pokemon of all time. But you just can’t stop the Top!
Gen 3 - Swampert
Image Credit: Game Freak, The Pokemon Company
Time for the nostalgia pick! Gen 3 was the generation of Pokemon games that I grew up with. I’ve replayed Emerald more times than I can count. In my younger days I even tried my hand at speedrunning it. It didn’t last long. But there’s little more validating feelings than knowing that the starter Pokemon that you always picked turns out to be the best for the game.
Honestly, the whole Mudkip line is fantastic. Mudkip is one of the leaders of the “Silly Guy” club. Marshtomp adopts the crazy powerful Water/Ground type combo. And Swampert is just a juggernaut with great defensive stats, and a staggering base 110 Attack. And that Ground typing let him launch massive STAB Earthquakes.
Swampert was already strong, but Game Freak gave him some more love when the remakes came around. I personally don’t like ORAS, but I played the crap out of competitive Singles. Even though Rain got nerfed in Gen 6, it was still crazy strong. My Rain Team typically consisted of Politoed, Amoongus, Thundurus, Manaphy, Kingdra, and Mega Swampert.
With his new Mega Evolution comes a new ability in the form of Swift Swim, doubling Swampert’s speed in the Rain. Speed was always Swampert’s weakness (besides touching grass), but with Swift Swim, that’s no longer an issue. You can still invest in bulk and strength, while getting increased speed from the Rain. The only downside is that this was before dynamic speed changes, so Swift Swim wouldn’t be active until the next turn.
I think that it says a lot that this is the only starter Pokemon on this list. While I do like a lot of the starter Pokemon, I feel like I have a special connection with Mudkip and his family. We’ve been on so many adventures over the years, and he’ll always be my first choice whenever he’s available.
Gen 4 - Rhyperior
Image Credit: Game Freak, The Pokemon Company
This was a hard one to narrow down my pick for. Pokemon’s fourth generation added in a ton of incredible Pokemon, as well as evolutions to old Pokemon to give them some new life. Here’s just a short list of the Pokemon that I didn’t put in here. Glaceon, Magnezone, Gliscor, Froslass, Empoleon, and Roserade. So what could’ve possibly beaten all of those great picks?
MOTHER FUCKING RHYPERIOR!!!!
Of all the new evolutions to legacy Pokemon, this is hands down the coolest, and it made me realize how unfinished Rhydon looked. Rhyperior just looks like a monster by comparison.
Rhyperior is here to do one thing, and that is hit like a truck! Coming in with a whopping base 140 Attack stat, even taking a neutral attack from this guy is going to sting. I used Rhyperior quite a bit back in Gen 6 Singles, where I liked running a dual-boosting setup using Swords Dance and Rock Polish to either double my Attack or Speed, depending on what I needed.
Over on the Gen 8 VGC side, I also had a Rhyperior Sun & Trick Room team that I used for a bit, featuring Pokemon like G-Max Charizard, Goodra, Hatterene, Comfey, and Meowstick as my Sun setter (this was when Torkoal temporarily wasn’t allowed). The team served me nicely, and Rhyperior functioned incredibly as a four attack monster, and a great defensive tank thanks to the Assault Vest item boosting his Special Defense.
If there’s anything that I don’t like about Rhyperior, it’s that he usually isn’t obtainable until the postgame. That, and Rhyhorn has to be leveled so high for what is now a middle stage evolution. But also, it makes Rhyperior feel more special to me. The fact that you have to put in so much work to get this giant beatstick is so cool.
And I’m sorry, but he just looks badass! To me, this is such a natural build off of what Rhydon tried to do.
Gen 5 - Chandelure
Image Credit: Game Freak, The Pokemon Company
Howdy doody everyone! Wambu here! Wait… that’s not right…
Gen 5 always felt like a reboot for competitive formats. It raised the power level so high that Game Freak had to reverse a bunch of their decisions when Gen 6 came around. Whoever thought to give Politoed and Ninetails permanent weather was certifiably insane. And this is to say nothing about the powercreep that the new Pokemon introduced.
We’re talking Excadril, Amoongus, Keldeo, Landorous-Therian, Contrary Serperior. Any number of Pokemon from this game could trigger war flashbacks for anyone who had to deal with them. Fortunately, my favorite from this gen wasn’t problematic at all. Because Game Freak wouldn’t even give him a chance to be a problem!
Chandelure is another Pokemon like Mudkip that falls into my category of “silly little guy”. I blame Pokken for making me think this. He’s a chandelier that’s been possessed by a spirit and can control fire. As a concept, it’s right up there with Aegislash, the sword possessed by a spirit. Ghosts are cool, what can I say?
Anyway, Chandelure is a monster, boasting the completely absurd base 145 Special Attack stat! This kind of power is usually reserved for legendaries, and puts Chandy ABOVE Alakazam’s base 135, on par with Thundurous-Incarnate, and just below Reshiram’s base 150 Sp.Atk. Base 80 speed isn’t bad either, and that can be bolstered with a Choice Scarf.
There is a sad fact in regards to Chandelure, and that’s the fact that we never got to see it at full potential. See, back when Black and White were released, dataminers found that Chandy’s Hidden Ability was going to be Shadow Tag. This ability stops the opponent from being able to switch out against the Pokemon with the ability. This ability is so good that it got Wynaut banned from Ubers, however it’s also reserved for less good Pokemon like Wobbuffet and Gothitelle. If Chandy got this ability, it would’ve made him the best revenge killer in the game. Very few non-fire types are going to survive a base 145 Fire Blast from this thing. And honestly, it’s for the best that we never saw this. Some ideas should stay in the drafts.
Chandelure was always one of my favorite “why not” Pokemon. If I ever needed a special attacker to fill an open team slot, in came Chandelure. There was never a time when he didn’t fit in on my teams, both casual and competitive. A great moveset with incredible damage off of that nuclear attack stat.
Gen 6 - Sylveon
Image Credit: Game Freak, The Pokemon Company
And now we come to Gen 6! This is where I really got my start with competitive Pokemon. I followed Gen 5, but never got a chance to play any of the metagames. Being there for competitive Gen 6 was so much fun. Seeing people learn how to use the new Mega Evolutions, to watching Aegislash get banned for being busted. It was a wild time. And that’s to say nothing of the VGC side of things. Need I remind you of a certain rodent on the winning Worlds team in 2014?
Among the balance changes introduced in Gen 6, we also received the Fairy type, a new type to combat the influx of strong Dragons that took over the Black and White meta. Fairy types have had an insane impact on the game as a whole. Having a type that is just immune to Dragon type STAB is insanely useful. Not to mention that we’ve also seen Pokemon like Xerneas be completely busted in formats like VGC 2016.
As for my favorite from the generation, it would have to be the Fairy type of the generation. The newest Eeveelution, Sylveon! If Mega Lucario is the poster boy for Mega Evolution, then Sylveon would definitely be the cover girl for the Fairy type.
Sylveon is such a versatile Pokemon that can really slot well into any team you build. With massive Special Attack and Defense, and a decent health pool, Sylveon will be dealing great damage, and has quite a bit of staying power. It also has the (now exclusive) ability Pixilate, which turns all of her Normal type moves into Fairy type. This gives her access to STAB priority Quick Attack, Hyper Voice which does big damage AND ignores Substitute, and Hyper Beam for when you need a nuke!
Whether it’s for Singles or Doubles, you’ll be able to find a way to run Sylveon. On the Singles side of things, there were two different builds that I used. First is the Choice Specs special attacker set, focusing on raw damage, and using her natural Special bulk to stick around. Then there’s my personal favorite: the cleric build!
This build runs max HP and Defense, and has Sylveon taking a supportive role on the team. For moves, you’ll want Hyper Voice for good STAB damage thanks to Pixilate, as well as two of the best support moves: Wish and Heal Bell. Wish is a two turn heal move that restores half of the user’s max HP to the recipient. While Heal Bell cures the entire party of status conditions like Paralysis and Poison.
Over in Doubles, I used Sylveon a lot in the early days of Gen 8’s VGC format. If you weren’t there for VGC in Gen 8, a major strategy was having your main Dynamax Pokemon hold an item called Weakness Policy which doubles your attacking stats when you’re hit by a super effective move. When paired with a Dark or Fighting type, Sylveon was a great enabler with Pixilate Quick Attack. Common partners for this strategy were Conkeldurr and Tyranitar.
But Sylveon was also more than just an enabler. She could also do good damage with Hyper Voice, which hits both opponents in Doubles. And she could boost her damage with items like Pixie Plate or Throat Spray. And her STAB Quick Attack could be used to pick off weakened opponents. Along with Togekiss, Sylveon was the go to Fairy Type in early Gen 8 VGC.
I’ve really never had a bad experience with Sylveon. She’s not a perfect Pokemon, and she’s far from the best Fairy type. But she’s a very solid choice that slots well into whatever team you need!
Gen 7 - Alola Ninetails
Image Credit: Game Freak, The Pokemon Company
This is the generation that I had the second hardest time picking a favorite from. Not because there were so many good choices like in Gen 4. Rather, I just feel completely indifferent to every Gen 7 Pokemon. I’ll just flat out say it. I do not like Gen 7. They are the only Pokemon games that I feel decidedly negative about, and they actually put me off the series. I didn’t play Singles OR VGC in this generation. My appreciation for Gen 7 Pokemon wouldn’t come until the next generation of games.
During the 2020 Pandemic, Game Freak was trying to keep Sword and Shield’s online fresh by cycling through different series throughout the year. One of those formats was a banlist that banned the top 16 most used Pokemon in both Singles and Doubles ranked. This banned Pokemon like Tyranitar, Incineroar, Cinderace, Torkoal, Venusaur, and a lot of other strong Pokemon (full list found here). And with a lower power level, it was time for my dumbass to hit the lab.
I always like Hail as a concept, but it was so bad before Gen 9. All it did was make Blizzard 100% accurate, and interact with a couple of abilities like Snow Cloak and Ice Body. That being said, I LOVE HAIL! It’s my second favorite weather to play with after Rain. It’s a hard weather to use well, but it can very easily snowball (pause for laughter) out of control.
So, the focus of the team was the Gen 7 Hail setter, Alola Ninetails. With the Snow Warning ability she summons a hailstorm automatically upon entering battle. And with her massive 109 Speed stat and a Focus Sash, she can reliably set up Aurora Veil, a move that gives both Reflect AND Light Screen to the party, but can only be used in Hail. She can then dedicate the rest of her time to spamming deadly 100% accurate Blizzards to fish for freezes on the opponent.
Paired around her are, funnily enough, two other Alola forms in Sandslash and Marowak. Sandslash has Slush Rush which doubles his speed in Hail, while Marowak is there to check other Fire types. I had Duraludon, a Steel/Dragon with Weakness Policy which was being enabled by either Dusclops using Bulldoze, or Hitmontop with Mach Punch.
This was such a fun team that could’ve only worked in a low power format like this. I tried building a lot of teams in Gen 8 VGC, and while I arguably had more success with other teams, this is my favorite team that I built in this game. It also gave me a level of appreciation for Pokemon that I missed in the previous generation.
Gen 8 - Dracovish
Image Credit: The Pokemon Company
Ah, Sword and Shield. Such mediocre games that are brought down by Dexit discourse and N64 trees in the overworld. What a stupid and annoying time to be a Pokemon fan. And all of this anger was for games that were never better than fine. That being said, I had a ton of fun playing the VGC formats that were cycled through this game’s lifespan. I built so many different Doubles teams in this game, including that Alola Ninetails team I talked about earlier.
All of the new Pokemon added in this game felt like they were able to serve some kind of a role in a Doubles format. Some of my favorites include Corviknight, Hatterene, Falinks, Cinderace, Rillaboom, Boltund, and Duraludon. But none of them can compare to the sheer brilliance and terror of Galar’s fossilized Fishious Friend.
So, the running theme of this article is that I like Pokemon who can fill a lot of different roles on a team. Pokemon that can have multiple builds and slot in for whatever I need them for. Dracovish throws all of that away in favor of clicking one move every time it hits the field.
Fishious Rend technically isn’t Dracovish’s signature move, but it might as well be. Let’s be honest, Acrtovish has never used this move. Base 85 power isn’t bad, but it’s nothing special either. The strength of this move lies in its effect. And that’s that if Dracovish attacks before the opponent, then the damage of Fishious Rend DOUBLES! Pair this with Dracovish’s Strong Jaw ability to buff the damage of biting attacks, and the 1.5x same type attack bonus, and suddenly this funny fish is sweeping entire teams with one attack, and no stat boosts! Not even bulky Waters like Toxapex can stave off this onslaught.
The hardest part of this is getting Dracovish fast enough to outspeed most things. Base 75 speed is a bit on the slow side. Fortunately, Fishious Rend is so dummy strong that you can afford to sacrifice a little bit of attack power. I always ran Jolly nature (+Speed/-Sp.Atk) with a Choice Scarf to further boost the fish’s speed. You’re only clicking Fishious Rend 99% of the time, so being locked into one move isn’t a detriment.
Above everything else about Dracovish, he’s just so funny. I love the concept of a dinosaur fossil being put together incorrectly. And the fact that Dracovish is just a head on a tail with legs is so goofy, that I can’t help but love it. The red, green, and blue color scheme also looks really good together. He might be a vicious monster that would eat my face in real life, but he’s also friend shaped. If we ever see a Pokken 2, I want him in. I’ll play him even if he’s the worst character.
As of right now, Dracovish was a one-and-done Pokemon, not making a return in Scarlet and Violet (because Game Freak are a bunch of cowards (and a Water Tera Dracovish would be insta-banned in Singles)). But the memories, and the terror that he left with the playerbase can never be forgotten.
Thank you, Mr. Fish. 🐟
Gen 9 - Ogerpon
Game Freak, The Pokemon Company
After my first playthrough, I didn’t think much of Scarlet and Violet. I didn’t think that they were bad, but they’re also nothing special. If you asked my thoughts on it, I’d say that it was on par with Gen 8 (which from me isn’t the compliment you might think it is). But after playing the two DLC stories, I was genuinely surprised. The characters were great. The new places you explored were really interesting. And I was hooked by the two stories that were told.
Chief among those stories is the Teal Masked Ogre. Said to be a blight on the village of Kitakami, the legendary Ogerpon was exiled from the village by the Loyal Three (Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezendipiti), forced to live in a secluded cave far away from the people. But what if the wrong legend was being passed down for all these centuries?
See, Ogerpon was never a bad Pokemon. She just wanted to share her masks with the people of Kitakami Village. The Loyal Trio were the ones that forced Ogerpon to leave the village so that they would be the ones who got all of the praise from the villagers.
Ogerpon herself is a Grass type that can come in three different flavors depending on the mask that she wears. Grass/Water, Grass/Fire, and Grass/Rock. These are all fantastic types that very much help to shore up the shortcomings of a pure Grass type. These types also change the type of her signature attack, Ivy Cudgel, turning it from Grass to either Water, Fire, or Rock.
Ogerpon also has a unique trait when she Teras. After she activates her Tera type, she’ll gain a stat boost that also changes based on the mask she has. So with the Fire Mask equipped, she’ll gain a free Attack boost, AND her Fire attacks become stronger thanks to the way that Tera works.
When I play Pokemon games, I don’t often use Legendaries. They’re usually just too strong, and I want to win using the team that I built. Ogerpon was the exception for me while going through the DLC. She wanted to join my team, so how could I refuse. I even stopped to EV train her up, which was the first time I EV trained anything in Gen 9.
Ogerpon has a little bit of everything that I’m looking for. Great versatility, great movepool, great stats, great use of the game’s central gimmick, and a fantastic bit of lore to contextualize Kitakami Village to the player. And she’s also just so cute! I had better be able to bring Ogerpon up to Gen 10 with me, or I’m gonna go fight all of Game Freak!
Closing
Well, this article is officially longer than my Chrono Trigger article was. Thanks Pikachu! This was a lot of fun though. I enjoyed getting to take myself on a nostalgia trip. Watching my old battle videos to remind myself of why I liked these Pokemon in the first place. Or I guess in Gen 7’s case, why I didn’t like any of them.
Anyway, come back next month for another article, and have fun playing Pokemon Legends Z-A if that’s how you’re spending your time!