Pokémon Questionnaire – What Are Your Favourite 6 Pokémon From Each Generation?

So, I’ve been playing Pokkén Tournament with N. Harmonik over at her place, which you can see here…

…and honest to God, Pokémon have never looked this good EVER in any other game. Maybe Smash Bros, but that’s it. But as I watch not only the Pokémon fighting, but the ones in the backgrounds of the arenas, I can’t help but notice how some have left so many great memories and positive thoughts for me. I think what really hit me was just how many from Pokémon Black and White are among some of my all-time favourites. Mind you, that could be because it had the most new Pokémon of any game since the original Red and Blue versions, since they’d decided to only have brand new ones in the main game. Still, it left me wondering, what would I consider to be some of my favourites from every generation?

So, I decided to make this questionnaire, so that everyone can list their six favourite Pokémon from every generation. I went with six because, that way, people can’t simply choose all the starters or all the members of a single family, and so that they can use their old teams to help decide, since some people, like N. Harmonik, choose to only use Pokémon that debuted within said generations for their teams (with the exception of old ones with new evolutions). Also, I’m listing these by Generation instead of Region because otherwise, most people’s Johto lists would be inhabited by evolutions that didn’t come until Generation IV. Lastly, I’m gonna be excluding Mega Evolutions, since they’d probably take up the majority of spots from lists for Kalos, but I will likely bring them up when talking about individuals from past Generations. With that said, let’s start with the original Generation, and my favourite Pokémon among the original 150.

Generation I

My Favourites: Bulbasaur, Charizard, Pikachu, Poliwhirl, Snorlax, Zapdos

Yeah, I know, not exactly blowing anyone’s minds that Poliwhirl’s on here. In fact, likely none of these are big surprises, and I probably don’t have to explain a single one. But looking back, I can’t help but think of how these six, in a lot of ways, helped shape how the Pokémon world would grow from then on. Every new entry in the main series would have an Electric-type rodent of some kind, a trio of Starters to choose from that were Grass, Fire, and Water-types, and at least one trio of Legendary Pokémon (with the exception of Generation VI, which seems to reuse Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres). There would also be mass numbers of Water-type Pokémon with varying shapes, sizes, abilities, secondary types, and even branching evolutions through the generations, many of whom took varying cues from Poliwhirl and its family. And…yeah, I’ve lost count of how many times in the history of these games that we’ve seen Snorlax sleeping around and blocking our path. lol My point is, in many ways, these six are the originators of trends we’ve seen in these games for 20 years now, and in many ways are still able to hang with those that have come since, either through new evolutions, Mega Evolutions, attacks, abilities, stat changes, or just their natural badassery. Oh, and don’t think that just because it isn’t on here that I hate or dislike Squirtle and its family. I love it too, but there just wasn’t room on this list. Call it the unofficial #7 here.

Generation II

My Favourites: Typhlosion, Crobat, Espeon, Umbreon, Heracross, Donphan

Despite the fact that a lot of Pokémon from Johto wouldn’t become truly great until Generation IV, where they got new evolutions, there are still plenty from those games that I have fond memories of. Typhlosion’s pretty easy to justify: Take Charizard, remove its secondary type, and give it a few tricks the former couldn’t do. The result is Typhlosion, and I think it’s a really solid choice from Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Crobat is basically the secret weapon that isn’t quite so secret, as most in the know are well aware of its incredible Speed, but just how many have overlooked it because of how common its initial form, Zubat, is? The answer is A LOT. Umbreon was always one of my favourite Eeveelutions, although it hasn’t aged well, but it’s hard not to put Espeon right up there with it. Heracross is a beast, always has been, always will be. And then there’s Donphan. I loved Donphan before I even knew its name. Just that first appearance in Pokémon The First Movie had me going “What is THAT?! That’s so awesome! It’s like an elephant that turns into a mad wheel or something!” And I don’t think I saw Pikachu’s Summer Vacation when I first I saw the movie, so that was the first time it really hit me that there was gonna be another Pokémon game. I mean, yeah, we had Togepi show up, but I thought that was just gonna be a special event Pokémon like Mew. Speaking of Mew, though, if I remember Generation II for one thing in particular, it would be how this was the point where the previously untouchable Psychic-types were becoming a little more touchable, and they only became more-so as time went on.

Generation III

My Favourites: Sceptile, Blaziken, Swampert, Breloom, Mawile, Lairon

Yeah, surprisingly, not as many big favourites from this Generation as most others. I say ‘surprisingly’, despite this being the Generation that lost a fair share of long-time players, because I actually was not one of those people. I stuck around, and I really liked Generation III. If I can think of one word to best describe it, it’d be, for a lack of a better term, advancement. We had the introduction of Abilities, Pokémon Contests, the Battle Frontier, and a bunch of other stuff. But anyway, the favourites I have from this Generation list still stand out to me. All three starters were pretty solid in their own ways, and I’d like to point out that I liked Swampert and its family before it was cool. Mind you, poor Sceptile was one of the few Pokémon that would be victimized by the physical/special split next Generation, and Blaziken, while cool, started a trend where, for three Generations, we had Fire/Fighting-type starters, and we got sick of it pretty hard. Mawile and Lairon were pretty much immediate favourites from the moment I saw them, just for how cool they looked, but it admittedly took a bit to realize how awesome Breloom was. When I figured it out, though, I felt like smacking myself. Breloom and Blaziken were also the start of what I consider the second Genesis of Fighting-types, though it wouldn’t be complete until what came next…

Generation IV

My Favourites: Infernape, Roserade, Ambipom, Lucario, Togekiss, Glaceon

If Generation III is the start of the major advancement of Pokémon, then Generation IV was when said advancement was perfected. Lots of older Pokémon got brand new and much needed Evolutions. Stuff like the Contests were expanded upon. WiFi was utilized for trading and battling. But to me, the two biggest advancements can be seen in the favourites I chose here. The first is the physical and special split, where instead of being determined by type, whether an attack was physical or special was determined by the move itself and whether there was physical contact with the opponent. This was something that was needed from the START, from the very first games, and we finally had it here. The other major change was that, partially due to the split, and because of a few new attacks and abilities, and new Pokémon like Infernape and Lucario, Fighting-type Pokémon and attacks suddenly became a LOT more usable. In Gen 1, Fighting-types were not all that useful, especially since Psychic-types were so powerful. Generation II introduced Dark and Steel-types, which were weak to Fighting, and Gen 3 brought Pokémon like Blaziken and Breloom to shake up the Fighting-type. This, however, was the major turning point. And I know I’ve told this story before, but one of my favourite Pokémon from all of my playthroughs of the games is a female Lucario I named Tex, after the character from Red vs Blue, because of just how badass she is. Oh yeah, and Roserade is one of my favourite Grass/Poison-types of all time, and I think it’s only topped by Bulbasaur and its family in my eyes. And when you consider how many of those there are, that says a lot.

Generation V

My Favourites: Samurott, Excadrill, Sawk, Cottonee, Emolga, Chandelure

Again, like I said before, I was surprised to find just how many Pokémon from this Generation have left such great impressions on me. When I see Generation V Pokémon in Pokkén Tournament, I smile. A lot. Hell, the six Pokémon on this list are the members of my original team in Pokémon Black, and I still have plenty of other favourites beyond them, including Braviary, Haxorus, Volcarona, Pansage, and more. And it didn’t really hit me until Team Four Star mentioned it during their Nuzlocke Playthrough of LeafGreen just how ballsy a move Black and White, and Generation V in general, were. Black and White had all brand new Pokémon for the main story, and you couldn’t get anything else until after beating it for the first time. There was no third version, but two direct sequels, the first since Gold, Silver, and Crystal. And the games weren’t made for a brand new system, as you could get them for the Nintendo DS, but did have advantages presented for those that played them on the DSi. But yeah, Samurott is a great mixed attacker, Excadrill is insanely broken as shit, Sawk is a pretty good physical attacker and inheritor to Hitmonlee’s legacy, Cottonee is stupid good despite the fact that Prankster’s less favourable among Trainers nowadays, Emolga is adorable as shit and the first Electric/Flying-type since Zapdos, and Chandelure? Well, Chandelure has the highest Special Attack of all non-Legendary and non-Mega Evolved Fire-type Pokémon, and is a pretty handy Ghost-type, too. Mine had a Nature that was beneficial to Special Attack. Can you see where this is going? So yeah, having it be playable in Pokkén is kind of a treat for me, even if it is bizarre as shit to see in a major fighting game. ^_^

Generation VI

My Favourites: Chespin, Greninja, Talonflame, Vivillon, Tyrantrum, Sylveon

Despite the fact that X & Y feature the least amount of new Pokémon for any new Generation, there’re still plenty of good ones. And, of course, the thing that most people will ultimately remember Generation VI for is Mega Evolution, but like I said, I’m not including Mega Evolutions in this list, so brand new Pokémon for Generation VI only. That said, plenty here that I like a lot. Chespin is just too fucking adorable, not to mention tough enough to beat the Bug-type Gym Leader 2-on-1 with ease. Greninja seems to be a favourite among many, managing to make it as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. Talonflame breaks the tradition of the Pidgeot in that it is the first time we saw the super-common Flying-type evolve into something other than a Normal/Flying-type, and is pretty sweet. Vivillon doesn’t really do much that Butterfree couldn’t, but I like the different designs for it, and it’s still pretty solid despite having a type combination that we’ve seen a lot. Tyrantrum is badass and the first instance of a Fossil Pokémon based on a T-Rex, and I don’t know why it took so long to get it. And Sylveon is, in a lot of ways, outright broken due to the effects Pokémon get for the high levels of Affection that are required to get it, and is a brand new type that massively changes up the competitive battle scene.

So, those are my favourite Pokémon from each Generation. What are yours, though? Feel free to let me know (although you don’t have to go quite as in-depth as I did, lol) in the comments below. Also, lemme know which Pokémon you’d like to see either as DLC for Pokkén Tournament or in a sequel to the game. Ja né!

Chuggaaconroy’s Best Team of 6 Pokémon

…Yup, I’m doing this again. lol Since Emile’s newest Let’s Play, Pokémon Platinum, has started today, I thought I’d look back at his previous Pokémon LPs to determine, if it were possible to get six of his older Pokémon onto a single team, who would I consider to be the best choices for it? Keep in mind, this team is accounting for various strengths, weaknesses, past showings, and is generally judged based on today’s competitive scene, meaning it takes stuff like the current type chart into account. So, with all that said, let’s start off with the very first Pokémon we saw him obtain.

#1 – Bulbapedia the Venusaur

While not Chuggaaconroy’s favourite Pokémon, Bulbapedia is likely one of his most trusted team-mates. As his starter and the Big Good for Pokémon FireRed, Bulbapedia won battles against Brock, Misty, and Lt. Surge SOLO, specializes in Special Attack and Special Defense, and is believed to be very smart, given his namesake. lol Bulbapedia’s final movepool consisted of Razor Leaf, Strength, Sleep Powder, and Frenzy Plant, making him the bane of most Water, Rock, and Ground-type Pokémon. He’s also resistant to Fairy, Grass, Electric, Fighting, and Water-type attacks, but is weak to Fire, Flying, Ice, and Psychic-attacks. However, as of Pokémon X & Y, the Grass/Poison-type Seed Pokémon has been granted the power of Mega Evolution. As Mega Venusaur, Bulbapedia would gain Thick Fat, lowering his overall weakness to Fire and Ice-type attacks, and giving both his physical and special stats a considerable increase.

#2 – Odairu the Feraligatr

The Starter and Big Good of Emile’s playthrough of Pokémon Crystal, Odairu is a pure Water-type with a lot of bite to him. His Ice Punch managed to freeze not one but TWO of the Johto League Champion Lance’s Dragonite before the third one outsped him, he can use Surf to race across rapids, Slash to cut opponents’ health down to size, and Earthquake to deal with those pesky Electric-types. Odairu’s best overall asset is his Attack stat, which he could presumably take further advantage of in later games by learning Aqua Tail, and also possesses a decent physical defense. Overall, he’s a menace to Fire, Rock, and Ground-type Pokémon, and can resist Fire, Water, Steel, and Ice-type attacks. However, he is weak to Electric and Grass-type attacks, and although he can get around those with Ice Punch and Earthquake, his Speed leaves something to be desired, and since many Electric-type Pokémon are much faster than him, it’s best to keep him off the field when they arrive.

#3 – Moegami the Blaziken

The Starter Pokémon and Big Good from Chuggaaconroy’s Pokémon Emerald Let’s Play, Moegami’s namesake is the God of Fire in Ōkami, another game that he’s done an LP of. A Fire/Fighting-type, and the first Fire-type Emile obtained in the LPs that wasn’t of the Arcanine line, Moegami is a mixed attacker, though his Attack is a bit better than his Special Attack. Taking advantage of this, Emile taught him Overheat, which does incredible damage at the cost of decreasing the Special Attack stat with each blow, and focused on the physical stat for the rest of his attacks: Earthquake, Sky Uppercut, and Rock Tomb. Blaziken can be an absolute MONSTER against Normal, Bug, Grass, Steel, Ice, and Dark-type Pokémon, and can resist Bug, Steel, Fire, Ice, Dark, and Grass-type attacks, though he is weak to Flying, Ground, Water, and Psychic-type attacks. His biggest issue, though, is his frailty, as both his Defense and Special Defense are a bit on the low side, and his Speed doesn’t clock in as being that high. To combat this, though, Moegami could conceivably Mega Evolve into Mega Blaziken, which would not only give a small increase to his Speed and massive ones to his offensive stats, but would give him Speed Boost, which further increases his Speed every turn that he remains on the field.

#4 – Walnut the Forretress

The Big Gal of the Pokémon Colosseum playthrough, Walnut JUST BARELY edged out Methane the Weezing to make it as the physical wall of this team. This is due to her slightly more impressive Defense stat, her immunity to Poison-type attacks, her resistances to Normal, Bug, Grass, Psychic, Steel, Ice, and Fairy-type attacks, and the ability known as Sturdy, which prevents her from being knocked out in a single attack. In addition to all of that, and the moves Explosion and Toxic, which she shares with Methane, Walnut can lay Spikes, harming opponents as they enter the field of battle, and can use Protect, furthering her already impressive defensive capabilities. Her only real weakness is to Fire-type attacks, though her Speed is also absolutely abysmal. Regardless, she was a vital member of Emile’s team in Colosseum, and could easily be one again if called upon.

#5: Voltaire the Jolteon

The Starter Pokémon and The Hero from Emile’s Let’s Play of Pokémon XD, Voltaire is the first and only Electric-type Pokémon that he’s used thus far. Apparently named after a childhood friend, Voltaire’s raw Speed is the highest of any Pokémon Emile has obtained, his Thunder Wave assisted in snagging many Shadow Pokémon, and could further level the playing field with moves such as Bite, Thunderbolt, and “Thunder, Bolt from a God!”. However, as a Jolteon, Voltaire’s physical stats are a bit frail, meaning his Bite lacks a bit of power. Also, he has no other way of protecting himself from Ground-type Pokémon, his biggest adversary. Despite this, he is incredibly effective against Flying and Water-type Pokémon, can resist Steel, and Flying-type attacks, is immune to paralysis, and can absorb electricity with Volt Absorb to recover health.

So, once again, I find myself asking who could fill the final slot on the team. There are, of course, many Pokémon among the remaining 25 used in Emile’s final teams that could fill that spot, such as Vui and Saikou the Espeon, Darmani the Donphan, Tessie the Lapras, Khold the Fearow, Altair the Altaria, and Pandora the Absol. But ultimately, I had to go with the one who best covered the remaining weak-points of the team, and could bring it to the opposition just as hard. And that one Pokémon is…

Slavinator the Zigzagoon

Sorry, couldn’t resist. 😛 No, it’s actually…

#6 – Volvagia the Dragonite

Volvagia is the final member of Chuggaa’s team in Pokémon Crystal, The Chick of said team (due to being the only female present), and the first and only pseudo-Legendary Pokémon used in any of his LPs. Named after the boss of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’s Fire Temple, she is a sheer powerhouse of both the physical and special variety, and isn’t really lacking in either defensive stat, either. As a Dragonite, she has access to a wide and wealthy movepool, but sticks with the moves Extreme Speed, Dragon Breath, Ice Beam, and Thunder Wave. In later games, she also would be revealed to possess Inner Focus, which would prevent her from flinching, and could learn powerful moves to take advantage of her Flying-type, like Hurricane and Aerial Ace. She can resist Grass, Fire, Water, Bug, and Fighting-type attacks, and is completely resistant to Ground-type attacks. However, she is vulnerable to Dragon, Fairy, Rock, and Ice-type attacks. Though not invincible, as Lance might have once told Trainers, Volvagia is nonetheless a powerful Dragon/Flying-type, and one of the all-around mightiest members of Emile’s roster.

Alright, so let’s tally up their stats, using Azurilland’s Team Builder (not counting resistances or immunities granted by Abilities)…

…And yeah, looking good. No more than two Pokémon on his team share a weakness to any single type, all but three types have resistances from various members (and a couple of outright immunities), and at least four of them are battle-hardened Starters that likely have maxed-out EV training. Soooo…yeah, I think this is likely the best team he could hope to create from his previous teams. Of course, this could change in the future, depending on what his Platinum team ends up looking like.

So, that’s my look at Chuggaaconroy’s best possible team of six Pokémon. Think I missed someone? Lemme know in the comments below, and be sure to check out the Platinum Let’s Play as it continues. Ja né!

Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Pokémon That STILL Do Not Evolve

Y’know, we’re nearing the 20th Anniversary of Pokémon, and in that time, there’s been over 700 different kinds of Pokémon that have appeared in these games. And, of them, I think it was stated once that 90% of all Pokémon evolve in some way, shape, or form, although I think that number is in major dispute and may have been ignoring Legendaries. However, for some reason, there are still some that have been around even as early as Generation 1, the original games, that do not evolve, nor do they have access to Mega Evolution. Now, in some cases, these Pokémon are just badass enough that they don’t need them. Others, and I think you know exactly who I’m talking about, could SERIOUSLY use an Evolution to make themselves relevant, and aren’t getting them. So, in no particular order, let’s look at 5 Pokémon that I cannot believe, after all these years, STILL do not evolve for one reason or another. Just for the record, these are Pokémon from absolutely no later than Gold and Silver, so nothing from Hoenn and beyond. And, I guess we might as well get this outta the way right now…

#1 – Farfetch’d

What did this poor Normal/Flying-type do to someone that caused it to gain such repeated disgrace? Every generation, it has had to sit and watch as nearly every other Pokémon from the original games get new evolutions, pre-evolutions, types, or just anything new and exclusive to themselves that makes them unique and able to do things no one else can. Farfetch’d, however, while it obtained a hold item usable only by itself and is able to use a lot of attacks that most Pokémon of its type combination can’t, I really and truly feel doesn’t have enough to make itself competent. One cool thing they did with it was make it a Pokémon you can get in a trade early in X & Y, and thus would give you a big advantage over the first Gym Leader, who uses Bug-types. But honestly, even if you did that, can you really say that you kept it on the team for an extended amount of time past that? It just feels like the poor thing has gone long enough without an evolution of some kind… …With that said, it’s not like it’s the ONLY Pokémon from Red and Blue that hasn’t evolved…

#2 – Tauros

Yup, turns out that, when a lot of older Pokémon that had been passed over for years in terms of getting new stuff were let into the Mega Evolution scene, Farfetch’d wasn’t the only one that got left out. Now, I wouldn’t say that Tauros is in the same league of being pitiable as Farfetch’d, but at the same time, the Wild Bull has not exactly had a lot new going for him. He has Sheer Force, which is pretty awesome, but at the same time, plenty of others have that ability and superior stats, albeit not quite as superior as you might think. So yeah, I guess it’s not really a matter of thinking Tauros NEEDS to evolve to be usable. Rather…just think of what a Mega Tauros would be like. Admit it, you’d want that badass bull on your team. XD Also, I really want them to do a pre-evolution that can evolve into Tauros or Miltank, just to finally put that theory to rest. lol

#3 – Delibird

To loosely quote an internet reviewer who, last I heard, is actually retiring from the biz, Confused Matthew, “Will someone please explain to me what is the quantifiable difference between Vital Spirit and Insomnia“?! Whose bright idea was it to give it a Hidden Ability that does the exact same thing as one of its primary Abilities? Now, to be fair to this Pokémon, it DID come out as part of doubling the number of Ice-types from 5 to 10 in Gold and Silver, and was seen as the non-legendary Ice/Flying-type for those that couldn’t get or use Articuno, kinda like how Emolga is now the non-legendary counterpart to Zapdos. The problem is, it still sucks. It knows ONE attack, the results of which are completely random, without the use of any kind of TMs, breeding, or Move Tutors to teach it anything else. It’s a gimmick Pokémon, end of story, and I really think that of all gimmick Pokémon, it’s the single most lame, and I don’t really think that’s fair. Especially when you consider that its gimmick is being Santa, and I just feel like Santa should be more awesome than that.

#4 – Dunsparce

Again, this is a Pokémon that a LOT of people want to see rise to bigger and better things, to the point where Mega Dunsparce was created for fan games. And you would think with some of its moves that have special effects attached to them, and an Ability like Serene Grace that doubles the odds of those effects happening, that Dunsparce would be a Pokémon who would have an expanded evolutionary line. Nope! Once again, a Pokémon with tons of potential gets no love from the developers, and I really don’t understand why that is. But hey, as it is, Dunsparce does work great as the team annoyer, meaning that it’ll drive your opponent nuts with some of its attacks.

#5 – Skarmory

…Okay, like Tauros, Skarmory is a Pokémon that doesn’t NEED an evolution, but my God, just imagine what Mega Skarmory would be like, and the terror that would overcome opponents when they see it on the field blocking against them. For those unaware, Skarmory is a freaking MONSTER of a physical blocker. Granted, some of that got taken down a peg or two this newest generation, since it’s no longer resistant to Ghosts or Dark-types, but it IS resistant and does super-effective damage to the new type on the block: Fairies. Still, what I think would actually be a bit more reasonable a request would be a pre-evolved form. A mini-Skarmory that can be used in competitions for smaller and weaker Pokémon, and can learn new attacks. It’d be like the cutest little nightmare EVER. lol

Anyway, those are five Pokémon from the first couple of generations that have never evolved, have pre-evolutions, or Mega Evolutions. Got any that I missed, or perhaps ones from later generations? Lemme know, and we’ll see what happens when the inevitable Generation VII games come out. Ja né!