Catch Or Release These Pokemon And We'll Guess Your Favorite One
- by Ariel_S
- – on
- in Movies and TV
Nintendo’s first-party intellectual property of pocket monsters has been one of the most widely celebrated, and easily recognizable franchises in modern media history. Since its conception and release in the mid-1990’s, Pokemon has become the worldwide phenomenon that no one could have foreseen (Pokemon Wikia).
In a world where Pokemon exists (insert Professor Oak voice here) there are a lot of very difficult decisions to make as a trainer. In every game since the beginning, any trainer can only carry around with them six pokemon. This adds a certain level of strategy in the decision process of building out your main squad. To complicate the choices, even more, pokemon has always had more than 6 different pokemon types. Who one chooses in their line-up can make or break a battle, the adventure through any region, or be the difference between whether or not one claims that specific gym badge.
In recent additions to the video game franchise, pokemon has added more abilities to pick a favorite, or a "buddy" pokemon. Usually this means that said chosen pokemon will stay out of their ball and travel along the ground with the protagonist. Picking a partner pokemon can be just as tricky as an entire squad. We’ve carefully designed this quiz to discover who everyone's favorite pokemon is.
Pikachu
It may have become the face of the franchise, and is, to this day, one of the most recognizable intellectual property characters the entire globe over. Much of that is due to the two-factor appearance in the popular television anime that revolves around the show. Pikachu was the protagonist's main Pokemon, and almost never went into his ball. Making him one of the stars. The little mouse creature is one of the most powerful electric pokemon in the entire world, and Ash's Pikachu displays far more range of human emotion than most Pokemon.
Mew
The last numbered official Pokemon in the original 151 first-generation of pocket monsters, Mew is said to be the oldest, and potentially first Pokemon ever (Pokemon Wikia). There are plenty of theories as to where Mew came from, or why it’s able to learn almost every single technical machine, hidden machine, or move tutor in the entire universe, but at the end of the day, the best glimpse into the life and trials of Mew can be found in the first ever Pokemon movie.
Croconaw
There always comes a time where all of the starters, of whichever generation we’re discussing, are judged and the best one is plucked out. Croconaw is the dino-like powerful water-type pokemon that is an evolution of Totodile, the water starter from generation two. It is wildly under sought, and is often at the bottom of the starter ranks for gen two. Croconaw, being the best of the Totodile’s three evolutionary stages, lands on this list because of its stellar use cases in the post-first-gym run of Gold and Silver.
Ninetales
Some people have a hard time wondering why a tiny fire fox (not the internet browser) would evolve, and its name would be ninetails, but if we take a second to just count the tails, we would probably see why. One of the most beloved final evolutions in pokemon history, Ninetails is inarguably one of the most illustriously beautiful pocket monsters ever created. It’s a pocket monster with that fire power, and recent Alolan versions switch it up for Ice/Fairy powers.
Eevee
Possibly one of the most complex and confusing pokemon creatures to ever explain to someone not in the know. Eevee, the almost-cat-like pokemon doesn’t evolve with the passing of time and the advancements of experience, but rather with stones. Eevee, the original evolution is the first part of an eight-point evolution tree. Using different stones, an Eevee can be evolved into Vaporeon (water), Jolteon (electric), Flareon (fire), Espeon (psychic), Umbreon (dark), Leafeon (grass), Glaceon (ice), or Sylveon (fairy) (Pokemon Wikia). This rare evolution type, and drastically high number of options, has made Eevee a fan favorite since gen one.
Teddiursa
This, Teddiursa, the cutest teddy bear pokemon, was at one point the most sought after pokemon in the second generation. Partially because of its adorableness, but also in part because at level 30, it evolves into one mightily powerful moon-bear normal-type pokemon in Ursaring. Teddiursa debuted in the animated television show to truly thunderous applause, and is a very viable pick for one of the best gen two pokemon ever. In gen two, it’s a Pokemon Gold exclusive, and can be found along Route 45 (Bulbapedia).
Porygon
Is it an homage? It is just a weird fantasy from Pokemon creators? Or is there a real reason why Porygon was designed to look like a weird PlayStation One game’s polygonal character models? It doesn’t really matter, what does, is that it quickly became one of the most hunted pokemon of the first generation, that took a whole lot of luck. The reason why luck played a part in Red and Blue is because in order to get Porygon, one would have to enter the Rocket Game Corner Casino, and win at a generally fixed gambling slots game.
Lucario
Lucario is one of those serious pokemon that intense trainers will and have loved for a very long time. It’s one of the strongest pokemon in gen four, and evolves from Riolu (one of the first “baby” pokemon introduced). The epic fighting ability of the blue fox-looking creature made it such a powerful pick that even Super Smash Bros. has to include it into their roster line-up. Lucario requires a deep bond to unlock, and is one of those first pokemon to evolve based off of friendship level, and time of day.
Venomoth
One of the most powerful bug-type and poison-type pokemon in the first generation of the pokedex, Venomoth was, and still is a key member of a lot of squads. Having one on the poke-belt heading out into the world is a very strong choice, but it takes quite a bit of work to unlock. Venomoths evolve from Venonats, and doesn’t evolve until level 31. While Venonat isn’t a difficult pokemon to use, it’s not a very versatile or strong pick, making it a whole lot of work to get up to that level.
Vaporeon
We spoke about Eevee earlier in this quiz, and it would be really difficult to get through the rest of it without bringing up any of the evolutions that have been developed over the years since gen one. Vaporeon, the water-type evolution of Eevee takes the Water Stone to evolve, and during the run to Pokemon Master in gen one, makes one of the best squad additions we could ask for (Bulbapedia). Out of the three original, gen one Eevee evolutions, Vaporeon is the most favored by a very wide margin.
Squirtle
Part three of the original pokemon starters, Squirtle is the water-type to the trio of Red and Blue options. Often overlooked, the Squirtle is one of the rarest picks to start out the first pokemon games in the series, but has a strong fanbase thanks to the few that chose it to begin their journey in Red and Blue, and some rather exciting and adorable appearances in the animated television show. With the loadout of gyms during the run-through of Red and Blue, Squirtle is also the weakest choice to start the game in terms of counters early on.
Machamp
This, the final form of Machop, is one of the coolest fighting type pokemon on the entire pokedex. In order to get Machamp, we have to evolve our Machop into a Machoke, but then it got really cool. The only way to evolve a Machoke into a Machamp was to trade it. Part of the play of the original few pokemon games became almost urban legend status, trade-only evolutions were one of those legends. It forced pokemon trainers the world over to converse and trade with other trainers.
Zapdos
The original trilogy of games (Pokemon Red, Pokemon Blue, and Pokemon Yellow) had three legendary pokemon birds that quickly became one of the main goals of pokemon trainer setting out on their journeys. The three birds were Articuno (ice-type), Moltres (fire-type), and the grandest of them all, Zapdos, the electric-type legendary bird (Bulbapedia). It’s extremely hard to capture, and compete against, and even in Pokemon GO, or the newly released Pokemon Let’s GO: Pikachu and Eevee, Zapdos is a trial and a half to acquire.
Marill
The epic aqua-mouse that is Marill will be very familiar to those that have had the opportunity to play the awesome Gold and Silver, or even HeartGold and SoulSilver, as Marill is the companion pokemon of the best friend that appears from time to time in order to assist us along in our journey of becoming one of the best pokemon trainers in the world. A Marill baby was introduced in gen three in the form of Azurill, and Marill evolves into Azumarill at level 18.
Snivy
Alongside Tepig, and Oshawott, Snivy is part of what it often considered the weakest starter class in pokemon history. Perhaps this was a large piece of the puzzle as to why some folks took a break from the pokemon games, around the introduction of gen five with Pokemon Black and Pokemon White. It may be a soft starter, but Snivy does become one of the best final evolutions for a starter in Serperior: one of the prettiest, and powerful grass-type pokemon in the entire pokedex.
Charizard
Speaking of evolutions to starter pokemon, we can’t delve into that world without bringing up the most desired final starter evolution in the entirety of the pokemon universe. Charizard has played a huge part in all aspects of the Pokemon brand. It was the face on the cover of Pokemon Red, it was Ash’s first extremely powerful large pokemon, and was one of the most sought-after pokemon cards in the trading card game. Who doesn’t want to add a giant fire-type dragon to their line-up?
Furret
In a class of pokemon that is considered one of the least inspiring starting region wild pokemon, gen two had a few really great treats if we took the time to grind some of those early level pokemon. Furret is one of those absolute gems. It’s inarguably among the top of the class in terms of adorable keeper pokemon, with it’s long, ferret-like body, cute expressions, and a rather intense set-up in terms of aggressive abilities. So, if anyone is putting together Team Cute, they can’t complete their line-up with a Furret.
Grimer
If we were to throw some googly eyes on a big ol’ pile of muck, we’d probably end up with something very close to Grimer. It’s a sludge creature, and poison-type pokemon that (hilariously) evolves into a Muk. It’s not a common pick for those trying to make their way through the grind that is the first generation of pokemon, but as they are needed to complete the dex, Grimer is a must. Also, as it’s not a really solid mass, some physical attacks don’t affect the pokemon. Which can be used to one’s advantage in match-ups.
Cubone
It’s not even up for discussion, but Cubone is the loneliest pokemon in the entire universe. The tragic, and desperately emotional backstory of the Cubone creature is one for the history books, but luckily for them, they evolve and become strong and independent, moving on from their grasps of past emotions, and become nearly epic. Coming in at Number 104 in the gen one Pokedex (Bulbapedia), Cubone is a very solid pick if anyone is looking for a strong up-and-coming pokemon in the ground-type column.
Haunter
As a particularly prolific ghost-type pokemon master, Haunter, and all of its evolutionary forms were high on my list making my way through the Kanto region. Haunter, being the second evolution of Ghastly, is a gas-body ghost-type pokemon that avoids some or most of the battle effects while dishing out some pretty epic poison and ghost type attacks. Haunter is also one of the rare pokemon that can only evolve when traded, turning into the shadow pokemon Gengar -- one of the most powerful ghost pokemon ever.
Ponyta
If we could imagine a very adorable and friendly version of one of the horses of the apocalypse, we’d probably wind up picturing something very similar to Ponyta. The small fire-type pony pokemon is a very solid choice for gen one pokemon trainers to round out their squad with a strong fire-type pokemon. It is also one of the only pokemon (especially that within the first generation) that requires leveling all the way up to level 40 before it can evolve, turning into Rapidash, the gigantic fire steed (Pokemon Wikia).
Butterfree
For all those fans of the pokemon show, Butterfree is a very obvious choice for strongest appearance within the first season. Technically, (if we ignore Pikachu) Ash’s Butterfree is his first ever captured pokemon. His little worm, Caterpie, evolved into a Metapod, before emerging from the cocoon as a beautiful poison/bug-type pokemon. Butterfree becomes a fan favorite because of Ash’s connection to the creature, and their extremely emotional departure from the lead trio of the show. Caterpie being an early-level wild find, can be a very strong choice for a mainstay in our party.
Abra
One of the most prolific psychic-type pokemon in the entire franchise, Abra is absolutely an epic choice for anyone’s squad. It has three tiers of evolution, and eventually becomes a Kadabra, then an Alakazam (if we trade it). At full strength, there aren’t many pokemon that can handle all that Abra, or any of its evolutions, can throw around. It is often considered that Abra is always asleep, making it both surprising, and relatively confusing when it attacks. Abra’s favorite move is teleporting victims/opponents overtop of threats, or away from safety.
Moltres
The fire-type epic and legendary bird from the original trio of gen one legendaries, Moltres might be the most overlooked of them. Perhaps it has to do with the strength and appearances of both Articuno, and Zapdos in all other versions of the pokemon media. Though, unlike the other two, Moltres makes a sizable impact in its appearance in all of the Nintendo-made Super Smash Bros. titles, supplying the wielder of the pokeball with a ton of attack power dealt to their opponents.
Wynaut
If one were to ask themselves, or question the addition of one of these pokemon to their party, the answer is simple; Wynaut? The adorably interesting bright pokemon is a psychic-type, and eventually evolves into a formidable part of your squad in the unflappable Wobbuffet. First introduced in gen three, the Wynaut has become a fan favorite, especially for those looking to compete with their own Team Cute. But, in order for one’s line-up to qualify, they will have to force-stop its evolution, because Wynaut may be cute, but Wobbuffet is not.
Mudkip
Perhaps one of the first indications that the Pokemon Company was struggling to come up with three original, yet constrained, starter pokemon, was generation three’s introductory trio. The formula that had served the company so well for two whole generations felt like it was getting stale for the first time with Treecko, Torchic, and this adorable mud-fish in Mudkip. It may begin in a very cute place, but all of the gen three final evolutions are sometimes considered weak from a design perspective. But, everyone looking for a more difficult time, has to begin their journey through Ruby and Sapphire.
Mimikyu
Is it part Ditto? Is is part Pikachu? No. The most interesting thing about Mimikyu is that no one actually knows what it truly looks like. It is said that the yellow, painted on exterior of Mimikyu, as seen in the games, the shows, and more, is simply a sheet, like a budget ghost. The only part of the actual ghost underneath the sheet ever seen is the large, jelly-like limbs it uses during its attacks. It’s a confusing and mysterious pokemon, which probably adds some validity to the reason why so many folks absolutely adore this pokemon.
Lapras
Some pokemon grow in our hearts for one particular reason, and the introduction to use-case pokemon definitely grew that possibility when it comes to certain pokemon. Lapras is one of those beautiful creatures that so greatly helps out the player, that it becomes synonymous with good feelings, and love. Part of the original 151, Lapras is one of only a few pokemon that can assist pokemon trainers across large bodies of water, making it one of the most crucial catches in the entire series (Pokemon Wikia). Since gen one, a few more pokemon have been added to the surf list, but Lapras will live-on in our hearts.
Poliwhirl
Adjusting one’s television set becomes increasingly difficult when staring at a Poliwag, Poliwhirl, or Poliwrath. The second in the evolutionary chain, the Poliwhirl, is by far the strongest of the trio. Poliwhirl might not be the most epic pokemon in any evolutionary tree, but the purpose and the fact that we get to have multiple evolutionary choices, makes it stand out. These choices include one of the greatest pokemon ever (though, that’s just our biased opinion) in Politoed, the green water-type frog pokemon.
Wailmer
If one sets out on their journey through any modern pokemon game, on the hunt to create the largest (in scale) pokemon squad possible, there has to be some consideration for Wailmer. The absolute unit of a whale might be the most adorable giant in all of the pokemon universe. It’s a water-type, obviously, and was one of the first ever pokemon from gen three to be revealed to the world (Bulbapedia). Though, if we’re being truly honest, the gigantic smile on Wailmer can be rather creepy at times.
Staryu
Part of the original anime trio of Ash, Brock, and Misty, the latter was a prolific trainer of water-type pokemon. Along with her iconic Togepi, Misty’s greatest pokemon was her protective Staryu, a pokemon she called upon regularly. Staryu, the five-pointed star water-type pokemon, can evolve thanks to the Water Stone into Starmie, which is a ten-pointed star. Though it’s evolved form takes on some abilities in the psychic realm, Staryu is strictly a water-type. If any trainer doesn’t pick Squirtle as a starter Staryu makes for a very solid pick for a necessary water-type.
Chikorita
The second part of the gen two starters on this quiz, Chikorita took Bulbasaur’s place as the quintessential grass-type pokemon out of the gate. It’s easy mode, being a solid counter to every first gym in any pokemon mainline title, making the grass-type starter a solid choice for first-time trainers, or those looking to breeze through the early game. Chikorita evolves into Bayleef at 16, and Meganium at 32. It’s final form, the latter of the recently mentioned evolutions, is one of the most creative and cool starter pokemon evolutions ever conceived (Bulbapedia).
Greninja
With Super Smash Bros. Ultimate dropping last week on the Nintendo Switch, a lot of first time smashers are going to be introduced to Greninja for the first time in their lives. The part frog, part ninja pokemon is a crazy fast fighter, and boasts attacks from both the water and dark types. Even though they are infamous within the world of pokemon and pokemon fandom, many people don’t know that Greninja evolves from Froakie, making Greninja one of the most prolific starter final evolutions in pokemon history.
Bulbasaur
It wouldn’t be a grand list of some of the most special pokemons without the mention of Bulbasaur. Part of the original trio of Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue starters, Bulbasaur was the first OP beginning to any pokemon adventure ever. A Bulbasaur can evolve into an Ivysaur at level 16, and has a final form of Venusaur once it reaches level 32. As part of the original choices for pokemon trainers worldwide, Bulbasaur has always been one of the faces of the franchise (Bulbapedia).
Hoppip
If one needs to take a look at something that just warms the heart, and grows a smile on whoever bears witness to it, then do everyone a favor and just google search images of Hoppip. The most adorable, odd mixture of cat and plant, with a touch of Jigglypuff in there, Hoppip is a grass/flying-type pokemon based off the plant of Cottonweed. Introduced in gen two, the Hoppip is a pretty stellar choice to add to one’s squad, especially if you don’t pick the grass-type starter.
