My Favorite Pokemon

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For most of Pokémon’s 30 year history, I was aware of the franchise but it was not something I actually cared about. My three kids preferred Digimon the cartoon over Pokémon. The people in my life that played at the time weren’t in my life as yet.

A year ago I could only name one of these Pokemon.

That all changed when Grandchild #1 informed me I was playing Pokémon with her. I jumped headlong into a hobby that I thoroughly enjoy.

Recently at card show, my better half and I were shopping for cards. (She’s taken up collecting the crocheted cards by Asako Ito as well as Phanpy and, Piplup, and Slakoth [they’re so cu-ute]). We were both asked what our favorite Pokémon were. My better half has four distinct favorites, and I have three. I’ll reveal those later.

This got me thinking; What are the most popular Pokémon and why?

According to a recent poll conducted by The Pokemon Company, the Top 10 Favorite Pokemon are:

The Top 10 List

  1. Greninja – Ranked first globally with over 140,000 votes, loved for its sleek design and anime presence.
  2. Lucario – Secured second place with massive fan support as a powerful fighting/steel type.
  3. Mimikyu – A fan-favorite ghost/fairy type that hides its true appearance under a Pikachu disguise, taking third.
  4. Charizard – The iconic fire-type starter remains a timeless favorite and collector dream.
  5. Umbreon – The most popular Eeveelution, praised for its sleek dark design and glowing rings.
  6. Sylveon – A beloved fairy-type evolution of Eevee known for its cute ribbons.
  7. Garchomp – A fierce and dominant dragon/ground pseudo-legendary.
  8. Rayquaza – The legendary sky dragon of Hoenn.
  9. Gengar – The classic and mischievous ghost type.
  10. Gardevoir – An elegant psychic/fairy type with immense popularity in competitive and casual play.

I was surprised that Pikachu wasn’t in the top 10. So I decided to conduct an informal survey of players from my FLGS (Favorite Local Game Store) and family members who play.

Miltank, because she’s a cow. – Helen K.

I needed to show this card since it was specifically mentioned as a reason for liking Beartic.

Beartic, because he was a 2¢ bulk card that put opponents to sleep and got me a regional top 8. – Matthew M.

Meowth talking cat – Nick N.

Zekrom for me. Was the first competitive deck I played and have a lot of good memories from the BW era of playing – Tyler S.

Feraligatr, big bite chompy. Best water Pokémon IMO from the gameboy games era wish it was better in the TCG, hits hard but takes a lot to get moving. – Head Judge

Ceruledge because I loved the deck before G rotation. For in general (Gen 5 is the undisputed goat) – Jacob W.

Greninja. Because frog. I adore frogs lol – Azriel S.

Grandchild #1: Pikachu and “I don’t know(reason its her favorite), it just is”

Pvt. BlackSpartan: I like Eevee because it was the cutest cat-like [SIC] (Editor’s note, I always thought Eevee was a cross between a fox and rabbit) Pokémon in the original 150. Also Eevee has the most versatile evolutions

Son-in-law: I have many Pokemon I like but my top three are; Charizard, Mimikyu and Cramorant.

Grandchild #3: Pikachu, he’s cute and my first Pokémon. It also evolves into Raichu who is very strong.

Pikachu and Eevee were the only two to get multiple mentions in my informal survey.

Ag3nt 048: Rampardos, headlined my first starter deck. He’s my favorite color. It’s a freaking dinosaur that just headbutts everything.

Daughter-in-law #2: Cubone (no reason given, I suspect she’s humoring me)

Grandchild #4: Jigglypuff, cause it’s pink

Awesome Dude: Squirtle (has been since he was in grade school) cuz he’s the BEST!

Daughter-in-law #3: Loves Eevee and all the Eevolutions.

The Pirate loves Rattata because he was the first shiny Pokémon he ever caught.

My better half loves Slakoth, Phanpy, Piplup and Cufant because they are SOOOO Cute!

My three favorites are Beheeyem, Elgyem, and Cyclizar. Why? Two aliens and motorcycle lizard? What’s not to like?

The Pokémon Company really messed up by NOT doing this Tag Team.

So what did I learn? Your favorite Pokémon is your favorite Pokémon regardless of the reason. Most of these reasons are either nostalgic or based on non-Pokémon aspects of who you are.

All Pokémon imagery is © Pokémon / Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK

Pokémon group image is borrowed from Business Insider

Beartic card is borrowed from Limitless TCG

Pikachu and Eevee image is borrowed from Polygon.com

Beheeyem and Cyclizar Tag Team card is a concept parody Pokemon card developed by Alien Graphics using ChatGPT and edited by Alien Graphics.

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