Top 10 Favorite Pokemon

Everyone loves Pokemon! I love Pokemon, you love Pokemon, the whole world loves Pokemon. I've been on a bit of a Pokemon binge this last year, essentially playing every game in the series over the course of last year. I started with Gold, went to Sapphire, then to Red, Pearl, Y, and finally White. I've seen all sorts of Pokemon, and I've caught a fair amount of them. I've done Nuzlockes, I've done play-throughs, and I've mastered essentially every gen. So now the question has arisen; what are my favorite Pokemon? So it's time for a top 10 list! This is a strictly personal list of what Pokemon I would choose in a heartbeat, regardless of skill, strength, or appearance. These are just the ten Pokemon that have a soft place in my heart. Oh, and my list has zero first gen Pokemon. I just don't like them enough to have them merit a spot on my list. So that being said, here are my Top 10 Favorite Pokemon!

10) Roselia

The reason why Roselia, who is by all accounts a standard Grass/Poison Pokemon, has a special place in my heart is solely due to my Nuzlocke run of Sapphire I did last June. I had caught Roselia, which I had named Tassa, right before fighting Wattson and his electric Pokemon. Unfortunately, I had lost my starter, a Combuskin named Beeple, and Tassa was the strongest Pokemon in my party. Tassa remained strong throughout the rest of the game, using super effectvie grass moves to conquer all of her opponents. Hell, she even beat Flannery and her fire Pokemon. That should never happen! But Tassa was the Roselia that could, and it was a tragedy when I lost her close to the end of the game. I was fighting against the Psychic gym, and Roselia was taking out by a Solrock's fire blast, which symbolically spelled the end of my Nuzlocke run. I lost the run at Victory Road, but Tassa was always there to lead my party and kill anyone that got in our way and for that, Roselia will always have a special place in my heart. RIP Tassa, you were taken too soon.

9) Scolipede

Dude, Scolipede is a badass to the extreme! Again, he was a Nuzlocke Pokemon that I had acquired, and at first, I thought he would be a dead weight on my team. I mean, he was a Bug/Poison Pokemon, two of the most useless types in existence! However, after training him a bit, I found out just how powerful he could be. His bug moves were some of the strongest in the game, and Scolipede comes with an ability that has poison moves inflict more damage if the target is poisoned, so after fighting a bit, he could trounce any team with minimal effort. What makes him even better was that he's faster than most Pokemon, which will always have him hit first and hit hard. The only reason why he isn't up higher on this list is that he really didn't have that many types advantages. He could destroy grass Pokemon with ease, but fifth gen really didn't introduce that many grass Pokemon for him to kill. A bit of a shame he couldn't be used more often, but when he was used, he could fight with the best of them, and maybe even kill them too.

8) Skarmory

Hands down, Skarmory is one of the coolest Pokemon ever designed. I was struggling whether or not to put Scyther on this list, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought that Skarmory is everything that I could have wanted out of the second generation of Pokemon, which is also my favorite gen. He introduced a new type, steel, into the Pokemon universe, and steel is one of the more stronger types in the game, with it only having a major weakness to fire, ground, and fighting, but add in Skarmory's dual flying type, and you essentially have a Pokemon that's only weak to fire and electric moves. Not only that, he's fast, can pack a punch, and can learn fly to travel around faster. Yes, Scyther does evolve into Scizor, but Scizor has a double weakness to fire and can't learn fly, so Skarmory has bonus points on that. Also, in Gold and Silver, Skarmory can only be found one on route later in the game, and the chances of finding him were slim at best. If you caught a Skarmory, you had instant badass points when you threw one out in a Pokemon battle. For being the best example of what Steel type Pokemon could do, Skarmory easily deserved a place on this list.

7) Jirachi

Out of all of the legendary Pokemon, why would I choose Jirachi as the best one? Well, he's the one that I have the easiest access to! All of the "cute" legendary Pokemon are only obtainable through events (except for Mew who could be glitched into Red and Blue), so catching one was a once in a blue moon event. Jirachi though was released specifically as a pre-order bonus for Pokemon Colosseum. After pre-ordering the game, gamers would get a bonus disc that contained three things on it. There was a trailer for Pokemon Colosseum, a trailer for the latest Pokemon movie, and a special Jirachi download. With a Gameboy Advance link cable and a copy of Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald, you could get a level 5 Jirachi into your game to use however you please. Jirachi was always the second Pokemon that I would get in my party after my starter, and with its Steel/Psychic combo, he could carry some pretty effective moves. Besides all of that, I just love his design. It's a little star fairy and, to be honest, is one of the cutest Pokemon in the series. Yes I can fall prey to a bit of cuteness, but its rarity and the fact I have an unlimited supply of Jirachis will make him a favorite in my parties for a long time.

6) Chandelure

And here's the last personal Pokemon from my string of Nuzlocke runs! Chandelure might just be one of the strongest Pokemon in Black and White, and is a tank in the purest definition. Chandelure's special attack and special defense are insane, and combining that with a high amount of HP means that taking one down will be no easy feat. Then you have its Ghost/Fire type, which means that he'll pack a punch and hit hard against any trainer. My Chandelure was so powerful that he was able to trounce an entire Elite Four member by himself when he was at level 50. By all accounts, he should have been dead, but you can't keep a good Pokemon down. Also, I just have a thing for his design. Yeah it's a chandelier, but it looks so genuinely creepy and cool at the same time. Litwick was cute, Lampert was alright, but Chandelure took the cake for best design of the family. Chandelure will always be my fire Pokemon of choice, and he was the hero of my White Nuzlocke. Him and Roselia are in a league of their own now.

5) Ralts

So, let's take a little trip here. You're playing Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald, and you're learning how to catch Pokemon. You see a kid named Wally go into the grass on a route and the first Pokemon he finds is this little sucker. You have no idea what the hell it is, but you know you want it. The problem is, he's only found on that one route and is rare to find. You run around for an hour trying to find a Ralts, and then, suddenly, he appears! You catch him, and suddenly you have a Pokemon that you never dreamed you could catch. That's Ralts in a nutshell. Ralts may be a weak Pokemon, but when I first saw him, I wanted him way more than any Zigzaggoon of Poochyena. He was a Psychic type, and he probably would be the first Psychic Pokemon you could encounter until later on in the game, so having him would make your life a bit easier in the early parts of the game. I'm not really a big fan of his evolved forms, and I especially have a dislike for Gallade, but Ralts will always be that one Pokemon that I want to catch, even if he's not all that good.

4) Aggron

The biggest realization for me about this list is that apparently I love Steel Pokemon. They're strong, have great defense, have a unique set of weaknesses, and symbolically helped balance out the game. However, if you were to ask me what my favorite Steel Pokemon was, I'd choose Aggron in a heartbeat. This guy is the definition of a monster, but a monster you had to work hard for. At first, you'd start off with an Aron, a little Pokemon that was alright, but nothing too grand. But after leveling him up into his adult form, he was a frightening force to reckon with. Aggron in TOUGH. He hits hard, he can take a hit, and his only significant downside is that he's slow and fighting moves will absolutely destroy him. But you know what? I'll take those weaknesses just as long as I can have a steel dinosaur in my party. Skarmory may be fast and cool, and Jirachi may be cute and rare, but Aggron is the Pokemon you send out to get the job done, and that makes him one of my personal favorites to use in any game. 

3) Totodile

Best starter, hands down. I know some people have a close connection with Charmander and Torchic, but Totodile will always be the starter that I choose in any game. I think it mostly has to do with his design at the end of the day. There's just something so cute, yet tough about choosing a baby crocodile as your starter. It's not even because I love Feraligator, though I do love him, but more so because Totodile is always the Pokemon I will start Gold and Silver with. With every other gen, I would muse picking a starter that I wouldn't normally choose and just see how that goes, but Totodile is always my unanimous choice for my starter. There's never a doubt in my mind, I just know instinctively that I want Totodile. I can't really say anything else about him besides Totodile is the best starter Pokemon of any Pokemon game. 

2) Clawitzer

I just can't get over this guy's design. Out of all of the Pokemon announced for X and Y, this was the one Pokemon I wanted the most. I can't really explain why though, since he just looks so stupid, yet so cool at the same time. He's a shrimp with a giant claw. The claw is even bigger than him! I'm pretty sure his claw is over three times bigger than him in fact! Add onto that the fact that he's a pure Water Pokemon, and you have someone who by all accounts should be a lame and uninspired Pokemon. But there's just something about him that I find irresistible. I think it has to do with how all of his water moves just seem so much stronger than other Water Pokemon. I know that doesn't make any sense, but his moves just feel stronger for some reason, it's hard to explain. Whatever reason though, Clawitzer is so ridiculous that I love the guy. Also his shiny version has him looking like Zoidberg, so that also deserves a placement on this list. 

1) Altaria

You know, I'm not really a fan of the third gen. I think the third generation didn't advance the series all that much, and it was the first time when I was actually ambivalent to a Pokemon game. That being said, I've had more third gen Pokemon on this list than I ever would have thought, and the crowning champ of them all is the powerful Altaria. Altaria is a Flying/Dragon combo, but unlike most other with the distinction, it looks like a fun and beautifully designed Pokemon. I know Dragonite has his fans, but he's always come across to me as being a big dopey looking Pokemon, and Salamance just looks cumbersome. Altaria though has grace and a fluffy design to her that makes me want to own her no matter what. Getting back to her type though, as a Dragon, she's one of the strongest types in the game, so you had a fair bit of power when you had an Altaria on your team. She could learn some truly powerful moves, while boasting respectable stats all around. I know some people may disagree with this choice, or every single choice on this list as well, but this is my own personal list, and I personally think that Altaria is my favorite Pokemon.

Also, a special honorable mention goes to Drifblim, for being the only fourth gen Pokemon that I liked.