Blog Post

Those who know me, know that I'm a huge Pokémon fan and have been since the very beginning. I just figured that I go over what I think are the "Top Pokémon", meaning the ones that I think have remained popular or have stood the test of time. I've got a nice Top 20 going here! If you think there's a Pokémon that should have belonged on this list, well, I encoded that funny comments section for a reason, so feel free to share your opinion.

Alakazam

Alright, so most Pokémon have at least two concepts to their design. Take an animal or a plant, in this case it was probably a Goat, similar to Baphomet, and combine it with something ether man-made and/or related to its typing, in this case an alien magician with Saibamen armour.

Aliens were a reoccurring motif throughout this generation, along with the likes of Clefairy and Magnemite, and I think that's cool.

Fans will often deride Pokémon that look like people, but in this case I think it was done in an interesting way, how it becomes more human-like as it evolves and its brain grows, leaving the animalistic part behind.

Arcanine

Arcanine was likely inspired by those Chinese guardian lion-dog statues, but even if you don't know that, it still works simply as this big, powerful fire dog.

I think how fluffy it is goes underappreciated. Folks always seem to want to give Arcanine a more slicked-back look and I don't understand why.

I'm curious as to why it was referred to as a Legendary Pokémon, but regardless, it was said to have been around since ancient times, with people admiring its beauty while it runs around extremely fast.

Charizard

The concept for Charizard is very simple, design a flying Salamander, give it sharp features to convey aggression, and make it as obvious as possible that it has Fire typing.

Pokémon back then needed obvious colours and imagery that could easily identify them as their type because this was the first game in the series, so they needed to be a bit more direct.

While Charizard is simple, it's still effective. My favourite part is the flame tail, where they imply that if it ever goes out, Charizard will die. And I don't mean that in any dark way, it's just something interesting to point out.

Cubone

I don't know how popular of an opinion this is, but I like Pokémon who have a lot of built-in personality and Cubone is one such Pokémon.

I think maybe that I connected to this Pokémon because I was a depressed and lonely kid myself. I just wanted to make sure that it never feels alone or unloved ever again.

Dinosaurs and pre-history is a reoccurring motif throughout this generation, and the helmet and club made out of bones are the major recognizable elements here, the club being used like a Boomerang. I don't know why Australia is being associated with cavemen, but it is what it is.

Dragonite

Dragonite were likely inspired by the final form of Imugi. Korean dragons are said to have resided in water, often considered bringers of rain and clouds.

I remember Dragonite being extremely divisive when I was growing up and I know exactly why, because it looks like a girl. It lacks sharper, aggressive and more conventional dragon-like features.

In other words, it's the complete opposite of Charizard, so take that for what you will.

Exeggutor

Exeggutor was the only one who was very close to being knocked off this list. It was ether this, Butterfree, Pidgeotto, Drowzee, Krabby, Bellsprout, or Lapras, but Exeggutor won out.

Exeggutor was just an incredibly weird and scary looking Pokémon, it's based upon Jinmenju, a human-faced tree from Chinese and Japanese mythology.

Another reoccurring motif is to base Pokémon off of Yokai, which are supernatural creatures based in Japanese folklore. And when they did this, it usually resulted in some of the best and most timeless designs.