Over the years of Pokemon, I've noticed some Pokemon that fans happened to be a huge fan of. Whilst I do agree with a lot of them, there are times when I'm find that I'm in a minority and find that I'm not into them as much as other fans. Guess I'm a hipster but here are some of the Pokemon that a lot of people really like yet I'm not a huge fan of them (note that I am not bashing these Pokemon or anyone who happens to be a huge fan of them. I don't dislike these Pokemon and find them alright, they just happen to not to have the same appeal to me comparing to most other fans).
Top Five Pokemon that everyone likes but I'm not a huge fan of them:
5) Lapras
I do get that many people remembered surfing with Lapras, being designed for it yet I would argue that there are other Pokemon that you can also use surf with. Her design is alright but I prefer most other Water types including Milotic, Greninja, Starmie and for obvious reasons, Vaporeon. Status wise, I am aware that they were good back in the days of Gen One but would now considered unspectacular by today's standards (as with most Gen One Pokemon) with me preferring again most other Water types for battling over Lapras.
4) Suicune
I've never really quite get the hype for Suicune comparing to some other Legendary Pokemon. I was more surprised that Suicune was the version mascot for Pokemon Crystal which I admit that it's the only main series game that I've never got round playing. I guess it's something to do with his popularity which eclipsed me. I suppose he does have an elegant design which I do respect that it would be the main appeal yet Suicune has never quite been my top Legendary Pokemon and I'm more of a Raikou guy when it comes to the Legendary Beasts. He does excels his roles as a bulky water type but I still personally prefer Vaporeon or Milotic over him (both of which have better recovery moves) as well as most other Water types design wise.
3) Braxien
Braxien has always been baffling to me popularity wise. When she was revealed as one of the playable characters for Pokken, I was surprised as I would have expected Greninja as the more likely Kalos representation. I guess it's rare for a second stage evolution Pokemon to become popular (excluding Pikachu and Jigglypuff who did not have a pre-evolution during their debut). I guess with her resembling a witch and the one owned by Serena in the Anime is what contributed to her appeal but I personally always prefer her evolved form Delphox along with the aforementioned Greninja over her.
2) Marowak
Now don't get me wrong here, I do understand the tragic backstory involving Cubone and Mother Marowak which made Cubone a Woobie Pokemon. I give Game Freak some credit to give some Pokemon some story relevance back in the day. I guess it wasn't enough for me to become a huge fan of Marowak comparing to cuter Pokemon like Pikachu or unusual looking Pokemon like Exeggutor. He may look badass though I prefer other badass Pokemon including his Alolan Form. Competitive battling wise, Marowak's stats are unspectacular at best barring Thick Cub (and Trick Room but even then I have other stronger Pokemon for Trick Room). In all fairness, Pokemon Origins and Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee have made their backstory more engaging but not enough for me to catch up with Marowak's popularity.
1) Charizard
I know a lot of fanboys are going to get me for this but hear me out, Charizard is cool in his own right, I just never been a huge fan of Charizard and prefer other fully evolved Starter Pokemon including Blaziken, Greninja and Decidueye over him (as well as other Gen 1 Pokemon as mentioned above) which to me are more cooler and in most cases, better for competitive battling. Speaking of which, I am aware that he's not the best in competitive battling with his poor typing that makes him exposed to common weakness and Stealth Rocks (and status which are alright but nothing special at best). If it makes up for some of you, I do like both of his Mega Evolutions which are more cooler and arguably makes Charizard more usable. But yeah, I happened to be one of the few who never have been into Charizard as much as most other fans.
Honorable Mentions: Pachirisu
Pachirisu is an odd case here. Usually reguarded as a forgettable Pikachu clone but there is one in a Pokemon World Tournament battle used by Se Jun Park and used it to support his team and won using a Follow Me set that he came up with. That alone have sky rocketed Pachirisu's popularity. You could say that it what makes Pachirisu great and I do appreciate that it have helped Se Jun Park to win though I'm realistic to be aware that it's mainly due to the Pokemon that were allowed to be used in the tournament at the time and would probably be less effective by today's standards. Outside of that, Pachirisu still have poor status and far from a top tier Pokemon. Whilst again, I acknowledge that it what have lead Se Jun Park to victory, it's not enough for me to get into Pachirisu myself.
Pidgey/Rattata
You may remember them (and their evolved forms) as your first Pokemon caught (and Twitch plays Pokemon) which is nice and all but I'm not the kind who sugarcoats on nostalgia. For the Pidgey line, I've always preferred Talonflame, Staraptor, Toucannon, Swellow and to a lesser extent Noctowl as well as the other Normal/Flying type Dodrio (many of which are better in competitive battling, especially the first two) whereas I'm more into Linoone, Diggersby and Furret over the Rattata evolution line. Again, I do get that people have memories of them as their first Pokemon on their team. I guess I don't have as much memory with them as I caught other Pokemon and picked them over them (many of which are admittedly stronger). I don't have anything against them as I do use Mega Pidgeot (which I was lukewarm at first as I wasn't a huge fan of Pidgeot) and Alolan Raticate (not my favourite Alolan form but he does have some usage) at least.
On the flip side, I noticed that I have a lot of Pokemon that I really like yet I don't hear many other fans liking them as much (which are either obscure, mediocre in competitive battling or at worst, forgettable to them). So here are Pokemon that I happen to like a lot that only a few other fans seems to like (note that some maybe merged together if they belong to the same evolution group):
Top five Pokemon that nobody seems to like but I happen to like a lot
5) Heatmor
When it comes to Heatmor and Durant, Durant tends to be the better choice for battling and possibly the more popular one (but not as much a Scizor). Yet I've always been into Heatmor more. Guess it's because he's an Anteater Pokemon and Anteater have been one of my favourite animal because they happened to be unusual (and I cannot contain my excitement every time I see one in Zoos like Chester Zoo including Bliss). I guess whenever Game Freak makes a Pokemon based on my favourite animal, I usually can not help but to like it a lot. He may not be a great Pokemon comparing to most other Fire types with his mediocre stats but he's still an Anteater which are awesome.
4) Purugly
When Serebii Net first revealed Purugly's English name, I couldn't help but to become amused by the name. That combined with her ugly looks is what gives me the appeal. Of course, I know that Purugly is not a great Pokemon to use in competitive battling with her mediocre stats barring speed and movepool but least she's better than the other Normal cats Persian and Delcatty. She does have a small niche in Poorly Used and the unofficial Zero Used tiers (at this time of writing) respectively with Defiant against Defogger users. The epsiode where Meowth falls in love with a Glameow that became Purugly was hilarious. Reguardless, Purugly have one of the best Pokemon names hands down.
3) Huntail and Gorebyss
I'm always fascinated by deep sea fish which what makes me interested in the Clamperl evolution duo Huntail and Gorebyss yet no one else seems to be into them as much comparing to other Water types. Competitive battling wise, they often considered mediocre and outcasted. They do have Shell Smash but are usually shoved aside by other Shell Smashes. To be far, they do have a niche with having access to Baton Pass which allows them to pass the Shell Smash boosts to their recipient before Baton Pass got banned (though I still use Baton Pass myself). Regardless of the competition and ban, they both need more love as unusual Water types who can be underrated threats with Shell Smash.
2) Tropius
Generation Three had some unusual Pokemon and Tropius is among one of them. I remembered discovering it on Route 119 in Pokemon Ruby and can't get over his unusual design. To this day, Tropius have become my top Grass type Pokemon yet he have mostly mediocre stats for competitive battling. I did however have some success using one as a Chlorophyll sweeper including the Weakness Cup for Pokemon Moon. Even if he's far from a great choice, he'll always have my appeal as a banana dinosaur whose design is creative and clever for Game Freak as mentioned by some of the judges for Smogon's Judge a Pokemon here.
1) The Hitmons
The Eeveelutions and Hitmons are all part of a branch evolution family which what makes me into them. Unlike the Eeveelutions (and some other Fighting types), The Himons have never been as popular as them. With them being based on real life martial arts techniques (and for the first two cases, named after famous martial artists), what's not to like? Competitive wise, Hitmonlee fares decently with the ability to hit hard in mid and lower tiers, Hitmonchan have slowy gained popularity in PU after being oucasted and Hitmontop was considered the best Hitmon (including for some VGC tournaments) with his Rapid Spin set but his usage have been plummeted within the years. This trio have the potential to have a lot of character with their diversity and needs more love.
Honorable Mentions:
Phione
Phione is infamous for being a Manaphy clone with worst stats and movepool and is often disliked for it yet I find Phione alright. Phione is just as cute as Manaphy and I've enjoyed its Anime episode which also makes it look cute (well, maybe falling in love with a Pokemon sounds absurd but just because Phione's genderless it doens't mean that Phione can feel love and I think it means that Phione's gender is unknown). I do get that Phione being a ripped off Manaphy makes Phione forgettable but I can't find myself disliking it for that reason. I may not be a huge Phione fan but I say that it doesn't deserve the hate it gets.
Lunatone and Solrock
Lunatone and Solrock are among the many Pokemon who are mediocre in competitive battling but I happen to like a lot. However, I've heard that they have a niche popularity with fans speculating that they would receive special treatment for Pokemon Sun and Moon which would disqualify them from this list. I do agree that it would make sense for them to have such treatment for Sun and Moon like Mega Evolutions for them.
Sword of Justice
The Sword of Justice are my personal favourite legendary groups ever since I've watched Kyurem Vs The Sword of Justice with all of them talking in telepathy giving them character with Keldeo having the main focus. I've liked that as it gives them all character. They are generally popular in competitive battling in their respective tiers though I don't see them being as popular with other fans comparing to most other legendaries including Mewtwo, Mew, Suicune or Genesect (and to an extent, the movie itself comparing to most other Pokemon movie though I have seen a favourable review here and Keldeo's voice Vic Mignogna is apparently popular with fans). Reguardless, they'll always be among my top legendaries along with the likes of Genesect and the Tapus.
So I guess this goes to show that some reception among Pokemon can differ among fans whenever they are highly popular or are niche picks. It's always interesting to know one's taste in Pokemon which makes the world beautiful.
No comments:
Post a Comment