Often pokémon are discussed in terms of power or effectiveness, but rarely are they thought of by how cool they look. Water-types often take a backseat to fire when considering how cool they look, but there's a fair amount of them who hold their own. For the sake of interest this list won't include legendary pokémon, so don't expect to see the likes of Kyogre. Let's now look at and rank the 10 coolest water-type pokémon in existence. Don't be too upset if your favorite pocket monster doesn't make the cut.
10 Tentacruel
In many ways, Tentacruel is as cool as it is scary. It's a very intimidating pokémon whose design is largely inspired by giant squid and jellyfish. Both of these real-world animals are respected and tend to air on the side of cool as opposed to cute. Tentacruel's massive red spots and bold eyes give it a real tough look. It's not a pure water-type pokémon as it also is poison typed which makes it even more dangerous. If you understand why things are cool then you know that it is dangerous only boosts how cool it is.
9 Clawitzer
Now, when thinking about naturally cool animals, a lobster isn't exactly making a Top 10 list. That being said, Clawitzer happens to change that by embracing a lobster's most iconic trait, the fact that one of their claws is bigger than the other. It completely leans into this with its right claw being almost 400% larger than its own body. Like many other pokémon, its claw is a decoy meant to trick predators into believing it's much larger than it is. In many ways, it looks like a smaller creature attached to a larger one.
8 Empoleon
As a kid, the world is a brand new place full of wonder and excitement. This means that the moment you hear there are things called emperor penguins your minds starts to race. Though most kids end up disappointed after seeing what they look like, Empoleon manages to be everything kids wished emperor penguins were. It also follows the typical starter pokémon trajectory of being adorable and slowly evolving into one of the coolest creatures your eyes have ever seen.
7 Kingdra
Kingdra manages to give a Pokémon evolutionary line based on seahorses a real shot of cool factor as it brings in the dragon-typing and gives it a design similar to that of an actual dragon. Cool is often thought of in the same context of something being rebellious or edgy, but Kingdra shows that majesty and a regal temperament can also exude a real coolness. Kingdra helped turn an evolutionary line of overlooked or forgotten about creatures into one worth pursuing to the best of your abilities as a trainer.
6 Drednaw
Though there's only a portion of the new pokémon roaming the Galar region revealed, it was great to see one of the first ones be a cool looking snapping turtle-inspired creature called Drednaw. It's unclear where it falls in its evolutionary line yet, but fans are assuming he's either the middle or final stage with a cuter turtle preceding it. Its shell and head feature really neat angular designs that make it feel heavily inspired by ancient English and European metal armor.
5 Sharpedo
Sharpedo is the pokémon equivalent to someone good at posting on Instagram. Given the right situation and angle, Sharpedo is the coolest looking creature, but one glance at how small and ball-shaped it is will make you see it as cuter than it is cool. It happens to be a combination of two things that are already pretty cool on their own, that being sharks and torpedos, and mixing them. It's a winning formula that's bound to impress given the right circumstances.
4 Greninja
Ninjas have been cool for as long as people have known about them. The idea of a person who executes missions with absolute stealth is really interesting and has been the basis for hundreds of movies, video games, cartoons, and anime. Greninja takes in all of the best parts and tropes of what a ninja is and mixes it with a lanky frog to create a quick and elusive creature. Add on to the fact that Ash's Greninja has unique details specific to it and the coolness factor shoots through the roof tenfold.
3 Feraligatr
Though Typhlosion has a strong group of fans, Feraligatr was the clear superstar in the 2nd generation of games when it came to starter evolutions. Its design seems to be largely inspired by kaiju monsters, but more specifically Godzilla. The red spiky mane along its back is vibrant and makes it feel like a real prehistoric threat. The great thing with Feraligatr is that it also has a goofy side which makes it more approachable as a partner for aspiring trainers who are looking to build a bond with it.
2 Gyarados
If you grew up playing the Pokémon games then you're likely family with Gyarados for several different reasons. First, he's known as the powerful reward for being a patient enough trainer to level up a Magikarp, but he's also the first shiny pokémon most people encountered as he was tied to an in-game event. The red Gyarados was an awesome encounter that made the giant water-dwelling titan even cooler than he already was. Gyarados was likely on 90% of pokémon teams of young boys in the late 90s.
1 Blastoise
It's hard to deny the fact that Blastoise is not only the coolest water-type pokémon, but one of the coolest regardless of typing or generation. The idea of giving a turtle canons and making its face very catlike was a perfect combination that somehow worked. Charizard is also really cool, but his design is a standard dragon with some fire on his tail. Blastoise was a risky idea that paid off and is easily one of the coolest pop-culture creations in existence right next to going Super Saiyan and All Might's finishing moves.