Since 1996, Pokémon has grown to be a huge hit. Originally the game was known for its (quaint) 151 Pokémon — today the numbers are more than triple that. Whether or not you grew up with the series, everyone has heard of the world phenomenon that is Pokémon. With so many games in the collection and 20 seasons of the anime, the word has spread rapidly.

The Pokémon franchise encourages player preference. You choose which Pokémon you like and appeals to you. Whether it is aesthetically pleasing or you just love the Ghost-types, you have 800+ to choose from, everyone has a favorite and a few that they cannot stand. All that being said, there has to be some that are far superior to the others, and some that are just meant for one purpose and forgotten about.

Our journey begins in Kanto — where the first generation of Pokémon takes place. Which ones are statistically the best ones to choose, and which ones have a very limited amount of use and should not be chosen? We will be delving into details about which ones are superior and which ones aren't even worth withdrawing from your bank.

30 Best: Exeggutor

Emotionally present seeds, that look like eggs, that transform into a palm tree, that has coconuts, that have faces on them, each of which depicts another emotion... It is quite the mouthful and doesn't make the most sense. Don't take them lightly though, as they are extremely powerful. With their high special attack and defense, and very generous other stats, this tree Pokémon is definitely a great choice. Couple its Psychic-type with its move explosion and it is a force to be reckoned with, even to tanky psychic Pokémon.

29 Worst: Magikarp

You don't need to catch a Pokémon if you want a Magikarp — any generic real fish will do, at least a real fish can do more than just splash. The only thing that makes Magikarp even really worth catching is to evolve it into Gyarados, but even then, there are much better water and flying types that are better choices. Plus, you don't have to constantly swap in other Pokémon to level them up like you have to with Magikarp. So, the next time you have a Magikarp on your line, just let it go. Let it splash around on its own.

28 Best: Cloyster

I never realized how powerful this Pokémon was until I looked up its stats and potential moves. As one of the most powerful Ice and Water-types, Cloyster is a must have when thinking of going for a devastating team.

Cloyster's move Clamp makes it very powerful

With its extremely high defense, this Pokémon can be your rock. Even Snorlax has troubles with this oyster-like creature when it comes to tournaments, Cloyster is an over-used Pokémon.

27 Worst: Abra

Abra is one of my personal favorite Pokémon in generation one — aesthetically that is. I'm sure you have come across one and thought "Oh, I want to catch this." Frustratingly, it is more evasive than a legendary bird, almost entirely because of its teleport move. Though it is a great looking Pokémon, it only really becomes useful after level 16, which in early games, it can be a real pain. I always kept an Abra with teleport for when I got stuck far away from a Pokécentre. As you cannot use teleport in caves when surrounded by a million Zubats, it isn't a very useful power and it makes Abra worthless until you can level it up, which requires you to constantly swap it in and out of battles.

26 Best: Machamp

This one actually looks like it would be a powerful Pokémon, but often forgotten about. Its four arms and its beefy body makes it intimidating on its own, but that and high attack make it a destructive ally to have.

Who wouldn't want their own personal Goro? A four-armed creature to help you do whatever you like? Sounds great to me! No need for taking multiple trips to bring in the groceries.

25 Worst: Zubat

The most irritating Pokémon in the Kanto region — it acts as an unlimited supply of bats to completely corrupt the enjoyment of cave dwelling. The amount of max repels we have used just to run through a cave to avoid these things immediately places it onto the worst Pokémon list. That, along with its horribly low stats and the fact that it needs to evolve to even have eyes or feet makes this Pokémon on the "Do not catch" list. I'll admit, it is a cute thing, but that was thrown away when I encountered one every three steps.

24 Best: Gengar

This bipedal ghost doesn't seem too daunting. At just below 5 feet tall and weighing in at less than 90lbs, but don't let his stature fool you, as Gengar is a deadly Pokémon that lurks in the corners of your room and waits to steal its preys life (Pokémon Pearl Pokédex entry). This Pokémon steals the life from people as well, not just other Pokémon, so you definitely want to keep this one on your good side.

3 out of 5 of Gengars stats are above average

Both Gastly and Haunter are also fantastically built Pokémon, so it's not even bad trying to level it up and evolve it into Gengar.

23 Worst: Jynx

In case you missed the entire racial debacle that came from the original design of Jynx and to the redesign of the Pokémon, well, it used to look a lot like Mr. Popo from Dragon Ball Z. For that reason alone, it shouldn't even be a Pokémon on your collection list, we are just glad it got the redesign. Now, with the purple tint, it looks a little bit better, but you will always have that bad taste on your mouth when you see it.

22 Best: Arcanine

All us Pokémon Blue owners missed out on this power Pokémon, we never got Growlithe unless we had friends who owned Pokémon Red. We were stuck with Mankey, the weird monkey that looks like it's pulling on its ears for whatever reason. You Pokémon Red players, however, got the adorable puppy Pokémon, Growlithe, that evolved into the strong Arcanine. Though it had a pretty underwhelming movepool, you could use it as a pretty good Fire-type if you chose Squirtle or Bulbasaur as a starter. With its fairly high and even stats, it could easily be used until the end of the game, making this one definitely worth considering for your team.

21 Worst: Tangela

Do you hate the unsightly visual of your headphone cords being a tangled mess? Having to pull and twist them to try to get them to become a neat cord? Tangela is a walking pile of tangled cords, vines, or hair. With the uncertainty of what it really is, its got you wondering what is underneath it if you manage to untangle the mess. Unfortunately though, even if you were to give it a haircut, it has the ability to grow it all back if damaged or destroyed.

Tangela's stats are also not incredible and its moves are even worse, so it really leaves no reason to catch this Pokémon.

20 Best: Tauros

The best Normal-type Pokémon, with its high speed and really good moves, this bovine should be on your list. It is the Juggernaut of the Pokémon universe, as when it starts moving, it cannot stop until it hits something. With that power, you could travel incredible distances in very short times. Oddly, there are no female Tauros, it is strictly a male Pokémon. Maybe that is why Nintendo created Miltank in generation 2.

19 Worst: Rattata

Almost as bad as Zubat, this bucktoothed rat Pokémon can be found everywhere, so there is no need to catch one in your valuable Pokéballs. If you do, just leave it in the PC.

Male Rattatas have longer whiskers and darker fur than females

Of all the rodent Pokémon to choose, Rattata is arguably the worst. Pikachu, now that is a rodent worth taking along-side you. At least Pikachu could help power your electronics. Ratatta will just end up eating through your phone charge cord.

18 Best: Tentacruel

This Jellyfish has 80 extendable tentacles to grab onto its prey and pull it into the ocean while simultaneously poisoning them. Only 14 of its tentacles are shown at all times, so even if its foe manages to take off a few of them, its got more hidden inside, waiting for its time. Tentacruel is the strongest Poison-type Pokémon in the Kanto region, it has a really high special stat. The only real downside to Tentacruel is that it is a Poison-type, which is easily countered.

17 Worst: Beedrill

An extremely territorial bee Pokémon, Beedrill is pretty darn weak. Still, it is one of my favorite Pokémon when it comes to the visual design — too bad it really lacks in the power department. It is barely better than the Weedle it evolves from. There is a reason they are swarm Pokémon because they are absolutely horrible in a one-on-one fight. With its ridiculously low defense stat and the very poor HP stat, this Pokémon is bad to choose at any time. Next time, just catch the entire beehive.

16 Best: Rhydon

A bipedal rhinoceros with a drill for a horn — who doesn't want that? Rhydon has a really high HP, attack, and defense stat, which makes it versatile in almost every scenario. It is absolutely one of the community's favorite Ground-type Pokémon for use in tournaments and late game fights. Needless to say, this Pokémon is extremely overused in the competitive world of Pokémon.

Rhydon's drill horn can shatter diamonds and cut through any stone

Rhydon has enough endurance to be switched into battle as an enemy uses Explosion or Hyper Beam and survive. Something that most other Pokémon cannot endure.

15 Worst: Magneton

You would think, since magnets can potentially travel at the speed of light, that Magneton would be a powerful and fast Pokémon. However, you would be wrong, Magneton is unbearably slow and has a painfully low attack stat. One Magnemite fuses together with two other Magnemites to create one Magneton, which would again make you assume that it would triple in HP, Attack, and Defence. Unfortunately, this is not the case, Magnetons stats barely change between evolutions. You might consider buying a Neodymium super magnet and throwing that into a Pokéball instead.

14 Best: Mewtwo

Easy to find. A challenge to catch. It is worth all the Pokéballs (or single master ball) it takes to catch. Mewtwo is an incredible Pokémon. It is the most powerful Pokémon in the Kanto region, and the hardest to catch by normal means. With only one of its stats below triple digits (and just barely), hastily making your way back to Cerulean City after beating the game is a glorious victory lap.

13 Worst: Pidgeot

Pigeot is a vessel used mostly for the HM fly. You may be able to build this Pokémon into a slightly useful fighter, but that simply isn't the case for most people. We keep it on our teams for most of the game because it is the first Flying-type Pokémon we find and it is helpful to fast travel between Pokécenters. However, when it comes to using in Gym battles, it rarely helps out. Pigeot is a great airplane — and an awful Pokémon.

12 Best: Pinsir

Kanto didn't have the greatest selection of Bug-type Pokémon. Sure, Scyther looked cool, but it was not much compared to Pinsir. If used with a Paralyze build team, Pinsir could come in at the end and completely own the opposing team. The only bad thing about Pinsir was its low health, so you always wanted to keep him in the back to clear up the remaining foes. This nearly 5 foot tall stag beetle could intimidate even the strongest of enemies. With its large horns, it grabs onto its foes and refuses to release them until they are torn in two. Which truly makes this an ally you want to have.

11 Worst: Farfetch'd

We always assumed this was just a bird who really liked celery, I only recently found out this was NOT celery, but in fact a leek. That still begs the question, why is it so enthralled by these leeks? It is claimed to use these as weapons, though that is never really shown to be of any use. Farfetch'd is one of the worst Pokémon in Kanto, it cannot survive without the stalk, which makes you wonder why it uses it as a weapon in the fight. Don't bother grabbing this Pokémon, even in the Pokémon universe, Farfetch'd is meant to be eaten, and tastes delicious if cooked with the stalk it holds.