In honor of Pokemon Day, the Pokemon Company and Google held a voting competition to see who the most popular Pokemon were and which would be crowned Pokemon of the Year. With millions of votes and hundreds of Pokemon to choose from, the top ten (and more) most beloved Pokemon were decided.
Some of the winners were classic, obvious picks, while others came as a pleasant surprise. But regardless, each of these Pokemon must have made a large enough impact on the loyal fanbase community to earn their love and support. Check out this list to see if any of your favorites made the cut.
Updated November 12, 2020 by Tanner Kinney: As 2020 closes out, a lot has happened within the world of Pokémon. Game Freak released both of the expansions for Sword and Shield, along with announcing a few new titles. There's a lot of anticipation for the new Pokémon Snap, along with some mild reception to Pokemon UNITE. As everyone reflects on the evolution of the Pokémon franchise, we thought it good to reflect on the Pokémon of the Year poll and give recognition to a few more Pokémon friends.
15 Lugia (53268)
Of all of the legendary Pokémon, it's interesting that Lugia is near the top of the list. Even in its own game, it hardly made that significant of an appearance. Its design is fairly simplistic in terms of being another psychic-type, flying legendary, and it's specialty move, Aeroblast, isn't that memorable.
However, Lugia has played a critical role in other pieces of media. In Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Lugia is the box legendary in its cool shadow form. It also is the main legendary of Pokemon The Movie 2000, which was a very memorable and fun film. It'll be interesting to see how they handle Lugia in future titles.
14 Toxtricity (55032)
To spoil a bit of the rest of this list, the top ten does not consist of any Pokémon from Sword and Shield. It's hard for newer Pokémon to really make a splash in terms of being fan favorites, so it's not a surprise to see people select old favorites over new Pokémon. However, a couple of Pokémon still made it on the list.
Toxtricity is the first, the electric/poison type Pokémon from Galar. Its baby form is obtained through a mysterious egg found at the Day Care, and its evolved form packs a serious punch. Its design makes it an instantly recognizable Pokémon, and its typing stands out among the rest. It's a Pokémon that many would say, rocks.
13 Bulbasaur (56015)
It seems the propaganda was successful; Bulbasaur is in the top 15. Despite the memes of Bulbasaur being the black sheep of the original three starters, it turns out when the votes mattered, the Bulbasaur fans turned up to show support for their little grass dinosaur.
Bulbasaur is often considered the "easy" option of the first game. It has an easy path through the first three gyms of the game, and is easily supported by other strong Pokémon. It also has a number of different status ailments to give the player the edge. Plus, it's just a super cute Pokémon. Bulbasaur is beloved for a good reason.
12 Tyranitar (56834)
Pseudo-legendaries, a collection of rare Pokémon with a high base stat total, are often popular Pokémon. Dragonite, Salamance, and Metagross are some of the most instantly recognizable Pokémon. Another Pokémon on that list of pseudo-legendaries would have to be Gen 2's Tyranitar.
Tyranitar has been a part of both the competitive and casual scene for quite some time. It has decent typing, solid bulk, and a great ability that makes it a valuable asset in many team compositions. It was popular enough to get a Mega Evolution, although it didn't get a Gigantamax form as well. Regardless, Tyranitar is one of the most beloved Gen 2 Pokémon and pseudo-legendaries.
11 Dragapult (57973)
The last Pokémon to barely miss the top 15 is another one of the new ones: Dragapult. The pseudo-legendary for Gen 8, this ghost/dragon type strikes fear into the hearts of its opponents. It has a number of different strengths movesets, making it both cool looking and versatile.
Dragapult is particularly unique because of just how rare Dreepy is. It isn't found until much later in the game, and its early forms are particularly weak. However, plenty of people still sought out this dragon due to its adorable smaller form and intimidating evolution. Dragapult may not be top ten, but it did at least get close.
10 Gengar (60,214)
Gengar is, of course, one of the original 150 Pokemon who's had over two decades to leave a lasting impression on fans, and it seems to have paid off. It's spooky, playful, and everything else you could ever ask for in a Ghost-type Pokemon.
And although it's been around for a while, Gengar continues to stay relevant in the franchise by getting a Mega Evolution in Generation VI and a Gigantamax in Generation VIII. That just shows that the beloved Ghost's spirit is bound to live on in our hearts for decades more.
9 Gardevoir (60,596 Votes)
A popular pick from the Hoenn Region was the graceful and elegant Gardevoir. Previously a pure Psychic-type, Gardevoir found even more usage and popularity when it added Fairy to its typing in Generation VI.
In a powerful combination of its Psychic/Fairy dual typing, high Special Attack and Special Defense stats, and a Mega Evolution, Gardevoir's presence in the Pokemon world quickly became loud and clear. Even though Mega Evolution seems to be a thing of the past with Dynamax as its replacement, Mega Gardevoir's epic Pixilate-boosted Hyper Voice will never be forgotten.
8 Rayquaza (60,939 Votes)
Believe it or not, Rayquaza is the only Legendary Pokemon to make past the top ten on the list. This could either be due to its incredible serpentine design or the fact that it becomes one of the strongest Pokemon in the game with the help of its Mega Evolution.
While all other Pokemon can achieve their Mega forms when holding their respective Mega Stones, Rayquaza does not need to hold a designated item in battle for its Mega Evolution to take place. This means that, in addition to gaining all the benefits of its Mega form, Rayquaza can hold a separate item like a Life Orb to boost its power further.
7 Garchomp (61,877 Votes)
As the pseudo-Legendary Pokemon of Generation IV, Garchomp is a strong and vicious hammerhead shark who can walk, Surf, and apparently fly in the anime. It is commonly associated with Cynthia, the Elite Four Champion of the Sinnoh Region, who uses it as her ace.
Outside of the Elite Four, Garchomp possesses excellent Attack and Speed stats, which are highly sought after in the realms of competitive battling. And despite being severely weak to any Ice-type attack, Garchomp's dual Dragon/Ground-typing is perfect for executing powerful attacks such as Outrage and Earthquake.
6 Sylveon (66,029 Votes)
With the release and success of Let's Go Eevee, Eevee must be a pretty popular Pokemon these days because two of its evolutions made it into the top ten. In addition, the newest Eeveelution, Sylveon, was practically the poster child for the sixth generation as one of the first Fairy-type Pokemon to enter the game.
Aside from looking absolutely adorable, Sylveon's popularity most likely also stems from its appearance in the XY anime series as one of Serena's partner Pokemon. There, it showed off both its strengths and cuteness in a series of Showcase competitions.
5 Umbreon (67,062 Votes)
The other Eeveelution who ranks just above Sylveon is Umbreon. In contrast to Sylveon's bright and innocent appearance, Umbreon is dark, mysterious, and resembles a black cat. The golden rings on its body glow at night when it's ready to attack.
In terms of its battling capabilities, Umbreon is very interesting. Rather than being a frontline attacker, Umbreon's most impressive stats are its Special Defense, Defense, and HP. This makes it incredibly tanky despite its small size, and patient trainers will often use it in a classic toxic stall scenario.
4 Charizard (93,968 Votes)
Interestingly enough, there was a large spike in votes between the top four Pokemon and the rest of the list. And to no one's surprise, everyone's favorite fire-breathing dragon, Charizard, has successfully secured its place in the top four.
Since the beginning, Charizard has stuck out in all aspects of being a Pokemon. It's a powerful Fire-type starter, it's a household name of the original 150, it has both a Mega Evolution and Gigantamax form, and it never fails to bring back nostalgia from its time as Ash's stubborn partner Pokemon.
3 Mimikyu (99,077 Votes)
Perhaps the most exciting Pokemon on this list is the ominous Ghost/Fairy-type, Mimikyu, thanks to its touching underdog story.
Many fans are familiar with the fact that Mimikyu purposely disguises itself as a Pikachu as a way to gain more friends due to the belief that the mascot is more popular than itself. In a shocking turn of events, Mimikyu ended up as one of the top three most popular Pokemon with nearly 100,000 votes, while Pikachu came in at nineteenth place with less than half of Mimikyu's total votes.
2 Lucario (102,259 Votes)
Lucario has been an ongoing fan-favorite since the fourth generation. During that time, it was featured in the movie, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, where it could communicate with human trainers through its aura. That humanness of Lucario may be what set it apart from the rest of the pack.
In addition, Lucario has branched out into other Nintendo games such as Pokkén Tournament and the mega-popular Super Smash Bros. In the latter, Lucario proved that he could hold his own against other top Nintendo characters such as Link and Mario.
1 Greninja (149,559 Votes)
In an impressive landslide victory, the ninja frog, Greninja, swept the competition with over 40,000 more votes than the runner-up. It is well recognized as the one Pokemon who had a strong enough bond with Ash to transform into "Ash-Greninja."
Aside from gaining Ash's iconic hairdo in the anime, Greninja is also a known threat in competitive battling thanks to its great Speed stat and Hidden Ability, Protean. With Protean, Greninja will change its type to the same types it's attacking with the ensure that it always gets a powerful STAB boost on all its attacks.