Top 50 Pokémon: Rainbow Rocket blasts off again!

[RT-55J]

G̷i̸o̴v̸̢̟̱͈͊̓̂a̸̦̙̬͆̈́͊ͅn̴̙͛͂͊̓n̷͕̝̩̼̞͐i̶̧͚̺̘̳̼͗̒̀͆̉ n̸̡̡̧̖͍̝͈̰͚̯͍̈́͆̉̇̂̄̿̒̈̽̕ỏ̶̹̭̭̈́͗̏͋͒̈́͌̓͆̑̓̚͠ȏ̵̧̠͙̦̺̗̹̰̝̻̗̼͓̱͑̔͑̀́͂̽̐̂̿̉̀̔̕͝o̸̧̧̢̡̧̙̹̞̟̜̬͖̪͖̙̤͕̹̤̜͚̩͇̳͚̥̼̗̪͛̿̎̈́̓̆̅̒͊̉̈́́̀̀̏͒̊̚̕̕͜͜͠ǫ̸̛̘̰͖̺̠̘͕̞̣̫̳̯̯͔̲̩͈͈͍̭͚̼̜̣̐͊͗͊̄̔͠͠͝ͅo̵̢̼̟̣̹̞͙̠̠̪̳͔͛o̶̗̩̝͙͙̜̩͖̥̜̩̗͓̥̝̍̀̉̃̍̓͒͜͝ǫ̴̡̨̲̱̩͎̺̠͔̻̩͚͍̳̳̒̄̈́̇̐̏̏̉͆̔̽͋͊̀̓̀͆̓̇̅͗͒͐̅̋̈́̄̽̊̓͌̕͜͝ͅͅo̶̹̖̣̙͔͈̽̄̾̍̀̓̑̏̂͐̽͌̑̑̈́̚͝o̶̹̬̞͕̤͖̞̠̻͖̯̜̠̘̟̰̜̲̫͓̯͙͋̃̊̉͛̽̋̉̀̆̀̆̇̏̅̀̇̑͗̌̉̍̍̎̃̾̋̀̚͝ͅơ̴̧̪̮̲̱̹̦͋̽̾̾̂̐͌͑̿̀͒̀̍̀͘ö̸̡̧̡̖̭̭̮̞̻̠̟͚̙̺̣͖̹̦͙̻̐̈́̽̓͜

 

[Falselogic]

I knew about MissingNo but I never did manage to get one.

 

[Positronic Brain]

I knew about MissingNo but I never did manage to get one.

So you're missing MissingNo, no?

 

[Falselogic]

Yes

 

[Lokii]

At least we finally know what birds are

 

[Torzelbaum]

Going back a couple of pages - I had Mimikyu at #7 on my list. It's trying the best that it can and I both love and respect it for that.

Canonically, all Cubone have a dead mom. How does the species propagate? "Well, perhaps they're born in litters," you say. But unless Mom has multiple skulls, this doesn't bear out. One thing we know for sure: Cubone breeders are monsters.

Mothers being eaten by their children (matriphagy) is an evolutionary strategy used by some animals. Maybe Cubone mothers do something similar but leave their skulls behind instead. Also this could be something that only happens in captivity (or is more likely to happen in captivity) like with female preying mantises eating their mates.

"Spiders that engage in matriphagy produce offspring with higher weights, shorter and earlier moulting time, larger body mass at dispersal, and higher survival rates than clutches deprived of matriphagy. In some species, matriphagous offspring were also more successful at capturing large prey items and had a higher survival rate at dispersal. These benefits to offspring outweigh the cost of survival to the mothers and help ensure that her genetic material is passed to the next generation, thus perpetuating the behavior"

Unless every Cubone is smaller than its mother, the skull most grow along with it as it matures.

And also this.

 

[Mogri]

So this is it. Your master plan, unveiled at last.

Indeed. Thank you for bearing witness to it. Now, with this broadcast, the entire planet will know that Rainbow Rocket cannot be stopped. I pray that the world’s leaders will wisely yield and avoid a fight they cannot win.

A chilling prospect for certain. But wait a minute! I see a lone Pokémon entering the stadium.

1st
#054 Psyduck
Duck Pokémon
Water
First Discovered: Kanto Region (Gen I, Red/Blue/Green)
Score: 207 - Votes: 8 - Highest vote: 3rd (Falselogic)​

If its chronic headache peaks, it may exhibit odd powers. It seems unable to recall such an episode.

A Psyduck? It’s beneath my notice, and it should be beneath yours. We have moved on to grander things.

Hey, wasn’t that duck in that one movie that looked kind of like our world? Argh, my head hurts and I can’t keep these realities straight anymore…

It’s far away, but even from here, I can see it clutching its head in pain. It may not be a Psychic-type Pokémon, but it can manifest psychic-like abilities all the same. Perhaps it’s reacting to the disturbances in reality.

Even so, it’s powerless to stop me. Go, MissingNo, and delete this new interloper!

Psyduck looks to be pained by the mere presence of Giovanni’s Pokémon. It feels like… time is slowing… Ah, a trainer has entered the stadium. She’s running for the Psyduck. Ugh… The psychic energies are too intense. I can’t…

TRANSMISSION ENDS

This dumb duck is so loveable.

Poor cute duck just wants his head to stop hurting. I can relate. He was also fun in the cartoon.

---

Epilogue​

You don’t remember anything else?

No. Like I said, I blacked out at that point. What happened to Giovanni and that strange Pokémon?

Giovanni is in police custody. As for the Pokémon you keep mentioning – no one else is corroborating your story. Your memories may have been affected by Psyduck’s mental assault.

That’s impossible. There were witnesses. Those two trainers – did you talk to them?

We’ve talked to everyone at this point. You’re the only one who’s mentioned anything like this.

But the footage–

The recording cuts off right when that Pikachu uses Thunderbolt. I’m surprised he didn’t trip every circuit in that building.

No. I’m telling you – I know what I saw.

Right. Well, thank you for coming back in, Anna. If you remember anything, you have our number.

 

[Mogri]

And that's a wrap for the top 50 Pokémon. Thanks to everyone who voted and read along.

We'll be back on Monday with the extended, summarized list.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Very interesting list!

 

[Falselogic]

Yes! Psyduck is great. Well deserved #1

 

[Beta Metroid]

Wow, a certain starter didn't show up at all, evolved or no?! I mean, I didn't vote for it because I'm a bit exhausted by its overexposure, but I didn't realize that I was among my people in that regard.

 

[pudik]

Wow, a certain starter didn't show up at all, evolved or no?! I mean, I didn't vote for it because I'm a bit exhausted by its overexposure, but I didn't realize that I was among my people in that regard.

my thought exactly. maybe votes were split between evolutions

 

[Issun]

I liked this thread! It was comfy and easy to read! Thanks, Kirin & Mogri!

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Happy for Psyduck. I assumed that Pikachu would win being no one's actual number one because while an obvious and safe choice, he is a good one most of us will turn to each other an nod, "yes, this is a good Pokemon". Owl-Ball is also good but Psyduck is a great choice. I love you, headache drake.

Thank so much to Kirin and Mogri. You killed it!

 

[WildcatJF]

this was a wonderful contest! thank you Kirin and Mogri for running it!

 

[RT-55J]

poasting my list now that things are over:

Spoiler: The List

1. Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff! JIGGLYPUFF!
2. Umbreon - A streamer friend I watch uses an anthropomorphized Umbreon as their vtuber avatar. The go by Ambureon on Twitch. They played a lot of Super Metroid hacks early on, but they've branched out to other things like Castlevania, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, and (most recently) Spyro the Dragon.
3. Pichu - I decided that I would only include one electric rodent on my list, and it ended up being this one. Apologies to Plusle, Minun, Pikachu, Raichu, and any others I'm forgetting.
4. Raboot (Scorbunny's evolution) - I named mine "Punkbuns." He's such a cute anarchist. :3
5. Porygon
6. Klank
7. Yamper - I'm a cats person, so Yamper being up high on my list (let alone on it at all) is a very high honor.
8. Jolteon
9. Emolga - cuter than pikachu. fite me >:] [note: I have just been informed that squirrels are rodents. oops.]
10. Doduo - My vote here is probably based on the fact that my fursona that I almost never use is an ostrich, and this is close enough to it imho.
11. Bellossom
12. Tangela
13. Corviknight
14. Xatu
15. Zapdos
16. Wooloo
17. Glalie - very cacodemon-esque
18. Sirfetch'd
19. Dugtrio - Siblings, friends, or polyamorous? The debate rages on.
20. Vileplume - The Super Metroid community calls the "Samus Eater" enemy in Brinstar by this name. It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that Vileplume was not the official name, and that they were making a cheeky Pokemon reference
21. Magneton
22. Combee
23. Kabuto
24. Psyduck
25. Emboar - Surprise favorite I didn't know about before.

Mostly Gen 1 (unsurprisingly). A few from Gens 2-5, but none from 6 or 7. About half a dozen from Gen 8, but that's mostly because that was the first generation I actually attempted to play.

When my wife looked at my list that she said "that's a lot of yellow."

I didn't keep track of which mons I had to cut from my shortlist (oops), so have these two lists instead:

Pokemon from this list I've developed an affectation for after the fact:
- Hawlucha
- Dunsparce
- Vikavolt

Favorite Paldea Pokemon that would have at least made it into my short list:
- Fuecoco
- Pawmi/Pawmo/Pawmot
- Dundunsparce
- Maushold
- Tinkaton

 

[Johnny Unusual]

My list...

1. Magikarp
2. Snorlax
3. Hitmonlee
4. Psyduck
5. Incineroar (legit shocked the wrestle-cat didn't make the list)
6. Meowth
7. Farfetch’d
8. Eggecutor (The tall one. From magic Hawaii.)
9. Pikachu
10. Jigglypuff
11. Combee
12. Cubone
13. Quaxly - I know the game is new but good hair
14. Dugtrio - I went classic. Most of the cool variant Pokemon I'm kind of unaware of.
15. Slowpoke
16. Gloom - Weird drool flower
17. Sprigatito - 420 Cat
18. Fidough - Yummy dog
From here on in, I added Gengar and ones I think look cool but don't remember from name. I did generation 1 and that's it.
19. Hoothoot
20. Gardevoir
21. Empoleon
22. Mawalie
23. Snorunt
24. Meloette
25. Gengar

 

[WildcatJF]

Here's my list (bolded made it). My Pokemon exposure is mostly osmosis; I've not been super into the game loop of Pokemon, was a little too old to get into the anime when it was accessible to me, and mostly have interacted with them via Smash, lol. Scarlet will be the first time I buy a game for myself (when it gets a little more stable lol). I totally forgot Cubone and there's a couple Scarlet Pokemon I'd nominate now beyond Sprig, but I'm more or less still happy with it.

1. Meowth
2. Mewtwo
3. Luchador Pikachu
4. Psyduck
5. Eevee
6. Mew
7. Wooper
8. Sprigattio
9. Mimikyu
10. Scorbunny
11. Sirfetch'd
12. Rockruff
13. Sylveon
14. Pancham
15. Emolga
16. Sandile
17. Wooloo
18. Yamper
19. Gossifleur
20. Trubbish
21. Sewaddle
22. Ditto
23. Weaville
24. Bonsly
25. Shinx

 

[Falselogic]

My list with commentary

1. Hydreigon - It's King Ghidorah but a Pokemon!
2. Hawlucha - A wrestling bird. I love 'em
3. Psyduck - This dumb duck is so loveable.
4. Archen - It's a feathered dinosaur pokemon!
5. Rowlet - You just want to hug this little guy.
6. Squirtle (Cool Squirtle Squad Variant please) - Squirtle in sunglasses is just the coolest. Squirtles running deep also the coolest. Hands down the best G1 Starter. Charmander and Bulbasaur are just losers with no friends.
7. Slowbro - Another dummy I just love.
8. Deino - Soon to be King Ghidorah Pokemon
9. Tyrunt - Trex baby!
10. Cubone - So sad. So determined. So loveable.
11. Magicarp - You drag this useless pokemon around for most of the game and you have to have them waste the first turn of every battle in order to eventually get something useful out of him. It's amazing. This dumb fish is the best.
12. Mimikyu - Terrifying ghosts just wants to be loved.
13. Gengar - Scary ghosts are cute.
14. Duskull - Cute ghosts are cute.
15. Abra - With great psychic powers come great cuteness
16. Baduff - Just pinch those cheeks!
17. Lunala
18. Scyther
19. Magcargo - Lava snail. I'd cuddle 'em if they wouldn't melt me skin clean off.
20. Corvisquire
21. Feraligator
22. Decidueye
23. Zweilous - Now with twice as many heads!
24. Noivern
25. Gyrados - Useful but not as cute as Magicarp

Big Thank Yous to Mogri and Kirin! This was fun!

 

[conchobhar]

I wasn't expecting #1 to be Psyduck, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. It is a good duck.

Thanks to Mogri and Kirin for running this! While obviously popular, Pokémon isn't such a huge presence on the board that I had any idea of how it would shake out. Basically every new entry was a surprise, so it was great fun to follow along with.

Here's my list, bolding what didn't make it:

1. Umbreon
2. Flaafy
3. Shuckle
4. Espeon
5. Quilava
6. Dunsparce
7. Durant
8. Mimikyu
9. Skarmory
10. Venusaur (but Bulbasaur made it)
11. Furret
12. Xurkitree
13. Parasect
14. Wishiwashi
15. Primarina
16. Bewear
17. Chandelure
18. Jolteon
19. Vaporeon
20. Meganium
21. Quagsire
22. Delphox
23. Tyranitar
24. Salazzle
25. Krookodile

Mostly misses!

 

[Mogri]

Closing thoughts​

Here's the master spreadsheet. I've collected some interesting data points below, but all of this and more can be found on the spreadsheet.

In case it wasn't obvious, Kanto was far and away the most-represented region, comprising 23 of the 52 mons featured here. We're a bunch of old farts. We didn't get any Paldean Pokémon, which I suspect would change if we re-ran the poll today, but Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Lechonk all missed the list by less than 10 points.

The only #1 pick that did not make the list was Torzelbaum's Ninjask. In total, 140 Pokémon received a single vote, and there were an additional 35 Pokémon with two votes (or three in Wooloo's case!) that did not make the cut.

Our biggest ties were for 37th (Dunsparce, Hydreigon, Mew, Torterra, Tyranitar) and 56th (Emolga, Mankey, Primarina, Snorunt, Venusaur). Well, for Pokémon that received more than one vote, anyway -- if you include the one-offs, the largest tie is for 197th, indicating that voters were most likely to get creative for their 19th-place vote.

The highest-placing Pokémon to receive a 1st-place vote was Bulbasaur, sitting in 5th place on our list. The biggest disparity between list rank and voter ranks is Gyarados, who bagged 12th on the big list despite no one giving it better than 8th on any individual list.

Our most popular evolutionary lines -- those with multiple entries on our list -- are Rowlet/Decidueye, Scyther/Scizor, Farfetch'd/Sirfetch'd, and of course Eevee/Sylveon/Umbreon. Jolteon took 64th, Espeon 99th, Vaporeon 206th, and Glaceon 244th.

Our top two, Psyduck and Rowlet, received 8 votes apiece, meaning half of the 17 voters picked each of them.

Speaking of which, 17 voters was an amazing and humbling turnout. I want to thank everyone who voted as well as those who just read along. Running one of these can be exhausting, but you've made it worthwhile. I especially want to thank Kirin, who not only provided the GO Corner for each entry and covered for me on many occasions but also provided the inspiration for the metanarrative, including the Psyduck ending. (And thanks again to our Psyduck voters for giving us a satisfying way to follow up our gag #1, MissingNo.)

 

[Kirin]

And thanks to Mogri for making an idea I hadn't quite had time to commit to happen! It was a fun collab.

Here's my own list, which I of course submitted before looking at the results. Pretty low hit rate, partly because I steered away for Gen1 on account of overexposure (but still used it for my #1 anyway!). A lot of the top 50 were in my *next* 25 or 50 though. Honestly ranking these things is super hard.

*1. Gengar - The bestest Halloween mans
2. Tropius - Flying banana dino, what's not to love?
3. Rayquaza - Eastern dragons are pretty
*4. Alolan Exeggutor - Tall boy is very tall
*5. Chandelure - Spooky lighting fixture ftw
6. Toucannon - Angry birb. Shiny is bi-furious (h/t to Teg)
7. Zygarde - Turns into a Gundam.
*8. Vikavolt - Vic Viper bug!
9. Absol - Best gothy beasty.
*10. Ditto - All the pokeymans.
*11. Sylveon - Trans icon, good ribbon boy.
12. Spinda - Drunk pokeyman is drunk.
13. Dragonite - Original dwagon.
14. Bewear - Three-layer puns in multiple languages impress.
*15. Galarian Weezing - Over for a spot of tea and pollution.
16. Galarian Zapdos - Basically a Chocobo.
17. Meltan - Tiny happy metal blob.
18. Cosmog - Tiny nebula, evolves into a singularity.
19. Pangoro - Deliquent Panda ftw.
*20. Farfetch'd - Leek Duck Best Duck.
21. Golurk - Another mecha.
22. Zacian - Swordy good boy.
23. Runerigus - Haunted Celtic stones is neat.
24. Stakataka - Totally a Guardian.
25. Moltres - GO Team Valor birb represent.

 

[pudik]

​

The only #1 pick that did not make the list was Torzelbaum's Ninjask.

and snorunt! did get another vote, but barely missed.
here's my list. it was short because i don't know pokemon that well!
1.Snorunt
2.Venomoth
3.Cubone
4.Mimikyu
5.Gastly
6.Foongus
7. Shellder
8. Frosslass
9.Sableye
10.Scrafty
11.Impidimp
12.Chandelure
13.Rowlet
14.Weavile
15.Bulbasaur

 

[Mogri]

Ah! Missed that. I appreciate the correction

 

[Peklo]

Thank you both for running the list and thread. Here are my picks, with unranked in bold:

1. Tangela
2. Mareanie
3. Dunsparce
4. Nihilego
5. Sableye
6. Paras
7. Celesteela
8. Hisuian Zoroark
9. Primarina
10. Hatterene
11. Mismagius
12. Pheromosa
13. Mawile
14. Hisuian Typhlosion
15. Blacephalon
16. Kabuto
17. Xurkitree
18. Venonat
19. Abra
20. Vespiquen
21. Golbat
22. Morgrem
23. Gourgeist
24. Goomy
25. Glaceon

As is probably clear, collectively I think the Ultra Beasts are just about the best thing Pokémon has ever done--although I never loved a regional variant like the ones Legends Arceus had to offer before. Personal experience in the interim would've shuffled this list some, since I usually have more opportunity to enjoy these designs in the abstract than in playing the games, so a Scarlet playthrough had an influence: Hatterene would be bumped up, and Salazzle would make the list too. Of the newcomers, Rabsca, Naclstack and Wo-Chien are contenders.

 

[Ixo]

Mine shook out as follows:

1. Farfetch’d - Takes itself 100% seriously as it smacks you with it's own side dish. Fantastic.
2. Totodile - My favorite starter.
3. Graveler - I always wind up with one on my Silver team. Just completely sweeps every part of the game that involves Team Rocket.
4. Feraligatr
5. Sewaddle - Three guesses for who's fault this is.
6. Pidgeot
7. Ampharos
8. Hydregon - I think I got Wonder Traded one in Y and wound up keeping it around because of how excited the second and third headhands got within the Pokemon Amie function when you pet them.
9. Golurk
10. Nidoking
11. Murkrow
12. Azumarill - I wound up with one on my team for Y, with Belly Drum / Aqua Jet / Superpower + Leftovers. Absolutely ridiculous.
13. Decidueye - Robin Hoot. In Moon, I nicknamed mine Cary.
14. Chikorita
15. Gogoat - You can ride them! And they learn surf, which is hilarious.
16. Flygon
17. Rowlett
18. Heracross - Poor Heracross got the raw end of the Mega Evolution design deal and I'm still sad about it.
19. Nidoqueen - Forever mad that shiny Nidoqueen is green instead of purple, completely borking up the shiny symmetry between the Nido-lines.
20. Hawlucha - Wrassle bird.
21. Sudowoodo - The combination of "rock type wants to be a tree but keeps getting watered" + the strong Homestar Runner energy / expression the animators manage to give it just does it for me.
22. Squirtle
23. Xatu
24. Tropius
25. Rotom - Everyone talks about potential Eeveelutions, but where's the fun Rotom type speculation? Gimme a poison Rotom that is a trash compactor. A fighting Rotom that is a treadmill. A dark Rotom that is a malfunctioning constantly needs rebooting router.

I really like Johto y'all.

 

[JBear]

Thanks for running this one, guys! They're all good dogs.

My list, misses in bold:

1. Bidoof
2. Spheal (What a good ball. Every time I look at one, I laugh in delight.)
3. Yamper
4. Blastoise (Most of my votes were for cuties, but I always thought that this big cannon turtle was just the coolest thing ever when I first played Blue.)
5. Alolan Dugtrio (Regular Dugtrio is kind of meh, but the beautiful flowing locks on the Alolan variant really elevates it.)
6. Galarian Weezing
7. Jigglypuff
8. Gyrados
9. Psyduck
10. Bulbasaur
11. Ludicolo (It's a pineapple duck in a sombrero who is always doing jazzhands and just seems super happy to be here. A+, no notes.)
12. Garbodor
13. Bouffalant (Hey, what if we gave a bull an afro? Ship it.)
14. Pikachu
15. Slowpoke
16. Slowbro (I love how Slowpoke evolves into this guy by just lazing his tail in the water and then getting bitten.)
17. Togepi (A good cute egg, but honestly, this is mostly a vote for the time when I was watching my SO play Legends Arceus and she saw our first wild Togepi and she screamed, panicked, mashed the buttons, hit the dodge roll button by mistake, and dove straight off a cliff.)
18. Sudowoodo (A good goofy-looking tree with a fun name to say.)
19. Wailmer (True story: I'm afraid of whales. Like, the real life ones. There's just something inherently terrifying about something so large it could just accidentally kill you while flopping around, or swallow you whole. Fortunately, Wailmer isn't real, and he's a big cutie!)
20. Torterra
21. Rowlet
22. Lechonk (A good chonky boi.)
23. Snorlax
24. Fidough (God, what a cute, clever design. I'm here for it.)
25. Wooper (He's pretty cute. I'd attend a Whooper choral performance.)

Surprised to see Cannon Turtle not make it, but utterly shocked that Seal Ball, Good Egg, and Jazzhands Sombrero Pineapple Duck didn't place. Less surprised to see Fidough not make it, since he's so new, but what a good dog. He's a dog made of bread. And he evolves into yet another dog made of bread with yet another delightful bread pun name.

 

[conchobhar]

Aw, I see on the list that had I voted for Ampharos instead of Flaafy, Ixo and I would have gotten it into the top 50! On the other hand, that would have knocked out poor Quagsire…

 

[Mogri]

Nah, it was a four-way tie for 49th. You could've bumped them all down a spot without removing any.

 

[Rascally Badger]

1 Hawlucha
2 Bulbasaur
3 Primape - Primeape likely would have been my 1 prior to Hawlucha. He was my signature 'mon in the Gen 1 days
4 Garbador
5 Growlithe - he's a good dog.
6 Pancham
7 Wartortle - I love the original starters, but I played games with which of their evolutionary lines I picked. All Squirtles are good.
8 Charizard - I am shocked Charizard did not make the list
9 Cubone
10 Sylveon
11 Rowlet
12 Clefairy - weird, versatile, only situationally useful, probably an alien
13 Gengar
14 Drifloon - A cute little balloon ghost that tries to steal children, what's not to love?
15 Garchomp - This dude saved my bacon in my unintentionally low level run of Pearl way back when. Plus, is a land shark.
16 Tyrantrum - I like T-Rexes
17 Shinx - basically an electric starter. he's a good kitty.
18 Gumshoos - he's mongoose detective pokemon. I had one named Columbo
19 Totodile
20 Gyarados
21 Mankey - Excellent pig/monkey
22 Ralts - I tend to use the Ralts line when I play. I like Gallade and Gardevoir
23 Lombre - I don't know why I picked Lombre
24 Bouffalant - it has great hair.
25 Pikachu