I’ve been a Pokemon fan basically my whole life, starting first with the original games on Gameboy. Those were simpler times full of catching them all, watching the show every morning before school, and trading cards on the bus and at recess. With the release of Pokemon Sun/Moon and the revitalization of some fan-favorite Pokemon, I thought it would be fun to look back at the existing six generations and compare them to one another. This isn’t a ranking of the specific games, it’s just a ranking of the actual Pokemon included in the games. And this also isn’t ranking which generation had the strongest Pokemon in battle, or simply which ones looked the best. I’m looking at each generation as a greater whole, judging the diversity, new additions, creativity, and just generally how cool they were.
Obviously, I expect plenty of people to disagree, which is the fun part of sharing opinions. So leave your thoughts in the comments below, and enjoy the list!
6. Generation V – Black, White, Black 2, White 2
Generation five was the first Pokemon generation that I skipped completely at launch. I was finally getting tired of the series, and the trailers for the new game seemed to really be highlighting some dumb designs. Pokemon based on trash? Ice cream? Are you for real? To its credit, generative five still had some cool looking legendary Pokemon, but there were also too many. And while it’s really a symptom of having such dumb designs, generation five also had some of the worst names for its Pokemon.
Cool Examples: Victini, Zekrom, Snivy, Excadrill, Carracosta, Krookodile, Haxorus
Lame Examples: Trubbish, Vanilluxe, Musharna, Chandelure, Cofagrigus, Alomomola, Klinklang, Stunfisk
5. Generation VI – X, Y
While generation six also contained some really stupid Pokemon design concepts, it wins out over generation five because by and large, it has a stronger lineup and the weaker designs aren’t quite as terrible. The repetition of designs definitely hurts, but that’s something that’s plagued Pokemon since generation three. It feels like sometimes they just run out of ideas and so they throw in yet another Jigglypuff knockoff. I also don’t particularly like mega evolutions, but I know that I’m probably in the minority on that.
Cool Examples: Fennekin, Greninja, Talonflame, Xerneas, Pyroar
Lame Examples: Doublade, Klefki, Chesnaught, Diggersby, Hoopa, Furfrou, Slurpuff
4. Generation IV – Diamond, Pearl, Platinum
These were the last Pokemon games that I played with any regularity, but things were still starting to feel a little tired. Too many designs felt derivative of what came before. But it still had a strong selection of starters, and the main legendary Pokemon looked cool — if a little over-designed. Generation four also gave us more evolutions for Pokemon that didn’t really need them, which was a shame. Probably another example of running out of ideas. But while generation four was definitely not as strong as our top three contenders, the gap between this spot and fifth place is fairly wide.
Cool Examples: Infernape, Lucario, Luxray, Munchlax, Pachirisu, Electivire, Darkrai, Arceus
Lame Examples: Magnezone, Heatran, Budew, Drifblim, Bronzong, Garchomp, Probopass, Combee
3. Generation III – Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald
I know for a lot of people, generation three contains some of their favorite Pokemon, and I get that. This really just came down to the weakest links, which are inarguably worse than what was seen in the first two generations. Nosepass? Metagross? Some of these designs are awful. But still, I mostly loved the generation three Pokemon, from the starters to the main legendaries. Even more impressive, a lot of the one-off designs of non-evolutionary Pokemon like Sableye and Zangoose are still really memorable.
Cool Examples: Blaziken, Mudkip, Sableye, Zangoose, Aggron, Exploud, Absol, Groudon
Lame Examples: Nosepass, Metagross, Shroomish, Baltoy, Gulpin, Glalie, Luvdisc, Mawile
2. Generation II – Silver, Gold, Crystal
If I was ranking the games, Gold/Silver would probably reign supreme. Being able to return to Kanto after beating the Elite Four was so awesome, as was the inclusion of plenty of the original 151. However, these guys just weren’t as memorable for me, and I felt less need to collect and evolve everyone. There were tons of cool new designs, thanks in part to the addition of dark and steel type, and I even liked the gimmicky things like Unown. There were also additional evolutions for Pokemon like Scyther and Porygon, to mixed success. The idea was cool, though.
Cool Examples: Sudowoodo, Cyndaquil, Unown, Houndoom, Scizor, Skarmory, Lugia, Umbreon
Lame Examples: Dunsparce, Pineco, Hoppip, Girafarig, Porygon2
1. Generation I – Red, Blue, Yellow
Yes, part of this is nostalgia, I won’t try and hide that. The original Pokemon games were my first, so of course they’re going to be my favorite. But I also really do think this generation had the best cross-section of available Pokemon before things got over-complicated with tons of dual types and things like fairy and steel. And I know that Bulbasaur is now considered grass/poison and plenty of other first generation Pokemon have had their types adjusted, but my point still stands. Generation one is the standard for a reason, as it’s given us the most memorable pocket monsters of all.
Cool Examples: Charizard, Pikachu, Mewtwo, Zapdos, Arcanine, Squirtle, Scyther, Ghastly, Gyrados
Lame Examples: Jynx, Wigglytuff, Voltorb, Goldeen, Seel, Exeggutor
So there you have it, my personal ranking of each Pokemon generation. Obviously, things are skewed based on the games I played the most, so let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and if you haven’t, check out my review of Pokemon Go!
How are Garchomp and Chandelure bad designs?