I wanted to do something fun and add more Pokémon content besides just the double battles team guides. So for this piece, we are going to talk about my personal top 10 favorite Pokémon. These are by no means the top 10 best ones, just 10 of the ones I enjoy the most. So let’s get into this short piece about 10 of my favorite Pokémon.
10. Sudowoodo
Kicking this off we have the Rock-type Pokémon Sudowoodo. When it comes to him I have a special place in my heart. The first time I discovered this Pokémon was in Gen 2. You get to spray him with a squirt bottle in Gold and Crystal and then you have to ability to battle and catch him. I thought he was just the coolest thing ever and rare. Sudowoodo was part of my first Elite 4 Pokémon Team in Gold, so I used him pretty much the whole game. Then you know obliviously I had to catch him again in my favorite version Crystal. I used a variety of Rock and Normal-type moves back then. Even though he isn’t a top one he will always hold a special place in my heart.
9. Steelix
The next Pokémon we are bringing you is one of the coolest looking Pokémon. I am talking about the Steel/Ground-type Steelix. Steelix makes his first appearance in Gen 2. We will see a lot of Gen 2 because most of my favorites are from there. You can obtain this Pokémon by trading an Onyx holding a Metal Coat. Hopefully, you have a friend that will trade it back to you. Steelix at different times has been popular in the competitive scene, but I haven’t seen much of him recently. I know a lot of people enjoy the Mega Evolution of Steelix as well. I don’t know if he will, but always a chance that he could come back to the competitive scene. Plus just look at how fierce and cool-looking Steelix is.
8. Politoed
The Water-type Pokémon Politoed also makes his debut in Gen 2 as well. Politoed is another Pokémon that you get by trading, but you need a Poliwhirl holding a King’s Rock. Like I mentioned before you also need a very nice friend to trade back as well. Or you could get lucky and get one in a trade from a friend. When it comes to my taste in my favorite Pokémon I usually drift toward unique ones. They don’t necessarily have to be rare, but unique, and Politoed is just that. Many people out there like Politoed for its cuteness, but don’t be distracted by that. He can be a force to be reckoned with, especially with some of the moves he has access to.
7. Kingdra
Our number seven Pokémon on the list is the Water/Dragon-type Kingdra. This one surprises some people when we talk about it because I don’t like Horsea or Seadra. I do love Dragon-types so that does play a factor, but Kingdra is really cool. He is also another one that evolved by trade. This time though you have to trade a Seadra holding a Dragon Scale. That makes a total of three that you get by trade evolution. I had to “use” my brother and cousin’s game several times when we were younger to get some of these Pokémon. I love Dragon moves, so of course Kingdra was a shoo-in to be one of my favorites.
6. Slowking
Oh no, look what we have here another Pokémon you get by trade evolution. Another one of my favorites is the Water/Psychic-type Slowking. He is another one you discover in Gen 2. You get this one by trading and requires a Slowpoke holding a King’s Rock. This Pokémon can use a decent amount of good moves, that battle-ready Pokémon might have in their arsenal. Not as cute as Politoed, but many people also find this one cute too.
5. Gyarados
Number five on the list is a Pokémon I didn’t use until Gen 2, and that is Gyarados. Gyarados is a Water/Flying-type that evolves from Magikarp. In Gen 2 I discovered Gyarados at the Lake of Rage and was like oh crap this one looks sweet. It was essentially my first shiny Pokémon because he appeared Red at the lake. So he’s pretty much an almost unmissable shiny. Like Sudowoodo, Red Gyarados was one I used to the very end of the Gen 2 games. He has access to a bevy of sweet moves and many people enjoy him.
4. Butterfree
Next up on the list is one that has been around since the beginning. My fourth favorite is the Bug/Flying-type Pokémon Butterfree. I’m not a big Bug Pokémon fan, but there are a few that I like a lot and Butterfree is one of them. Growing up playing the games I had this one friend who always talked badly about Bug types and Butterfree. I remember him always saying that Butterfree isn’t good and would never be a top battle-ready Pokémon. So every game I could I would go out of my way to get Butterfree or the Buttefree equivalent just to prove him wrong. Butterfree has access to Bug/Flying/Psychic and a plethora of great moves. I actually had a battle team article involving Butterfree and Charizard a while back.
3. Ho-Oh
The first Legendary Pokémon on the list is the Fire/Flying-type from Gen 2 known as Ho-Oh. This was the first Legendary Pokemon I caught that was on the cover of the game. I always thought the design was cool, especially with how colorful he is. Ho-Oh is the reason I chose the Gold version over the Silver version, and of course, my little brother who got the other version wasn’t going to argue. From a defensive standpoint, Ho-Oh’s resistance to Fire, Fairy, and Steel and immunity to Ground when combined with its high Special Defense offer it great matchups against many top threats when he’s been relevant. Ho-Oh has always been one of my top favorite Legendary Pokémon.
2. Shedinja
Number two on my list is one of the most unique Pokémon that exists. I am talking about the Bug/Ghost-type Shedinja. Shedinja is unique for a multitude of reasons and one of those is how you first got one. You would have to have a Nincada evolve into a Ninjask. In addition to that you had to have an empty spot in your party and a Pokéball in your inventory. If you did all of that you would get Shedinja. Another reason why Shedinja is so unique is the fact it has 1 Hit Point with the Wonder Guard ability. Now you think that only 1 Hit Point that’s not good.
A Pokémon with Wonder Guard is immune against damaging moves that are not super effective. Wonder Guard does not protect against status moves or against Struggle, and it does not prevent indirect damage such as from burn, poison, confusion, weather, recoil, or entry hazards. I absolutely love Shedinja and he definitely checkmarks the “uniqueness” boxes for me and can easily be number one on this list too.
1. Genesect
Now we have the number one Pokémon on the Top 10 list which is the Bug/Steel-type Genesect. Genesect is a Legendary Pokémon who just looks awesome. He is a big Bug with a giant laser cannon on his back. Who wouldn’t find that cool? Another awesome thing to note is his shiny color is Red which is my favorite color. I will say that he and Shedinja are pretty close together so either could be number one on my list. Genesect does struggle to find his spot on competitive teams, due to the fact other steel types tend to be better. Genesect does actually play the role of the antagonist in the movie he appears in, so some might say he’s evil.
Final Thoughts
Like I said at the start of this, these are by no means the top 10 best Pokémon of all time. We will save that for a future top-10 list. When it came to deciding on these, they all held a special place for me throughout my Pokémon journey. Whether a friend was bashing Butterfree or discovering my first shiny, I have always enjoyed the series and my Pokémon journey. If there are any other articles or lists you would like to see just let me know here and we will make it happen! Stay tuned for more Pokémon pieces in the future.
