So today I decided to do a video on the Top 5 Pokemon that everybody seems to love. Now, of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone loves these 5 pokemon, but more so the majority of fans do. So leave those hate comments about how you dislike x pokemon at the door please. If you guys enjoy the article be sure to share this article with a friend and with that being said let’s get started.
Number # 5 Flygon:
So our first Pokemon on this list is one of my favorite Dragon types of all time, Flygon. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything bad said about Flygon before, and I promise that’s not just my bias speaking. I genuinely believe that most, if not all, of the community loves this thing. I mean come on did you see it in the Jirachi movie?
That thing was awesome!
And design wise, it’s just plain cool. I think most people can appreciate a design even more when it has actual lore and a basis behind it, rather than just being a Pokemon for the sake of being one. The entire Flygon line is actually based off insects called Antlions instead of what people commonly think is the dragonfly. The larvae of the antlion dig traps in the sand waiting to prey on ants for a total of about 3 years before they grow their wings, which makes sense as this is the form that trapinch is based on and why it feels like it takes forever to actually evolve the thing.
Now this by itself is cool enough as it perfectly adapts how these insects live in nature, but the subtle things are what really make Flygon appealing. The adult antlion eyes are very big and bulbus and the way game freak put that into its design is by making the big bulbs goggles over flygons actual eyes so they’re protected from the harsh conditions of the desert. I think it’s little things like that that can make someone consciously or subconsciously love this Pokemon.
It’s shiny is pretty solid as well, having more vibrant blues and changing the red parts of its body to orange. Not a gigantic change, but it’s still a cool change in the palate. Competatively speaking it’s not that bad either. Sure it’s usually in RU or UU but that was mostly due to the introduction of megas, which actually leads into my next point. If you saw my article last week on Pokemon I used to hate, which by the way you should go check out after this video, you’ll know that one of my main reasons for disliking Salamence so much is because it got a mega evolution over a Pokemon like flygon.
And while I don’t hate it anymore, it still annoys me at times that a very powerful pokemon was chosen for a power up rather than a weaker and more deserving one like flygon. And I know I’m not alone on this, as the community was in an uproar over the fact, which just goes to show the love this pokemon has garnered over the years. All in all, I really do find Flygon to be one of the most likable pokemon in general, and certainly in generation 3. And perhaps in the future game freak will feel that love and maybe give him that mega evolution if they ever decide to bring it back. A man can dream can’t he?
Number# 4 Salandit and Salazzle:
Next up we have this popular pair of stinky lizers being Salandit and Salazzle. Straight from the reveal I think most people fell in love with this little guy. Not only does it have the amazing new type combination of Poison/Fire, but it’s so well designed in addition to having such a perfect personality. The design comes from a combination of the Japanese fire belly newt and a bandit, as seen with its head having a mask tied around it and they reflect that perfectly with it’s very sinister movements.
But surely there’s a reason for why they act this way, right?
Well that’s where Salazzle comes in. As I’m sure you guys know by now, only female salandits can evolve, and the reason for that can be found within both of their pokedex entries. I actually did a video on it if you want to check it out. The salazzle use its pheromones to control a reverse harem of male salandit to do their bidding, which usually involves them giving them all of their food. It is then that we find out that because of the lack of food the males can’t evolve.
This is honestly so interesting, and while it’s sort of depressing that we won’t be seeing a male salandit evolution anytime soon, I feel like I can let it slide just because of how cool the lore is on these two. And if that wasn’t good enough to explain how lovable they can be, I think it can absolutely be solidified by their shinies. I mean this combination of white, magenta, and purple is just so pretty looking, which certainly makes hunting for the rare shiny female version completely worth it.
Now competitively speaking, salandit by itself is not very good, so if you want anything halfway decent, you’re going to want a female so you can get yourself a Salazzle. Salazzle is not the best either, but it can hold its own, especially with it’s signature Corrosion ability that allows it to poison poison types as well as steel, one of the best types in the entire series. And just looking at the two as a whole, they’ve already left such a nice impact on the community.
From all of the memes, disgusting fan art that I wont talk about, and show of admiration for the two, it really feels like they became some of the most popular pokemon in the franchise overnight. And it’s those reasons why Salandit and Salazzle made it onto my list.
Number #3 Scyther and Scizor:
Coming in at the number 3 spot we have some Gen 1 and 2 nostalgia in Scyther and Scizor. Now I’m not usually a fan of Bug pokemon designs, but these two here are the epitome of how to do it right. Scyther was always one of the top tier designs from gen 1 with it’s badass scythe arms and intimidating expressions; and that was taken even further in gen 2 when they added his evolution in Scizor.
It honestly still shocks me how they were able to take an already amazing design and make it even better. Now there may not be anything crazy lore-wise we these two, but with designs this good it’s not even necessary. The only thing I can say that’s disappointing has to be their shinies. Scyther is just darker green and Scizor is more of a puke green. However the 3DS is a little notorious for it’s more washed out colors, but that appears to no longer be an issue with the switch titles as you can see here with Misty’s starmie. So hopefully this will bode well for the shinies too.
Aside from that though I just don’t think there’s anything wrong with the line, and I think the community has shared that sentiment throughout the generations. Especially for battling, as Scizor is certainly a popular and powerful choice. So much so that people have to actually choose between the base form and the mega. The whole point of a mega is supposed to make a pokemon be the ultimate member on your team, and the fact that you can choose not to use it is actually insane.
I don’t think there’s any other pokemon like that besides Blaziken and garchomp. It just goes to show that sometimes the simplicity of a design and careful planning of a pokemon really pays off as Scyther and Scizor are pretty much loved across the board and rightfully so.
Number #2 Lugia:
For the number 2 spot it is arguably one of the most popular legendary Pokemon in history, Lugia. We were first introduced to Gen 2 through Ho-Oh’s appearance in the anime, but the flagship Pokemon to promote the new generation was Lugia with the Power of One movie. A film that still resonates with fans today as one of, if not the best, Pokemon films made.
At this point Lugia complete outshines its counterpart, Ho-Oh.
Design wise, while it has no one concrete basis, is still probably one of the most memorable designs in Pokemon. But the popular guesses as to what it is based on is a combination of a plesiosaur and the Ryujin, the Dragon God of the sea in Japanese mythology. Bulbapedia even goes on to explain that its shiny variation, which consists of light pink and maroon, matches the colors of Ryujin’s undersea palace.
This to me is the absolute coolest reasoning for a shiny and that extra bit of knowledge makes me love Lugia even more than I already do. I mean for christ sake it used to be the mascot of my channel at one point. But the community and myself clearly aren’t the only ones that love lugia so much, as The Pokemon Company has really pushed Lugia hard over the last two decades. In addition to the plethora of tv appearances, Lugia has gotten not only one, but two movies.
Both of which set new a precedent for Pokemon, The Power of One helping kick off a new generation and being one of the most well received Pokemon movies of all time, and the latest movie, Everyone’s Story, which drastically overhauled the art style we have all grown accustomed to and in doing so has helped make people excited for a Pokemon movie again, which is awesome to see.
Also the theme song for the movie is made by the group called Prono Graffiti. So yeah, Pokemon will forever be officially associated with that. In terms of the TCg as well, Lugia has served as the Mascot for 7 TCG sets, including the upcoming 8th Sun and Moon set, which is partially based from the movie. Honestly I think the only other legendary Pokemon that rivals this kind of promotion is Mewtwo, so that’s saying something.
To quickly touch on battling, being that Lugia is a beefy legendary, it’s only natural that it’s in Ubers, typically used as a powerful wall. So yes, it’s pretty needless to say that Lugia is one of the most beloved Pokemon in the franchise between both the fans and the creators. But in my opinion, there’s one more Pokemon that I feel can outdo it.
Number #1 Arcanine:
Finally at the number one spot we have another legendary pokemon, but not in the way you would think. It is none other than the Arcanine line. Now some of you may not agree with my reasoning, but here’s why I believe Arcanine is the most loved compared to the others. It’s really do to simplicity and the lack of over saturation.
Yes on Lugia I gave many points about why he’s super popular between both the fans and Pokemon themselves, but when you milk it really hard for 20 years, people will eventually grow numb to it. It’s kinda the problem that mewtwo, charizard and pikachu have and greninja is starting to creep up there. That’s not to say that everyone has, but I just feel that nowadays when you see something cool promoted with a Pokemon like Lugia, most would just kind of be content with it.
It wouldn’t blow their minds. But when Arcanine, for example, was shown to be a rideable Pokemon in Let’s Go, I think the entire community collectively lost their stuff, myself included. It really showed the majesty that this Pokemon has had since the very beginning, in addition to the love that it’s shown by the community as a whole; but this is not the only example of this. Many people have also dipped their toes in the theory pool, and the most popular I’ve seen by far has to be that Arcanine was supposed to be a legendary Pokemon.
I mean it’s even classified that way, so there has to be something to that. And oddly enough, in the anime, we see it etched in stone next to the legendary birds, so it makes one wonder what Arcanine’s original purpose was supposed to be. Being that the likely origin of Arcanine is the Komainu, a shrine guardian in Japanese culture, one can only assume that there is some significance behind Arcanine’s existence. For battling prowess, Arcanine is not that bad, although a bit underused. But I mean even so, It’s still very versatile and can function well in many different roles on your team and at one point it was the most used pokemon in vgc.
Even with that one flaw, it’s just a Pokemon I’ve never heard anything bad said about. Now sure, it could just be within my only little bubble in the community and there could be a whole nother portion of the community that despises arcanine. But I don’t really picture that existing, as there’s really nothing to hate about the magnificent beast.
