History BaseBreakingCharacter / Pokemon

* Baxcalibur is considered to be either an awesome NotZilla with a badass design, great stats, fun typing and a unique SecretArt, or yet another ugly, uninspired Tyranitar-like "{{kaiju}}mon" that should have been an anatomically correct ''[[SavageSpinosaurs Spinosaurus]]'' given the look of its pre-evolution Arctibax. Similarly to Gholdengo and Flutter Mane, its HighTierScrappy status in competitive play is also lamented. Although Baxcalibur isn't as divisive as Goodra or Kommo-o, fans are split on whether it lives up to previous fan-favorite pseudo-legendaries or whether it's a step down from them, particularly its [[EnsembleDarkhorse fan-favorite]] predecessor Dragapult.

* Among the Paradox Pokémon, while the Ancient Pokémon are mostly well-liked, the Future Pokémon are more controversial. Some fans think their futuristic, robotic designs look good and consider them to have enough differences from the originals to stand out, while others dislike them due to having very uniform designs — while the Ancient Pokémon are based on a wide range of prehistoric creatures and concepts, the Future Pokémon are all robotic, often look more similar to their present-day counterparts than the Ancient Pokémon do, and have a very similar visual aesthetic to each other. The only ones to mostly evade this status are Iron Bundle and Iron Valiant, due to their more unique designs — the former is loved for its hilarious design as [[FromNobodyToNightmare a violent killer robot version]] of [[JokeCharacter Delibird]], while the latter is appreciated for being a creative CompositeCharacter of Gardevoir and Gallade.

* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance with Necrozma. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not doing much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. His subsequent release at the end of the Necrozma arc followed by his return in the League fully-evolved offscreen just in time for Ash's only full battle in the ''Sun and Moon'' series only flared up a different side of this debate, as while some people feel his strong showing during the exhibition match with Kukui redeemed his previous role as TheLoad, others feel that having him return after offscreen improvement was very sloppy writing that just dropped a strong Pokémon on Ash's lap without him needing to train Poipole (not helped by Meltan having ''just'' evolved into Melmetal not even a couple episodes before, again without input from Ash), and the fact that it only coincidentally returned for the final major battle of ''Sun and Moon'' and then left afterwards without Ash having any say in the matters made his return feel forced and ruined the finality of their initial farewell.

* Terapagos is an absolutely adorable Pokémon - but for some players, perhaps ''too'' adorable for something that is supposed to be the cause of the main phenomenon of the game, with its small, sparkle-eyed turtle design proved itself to be vastly different than what players expected. This wouldn't have been so bad if players weren't given the expectation of an unknowable EldritchAbomination, based on Heath's drawing of the 'planet' he saw in Area Zero. Even its Teracrystalized form, which is supposed to look like the previously mentioned drawing, is just way too innocuous-looking and small (it's slightly smaller than the average adult human) for some to take seriously.

* Sorrel and Verity. Some see them as fine characters in their own right that combine the better aspects of a few of Ash's companions, while others feel that they lack enough character to be memorable and just see them as [[ReplacementScrappy inferior replacements]] for Misty and Brock. Some take a third option and feel while not the most intersting in "I Choose You" couldve been fleshed out had Ash not parted ways with them in the end

** As for Decidueye, some people like it for its unique and badass archer-owl design with a fantastic Grass/[[OurGhostsAreDifferent Ghost]] typing, while others see its design as awkward design and its typing something coming out of left field. While it has a nice range of status moves and a fantastic niche as a False Swiper thanks to those moves and being part-Ghost, it has a horrendously shallow offensive movepool compared to Incineroar and Primarina, a ridiculously high Special Attack despite learning very few special moves (none of which were available through leveling-up prior to ''Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon''), and some people would have preferred it to have stayed part-Flying like its pre-evolutions. That said, it's considerably more divisive in its native Japan than [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff in the West]], where it's easily the most popular of the Alola starter evolutions. Notably, unlike with Typhlosion or Samurott, there is a notable BrokenBase over whether its Alolan form or its Hisuian form from ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' is better, as the original Decidueye already had a secondary type and a SecretArt that made it more interesting to many people than Johtonian Typhlosion or Unovan Samurott, along with debate over its straw-hat-wearing Japanese archer design is better than the original.

** Litten's final evolution, Incineroar, is the most controversial of the trio. While a cat evolving into a tiger has been an extremely popular fan idea for a Fire-type starter line, most of the debate surrounding Incineroar comes from the fact that it has the look and feel of the Fire/Fighting starters from Generations III through V, and most fans have been dreading getting another one of those ever since. However, Incineroar breaks the mold by being a Fire/[[CombatPragmatist Dark]] type[[note]]only shared with the Houndour line[[/note]] and being very clearly themed on ''both'' black cat superstitions and {{Heel}} wrestlers; some fans appreciate these elements and find that they make Incineroar cool and unique with lots of personality (and even see Incineroar as a deliberate homage and EvilCounterpart to the Fire/Fighting archetype), while others see them as half-hearted excuses for having yet another Fire/Fighting-esque starter without the actual typing, and a deliberate slap in the face to those dreading yet ''another'' bipedal fire starter. A third camp doesn't mind that Incineroar is bipedal, but don't like its strange, [[TopHeavyGuy top-heavy body proportions]] (while it has a buff chest and upper arms, its lower torso, lower arms and legs are oddly thin in comparison, the arms to the point that its ''fingers'' are thicker than its wrists, and its body in general has a lack of muscle toning that makes its arms have tubelike shapes) that have been likened to making Incineroar look like a balloon and throw it into UnintentionalUncannyValley. All of this wasn't helped by the fact that Incineroar was a highly obnoxious HighTierScrappy in VGC competitive play. Fortunately for some, the ''Sun/Moon'' anime depicted Profesor Kukui's Incineroar with lots of personality, and two years later, it was also revealed as the surprise new Pokémon fighter for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' as a unique, pro-wrestling styled character (especially according to Creator/MasahiroSakurai). Both media was able to draw more attention to its cool and lovable personality, rather than its more contentious aspects, [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap alleviating it from some flak and winning over more of its previous detractors]].

** As for Decidueye, some people like it for its unique and badass archer-owl design with a fantastic Grass/[[OurGhostsAreDifferent Ghost]] typing, while others see its design as awkward design and its typing something coming out of left field. While it has a nice range of status moves and a fantastic niche as a False Swiper thanks to those moves and being part-Ghost, it has a horrendously shallow offensive movepool compared to Incineroar and Primarina, a ridiculously high Special Attack despite learning very few special moves (none of which were available through leveling-up prior to ''Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon''), and some people would have preferred it to have stayed part-Flying like its pre-evolutions. While it was the most popular out of the three starters (its case became more arguable after Incineroar made it into ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' over it), fans are undecided on whether it's a very cool Pokémon or a ToughActToFollow compared to previous {{Breakout Character}} Charizard and Greninja. Notably, unlike with Typhlosion or Samurott, there is a notable BrokenBase over whether its Alolan form or its Hisuian form from ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'' is better, as the original Decidueye already had a secondary type and a SecretArt that made it more interesting to many people than Johtonian Typhlosion or Unovan Samurott, along with debate over its straw-hat-wearing Japanese archer design is better than the original.

* Baxcalibur is considered to be either an awesome NotZilla with a badass design, great stats, fun typing and a unique SecretArt, or an uninspired Tyranitar knockoff that should have been an anatomically correct ''[[SavageSpinosaurs Spinosaurus]]'' given the look of its pre-evolution Arctibax. Similarly to Gholdengo and Flutter Mane, its HighTierScrappy status in competitive play is also lamented. Although Baxcalibur isn't as divisive as Goodra or Kommo-o, fans are split on whether it lives up to previous fan-favorite pseudo-legendaries or whether it's a step down from them, particularly its [[EnsembleDarkhorse fan-favorite]] predecessor Dragapult.

* Baxcalibur is considered to be either an awesome NotZilla with a badass design, great stats, fun typing and a unique SecretArt, or an ugly and awkward Tyranitar knockoff that should have been an anatomically correct ''[[SavageSpinosaurs Spinosaurus]]'' given the look of its pre-evolution Arctibax. Similarly to Gholdengo and Flutter Mane, its HighTierScrappy status in competitive play is also lamented.

*** ''Sun and Moon'' tried to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the most part, but the depiction remained very divisive. Fans found Ash’s newfound enthusiasm a breath of fresh air after Gen VI (and to lesser extent IV) cranked Ash’s maturity up to the point he could come across as a StockShoennHero and FlatCharacter. With fans of ''Sun & Moon'' appricating Ash’s childlike wonder returning without [[TookALevelInDumbass regressing his intelligence]] like ''Black & White'' did. On the flip side, just as many found this version ''too'' expressive and overtly childish, to the point where he comes across as even younger than he did at the start of his journey. Some argue he regressed even further than he did in Unova, with many out-of-character moments (such as trying to cheat on a school assignment), and did not deserve to be the incarnation that [[spoiler:finally won a league]].

*** ''Sun and Moon'' tried to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the most part, but the depiction remained very divisive as many found this version ''too'' expressive and overtly childish, to the point where he comes across as even younger than he did at the start of his journey. Some argue he regressed even further than he did in Unova, with many out-of-character moments (such as trying to cheat on a school assignment), and did not deserve to be the incarnation that [[spoiler:finally won a league]].

*** ''Sun and Moon'' tried to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remained very divisive as his character appeared to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deemed it and DependingOnTheWriter. Some argue he regressed even further than he did in Unova, with many out-of-character moments (such as trying to cheat on a school assignment), and did not deserve [[spoiler: to be the incarnation that finally won a league]].

* Armarouge and Ceruledge are both divisive for similar reasons, with detractors viewing them both as poorly-designed [[VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork NetNavi]] rejects that don't look like ''Pokémon''. Ceruledge also catches flak for having a (literally) [[DarkerAndEdgier edgy]] design. However, they also have their fans precisely ''because'' they look like ''Mega Man'' characters, as well as those who think they just [[RuleOfCool just plain cool]]. Being designed by Hitoshi Ariga also helps.

* Gholdengo is seen as either a funny and oddly adorable surfer dude/cheese stick man monster. Detractors, however, dislike its design and feel it [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter should've been a cool]] ChestMonster. Its HighTierScrappy status in competitive play no matter the format only adds fuel to the fire.

* Zoey. Most people really like her due to her being one of the nicest rivals in the series, for having some of the best contest battles in the series ( especially her fight with Nando) and find her CoolBigSis relationship with Dawn to be really heartwarming. However, some people feel like she is way too "nice and perfect" to the point that she becomes quite bland and find her to be too skilled as coordinator. They feel as if Dawn should have at least beat her once to show her growth and development but Zoey still beat her every time. The fact that she beat Dawn in the final round of the Grand Festival and became top coordinator was the final nail in the coffin for these people.

* Captain Pikachu, and to a degree Friede and Charizard too. Initially, there were doubts about him succeeding the most popular incarnation of the franchise's mascot, but eventually Cap was seen as being a unique enough and entertaining Pikachu who can be differentiated from Ash's. However, fans do not like how Friede's team are the only competent battlers of the Brave Olivine, often stealing the battling spotlight from the rest of the crew and swooping in to save them even outside Friede-centered episodes. Many have also noticed how this spotlight stealing also applies to Liko and Roy, the main protagonists and their Pokemon. While the complaints also go out to Friede, all the blame goes to the Pokemon due to Pikachu and Charizard's status as mascots, with many accusing the anime of keeping them in the spotlight fearing viewers may not want to see the new cast.

* Captain Pikachu, and to a degree Friede and Charizard too. Initially, there were doubts about him succeeding the most popular incarnation of the franchise's mascot, but eventually Cap was seen as being a unique enough and entertaining Pikachu who can be differentiated from Ash's. However, fans do not like how Friede's team are the only competent battlers of the Brave Olivine, often stealing the battling spotlight from the rest of the crew and swooping in to save them even outside Friede-centered episodes. Many have also noticed how this spotlight stealing also applies to Liko and Roy, the main protagonists and their Pokemon. While the complaints also go out to Friede, athe blame goes to the Pokemon due to Pikachu and Charizard's status as mascots, with many accusing the anime of keeping them in the spotlight fearing viewers may not want to see the new cast.

* Tinkaton. One camp loves it for its unique design and GirlWithPsychoWeapon concept, powerful SecretArt of Gigaton Hammer, and the lore and memes surrounding its hobby of trying knocking Corviknight out of the sky. Its popularity had even led it to previously be considered the unequivocal EnsembleDarkhorse mon of the generation, with favorable comparisons to other popular characters like ComicBook/HarleyQuinn and [[Manga/ChainsawMan Power]]. Others feel some degree of HypeBacklash towards the gremlin, with some even worrying that TPC may make it into an overmarketed SpotlightStealingSquad just like any other unusually popular Pokémon. Other criticisms are directed towards its design, with it being another {{Hu Mon|s}} [[FranchiseOriginalSin much like Gardevoir/Gallade and Mr. Mime]] (a class of Pokémon designs that tend to be divisive), and some people finding its stubby proportions to be aesthetically unappealing given its status as a third-stage evolution.

* Penny is either seen as someone who is sympathetic due to being bullied in the past and did everything she could [[spoiler:to minimize everything bad caused by the group she founded to stop bullying]] or a hypocrite for doing the exact same thing she faced during the final storyline to Nemona and Arven. Her design is also pretty split, some like how an otaku main character is something not normally seen in the series and makes her stand out and makes her being bullied more believable while others felt that her look is too busy or simply dismiss it as "waifu bait."

* Wally, originally an EnsembleDarkhorse back in the original games, has become one due to how the remakes handle him differently. Some fans appreciate his expanded character development and story role, and love that he eventually builds a truly impressive team. Others feel his increased exposure undermines the surprise of his reappearance at Victory Road as your final opponent, and that his changing of his team so radically is too out-of-character and should be allocated to another rivasl instead.

* Geeta draws a lot of ire for being an AntiClimaxBoss despite being touted InUniverse as the "Top Champion" and having a bit of an unpleasant reputation among some of the game's characters (notably Larry, who claims he gets his pay docked if he idly chit-chats too much, and she later strongarms [[spoiler:Penny]] into being one of her underlings, albeit as penance for [[spoiler:creating Team Star and letting it spiral out of control]]. Her final Pokemon would be a lot more dangerous... if it was deployed first, as it poisons enemies whenever it is physically struck, and this is after running a gauntlet of the Elite Four. Aside from her design, [[TheGenericGuy she doesn't do much]] besides being a Champion. Others are more charitable because they see Geeta as merely a businesswoman doing her job (such as by having Penny fix the League's point system after she successfully hacks it), and argue that she doesn't need to be as strong as claimed because Nemona serves as the real closer to the Victory Road story[[note:Clavell states that multiple Champion-rank trainers can co-exist in Paldea, Nemona among them]]. Her design is also a fracturing point: people either think she's creepy and generic, or she's pretty and full of character.

* Tinkaton. One camp loves it for its unique design and GirlWithPsychoWeapon concept, powerful SecretArt of Gigaton Hammer, and the lore and memes surrounding its hobby of trying knocking Corviknight out of the sky; its popularity had even led it to previously be considered the unequivocal EnsembleDarkhorse mon of the generation. Others feel some degree of HypeBacklash towards the gremlin, with some even worrying that TPC may make it into an overmarketed SpotlightStealingSquad just like any other unusually popular Pokémon. Other criticisms are directed towards its design, with it being another {{Hu Mon|s}} [[FranchiseOriginalSin much like Gardevoir/Gallade and Mr. Mime]] (a class of Pokémon designs that tend to be divisive), and some people finding its stubby proportions to be aesthetically unappealing given its status as a third-stage evolution.

* Tinkaton. One camp loves it for its unique design and GirlWithPsychoWeapon concept, powerful SecretArt of Gigaton Hammer, and the lore and memes surrounding its hobby of trying knocking Corviknight out of the sky; its popularity has even led it to become the EnsembleDarkhorse mon of the generation. Others feel some degree of HypeBacklash towards the gremlin, with some even worrying that TPC may make it into an overmarketed SpotlightStealingSquad just like any other unusually popular Pokémon. Other criticisms are directed towards its design, with it being another {{Hu Mon|s}} [[FranchiseOriginalSin much like Gardevoir/Gallade and Mr. Mime]] (a class of Pokémon designs that tend to be divisive), and some people finding its stubby proportions to be aesthetically unappealing given its status as a third-stage evolution.

* Captain Pikachu, and Friede's Charizard to a degree. Initially, there were doubts about him succeeding the most popular incarnation of the franchise's mascot, but eventually Cap was seen as being a unique enough and entertaining Pikachu who can be differentiated from Ash's. However, fans do not like how Friede's team are the only competent battlers of the Brave Olivine, often stealing the battling spotlight from the rest of the crew and swooping in to save them even outside Friede-centered episodes. Many have also noticed how this spotlight stealing also applies to Liko and Roy, the main protagonists and their Pokemon.

* Tinkaton. One camp loves it for its unique design and GirlWithPsychoWeapon concept, powerful SecretArt of Gigaton Hammer, and the lore and memes surrounding its hobby of trying knocking Corviknight out of the sky; its popularity has even led it to become the EnsembleDarkhorse mon of the generation. Others feel some degree of HypeBacklash towards the gremlin, with some even worrying that TPC may make it into an overmarketed SpotlightStealingSquad just like any other unusually popular Pokémon. Other criticisms are directed towards its design, with it being another {{Hu Mon|s} [[FranchiseOriginalSin much like Gardevoir/Gallade and Mr. Mime]] (a class of Pokémon designs that tend to be divisive), and some people finding its stubby proportions to be aesthetically unappealing given its status as a third-stage evolution.

* Tinkaton. One camp loves it for its unique design and GirlWithPsychoWeapon concept, powerful SecretArt of Gigaton Hammer, and the lore and memes surrounding its hobby of trying knocking Corviknight out of the sky; its popularity has even led it to become the EnsembleDarkhorse mon of the generation. Others feel some degree of HypeBacklash towards the gremlin, and worry that TPC may make it into a SpotlightStealingSquad just like any other unusually popular Pokémon. Other criticisms are directed towards its design, with it being another {{Hu Mon|s}} [[FranchiseOriginalSin much like Gardevoir/Gallade and Mr. Mime]], and some people finding its stubby proportions to be aesthetically unappealing given its status as a third-stage evolution.

* Tinkaton. One camp loves it for its unique design and GirlWithPsychoWeapon concept, powerful SecretArt of Gigaton Hammer, and the lore and memes surrounding its hobby of trying knocking Corviknight out of the sky; its popularity has even led it to become the EnsembleDarkhorse mon of the generation. Others feel some degree of HypeBacklash towards the gremlin, and worry that TPC may make it into a
SpotlightStealingSquad just like any other unusually popular Pokémon. Other criticisms are directed towards its design, with it being another {{Hu Mon|s}} [[FranchiseOriginalSin much like Gardevoir/Gallade and Mr. Mime]], and some people finding its stubby proportions to be aesthetically unappealing given its status as a third-stage evolution.