Ensemble Dark Horse / Pokémon

As of Generation IX, there are over 1000 species of Pokémon in existence, along with thousands of trainers, the anime and manga incarnations of specific mons and characters, and various AU games of Pokémon. When you have this many characters, naturally, some will stand out better than others.

Starter Pokémon, mascot Legendaries (Pokémon that appear on the box-cover), and other Pokémon heavily promoted for a particular generation or beyond (Lucario being a major example) do not apply to this list, as they are purposefully designed to be popular and are the closest things to non-human main characters each Generation has. However, that doesn't mean they can't be Breakout Characters.

Video games

Humans

General Examples

• The fat guys◊ that usually hang around starter towns and rave about the recent advancements of technology or science in general. No seriously, just listen to starter town tunes on Youtube, and count how many times you see someone comment on the fat guy standing there.
• In a similar vein, the guys that greet the players in every Gym with "Yo! Champ in the making!", some tips and (Gen 5 onwards) a healing item. It's unclear if it's a different guy each time or the same one, but either way, he's as beloved as the fat technology guy.
• "Hi! I like shorts! They're comfy and easy to wear!" A "Youngster" character saying something along those lines has appeared in every single game since he first was introduced. The original one of these is officially named Ben in FireRed, LeafGreen, and Let's Go.
  • Ascended Meme: The episode In the Knicker of Time! in Advance Generation is about a guy who's really into shorts, or "Knickerbockers" as he calls them.
• Another meme Trainer in the series is the Magikarp fisherman, who appears in every game with a team full of nothing but Magikarp. He even appears in Generation V, where Magikarp aren't native to Unova, which means he appears in the post-game... with a team of Level 60+ Magikarp. In another generation, he can be rematched, in which case the player is likely to get an Oh, Crap!, because he's evolved his entire team into Gyarados.

Generation I

• The first two Gym Leaders Brock and Misty were just there to provide boss fights like the other Gym Leaders. They ended up more popular after release due to the anime relegating them as Ash's companions and the anime was being used to promote the games outside of Japan rather than the other way around. Later generations would make them more prominent in merchandising and adaptations.
• Though her anime counterpart is more well-known thanks to being unusually terrifying, Sabrina remains one of the more popular Kanto Gym Leaders, thanks to her design and use of the game-breaking Psychic-type.
• The clumsy Team Rocket Grunt from the Celadon City Hideout is pretty popular for his memetic line. "Oh no! I dropped the LIFT KEY!"
• The little girl in Lavender Town who asks the player if he believes in ghosts. If the player answers "no", she will say "Hahaha, I guess not. That white hand on your shoulder, it's not real."
• Copycat, the girl who lives in Saffron City and mimics everyone she comes across. Not only is it funny, it offers some insight into what the usually unheard player is saying.

Generation II

• Youngster Joey, whose Rattata is in "THE TOP PERCENTAGE OF ALL RATTATA!"
• Eusine, a trainer introduced in Crystal introduced the idea that the third version of a given generation will have plotline differences. He was popular enough to be included in the remakes HeartGold and SoulSilver.
• Karen, the final Elite Four member, has her fair share of fans, largely because of her good looks, being the first notable Dark-type trainer, and her post-battle dialogue.
• Kris is this to Memetic Badass levels for being the first playable female character.
• Jasmine is a pretty popular Gym Leader, even getting a cameo in the Sinnoh games. First, there's the fact that she is very kind to her (also popular) Steel-type Pokémon. Second, her gym doesn't have any annoying Stock Video Game Puzzles, other trainers, or Scrappy Mechanics — it's just you and her. It helps that she's the only one of the three new female Gym Leaders who doesn't get emotional about losing.
• The rival Silver is arguably the most popular human character of the Johto games, and frequently rivals Blue in being the most popular rival in the series.
• The one recurring Team Rocket Grunt who speaks in broken English quickly became a fan-favorite for being a Funny Foreigner with incredibly memorable dialogue; "Bye-bye a go-go!" in particular.

Generation III

• Gabby & Ty are also popular as you can see in forums and Youtube videos. Many players of the game loved battling the duo countless times. Fans have also claimed that they enjoy battling the two to level up their Pokémon and complete their Pokédex.
• The Ranger class of trainers, who became popular enough to get a spinoff to themselves.
• Among the Gym Leaders of Hoenn, Flannery is one of the most popular thanks to her attractive design and her rather unsuccesful attempts to make herself look like a fearsome Gym Leader in spite of her inexperience. She became even more popular in the remakes thanks to her 3D model showing her expressions while she tries to keep her tough girl act (this time even accompanied with a kiai before she fights you) before she's revealed to be a Hot-Blooded yet clumsy trainer.
• Steven Stone becomes one of the most popular Champions in the series, for his friendly Nice Guy personality, attractive looks, being among the strongest NPC trainers in the series which establishes his status as a Memetic Badass, helped by him having an active role in the story by mentoring the protagonist and helping the protagonist in stopping the villainous team.
• The Battle Frontier in Emerald has their own versions of Gym Leaders, known as the Frontier Brains. While many Frontier Brains in the series aren't remembered by players who never got into the post-game, all of the Hoenn Frontier Brains are somewhat remembered (thanks to the ninth season of the anime featuring all seven of the Brains) and some of them are appreciated by hardcore/anime fans:
  • Pike Queen Lucy is seemingly the most popular of the Hoenn Frontier Brains, thanks to her attractive looks and dark, mysterious aura she gives off. She's also the easiest to encounter, and thus more well-known as a whole. Also notable is the fact that her anime counterpart is one of the few women who isn't put off by Brock's advances.
  • Pyramid King Brandon, of the Battle Pyramid, is a fan-favorite anime character due to his personality and the fact that he finds (and owns) ancient Legendary Pokémon, and is a friend to them. Like Lucy, Brandon made somewhat of a cameo in the remakes, but as the main star of an "ancient discovery" show (that only can be accessed with the Volcanion event).
  • Tower Maiden Anabel, of the Battle Tower, may be hated by some for her jerk-like actions to the player, but she was another anime character that was appreciated by anime fans. On top of that, she returns in Pokémon Sun and Moon and it's revealed that Emerald's version of Anabel is the one who appears in Sun and Moon. She also managed to be playable in the February 2023 update for Masters.

Generation IV

• Riley from Diamond and Pearl is also rather popular, at least compared to the fellow Trainers who partner up with you at certain points in the game. He's a major Bishōnen (as well as that his very close resemblance to a plot-important character in the eighth anime movie has spawned many fan theories, some reaching Epileptic Trees levels).
• Marley also enjoys a higher level of popularity than most of the other partners despite (or perhaps because of) saying almost nothing, even when directly spoken to. It's also helped by her Elegant Gothic Lolita design and apparent connection to one of the "cute event legendaries" (Shaymin). (The area that she joins up with you for is the path towards Shaymin's home and she manages to stammer out a "thank you" when you reach the goal, setting up the appearance of the Gratitude Pokémon at the far end of the ensuing route.) She also appears in an episode of the anime, again with Shaymin.
• Cheryl seems popular not only with fans (likely for a mix of her caring personality and appealing character design), but also with Game Freak itself, seeing as she got a starring role in an episode of Pokémon Generations and joined Marley and Riley in being one of the trainers who was brought back for Pokémon Masters.
• Looker of the International Police is well-liked due to his resemblance to David Tennant of Doctor Who fame and subsequent eccentricity. He was popular enough to be included somewhere in every generation since his introduction in Platinum (usually in the post-game). In addition, his return and post-game Side Quest in X and Y is considered to be much more interesting than the main-story for some players.

Generation V

• In Japan, for whatever reasons, the Subway Bosses Ingo and Emmet are ridiculously popular, ranking second and third on a popularity poll despite lacking any major role in the story. Nico Nico Douga is a pretty good testament to this, having hundreds upon hundreds of videos, covers, and animations pertaining to them, possibly even having more videos than N. They've gotten so popular that they've gotten quite a lot of official merchandise, more than even the protagonists. It's surprising considering they have little to no real personalities, have absolutely zero relevance to the plot and only serve as bosses in a sidequest, and are barely in the games. Their popularity only increased drastically with the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus and the reveal that Ingo is now Trapped in the Past and amnesiac, with fans latching onto both his fun characterization and Emmet's potential reaction to his brother's disappearance.
• Grimsley and Caitlin have eclipsed the other Elite Four members in popularity, the former thanks to his interesting character design and use of Dark types, and the latter for becoming an Elite Four member after being the largely action-less head of the Battle Castle. Grimsley in particular has gotten an upsurge in popularity after appearing in Sun and Moon, where he gives the player the option to ride a Sharpedo on the water, and also appears as a bonus opponent in the Battle Tree.
• Roxie, the new Poison-type Gym Leader, has been especially well-received by the fandom.
• Yancy and Curtis from Black 2 and White 2. Their main purpose in the games, after a lengthy sidequest, is to trade you rare Pokémon with hidden abilities and items. However, they're both pretty popular since they serve as an (Implied) Love Interest for your character. It helps that they're both likeable and pretty cute, especially in Yancy's case.
• Ghetsis is very much a minor character in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, but his return among the Team Rainbow Rocket bosses has been widely rejoiced and praised by the fandom; he was one of the most horrifying villains in the series and shows off even more of his reprehensible nature in his sole appearance.
• You'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't like Plasma Boss Colress, between his coolness, the fact that he turns out to be a pretty okay guy as opposed to a true villain, the fact that he's in Team Plasma more For Science! than to actually help Ghetsis with anything and the fact that he's not too hard on the eyes either. Not to mention his Internet Explorer hair. He proved so popular that he returned for a cameo in Pokémon Sun and Moon and again in a more plot relevant fashion in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, which came with him showing up out of nowhere to epically tell off Ghetsis and basically tell him that he hates his guts before sending him back to his world.

Generation VI

• The Hex Maniac trainer-class in the X and Y games has quickly become popular among the fandom, already getting more fanart than the Gym Leaders, which is saying something. It probably has something to do with her likeness to Tomoko from WataMote and Tharja from Fire Emblem: Awakening. Note that this did not apply to her Gen III version, which had a more generic Cute Witch design. There's also the class being the center of a rather strange (and largely unexplained) event. She's gotten so popluar that a character based on her named Helena was added as a playable Sync Pair (with Haunter) in Pokémon Masters.
  • In particular, one Hex Maniac became popular in the fanbase. She shows up in a building in Lumiose City after you take the elevator into an empty office, the game's music stops and the lights flicker, she moves around you with no animations whatsoever, and says: "No, you're not the one...", then moves further into the office, but disappears completely after going out of sight. The music and lights return to normal and none of this is ever brought up again. The sheer bizarreness of this scene has made her the focus of discussions and theories.
• Strangely, Tierno was ranked 3rd in popularity polls in Japan, but this doesn't seem to apply in other regions, who view him as The Scrappy due to having few character traits and relevance to the story. The anime makes him far more interesting then he is in the games though, which helped lessen his international hatedom.
• The four Furisode Girls from the Laverre Gym have a following, in part, because each one has a different unique cute girl model; making these trainers highly memorable for some players. All four of them ended up getting counterparts in Pokémon the Series: XY, and two of them, Kali and Katherine, were eventually added as a playable Sync Pair with Azumarill and Slurpuff, respectively, in Pokémon Masters. ^note There are other non-trainer NPCs that use those models, and you can also battle trainers of the Furisode Girl class at Sushi High Roller and in the Battle Chateau, but fanart of them on sites like pixiv and Danbooru uses the names of the Laverre Gym set for tags.
• Malva from the Elite Four mainly since she's also a member of Team Flare, something that reminded a lot of fans of a certain plot twist in Pokémon Adventures as being quite attractive.
• Siebold has quite a strong following for his philosophical words about Pokémon and the art of battling. The fact that he's pretty easy on the eyes doesn't hurt either.
• Emma, whose story made more than one person break down in tears.
• Nova, a Beauty in the Battle Maison who picked up a surprising amount of transgender fans due to saying that she was a Black Belt half a year ago. Black Belts can only be male. Therefore, the fandom took her mention of "transformation" to refer to her going on HRT and becoming a Beauty.^note Nova's original Japanese dialogue lays it out more explicitly, crediting medical science for her transformation, so she is in fact canonically a Trans woman.
• One of the Gentleman in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire that says the following quote^note "It's one thing to enjoy leisurely battles, but real battles can be a severe trial. Truly strong Trainers sometimes must be prepared to choose Pokémon that can win rather than their favorite Pokémon." has gotten a minor fan following between competitive-minded players tired of hearing Karen's quote.
• Every single one of the updated admins in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
  • Courtney amongst a lot of the player-base, for her robotic yet Creepy Awesome mannerisms and her characterization as a Yandere.
  • Tabitha, on the other hand, is now regarded as more of a Laughably Evil villain. Redesign aside, he subsequently becomes more of a semi-Anti-Villain, during the Delta Episode postgame. His fans also like to characterize him as a Butt-Monkey.
  • Shelly, for being a flirtatious Ms. Fanservice Dark Action Girl, getting love from boy and girl players alike.
  • Matt, for exuding insane amounts of Ho Yay with several male characters, as well as providing a bunch of hilarious lines.

Generation VII

• Youngster Tristan, one of the trainers you have to face when you defend your title in the Pokémon League is receiving a lot of positive reception for being just a kid who managed to beat the Elite Four and being one of the first people you meet when the player moves to Alola. It helps that he does have a very balanced team of multiple types of Pokémon.
• Hiker David is popular due to him randomly photobombing Kiawe's trial.
• Considering how she has by far the least screen time out of all the Trial Captains and how she hasn't set up her own trial, Mina is surprisingly popular, with many fans latching on to her "quirky artist" personality.
• The female Trainer in the official artwork for the Battle Agency has become popular among fans due to her cheerful disposition, grinning happily and shooting double finger guns in contrast to her more serious-looking male comrades.
• Zossie of the Ultra Recon Squad has become very well-liked for being a Cheerful Child of a Moe, which makes her really stand out among the rest of her more mature and serious adult comrades.

Generation VIII

• Similar to Sonia and fews minutes after his introduction, Allister the Ghost-type gym leader exclusive to Shield, was well-recieved by a lot of fans for his unique design (especially his mask similar to the mask of Shy Guy from Super Mario Bros.) and became quickly trendy in social medias and fanarts. Many fans stated he's the reason why they choose Shield over Sword.
• Another gym leader noteworthy and very popular among fans is Piers, Marnie's brother. He's well-liked for his punky design, being the ''first'' Dark-type gym leader, his personality and his backstory, his battle theme and the fact he doesn't use Dynamax in constrast with other gym leaders as many fans consider him as a Memetic Badass being technically the third highest-ranked trainer in Galar (after Leon and Raihan without counting the player).
• The Ball Guy, an NPC who gives the player the Apricorn balls in each gym grows popular among the fanbase for his fun, quirky and endearing personality. He even accidentally takes over the Pokémon Legends: Arceus website after losing his Poké Ball collection, although some got mixed up with Hisuian Voltorb.
• The female Worker trainers gained popularity with the fandom for their buff designs.
• From Pokémon Legends: Arceus:
  • Arezu is one of the most popular Wardens despite not being any more important than the rest of them and not getting a battle, thanks to her cute Mars-esque design, friendly personality, and taking up residence in Jubilife Village as the hairdresser after her story arc.
  • (Mistress) Cogita is introduced very late in the story and doesn't have much of a role besides exposing some backstory and providing some guidance, but her memorable, out-of-place design that takes after Cynthia and charismatic, socialite-like attitude earned her several fans.
  • After main character Cyllene, the most popular of the other Captains of the Galaxy Team is the Security Captain Zisu, a tall redhaired woman who's liked not just for her looks, but her friendly attitude, usefulness to the player, and expressiveness and skill in battle.

Generation IX

• Larry, the Normal-type/Flying-type Gym Leader/Elite Four member, quickly amassed a fanbase for being just a normal, everyday guy who's overworked with three jobs, Champion Geeta constantly putting him down for some reason, and that he's a very competent battler in spite of his dour attitude. Some have gone so far as to make him a Memetic Badass who could easily overpower any trainer if he wasn't so stretched thin. The playerbase also consists of many individuals who have been alive since Pokémon Red and Blue, who are all grown up and likely have their own jobs. Larry's work woes have made him very relatable to these players with others seeing themselves in him.
• Rika, the first member of Paldea's Elite Four, has a very minor presence within the game other than her stint running the Champion Assessment quiz. Despite that, she gained a fanbase rivaling the main characters thanks to her handsome design and charming personality. Because she uses the already-popular Clodsire as her ace, many fans like to think Rika is a Cuddle Bug who adores cute things despite her professional exterior. In addition, Rika's bifauxnen looks attracted a lot of lesbian fans, with her even placing first in a Japanese poll asking women about which fictional characters they'd like to date and still maintained her position as first in top 100 in the 2023 Poll.
• The Courier trainer class is very popular among gay men, thanks to them being handsome, muscular men wearing tight-fitting shirts.
• Blossom, an NPC from Levincia who trades you a Haunter, ended up being widely beloved by the fandom simply because, unlike the last time an NPC offered such a trade, said Haunter isn't holding an Everstone, meaning it evolves immediately after.
• Perrin quickly amassed a large fanbase due to her appearance being a Ms. Fanservice descendant of Adaman, her sidequests letting the player catch rare Pokémon, and being a modern character who heavily ties into Hisui.
• Lacey is easily the most popular of the BB Elite Four. She is well-liked for her personality and adores anything cute. Plus, being the daughter of the Unova Gym Leader Clay helped, even sharing his popular Signature Mon, Excadrill. Plus her signature x-formation with her arms has become a popular meme.

Other Game Examples

• Spinoff game Pokémon Colosseum has Miror B. Crazy Is Cool, literal Disco Dan with a Pokè Ball-shaped afro as the first villain team boss. He never cares quite as much about his duties as a boss of a crime syndicate as much as his dance moves. His Latino-sounding battle theme also contributes to his popularity. In fact, he was so popular that he is the only Cipher member from Colosseum to reappear in the sequel, where you could battle him as often as you want (or until you got all the Shadow Pokémon, whichever came first).
• Some of Cipher's admins stand out on their own even if they don't quite reach Miror B.'s level.
  • Ein, due to his strategies and the fact that he's the unrepentingly evil creator of the process used to create Shadow Pokémon.
  • Nascour, for his truly sinister design that is quite unusual for Pokémon. Many feel that he would have been a better main antagonist than Evice.
  • Lovrina, Ein's equivalent in XD, due to her Friendly Enemy status and fairly attractive design. She also crosses the Moral Event Horizon by creating new and stronger Shadow Pokémon.
  • Cipher Peon Kleef, for having the audacity to avert Mook Chivalry for once in the series and ambush you right after a boss fight, while you're on your way to the nearest healing machine. Among those who've played this game, he's fondly remembered as the smartest evil team Grunt in the entire franchise.
  • Brothers Ardos, and Eldes. Ardos is unrepentent, even after Greevil concedes defeat, and sends the player a death threat while vowing to revive Cipher. Eldes sees the player as a Worthy Opponent, lamenting their opposition and talking down Greevil from a Villainous Breakdown in the finale.
• Silver from Pokémon Vietnamese Crystal, where the Translation Train Wreck results in him becoming unquestionably the largest ham in the Pokémon world, and beloved for it. His famous "trashy man" speech has reached the point of becoming emblematic of the game (well, that speech and Volcano Bakemeat).
• Spinoff game Pokémon Ranger had the The Go-Rock Quads in the first game. The admins of Go-Rock Squad were popular for their design, role in the game, and their theme song. They have even reappeared in both subsequent games as guest stars, though they're Demoted to Extra in the third.
• Spinoff game Pokémon Conquest has several Warlord that were popular among the fans. Besides the usual Masamune and Yukimura (that might be influenced by other games), you have Hanbei, Gracia, Okuni, and Motonari who are also popular among the fans.

Pokémon - Generation I

• Cubone and its evolution Marowak are remembered partially because of their interesting design, use of bones as clubs, tearjerking backstory, and the fact that they're the only Pokémon in Gen I to have actual story relevance (the next closest to having anything to do with the plot was Snorlax, who simply was a Broken Bridge).
• Ratatta is liked due to the top percentage meme mentioned above, and the fact that it's also the center of the "FEAR" strategy from Gen IV.
• Vulpix/Ninetales. You don't have to go far to see the many fanfics that claim this to be Naruto's favorite Pokémon. Even if you're not familiar with Naruto, these Pokémon are still considered very elegant. Add in the fact that the fox Pokémon were given Groudon's Drought ability, bringing about its usage in Sunlight teams.
• The Oddish family have always been considered pretty cute-looking in the simplistic sense. It even gained an alternate evolution in Gen 2 where it became even cuter.
• Gyarados, simply for being that badass Pokémon that evolves from Magikarp, the very first (intentional) joke Pokémon. It's also very strong despite its Achilles' Heel to Electric-type moves, making it commonly-used by players.
• Gengar has always been considered one of the more powerful and cool looking Ghost-types. In Gen I, it was the only fully evolved Ghost-type. Even with the introduction of other ghosts, it has always managed to remain in the higher tiers, and is the only Pokémon to be in Smogon's OU tier in every generation. Its Mega Evolution is no joke either due to its ability becoming Shadow Tag, and is also considered better than most Legendaries. When the creators of Pokkén Tournament asked for suggestions for a new character, Gengar ended up with the most requests and was made a playable fighter as a result. Its pre-evolution Haunter is quite popular as well, often considered more visually threatening. In fact, say what you want about the quality of Red and Blue's art sprites, but Haunter's original sprite◊ was perhaps the one image that people preferred over its latter design compared to other Pokémon that were redrawn.
• The Abra line, particularly in the first generation where the Psychic type was nearly unbeatable. It required a little patience and Socialization Bonus, but almost everyone had an Alakazam on their team. It's since gotten a Mega Evolution and a few Expies for later generations. Even when Psychic-types got worse and less memorable in the later generations, Alakazam still remains strong and fondly remembered.
• The Machop/Machoke/Machamp line due to their massive muscles and are generally what people think of (aside from Lucario and Blaziken) when Fighting-types are brought up. They also have a pretty good competitive following thanks to eventually being given the No Guard ability that makes all moves 100% accurate. This gives the Machop-line the unique niche of being the only Pokémon who can reliably use the powerful Dynamic Punch thanks to No Guard fixing its abysmal 50% accuracy.
• Because of this, Gengar, Alakazam and Machamp's usefulness in single and competitive play is one of the reasons why Trade Evolutions are tolerated to an extent.
• Magnemite and its evolutionary line has gained popularity over the years (especially its final form Magnezone). First, becoming a Steel-type in the second generation, which greatly increased its usability. Then, it gained a secondary evolution in Generation IV in Magnezone which made it a powerful Steel-type special user, helped by the increased availability of Steel-type moves and its powerful ability Magnet Pull which allows it to completely destroy Steel types that aren't part Ground types. In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Magnemite were used in the Magnemite Coil, a form of Emergent Gameplay, in Join Avenue.^note Join Avenue is an area in the game that lets you set up shops where you get services not offered elsewhere, like leveling up your Pokémon, buying berries, or buying common items cheap in bulk to sell at higher prices in other stores. If you trade Pokémon with other people, NPC's modeled on these trainers will arrive at the area and interacting with them will either let you set up the shops you want or "level up" the already existing shops, thus expanding their services. Cue Magnemite: being one of the earliest Pokémon available in the game, if you catch one and go to the Global Trading Station at any Pokémon Center, you can trade Magnemites of any kind with trainers from all around the world. This way, you can get more NPC's to level up your stores and use their services much sooner than you would otherwise. Magnemite's growing popularity has been seemingly lampshaded in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, where its trophy states that "The sense of nostalgia it inspires has only been strengthened by the many years that have passed since its debut in the very first Pokémon games".
• Scyther the raptor mantis. One of the few awesome Bug types of the first generation despite not having good STAB-moves prior to Generation IV.
• Pinsir was another well-liked Bug Pokémon from the first generation, but lost a lot of support over the years due to being overshadowed by the likes of Scyther (Scizor), Heracross, and Scolipede competitively and design-wise. Generation VI, however, finally threw Pinsir a bone and bestowed upon it a Mega Evolution, putting Pinsir back on the map for the fan-base.
• Beedrill and Butterfree are usually fondly remembered despite being extreme examples of Crutch Characters — Beedrill in particular is usually considered one of the best looking Pokémon, but sadly, both have terrible base stats and are regarded as trash. However, Beedrill received a Mega Evolution in Gen VI where it lost a few points in its useless special attack in exchange for massive gains in attack and speed, turning it into a very scary Glass Cannon. Also, once again, Beedrill's mega evolution was lauded as one of the best looking Mega Evolutions. Sadly, its counterpart Butterfree is still waiting for its Mega Evolution (though it does have the consolation prize of having some utility outside its Crutch Character role due to the many status moves it can use). As of Generation VIII Butterfree gained a Gigantamax form, bringing it back into the spotlight and more than making up for not gaining its Mega Evolution form.
• Slowbro got nicknamed as "Funbro" in Generation VI thanks to the discovery that he can obtain a move-set that would force players to be stuck in a never-ending battle. Slowbro is now basically considered to be the king of trolls in the Pokémon world. Even before battle strategies, the Slowpoke line was always popular due to their dopey looks and persona. It's popular enough to warrant its own song.
• Starmie. A (mostly) unique dual-typing and incredible stat distribution / move-pool has Starmie in Smogon's OU Tier; being able to pull off any role that the player wishes for. Being one of Misty's signature Pokémon helps too. Aesthetically, Starmie is liked for its unique and bizarre appearance, notably lacking a face or anything resembling one, unlike almost every other Pokémon in the franchise.
• Before it gained an evolution, Chansey was greatly appreciated for being the only Pokémon that could actually stand a chance against Mewtwo (besides fighting it with another Mewtwo) due to its high HP stat. And even after its evolution was introduced, Chansey would later receive a gift from the gods in the form of the Eviolite item, which skyrockets its defensive stats to levels Blissey could only ever dream of having; giving competitive players a tough choice as to whether evolving Chansey is worth it or not.
• Kabutops for being a rather scary, but well-designed Pokémon that's held usefulness throughout the generations and meta-game. Its popularity grew even further with the release of Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! where Kabutops became the go-to choice for speedrunners to finish up the game once they're able to surf to Cinnabar Island.
• Arcanine, despite getting overshadowed by Charizard, has always been a fan favorite, both because of its Canis Major design, and because Heroes Love Dogs. In a survey of 52,000 voters, based on how much each Pokémon were considered favorites, Arcanine ranked #3, behind Gengar and the aforementioned Charizard; this is despite its lack of prominence or noteworthy traits (i.e. Eevee's multiple evolutionary options, Magikarp's evolution into Gyarados) in comparison to the other examples on this page.^note It does have the highest base stat total of all non-Legendary, non-Mega Evolution, and non-Dragonite Pokémon of Gen I, but is ultimately a Jack of All Stats that doesn't stand out in any exceptional way. Rule of Cool has certainly worked in its favor.
• Ditto has always been considered the ultimate pimp of the Pokémon universe due to its nature of being able to breed with any other Pokémon that can breed. In addition, its popularity drastically increased after it gained the Imposter ability from the Dream World in Generation V; buffing the pink-blob from a useless gimmick, to one of the best revenge killers in the game.
• The baby Kangaskhan holds has a large popularity. If someone is creating their own fan generation and Pokémon, the baby is a popular choice for a Pokémon. It got a Mega evolution and not its mother, which is by far the most powerful of all the megas.
• Thanks to Twitch Plays Pokémon, Omanyte and its evolution Omastar have become this in the form of Lord Helix.
• As a result of being a Ride Pokémon in Pokémon Sun and Moon, Tauros has become one. There's something that's oddly satisfying and entertaining about riding the streets of Alola on a Tauros. Its popularity lead to it getting not 1 but 3 Paldean forms in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet^note (all 3 sharing the Fighting type with only 1 being pure Fighting, while only the Fighting/Water and Fighting/Fire becoming version exclusives.)
• Nidoking and Nidoqueen are both remarkably popular. Not only is each a Disc-One Nuke that's very easy to obtain (especially compared to Gyarados or Alakazam), but they have impressive all around stats, massive movepools, and cool designs. They also introduced the idea of sexual dimorphism in pokémon a generation before pokémon had genders and three generations before others got sexual dimorphism.
• MissingNo. isn't even an actual Pokémon and merely exists due to a programming oversight, but has become an icon of Pokémon history and fanon.

Pokémon - Generation II

• People love Kenya, a free Spearow you can get early into the game. She's a decent Pokémon in her own right and you can soft-reset for her nature, making her a reliable Pokémon in the early game.
• Crobat is one due to being a stage 2 Pokémon that can be acquired early due to evolution through friendship and also has a higher BST (and much higher speed) than most other Flying-types. It also single-handedly saved the Zubat line for a large number of fans.
• Heracross retains a high level of popularity, partially due to Ash's Heracross, and partially due to its unique typing, good stats, and cute design. It even got a Mega Evolution. This is in spite of the fact that in Gen II it was not only hard to find, but also pretty useless, with a very weak movepool and almost no STAB moves other than its late-obtained signature Megahorn attack. It may also have something to do with the fact that Rhinoceros Beetles are popular in Japan and Beetle Fighting is a popular pastime. From Gen III on, though, Heracross hasn't had many problems with its movepool and has been considered one of the strongest physical attackers in the game. Although Heracross hasn't been immune to the rampant Power Creep from later generations.
• Blissey. The ultimate high-HP defender against Special Attackers... but took a notable blow when Generation V's Psyshock came along.
• At the time of its release, Azumarill was a pretty forgettable Pokémon, mostly notable for the fact that its pre-evolution was the subject of a popular Urban Legend of Zelda. However, later generations gave it the enormously powerful ability of Huge Power, a vastly expanded movepool, the Fairy typing, and the long-awaited ability to run Aqua Jet and Belly Drum on the same set, turning it into a Badass Adorable literal Killer Rabbit. And like so many others on this page, it got a boost in popularity thanks to Twitch Plays Pokémon as the hero of the Emerald run, "M4 Moee".
• Scizor. An evolution to a Pokémon that was already a Darkhorse. Gains a Steel-Typing and new design to make it even more badass, and then gains an ability a few generations later in Technician that makes its Bullet Punch one of the most feared attacks in the game, even in Ubers, this would lead to it gaining a nearly Game-Breaker Mega Evolution which retains the ability Technician.
• Tyranitar, Generation II's Pseudo-Legendary. It helps being one of the only ones, apart from Metagross, that's NOT a Dragon-Type. Gaining Sand Stream to summon instant Sandstorms in Gen III which would get buffed by (giving it a free 50% boost to its already good Special Defense as of Gen IV) certainly helped its cause in competitive play, especially in Gen IV where it was at its strongest thanks to the incredibly powerful Tyrani-Boah set ^note  a set that forces trainers to sacrifice all of Tyranitar's horrid Speed for pure power usually physical Attack by giving it a Brave nature, and slapping it with Focus Punch (its main offensive attack that allows it to One-Hit Kill practically anything in the Metagame that's not a Ghost type once it accumulates enough Curse boosts, even the notorious Garchomp who easily counters it), Substitute (allowing Tyranitar to tank hits while boosting its main two stats and allowing it to use Focus Punch safely), Curse (one of its main stat boosting moves as it buffs up its two main stats while destroying Tyranitar's useless Speed stat) and a random move to take up the fourth slot (usually another physical move such as the Dark type Crunch to deal with Ghost types (with the STAB boost being a nice bonus) or a special attack move to cover Tyranitar's weaknesses which dominated the Gen IV Metagame during its run (despite having a rival in the notorious Game-Breaker Garchomp becoming highly used, of which the set became notorious in Doubles since Garchomp benefits from the evasion buff from Sand Veil provided by Tyranitar's Sand Stream). During the 2020 Pokémon of the Year voting, Tyranitar managed to be in 12th place, only behind Garchomp and Dragapult as the third highest Pseudo-Legendary Pokémon and Umbreon as the second highest Gen II Pokémon.
• Forretress. Created specifically to Stone Wall the Normal-Type kings from Generation I, and the only Pokémon that can set up all entry hazards (before Gen VI introduced Sticky Web, which it didn't get).
• Politoed. Long forgotten as that random green toad from Johto and the alternative to Poliwrath, the moment it was given Kyogre's Drizzle ability, people went nuts to have it added to their Rain teams. It also turned Gen V's competitive scene into nothing but Weather Wars.
• Quagsire. While not particularly great in-game or stat-wise, Quagsire's laid-back nature and goofy smile has made him a mainstay in forum/imageboard threads about Pokémon best suited to being a "bro". It got so popular on one board that it became its mascot, and is featured in most of the banners concerning said board. There's also a surprisingly awesome and hilarious Quagsire in the above-mentioned Gates to Infinity. Its popularity and competitive viability exploded in Generation 8 because the lowered amount of Pokémon from the National Dex turned it into the most effective check for the popular Excadrill and Crown Zacian. It’s also popular because of its name, which meant that Glenn Quagmire jokes◊ were◊ inevitable. Its pre-evolution Wooper has a small following for being adorable, but this exploded in 2020 when Wooper's beta version was leaked. It also gained fans from several of its anime appearances making it come off as a Fake Cutie, such as a scene where it breaks a bridge Ash and Misty were standing on, or how it remains smiling while it and other Pokémon are being swept away by a river current.
• The competitive scene has retroactively made Skarmory one, who is considered to be one of the best physically-oriented Stone Walls in the game. Having a badass design definitely helps its case.
• As of Sun and Moon, Skarmory's specially-oriented counterpart Mantine has become one as well. Aside from being a cute manta ray, the buffs given to it in Generation VII (higher HP and reliable recovery in the form of Roost) combined with its ability to remove hazards has made it a good choice for a Water-type special Stone Wall. The fact that it’s the star of the highly addictive Mantine Surf minigame definitely helps its case.
• Despite being an utter joke in battle, Furret has garnered a cult following due to being an absolutely adorable ferret-like creature. Its cute sprite/model animations in every generation certainly help maintain it's popularity.
• The popularity behind Dunsparce is a mystery. It might be due to the fact it's some bee-snake, desert-burrowing Mix And Match Creature. Or maybe because it's a rare Pokémon and finding it is an achievement on its own. Whatever the reason, it was popular enough for people to demand that it gain an evolution (which it finally did in Gen IX).
• Ampharos may be slow, but its bulk, high defenses (both Defense and Special Defense), high Special Attack, and its diverse movepool more than make up for it. It helps too that it remains cute even after evolving from the super cute Flaafy and Mareep. And when Generation VI rolled along, it gets a much-deserved Mega Evolution; sure, Mega Ampharos does become slower, but who the hell cares when it gets Dragon as its second typing? Along with boosts to both offensive stats... And not to mention that majestic hairdo...
• Granbull has seen a boost in popularity during Gen VI, due to its Fairy-type retcon giving it the novelty of being the only outright tough- and masculine-looking Fairy-type around until the Impidimp line^note despite its gender ratio, as well as quite a bit more useful in battle.
• Misdreavus, another Ghost-type much like Haunter/Gengar, without the weakness of the dual Poison typing that made it weak to Psychic types. It could do almost anything that Haunter did, like Mean Look and Confuse Ray, along with the amazing Pain Split. It also looks visually stunning, with its pearls and wispy hair-like appendages, this popularity led to it gaining a much needed evolution in Mismagius in Gen IV which gave it a powerful Speedy Glass Cannon sweeper.
• Sneasel was extremely popular among fans due to its unique typing (Dark and Ice) and its design, being an ultra-sleek cat-like creature. This popularity would lead to it gaining two evolutions, Weavile on DPP, and Sneasler on Legends: Arceus.
• Natu and Xatu are fairly popular Pokémon, especially among Japanese fans. It's one of the few Psychic/Flying-type Pokémon (the only others fitting that role being Lugia, the Woobat line, and Sigilyph), their stats are nothing to sneeze at, and Xatu is just 20 points behind Sigilyph but also has a higher Attack stat. The only downside to them being that Natu and Xatu are extremely hard to find normally, and when the player can find them, it's almost always near the middle/endgame. Xatu also owes some of its Japanese popularity to interpreting its in-game cry as "Two-Two".
• Among the unused beta Pokémon found in the Spaceworld '97 demo◊, some of the most popular include Aquaria, an awesome and draconic-looking Water starter; the Kotora line, which is comprised of round, adorable Electric tigers; Wolfman and Warwolf, who are Badass Adorable Cartoon Creatures dressed in wolf costumes; Madame, a badass unused evolution of Farfetch'd; the adorable Rinring line, whose final stage is an Expy of Luna; Coinya and Puddi, who are cute baby forms of Meowth and Growlithe respectively; and the early versions of Girafarig, Politoed, Octillery, and Noctowl^note who was formerly known as "Hoohoo".

Pokémon - Generation III

• Ludicolo has been one ever since it was solidified as Miror B.'s (a Darkhorse in his own right) signature Pokémon. In addition, it's a popular Pokémon in competitive play due to its abilities' synergy with Rain teams, and its only weaknesses being to three uncommon offensive types (Flying, Poison, and Bug).
• Aggron, who restores mountains and looks like an even more badass metal version of another Darkhorse, Tyranitar. The fact the Aron and Larvitar lines are version exclusive counterparts for the Generation VI games furthers this connection that people make towards Aggron. It received a mega evolution with the highest physical defenses in the entire game as well. Its first form, Aron, has a following amongst "FEAR" strategists who use the Sturdy/Sand Stream ability combo with Endeavor.
• Shroomish is considered to be a very cute walking mushroom, reminiscent of Mario's Goomba. Then it evolves into the vaguely dinosaur-like Breloom, becomes part Fighting-type, and gains an absurd attack stat. Combined with Spore (the best sleep-inducing move in the game) and Focus Punch (a really strong attack that requires the user not to get hit), and it's a nearly killer combo. In addition to it being Badass Adorable, some fans like Breloom because it's powerful despite its low base stat total, showing that brute force isn't everything.
• Flygon; its unique typing and design stood out amongst all other Dragon Pokémon...at least before the Gible line was created. This, however, did not diminish its popularity; a dedicated and strong fan following still prefers to use it over Garchomp. It's still useful as a scout that's immune to Earthquake (something Garchomp does not have) and entry hazards like Spikes and Toxic Spikes, and its design is still considered quite unique. It has been one of the most demanded Pokémon to receive a Mega Evolution, and it turned out that it was going to receive one until the artists couldn't think of a good design.
• Milotic, the Distaff Counterpart to Gyarados, was also another favorite Pokémon from the Gen. It was also one of the most notoriously hard Pokémon to get.
• Absol, the Dark Is Not Evil doom sensor Hero with Bad Publicity. Its Mega Evolution only made it more popular by expanding its competitive usage.
• Skitty, due to its Moe appearance and Memetic Mutation voice it was given in the anime. "Nyah!". Even in fiction it and its Evolution Delcatty are popular as pets according to their Pokédex! It's particularly popular among fans of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon spinoffs, often getting the Memetic Badass treatment due to being far stronger in those games.
• Although rarely used in competitive, Mawile is adorable and popular enough to be given a Mega Evolution. It helps that its Mega Evolution is a Killer Rabbit strong enough to get banned to Ubers.
• Mawile's version counterpart, Sableye, is also similarly popular due to being strangely cute and, prior to the introduction of Fairy-types, having no type weaknesses (although low stats kept it from being a top tier threat). Gaining a Mega Evolution made it even more popular for having the very useful Magic Bounce ability and beefed up defensive stats.
• Spoink, mostly for being an adorable pogo-pig, as well as having some surprisingly dark lore surrounding it (namely its Dex entries mentioning that it will die if it stops bouncing, a rare aversion of the series' Never Say "Die" policy).
• Zigzagoon and Linoone, the Com Mons of this gen, were fairly popular for their unique Pickup ability of finding random items on the ground such as Rare Candies, Protein, PP Up or even a King's Rock if you were very lucky. Plus, Zigzagoon has such a cute smile. The raccoon family also has a following in competitive play for being one of the few Pokémon capable of combining Belly Drum with a STAB Extreme Speed; making for effective team sweepers. With the arrival of Gen VIII, the entire line returns to the spotlight, partly because of having Galarian forms, and partly because of Galarian Linoone's final evolution, Obstagoon, which has a lot of fans thanks to its design mimicking KISS's Gene Simmons, especially when he said he likes Obstagoon.
• Speaking of Com Mons from Gen III like Zigzagoon, Poochyena and Mightyena are also very popular in general, even in spite of them being garbage-tier competitively. This is certainly thanks to their excellent and imposing design, being an early Dark-type straight out of a previous generation that took its time to give you Dark-types, and having very dog-like mannerisms, due to being a very clear hybrid of a hyena and wolfhound. Between that and Fanon's tendency to exaggerate the dog-like manners of Mightyena in fan works to actually endearing effect, one only has to take a single look at the plethora of Poochyena and Mightyena fanart and general adoration to see how loved the evolutionary line is.
• Metagross, the only Pseudo-Legendary that's not reptillian and is from the first generation to release more than one Pseudo-Legendary. It helps that it is also the signature Pokémon of Steven Stone, who is a fan favorite in his own right. Its dual Steel/Psychic typing is also quite a god-send in competitive play; shared only by the Mythical Jirachi and Bronzong, which was introduced in the next generation. And then in Generation VI, it got a Mega Evolution that boosts its every stat other than HP and becomes a Lightning Bruiser.
• Salamence, Generation III's other Pseudo-Legendary, a Blood Knight of endless destruction. Competitively, it's most famous for the MixMence set, that would use its great mixed offensive stats and screw up your team. It waned in usefulness over the generations, though... until it got a ridiculously-powerful Mega Evolution.
• As soon as Pokémon Sun and Moon were leaked, Solrock and Lunatone got a sudden resurgence in popularity, many people expecting them to have some significance in the plot of the games, or at least receiving Mega Evolutions.
• Wailord gets fan attention mainly for the inherent silliness of a forty-something-foot blimp whale doing regular Pokémon things.
• Banette has a lot of fans due to the backstory given by the Pokédex: a discarded doll animated by a grudge, currently looking for the human who ditched it. It was one of the first Pokédex entries for a Ghost that fans found truly creepy, and stood out as well for being specifically a Vengeful Ghost story.

Pokémon - Generation IV

• Roserade took the fairly generic design of Roselia, who was basically just a small plant girl with roses for hands, and turned it into a mysterious yet elegant masked gentleman akin to Zorro or Tuxedo Mask. It also helps that it was the first Grass/Poison type with the stats to take advantage of its busted offensive typing, boasting a highly respectable 90 speed and a whopping 125 special attack, as well as having a solid 105 special defense meaning it can take a hit from special attackers if it has to. All of these traits combined to make Roserade both the most popular Sinnoh Grass type that isn't Torterra as well as one of the few grass types in the entire series to be viable in OU.
• Electivire, despite its questionable use in the metagame, has proven quite popular compared to other new evolutions that were introduced. Its design is appealing, its as major member of both Gary and Paul's teams in the anime, and its movepool is still noticeably large compared to other Electric-types, as well as being one of the few Electric types to learn Flamethrower and Earthquake.
• Starly, a Com Mon similar to Pidgey who quickly becomes a Disc-One Nuke. It learns great moves like Wing Attack early on, and eventually evolves into Staraptor, one of the rare Flying-Types capable of learning Close Combat. In fact, many have considered it one of the best Pokémon for completing the main story, period.
• Luxray remains extremely popular for being a majestic lion-based Pokémon that is a common staple of Gen IV teams, thanks to the lack of powerful Electric-type Pokémon in the Sinnoh dex, its fans commonly asking for the line to be buffed, with one of the most common suggestions being giving it a secondary Dark-typing, with the other being increasing its shallow movepool. It placed at 20th in the 2020 Pokémon of the Year poll, with 46,032 votes, beating starters like Decidueye, Blaziken and Sceptile, despite not being part of any regional dex at the time and only being rectified in Gen IX.
• Lopunny is notoriously popular with the Furry Fandom for being a cute anthropomorphic bunny and for being a huge Rule 34 magnet just as much as Gardevoir if not outright rivaling it. It also received a massive boost in competitive usage from gaining a Mega Evolution in the Gen III remakes where it could hit everything for neutral damage, it would slightly lose its popularity once the Mega Evolutions were removed in Gen VIII.
• Cherubi has a cult following due to having the Pokédex number 420◊, being a Grass-type, and the ability to learn the move Magical Leaf.
• Hippowdon use caught on post-Generation IV with the many additions made in Generation V; increasing the utility of using Sand teams to take advantage of Hippowdon's ability to summon instant Sandstorms. Unlike Tyranitar (who also gets Sand Stream, and a 50% boost to its Special Defense stat in sandstorm), it has Slack Off, much more physical bulk, and FAR fewer weaknesses (3 as opposed to Tyranitar's 7), making it a very good wall.
• Abomasnow is often overlooked, but has its own loyal fanbase following amongst competitive players; particularly for being the staple of Hail teams as the only Pokémon that can summon instant Hail. Its typing sure doesn't do it any favors; having seven weaknesses turns many players away at first glance. However, it turns out that the weaknesses consist primarily of the lesser-used offensive types in competitive play, such as Poison, Steel, and Bug, and that the resistances Abomasnow does have are actually quite useful in competitive play; Water, Electric, and Ground specifically. The fact Abomasnow was one of the few Generation IV Pokémon to receive a Mega Evolution is no coincidence. On a side note, it's also quite prone to Barack Obamasnow jokes.
• Gallade, the Male only evolution for the already massively popular Ralts family. He has a sharp sleek, and handsome design and the seldom-used dual typing of Psychic/Fighting which he shared with Medicham, like Gardevoir he's also a very high Rule 34 magnet by accounts of being its Male counterpart (though nowhere to the extent of Lucario), making him the go-to pairing for Gardevoir. He later got his own Mega Evolution to round out Gen VI, and becoming Wally's ace Pokémon in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. His popularity and usage rose further thanks to Gen IX a new ability in Sharpness has definitely helped boost his usefulness along with him gaining the much needed Scared Sword move (previously the Secret Art of the Musketeer quartet) to take advantage of Sharpness and his powerful Fighting type STAB.
• Drifloon has a following for both its cute design and its rather dark Pokédex lore. It was already bad enough in Pokémon Diamond where it's mentioned that Drifloon will try to grab children and steal them away, but then Pokémon Sun takes it a step further where Drifloon grabs hold of children to try to drag them to the afterlife.
• In 2022, Kricketune suddenly became popular amongst the Chinese fandom. Mainly due to 口袋迷ag, one of the most famous Pokémon fan in China, spending nearly three minutes complaining how useless Kricktune is when he was analysing Pokémon from Generation IV families. Popularity of Kricktune even grew higher when an audience used a combination between Kricktune and Palafin as his ID, that even causing ag to utter a criticism that sounds like the villain mocking the hero. Some fans tried to make Kricktune Memetic Badass by comparing it with Satoru. Even before then, it had a small yet noticeable fanbase, thanks to its hilarious cry.

Pokémon - Generation V

• Swanna has gained a cult following, because its low Smogon Tier and fairly unassuming design belies a deceptively powerful Pokémon. It certainly helps that it can learn both Fly and Surf, so it's both strong and a good HM slave.
• Deerling gained quite a following over the years for changing colors, being cute, being a deer, being a grass type, holding its own in battle, and for having an awesome evolution.
• A LOT of fans wish Joltik was the most well-known Electric-type, for being a tiny electric jumping spider that looks like a fluffy plush animal.
• Excadrill, one of the most annoyingly powerful non-legendary Pokémon you'll ever fight against, especially in a sandstorm. Their existence (along with Garchomp) are the reason sand teams became such a threat in the Generation V meta-game.
• Darumaka and Darmanitan are really well-liked due to their adorable and funny designs and skull-breakingly strong attacks. They're one of the better Fire types in the main campaign as well. They even got yeti-like Ice-type Galarian forms in Generation VIII that are even stronger (to wit, Galarian Darmanitan is one of the few non-legendary/mythical Ubers, and even there it is pretty good).
• Scrafty is also a very well-liked Pokémon from Generation V. It looks cool, has an interesting theme, and is uniquely useful in competitive play; it and Scraggy (its previous form) are the only dark/fighting types, which means they're the only Fighting type Pokémon immune to Psychic attacks ^note Well, at least before Generation VI's Pangoro came along, which is Fighting/Dark and, therefore, shares similar immunities and weaknesses, and they get STAB on two very useful types. Scrafty's possible abilities are also very good. Moxie increases its attack every time it defeats an enemy, making it a good sweeper. Shed Skin has a chance of removing a status effect, so it's great for a defensive set. The official Nintendo 2011 Black and White tournament gave out a fairly decent Scrafty as a nod to its popularity as a team fighter. It likely helps that Scrafty is really useful in-game as well, with its typing rendering it good against three of the Elite Four.
• Yamask gained a lot of fans from the fact that it's an adorable little Ghost-type with a tragic backstory, not to mention an ability that's pretty helpful in battle. Its evolution, Cofagrigus also has a lot of fans, due to how delightfully terrifying it is.
• Among the fossils of this gen, Archen and Archeops have proven to be incredibly popular. Crippling ability aside, the fans quickly fell in love with their designs (with Archen being a Ridiculously Cute Critter and Archeops being a suitably awesome Feathered Fiend) and were quite delighted to see a Pokémon based on Archaeopteryx and dromaeosaurid dinosaurs, a first for the series (unless one counts Scyther as a dromaeosaur). X and Y only furthered their popularity by giving Archeops an endearingly derpy looking model.
• Mienshao has a fanbase of its own because of its elegant feminine design (which is strange for a Fighting-Type Pokémon) and its usability in combat, especially with its Regenerator ability and the two moves frequently used in competitive play: High Jump Kick and U-Turn.
• Chandelure. Right up there with Gengar as one of the best Ghost types of the game thanks to its god-like special-attack and amazing type coverage. Which is ironic considering the status most other Pokémon based on inanimate objects get. Much to many fans' surprise, it is the only Generation V Pokémon to be playable in the Pokken Tournament.
• Hydreigon, Generation V's pseudo-legendary and the signature 'mon of Ghetsis. It's a scary three-headed dragon that provides a unique twist on the concept by having its two extra heads act as non-sentient organic Hand Puppets, its Dark/Dragon typing^note only shared with Guzzlord and Roaring Moon is considered highly appealing, and Fanon labels it as the King Ghidorah to Tyranitar or Baxcalibur's Godzilla. The Fairy-type completely nerfing it in Generation VI boosts its popularity even further. The bits of lore from its later Pokédex entries also help its popularity, such as its being a Genius Bruiser and the reason why it's such a hostile species.
• Volcarona and its pre-evolution Larvesta. Thanks to it being an excellent Pokémon battle-wise, possessing a unique type combination (Bug/Fire)^note until Generation VIII introduced a new Bug/Fire evolutionary line with Sizzlipede and Centiskorch, and for being a fluffy moth. Let's not even mention that, element-wise,Hydreigon is weak to it. And at least one fan is trying to present it as the bane of all vampires.
• Golurk is a freaking Humongous Mecha! The moment people figure out it can learn Fly ups anyone's view of the giant robot. Also has the unique typing of Ghost/Ground^note Until Generation 7 came around and gave the typing to Sandygast and Palossand. In addition, its Iron Fist ability makes punching attacks more powerful and it gets the never-miss Shadow Punch naturally. Golurk is basically the Pokémon equivalent of a Jaeger.
• Haxorus, a Dragon dinosaur with axes for teeth?!?! Yes please!
• Bisharp, a badass blade fighter with a cool Dark/Steel type. It helps that it is one of the few Steel-types to retain their resistance to Dark and Ghost from Generation VI onwards thanks to their Dark typing, its popularity ultimately lead to it gaining an evolution in the form of Kingambit in Gen IX, with an incredibly powerful ability and a very thematic evolution process, reminiscent of shogun hierarchies in Feudal Japan.
• Stunfisk, who was so huge in Japan, Stunfisk merch would sell out almost instantly after release. It's also popular in the West, too, due to Memetic Mutation.
• Surprisingly, Scolipede, and by extension the other members of its line; despite being menacing-looking and happening to be based on what is arguably one of the most frightening critters in the whole arthropod kingdom, there's quite a number of people in fan circles that consider it their favorite Bug-type line of Gen V. Helps that they're also based on the much more docile woodlouse and pill millipede, are viable throughout the entirety of playthroughs compared to the other early bugs, and happened to get a huge buff in the form of their Hidden abilities being changed from Quick Feet to Speed Boost in Gen VI.
• Amoonguss of all Pokémon received a surprise surge in popularity (both ironic and unironic) in late 2020 and early 2021, mainly due to its name being very phonetically similar to that of the hit game Among Us. Prior to this, it had a cult following due to its charming, plump design and usefulness in competitive.

Pokémon - Generation VI

• The Kalos bird, Talonflame, picked up a fanbase on the competitive side of things the moment people realized just how good its signature Hidden Ability, Gale Wings, was; giving it +1 priority to all Flying-Type attacks, including Brave Bird, Tailwind and Roost. Thanks to this, it was bestowed the nickname "Smogonbird." While Gale Wings has since been nerfed, it still has a following for its badass design and being the first regional bird to have a typing other than Normal/Flying.
• Vivillon, an adorable Bug-type whose region varying colors have created such high demand people will trade legendaries for them. They even created a special variation that can only be acquired through a Pokémon GTS event. Also, it didn't take long for fans to notice that Vivillon's Pokédex number is 666. Additionally, Vivillon averts the Crutch Character trope common among early-game bugs (especially those based off of butterflies and moths) thanks to better-than-average stats and access to Hurricane and Sleep Powder in conjunction with Compound Eyes, which patches those moves' otherwise poor accuracies.
• Espurr and Meowstic, the Creepy Cute cats. Especially Espurr, whose Thousand-Yard Stare quickly achieved meme status that swept the internet and had a whole range of merchandise revolving around it released.
• Goomy, whom some internet users are jokingly worshiping as a God, might just be one of the most adorable Pokémon, period. Its final form, Goodra, is the first pseudo-legendary since Dragonite to be a happy-go-lucky friendly creature (that still kicks a lot of ass) rather than a vicious bloodthirsty beast. It helps that Goodra is the first pseudo-legendary to get a regional variant in Pokémon Legends: Arceus known as Hisuian Goodra, a Dragon/Steel-type variant! Thanks to the additional Steel-typing, Hisuian Goodra has a type advantage against Fairy-types, which are often the bane of Dragons.
• Hawlucha, the Masked Luchador hawk whose Secret Art is the only dual-typed move in the series. While Hawlucha is quite prone to Mucha Lucha! jokes, it's also developed a massive fanbase with Pro Wrestling Fans.
• Tyrunt and Tyrantrum, the first true Tyrannosaurus rex Mons in the series — not just by virtue of being clearly based on a popular dinosaur known for being supremely badass, but also by virtue of being Dragon-types! In fact, Tyrantrum was voted the second-best Pokémon of Gen VI by Dorkly users, ahead of Yveltal, the more popular version mascot, and only behind Greninja, the Breakout Character of the generation. And, for the hardcore paleonuts out there, the fact that Game Freak wasn't afraid to give Tyrunt and Tyrantrum feathers.
• Pumpkaboo and Gourgeist, one of two new Ghost/Grass type families introduced this generation, clearly saw more popularity than the Phantump/Trevenant line for their adorable, unique, and creative design (Halloween and pumpkins) and for coming in four different and unique sizes ranging from small to super size which isn't simply a cosmetic difference, but also are separated from one another from how one uses them (small tends to be speedy sub-seeders whilst the Super-Size are very bulky).
• The fandom responded very positively to Inkay and Malamar for their unique Dark/Psychic typing, as well as appearing like something out of an H. P. Lovecraft story. Malamar in particular is very popular with the Brazilian fandom due to its Japanese name, Karamanero, which sounds like the term "Cara maneiro", which when translated literally means "Cool guy", but due to how the context of the term in Brazilian Portuguese is, it would be more correctly translated as "Awesome dude". They also have a decent competitive following thanks to their Contrary ability, which turns their usage of Superpower into a 120 power damaging Bulk Up due to the ability reversing Superpower's negative stat changes.

Pokémon - Generation VII

• The Grubbin line is surprisingly popular for several reasons. Grubbin for being the first Pokémon based on a beetle grub as well as being adorable. Charjabug for its amusing design and its unique ability. Vikavolt for being a badass, menacing stag beetle. Grubbin evolution forms being Bug/Electric type also makes this line rather well-received. The fact that Vikavolt's design and name are references to the Vic-Viper helps, earning the affection of Gradius fans.
• Immediately after its reveal, Salandit became a fan-favorite due to its bandit-like design, being Poison/Fire type, and its ability Corrosion that allows it to poison Poison-type and Steel-type. Its evolved form Salazzle has gained similar popularity for her high special attack and speed, as well as its sleek, elegant, somewhat fanservicey design and Pokédex entries. Especially her design and Pokédex entries.
• Mimikyu, who wears an old, poorly drawn Pikachu rag just to become as popular as Pikachu is beloved for its tragic backstory, as well as being a Ghost/Fairy type and having a powerful ability that allows it to avoid damage once.
• Type: Null's odd design and backstory have captured a lot of speculation to its origins, and most people have flocked to it due to potential Woobie status. Its evolution, Silvally, became a near fan favorite overnight after its reveal for its badass design, all of The Woobie status of Type: Null with an extra dose of heartwarming due to evolving when it recognises that it shares a mutual bond with its trainer, and a unique ability that can make it any type it wants depending on the special item it's holding, an ability very similar to Arceus itself. In fact, it even seems like a deliberate attempt to recreate Arceus both in-universe and out, as implied by the ability name, and this caused no small amount of Fanfic Fuel. Most art of Silvally also portrays it as a Friend to All Living Things, especially Gladion! Awww.
• Golisopod, the evolved form of Wimpod, has been very well received. In a case of Magikarp Power, Wimpod takes several levels in badass, and becomes a hulking bipedal giant isopod-samurai fusion with a very well-received design. Despite its ability being a hindrance, Golisopod's massive defenses and access to three different powerful priority moves to overcome its low speed (and its semi-unique typing) more than make up for it. Helped that it's the signature mon of another fan favorite, Guzma.
• Fans quickly fell in love with the adorable Pyukumuku even before anything else besides its design was revealed. Then the revelation of its "Innards Out" ability elevated its popularity even more.
• First seen in a split second shot in one of the May 2016 trailers, the adorable Rock puppy Rockruff gathered a lot of fans very quickly and people were keen to guess what it looked like before its official reveal in the July 2016 issue of CoroCoro, which only gave it more fans. Its evolutions only made it more popular, with Mignight Lycanroc in particular getting a lot of love from the furry demographic.
• The Alolan Ice type variants of Vulpix and Ninetales, already fan favorites now given another reason to be loved, due to their beautiful designs and Ninetales' unique Ice/Fairy typing. It is so beloved that it is the only Alolan Pokémon that you can catch in Pokémon Legends: Arceus apart from the Rowlet line. Being Lillie's first Pokémon in the anime definitely helps.
• Alolan Grimer and Alolan Muk are rather popular Alolan Forms thanks to having the unique Poison/Dark typing. Being a Pokémon that helps the environment has earned it some praise. Being a natural predator of the Trublish line most certainly helped. Thanks to a change and a diverse moveset, the Grimer line is saved and better-liked.
• Alolan Marowak is just as popular as the Kantonian Marowak line. It has a pretty cool design and a good Call-Back to the Ghost Marowak story. Fittingly, it is part Ghost and Fire Type. It also does a cool dance that references the Hawaiian culture. It even got a role as Totem Pokémon in Ultra Sun and Moon and a role in Fire Trial.
• The Mareanie/Toxapex line has grown quite a fanbase for being an incredible defensive wall with multiple forms of health recovery. As a result, it's one of the few non-legendary Alolan Pokémon to be bumped up all the way to the OU tier, and is even usable in Ubers.
• UB-02 Beauty better known as Pheromosa has garnered its fair share of love, for its elegant design, great competitive use as a Glass Cannon and Fragile Speedster. And in Pokémon Refresh, it's fairly cute as well, with an adorable little smile.
• UB-03 Lighting truly known as Xurkitree has been basking in quite a bit of popularity due to its Creepy Awesome design that also resembles Guzma, as well as its cute dancing animation in Pokémon Refresh. In competitive play, it is one of the best Ultra Beasts available, due to its sheer power and having Tail Glow as a move letting it steamroll most stall teams. It also helps that its defenses, while rather pale, aren't as paper-thin as fellow Ultra Beasts Beauty (Pheromosa) and Blade (Kartana).
• UB-04 Blaster otherwise known as Celesteela is also quite popular due its almost "beautiful" and "cute" design. Its also popular in competitive play due to the fact that unlike most of the Ultra Beasts, most of its stats are balanced enough that Beast Boost can be tweaked to increase whichever stat the player would want (apart from speed, but even that can be remedied with Autotomize). It also boasts the most powerful Heavy Slam in the whole series, due to being among the heaviest Pokémon and getting STAB on top of that.
• UB Adhesive, properly known as Poipole, became an instant fan-favorite. Depending on whether the Ultra Beasts qualify as Legendary Pokémon, Poipole may be the first pure Poison-type Legendary, and beyond that it's just so damn cuddly for an Ultra Beast. Its evolution Naganadel is just as popular, if not even more so, for being an alien wasp-like dragon, with some even going so far to call the shiny "Beezard" or "Chardrill" for the shiny bearing resemblance to both and becoming a powerful Poison/Dragon Fragile Speedster.

Pokémon - Generation VIII

• Toxtricity (especially its Amped form) is quite popular thanks to its unique Poison/Electric typing that’s only shared with its pre-evolution and gimmick involving its nature-based forms, with each one resembling a different type of guitar. It's also popular for its signature ability Punk Rock, which has the long-requested effect of boosting the power of sound-based moves. Being just plain cool also helps. On a special "Pokémon of the Year" poll done for the 2020 Pokémon Day, Toxtricity came in at an impressive #14.
• Galarian Farfetch'd was actually able to rescue the leek-toting bird from scrappyhood thanks to an awesome and hilarious Guts-esque design and a long-requested evolution in Sirfetch'd.
• Galarian Ponyta is popular with some fans thanks to its adorable White Stallion design. Plus, its evolution into the Galarian Rapidash gains the popular Psychic/Fairy type combination. Being one of the very few physical Fairy Types most certainly helped. Its signature ability, Pastel Veil, makes it very useful against Poison foes.
• The Hattena line ended up becoming a fast favorite for many, with its adorable pre-evolutions, and pleasant pastel color palette coming together nicely. Even with its Pokédex entries stating them to actually be a very dangerous Killer Rabbit, they still have staunch supporters. Heck, many people like the line even more for the fact they're so hostile.
• Snom, an adorable jewel caterpillar that evolves via friendship and the very first Ice/Bug Pokémon in the series. Its cute looks, very weak stats before evolving, evolution method and interesting hidden ability had many fans wanting to protect the little bug. Its evolution Frosmoth is also fairly popular, especially since it's an Ice/Bug moth, a concept that fans have wanted for years. Surprisingly enough, Snom got enough votes to be the 30th most popular Pokémon in the "Pokémon of the Year" poll. Not bad for a little grub!
• The entire Corviknight line is definitely this. Both Rookidee and Corvisquire are adorable birds with feather designs that make them look fierce and it helps that they're both pure Flying-types instead of the usual Normal/Flying typing. And then there is Corviknight itself who was loved by fans ever since it was first revealed. Its menacing design, very useful Steel/Flying typing, and being a great combatant in competitive battling makes it an extremely sought-out Pokémon. It helps that it's one of few Pokémon to have a Gigantamax form as well.
• Ever since it was first discovered, Falinks became an immediate fan-favorite due to their Kirby-like, cute-yet-at-the-same-time-tough looks, their unique concept (being based off of the Greek phalanx formation of all things alongside having a gladiator-esque design), said unique concept allowing a team of six as one Pokémon, and their unique move "No Retreat", which boosts all of their stats at the cost of no longer being allowed to switch out.
• Dracovish has found a significant following due to its So Bad, It's Good Ugly Cute design and interesting origin, being based off of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, statues of incorrectly assembled fossils. It definitely helps that it's surprisingly great in competitive thanks to its excellent typing, good movepool, and overpowered signature move^note Fishious Rend has a base power of 85, which doubles to 170 if the user goes first or if the target switches out. It's also considered a biting move, allowing it to be further boosted by Strong Jaw. When holding a Choice Band, the move's base power increases to over 570 with STAB. The most powerful move, Explosion, has 10 power less with STAB and Choice Band. It also served as many fans' introduction to the Dunkleosteus.
• Wooloo. The small, sheep-based Pokémon has become immensely popular on the internet since the games were announced, due to its high levels of cuteness. Many often depict Wooloo together with a previous sheep-based Pokémon, Mareep.
• Dreepy and its evolutions are beloved by fans for being a family of Dragon/Ghost Diplocaulus with stealth bombers for heads. And as Galar's pseudo-legendary, it commands attention in the metagame with blistering speed and a spectacular movepool. On the aforementioned 2020 Pokémon Day poll, Dragapult was the highest ranking Gen 8 Pokémon on the list, falling just short of the top 10 at #11.
• Impidimp sold some people from his reveal thanks to his derpy looks, but his popularity skyrocketed when his two evolutions were revealed. Morgrem is well-liked for his edgelord-esque look, while Grimmsnarl's use of his Prehensile Hair in battle and Dark/Fairy typing have drawn comparisons to Bayonetta; the latter's Gigantamax form only made him even more popular with his striking, menacing design a la Gurren Lagann. It certainly helps that its the first Pokémon that's based on a demon in this case the imp further boosts the line's popularity. It helps that Grimmsnarl, a male-only species,^note with even the apparently fearsome Granbull still having a female-majority gender ratio and timid personality, and that it's fun to use in battles as a dual screens setter and status spreader with Prankster.
• Appletun, a Pokémon that evolves from Applin via a Shield-exclusive item, quickly received adoration among fan artists for dorky yet ridiculously adorable design, funny walk/run cycle and bumbling demeanor - being essentially a chubby turtle with an apple pie for its body and a piece of apple worn as a helmet. Similarly to Snom, it gained a following of fans wanting to protect a clumsy apple-turtle.
• Minutes after its discovery, Galarian Corsola sent ripples throughout every Pokémon fans for its absolutely tear-jerking Green Aesop backstory of representing coral bleaching by climate change. This is especially impressive considering Corsola was one of the least liked Pokémon by fans. The fact that it can perform really well in competitive doesn't hurt either. Its evolution Cursola is also well-liked for providing a new lease on life for Corsola, as well as its interesting design.
• Gen 8 saved the somewhat disturbing Mr. Mime by giving it a new regional form based on tap dancers, making it look less creepy. But the real example comes from its evolution, Mr. Rime, whose Charlie Chaplin-inspired design and the silly way it walks in Pokémon Camp gave it plenty of fans that consider it a rare example of a humanoid Pokémon done right.
• Galarian Weezing became popular due to its thematic design and being one of the very first Poison/Fairy Types introduced. Plus, its signature ability Neutralizing Gas helped Pokémon such as Regigigas and Slaking become serious threats without drawbacks. This ensures Galarian Weezing's place as a valuable ally.
• Pokémon Legends: Arceus has Hisuian Voltorb and Electrode, who managed to become far more popular than their original counterparts thanks to their more inspired designs and being the first Pokémon since Gen 4 to receive the Grass/Electric typing, a typing that was previously unique to Mow Rotom.
• Ursaluna easily became one of the most popular evolutions introduced in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Not only does it help bring the Teddiursa line's moon connection full circle, but it even has a cool evolution condition that suits it. This evolution helped save the evolution line as a whole and gave the first proper quadrupedal Bear Pokémon. Plus being very useful in finding hidden items certainly helped boost its popularity. Urslauna's popularity ensured it received a unique form called Bloodmoon Ursaluna in Generation IX.
• Wyrdeer is beloved due to its badass deer design and Santa Claus look. This cool deer not only won people over but it helped hype players on other classic Pokémon getting ancient badass evolution. Being the first Ride Pokémon introduced in Legend Arceus, it gave one incredible first impression, and saved Stantler from being forgotten.
• White-Striped Basculin and its epic evolution Basculegion are easily one of the coolest fish introduced into Generation 8. It not only has a dark and sad backstory, but also has a spiritual look that fits the region in which it was first introduced. Both male and female designs certainly helped ensure people would want to catch it, and it's safe to say that it saved the Basculin line from obscurity. Being the first Legend Arceus Pokémon to catch in The Teal Mask in the beloved Timeless Woods ensures people want to obtain this ghoulish fish.
• Hisuian Qwilfish's introduction in Pokémon Legends: Arceus was met with praise by fans due to its better typing as Dark/Poison and goofy yet scary evolution Overqwil, which was foreshadowed in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. It truly embraces the Painful Pointy Pufferfish archetype in a cooler way. Being one of the Hisuian Pokémon to return to the Indigo Disk and change evolution conditions helps ensure people will love and use this ancient fish as an ally in their team.

Pokémon - Generation IX

• Maushold has a similar "multiple Pokémon in one" design gimmick as fellow darkhorse Falinks, but being a Badass Family of adorable, Sanrio-esque mice has made it, if anything, even more popular. It also helps that its two signature moves (Tidy Up, which combines Dragon Dance with the ability to clear field hazards, and Population Bomb, a multi-hit move which is able to hit up to ten times at once and can get a damage boost via Technician) made it surprisingly competitively viable despite having mostly poor stats. ^note Speed is the exception, being a decently high 111.
• Tinkaton became a smash hit with many players, due to the juxtaposition of its cutesy design with it being a violent brute who smashes everything in sight with its giant hammer. It says a lot that in a game with both Gardevoir and Lucario, some players will tend to forgo both in favor for a Tinkaton on their team, despite its lower attacking stats than the former two ^note its physical Attack stat is only base 75. A Japanese popularity poll held a month after the game's release had the little gremlin pop up in first place. Many people compare it positively to other favorite Girl with Psycho Weapon characters such as Harley Quinn, Sena from Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Power from Chainsaw Man and Hilda from Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and some even speculate that it'd make a great future Super Smash Bros. fighter.
• Glimmora managed to garner a fanbase for its unconventionally beautiful, flowery design despite its Rock/Poison typing, as well as its mysterious origins, making its home in Area Zero and possibly being connected to the Terastal phenomenon. Its popularity is especially impressive given its heavy association with Geeta, who is one of the least popular characters in the series.
• Tatsugiri has become one of the unexpected favorites of Gen 9. This is usually considered to be due to a bunch of things such as its cute design, intelligence, different forms, interesting Brains and Brawn dynamic with its partner Dondozo and being very good at competitive battling.
• Annihilape is easily the most popular of the previous region's Pokémon that got an evolution (with Kingambit close behind). It has a very cool design, an absolute beast to use in battle (despite swapping out its pre-evolution's Anger Point ability for the less useful Inner Focus), and has the very unique Fighting/Ghost typing that hasn't been seen since Marshadow, on top of having Defiant as its Hidden Ability (which sends Annihilape right into Game-Breaker territory). What also makes Annihilape stand out is the fact that its whole being serves as a Call-Back to the Dex entry from Pokémon Sun where it states that Primeape itself dies once it reaches its peak in rage (hence the reason it can evolve into Annihilape by using its new signature move, Rage Fist 20 times, which is also one of the easiest methods of evolution available). Many fans that first saw Annihilape (most likely from Eri's team) were quick to add it to their teams (including making many people who had kept their old Primeape from their past games transfer them out of retirement to evolve into one of the most powerful new evolutions in the game), which makes it evident that Annihilape has no doubt singlehandedly saved the entire Mankey line from being forgotten just by existing.
• Clodsire is adored by the fanbase. Quagsire was already an Ensemble Dark Horse due to its blank, derpy yet charming looks. Clodsire's more blob-ness with it being quadrupedal like a dog made it arguably more appealing and huggable to fans. Animations like this only further highlighted how adorable it really is.
• The fandom fell in love with Greavard and Houndstone due to their unique designs and heartbreaking backstories. Greavard and its evolution are considered one of the best Gen 9 Pokémon in design. Plus, that adorable Greavard dance during the Montenevera Gym battle has become a beloved meme. It has a very cool Signature Move that is fitting for the Ghost Dog Pokémon. This move allows Houndstone to become a very useful last-resort ally.
• Of the ancient Paradox Pokémon, Slither Wing instantly rose up as a fan-favorite due to its Kaiju-esque design, which many fans find surprisingly adorable. It also helps that it's based off of fan-favorite Volcarona.
• While most of the future Paradox Pokémon aren't as well-liked as their past counterparts due to generally following a theme of being robotic and in some cases very similar in design, Iron Bundle ended up being one of the few exceptions - if not one of the most popular Pokémon from the ninth generation altogether. The sheer ridiculousness of Delibird being turned into a hyper-violent killer robot is a contributing factor, and it doesn't hurt that it completely reversed Delibird's Low-Tier Letdown status by becoming a Game-Breaker in competitive play.
• Iron Valiant stands out amongst the Paradox Pokémon for its unique take on being a distant relative of an existing species - specifically, resembling a hybrid fusion between Gardevoir's and Gallade's (already massively popular Pokémon themselves) respective Megas and their base form. Combined with being the first (and as of 2023, only) Fairy/Fighting-type, a diverse movepool and the stats to make use of physical and special attacks alike, it wasn't long before it amassed plenty of fans and got people clamoring for more hybrid Paradoxes. It also gained a following in the LGBT section of the fanbase, as a non-binary Pokémon due to being a Fusion Dance between the masculine Gallade and (typically associated with) feminine Gardevoir.
• Iron Valiant's Scarlet counterpart Roaring Moon is no slouch either. It garnered lots of fans for its rare but popular Dragon/Dark typing,^note playing the typing as straight as possible by being little more than a ferocious prehistoric winged dragon, its success as a terrifying Lightning Bruiser despite its allergy to Fairy-type attacks, and its colorful and exotic yet badass design based on Mega Salamence. Some players have been known to choose Pokémon Scarlet over Pokémon Violet just for a chance to catch one of these beasties. It's also loved by TCG players for being a veritable force there too, having an attack that can unconditionally One-Hit KO any Pokémon at the cost of heavy self-damage and being at the center of a successful deck, leading its Special Illustration Rare to become one of the most expensive cards in the Scarlet & Violet era.
• While all of the Treasures of Ruin are beloved, and they're one of the most popular minor legendary groups despite not being prominent in the story, Chi-Yu is easily the most popular of the quartet, due to its cute and silly, yet elegant and threatening design, as well as being one of the most powerful new Pokémon available, having the sheer strength to floor even powerful Special walls (As many memes about its Choice Specs Overheats would tell you).
• Walking Wake is easily one of the most popular ancient Paradox Pokémon introduced in Scarlet and Violet, thanks to its awesome dinosaur-cat hybrid design. Being based on the fan favorite Suicune most certainly helped. Not only does it have the popular Water/Dragon typing, but it also has an awesome Signature Move, Hydro Steam, which becomes stronger in Sun weather instead of weakening. It also helped foreshadow that other Paradox Pokémon based on Legendary Pokémon would be coming in the Hidden Treasure of Area Zero expansion.
• Upon its introduction in The Indigo Disk, Hydrapple captured the hearts of many fans by being a new final evolution for Applin via its already new middle-stage evolution of Dipplin, and taking the concept in a more badass direction than Applin's other evolutions while retaining the line's quirkiness. Many fans love it for being a legitimate hydra Pokémon (more so than the more generalized Hydreigon) and for its unique concept, not actually being a single multi-headed creature but instead consisting of seven "syrpents" in one syrup apple that pop out at different times. It also helps that it's a legitimately great Pokémon in PvP battles despite its weakness-laden typing.
• Gouging Fire has its fans thanks to its unique Temper-Ceratops appearance, a huge contrast to the other Paradox versions of the two Legendary Beasts. While not being a Triceratops like most expected, its Styracosaurus-lion hybrid look helped make it stand out alongside the other Paradox Pokémon introduced in The Indigo Disk, and it also boasted the popular Fire/Dragon typing. This fast firey dinosaur quickly proved to be just as strong as the other two counterparts, harkening back to Mega Charizard X and being one of the few Pokémon that can stand up to the ubiquitous Kingambit in Singles play. It also helps that it's based off of Entei, a fan-favorite in its own right.

Pokémon - Spin Offs

Other Game Examples

• Spinoff game Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon had a few popular characters from said game.
  • If fanart is anything to go by, the Japanese seem to be enamored with Nuzleaf.
  • Espurr, whose surprising competency and understated yet well-written characterization add up to make one of the most well-received characters in the game. She visits the final dungeon alongside the Player, the Partner, the Big Good, and two Legendary Pokémon, but manages to hold her own!

Anime

In General

• Several girls are this for shippings with Ash despite not being one of his primary traveling companions.
  • Melody from Pokémon 2000 for cheek-kissing Ash, though this act also makes her very, very, very hated by Pokéshippers.
  • Bianca from Pokémon Heroes for, again, cheek kissing Ash at the end of the movie. (Though, if this was actually Latias has always been up for debate)
  • Frontier Brain, Anabel, maintains a fanbase for Abilityshipping
  • Angie, a tomboy from the Sinnoh Summer Academy arc for Morpheusshipping.
• James' various Pokémon that show affection to him by painfully embracing him: Victreebel, Cacnea, Chimecho, Carnivine, and Mareanie.

The Original Series

Humans

• Ash's alter-ego, Ashley, is also extremely popular, probably due to just how absurd it is and just how well Ash passes as a girl. It also helps that this one joke was then used again, and then at a rate of about once per generation (with the strange exception of 6), becoming something of a generational Running Gag.
• Giselle, the Defrosting Ice Queen from an early season 1 episode, is rather popular as a One Episode Wonder among older Western fans. It also helps that she is remembered by fans for being the one girl that Ash was crushing on before the producers had officially decided that he would be a Chaste Hero for the rest of the series (with the possible exception of Serena).
• Duplica and Todd were one-shot characters from the first season popular enough to make repeat appearances during Ash's travels in Johto. Duplica was a Ditto trainer and Master of Disguise; Todd Snap was a Pokémon photographer (and also the protagonist of Pokémon Snap). It's also not uncommon for these two to be shipped together (Copyshipping). Duplica's popularity only increased thanks to the Twitch anime marathon, with the scene where the trio imitates Team Rocket's motto with her being a common 'filler' clip when the stream is showing ads in between episodes.
• "The Magical Mermaid", a character Misty played in an underwater ballet from "The Misty Mermaid", is insanely popular online given it serves as a Shout-Out to Ariel and fits with Misty's water-type theming. There's quite a fair bit of fan-art of it online, especially for shipping purposes.
• Gulzar, the wannabe Grass-type master with flowers in his hair, is well liked due to being a charming and funny character.
• Gligarman (an obvious Batman and superhero parody) of the Johto saga was popular enough to frequently get requested to return to the show, especially when Ash had a Gligar/Gliscor of his own. His daughter Latoya is just as popular, especially considering she followed in her dad's footsteps and became Gligirl.
• Harrison: he's pretty much the only one of Ash's league-only rivals who actually earned his victory over Ash by virtue of being a Worthy Opponent, and thus is pretty much the only one of Ash's league-only rivals who is near-unanimously liked by the fandom, instead of being a Base-Breaking Character or The Scrappy. He also gets coolness points for being the first-known trainer to use a Blaziken.
• Casey, fan of the Electabuzz baseball team, is fondly remembered for being an adorable, cheerful Large Ham with a charming and likeable personality. She's generally regarded as one of the best aspects of the otherwise unpopular Johto arc of the anime. She even made a small cameo sitting in the stadium crowd in "A Ripple In Time".^note which was a collaborative short with Daniel Arsham made for a 2022 art exhibition.
• Domino from Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns. She’s one of Team Rocket’s elites has a little over seven minutes of screentime, and around a quarter million words of fanfiction. How can she not be when she gets to wear opera gloves and thigh-high boots all day for a living, and has both a cute hairstyle and a stylish hat?
• Butch and Cassidy are generally well-received for their roles as Jessie and James' more competent rivals, and for Butch's continuously being misnamed. It's up to the point where their long-awaited return in Journeys was widely celebrated on Twitter. But when their appearances turned out to be brief, with no flashbacks delving into their ambitions, in favor of another "Trio considers leaving Team Rocket but stays" story, the reactions became mixed. The fact that Butch and Cassidy had left the organization doesn't help matters.
• Despite appearing in only one episode, Wendy, head of Team Rocket's Human Resources, has a large amount of fans.

Pokémon

• Ash's Primeape is pretty popular with some folks, and being one of his most powerful teammates along with the surprising amount of development he had in his short time with Ash, it's not hard to see why. The fact that his debut was in one of the most hilariously entertaining episodes of the season, if not the series, probably helps. Many were even disappointed that it was pretty much the only one of Ash's officially caught Pokémon to never make a return, even in the final episodes of the "Ash Ketchum Era".
• Ash's Bayleef. She's loved for her immense crush on Ash which is adorable and hilarious, especially the Running Gag that after evolving, she forgets her larger size and still tries to leap into Ash's arms, resulting in him getting bodyslammed.
• Ash as a Pikachu is near-universally loved, and has endless fanart and a whole community of fanfictions dedicated to him. His very minor appearance for a few minutes at the end and beginning of two episodes was very unsatisfying to fans. They have never give up hope of seeing Ashachu/Ashchu again ever since.
• Misty's Psyduck and Jessie's Wobbuffet, two very similar, dopey Pokémon who just won't stay in their Poké Balls. When Wobbuffet was Put on a Bus in Best Wishes, the show later made a fan poll asking which Team Rocket Pokémon they'd like to return. It was no surprise that Wobbuffet won and make its return in XY, while the latter would eventually return in the Sun and Moon episodes where Ash reunites with Misty and Brock and becomes even more popular, thanks to it having Took a Level in Badass.
• The reoccurring Jigglypuff who follows Ash's gang around during Kanto and Johto, getting angry whenever its audience falls asleep or runs away, leading it to draw on people's faces with its marker. It's also likely the reason a member of its species got into Super Smash Bros.. It got to return for an episode in Sun and Moon. And then it hitched a plane to Alola...
• As far as one-shot characters are concerned, the Crystal Onix of the Orange Islands Saga is very fondly remembered. When Sun and Moon introduced the concept of Alola Forms, many were disappointed it did not become a Canon Immigrant, especially considering they did release Ice-type Alolan forms of two other Pokémon and had a nod to another one-shot Pokémon, Puka the wave-sensing Pikachu, with Alolan Raichu.
• Duplica's Ditto is an interesting example. In its debut episode, Duplica was trying to help it properly transform — despite getting other details perfectly, Ditto couldn't quite get a handle on transforming its face — and she succeeded by the episode's end. However, that same ditto-face has been adopted by the franchise itself as the iconic tell of all Ditto-transformations, from Pokemon Snap to the Trading Card Game.
• Mew, for similar reasons to the game. Its playful, innocent nature, in conjecture with being one of the most powerful characters in existence, has earned it a lot of love. It's very popular in fanfictions as a result of this.
• Brock's Crobat eventually became a fan-favorite. Particularly after the Johto episode, "Sick Daze," where it stayed at Brocks bedside to make sure that its sick master stays in bed to rest. When this episode played for the 2018 Pokémon Twitch Marathon, viewers officially coined Crobat as "Brobat" whenever it reappeared afterwards.
• The Snorlax in Pikachu's Rescue Adventure. Normally, Snorlax tends to be a one-scene, trouble-making Running Gag of a Pokémon in the Pikachu shorts, but this one is a Big Damn Hero that suddenly appears to save the day in the climax of the movie. For a while, it was even the star of its own meme spawned from the "Snorlax owns" video.
• The Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar who inhabit Pokémon Tower are very beloved for being complete party animals who end up spending a night of fun with a ghost-converted Ash. It's telling how much they were able to make the viewers roar with laughter when the Haunter was the very first thing to ever make Sabrina laugh.

Ruby and Sapphire

Humans

• For being a Canon Foreigner that only appeared in two episodes, Team Magma's Brodie is insanely popular. This is thanks to him successfully pulling the wool over the heroes' eyes, outlasting the organization he worked for, and only accepting defeat on his own terms.
• Katie from the Hoenn League gained many fans for being a relatively intelligent trainer who actually incorporated strategies from the games into her battle against Ash, such as using certain moves to weaken Ash's Pokémon before switching Pokémon mid-battle to utilize type advantages, and also forcing Ash to do the same. Some viewers actually hoped she would win in her battle against Ash simply due to favoring her battle style over Ash's. It helps that she's very popular with Twitch.
• Sir Aaron from Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew has amassed a large number of fans due to his status as one of the greatest Aura users of all time. This combined with the implication that he's Ash's ancestor makes for prime Fan Fic Fuel. He even received an Expy in the games in the form of Riley as a result of his popularity.
• Despite only appearing in one game and a single episode, Lucy the Frontier Brain is very popular for both her aforementioned role in the games and the fact she is one of few females to requite Brock's affections, making her common shipping material.
• Evil Ash, or more accurately, The King of Pokélantis possessing Ash has wide-reaching popularity due to the Evil Is Cool factor and massive story potential it provides. Fanworks will often feature The King's ghost as either a corrupting influence Ash must resist or a power Ash can tap into, becoming more of an Anti-Hero in the process.
• Jackie Walker from Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea is widely popular for his status as The Ace and being a Hero of Another Story to the point many wish the film had been about him instead of May, as was the case in earlier drafts.

Pokémon

• Jessie's Dustox has enamored fans for being an Evil Counterpart to May's Beautifly, securing Jessie her first contest win, and her departure episode being considered one of the saddest epiosdes in the entire anime.
• Ash's Corphish is loved for its battle hungry nature and short-temper while managing to avoid the Can't Catch Up scenario most of Ash's pre-Greninja water-types fell under.
• The wild Ralts Max befriended in the episode "Do I Hear a Ralts?", thanks to its strong bond with Max and The Promise by Max to come back when he's old enough to be a trainer. About 90% of fanworks that depict Max as a trainer will have Ralts be Max's first Pokémon in a similar vein to Ash's Pikachu.

Diamond and Pearl

Humans

• Conway, an intended one-shot who was added to two other story arcs (the Pokémon Summer Academy and the Sinnoh League) due to fan popularity.
• Despite only showing up in two episodes, Byron stands out for being played as a ham of legendary proportions who's constantly yelling about how much he loves things, making his screentime utterly hilarious as a result. It helps that he's voiced by Dan Green with almost the exact same voice as Yami Yugi.
• Maylene for good character development, though getting voiced by Misty's English Voice Actor probably doesn't hurt.

Pokémon

• Ash's Gliscor. What wins a lot of people over towards this Pokémon was how utterly cute the anime made the flying scorpion out to be despite its supposed god-awful design.^note A vast majority of people thought Gliscor's design sucked when they first saw it. If any Pokémon ended up getting a better reception compared to when they were introduced in the game beforehand, it's this one.
• Ash's Gible. There's just something about its blank, wide-eyed personality that draws people to adore the tiny land-shark. Also helped by the fact that its capture was Ash's first legitimate pseudo-legendary Pokémon. People also like it for giving the Running Gag, which whenever it uses Draco Meteor, would always hit Piplup.
• Brock's Croagunk. Ineffectual Loner, Evil Laugh, Ass Shove, Not So Stoic, Croagunk holds a lot of Diamond and Pearl's funnier moments. In addition, a majority of people find that its rendition of the Running Gag to keep Brock away from women he hits on to be the best version. It became so iconic that Croagunk got into Pokkén Tournament instead of its evolution Toxicroak, adopting a Fighting Clown style similar to its anime incarnation.

Black and White

Humans

• Amongst Ash's numerous rivals, Stephan has become one of these. Being less prominent than Trip or Bianca (among others), he nonetheless has a lively and likeable personality, as well as being a badass battler from what we get to see of his skills. It also helps that he gets what is, hands down, the best battle in the entire Unova League.
• Burgundy only appeared in one episode originally. Immediately after her design was shown, fanart exploded, and she became a Launcher of a Thousand Ships. Then during the Club Battle arc, she had some Character Development, and later developed a hilarious Vitriolic Best Buds relationship with Georgia.
• Georgia, Iris' "Dragon Buster" rival, is well-liked for having a rounded character and Jerk with a Heart of Gold tendencies.
• The Club Tournament contestants - many don't even get any lines, but their character designs are regarded as among the best parts of those arcs (Antonio and Jimmy Ray/Watchog Guy especially). Some of these characters, like the aforementioned Antonio, return for the Unova League. In particular Edmund the "Rain Man", who's an (almost literal) One-Scene Wonder (he appears momentarily before battling Stephan, and disappears altogether afterwards).

Pokémon

• Ash's Snivy, beloved for being an Action Girl Team Mom with a Sugar-and-Ice Personality; Ash's Krookodile, a Dark Is Not Evil Cowardly Lion who's also a powerful Boisterous Bruiser; and Ash's Palpitoad, the underused but strange and powerful trump card...especially Palpitoad. Just read the comments of fans, disappointed by his lack of screentime, miniscule development, and rare victories.

XY

Humans

• XY&Z provided the character Jimmy, a Rocker who desired to become the greatest Pikachu Trainer in the world with his Pikachu Spike. Funny and hilarious, his Pikachu also showed two different moves from his species in Dig and Thunderpunch, furthering his fandom popularity. He also gained further popularity by matching Ash's Pikachu in power and inspiring the fan favorite Serena crossdressing as Ash incident.
• Astrid for XY and Z seemed to be pretty popular with fans due to her character design being lifted from the Ace Trainer Class. Many fans felt cheated when her league battle with Ash ended in under two minutes.
• Despite appearing for a total of one episode and only having a single interaction with Serena (which amounted to a "get out of my way") Amelia is considered one of the most interesting rivals Serena had to face, thanks to her extremely attractive design, her bitchy and overly ambitious personality and the fact that she owns an Espeon and a shiny Dragonair. Many fans wished she was made into a recurring rival for Serena, and she tends to become an Ascended Extra in fanfics set during the XY era.
• Miette, Serena’s rival from the Kalos arc, has a sizable fanbase, mostly from the two's entertaining competition for Ash's affections.
• Lysandre of Team Flare. Although he is the Big Bad of XY&Z, he didn't get much focus until the end of the season. He is widely considered to be one of the best anime antagonists, in how uniquely he was handled with his status as a Visionary Villain, and how he let the series reach a whole new level of Darker and Edgier. There are a fair few who thought the anime version of Lysandre was even better than how the games utilized him.

Pokémon

• Ash's Goodra. It's shown to easily be one of the strongest Pokémon Ash has ever owned, shrugging off most attacks as if they were nothing and defeating almost every Pokémon it faces quickly, while still being adorable and very friendly, and getting its own side arc with character development. Goodra was brought back as Ash's sixth Pokémon for his semi-final match against Sawyer, though it unfortunately suffered a significant amount of Badass Decay after returning.
• Serena's Sylveon. She tied very nicely into Serena's Character Development, going from a shy Eevee who had no confidence in itself, who gained courage due to the close relationship she had with her trainer, eventually leading to the heartwarming moment where she evolves. Many were disappointed when her screentime took a nose dive afterwards, but were happy to see her in focus when Serena returned in Journeys.
• Squishy the Zygarde Core, for being... well, Zygarde. It also stands out as being the only Legendary to end up as a traveling companion. Its involvement in the XY&Z arc is one of the most intriguing plots in the anime, with a whole new level of Darker and Edgier.
• Pikachu's "Super Pikachu" outfit in the X-Y episode featuring the Cosplay Pikachu, is quite popular. Many are hoping this outfit becomes available to Cosplay Pikachu in the games as well.
• The recurring evil Malamar, also known as the "Malamunati", are also very popular, in part because they are amongst the very few truly evil Pokémon to appear on the show and in part because they make for such convincing Knights of Cerebus.
• Tying into that, James' Inkay quickly garnered popularity after displaying his Undying Loyalty to James to face the Evil Malamar, his cute design and semi competent battling in early points of XY helping.

Sun and Moon

Humans

• Lana's mother, who debuted in Episode 967/SM24 has become popular immediately after her debut. For reasons. All after no more than ten seconds of screentime, no name known for her to date, and barely a half dozen other equally brief appearances since, of which only one appearance gave her even somewhat notable screentime. Despite this, there is more porn of her than some Gym Leaders and in fan-art of Alolan characters in general she is more comparable in volume and frequency to major characters like Lusamine than her nameless, extremely minor role in the series would lead one to expect.
• Dia from the two-part Guzzlord arc is a fan favorite for his chemistry with Ash, for defying expectations of being a Tobias-expy, and the theory that he's an alternate version of Ash or Red.

Pokémon

• Ironically, the Bewear from SM. Despite coming from a species that was disliked at debut, its role of taking over the blasting off gag for Team Rocket by grabbing them and taking them away is well received due to Bewear's uncanny ability to show up in the most bizarre and improbable locations, and for the sheer awesomeness factor of completely delivering a Curb-Stomp Battle to a wild Pheromosa (an Ultra Beast mind you) in just a few blows!
• Jessie's Mimikyu is well-liked by the fans, just as the species is in the game, although for different reasons.
• Kiawe's Turtonator has garnered a fan base out of the Alola team's Pokémon despite appearing the least, being a less conventional signature for a main character that isn't either a starter or a standard cute "mascot" Pokémon, as well as proving itself a badass from the moment it appeared,^note tanking nine of Team Skull's Pokémon at the same time and being the first Pokémon to use a Z-Move in the anime while retaining a similar comical, affectionate personality as its smaller classmates. This furthered after Kiawe caught Marowak, who formed a comedic Vitriolic Best Buds relationship with Turtonator.
• Guzma's Golisopod, much like the Pokémon itself, garnered a huge fanbase for how terrifyingly brutal it was, to the point it makes Jessie's Mimikyu look tame. The English dub made Golisopod even more popular, as its Pokémon Speak was changed from soft sounding voice in Japanese to a horrifying inaudible roar-like voice. For only appearing in four episodes, it left quite the First Impression.
• Guzma's Scizor has only one real notable appearance in battling Illima's Mega Kangaskhan but earned sympathy from fans because it is on the receiving end of a 4x super effective STAB attack from Ash's Torracat because Golisopod retreated back to its Poké Ball against Guzma's order. Being shown to be a generally strong opponent like Golisopod, when not blindsided by a Fire Blast to the face, helps.

Journeys

Humans

• Of the characters of the day in Journeys, the one that resonated the most with fans was Regina, whose surprisingly heavy and sympathetic backstory quickly elevated her episode above what many assumed to be just another Chloe episode.
• While her battle with Ash had a divisive reception, this divisiveness does not extend towards Drasna herself, whose anime portrayal of mixing her typical Granny Classic with a Silk Hiding Steel that made her a joy to watch as she alternates between a sweet granny and a brutal opponent.

Pokémon

• Of the one-shot 'mons from Journeys one of the ones to most register positive fan reception was the one-stick Thwackey from episode 101, whose surprisingly fleshed out struggles, personality, and interactions with his troop and Goh's Grookey struck a cord with many viewers, some of who even saw applicability towards those with disabilities with his one stick struggles. The popularity also came in part from spite, as many fans who dislike Goh's Grookey found more investment in this Thwackey in a single episode than Grookey in over thirty and (to various degrees of seriousness) wished to have seen this Thwackey caught instead of Grookey.

Horizons

Humans

• Liko's roommate when she was attending her school in-person, Ann, is very popular among the fans for her energetic, yet incredibly friendly personality while also having the popular Starter Pokemon Oshawott. While she doesn't travel with Liko and hasn't appeared in person since the first episode, Liko sometimes video-chats with her, and fans always rejoice when those short scenes happen. Suffice to say, fans rejoiced even more when it is confirmed she would be returning in Episode 46 to have a battle with Liko using her now-evolved Dewott.
• One of the new admins introduced in episode 16, Coral, had a flood of fanart within minutes of her debut episode airing due to her sassy attitude, cute Anya-esque appearance and the fact that she's become Ikue Otani's 2nd Playing Against Type role.