Venomoth: I just love its design, it's very pointy, crawly and it looks poisonous. It feels like a true contrast to Butterfree. The idea of a moth that can spread toxic powder by flapping its wings is very neat. Its original Jungle set card was very fun to use as it was one of the few Pokemon that could set two status conditions at once at the time. When I realized that its Pokemon Power Shift was not as powerful as I imagined, I was a little bummed, but the more recent cards have proven to be even more powerful. I also remember seeing in a comic book Venomoth fused with the marvel anti-hero Venom, which created Venom-moth. That thing was amazing on its own.





Sharpedo: If you know me, you know I love sharks in general, especially Great Whites. 3 Gens in and I was already gifted with this guy. I used a Sharpedo on my first playthrough of Pokemon Ruby and he served me well. I had the weird idea of teaching it Ice Beam because I didn't fully grasp the concept of physical and special attacks but it did the job alright. Its cry was pretty awesome too. Design wise, I admit it's a little awkward to have this shark suddenly end halfway through, but at the same time this is a torpedo shark. A TORPEDO SHARK. It shoots through the water at jet speed and even if it doesn't chomp on you it will tear you with its rough skin. It also like how its eyes are hidden within its gills. In recent games, surfing on these guys was the most fun alternative to Lapras because of just how fast they move.

Sharpedo: If you know me, you know I love sharks in general, especially Great Whites. 3 Gens in and I was already gifted with this guy. I used a Sharpedo on my first playthrough of Pokemon Ruby and he served me well. I had the weird idea of teaching it Ice Beam because I didn't fully grasp the concept of physical and special attacks but it did the job alright. Its cry was pretty awesome too. Design wise, I admit it's a little awkward to have this shark suddenly end halfway through, but at the same time this is a torpedo shark. A TORPEDO SHARK. It shoots through the water at jet speed and even if it doesn't chomp on you it will tear you with its rough skin. It also like how its eyes are hidden within its gills. In recent games, surfing on these guys was the most fun alternative to Lapras because of just how fast they move.

Tyrantrum: To be honest, I'm not that fond of the dragon type. It lacks variety and it's an overused type (granted, it is pretty strong). You'd think I'd pick Garchomp because it's essentially a dragon shark, but those gave me a hard time on online battles because of how frequently other people used it. Its Mega Evolution was so strong it kind of took the fun out of battling for a while. He still gets the runner up spot for helping me with the TCG.

Then along came Tyrantrum, which I used on my first Pokemon X team. Finally, there was a T-Rex Pokemon, one of the most anticipated potential fossils. I was worried they'd go the Rampardos/Bastiodon route and make it super derpy, but the design doesn't disappoint. Tyrantrum symbolizes to me the reward that comes with waiting. Now that we've accepted that T-Rex had feathers, we have a creature with a regal looking mane. This guy looks tough too, especially from the back. I can imagine it using Dragon Claw by slashing with its feet, like a highly flexible character from Primal Rage. Also I'm shocked no one has pointed it out, but its head crest with white mane ressembles a sun rising out of the clouds, hence why it evolves during the day. How neat is that?



Galvantula: poor Lanturn finally dropped out after I realized I didn't have that many memories of it aside from the TCg where it only did subpar in the end. Galvantula on the other hand has a great concept; an electric spider, I never would have thought of that. It spins webs like electric fences and fries anything that gets caught in it. Sweet. In the game it was also a great asset. I used one for my playthrough of Pokemon Black and it served me well. Competitively it was also useful with its spider web that slows enemies and highly accurate Thunder. Bug also became my new favourite type, replacing Ice, so naturally, an electric bug won me over in the end.



Xerneas: It used to be Carbink until I realized it was not as powerful as I initially thought. I was relunctant of the backlash for adding a legendary to my list of favourites at first. But then I remembered how hyped I was to getting my copy of Pokemon X on its release date. I even had a dream the night before of being immersed in the game, and Xerneas appearing before me (although some reason it was made of brown clay). Thankfully, the real Xerneas is more beautiful than the one portrayed in my dream. As it happens, it represents the theme of Kalos (beauty) perfectly, because that thing is goregous. Its my favourite shade of blue and it meshes well with the black and light yellow parts. Most legendaries get a little weird if they're too detailed, but I think Xerneas uses complexity better. Its antlers are magnificent, hands down the best part. It feels like looking at a perfect mesh of wood and crystal. Its also a Pokemon that gives life, so many Pokemon out there probably owe their very existence to this marvellous being.



Machamp: this was the first rare card I ever owned, and at the time my most powerful card. Heck, whenever I look at this guy, I see the very definition of strength. Conkeldurr may have a higher attack stat, but Machamp has FOUR ARMS!!! Imagine being punched in the face four times per second, ouch! And just look at the expression on his original Ken Sugimori face, he knows he's all powerful. Besides, Conkeldur has dinky little legs. Machamp has served me well in online battles and I plan to keep re-using it whenever I can. True story about my Machamp card, it was once stolen by some punks that were invited by my brother to our house, and I was upset to have lost it. But my bro felt bad and got me a new one. Hooray.



Braixen: it used to be Magcargo until I was made aware that its cards I was using in my deck were not that powerful by today's standards. In-game the Pokemon is very weak too. Then came Braixen, an elegant fennec-witch-magical girl hybrid with a wonderful petite feminine frame. I like how it uses a stick or twig to shoot fire, as if it was a magic wand. When I used it on my original playthrough, I thought it was funny how its attack sprite looked like it drawing a gun in a western duel and then proeceeded to put it back in its tail when it was done attacking (tsss). It's a shame that its evolve form is a little too fluffy for my taste, but it isn't the worst either. At least one middle stage evolution can get some love out there. I also remember fondly how much Serena's Braixen has a surprisingly amount of personality; its interaction with the other characters was gold. The XY series was a fun one to watch.

Runner up: Magmar, because of the awesome memories of Blaine's gym in the anime.



Yanmega: speaking of anime, I loved this beasts's performance in the anime. Its voice was very intimidating in both the Japanese and English dubs and in its debut it proved itself to be a real powerhouse. It was the first Gen 4 Pokemon I ever used; it was part of my team during my playthrough of Pokemon Soul Silver, where it proved its worth easily, so much that I had to use it in moderation to not sweep the game. This is an example of a Pokemon that evolves with Ancient Power done right. It looks prehistoric, with lots of stegosaur-like plates, much more aggressive looking too, and even has pseudo wings on its tail/abdomen. As it can also potentially have the ability Speed Boost, this is a perfect example of a creature that mastered flight and can hit you so quick you will be squashed before you could even scream.

Yanmega: speaking of anime, I loved this beasts's performance in the anime. Its voice was very intimidating in both the Japanese and English dubs and in its debut it proved itself to be a real powerhouse. It was the first Gen 4 Pokemon I ever used; it was part of my team during my playthrough of Pokemon Soul Silver, where it proved its worth easily, so much that I had to use it in moderation to not sweep the game. This is an example of a Pokemon that evolves with Ancient Power done right. It looks prehistoric, with lots of stegosaur-like plates, much more aggressive looking too, and even has pseudo wings on its tail/abdomen. As it can also potentially have the ability Speed Boost, this is a perfect example of a creature that mastered flight and can hit you so quick you will be squashed before you could even scream.

Dhelmise: the only Gen 7 Pokemon to make it on my list. Not saying the Alolan Pokemon have bad designs, most of them look great, but there are so many that are better. To be honest, a lot of ghost type Pokemon designs don't rub me quite the right way. For the longest time, Mismagius was my favourite only because there was nothing better. It still looked alright but it only performed decently in the games for me. I think I used one in one of my playthroughs but I can't remember which one (I may have to boot up my old games soon).

As a kid, I always loved ghost ships, manned by animated skeletons. Dhelmise is probably the closest we'll get to a ghost ship themed Pokemon, and that's alright. The idea behind it is ingenious; the ghost of seaweed managed to crawl around the ocean floor into a shipwreck, collected an anchor, a wheel and a compass and formed this sea monster. I was shocked when I first encountered one of these when fighting Acerola of the elite four. Man it has a cool cry too. I was shocked to learn how big these things got. I always pictured a small fishing boat anchor you could hold in your arms. But no, this thing probably took over the anchors of the Titanic. And it's strong enough to swing it at you like a giant weapon, dealing extra damage thanks to its unique ability. Its dex entry mentions that it could knockout a Wailord with it. If I have one nitpick, I just wonder where the seaweed was able to find a wheel large enough compared to that anchor. Was it just from a giant fishing boat manned by giant skeletons? That would be creepy.



Victreebel: This has never changed. Props to GameFreak for using the pitcher plant as their first carnivorous plant Pokémon instead of the more popular Venus Flytrap. Its Pokedex entries are fascinatingly creepy too, how it it's implied to have eaten people who ventured in the jungle where its colonies where and that by consuming prey, its nectar-acid that smells like honey becomes sweeter and more efficient at capturing prey again. There's even similarities with angler fish or Australian Death Adders, where it flicks its whip to mimick prey and lure unsuspecting victims closer. The design as I mentionned before is well executed, how they just flipped Weepinbell upside down and gave it teeth. It reminds me of a Ghost Trap from Extraterrestrial's Blue Moon, and from the look of those downward pointing teeth, once something falls in, it's not coming out. Fun fact, I actually preferred its original call in the anime, before it started screaming, but on the other hand, it's probably more memorable that way.



Donphan: I am so sorry Donphan, I feel like I've betrayed you. I'm not sure why for the longest time I preferred Rhydon over Donphan, maybe I was in denial. Sure a bipedal rhinosaur with a drill is cool, but I forgot how much I loved this tirelephant when I first saw it in Pokémon The First Movie. Donphan may look sluggish with its stubby legs and trunk trailing in front of it. But surprise, it can fold itself into a tire and roll at full speed across the ground to tackle its opponent. Its tusks even stick out while doing so, and I wouldn't be surprised if tarets will get nasty slashes on their bodies. It's a very unique concept for an elephant Pokemon. It's also known as the armor Pokemon, so if I recall, the tire-like pelt on its body is also tough as heck (unpopable tires maybe). I think what got me interested in Donphan again was adding it on my competitive team in ORAS. That thing can tank hits as heck and you can breed it to have Ice Shard, which has come in handy on many occasions. It was especially useful at the Battle Maison.



Cryogonal: I was actually stuck on this one for a very long time when I first started working on this new list. So much that I had to put it off for a couple of hours and drive to a friend's while thinking it over. It was a toss up between Glalie again, Cloyster and Cryogonal. Heck, Vanilluxe, Beartic and Abomasnow almost made the list too. Honesty, Cloyster has a lot of good things going for it; it's creepy looking (which I enjoy) and good competitively. It even inspired one of my first ever Fakemon as a kid. Unfortunately, the biggest flaw with Cloyster is that it does not feel like an ice type. There's nothing really icy about oysters.



So that leaves Cryogonal and Glalie. Both have actually similar lifestyles: they float around looking for prey, freeze it and consume it at their leisure. Cryogonal is a little more unique as it has chains of ice to capture prey. Cryogonal is formed in cold clouds and is made of pure sentient frozen carnivorous ice, while Glalie is actually a sentient rock, like Geodude, who actually coats itself with ice for armor. Here's the first problem for Glalie, it would actually be stronger if it stayed a rock type but it decides to shield itself with ice for protection, which is foolish considering ice is (let's face it) terrible defensively. Cryogonal on the other hand embraces its ice body. If it gets too warm, it will vanish into vapor and only returns if it gets cold enough. That sounds like some monster from a horror game that blends in and out of reality. Actually yes, it feels like the Tesla Pig from Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. The only way to get rid of these is to rise the room temperature, but that only makes them disappear for a while. Should the heating fail, it will return to hunt you down.





Girafarig: in my previous entry I put Sawsbuck as my favourite normal type Pokemon, and to quote myself, I once said that it was a "very elegant design, especially the winter coat. These guys were a challenge to fight in the wild because I always mistook them for ice types." But looking back, I realized that's all there was to it. I didn't have any special bond with Sawsbuck, it never won me any fights from what I can remember. Then I thought about Girafarig, who was the first dual typed Normal Pokemon not to be part flying. Girafarig has a much more unique design, with half its body being dark and having a tail with a brain of its own that could bite anything daring to sneak up behind it. The way its horns use Psybeam in the anime also seems super appealing to me, I don't know how to explain it, but it was just fitting.









Weezing: if you know me, you know that Weezing isn't just my favourite poison type Pokémon, it is my favourite Pokémon period. I'm a sucker for Pokémon with polycephaly and I just love the way they incorporated that in its design. One head seems dominant with massive tusks and a larger symbol that reminds me of what you'd find on a pirate ship. The one head is smaller with a simplier symbol, but one thing is for sure, they both look miserable! It's a perfect symbol for poison on its own. Weezing also has a bunch of fun trivial facts about it too, like how the heads can expand and contract so the small head can be bigger at times, it is heavier than Koffing because it contains mostly toxic liquids, that sometimes they evolve when two Koffings meet and one becomes permanently attached like the male of an angler fish to a female (although it seems equally possible that Koffing can just grow a second head too like in the anime), and even better yet, they can exist as TRIPLETS!!! (Mega Weezing anyone?) I can't stop gushing over this guy, he looks amazing and he isfun to learn more about. It's too bad Weezing is not as strong competitively these days but I will keep using one no matter what. Also the way it sounded in the anime before Ash went to Cinnabar island was awesome. It sounded like death. YES YES!!! Okay, I think I made my point.

Wobbuffet: WAAAAABUFFET! I always thought Team Rocket's Wobbuffet was hilarious. I especially remember when they made a giant Mecha Wobbuffet and forced it to take in a flamethrower but sealed its doors shut with a vinewhip because it could use its counter attack (actually should have been mirror coat), and Wobbuffet started feeling the robot heating up from the inside and just croaks "Wuuuuuuh!" Good times, hehehe!





Gigalith: when I first saw the Gigalith line, I thought to myself this is what the Geodude line should have been like. Pure rock types, an introduction to the type. The Geodude line was great and all but I had no idea they were part ground type, so for the longest time, I thought Rock types were immune to Electric attacks. Gigalith spared me of any kind of confusion. Design-wise, is very frightening in appearance, it looks like it could crush anything it steps onto. It has crystals growing everywhere, and they look quite sharp. Its shiny colour is absolutely beautiful and I hope to get my hands on one. I do have a couple of nitpicks, like how it turns out it has a beak-like mouth when all along I thought it just had random teeth sticking out of its face. It's also unfortunate that it's not that good at battles competitively. But a Gigalith helped me get through Pokemon Black fine, so I do have respect for the kaiju-like crystal.



Durant: the last bug type to make my list. Every time I hear its cry in the game, I feel amazing. It moves and sounds as if it could suddenly form a swarm of machines to tear you apart. Unlike most steel type Pokemon, Durant is super fast. Its a bit of a gamble with its Hustle ability having a chance of missing, but when it hits, it's always rewarding. Durant absolutely looks vicious too, having piercing red eyes, massive pincers and pitch black limbs (one of the few anatomically correct bug Pokémon). You'd think that an ant Pokemon would evolve into a female only queen ant with wings or something, but we don't have one yet. Still, imagine the possibilities in a future generation. One final point I want to make is that unlike another certain Bug Steel type, Durant is rarely used online so it's not annoying to encounter. I wish Durant could find more love someday.



Feraligatr: this was my favorite starter in Gen 2, the time when I really started playing the Pokemon games, although I never finished a game until I played Pokemon Ruby. But everytime I replayed a Gen 2 game, Feraligatr was my first choice for a starter. This thing looks amazingly terrifying, like a hybdrid between dinocroc or a baryonyx and Godzilla. Its dorsal scales even glow before it attacks! Its cards were always fun to use too: I have two different ones I use in my decks, and both have proven themselves to be powerful. As it happens, I think Feraligatr was more legendary in the TCG than Charizard. When I was younger and participating in the Pokemon league, some guy had a specialised Feraligatr deck and used a Feraligatr from the Neo Genesis set with the Downpour Pokémon Power. That guy really knew his strategy because he whipped out everyone who was participating at the time. I think he won 8 booster packs once.





After the release of Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (Gen 7) and having enough time to experience the new features, I thought it was about time to re-evaluate my favorite Pokemon of each type.Most images were scanned from cards I owned or a pamphlet from a deck I bought (Xerneas). I didn't have any pictures Tyrantrum so I just re-used a previous drawings for this meme. I still didn't have access to art supplies at the time I made this, just the slow computer and a scanner. I may remake this list with my own drawings someday.Runner up: ShedinjaRunner up: MandibuzzRunner up: GarchompRunner up: Lanturn (it looks like a deep sea dolphin still, aww)Runner up: Tapu FiniRunner up: PoliwrathRunner up: Ninjask, shares similar traits with Yanmega, but the dragonfly is just slightly cooler was proved itself just a tad but more powerfulRunner up: MismagiusRunner up: Chikorita (OMG SO CUTE, MUNCHKIN MUCH, SUCH CUDDLES POTATO, I WANT ONE <3<3<3<3)Runner up: Rhydon (because it still looks cool, but too bad it evolves into a monstrosity)Next point, Cryogonal has just been more useful to me competitively. Even in my defeats, it often had the honor of surprising my off-guard opponents with just how fast it is and make a few kills. It has Freeze Dry, Rapid Spin and Recover, which are always useful to have. It also has levitate, so it works well with my aforementioned Donphan, especially in triple battles at the battle maison. Sure Glalie got a mega evolution, but I was never fond of it. It looks like a large angry Captain Haddock head with half a hockey mask, which as first sounds hilarious but it just doesn't work for me. I hope to one day get a Mega Cryogonal with pointier edges and nasty looking teeth.Runner up: Glalie or CloysterActually, Girafarig used to be my favourite Psychic type, until I realized there wasn't really much about it that screams "psychic" aside it being able to use Psychic attacks. So it was more fitting to be my favourite normal type. Girafarig was actually my first shiny encounter when I played SoulSilver but I accidentally knocked it out with the very Pokemon that had False Swipe in its movepool because I was distracted by Whipeout playing on TV. After that day, I spent a lot of time trying to hatch a Shiny for competitive use and it finally paid off when I got one for my Pokemon X game. Lazarus has since helped me win a handful of matches at the Battle Maison. And here's a other trivial details that I like about Girafarig: its name is a palindrome, it was one of the first Psychic types to be immune to Ghost type attacks (Gen 1 didn't count), its original trading card had no weakness even. I even noted when I first saw its artwork that it looked kinda cute and sad that it had a little monster for a tail.Runner up: Furret (so cute and yet so tall)Runner up: Dragalge (also won me lots of battles)Like Girafarig, I really like Wobbuffet's unique design. It's just a big blue blob with flippers and four legs that probably act as an anchor. Apparently the whole thing is a disguise to hide the true Wobbuffet, which is the eyes on the tail. That is so unique! But it begs the question, is the blue part a giant nose? Are the closed eyes nostrils? Moving on, Wobbuffet has a super limited movepool, consisting of Counter, Mirror Coat, Safeguard and Destiny Bond. But that can change if someone hatches its baby form, Wynaut, which is one of the only useful baby Pokémon ever made (and pretty cute on its own, with the flippers looking like bunny ears). That's because Wynaut can learn some additional moves if you want to swap things around, noticeably encore. I actually used a Wobbuffet during a playthrough of Pokemon Crystal. That was probably the most fun I had gambling, trying to predict if the opponent would use a special or physical attack. Wobbuffet was actually a lot of fun to use in Crystal, won me lots of battles as long as I kept healing it once in a while. I had so much fun that I actually breed one for competitively battling in Alpha Sapphire. I always knew punching bags were a lot of fun.Runner up: MalamarRunner up: RegirockRunner up: Klinklang (surpringly powerful, also won me many fights after just one Gear Shift)But I digress, Feraligatr looks great but he's also fun to use for competitive battling too. I didn't get to use him very often yet and he hasn't won me lots of battles but I'm still hopeful. I was so satisfied when I finally got my hands on one with Sheer Force and bred it to have Dragon Dance. An Alligatosaur that learned the dance of dragons, how awesome does that sound?Runner up: Slowbro (another unique design with some polycephaly, too bad most of its cards were terrible).Template by hevromero.deviantart.com/?rnrd…