Top 11 Pokémon - First Generation

CJ Tiernan
21 hours ago
4 min read

By CJ Tiernan

I played multiple Pokémon video games as a kid. I had the blue version, played my brother’s yellow version, and then had silver version (Plus, I played some Pokémon Pinball. Anybody else? With the rumble pack? That was a fun one). All for the GameBoy. What a time! I then took a disappointing stretch of time off (life, am I right?) but got back into it when PokémonGo came out. We all have our own favorite Pokémon for any number of reasons. These are mine and, as is often the case with aesthetics, I can’t totally put my finger on why. I restricted my list to just the original 151 Pokémon (for now). Here is my Top 11 Pokémon from the First Generation. Enjoy!

1. Bulbasaur/Ivysaur/Venusaur

This was always my go-to starter Pokémon. I am someone who doesn’t like frogs (as a kid, I had an incident. I’m…not ready to talk about it). Constantly choosing this Pokémon as my avatar is like Batman choosing a bat as his avatar. Yep. It’s the exact same thing.

2. Onix

Did you remember that you spell Onix with an ‘I’? I didn’t remember that at all. I would have thought for sure that it was with a ‘Y’ like the gemstone. They say there’s no ‘I’ in team but apparently there is one in rock Pokémon. I don’t why but I love rock Pokémon (sorry about your luck, scissors Pokémon). This guy is just a pile of rocks in the shape of a snake. It’s perfect.

3. Geodude/Graveler/Golem

This little fella is a rock with arms. Who doesn’t love the idea of a rock with arms? Back in the ‘70s, before fun was invented, people would spend their time painting rocks. You don’t have to paint these rocks. They come with arms!

4. Mr. Mime

A Pokémon that’s also a clown: part creepy, part hilarious. Apart from Pikachu having “I am Groot” syndrome, the Pokémon don’t really talk much in this world. At least for Mr. Mime, it makes sense. He can’t break character.

5. Porygon

Porygon was created virtually. It looks like someone drew a duck using the vector graphics technology available in the late ‘70s, best showcased in movies like Star Wars and Alien. It is a weird, unique, abnormal Pokémon that, weirdly enough, is normal type.

6. Squirtle/Wartortle/Blastoise

Squirtle is adorable. By the time it evolves all the way to Blastoise, it has giant cannons and looks like Bowser. What are you gonna do? It’s a turtle. They live a long time and as we learned in The Dark Knight: “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” (man, two Batman references. I swear, I didn’t just watch it last night. It just lives rent-free in my head – like Batman to his many foes).

7. Mewtwo

If you’re nickname is “The World’s Strongest Pokémon,” you’ve either got one heck of a PR agent or you’re a hoss. It was genetically engineered in a lab so it may be both. What do you think leaves a more lasting impact: physical damage or psychological damage? Mewtwo knows the answer and uses it to maximum effect.

8. Tangela

Picture a pile of spaghetti wrapped around a single meatball and then swap out the spaghetti for blue vines (with cartoon eyes visible from beneath like Kenny from South Park). Boom! You just made Tangela.

9. Kangaskhan

If you combined a kangaroo and the dinosaur Pachycephalosaurus, you’d craft a rough approximation of Kangaskhan. It’s got a little dude in its pouch (baby bjorning its way through life) and has horns and a plate on its head specifically designed for ramming. Just to further mix and match, we named it after the founder of Mongolian Empire (is “founder” glossing over too much atrocity?).

10. Zapdos

Electric-type Pokémon are super effective against flying Pokémon. How does one solve that issue? They make the flying Pokémon electric. This Pokémon has a delightful aesthetic, making it appear as though a large bird was just electrocuted (it’s all spikey and stuff). It is one of the three legendary birds (along with Articuno and Moltres) and was always my favorite of the three.

11. Machop/Machoke/Machamp

Machop and friends have a really fun hairstyle. It’s like a triple mohawk. But that’s not the selling point here. Machamp has four arms! Can you imagine getting into a boxing ring and finding out your enemy has four arms while you still only have two-ish. That’s a real demoralizing moment. Machoke and Machamp are real behemoths and would go high in an NFL Draft.

Final Thoughts

If you made it this far, I assume you’re a fan of Pokémon as well. If not, you need to get a hobby of some sort. Sourdough recently made a comeback. Maybe look into that. Anyway, Pokémon are wonderful, adorable monsters of violence and I can’t get enough. If you feel the same way, I’m sure you’ve got opinions. Please let me know in the comments if I left any of your favorites off the list. Thanks! Have a great day.