Favourite Pokémon Per Generation: Generation One - Red and Blue

With Pokémon Sword and Shield on its way we are entering the eight generation of this beloved series. This got me thinking about my favourite Pokémon per generation from Red and Blue of Generation one to Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon of Generation seven and as of the end of those games we have 809 unique Pokémon. So, with that in mind as part of this ongoing series I will rank my top six Pokémon per generation, now this isn’t really based in typing or stats more on appearance and personal experience so if you expected a competitive analysis and breakdown of each Pokémon, I’ll apologise. However, I do have some guidelines with this series.

1. Pokémon will be considered for ranking in the generation they debut in, for example all Pokémon introduced in generation one that come back in later games will be judged in rankings for generation one
2. All form changes such as Mega Evolutions and Alola forms will remain in the ranking for their debut generations

As well as this each generation ranking will also have a list of my favourite Pokémon per type for some of these types a Pokémon will appear that I may not necessarily like but will be a best of a bad bunch, however, with Generation one looking at the current typing of all Pokémon introduced in this generation there are no Dark types which is the only drawback in this. With all this in mind let us start with Generation one and the games Pokémon Red & Blue.

Introducing the original 151 Pokémon to the world, generation one had the task of beginning to show the world these games are based in, selecting the top six was a tough task as there are several Pokémon in this generation I hold quite near and dear in my heart. So, first we will start by listing the honourable mentions and then kick off with my sixth favourite Pokémon of this generation.

Honourable Mentions: Venusaur, Butterfree, Beedrill, Pidgeot Sandslah, Nidoqueen, Nidoking, Clefable, Arcanine, Poliwrath, Golem, Marowak, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Pinsir, Gyarados, Kabutops, Mewtwo

Number Six: Blastoise 

Starting off the list the final evolution of the water starter Squirtle in Blastoise. One thing that will be prominent in this list is my love for final evolution Pokémon and Blastoise is certainly that. The starter Pokémon normally end up as the ace of a player’s team it is important that they look the part. I think the main thing I like about Blastoise is the cannons coming through its shell, it really helps round up the design of the first water starter.

Number Five: Dragonite 

Coming in at number five is the first Pseudo Legendary Pokémon Dragonite. While a pain to obtain in Red & Blue (thankfully a lot easier in the Let’s Go version of the game) this is one Pokémon that packs a serious punch. Normally when I look at building a team I normally look to powerful Pokémon and those that look cool and the Dragon Pokémon fits that bill.

Number Four: Machamp

Coming in at number four is Machamp. I’m always a sucker for a good designed fighting type and Machamp fits that. As a wrestling fan any Pokémon based on wrestling I’m going to like and while never fully confirmed Machamp certainly looks it which is the main reason he’s here.

Number Three: Gengar

The best thing about Gengar is the mystery around this Pokémon, while being the shadow Pokémon many speculated over the years it was the shadow for Clefable, speculation like this has kept this Pokémon in the public eye for so long. Combine this with the Pokémon’s story in the Mystery Dungeon games and the simple but effective design is the reason it ranks so high.

Number Two: Charizard
As expected Charizard makes it to the top of the list. I’ve always picked the Fire Pokémon as the starter whenever I start a game and Charizard is one of the two Pokémon responsible for this. It took till generation six for him to finally get that dragon type but even without it Charizard has a great design, great type and is arguably one of the most iconic Pokémon of all time there’s a lot to love in Charizard and it being the first fire starter gave so much for all other to live up to. I have to be honest Charizard was initially number one on this list but I have dropped him after looking into it. While I like Charizard a lot I think I'm suffering from a fatigue from him. Two mega evolutions and a dynamax later I still feel he overlooks a lot more Pokémon from its generation that should get some more love. While I still really like Charizard I just want to see less of it.

Number One: Alakazam

If any Pokémon on this list looks like they exhibit power on a supernatural level just by looks it’s Alakazam. Psychic Pokémon all have some kind of mysticism to them and Alakazam takes the route of a magician which while an odd choice I think really works. I think the main reason I like Alakazam is that the design isn't fully inspired by one thing more it means to be a combination of many different ideas, it adds to the supernatural element of this Pokémon and is a design and really helps me love this design, while I think the spoons are a bit much it helps with the gimmick of the Pokémon. The PSI Pokémon and final stage to the original Psychic line this Pokémon had to be the one that all Psychic Pokémon followed, and it lives up still to be a powerful example.

With that in mind that is my top six Pokémon of Generation one, covering a wide range of typing and designs each one has a unique personality in its design an origins. Generation one was one of the harder ones to choose the six from with how much I enjoy a lot of them. To round up this post here is the list of favourite Pokémon per type for this generation.

Up next is Generation Two with Gold, Silver and Crystal which while this generation has less Pokémon I like which should be expected as this generation used the Pokémon from Generation one as well but there’s still a good number of Pokémon to choose from which it introduced, the six that make the rankings will be revealed next time.