Yeah definitely time for an update. my top 10 list has changed a
lot. In fact, I even made a top 100 list, which I will link here:
http://tinyurl.com/yax8w5au
But anyways, here's the
updated top 10:
10. Charizard [new]: Charizard was my first Pokémon ever, and as such, he really does hold a special place in my heart. But what really makes him top 10 is actually his smash bros appearance. I love using Charizard, even if he isn't my main. He has such a fun moveset, and its so fun to make hard reads with him and win with him. But besides that, Charizard is all around a great Pokémon, and it looks like he will never be getting left behind either!
9. Araquanid [new]: The only Gen VII Pokémon to crack my top 10 (so far) is Araquanid. When I first saw this thing (which luckily for me was in game, I did not get it spoiled by leaks), it was immediately exactly what I was looking for to put on my team. In addition, when I looked at its stats, it was specially defensive with an incredible ability! That's like, right up my alley! I love defensive Pokémon that aren't stall! And I have not been disappointed. I think of Araquanid as the Surskit evolution we never got. Surskit went from a cool, unique water spider, to a generic flying/bug when it evolved. Araquanid is exactly what I wanted to see, and boy did he deliver even more than I was hoping!
8. Goodra [down 5]: Yes Goodra has fallen quite a bit on my list. All the way from top 3. This is mostly because I was so in love with it before since it was still so new, and my favorite Pokémon from the current gen, but now, it really lacks nostalgic value with me, and its design has kinda wore off on me, and god dang it the anime made its voice sound disgusting. So now it has stabilized its position down at number 8. However I don't expect it to fall any further. I still love Goodra, easily my favorite Pseudo legendary, and fills a very unique role overall. It can learn a variety of different moves and can run them either physical or special, making for a very unpredictable pokemon. It's also defensively based but not stall, which I love. Goodra is still a very well designed Pokémon according to my specific tastes, but it doesn't have much of a personality, and lacks nostalgic value, and I really don't have too much experience with it.
7. Serperior [up 1]: Serperior is just a bit higher than before, and it still stays here for similar reasons. Easily my favorite starter, as its such a unique choice of real world animal to base a starter off of, and it couldn't have turned out better. I thoroughly enjoyed using it all the way through White, and ever since it got its hidden ability, its been one of my strongest Pokémon I own! I continue to use it in battles for its amazing strength, and its stats are again, perfect for me. Defensively based and not stall. But, this time, its a
fast defensive Pokémon. That's so rare! And as such, it has a very unique role and has very little competition for it, and a super unique design to match!
6. Darmanitan [up 1]: Darmanitan also continues to deliver for me. He is the ultimate glass cannon, boasting actually ridiculous power in exchange for not being able to take a hit that it doesn't resist. Darmanitan can break down almost any wall in the game, but can't exactly sweep since he takes a lot of recoil and has no healing. His design too mirrors his all out offense, with almost comedically large hands and mouth, you can tell Darmanitan means business. In addition, if you feel like having some fun, you can try using Zen Mode. Even if it isn't very good in battle, its still fun to try out, and gives Darmanitan a lot more personality and unique flair, which is very important when you are from the generation with the largest pool of Pokémon.
5. Gigalith [new]: Gigalith has one of the most intimidating designs of any Pokémon in my opinion. This giant sentient rock monster boasting so much power that it forms crystals breaking out of his body staring you down with unblinking eyes, now that's a fearsome beast! Gigalith recently became much more relevant now that he can set up sand on entry, and his immense physical stats allow him to 1v1 most physical attackers. He is defensive but not stall, which again I love. Also, Gigalith completely tore through most of the gyms in White, since rock was surprisingly effective versus almost all of them! He was basically the MVP of my team other than Serperior, and he was usually lower level! Also Gigalith's shiny form looks killer. An intimidating Pokémon that serves as great utility and strength.
4. Steelix: Steelix has the perfect balance in his design between goofy and intimidating. I mean, he is a gigantic (and I mean gigantic) tunneling serpent made of steel, and has a mega evolution where it seems like the earth bends to his will at all times, but then again, that look on his face, its so goofy! That underbite! Honestly hard to take him seriously! And I love that duality! Yet again, Steelix is a heavily defensive pokemon, tied for the best when mega, that isn't stall and still hits super hard, and can even set up with curse! Also his shiny form is my favorite shiny form of them all. The only thing cooler than a giant tunneling serpent made of steel is a giant tunneling serpent made of gold! Almost no physical attackers can 1v1 this behemoth!
3. Mawile [up 1]: I continue to like Mawile more and more as time goes on. It's design is so unique and thoughtful! It's personality as seen in the anime is cute, but freaking scary when it wants to be. It's typing is arguably the best combination in the game, and of course, its mega is busted powerful! Who knew that this 1 meter tall purple pants creature could be scarier than a Garchomp or a mega Charizard? Well it is powerful beyond imagination, and shrugs off most attacks thanks to intimidate and its typing. It's design still fascinates me, both mega and regular, and I can't get enough of looking at it while it does its thing in battle. Such an awesome little monster!
2. Lapras: Back when I played pokemon like a drooling child (because I was a drooling child) and I only used Charizard and almost nothing else, Lapras was the only other Pokémon I had that could really carry its weight, and boy did it do so! It could take down opponents far above its own level somehow, and was always my answer to any opponent Charizard couldn't handle. I never knew Lapras was such a low tier Pokémon until much later, and I didn't believe it! It seemed so powerful! I still believe that a Lapras in my hands is way more powerful than it should be. My Lapras always somehow kill things they shouldn't, survive moves it shouldn't, and impact games way more than it should. I have no idea what the secret is, but Lapras is actually scary when in my hands. Also I love its design and whole personality. It loves to ferry people around yet is almost hunted to extinction by them, but still holds no grudge. Also its based on the Loch Ness Monster (not just any old Plesiosaur), so its also technically a dinosaur and a legend. What an amazing Pokémon!
1. Flygon: Flygon by far has the most nostalgic value with me, and yet, I never used him on a main series team until Pokémon Y! How? Well Flygon was the first ex Pokémon card I ever obtained, and after that, I became obsessed with him, watching every movie and anime episode with him, and getting to know him very well. I just love his design! It's so simple, yet so perfect! He looks like a dragon but still has his own unique flair to every aspect of his design! Also his role in battles is very flexible. Thanks to getting dragon dance now, he can be a pivot, hazard control, cleaner, or wallbreaker! While he performs none of these roles outstandingly, he performs them all well, and as such can be useful on almost any team! I doubt Flygon will ever be dethroned as my favorite Pokémon!
So what happened to Milotic, Scolipede, and the pokemon tied for number 10? Well, Milotic often performed a very similar role to Lapras, so I rarely used it anymore, and as such, it kinda fell off my list one by one as I came to love other Pokémon more. It is now #15. Despite loving Scolipede's design, I never have used him on a team of any kind, so he also didn't keep up, and has fallen to spot #16. As for the tie for #10, Charizard obviously won out in the end (except for Gigalith who passed him). As for where the rest ended up, Braviary #12, Swanna #13, Sigilyph #21, Cradily #24, Umbreon #32, Yanma #39, Dunsparce #54, and Sharpedo and Lucario are not even on my top 100. Braviary and Swanna are still serious contenders, Sigilyph, Cradily, Umbreon, and Yanma are still cool but not overly special, Dunsparce is still funny, and the other two were just fads that I don't care for much anymore.
It's amazing how much one can change over time.
