Here is my list of Pokémon from Gen I, in no
particular order that I like, dislike or stood out to me then and now.
Venusaur
Venusaur is the Gen I starter that I feel is overlooked and
underrated, compared to its counterparts. It doesn’t help that its game wasn’t
released outside Japan and it took the remake for it to get some recognition,
but even then, everyone was going on about how it’s FireRed and LeafGreen and
not FireRed and WaterBlue. Ignorant masses. Now, it’s definitely the go-to
Pokémon for a less experienced player, taking out Brock, Misty and resisting
Lt. Surge. Even though there are a slew of other Grass/Poison Pokémon out to
find in the games, you can still use it for an early headstart.
Beedrill
Beedrill is cool. It’s a giant wasp with spears on its arms.
Self-explanatory. I was mad when I couldn’t get one in Yellow, but ecstatic
when I could get one in the remakes. Yellow Version was the go-to version for
everyone because it followed the anime, but for me it was just a restrictive
version that couldn’t let me get Beedrill. Butterfree got outclassed early on,
but the same would apply for Beedrill.
Fearow
I mentioned in the Pokémon Retrospective part 1 that I
raised one from a Spearow. I liked it more than Pidgey, who took longer to
evolve fully, and it was also a piece of the puzzle that would relate to
another favorite, one that still has a fair niche but was just a foolish pick
to use overall. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, well….
Farfetch’d
This Pokémon is based on a legend of a duck that gives
itself up willingly to be eaten, the spring onion being an indicator as an
ingredient. In Pokémon, it’s a samurai-like being, using the leek as a sword.
It doesn’t pick just any leek, like a samurai won’t pick just any blade. Now,
the concept is beyond awesome. But, as a battler, it falls under. The leek it
uses can be used as a hold item, boosting its critical hit chance, and it’s got
some good moves under it, more than some Pokémon who actually have better
stats. It still has a place on my list, using one as a Flyer in X.
Raichu
Pikachu is everyone’s favorite mascot and yellow rat, and
Pichu has the cute factor going on for it, but what about Raichu? No one likes
Raichu, even GameFreak seems to snub it. It doesn’t help the anime pushed
Raichu as an antagonist with Lt. Surge and making it look like it was slower
than Pikachu, when it was the opposite. Unless you’re holding a Light Ball, you
have no reason not to use Raichu. Its stats are better, and all the moves its
previous form learns from all the events and dickstroking can be kept when it
evolves.
Nidoqueen/king
These two are the basis for what would be genders and breeding. Nidoqueen and Nidoking are more or less the
same thing, some slight stat adjustments aside. A lot of people use Nidoking,
and seldom Nidoqueen. It doesn’t help that it and Nidorina can’t breed for
whatever reason. Nonetheless, they have enough to get a mention from me, having
a wide movepool and a lot of flexibility. Plus, Nidoking’s cry was awesome.
Wigglytuff
I like Wigglytuff. It’s a nice HP tank with some moves here
and there. No disrespect to its pre-evo. In fact, a mention to Jigglypuff. It was
a main recurring Pokémon in the anime, and it got a spot in Super Smash Bros. as
a result, still standing in its spot to this day. The line became partially
Fairy-type in Gen VI, keeping it somewhat relevant, but it still gets
overlooked by Clefable.
Vileplume
I adore Vileplume. It may be my favorite Gen I Grass-type.
One, its cry. Two, it’s based on one of the coolest flowers known to man.
Third, it’s the better alternative to Bellossom. Defensive and Grass-type don’t
mix. At least I have a shiny Oddish I can use for it instead of a Vileplume.
Venomoth
One of the more viable bugs of the earlier days, it had
access to better stats and moves, and was known for being one of the earliest
stallers in the game, using Poisonpowder and Disable. A comic with Lance’s
Dragonite summarizes this best.
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| Source: No idea |
In the later gens it gets access to actual STAB
moves with clout and some decent abilities here and there. Still not a
fantastic Pokémon, but still above a lot of others.
Arcanine
A Fire-type with a lot of viability and one that could be
obtained fairly early on if you didn’t have Charmander. It was also a Pokémon Green used in your
final battle against him. Cower at the might of its Ember and Leer attacks!
 |
| Source: Bulbapedia |
…This is what defined most of your opponents in Gen I. And
I’m not gonna go over the rest of his team. Lemme just say that there have been
RPG’s that were just as buggy and unbalanced as Pokémon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow
and they were called out for it. But enough of the nostalgia bashing.
Poliwhirl/wrath
I just love these two. I’ve always been a fan of amphibians
and reptiles. In addition, Poliwhirl is also Satoshi Tajiri’s favorite Pokémon,
and it was very prominent in merchandise. I had a plush with some candy in a
zip pouch. Same line featured Jigglypuff, also a favorite plush. It’s also a
viable Pokémon to train, benefitting from the defense EV’s that Graveler give
out at Iron Island. I even kept a second Poliwhirl for the hell of it.
Machamp
I remember when I got one with No Guard in Platinum, and it
wrecked ass. It looked intimidating in
the anime, facing off against Ash’s Squirtle. However, it along with Alakazam,
Golem and Gengar were Pokémon I couldn’t get back then. So much for the trading
aspect. Machoke was more prominent, though with Pokken giving its evolution a
main spot in the limelight, that’ll change.
Victreebel
Another Grass/Poison-type. What makes it stand out from the
rest? The anime. Any Pokémon that appeared in the anime prominently was
popular. Except for Lickitung. It was so boring it got traded in season 2. Even
the directors knew that one was unsalvageable until Gen IV. It’s cool overall,
but the lack of variety in Grass-types in Gen I shows. It had a low movepool.
Tentacruel
I found myself being attracted to non-mammalian Pokémon.
Fish, jellyfish, frogs, reptiles, bugs, I liked those more than dogs, cats and
bunnies. I loved my beige hamster, Beige though. It had a good amount of Special in Gen I, and
being the Poison-type gave it another edge defensively. That said, it couldn’t
match Alakazam and the Psychic Syndicate.
Golem
You saw it in the anime a fair amount of times, but you
didn’t see it in the games owned by a trainer. Even Bruno lacked one and went
for another Onix. And this was when you had enough Fighting-types to fill a whole team. And it was a rock
turtle. Outside of the concept and design, it’s not worth using. A lot of these
Pokémon were just for picking. Battling, most of them fill a small niche, even
then. You had to pick a favorite and go with it.
Slowbro
I like Slowbro. Not then, but now. It was just that silly
Pokémon that fished with its tail and stood upright afterward. It was a
Psychic-type, so if you used it, you were in the clear, after you got hit by an
Electric-type.
Muk
I mentioned Muk was one of the very first Pokémon I saw. As
a Pokémon itself, it was another thing that appealed to me: slime or goop. I
loved playing with the slime found in bubblegum machines in the supermarkets.
It still has its niche and appeal to me. The anime made it look invincible,
though it never fought a Psychic-type, and it ended up losing anyway.
Cloyster
This bastard has some of the highest defense in the game.
And that sneer is just amazing. Plus, it was one of the few Ice-types at the
time. At least it had that high defense to boast. Articuno was hard to obtain,
Dewgong is boring and Jynx was easily missable. So, catch a Shellder and evolve
it. I never tried to raise bivalves.
Haunter
The only Ghost-type I could use, and the only one the lonely
kid got to use. At the time, I wasn’t missing much. The only reason you used
half if not two/thirds of Gen I was because you liked them. Most of them
weren’t worth using until Gen II or Gen IV with its physical/special split.
But, even Gen I’s lowest of the low still stood above Gen II’s roster, which
I’ll touch upon soon. Now, its evo Gengar has a lot of viability, and it only
took three gens.
Hypno
The posterboy for any rape or hypnotism subjects relating to
Pokémon. It doesn’t help that in Mystery Dungeon, it kidnapped an Azurill. It’s
another Pokémon that stood under Alakazam and Mewtwo. Again, lack of moves.
Kingler
I love crabs and seafood. Put two and two together.
Unfortunately, it had no viability due to its absolutely poor special stat.
Again, what can I say? The anime made these Pokémon better than they really
were. It took Gen IV to make a lot of Pokémon worth using.
Electrode
A shame how the anime made Electrode nothing more than an expendable
Pokémon. At least it had a massively high speed stat, and dealt critical hits
like crazy. Just don’t use that Thunderbolt TM on someone else. You see how
this whole thing works out? You couldn’t trade items then. You had to find six
Pokémon you were going to use and stick with them exclusively. You rarely had
the option to swap anyone else out. The TM’s that you could buy were trash, and
only a few Pokémon could utilize Hyper Beam. HM’s were a godsend if you were a
Flying or a Water-type with good attack and special respectively.
Marowak
Its Pokedex entries were cool. It has its own graveyard
where it gets top-quality bones and it stopped taking shit when it started to
collect bones. It also had exclusive moves that it could actually utilize. Now
it wasn’t one of the best Pokémon, but you could still use it. That’s more than
could be said for it than Kingler and Hitmonchan, and we’re gonna go right to
it.
Hitmonchan
I’m skipping Hitmonlee so I can trash the shit out of its
counterpart. I picked Hitmonchan. It was a boxer, it knew a slew of punching
moves, including Fire/Ice/Thunderpunch. Amazing, right? The minute I used Fire
Punch, I learned how the special stat worked.
It doesn’t even learn any good Fighting moves. Hitmonlee at least
learned STAB moves. Hell, it had four signature
moves to its name. The only reason you’re using Hitmonchan is for the novelty.
And Pokémon Red/Blue may as well have been a novelty at the time. Comet Punch
sucked, too.
Rhydon
Technically the very first Pokémon created, predating to
Capsule Monsters. It hasn’t changed much. Rhydon is one of those Pokémon that
you can use to its full potential and not worry about evolving it. No
disrespect to Rhyperior, I love it just as much and will defend it fiercely. And it also featured in another bullshit
moment in the anime, having its horn become the weak point to attack. All of
this cool shit the anime did and the games didn’t attempt. It also got its
design rehashed with the Nidos and our next contender…
Kangaskhan
It took until Gen IV for me to appreciate it. A nice bulky
Pokémon with good speed and attack and mainly normal moves. And it works. You
had to go through a hassle and a half to get it from the Safari Zone, but when
you got it, it was all worth it. Simple, no gimmicks and a good signature move.
The baby finally got its moment in Gen VI.
Starmie
Starmie is a weird one. It’s a Psychic-type, but learns no
Psychic moves. And its Pokedex entries suggest it may not even be from Earth.
But despite its lacking movepool, it has access to moves galore, one being
Thunderbolt. I can’t even tell if its body is flesh or some type of hard
material. You can get one as soon as you catch Staryu, even it doesn’t have too
many moves to learn.
Scyther
This was the second bug worth using in Gen I, and even then
it had no moves. Yellow had to salvage it slightly. It had good attack and
speed, but no moves. Scizor was needed, just so it could show off its
Steel-typing . Gen I had an obsession with reptiles, as this is a mantis, and
Kangaskhan is a kangaroo. I want a proper kangaroo still.
Jynx
I touched upon Jynx in part 1 of my Pokémon retrospective,
but I’m gonna do it again: Carole Boston Weatherford, you ruined one of my
favorite Pokémon. Not for the design, but for its potential. It had a triangle
with Magmar and Electabuzz, symbolized with its pre-evos lined up in the same
position and order. It could have gotten a trade evo. Now it’s the poster child
for black mammy, Nicki Minaj and ghetto girl jokes. If they copout with a
Mega-evo, I’m gonna be pissed off.
Pinsir
Pinsir was a neat Pokémon. It has a lot of Fighting moves,
but in Gen I it was another Pokémon with no moves(STAB). But it was another bug
worth using, just to say “This bug type stands out from the rest, and I want to
use it.” I liked it more than Scyther, and that scene where it snapped Metapod
in half scared the shit out of it.
Tauros
Tauros is basic, but I like its cry. Being a Normal-type was
a great thing in pre-Gen IV games. All the moves you could use and all the
moves you could learn. If you really wanted to have a generally balanced team,
you may as well use just Normal-types. You couldn’t benefit from special moves
unless you had good special. But raw power always prevailed, as seen with...
Gyarados
You can get one of these early on with a guy who’ll sell you
a Magikarp and call you a sucker for doing so. But the thing is not only do you
get it early on, you can have Gyarados before Misty. This was the best choice
you could make early on and Gyarados stood out then. Save for its weakness to
Electric moves, it was a strong Pokémon you can get early on. What more can I
say?
Eevee
Ah, this one. A unique Pokémon that was said to be few in
number. It’s also an example of the whole concept of evolution and adaption. It
turned into Vaporeon, Jolteon or Flareon. Who did I pick? I don’t remember. Who
I do pick?
Leafeon.
Aerodactyl
It was unique compared to the other fossils you could get.
It even got the honor of naming a genus after it. Gen I nostalgia is still
powerful to this day.
Snorlax
This Pokémon is literally me. Eat and sleep. That’s what I
want to do all day. It was a monster in the anime, wiping out damn near all of
those grapefruit islands and in the games, it was THE go-to Pokémon to catch
and use. Even now, it’s a beast. How can it eat near its entire body weight in
food per day? A herd of them can wipe out an entire ecosystem. As the games
went along, it started to stand up and look alive. Will Gen VII show it running in
place?
Dragonite
The only notable Dragon-type(IE the ONLY one)and you
couldn’t use it properly. Dragon Rage wasn’t worth using when all your other
moves did more damage on average. I personally think the Dragon-type was added
late in development, a type that resists the usual elemental attacks. A good type
to have for a final battle. It had the stats to utilize everything else, so
what could you do? You could catch Dratini as soon as you got to water in the
Safari Zone. Remember what I said about Venomoth trapping it with Barrier? Hoo
boy.
Mewtwo
Ugh, this one. The face of Pokémon after Pikachu. It was the
first of the ‘cool’ Pokémon, being savage and wanting to fight. It’s also a
villain in the anime. However, that misconception is passed on throughout all
media relating to it. In the games despite its Pokedex descriptions, it doesn’t
actively come after you, or anyone else. It’s just a recluse. My best friend
from childhood loved Mewtwo. I was indifferent to it. I had a toy based on it
back then. It still stands out from the rest in popularity. I’d say it’s even
edgier than the Pokémon people claim are edgy. It and Blastoise are the prime
definitions of Digimon, before it was cool to call a Pokémon a Digimon. Mewtwo
is just Renamon with a feline flair, and Blastoise’s cannons are out of place,
even for Pokémon. I don’t hate it because of the cannons, but if we’re calling
Pokémon Digimon, Blastoise fills that criteria more than anyone else.
Mew
The one secret that one kid told that was actually true. In
Japan, it was known. But in America, it was kind of an urban legend, even
though it appeared in the anime opening. But Ho-oh appeared too and wasn’t in
the games yet. So it was justified to not know about Mew. It can learn just
about every move in the game, and it was varied enough to use what it knew.
Funny enough, Mew could be found exploiting Red/Blue’s glitches. Maybe this is
why people love Gen I so much: There was a sense of mystery with the games and
with Pokémon like Mew, there was something to discover.
And that’s my lineup on Gen I. A lot of favorites, and
notable picks. I couldn’t get them all, obviously and that’d take even longer
to do.
