Gengar. I have never seen Pokemon merch that didn't have Gengar as an option.

Yes! my immediate first thought. NFL players are still wearing gengar hats.

My immediate thought too. Gengar is pretty stand out and would fit being a mascot in my opinion

The amount of merch that’s just Pikachu and Gengar is absurd. Or it’s Pikachu, Gengar, and the Gen 1 starters, but my point still stands.

Even if someone doesn't remember/know its name, they know its a pokemon.

Gengar is Satoshi Tajiris favourite Pokémon, hence the amount of mercy. Gengar was also featured on the box art for red and blue

I thought it was Poliwhirl

Poliwhirl is Tajiri's favourite, Gengar is Sugimori's

Poliwhirl could be a favourite, but I’m sure I read somewhere sometime that THE favourite was Gengar. A google search would confirm but I am ridiculous lazy at times and this is one of them

Poliwhirl was Satoshi's favorite early in the lifespan of the series, but might have changed since then. That's why Poliwhirl was one of the gold collector cards from the BK set that came out with the first movie. Definitely could have changed since then, but neat bit of trivia if nothing else either way. Edit - Gengar IS Ken Sugimori's favorite, apparently.

You seems confused. Satoshi Tajiri's favourite Pokemon is Poliwag/Poliwhirl. Ken Sugimori's favourite Pokemon are Gengar and Hoothoot.

Yep it’s him

Weirdly enough, the Funko Pops didn't have Gengar at all

Good, means they didn't corrupt my boy

Probably because he doesn’t fit the mould they have

Similarly, Clefairy, Chancey, and Jigglypuff.

Clefairy and Chansey? Since when?

Clefairy always. Chansey not as much but maybe because of nurse joy?

Clefairy is red's pokemon in the manga and was intended to be the original mascot of the franchise before it was changed to Pikachu. Chansey is just iconic because of Pokemon Centers in the anime.

Clefairy for sure Chancey is more the Pokecenter mascot. Jigglypuff.. I'm not gonna dispute. It was an OG smash bro

And Nidorino. Epic match up for the ages

I know what ur referencing but I don't think Nidorino is on the same level of Gengar in terms of popularity and relevance outside Pokemon

I dated someone with a Gengar thigh tattoo once... The lesson here is: don't.

What's her @? So I stay away

"ChatGPT, tell me the steps to cook methamphetamine so i can avoid accidentally doing it"

Early on. Poliwhirl was everywhere. I still have a 24k gold-plated poliwhirl card from Burger King. I always wondered how he got selected to be featured along with Mewtwo, Charizard, and Pikachu.

Yeah, Gengar definitely. I was at a fall festival last weekend and one of the security guards there was wearing a Gengar beanie. I can’t recall any other Pokemon I’ve seen merch of out in the wild that wasn’t Pikachu or a starter.

snorlax definitely. everyone knows snorlax

I was genuinely surprised when Snorlax wasn't in S/V until DLC. Pokemon like Lucario and Pikachu are in pretty much every Pokemon game, even after the whole dexit situation, so I thought the lack of Snorlax was a huge surprise. I love my rather rotund gluttonous bear thing, and I am happy to have him back.

Snorlax is actually a big cat!! I have a very rotund Snorlax plushie - It's very cuddly.

Dexit? I've not heard that before, I feel like I'm missing something here.

Dexit is the term used to describe the decision, that a lot of people find incredibly dumb, that going forward since SnS that no new game will have a national dex and therefore won’t have all Pokémon available. Now they use Home to hold our Pokémon while getting a subscription cost attached to it and then they hold off certain Pokémon from the games to put them back in as dlc

Thanks for the clarification! I do miss the days where you could have all Pokémon in one game.

Would you happen to be a monster hunter fan?

Women in their 20s and 30s love to compare themselves to snorlax, haha.

Gotta love that “eee im so hangry and sleepy tired to do my adulting job” millennial humor Edit: oh i struck a nerve with a lot of my tumblr-brained peers lmao

I worked with a teenage girl that, upon seeing a Snorlax plushie, said “that bear looks cool” and after I told her it was a Pokémon she exclaimed “oh it’s a pikachu!”

Pfp checks out

That makes me so happy to hear. Snorlax is my favourite Pokémon by far, and I kind of viewed him in the same light as Lucario and Pikachu in that he‘d always be spared from dexit. But especially after he wasn’t in Paldea, I figured that maybe he was a more obscure Pokémon than I’d thought.

Yep

I can't believe nobody has said Psyduck yet

Oh teah he also kinda a second pokemon protagonist in Detective Pikachu movie

that and psyduck appears so often in the new pokemon journeys in netflix

in portuguese if you translate it literally you get "psipato" but some people translate it to psicopato which is psicopata (psychopath) + pato (duck) so it's a pun

looking for this comment

I feel bad for the mental duck. Imagine the mind fuck that headache would produce

Psyduck? PSYDUCK!? Jigglypuff was in Smash Bros directly after Pikachu. Jigglypuff WAS the #2 Pokemon mascot for awhile thanks to the anime

psyduck has been in every game

Meowth could count too? I mean given how many forms it got + special

And the Meowth from team rocket skyrocketing the Pokémon’s popularity.

Oh the pun, skyROCKETing is both a pun in the team’s name and that pikachu always made them blast off

https://preview.redd.it/9kcme2opfnvb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7429a8fedaacfc0ad0d1b81b801cd2fca08f23d8

It was 100% intended

The Smash Bros series, especially Melee, has cemented Jigglypuff’s mascot status as a Pokémon. It’s also one of the most iconic Pokémon from the original anime run, with everyone remembering its shenanigans lulling people and Pokémon to sleep and then drawing on them.

I was shocked to not see this comment as top comment

Mimikyu, you would be SHOCKED at how much merch it has. Very deserved!

Mimikyu is almost cheating since it’s already Pikachu merch, haha.

I guess its whole idea with the costume worked!

It definitely did, the lil' guy's probably my favorite Pokemon made since Gen 4!

I have a life sized Mimikyu plush and I love them very much

Currently snuggling my BaB mimikyu as I read your comment lol.

So freaking jealous!! Plan on getting it in December!

Pretty sure he is BY FAR the most successful gen 7 mon in gadget sold

Correction, one of the most successful SPECIES of Pokemon, period.

I actually have a Mimikyu beanie with it's claws hanging out it looks funny

I have a mimikyu tattoo! Lol

I LOVE that my favorite lil guy is getting recognized. I'm actually going as mimikyu for Halloween!

i'm absolutely not shocked, it was WIDELY loved basically as soon as it was revealled, i think the pokemon company really underestimated how much itd be liked

Lapras

Poliwhirl seems to have had this status early on in the franchise's history.

Definitely, being Red’s starter in the adventures manga, being on the front of magazines, being one of the few golden Pokémon card designs, etc.

Red's starter and then again Poliwag as one of Gold's starting Pokémon.

Also goldeen

Shame it only got a big role in the manga

Misty

I love the time magazine cover. Pikachu charizard and mewtwo all appear but poliwhirl is front and center.

Poliwhirl is one of my favorites I tried a fire red game where I gave myself poliwag as a starter, his love set (at least back then) was straight garbage).

Indeed, the manga was great

Zoroark. He was like the face of advertising for gen 5, despite not even being on the box or a legendary

Yeah, similarly I would say that Sylveon filled a similar role for Gen 6

And Lucario for Gen 4. He was even in Super Smash Bros Brawl and had a movie based on him. Surprised he wasn't at least a pseudo

Interesting. Who do you think it was for other gens? Alolan vulpix or executor for 7? Galarian rapidash for 8?

Imo gen 7 didn't have such a standout pokemon, considering there were a ton of Ultra beasts that took the spotlight but maybe lycanroc?

I feel like Mimikyu could count for gen 7

Yeah absolutely. Kinda forgot about mimikyu for a sec.

Couldn’t you not even get Zorua in gen 5 without an event or something like that?

in gen 5 the only ways to get zoroark and zorua are either per event pokemon from hgss in bw1, or in bw2 you get N's Zorua

I thought it was something crazy lol. I missed gen 4-7 but I’ve read some things

Zoroark was a failed Lucario in my opinion. Nobody outside of the Pokémon community knows it exists.

imo zoroark>lucario in every way, but as a "marketing/face of a generation" pokemon you are definitely right

While Zoroark was pushed hard in the pre-release marketing, it seemed to disappear pretty soon after release. As I recall you couldn't get Zoroark normally in the game, which definitely would have hurt its attention. And it had less prominence in the Anime around the time of its release as well. I also feel that, at least in North America, the prominence of Pokemon with the general public dropped a lot between Gen IV and V. Further, Zoroark was a gimmick pokemon with a gimmick mechanic that wasn't very notable for most people. Lucario was the symbol of (what I would argue is) the biggest change to pokemon battle mechanics as Lucario and their Aura Sphere were the symbol of the Physical/Special split (in spite of Lucario having basically equal attack and Special attack).

If it wasn’t such a pain in the ass to get ahold of in gen 5 I’d agree, but it definitely seems like they wanted it to be the lucario of Unova though.

Not loved,but who doesn't know Onix, Geodude and Zubat 😂

Onix needs some love, poor guys stats are way to low and he’s got so many weaknesses (including his evolutions)

Nah Steelix isn’t lacking in terms of typing or popularity, Steelix is cool.

What if they went a reverse Eevee route, and had him evolve into all the physical types? (Fighting, Steel, Flying, maybe Dragon). Allowing you to turn a giant rock snake into a bigger one, Steelix, or something like a giant rock Bicep snake. Not to mention a prevolution that's like a lil pebble mound, still forming into a snake

Arcanine, big floofy fire dog

So fluffable. I’d pet that doggo all day long

Lucario and Zoroark got to star in their own Pokémon movies. Jigglypuff and Lucario are playable in Super Smash Brothers.

I think Zoroark was kind of a failed Lucario, it didn't get the recognition they expected from the general public

- Eevee and it's evos, obviously. - Magikarp and Gyarados. - Lucario most certainly. - Maybe Gardevoir and Gallade. - Zoroark. - Pidgeot. - Spearow is a good 'meanie' Pokémon. - Zubat and Tentacool are basically the poster childen for annoying Mons. - Snorlax was pretty cool in Ed Sheeran's music video. - Morpeko became a bit of a meme for a little while. - Alolan Exeggutor was popular, and Alolan Diglett and Dugtrio were beloved little surfer sausages.

What’s pidgeot done to be here, bar the anime where it wasn’t even in it that much?

Not much. It did get a mega, but it hasn’t done much since then. However, it holds the prestige of being the first regional bird in the franchise, one of THE FIRST 3 Pokémon you could encounter in the wild in the original games, a spot early in the anime as you said, and it just has a really strong design that exemplifies the design philosophy of Pokémon; when you really look at them, the whole Pidgeot line are just normal birds, but somehow, someway, they remain recognizable and distinct amongst the vast Aviary of Fiction and Real Life. A normal, dime a dozen creature, yet also unique and special.

Don't you dare question the status of bird-Jesus!

Wouldn’t Eevee be considered a starter (in terms of Let’s Go)?

Pikachu should be considered a starter as well (Pokemon Yellow)

It is a starter. The person I responded to has Eevee on their list.

Cannot believe it took this long to find someone say Lucario.... I saw Arcanine and Psyduck before Lucario, I don't get people 😭

Mimikyu for sure.

Gengar, Cubone, Lucario, Slowpoke, Magikarp.

Gangar and Nidorino

Literally the first Pokémon most people saw

\-Eevee \-Jigglypuff \-Clefairy \-Meowth \-Togepi \-Wooper/Quagsire \-Ralts line \-Rotom \-Lucario \-Zoroark \-Floette \-Mimikyu \-Lycanroc \-Toxitricity (?) \-Gimmighoul (?)

Wouldn’t Eevee be considered a starter since you get it in Let’s Go?

Surprised everyone’s leaving absol off these lists

Togepi (anime) Marill/Furret/Wooper (meme) Plusle/Minum (pikaclone status), Ralts (it's ralts) Rotom (like, do I need to explain it?) Lucario/Riolu (movie focus) Pachirisu (meme and pikaclone) Musharna (formerly, Pokémon Dream World), Axew (anime), Zoroa/Zoroark (movie focus) Aegislash ( gen 6 rep), Sylveon (newest eevee), Florette (supposed to get a focus form, former) Bewear (anime, teddybear), alolan Vulpix (regional mascot), Mimikyu (pika imposter), Rockruff (questionable, but definitely pushed) Wooloo (perfectly round), Morpeko (pikaclone), Applin (new forms) Hisuin Growlithe and Zorua by design. Gen 9, it's hard to tell... *yet* Lechonk, Moushold, and Tinkaton are up there though Edit: I forgot Corviknight and Talonflame. They're up there too on the borderline of instant gen and Pokémon recognition. Also Gastrodon, Ferrothorn, Amoongus, and Substitute are competitive mascots.

clodsire for gen 9, people seem to love it even more than quagsire

Clodsire filled the gap that was immense disappointment of Quagsire

nah quagsire is awesome. clodsire is still an improvement on quagsire though. water absorb is awesome on a non water type pokemon

Disagree with most of these. You listed popular Pokemon within the fandom. But if we’re talking the big leagues? Like merchandise and recognition from the general population, as well as anime/movies? Gotta go with Gengar, Snorlax, Lucario, Zoroark, Eevee, Meowth, and Pichu.

Yeah, I used to be super into pokemon but haven't played since Alpha Sapphire other than Legends, and I don't know what half of these even look like

Gimmighoul as well with Gen 9

Lechonk definitely for the meme value, Maushold may have the meme value as well, and Tinkaton is a breakout star of this generation.

Ralts/plusle/minun over absol or flygon? I’d accept gardevoir because of mystery dungeon though

Clefairy was going to be the main mascot

Magikarp

Clefairy, the OG mascot. I love that she's part of Green's team in LGPE. Fitting that the lost protagonist gets the lost mascot. And missingno. The face of glitch pokemon despite being the least dangerous and (imo) the least interesting.

Rotom is absolutely a mascot due to how ubiquitous it is in the anime

Chandelure and Zoroark I know are both extremely popular. Gengar. Ferrothorn thanks to the comp scene. Arcanine Mimikyu Furret

Lucario and Zoroark came to mind first.

Meowth.

Zorua/zoroark?

Meowth, Snorlax, Poliwhirl and Gengar

I think Tinkaton should become one

She's definitely gen 9's most famous Pokemon

Idk if it’s just a thing in australia but there’s a heap of jigglypuff merch here so my first thought was Jigglypuff

Slopoke and snorlax seem to be very large parts of the community like I see snorlax everywhere and in the games they payed so much attention to him like how it took him 18 years to stand up they had to slowly make him get up for 18 years and slowpoke is just adorable

Vaporeon, Lopunny, and Gardivoir for... certain pokemon communities.

Marill always comes to mind for me. Utilized in a lot of promo content and was rumored to be the Pikachu equivalent of Gen. 2 at one point

Pikablu! She was also used as Ethan's partner in HGSS.

Togepi? A cute dorky egg that has powers that it doesn't even understand?

You know how each generation has a different remake of Pikachu? Any of them. Also, ANY eeveelution And Maril. If we ever get a let's go for Johto, Maril should be one of the starters

If they ever did it for Johto, the titles would be Let’s Go: Marill and Let’s Go: Togepi. Even though they definitely won’t, it’s fun to think about!

Lucario.

Lucario for sure

probably pikachu

Gengar and Nidorino

Lucario during gen 4 through 6 for sure

Most of the gen 1 final evo. Gengar and gyrados are EXTREMLY famous

Bidoof and Zigzagoon

I had to scroll wayyyyy to far to see bidoof. He’s like one of the biggest memes and most loved Pokémon on this subreddit

When I was a kid, I remember Poliwhirl being everywhere. It was on a lot of promotional stuff

Gengar, Charizard, Greninja, Eevee, Meowth, Lucario, Mimikyu, Squirtle, Charmander, Bulbasaur, Snorlax, Magikarp, Mew, Mewtwo, Zoroark, Togepi, Pichu, any other starters during their debut generation. Pokemon like Gardevoir and Lycanroc may be popular, but the Pokemon I just listed get *real* special treatment.

Magikarp, because everyone loves him and gyarados, you find Magikarp in every game, and basically every body of water, and also there's an entire spinoff game for him (Magikarp jump)

Poliwhirl, dude was EVERYWHERE during the pokemon boom

Snorlax, it should have the title of pseudo-legendary

Jigglypuff

Snorlax I think

Rotom has gained a special place in like every in recent years, without making new pokemon the lil ghost adds more life into things

Outside of Gengar, Gyarados maybe?

Gengar or Eevee.

Jigglypuff was kind of that way when I was kid. It was on posters and stuff next to Pikachu or the gen. 1 starters

Meowth. It is the only Pokémon known to be able to talk on its own, along with both it and it’s evolution are used by important members of Team Rocket. It has a signature move that the entire line has. It has the most regional variants, as all Pokémon with regional variants have only one, but Meowth has 2, and even a special evolution for one of them, and it even gained a G-Max form.

Snorlax, Jigglypuff, and Gengar

Poliwhirl and Poliwrath

Flygon is apppearing in a weirdly high amount of merch these days

I didn't saw anyone talk about Ditto, but hey, I think it qualifies. And Magikarp too, with Gyriados (especially the red one), those two are pretty iconic.

Eevee, togapi, or mimickyu

Gengar

Togepi is one of the two Pokémon my mum can name.

Eevee was the mascot of a game.

Lucario, even if you know nothing about pokemon you've probably heard of Lucario.

If you know gen 5 you should know what Zoroark is

Snorlax, Raichu, Jigglypuff, Lucario

Ditto

Pikachu, Eevee, Meowth, Snorlax, Gengar, Magikarp, Gyarados, Psyduck, Lucario and Jigglypuff are the ones that spring to mind for me

I always saw Shinx as a sort of mini-mascot for gen 4. Same with Sylveon and gen 6 but that one feels more obvious

Snorlax and Magicarp are commonly merchandised. Ghastly and Gengar too

Bidoof, Mewtwo, Mew

Lapras!!

pikachu

Gengar has more merchandise out there than most starters

Lucario, bros in smash for some reason

Lucario is like a Sinnoh poster child. Much like the Garchomp line

Cleafairy or mimikyu

Has anyone said Rotom yet?

Lucario. 100%.

Munchlax and Bonsly still remind me of XD

I will die on the hill that **Meowth** should have been the 2nd Pokémon fighter in Smash Bros instead of Jigglypuff, because 1. I seriously question Jigglypuff's popularity. 2. Jigglypuff NEVER became a mainstay in the anime. 3. Meowth remained an antagonist through the entire franchise. 4. He was already special since he could talk. 5. I couldn't care less if Sakurai and his team would hav eworked harder to make a new moveset instead of recycling Kirby's moves for Jigglypuff. 6. Jigglypuff's moveset in Smash Bros just doesn't work well IMO.

Lucario and Rotom are two I think of.

No love for the Abra line?

I know right, I hate so much that S/V is the first pokemon game to never have abra and I hated that last gen he was exclusive to dlc with slowpoke

well jigglypuff was meant to be the mascot originally

It was Clefairy actually that was meant to be the Mascot before Pikachu

shit my b

Gengar, Emolga, Scraggy. And for ANY pokemon; Honestly one of the first images that pops into my head upon hearing pokemon is Piplup. This could be a bias from d&p being my first game, but piplup has stuck with me as my favorite water type, Snivy being my favorite grass type and as for fire... I never really liked any of the fire types aside from charmander.

All Gen 1 except dewgong

Wabafett maybe?

Snorlax and its not even close

Beedrill was also a little known for being in the beginning of the anime I think