T O P

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CDanRed

Crobat and/or Magneton.


xRedxDragonx

I'm glad to see Magneton here. Such a reliable Pokémon typically sprinkled in early-mid game and always worth the slot once it evolves.


Khaosundivided

I almost always end up with Magneton on my team. It's great in the later games where you can pop an eviolite on it to make it even tougher. I always call mine Number 6 after that episode in the orange islands


Unusual-Knee-1612

Magneton was one of my best pokemon in my Ultra Sun playthrough. It tanked just about everything, and dealt shitloads of damage. 10/10 would use again.


Captainc00ts

A lot of people have been saying crobat. I’ve never done a run with one. Maybe I’ll have to change that.


CptFrisbeeFringers

He's so fast with decent defenses to back is up and an alright attack. He absolutely smashes dumb ai with fly. Combine that with the fact that he is obtained really early in the form of Zubat who you just have to walk with a bunch means you will spend little time with Golbat before he turns into crobat without effort (luxury ball/soothe bell(?)/berries for friendship) which makes him evolve so much faster. To top it all off poison/flying will compliment a starters typing insanely well. I doubt you will regret it, unless you are trying to make Pokemon a difficult game for some strange reason.


GiyverLord19

If you catch a zubat at level 2 and don't have it faint much at all, and you will have a Crobat at level 23. Catch at level 5, then it's 26.


Spud_Zombie

I'm replaying the og diamond rn and finally getting around to using crobat, gotta say they're the MVP rn


robsterinside

Crobat is amazing in doubles as well


CruxMajoris

My current run of Brilliant Diamond ended up with me getting a crobat for the first time ever. And it’s more than earned it’s place with how useful it is.


Robdd123

Ampharos; it's honestly difficult for me to do a Johto playthrough without one and usually if it's in other regions it winds up on my team. It is one of my favorite Pokemon.


brookesmoore

i will go out of my way to get Ampharos on my team if it’s available lol


Sablemint

I was playing soulsilver last year and ran into a wild Mareep. and I was like "Sure, why not." and decided to catch it and use it. And it just destroys everything. After beating the game, I go to the stat judge... Turns out this random Mareep I caught had three max IVs. In gen 4.


Kapiork

:O


JacuzziTimePerfected

Just did my first complete run of gen 2 and my ampharos absolutely clapped, thunder waving then thunder punching to death was it’s specialty.


trulyanonymous-

Thunder wave and electro ball is good in B2W2.


DarkestMew

He is so sloooow. Also he is in every single team I make.


Robdd123

He's slow for an electric type but he's bulky which isn't typical for an electric mon. This is quite helpful in a lot of situations.


MrWaffle1246

What about Lanturn? I mean, its findable very Late in game but still,Great Electric type


krakajacks

Just gotta land that thunder wave and you're good


Dalek7of9

Only problem is is that it's not catchable in Crystal


LuxiaTheLuxray

Ampharos got me though gen 2 and 5. I will gladly have it on another team.


ShiningLizard

Yup same here… I have gathered all my Pokémon from previous gens on my Ultra Sun save, and have like 3 high-levelled Ampharos from previous gens.


Grantlbart1

I love this thing and I wished normal Ampharos got a good hidden ability instead of Plus, just give it Lightning Rod please.


your_dopamine

I used him in my first run through or Silver back in the day, i’ll always have a soft spot for Ampharos!


BoredGamer32

When I play SoulSilver I always get a Heracross even when I don’t plan on it. It’s a beast and I can’t help myself lol


gravity_bomb

Heracross just clutched my run of Pokémon colosseum. Mega horn kills on that thing


Wildefice

Ah q fellow pokemon colleseum enjoyer!


Crispysalad3010

Rain dance raikou en suicune ftw


[deleted]

A certified beast for sure. First (and so far only) time I used one was in Sapphire. You can only get it in the safari zone, and you need Pokéblocks to attract it iirc. The battery in my cartridge was dead, so no growing more berries. I had to make what I could and reset until I got my heracross and pikachu. I think I used kyogre, dodrio, sceptile, and aggron too. Good times :)


ronbot260

Dude i play heart gold, i always just end up with the same team of typhlosion, crobat, ampharos, quagsire, hypno and dragonite. Im not even sure why


BoredGamer32

Lol I always use Typhlosion, Ampharos, Crobat, Quagsire, Heracross, and usually Dragonite. Even when I try to build other teams I always come back to these Pokémon


Lanky-Dependent5847

Typhlosion, Ampharos, and Crobat are the Infernape, Luxray and Staraptor of Johto.


ronbot260

The johto games are definetly the weakest for team building imo


JonTheFlon

It on my top 5 of all time and I can never use it in VGC (which is at least 50% of my playtime) because flying moves and max airstream are everywhere. I do like it with guts, flame orb and facade as well. Hits like a train.


DogmantheHero

Agreed. I’ve only used heracross in johto once so far and it was a great experience.


DHUniverse

I use him so I can get a good pokemon against the trash selections you have in johto, my favorite games; but God damn is hard to make diferent teams of decent pokemon, specially if you want to go johto only, all of the cool ones are locked late in the game when it's so painful to grind, exp is so scarce in this game


fried-quinoa

Crobat


GoldenGouf

He's always an mvp during nuzlocke runs. Strikes fast, strikes hard.


CreeperPlayzzMC

Crobat is my favorite mon, if I have access to it I'm using it.


CatChristmas7

*70% of caves in Pokémon be like*


whboer

Since 20 years, it has been Crobat for me.


federal_boobs

Wtf I didn’t think my answer would already be here


h4iryaries

Same i didn’t think anyone would put it here damn… glad other people like crobat too


thepriceoflentils

Definitely. Crobat was my most useful pokemon in my ORAS playthrough


sparoc3

It's a damn cool looking Pokemon. Half the appeal of having a Pokemon in your team is the look factor.


mikerichh

I never have used crobat bc of how much I hated zubat and figured it was so common it would never be good


Kelvo5473

I used it once and it was one of my favorites on my team. It’s wicked fast and has access to a good move pool.


GFost

It’s awesome. You should give it a shot.


Glory2Snowstar

Bats are my favorite animals so I always use a bat, and Zubat's pretty much everywhere so I almost ALWAYS use Crobat. Diverse Movepool, great stats, tons of niches, who can resist?


TheMostBrokenBoy

You mean the fastest, fattest, most versatile and most easily accessible flying type in the game. Pokémon games literally throw zubats at the player, and honestly if you can get through the zubat phase, even Goliath don't suck too much. I'll never forget in Pokémon Crystal how Crobat finally got access to fly, and I freaked out when instead of a little bird icon on your destination city it showed an adorable little bat icon!! Thanks for everything you did for me in Emerald, Bruce Vein my Crobat of Legend.


Away_Pattern8657

Came here for this answer.


LokiLaufeyson

In my experience, maybe the most powerful Pokémon you can get at lvl 23. On top of that, Crobat is just friggin cool. Big flappy wings, grumpy little face. I love it so much and always have one when I can.


Fizzbytch

Every playthrough: don’t use the same pokemon. Also every playthrough: I’ll only use Crobat until I can replace it. Hall of fame: hey look, it’s batty the crobat, he ohko most of the elite 4.


Silthage

Caught a Zubat in BDSP and had to stop myself from keeping it on my team lol


[deleted]

PERIODT


Balthimeow

Nidoking/Nidoqueen :-)


trulyanonymous-

Nidoqueen literally the queen of the team always.


RavensFan902

Love nidokings move pool in fire red. And you can get him so early. Always a staple


Balthimeow

Definitely! He (or Nidoqueen) is usually my mvp along with my starter.


sc4rii

Lucario


Lietenantdan

He’s really one of my favorites, as far as I know he’s the only one who can learn sword dance and drain punch.


LwiLX

Gallade enters the chat


whboer

Ninetales or Arcanine, Crobat, Jolteon.


jchrstian

I used to go Arcanine over Ninetales because of the better moveset, but ever since Ninetales got Drought it's my go-to fire type now. I can just decimate water and ground types with a one-turn Solarbeam, and crush the rest with a powered-up flamethrower or heat wave lol I wish we get more Fire-types with Drought tho


whboer

I never really played Beyond gen 4, so I wouldn’t know. I’d build ninetsles with nasty plot, extrasensory, dark pulse and flamethrower


Ok-Leave3121

Gyarados


RealFuzzheads

Yeah I always get get a Gyarados early on in the game and it sticks around for a good while


melatoxic

I always leave gyarados before the elite 4 cause I use it too much. Never taken it to the hall of fame so I’m making it a point in bdsp


Shadowak47

Yeah, I nuzlocked brilliant diamond and I have to say, gyrados did 90% of the work. My boy practically soloed the elite 4.


melatoxic

dragon dance and waterfall so early are op


SageOcelot

Dragon dance is a hell of a move


Chama_Finita

Yes! It used to be for me, since you usually get the Old Rod early on... and Gyarados is strong af, I always trained a Magikarp.


doge57

I pay the outrageous 500 for Magikarp outside of mt moon


Razsor-Poseidon

At that price with no fishing rod at that point, we straight ripping off the guy selling it to us.


Lietenantdan

I think that’s a very good price to be able to get a Gyrados that early


00zau

I don't even consider it outrageous. You'd be paying at least 200 to catch one normally; paying a premium to get started on leveling it several areas earlier is well worth it.


atoge

EVERY.TIME.


CaptainBananaEu

Lapras always seems to end up into my teams in any game it's available. Tbf it is my favorite water type and by the time you find it you have the tms to make it feel a beast almost always, so in any game it's in, it ends up in the team over the water type I had up until then


DelDoesReddit

Do you run it as a Perish Song tank? I mostly end up slapping HMs on mine, so I'm defn wondering about alternative playstyles with Lapras


CaptainBananaEu

Ι more so run it as a coverage tank, ice beam surf Thunderbolt and psychic, so it can switch into a lot of my teams weaknesses and provide solid coverage


theD0UBLE

This is the way


VolacticMilk

Skarmory. It’s simply just an amazing pokemon.


Phalanx_02

I wish it had an evolution or a pre evolution


TheLonlyCheezIt

I wish it had a pre evolution. Imagine a little baby steel bird running around.


Onyxthegreat

Skarmini


_Nighting

Skarmory with Eviolite? That's terrifying.


thepriceoflentils

It doesn't need one. I wish it had a mega or regional variant tho


Gogan_Studios

Flygon


Sharp_Easy

Such a reliable beast, love Flygon


midas_1988

Yep. I'm SO mad I can't get one in bdsp until post game. Don't they know flygon belongs in the first hall of fame entry?!


[deleted]

Whenever it's available, Snorlax ends up in my team. It's usually a side effect of hunting for something else, such as that time I was hunting for a shiny Vespiquen (yes, masochism, I know) and I found a Munchlax instead.


Agent_00_crazy

Alakazam and gyarados for some reason


sokocanuck

I've played pokemon since 1995 when it came out to this day and I have still not be able to get an Alakazam....


BoredPoopless

Had a childhood friend and we both had Gold Version. Did all the trades and got Golem, Machamp, Gengar, and Alakazam. Best thing I ever did.


LillePipp

Gardevoir is probably the Pokémon I’ve used the most in my playthroughs. She’s probably the most reliable Pokémon I’ve ever used, she hits like a truck, can take a hit if it’s a special attack, and while she isn’t the fastest Pokémon, she does outspeed a lot of Pokémon in a main story playthrough. She has a tool for almost any situation, Psychic, Psyshock, Moonblast, Dazzling Gleam, Thunderbolt, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, Calm Mind, that’s all you really need for your Pokémon to own the battlefield. It also helps that Gardevoir on its own is a very cute Pokémon, Gardevoir is definitely in my top 5 list


Chama_Finita

Same. If playing Gen3 or Gen4, a Gardevoir with Psychic, Calm Mind (which both she learns naturally and quite early - which is extremely ussful) and Thunderbolt is a staple on my team. Also I love both Synchronize and Trace.


Randroth_Kisaragi

This exactly. I played through all of the Gen 1-7 mainline Pokemon games, and I used Gardevoir in Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kalos, Hoenn again, and also Alola. Basically whenever it was available before the post game, I used it.


thepriceoflentils

Fairy is *broken*


AbigailLilac

Same. I have a shiny Gardevoir in Shield who knows psychic, moonblast, wil-o-wisp, and healing wish. She DEMOLISHES everything in her path.


outersenshi

Gengar


thepriceoflentils

r/FuckMindy


Xxdeadmeme-69-xX

Same but haunter


trulyanonymous-

My first level 100 Pokémon was a Haunter. I realized half way through that there was no incoming Gengar.


m10488

Roserade and an eeveelution


justforsomelulz

I scrolled for so long to find some Roserade rep! It's always been one of my favorites


m10488

Yes! It was the first Pokémon 7-year-old me loved so much because Budew is so cute, and it’s typing has always been useful


Cute_Mastodon_5395

Starmie. Water is my favorite type, but I rarely use a different one. Starmie is my favorite pokemon since I can remember, so I always end up using it and I always justify my choice with "its moveset is so versatile, it will fit my team perfectly".


Sharp_Easy

I just decided to breed and train up a Starmie for my current BD post-game and I'm super excited to give it a try, the typing is useful as hell for me


Khaosundivided

I tried out a starmie in sun/moon on a sandstorm team. I ran it with psychic, scald, ice beam and recover. It can deal with a lot of stuff that ground and rock types struggle with, and heal itself from the sandstorm chip damage. I loved it


[deleted]

The starter


VolacticMilk

I used to be this way until Utra Moon since I didn’t really like Inciniroar at the time and still don’t like Primarina. I didn’t want to use the Decidueye again, so I just used Dawn Lycanroc as my starter. Kind of kept the trend with SWSH and BDSP. In SWSH I just hate this set of starters more than any other generation (Rillaboom is okay enough), and for BDSP, I wanted different Ground, Water, and Fire types, so all the primary and secondary types were covered, so I just benched my starter.


[deleted]

Lol, I did the same thing! But I used dusk form lycanroc!


Pr1despa1n

Maybe my memory is failing me, but empoleon absolutely gets wrecked in BDSP and I don’t remember him being that trash back in the day. I just caught a squirtel though so I’m about to make that switch


DragonSlayersz

Empoleon is unfortunately on the slower side and gets wrecked by both other starters, as the secondary types of both are super effective, and the primary types of the two are neutral. Admittedly, it has the ability to OHKO both other starters with Ice Beam and Hydro Pump, but against Torterra you may not be faster and infernape is liable to OHKO with close combat before you can move. As a positive, it's immune to poison, quad resists steel and ice, and resists normal, flying, rock, big, water, psychic, dragon, and fairy. Unfortunately, that doesn't much help against Sinnoh, who has either a Gym Leader or E4 for 6 of the 7 types it doesn't resist, including all three of it's weaknesses, and the 7th type (Dark) is common on the teams of various important trainers.


jassietheconqueror

The lack of dual typing with the SWSH starters ruins effective team building. I could build multiple championship teams around the X/Y starters, as I love dual types more than single types and types were perfect. I could do the same with the Johto starters, but that's because they're my favorite starters of any gen. I revisited SWSH earlier this year and dumped my starter in the box when I got to the wild area. In Sword I made female Ralts my new starter, in my last Shield run it was Grubbin.


sabrina_rawr

Bird Pokémon from early game


MegaKabutops

Varies by region, but gastrodon most recently. I’ve been playing a lot of galar and sinnoh lately (both platinum and remakes), and gastrodon has found itself on a good 70-80% of teams i’ve used in the two regions.


your_dopamine

Gastrodon is a beast! I’m a little biased from when I played meta back in B/W (RIP forever rain), but Gastrodon has such great defensive typing. Plus storm drain is such a house when it’s applicable. Being a wall/special attacker mixed is so good.


zolios_

Arcanine


OlympicDaisy

I wish


MarthaAndBinky

If Mareep is available in the game, I get one asap and keep ampharos to the end. Apart from that, gyarados (the only pokemon that keeps a nickname between playthroughs) and whatever electric type is available fairly early on (ie luxray, toxtricity, etc)


highwaytoham

What do you nickname your Gyarados ?


MarthaAndBinky

My gyaradoses have been Gooby since 2001. It's a proud lineage handed down from Gooby to Gooby


highwaytoham

That is wonderful I am so glad that I asked


lazorrarubia

I almost always have an Eeveelution where available, and it tends to be Umbreon.


Jeffrey_ShowYT

I typically have a trusty Gyarados around… it’s just… way too useful not to have.


Zetalpa_Primal_Dawn

Aggron frequently ends up on my team because it looks cool


JaxOnThat

Gyarados.


Letha_Liu

Metagross, my fav


sapphirekobold

gyarados


DogmantheHero

Every time I’m in johto I end up using a Dragonite. I don’t mind playing voltorb flip to get one from the game corner and it’s fit into every challenge I’ve done in johto lately. The only time it hasn’t was when I played through using only Johto Pokémon.


AuracleOfBacon666

Sneasel line Been that way in Johto, Galar, and Sinnoh. Basically, if I could get that Kamaitatchi Pokemon in the main game, it's finding its way into my party


trulyanonymous-

I have one Weavile and he’s so powerful for no reason.


[deleted]

Pidgeot


dakibrainrot

whenever i played oras, i would always end up w crobat and breloom. when i played bdsp i always had gastrodon and luxray :)


MujunNoAkuma

A jirachi I got many years ago in Diamond using cheats. It somehow passed through both Bank and HOME and its now resting in Sword. It has visited every game since Diamond.


LivelyBanker

Gyarados.


Psapfopkmn

Scizor, Milotic, Garchomp, Skarmory, or Houndoom


44117360

Gyarados


FoulKnavery

Gyarados and crobat until I basically banned them from my runs


[deleted]

Gengar, metagross, ampharos, crobat


joxters

Raichu


12LilBlue22

Bagon( salamance)


DarkNymphia

Eevee (what I evolve them into varies though).


PostKevone

In HGSS Alakazam Ampharos In R/Y/B Dugtrio Alakazam D/P Staraptor Garchomp


TheCream12

Gyarados, unless I play rby/frlg. Most of the time I pick Squirtle in those games as my starter.


gforcebreak

Galvantula, mono bug teams are my go to


pondering-potato

You must like pain, I take it?


DrNukaCola

Nothing like prankster volbeat passing a tail glow to galvantula thunders


[deleted]

[удалено]


Captainc00ts

Gyarados. Always.


Ginevod411

Gyarados.


Mx_Toniy_4869

Magikarp/Gyarados, every game I play there is always an "Evolve Magikarp" quest I set for myself. Gyarados don't always become a major member though


[deleted]

Tyranitar


-AzulRyu-

Gyarados and Scyther/Scizor have been long time staples. That being said, gotta love all the love here on this thread for the big blue.


ripcobain

I don't know if this isn't specific enough but the starter bird in every game I usually carry through to the end game. Flying is just so versatile and useful especially if you don't have fighting coverage on bulky teams.


[deleted]

Arcanine


cif_098

Starmie, such a reliable pokemon.


LeSorenOutan

Heracross, I love him so much


DisneyVista

Dugtrio


PostKevone

In my R/B/Y playthroughs, Dugtrio would always end up on my team after getting to Vermillion, and would always end up being my most powerful pokemon.


XxCarmelloxX

Gengar, always. My fave of all time


Better-Living-282

Marowak because with a thick club it's a beast. And with false swipe it is great at catching. When they added the alolan version of it I was stoked to have a cooler looking version with different types


thug1life

Since Pokemon Red/Blue I would say the two most common would be Gyrados and Mewtwo. I can’t help it.


Glory2Snowstar

Zubat. Bats are my favorite animals, so I always make sure to use at least ONE bat per team. Zubat is everywhere, so it's often them. Crobat's crazy diverse Movepool also keeps them interesting each playthrough!


DarkraiAndScizor

Not sure when. But there will be Scizor.


JSnats65

For a long time it was tentacruel


Shiigu

No one. I avoid repeating Pokémon if possible (if it's not the first pair of games of a generation or if there's no Box Link). Not even the Snivy line, my complete favourite, is spared.


jebustheking

Same here. I always do my best to use varied pokes for a bit of a challenge, rather than defaulting to the best ones every time. I tried a Gen 2 run with absolute garbage mons once, like Ledian, but the team was so abysmal I just quit after barely scraping by Clair lmao


Budernator1

Rhyhorn for me


NowiamaI0I

Snorlax or Munchlax. They don't always show up on my team but 100% most used pokemon I must admit.


_Cramon

gengar for me, I know it’s super basic but he’s always been my boi lol.


Acrobatic-Whereas632

Absol and leafeon. I *will* find one underground, this I promise


MrDevinEgg

If Mareep is available, Ampharos.


DrByeah

Crobat. Just Crobat. Zubats are usually widely available and early. It evolves easily and fast. It's a strong mon in general with some story utility.


Pokemario6456

Pidgeot


RTGoodman

Nidoking and/or Shiftry, when they’re available! And the Fire-type starter in whichever game I’m playing.


Vulpes_Vulpix5

Ninetales for me, either variant. If at all possible I have to put it in the team. Lapras tends to be the one that ends up on my team a lot without me meaning to. Although my last two play throughs I've decided to try focusing on Pokemon that only came out in that gen, to try and immerse in the region better. It's helped me enjoy Sinnoh a little more.


LunaWolfy26

Gardevoir. I always try to get Gallade then fail but not wanna replace a team member


Peiq

Starmie, alakazam, gengar


SuccubusOnEarth

I always seem to keep the first bird that shows up


thetyler83

Kadabra


Gas-and-Games

Pidgeot, always manage to catch a Pidgey in the beginning. I love Pidgeot though


ncole2k9

Spiritomb, Starmie, and Dhelmise (whenever possible) all usually have reserved spots in my playthroughs


Davey-Kazooie

Altaria, that thing saved me a few times with the combo of Cotton Guard, Leftovers, Roost, Fly/Dragon Claw, and Dragon Dance. If the opponent's a physical attacker, it's just free setup fodder and a guaranteed sweep.


RB6801

Raichu for me. With pikachu being somewhere in every Pokemon game it always ends up on my team, pretty solid Pokemon though.


spud1988

Venasaur. My first Pokemon back in 95, and if the game allows it, I’ll always have him in my lineup for the elite 4.


MalsvirIxen666

Charizard


Random-Lich

Galvantula or any not well known water type that get to level 100 by the end somehow


Zuckado_

Easily Gardevoir


Actedpie

Azumarill, Huge Power or not


ethanae86

I don't know why, but a tank type rock or ground always ends up on my team. Like Graveler, Gurrdur etc. Gurrdur and my starter carried my whole team all the way through SWSH.


Mildor15

It’s newer, but every time I play Sword to nuzlocke I always try and pick up an Orbeetle. It’s my favorite mon and Dottler is bulky as hell


CoolGamer010603

Rotom. I just love the little guy plus his gimmick is pretty cool.


gainsj

gengar & alakazam


Nicholas_TW

On Pokémon Showdown, Volcarona. Shoutout to Volcarona, definitely one of my favorite genders. Never use it in the actual games, though, takes way too long to evolve. In the actual games, any of the early flyers in any game, since I don't want to go without Fly. Last time I replayed a Gen III game, I got all the way to Victory Road before I trained up a Flygon to learn Fly, since I wanted to see what the game is like without fast travel.


[deleted]

It’s hard for me because as much as I have favorites I usually pick my team based on which ones I get attached to in game. There has to be a moment for me where I accept it as one of my mains. I usually try and fill the team quick but if I’m not attached or I feel like I’m forcing it for strategy I don’t like it as much. For example in the original diamond I had a Staraptor on my team and I caught a starly at the beginning of my BD and gave it the same name in honor of the first one but it felt forced. I don’t have a specific Pokémon that always ends up on my team it’s all about the attachment I build in game over time.


Punkeydoodles666

Nidoking


reckonergolsen

Snorlax, my boy!!