The FIRST point where Pokémon acknowledged the popularity of Charizard is the intro to Pokémon Gold and Silver. It had no reason to be there, but it made it anyway
Plus Ash having Charizard as his only fully evolved Kanto starter. Granted, Squirtle was part of the Squirtle Squad yet Bulbasaur could have evolved if it didn’t refuse.
That goes for most pokemon that Ash, Misty, and even Brock had because to be fair here, Gold and Silver were originally planned to be the second AND LAST season of Pokemon but it went on to have more generations/series/games due to the franchise's popularity. That's why GS anime ended like Ash was ending his journey. We all know about the goodbye scene between the trio.
One thing I appreciate about Unova's starter Pokémon is that I can't think of a single time in any Pokémon game all the way until Legends when any of the three was receiving extra attention moreso than the others. Every other region has at least one starter Pokémon, especially when evolutions are taken into account, that I'd say gets at least some extra attention (Charmander, Cyndaquil, Torchic, Piplup, Froakie, Rowlet, and Scorbunny). By comparison, It took Oshawott *over 11 years* to have some form of bias presented its way over Snivy and Tepig.
Tbh, unova starters are/were the least 'popular'. Nothing ever stood out about them and I don't remember anyone talking about them (or even having them as their favourite) post black and white
@@loskrem I think they are more popular still than Johto ones are, if nostalgia isn't factored. However I think their marketing has definitely declined in the last half decade prior to PLA
Serperior had the more preferred hidden ability, and Emboar was the main go to for most when doing the campaign. Some kind of advantage or something. Oshawatt kinda felt left out outside the anime, where it was the comedic relief most of the time.
@@firstnamelastname8006 I remember that Oshawatt got so many appearances that it was a shame that it became comic relief (especially as it was meant to evolve in a two part special involving team rocket and plasma along with Axew). At least X and Y made up for it by making Froakie evolve and lead to the legendary Satoshi-Gekkouga form.
@@JPRPokeTrainer98 you did the right thing. I don't think everyone realizes how much attention Bulbasaur has. Neither do I despite growing up with pokemon since it first came out. :)
@@ElectroBlastLuigi Even in the preview for the strategy guide, that the back of the NA manual for Red and Blue shows, Prof. Oak also recommends that beginners pick Bulbasaur. This was most likely due to Bulbasaur being strong against the first two gyms, but could've also been due to Bulbasaur being more marketed, at the time.
@@ShadowSora8491 Using Bulbasaur because of the first two gyms make the most logical sense but for Pokemon to recommend it because they voted it as the most popular Pokemon for marketing purposes just pushes it a little too far... Now we know why Charizard was shoved in our throats since the transition from BW to XY and then realize Charizard spent the most time with Ash besides Pikachu.
And I didn’t see anybody crying how Blaziken is much more pampered than the others two starters. But when is with Charizard, everyone lose their minds... Hypocrites...🤮🤮🤮🤮
Another thing I remembered: Totodile also lags behind as the only Johto starter not given a presence on the Pokémon Pinball fields that it could. Both Chikorita and Cyndaquil are on the Ruby field
Yeah I noticed that too; while Pokemon Pinball RS has Pokemon from the Hoenn regional dex, they’re the only two National Dex Pokemon alongside Aerodactyl to be in the game.
@@JPRPokeTrainer98 not as bad as the Chespin line aka pokemon company least favourite starter pokemon as it never appeared in other media after it generations ended and what make it worse is in pokemon master Calem who is most likely base on the rival charther if they pick his female counterpart in xy dose not used a starter he used an Meowstic instead ouch
Incorrect. Totodile appears on the board. It occasionally is the one to drop off a new Egg to hatch instead of Aerodactyl on the Ruby Board. And all three Johto Starters plus Aerodactyl are rare catchable Pokemon on the Ruby Board but the Starters cannot be evolved like other Pokemon.
"When, other then Grovile from Mystery Dungeon, have you had any strong feelings towards a midstage starter?" *Cries in Dewott being my favorite pokemon of all time*
Midstage are great. Dewott, Servine, Braixen, Ivysaur, Wartotle, Monferno, Grovyle, Torracat, Thwacky, and Raboot are all the best in their lines to me.
I would argue that gen 2's most promoted starter was still charizard. It was the only kanto starter in the opening to gold and silver and was heavily pushed during much of Gen 2. None of the Johto starters compared. Not until Blaziken did anything even come close once Charizard rose to prominence (unless counting pikachu :p ).
@@Hyped4All I feel like you cannot count Anime/movie appearances in a Pokemon Company prefers this Starter over the other, since they don't make the anime, OLM does. Like, let me take an example. Game wise, Cyndaquil line takes a preference over the other 2. However, anime wise, the Chikorita line has made more appearances than the other 2 Johto starter lines combined (And this is not only counting them being owned by major characters, but appearance in general).
They didnt feel as strong in battle to me. For me in gen 2 they were lacking the moveset to make being a single typing any useful. I dont think being a single type had any advantage back then
12:10 It's weird for me when people talk about how middle stage pokemon are forgotten and people don't have strong feelings for them. It is certainly true for most people, but I remember liking charmeleon, wartortle and ivysaur much more than the other stages. For me they looked "edgy" and cool without being too cute. I think it's because I saw then as "teenagers" and I was at an age that being a teenager was as cool as you could be hahaha
I'd also like to add that there are some middle stages aside from Grovyle I love too, them being Braixen, Brionne, Quilava, Bayleef, Dewott, Raboot and Servine
When Pokemon first came out, I thought that Charmeleon and Wartortle were cooler than Charizard and Blastoise, respectively. Looking back, it's probably due to them having darker colors than their first and final stages.
Totally agree. I feel it's such a shame that they are so underrated and less appreciated. The teenager, edgy impression was also cool imo. And I think I used to love the middle stageand especially the kanto ones as they were like the first introduction to the theme of evolution; seeing your pokemon gets stronger, learning new attacks, they grow, look different (If you hadn't already seen the full evolution already, which I hadn't back in 1999 when I was introduced to Pokemon). Charmeleon was always so cool to me with his attitude, same with Croconaw
I don't think they are overdesigned but they feel too babyish and innofensive. Like when you compare starter like bulbazaure, squirtle or tododile with any gen 7, 8 or 9 starter, you can clearly see how they shifted to the pocket side from the monster side of pocket monster. I don't really like this shift, since it doesn't really make the sarter look cuter, but rather makes it seem impossible things like poplio or Xaxly survived in the wild, as well as not making them look stronge rand stand out as much from non-starter pokemon. Just compare Tododile and Fuecoco's tooth and general body structure, fuecoco is all curve and more compact than casimodo.
@@puggysmall3136 I'm talking about function and appeal of character design, having a starter look weaker doesn't serve its function (being a reliable first pokemon for beginers, as well as promotion material in the real world) nor its appeal as it makes the pokemon look less interesting and therefore complete. Them being rare is an element implemented to make them appear more valuable, not to make them appear weaker, like the canonically rare lappras and arcanine are not supposed to feel worth less than ratatta. I just feel bringing that up is pretty irrelevant.
Curiously, I heard that Chikorita was the most popular starter in Japan. I find it always a shame that Totodile doesn't get more love. With the happy-go-lucky nature often related to the lil guy plus Japan being so often home to Reptiles of the kaiju genre, you'd think a mini Gojira/Godzilla would make up a fine balance of cute and cool. Cyndaquil kinda does cover that spectrum so that might be why there is that slight edge but still. To me at least there will always be that special connection to my favorite starter Totodile.
Tbh after how many people shat on Chikorita... i realy happy to hear that. As i still say Chikorita is WAY more underrated then Bulbasaur. (And have the way superior design too.) Gen 2 is my least favortite gen game wise (as even i started with gen 1 i have absoutly NO nostalgia for the games) I'm okay with all three but often use Cyndaquil mostly cause.... Fire Pokemon (espcially the Jotho fire types) you get so dang late -.-
@@Acacius1992 listen here buster Chikorita may be a little underrated, but if I was force to bulba or chikorito. I'm already beating the elite four with venasuar before I even glance at chikorita. In my opinion, it Is third worst starter.
@@3clisp315 Welp good for you I can respect that. But nothing ever could bring me choosing Bulbasaur over Chikorita or not to mention Charmander and Squirtle. I dont care if it is the "objectively strongest starter in kanto." it stays my least favorite Starter of them all. Besides if you don't play pokemon competitively you can beat these games with pretty much almost EVERY pokemon anyways.
For me personally, my favorites from each Gen are: Kanto - Squirtle Johto - Totodile Hoenn - Treecko Sinnoh - Piplup Unova - Snivy Kalos - Froakie Alola - Rowlet Galar - Grookey Gen 9 - Fuecoco
That list almost perfectly matches my favourites, only differences being Oshawott in Unova and Sobble in Galar. Bonus: Kanto (Let's Go): Eevee, Hisui: Oshawott (though Rowlet is close).
Mine is this : Kanto-Charmander Jhoto-Cyndaquil Hoen-Mudkip Sinnoh-chimchar Unova-osshowat Kalos-Froakie(Fav pokemon) Alola-Rowlet Galar-Scorbunny Gen 9-Fuecoco
12:04 tbh, until Typhlosion got it’s Hisuian form, I always liked Quilava more. Quilava has a rly sleek and cool design imo, whereas Typhlosion feels like a basic badger and doesn’t have enough details to make it feel like a true final stage. The most interesting part is the fire wrapping around it’s neck, but it could have had so much more imo. Keeping the fire on top of its head and tail, as well as adding some on its elbows, would have gone a long way to feel like more complete. Also, knowing the Pokémon community, I think u’ll find a lot of fans that prefer Braixen over Delphox lol
Yeah I like Braixen a lot but not for THAT reason, I just think it has a cool mischievous witch going on which I really like, the final evolution is okay but I with it kept to the angle more and maybe had a sort of hat and a bigger stick to be a broom.
Poor Delphox.. but honestly i actually prefer it over Braixen because it fits the witch/wizard theme better by looking kinda old and messy looking. It looks like it has alot of wisdom and power
I know normal Typhlosion looks so bland that I could never bring myself to use it. Why is it popular it's just an ugly badger with flames around its neck isn't it? Meganium & Feraligatr always felt much better designed.
I know I do. The base forms are solid, making a choice between the three rather difficult compared to other generations, but as they evolve, Thwakey and Raboot, moreso the latter, are great in-between forms, but when they fully evolve, Rillaboom is my favorite, as monkey to MONKE makes perfect sense, but the others...yeah. For me personally, Alola was like that too, but more for the middle forms.
When it came to a member of Ash’s team returning Charizard was nearly always that member. Silver Conference, Battle Factory, final Battle Pyramid challenge and even in Unova. It returned from the Characific Valley in the Unown movie!
My favorite starter is Snivy..... but for each gen here's my favorite: Kanto: Squirtle Johto: Totodile Hoenn: Treecko Sinnoh: Chimchar Unova: Snivy Kalos: Froakie Alola: Litten Galat: Sobble Hisui: Oshawatt (hisuin Samarott is my favorite) Gen 9 Spain: counterpart: it may change because i usually take the entire evolution line into account but as of now Sprigatito. if it goes bipedal it's probably going to fuecoco. or maybe Quaxly because he reminds me of Josuke. that hairstyle makes me hear Josuke's theme every time.
I always felt that the Pokémon Company tend to favor Fire types most of the time when designing the starters. They often get the best movepool, hidden ability, and stat distribution, are almost always bipedal in design, and two of them in particular happen to be Ash’s Top Tier Pokemon in the anime.
I realised some time ago that Fire starters always have 5 more points than the other starters when you count all their stats, so I agree that there is a bias towards Fire-type Pokémon.
@@magnakeldeo3832 This stems from the special stat being split into two stats. In gen 1 all three starters actually had the same base stat total of 425, but the split caused them to diverge. Why they chose to carry this on, I don't know.
@@magnakeldeo3832 Not sure how accurate the wiki is, but it looks like gen 3 might be an interesting exception to this. While sceptile and blaziken both have stat totals of 530, swampert has one of 535
I've felt the Cyndaquil line was much too similar-looking. The regional Typholsion added much needed depth- and in general, the deactivated flames seemed odd. Although, the consistency may benefit it to others.
Finally someone said it! People always say the chikorita line has a bland design and I’m like the Cyndaquil line deadass gets bigger -.- the colors stay the same, the only thing that changes is its height 😂
Chikorita is super nostalgic to me, it was one of my favourites as a kid. The anime heavily influenced this as I didn't play the video games back then, so to me I never saw it as weak. As for influential middle stage starters other than Grovyle, Ivysaur and Bayleef always stood out due to the former's great design and presence in Brawl, and the latter's appearance in the anime. The first three gens just really hit the mark with those middle stage grass starters imo.
Funny how the first 3 are fire starters, which is by far the most promoted type of the starters. Based on my predictions and this video, 5 of the 8 generations have their fire starters the most promoted (Charmander, cindiquil, torchic, litten and scorbunny) compared with 3 water starters (Piplup, oshawott and froakie).Of course I'm not saying they didn't promote grass starters, treecko and rowlet still got more promotion than your average starter, but there is a huge biase thoward fire starters since gen 2.
Same except in my case it's my preference for water types over fire types. I also love to see it when they try to promote a Fire type, but another starter ends up more popular, like Blaziken and Incineroar, who got outvoted by the Grass starter in their Gen in Pokemon of the Year 2020.
I have to agree, especially with the way they tend to get focus on the anime and would often have the most suitable stats and hidden abilities. It feels like the staff generally favors Fire Pokemon.
There's one thing you didn't mention for Chikorita/Meganium. Meganium is marketed for New Pokemon Snap. That is, Cyndaquil literally getting a new regional form in Legend Arceus is more outstandable.
I think it's also worth noting that Meganium was prominently featured on the front cover for New Pokémon Snap and Bayleef is seen as one of the more well liked middle stage evolutions. Infernape also played a big part in the rivalry between Ash and Paul, though in the end that is overshadowed by the sheer amount of appearances from Dawn's Piplup. Also, Poor Swampert really got the short end of the stick in the anime didn't it? It at least got to be Brendan's starter in the manga at least.
Best example of Piplup begin more marketable than Chirmchar is in kotobukiya Dawn gen 4 post girl is show with Piplup and Lucas her male counterpart is show with Chirmchar which could represent the male fan who play gen 4 and ick Chimchar scouse it they favourite,male protagonist who ain't Red tend to be overshadow by there female counterpart .
I'm not sure if you're aware, but there was this "Project Pochama" account that the Pokemon Company launched on Twitter not long after Pokemon Day 2021. Pochama ポッチャマ being Piplup's Japanese name. They often posted artworks of Piplup and occasionally mixed some other Pokemon in there as well and showcased some merch. Heck, Piplup even showed up in music video called "Piplup Step". I think it was pretty wild
One thing I think should be considered for Hoenn is Grovyle's prominent role in Mystery Dungeon 2. Definitely not just saying that because I want that game to be discussed more. Edit: Of course you mention him at the end lol
MD2 Grovyle is legendary, easily one of the best characters (if not the best) from that game. I once played Emerald in a way where I treated the Treecko starter as Grovyle from the before the events of MD2.
I can understand why the middle stage starters aren't as loved my majority of people. They aren't bad, they are wonderful in their own right and I'll argue important for that transition from the base forms with a new trainer to those final forms with a trainer who's experienced and been through some things. But I can see why the cute base forms and the powerful final forms are more beloved. As for the results, honestly kind of expected. Everyone is different, but I understand overall why these are the results.
I like Swampert. I've used it in every Hoenn playthrough and it was my first female starter. If I could get my Alpha Sapphire and Star Sapphire Swamperts on the same ROM (probably not possible because one's on a cartridge and the other one's in ROM hack played via Citra) then I would be happy. With that said, Typhlosion was my favourite for a while and I always pick it when I have the chance. I have started to gravitate away from it however and more towards Squirtle. Not Blastoise or Wartortle. Squirtle. Probably because I was one in a Minecraft thing I did with my friends a while back, when I still had friends. I don't think I'll be getting the dog to play Minecraft with me any time soon though so Squirtle remains on the top spot for now. I would happily pick Bulbasaur over it on occasions however, as I did for Soul Silver and Wilting Y.
JPR! I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR REVIVING MY LOVE FOR POKEMON. BOTH ANIME AND COMPETITIVE. I just discovered you 2 days ago and I have been non-stop watching your content. I havent even clicked on another youtube channel to watch.
Taking a guess before watching: Kanto: Charmander (they seemed to have pushed Bulbasaur at first but Charizard is by far the most marketed now) Johto: Cyndaquil (actually I am unsure of this one) Hoenn: I’d say it was Torchic in the beginning, especially with Blaziken being the first to get a Mega Evolution, but Treecko saw a lot of marketing too, being Ash’s Pokémon and showing up alongside Brendan in a lot of ORAS promotional material. Sinnoh: Piplup Unova: Oshawott (also a little unsure on this one) Kalos: Froakie Alola: my gut is Litten, but then again Rowlet gets lots of attention too Galar: Scorbunny
Empoleon is my favorite starter pokemon and the Piplup line means a lot to me it was the first starter I chose in my journey as Pokemon Platinum back then. Not to mention Empoleon is a Water/Steel type a combo we need more of we just have one.
Hey Torterra is good to! In fact Torterra is my second favorite Sinnoh starter the design is cool not to mention another type we need more of is Grass/Ground.
Treeko line does have a good showing with Grovile being a prominent character in Pokémon mystery dungeon explorers of time/darkness/sky A lot of people like quilava
It's such a shame the best Johto starter (Totodile, which is also my most favourite Pokémon ever) gets so neglected by Game Freak. Definitely the best designed one of the Johto starters. Seriously. Totodile is underrated.
It really is, and in terms of final evolutions, it's definitely more detailed than the bland Typhlosion (though Hisuian Typhlosion at least starts to fix the design imo).
I'll predict that for Alola, it'll be shift from Incineroar to Decidueye, kind of like how this video talks about a shift from Chikorita to Cyndaquil in the marketing field.
@@xviinaichi3793 This comment, much like this video, is about which starter is most marketed, not most popular, even if the most popular matches the most marketed a lot of the time. For example, Sceptile actually turned out to be more popular than Blaziken, but Blaziken took the cake as far as this video's analysis goes. That said, for my part, I do like Rowlet the best out of the alola starters.
I love how you mentioned when did people care about mid evo starters but earlier you mentioned two main characters in the anime both had a Quilava not to mention a lot people like Quilava more than either of its other stages for various reasons (I’ll never forget the Dark Quilava art from the tcg my self it’s one of my favorite arts)
I've always felt so bad for GEN 2 Starters... yeah I even remember the day Gold&Silver released for me all of them looked great... I have no idea why Totodile and its evolution line never gets the love its deserves.... My theory is almost everyone was so bounded with Kanto Starters at that point.... I remember everyone has gone mad after Ash released Charizard, squirtle and sent Bulbasaur back to Oak's Lab.
Monferno is the only non grovyle mid stage evolution I actively like. Chimchar was my gen 4 choice and I had a toy monferno as a kid which definitely helped.
I’ve always liked the bulbasaur line more than the chsrmamder or squirtle line because I just love it’s design. Also it’s number one. Literally #001, to be exact
The pokemon company realized the fire starters they were dropping were too good the first few generations so they decided to reel it back on those starter lines for bw and xy now I get it
I think Hoenn had the Grovyle love glossed over, seriously. Being featured as a prominent character in multiple spin-offs, among other things, Grovyle is probably the most promoted second-stage. lol nevermind spoke too soon
My favorite final forms for each gen are 1. Charizard 2. Feraligatr 3. Swampert(also favorite Starter overall) 4. Infernape(although Torterra is VERY close) 5. Samurott 6. Greninja 7. Decidueye 8. Inteleon As for base and middle stages, I actually like Rowlet and Torracat more than Decidueye and especially Incineroar. I have a soft spot for Bayleef thanks to the Gen 2 anime, and for Grovyle thanks to Mystery Dungeon.
Mine are: Kanto: Charizard Johto: Typhlosion Hoenn: All three Sinnoh: Infernape and Torterra Unova: Serperior Kalos: Delphox Alola: Primarina Galar: Cinderace Now for some of my first and middle stage opinions. I like Chikorita and Bayleef more than Meganium, Oshawott and Dewott more than Samurott, Litten and Torracat a heck of a lot more than Incineroar, Fennekin and Braixen more than Delphox, but I do still like Delphox, I love Quilava more than Typhlosion, but Typhlosion is still really cool, Grovyle is awesome and cooler than Sceptile to me, but Mega Sceptile comes close, and I love Brionne, but I do still love Primarina more.
I never realised just how common Piplup (I normally say pochama will explain why in a second) merchandise is, especially because Turtwig was always my favourite. It wasn’t until my girlfriend (who is Japanese hence Pochama) and I started talking about Pokémon and her saying her favourite it Pochama despite not having ever played a game did I start to see it. Piplup is everywhere, and I actually really like it
I don't think will make a difference, but you forgot to mention that Meganium was featured in the cover of New Pokémon Snap and was one of the Lumina pokemon there, having a role in the story.
the anime was one of the main reason why Chikorita, Torchic, and Piplup were my three favorite starters as a kid. I thought all three were like the cutest pokemon ever and so I always chosed them as my starter when I played any of the games. And it was kind of heart breaking when I found out that Chikorita was the least popular starter for people on the internet. I also remember there was like a cult of Mudkip worshippers back then, but I never understood why so many people loved it. I wasn't a meme enthusiast then so I wasn't aware of the I Leik Mudkip meme, but later on I found out that was the reason. This might be only me ,but when DP was at its peak (like 2006-2009) I thought the reason why Club Penguin was so popular too was because of Piplup. Like I thought lking penguins was a cool thing as a kid and I even named my Penguin character as Piplup followed by some numbers.
OMG I know Chikorita needed so much more love & it's way better designed than Cyndaquil throughout each stage of life. Chikorita was just so wholesome in the anime & the only reason it lost to Cyndaquil was the Fire Type burning through everything in Johto except for a certain cow. As for Mudkips they are adorable, the meme was a response to Mudkip being a cute axolotl based Pokemon. I kind of love each of the Hoenn Starters equally with them all being so wonderful.
I always thought that overall fire starters (including evos) usually got the most love from Gamefreak and the fans alike. It's hard out here in these water streets
I’m genuinely curious about starter choice numbers region to region as well as overall type popularity. I admit I fear grass may be the least popular but that’s more intuition. I also have a theory like fan favorites are often those that are birds or mammals (sans Kanto which were ALL reptilian/amphibian and Alola which was ALL mammalian/avian), which mirrors real life preferences for charismatic species when it comes to pets and conservation funding.
Actually, I really like the middle stages of all the kanto starters. They're actually my favorite stages for all three of them. At one point, ivysaur was my favorite pokemon.
I always thought it was the chase rare status of Charizard in Base Set that pushed it so hard. It was "the best" card according to most kids' perspectives, pushing Charizard upwards in people's brains, making them pick it more, then making the card worth more, and just started a brutal cycle upwards. Also Totodile getting the shaft just hurts me, Feraligatr gets no support and will never get its missing letter.
Maybe it's just me, but I find that I'm far more likely to watch the sponsor advertisement if it's timestamped. You help the people skip the ad if they want, so I... decide to watch it lol
The good thing is it no Chesnaught as the pokemon company just hate it so much that Calem have Meowstic instead in master I think that a big ouch,also I think the Groockey line is in the running for that title of pokemon company least favourite starter
I am sad that chikorita is considered the least favorite starter because she is my number one top favorite Pokemon of all time. I loved her attitude, I loved her colors, she was the first Pokemon i learned to draw from memory. Her evolution may be boring I guess, but I love her so much 💚
"When, other than Grovyle in Mystery Dungeon, have you had any strong feelings towards a mid stage starter?" Dude, my first pokémon ever, Turtwing, evolved alongside my Kricketot back in the day, in pokémon Diamond, my very first pokémon game ever... and I remember it to this day.
This only just reminded how when I started playing Pokémon (Gen 3 cause it was new at the time) that Torchic was the popular starter to get the Blaziken. I went with the Mudkip because my brother got Torchic and fell in love with Mudkip’s line. I started a new game to give Treeko a run, but Mudkip was still superior. Kinda crazy to think how after several years the “best” starter went from being Torchic to Mudkip
I know that a lot of people didn't like the fact that Charizard gets a lot of attention from gamefreak but tbh Charizard getting a lot of attention is isn't the problem, the problem is that most of the other starters don't get as much attention. The only starters that gets almost as much attention as Charizard are Venusaur and Blastoise I say almost because even they get shafted in favour for Charizard sometimes like in x and y where Charizard got two mega forms while Venusaur and Blastoise only got one or in sword and shield where Charizard is the only Kanto starter in the base game while Venusaur and Blastoise has to wait for dlc. Meanwhile All the other starter trios especially the unpopular ones are left in the dust (although the hoenn starters got mega forms in gen 6 they didn't get Gmax forms like the kanto starters did in gen 8) and even greninja the most popular starter pokemon didn't make it to gen 8.
Totodile is my favourite out of gen 2 They ruined typhlosion in the 3d model of pokemon and the meganium line just don't stand out.But yet again Cyndiquill is more promoted. Also I thought Cyndiquill was an armadillo rather than a mouse
Charizard was made popular not by marketing but by the people. Game Freak eventually just decided to cash in on it. Had Ash’s Cyndaquil fully evolved during the Johto region I 100% believe it’s popularity would have exploded. In fact, I think we were all awaiting for Cyndquil to fill the spot where Charizard left. Which never really came to fruition. Piplup debuted when the whole penguin popularity and marketing thing was peaking; March of the Penguins, Happy Feet. It was weird to say the least but people were eating it up. Piplup just road that wave.
I'm glad Ash's Cyndaquil never fully evolved, Normal Typhlosion is just so bland & ugly, although I wouldn't mind seeing it become Hisuian Typhlosion if it had to evolve. Knowing Charizard's popularity a lot of fans would have hated it being replaced by Cyndaquil during the Johto Saga. The anime made the right choice choosing to focus on Chikorita & keeping Bulbasaur around longest to avoid upsetting the older fans. The Fresh Start approach that started in Hoenn was an ideal way of avoiding the Kanto vs Johto problem & preventing Ash from being too overpowered. I agree Piplup rode the Penguin Popularity wave.
I think it's fairly easy to argue that Meganium is *the* poster child for New Pokemon Snap, and honestly I can't see any other starter that would fit as well on the front cover. If you think of any member of the Chikorita evo line you're very likely to picture a smile on its face. Plus its design is a lot less fierce and aggressive as most starters, Meganium is just an all around photogenic Pokemon. In an alternate timeline where it didn't get absolutely bodied in its native region, I think Meganium would've stayed a lot more marketable.
100% agree piplup is the most popular but that merch segment is a bit warped. the only reason it has so much merch is bc of project pochama, which yes again, the fact that it exists already makes it the most popular. but without it numbers would diminish by a lot
Favorite from each Region/Game: Kanto - Squirtle or Bulbasaur (I also like Charmander, but agree it's been overused) Johto - Totodile Hoenn - Any of the Three Sinnoh - Turtwig or Chimchar Unova - Oshawott Kalos - Froakie (No surprise) Alola - Litten Gen 9 - Quaxly ...Wow, i thought i was a fire guy, but i'm more of a Water type then i thought
@@Jarekthegamingdragon "I hate the entire evolution lines of the others" I can understand with litten and scorbunny but chimchar though now that's surprising considering that infernape is one of the most popular starters of all time due to how good it is in competitive battling and its anime counterpart.
Guesses for the next 4 gens: Unova: Snivy/Serperior Kalos: Froakie/Greninja Alola: Tough one but its between Rowlet/Decidueye and Litten/Incineroar Galar: Scorbunny/Cinderace
Pretty sure Rowlet completely defeats Litten in marketing. Rowlet is round and super adorable compare to Litten, Decidueye has appeared in Pokken, Unite, and was even mentioned to join Smash Bro’s but Sakurai wanted Incinaroar because he wanted a grappling character. Plus much like Typhlosion, Decidueye was given a completely new form.
Me crying about being explained that Swampert is not as cool as the others, even though I kinda know why it's true (not as sleek maybe) and it's a still a really popular Pokemon.
"When have you ever had strong feelings towards a middle stage starter?" Cough cough Quilladin, who is right there What? You never said the feelings needed to be positive. Also, can't wait until we get to the 'super difficult' choices of Kalos and Alola. XD
Back in 1999, I played Pokemon Gold for the first time but it was in Japanese so I couldn't understand anything and the internet at the time lacked information. When it came to the three Johto starters, I picked Totodile because it resembled Charmander the most and I found it to be the most cool looking. Its evolution Croconaw looked kinda fat but I absolutely loved Feraligatr.
While it probably won't change the outcome too much, I think it is worth to note that Grovyle was one of the main characters in the Mystery Dungeon series... out of all the Pokemon they could've chosen
Honestly it shouldn’t surprise that the gen 1 starters are marketed so hard, their designs are amazing. A cute lizard with a flame on his tail becomes a dragon, a cute turtle becomes a tortoise with canons on his back, and a cute little plant dinosaur becomes a massive attack plant.
So, if it weren’t for Piplup, I probably never would’ve played Pokémon. My brother picked it as his starter when he played Pearl when it came out and I loved it! (My grandma got my brother and cousins the game and not me cuz I’m a girl. It be like that with grandmas sometimes.) But I watched the Gen 4 anime. Obsessed with Piplup. Loved this little blue dude. I started watching RUclips videos about Pokémon in 2012ish and got my own used copy of Pearl the day X and Y came out and kept my Piplup unevolved forever. She was very special. I have over a dozen Piplup plush and other pieces of merchandise, I’m sure. I met my freaking fiancé through a Pokémon community I joined. It’s all because of the marketability of Piplup. He’s my boy. My little wingman, lol.
Who are your favorite starter Pokemon?
Either blaziken or greninja
Cyndaquil is pretty fire
Litten is my boy 😺🔥
Greninja or Rowlet or Fuecoco
Rowlet, love the little guy
The FIRST point where Pokémon acknowledged the popularity of Charizard is the intro to Pokémon Gold and Silver. It had no reason to be there, but it made it anyway
Plus Ash having Charizard as his only fully evolved Kanto starter. Granted, Squirtle was part of the Squirtle Squad yet Bulbasaur could have evolved if it didn’t refuse.
I remember being so bumped out when i found out there's no way to get a charmander in my gold version without trading
Funny enough in the SpaceWorld Beta had all 3 Gen 1 starters instead of just Charizard.
That goes for most pokemon that Ash, Misty, and even Brock had because to be fair here, Gold and Silver were originally planned to be the second AND LAST season of Pokemon but it went on to have more generations/series/games due to the franchise's popularity. That's why GS anime ended like Ash was ending his journey. We all know about the goodbye scene between the trio.
@@ElectroBlastLuigi I mean the game intro. I’m not talking about the anime
One thing I appreciate about Unova's starter Pokémon is that I can't think of a single time in any Pokémon game all the way until Legends when any of the three was receiving extra attention moreso than the others. Every other region has at least one starter Pokémon, especially when evolutions are taken into account, that I'd say gets at least some extra attention (Charmander, Cyndaquil, Torchic, Piplup, Froakie, Rowlet, and Scorbunny).
By comparison, It took Oshawott *over 11 years* to have some form of bias presented its way over Snivy and Tepig.
Seems like Fire Types are most often the "Hot Choice".
Tbh, unova starters are/were the least 'popular'. Nothing ever stood out about them and I don't remember anyone talking about them (or even having them as their favourite) post black and white
@@loskrem I think they are more popular still than Johto ones are, if nostalgia isn't factored. However I think their marketing has definitely declined in the last half decade prior to PLA
Serperior had the more preferred hidden ability, and Emboar was the main go to for most when doing the campaign. Some kind of advantage or something. Oshawatt kinda felt left out outside the anime, where it was the comedic relief most of the time.
@@firstnamelastname8006 I remember that Oshawatt got so many appearances that it was a shame that it became comic relief (especially as it was meant to evolve in a two part special involving team rocket and plasma along with Axew). At least X and Y made up for it by making Froakie evolve and lead to the legendary Satoshi-Gekkouga form.
I think it's safe to skip gen one with how overbearing the Bulbasaur love is from the pokemon company
You're right bro was pretty silly of me to even talk about that one
@@JPRPokeTrainer98 :)
@@JPRPokeTrainer98 you did the right thing. I don't think everyone realizes how much attention Bulbasaur has. Neither do I despite growing up with pokemon since it first came out. :)
@@ElectroBlastLuigi Even in the preview for the strategy guide, that the back of the NA manual for Red and Blue shows, Prof. Oak also recommends that beginners pick Bulbasaur. This was most likely due to Bulbasaur being strong against the first two gyms, but could've also been due to Bulbasaur being more marketed, at the time.
@@ShadowSora8491 Using Bulbasaur because of the first two gyms make the most logical sense but for Pokemon to recommend it because they voted it as the most popular Pokemon for marketing purposes just pushes it a little too far... Now we know why Charizard was shoved in our throats since the transition from BW to XY and then realize Charizard spent the most time with Ash besides Pikachu.
The other thing about Blaziken that might matter for this is that it got its Mega Evolution in XY, while the other two got theirs in ORAS.
Partially due to how one of Junichi Masuda’s favorite Pokémon is Torchic, and he directed XY.
It was like the Chairzard-Gigantimax DLC. You have to pay to get the non-firestarter's bonuses.
And I didn’t see anybody crying how Blaziken is much more pampered than the others two starters.
But when is with Charizard, everyone lose their minds...
Hypocrites...🤮🤮🤮🤮
@@pedromonteiro2248 you really going to compare Blaziken to Charizard
Joskal Nunez Gotta be consistent
Another thing I remembered: Totodile also lags behind as the only Johto starter not given a presence on the Pokémon Pinball fields that it could. Both Chikorita and Cyndaquil are on the Ruby field
Yeah I noticed that too; while Pokemon Pinball RS has Pokemon from the Hoenn regional dex, they’re the only two National Dex Pokemon alongside Aerodactyl to be in the game.
this poor guy can't catch a break :(
@@JPRPokeTrainer98 not as bad as the Chespin line aka pokemon company least favourite starter pokemon as it never appeared in other media after it generations ended and what make it worse is in pokemon master Calem who is most likely base on the rival charther if they pick his female counterpart in xy dose not used a starter he used an Meowstic instead ouch
Pokemon Pinball lol
Incorrect. Totodile appears on the board. It occasionally is the one to drop off a new Egg to hatch instead of Aerodactyl on the Ruby Board. And all three Johto Starters plus Aerodactyl are rare catchable Pokemon on the Ruby Board but the Starters cannot be evolved like other Pokemon.
"When, other then Grovile from Mystery Dungeon, have you had any strong feelings towards a midstage starter?"
*Cries in Dewott being my favorite pokemon of all time*
*Cries in Quilava*
Also ivysaur in smash
Midstage are great. Dewott, Servine, Braixen, Ivysaur, Wartotle, Monferno, Grovyle, Torracat, Thwacky, and Raboot are all the best in their lines to me.
Ivysaurs gen 3 sprite💕
he just a sittin
@@FishfaceTheDestroyer I was like YES until I saw thwackey and now I say shame on you for having an opinion on the internet
At this point I'm convinced Piplup is a tertiary mascot of the series behind Pikachu and Eevee.
Don't forget Charizard.
And Bidoof
Then we truly are in the worst timeline
there's meowth too lol
I would argue that gen 2's most promoted starter was still charizard. It was the only kanto starter in the opening to gold and silver and was heavily pushed during much of Gen 2. None of the Johto starters compared. Not until Blaziken did anything even come close once Charizard rose to prominence (unless counting pikachu :p ).
Not to mention Charizard had a big role in the 3rd movie when he went up against Entei
@@Hyped4All I feel like you cannot count Anime/movie appearances in a Pokemon Company prefers this Starter over the other, since they don't make the anime, OLM does. Like, let me take an example. Game wise, Cyndaquil line takes a preference over the other 2. However, anime wise, the Chikorita line has made more appearances than the other 2 Johto starter lines combined (And this is not only counting them being owned by major characters, but appearance in general).
They didnt feel as strong in battle to me. For me in gen 2 they were lacking the moveset to make being a single typing any useful. I dont think being a single type had any advantage back then
12:10 It's weird for me when people talk about how middle stage pokemon are forgotten and people don't have strong feelings for them. It is certainly true for most people, but I remember liking charmeleon, wartortle and ivysaur much more than the other stages. For me they looked "edgy" and cool without being too cute. I think it's because I saw then as "teenagers" and I was at an age that being a teenager was as cool as you could be hahaha
I'd also like to add that there are some middle stages aside from Grovyle I love too, them being Braixen, Brionne, Quilava, Bayleef, Dewott, Raboot and Servine
When Pokemon first came out, I thought that Charmeleon and Wartortle were cooler than Charizard and Blastoise, respectively. Looking back, it's probably due to them having darker colors than their first and final stages.
Yeah I love middle stages. Dewott, Quilava, and Pignite come to mind as middle stages I prefer over their fully evolved counterparts
Totally agree. I feel it's such a shame that they are so underrated and less appreciated. The teenager, edgy impression was also cool imo. And I think I used to love the middle stageand especially the kanto ones as they were like the first introduction to the theme of evolution; seeing your pokemon gets stronger, learning new attacks, they grow, look different (If you hadn't already seen the full evolution already, which I hadn't back in 1999 when I was introduced to Pokemon). Charmeleon was always so cool to me with his attitude, same with Croconaw
I love wartortle ears
The Gen 2 starters need more love. They have that “simple but excellent”. A lot of later Gen starters seem over designed to me.
I’d argue they’re too simple
I don't think they are overdesigned but they feel too babyish and innofensive. Like when you compare starter like bulbazaure, squirtle or tododile with any gen 7, 8 or 9 starter, you can clearly see how they shifted to the pocket side from the monster side of pocket monster. I don't really like this shift, since it doesn't really make the sarter look cuter, but rather makes it seem impossible things like poplio or Xaxly survived in the wild, as well as not making them look stronge rand stand out as much from non-starter pokemon. Just compare Tododile and Fuecoco's tooth and general body structure, fuecoco is all curve and more compact than casimodo.
@@artimist0315 That could better explain why they’re rarer though, being harder to survive in the wild
@@puggysmall3136 I'm talking about function and appeal of character design, having a starter look weaker doesn't serve its function (being a reliable first pokemon for beginers, as well as promotion material in the real world) nor its appeal as it makes the pokemon look less interesting and therefore complete. Them being rare is an element implemented to make them appear more valuable, not to make them appear weaker, like the canonically rare lappras and arcanine are not supposed to feel worth less than ratatta. I just feel bringing that up is pretty irrelevant.
Tbh they are okay but nothing special in my eyes.
Gen 3 Starters are on the other hand... they are truely amazing for me.
Curiously, I heard that Chikorita was the most popular starter in Japan. I find it always a shame that Totodile doesn't get more love. With the happy-go-lucky nature often related to the lil guy plus Japan being so often home to Reptiles of the kaiju genre, you'd think a mini Gojira/Godzilla would make up a fine balance of cute and cool. Cyndaquil kinda does cover that spectrum so that might be why there is that slight edge but still. To me at least there will always be that special connection to my favorite starter Totodile.
Fr dude is exactly like gzila esp the shiny feralgtr. The spike is like godzillas atomic breath
Honestly I thought all three Johto starters were amazing. Weird that Chikorita and Totodile don't get more love tho, they're both cute asf
Tbh after how many people shat on Chikorita... i realy happy to hear that.
As i still say Chikorita is WAY more underrated then Bulbasaur.
(And have the way superior design too.)
Gen 2 is my least favortite gen game wise (as even i started with gen 1 i have absoutly NO nostalgia for the games)
I'm okay with all three but often use Cyndaquil mostly cause.... Fire Pokemon (espcially the Jotho fire types) you get so dang late -.-
@@Acacius1992 listen here buster
Chikorita may be a little underrated, but if I was force to bulba or chikorito. I'm already beating the elite four with venasuar before I even glance at chikorita. In my opinion, it Is third worst starter.
@@3clisp315 Welp good for you I can respect that.
But nothing ever could bring me choosing Bulbasaur over Chikorita or not to mention Charmander and Squirtle.
I dont care if it is the "objectively strongest starter in kanto." it stays my least favorite Starter of them all.
Besides if you don't play pokemon competitively you can beat these games with pretty much almost EVERY pokemon anyways.
For me personally, my favorites from each Gen are:
Kanto - Squirtle
Johto - Totodile
Hoenn - Treecko
Sinnoh - Piplup
Unova - Snivy
Kalos - Froakie
Alola - Rowlet
Galar - Grookey
Gen 9 - Fuecoco
That list almost perfectly matches my favourites, only differences being Oshawott in Unova and Sobble in Galar.
Bonus: Kanto (Let's Go): Eevee, Hisui: Oshawott (though Rowlet is close).
For me
Kanto - Squirtle
Let's Go - Eevee
Johto - Totodile
Hoenn - Mudkip
Sinnoh - Turtwig
Unova - Snivy
Kalos - Froakie
Alola - Rowlet
Galar - Grookey
Legends - Cyndaquill
Gen 9 - Sprigatto
@@WailfulSeeker82
For me
Kanto-Bulbasaur
Let's Go-Pikachu
Johto-Cyndaquil
Hoenn-Torchic
Sinnoh-Turtwig
Legends-Rowlet
Unova-Snivy
Kalos-Froakie
Alola-Rowlet
Galar-Scorbunny
Gen 9-Sprigatito
Mine is this :
Kanto-Charmander
Jhoto-Cyndaquil
Hoen-Mudkip
Sinnoh-chimchar
Unova-osshowat
Kalos-Froakie(Fav pokemon)
Alola-Rowlet
Galar-Scorbunny
Gen 9-Fuecoco
Me? Gongaga.
But actually though for me it goes:
Charizard, Totadile, Grovyle, Torterra, Dewott, Braixen, Torracat, Grookey.
12:04 tbh, until Typhlosion got it’s Hisuian form, I always liked Quilava more. Quilava has a rly sleek and cool design imo, whereas Typhlosion feels like a basic badger and doesn’t have enough details to make it feel like a true final stage. The most interesting part is the fire wrapping around it’s neck, but it could have had so much more imo. Keeping the fire on top of its head and tail, as well as adding some on its elbows, would have gone a long way to feel like more complete.
Also, knowing the Pokémon community, I think u’ll find a lot of fans that prefer Braixen over Delphox lol
Quilava best mid evolution
I always loved the 2nd stage forms more than the final ones.
Yeah I like Braixen a lot but not for THAT reason, I just think it has a cool mischievous witch going on which I really like, the final evolution is okay but I with it kept to the angle more and maybe had a sort of hat and a bigger stick to be a broom.
Poor Delphox.. but honestly i actually prefer it over Braixen because it fits the witch/wizard theme better by looking kinda old and messy looking. It looks like it has alot of wisdom and power
I know normal Typhlosion looks so bland that I could never bring myself to use it. Why is it popular it's just an ugly badger with flames around its neck isn't it? Meganium & Feraligatr always felt much better designed.
Well Mega Sceptile did have a major role in the XYZ anime being a rival to Ash's Greninja.
I think Gen 8 was the few regions where everyone like the First Stage starters WAY more than the middle and final forms!
Hoping the final evolutions of Gen 9s starters will be awesome looking.
I know I do. The base forms are solid, making a choice between the three rather difficult compared to other generations, but as they evolve, Thwakey and Raboot, moreso the latter, are great in-between forms, but when they fully evolve, Rillaboom is my favorite, as monkey to MONKE makes perfect sense, but the others...yeah.
For me personally, Alola was like that too, but more for the middle forms.
I wouldn't say "everyone." It's a much closer race in my opinion, and even then I give the edge to the final evos, ESPECIALLY, hot take, Inteleon.
Idk about that one, Cinderace kinda took OFF~
Rillaboom is a gorilla! It's awesome
When it came to a member of Ash’s team returning Charizard was nearly always that member. Silver Conference, Battle Factory, final Battle Pyramid challenge and even in Unova. It returned from the Characific Valley in the Unown movie!
My favorite starter is Snivy.....
but for each gen here's my favorite:
Kanto: Squirtle
Johto: Totodile
Hoenn: Treecko
Sinnoh: Chimchar
Unova: Snivy
Kalos: Froakie
Alola: Litten
Galat: Sobble
Hisui: Oshawatt (hisuin Samarott is my favorite)
Gen 9 Spain: counterpart: it may change because i usually take the entire evolution line into account but as of now Sprigatito. if it goes bipedal it's probably going to fuecoco. or maybe Quaxly because he reminds me of Josuke. that hairstyle makes me hear Josuke's theme every time.
Piplup also came out around a time where everyone was suddenly obsessed with penguins. Like, the mid to late 2000s was Penguin Mania
The Squirtle line has always been my favorite gen 1 starter family.
blaziken got a special treatment in XY with his mega evolution because rooster is the mascot of France
These were my chosen starters in every region.
Kanto - Charmander
Johto - Chikorita
Hoenn - Mudkip
Sinnoh - Turtwig
Unova - Snivy
Kalos - Froaky
Alola - Rowlet
Galar - Sobble
I always felt that the Pokémon Company tend to favor Fire types most of the time when designing the starters. They often get the best movepool, hidden ability, and stat distribution, are almost always bipedal in design, and two of them in particular happen to be Ash’s Top Tier Pokemon in the anime.
I realised some time ago that Fire starters always have 5 more points than the other starters when you count all their stats, so I agree that there is a bias towards Fire-type Pokémon.
@@magnakeldeo3832 I didn’t even know that. Thanks for pointing that out. All the more reasons why I believe to be such the case.
@@magnakeldeo3832 This stems from the special stat being split into two stats. In gen 1 all three starters actually had the same base stat total of 425, but the split caused them to diverge.
Why they chose to carry this on, I don't know.
@@magnakeldeo3832 Not sure how accurate the wiki is, but it looks like gen 3 might be an interesting exception to this. While sceptile and blaziken both have stat totals of 530, swampert has one of 535
@@sj7178 Swampert said "I'll beat you 2 SOMEHOW"
I've felt the Cyndaquil line was much too similar-looking. The regional Typholsion added much needed depth- and in general, the deactivated flames seemed odd. Although, the consistency may benefit it to others.
Finally someone said it! People always say the chikorita line has a bland design and I’m like the Cyndaquil line deadass gets bigger -.- the colors stay the same, the only thing that changes is its height 😂
@@domenicavallone28 As a fellow Chikorita fan, it's really surprising how biasses can form. If anything, Chikorita changes up each stage.
@@domenicavallone28 That's more or less true, Cyndiquil doesn't really change that much as it evolves, especially looking at Quilava and Typhlosion
I’m actually fine with it because modern day starters are over designed.
@@domenicavallone28 That's actually a good thing, cause Cyndaquil is already perfect xD
But I like Chikorita and Totodile aswell ^^
Chikorita is super nostalgic to me, it was one of my favourites as a kid. The anime heavily influenced this as I didn't play the video games back then, so to me I never saw it as weak.
As for influential middle stage starters other than Grovyle, Ivysaur and Bayleef always stood out due to the former's great design and presence in Brawl, and the latter's appearance in the anime. The first three gens just really hit the mark with those middle stage grass starters imo.
Funny how the first 3 are fire starters, which is by far the most promoted type of the starters. Based on my predictions and this video, 5 of the 8 generations have their fire starters the most promoted (Charmander, cindiquil, torchic, litten and scorbunny) compared with 3 water starters (Piplup, oshawott and froakie).Of course I'm not saying they didn't promote grass starters, treecko and rowlet still got more promotion than your average starter, but there is a huge biase thoward fire starters since gen 2.
My preference for grass types over fire types always causes me pain with how often fire types get the Spotlight way more than others
Same except in my case it's my preference for water types over fire types. I also love to see it when they try to promote a Fire type, but another starter ends up more popular, like Blaziken and Incineroar, who got outvoted by the Grass starter in their Gen in Pokemon of the Year 2020.
I have to agree, especially with the way they tend to get focus on the anime and would often have the most suitable stats and hidden abilities. It feels like the staff generally favors Fire Pokemon.
@@Dougbro1 I don't hate incineroar but I love decidueye. And I guess sceptile's popularity was because it had dragon type mega evolution.
Man, I LOVE grass type starters. 7/9 of my favorite starters from each generation are grass
@@Dougbro1 Me as a Primarina fan: Pain...
There's one thing you didn't mention for Chikorita/Meganium. Meganium is marketed for New Pokemon Snap.
That is, Cyndaquil literally getting a new regional form in Legend Arceus is more outstandable.
I think it's also worth noting that Meganium was prominently featured on the front cover for New Pokémon Snap and Bayleef is seen as one of the more well liked middle stage evolutions.
Infernape also played a big part in the rivalry between Ash and Paul, though in the end that is overshadowed by the sheer amount of appearances from Dawn's Piplup.
Also, Poor Swampert really got the short end of the stick in the anime didn't it? It at least got to be Brendan's starter in the manga at least.
Best example of Piplup begin more marketable than Chirmchar is in kotobukiya Dawn gen 4 post girl is show with Piplup and Lucas her male counterpart is show with Chirmchar which could represent the male fan who play gen 4 and ick Chimchar scouse it they favourite,male protagonist who ain't Red tend to be overshadow by there female counterpart .
At the very least, Torterra got one of the coolest appearances in detective Pikachu
I'm not sure if you're aware, but there was this "Project Pochama" account that the Pokemon Company launched on Twitter not long after Pokemon Day 2021. Pochama ポッチャマ being Piplup's Japanese name. They often posted artworks of Piplup and occasionally mixed some other Pokemon in there as well and showcased some merch. Heck, Piplup even showed up in music video called "Piplup Step". I think it was pretty wild
One thing I think should be considered for Hoenn is Grovyle's prominent role in Mystery Dungeon 2. Definitely not just saying that because I want that game to be discussed more.
Edit: Of course you mention him at the end lol
MD2 Grovyle is legendary, easily one of the best characters (if not the best) from that game. I once played Emerald in a way where I treated the Treecko starter as Grovyle from the before the events of MD2.
I can understand why the middle stage starters aren't as loved my majority of people. They aren't bad, they are wonderful in their own right and I'll argue important for that transition from the base forms with a new trainer to those final forms with a trainer who's experienced and been through some things. But I can see why the cute base forms and the powerful final forms are more beloved.
As for the results, honestly kind of expected. Everyone is different, but I understand overall why these are the results.
I like Swampert. I've used it in every Hoenn playthrough and it was my first female starter. If I could get my Alpha Sapphire and Star Sapphire Swamperts on the same ROM (probably not possible because one's on a cartridge and the other one's in ROM hack played via Citra) then I would be happy.
With that said, Typhlosion was my favourite for a while and I always pick it when I have the chance. I have started to gravitate away from it however and more towards Squirtle. Not Blastoise or Wartortle. Squirtle. Probably because I was one in a Minecraft thing I did with my friends a while back, when I still had friends. I don't think I'll be getting the dog to play Minecraft with me any time soon though so Squirtle remains on the top spot for now. I would happily pick Bulbasaur over it on occasions however, as I did for Soul Silver and Wilting Y.
6:39 Chikorita got featured in the Pokemon TCG McDonald’s promo in 2021 as well as a jumbo card in the 1st partner packs.
JPR! I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR REVIVING MY LOVE FOR POKEMON. BOTH ANIME AND COMPETITIVE.
I just discovered you 2 days ago and I have been non-stop watching your content. I havent even clicked on another youtube channel to watch.
Taking a guess before watching:
Kanto: Charmander (they seemed to have pushed Bulbasaur at first but Charizard is by far the most marketed now)
Johto: Cyndaquil (actually I am unsure of this one)
Hoenn: I’d say it was Torchic in the beginning, especially with Blaziken being the first to get a Mega Evolution, but Treecko saw a lot of marketing too, being Ash’s Pokémon and showing up alongside Brendan in a lot of ORAS promotional material.
Sinnoh: Piplup
Unova: Oshawott (also a little unsure on this one)
Kalos: Froakie
Alola: my gut is Litten, but then again Rowlet gets lots of attention too
Galar: Scorbunny
Empoleon is my favorite starter pokemon and the Piplup line means a lot to me it was the first starter I chose in my journey as Pokemon Platinum back then. Not to mention Empoleon is a Water/Steel type a combo we need more of we just have one.
true, i personally prefer torterra, but only by a hair. u can't go wrong with either starter of the 3 in sinnoh
Hey Torterra is good to! In fact Torterra is my second favorite Sinnoh starter the design is cool not to mention another type we need more of is Grass/Ground.
Didn't even mention how Blaziken got a Mega in XY while the other two had to wait until ORAS for their Megas
Treeko line does have a good showing with Grovile being a prominent character in Pokémon mystery dungeon explorers of time/darkness/sky
A lot of people like quilava
It's such a shame the best Johto starter (Totodile, which is also my most favourite Pokémon ever) gets so neglected by Game Freak. Definitely the best designed one of the Johto starters.
Seriously. Totodile is underrated.
It really is, and in terms of final evolutions, it's definitely more detailed than the bland Typhlosion (though Hisuian Typhlosion at least starts to fix the design imo).
@@Dougbro1 Exactly! You took the words right out of my mouth.
I haaate Croconaw though…
@@emblemblade9245 Really? How come?
unova - galar predictions: samurott, greninja, decidueye and cinderace
I'll predict that for Alola, it'll be shift from Incineroar to Decidueye, kind of like how this video talks about a shift from Chikorita to Cyndaquil in the marketing field.
@@Dougbro1 idk man rowlett popularity
@@xviinaichi3793 This comment, much like this video, is about which starter is most marketed, not most popular, even if the most popular matches the most marketed a lot of the time. For example, Sceptile actually turned out to be more popular than Blaziken, but Blaziken took the cake as far as this video's analysis goes. That said, for my part, I do like Rowlet the best out of the alola starters.
I love how you mentioned when did people care about mid evo starters but earlier you mentioned two main characters in the anime both had a Quilava not to mention a lot people like Quilava more than either of its other stages for various reasons (I’ll never forget the Dark Quilava art from the tcg my self it’s one of my favorite arts)
I've always felt so bad for GEN 2 Starters... yeah I even remember the day Gold&Silver released for me all of them looked great... I have no idea why Totodile and its evolution line never gets the love its deserves.... My theory is almost everyone was so bounded with Kanto Starters at that point.... I remember everyone has gone mad after Ash released Charizard, squirtle and sent Bulbasaur back to Oak's Lab.
This was such a cool and interesting video, looking forward to next week's sequel!
I love your intro song so much, it's the best part of the video and it's the reason I subscribed!
Monferno is the only non grovyle mid stage evolution I actively like. Chimchar was my gen 4 choice and I had a toy monferno as a kid which definitely helped.
I’ve always liked the bulbasaur line more than the chsrmamder or squirtle line because I just love it’s design. Also it’s number one. Literally #001, to be exact
Same here. Venusaur is not just my favorite Kanto starter but one of my favorite Pokémon in general.
The pokemon company realized the fire starters they were dropping were too good the first few generations so they decided to reel it back on those starter lines for bw and xy now I get it
what you say about Delphox
12:11 The whole Chikorita line is among my favorites, which includes Bayleef.
Who else feels like the opening music brings tears to the eyes because of nostalgia?
Don’t forget that piplup had an entire music video dedicated to him
I think Hoenn had the Grovyle love glossed over, seriously. Being featured as a prominent character in multiple spin-offs, among other things, Grovyle is probably the most promoted second-stage.
lol nevermind spoke too soon
Glad to see that the birdie starters are getting a lot of love! As a lover of birds, this is something I love to see!
My favorite final forms for each gen are
1. Charizard
2. Feraligatr
3. Swampert(also favorite Starter overall)
4. Infernape(although Torterra is VERY close)
5. Samurott
6. Greninja
7. Decidueye
8. Inteleon
As for base and middle stages, I actually like Rowlet and Torracat more than Decidueye and especially Incineroar. I have a soft spot for Bayleef thanks to the Gen 2 anime, and for Grovyle thanks to Mystery Dungeon.
Mine are:
Kanto: Charizard
Johto: Typhlosion
Hoenn: All three
Sinnoh: Infernape and Torterra
Unova: Serperior
Kalos: Delphox
Alola: Primarina
Galar: Cinderace
Now for some of my first and middle stage opinions. I like Chikorita and Bayleef more than Meganium, Oshawott and Dewott more than Samurott, Litten and Torracat a heck of a lot more than Incineroar, Fennekin and Braixen more than Delphox, but I do still like Delphox, I love Quilava more than Typhlosion, but Typhlosion is still really cool, Grovyle is awesome and cooler than Sceptile to me, but Mega Sceptile comes close, and I love Brionne, but I do still love Primarina more.
I never realised just how common Piplup (I normally say pochama will explain why in a second) merchandise is, especially because Turtwig was always my favourite. It wasn’t until my girlfriend (who is Japanese hence Pochama) and I started talking about Pokémon and her saying her favourite it Pochama despite not having ever played a game did I start to see it. Piplup is everywhere, and I actually really like it
I don't think will make a difference, but you forgot to mention that Meganium was featured in the cover of New Pokémon Snap and was one of the Lumina pokemon there, having a role in the story.
3:07 Not really. Bulbasaur is #001, Charmander is #004 and Squirtle is #007. They just wanted to make a reference to it
the anime was one of the main reason why Chikorita, Torchic, and Piplup were my three favorite starters as a kid. I thought all three were like the cutest pokemon ever and so I always chosed them as my starter when I played any of the games. And it was kind of heart breaking when I found out that Chikorita was the least popular starter for people on the internet. I also remember there was like a cult of Mudkip worshippers back then, but I never understood why so many people loved it. I wasn't a meme enthusiast then so I wasn't aware of the I Leik Mudkip meme, but later on I found out that was the reason.
This might be only me ,but when DP was at its peak (like 2006-2009) I thought the reason why Club Penguin was so popular too was because of Piplup. Like I thought lking penguins was a cool thing as a kid and I even named my Penguin character as Piplup followed by some numbers.
OMG I know Chikorita needed so much more love & it's way better designed than Cyndaquil throughout each stage of life. Chikorita was just so wholesome in the anime & the only reason it lost to Cyndaquil was the Fire Type burning through everything in Johto except for a certain cow. As for Mudkips they are adorable, the meme was a response to Mudkip being a cute axolotl based Pokemon. I kind of love each of the Hoenn Starters equally with them all being so wonderful.
I always thought that overall fire starters (including evos) usually got the most love from Gamefreak and the fans alike. It's hard out here in these water streets
water side has piplup
I’m genuinely curious about starter choice numbers region to region as well as overall type popularity. I admit I fear grass may be the least popular but that’s more intuition. I also have a theory like fan favorites are often those that are birds or mammals (sans Kanto which were ALL reptilian/amphibian and Alola which was ALL mammalian/avian), which mirrors real life preferences for charismatic species when it comes to pets and conservation funding.
Of course, that theory still requires data. And even if I wasn’t wondering about that I’d just want to see popularity rates out of sheer curiosity.
"When have you ever had strong feelings about a middle stage starter?"
Bayleef. I dont care much for meganium but I *love* bayleef
At least somebody finally said why Piplup is one of my most hated Pokémon
Piplup is so popular it has its own ice cream in Japan
Actually, I really like the middle stages of all the kanto starters. They're actually my favorite stages for all three of them. At one point, ivysaur was my favorite pokemon.
I always thought it was the chase rare status of Charizard in Base Set that pushed it so hard. It was "the best" card according to most kids' perspectives, pushing Charizard upwards in people's brains, making them pick it more, then making the card worth more, and just started a brutal cycle upwards.
Also Totodile getting the shaft just hurts me, Feraligatr gets no support and will never get its missing letter.
Ivysaur is one of my favorite Pokemon of all time, some mid stage starters dont get their deserved love
Maybe it's just me, but I find that I'm far more likely to watch the sponsor advertisement if it's timestamped.
You help the people skip the ad if they want, so I... decide to watch it lol
The music matching each gen 🤌 chefs kiss
Mudkip/Swampert may not be the most marketable compare to the other Gen 3 starters but that just means it’s the hidden gem among the other two.
The good thing is it no Chesnaught as the pokemon company just hate it so much that Calem have Meowstic instead in master I think that a big ouch,also I think the Groockey line is in the running for that title of pokemon company least favourite starter
@@joshhallam6342 Oh? I thought it'd be Tepig's line. so much hate for Pignite and Emboar out there
I am sad that chikorita is considered the least favorite starter because she is my number one top favorite Pokemon of all time. I loved her attitude, I loved her colors, she was the first Pokemon i learned to draw from memory. Her evolution may be boring I guess, but I love her so much 💚
"When, other than Grovyle in Mystery Dungeon, have you had any strong feelings towards a mid stage starter?"
Dude, my first pokémon ever, Turtwing, evolved alongside my Kricketot back in the day, in pokémon Diamond, my very first pokémon game ever... and I remember it to this day.
fun fact, before catching her, a wild chikorita beat Ash's charizard in the anime.
This only just reminded how when I started playing Pokémon (Gen 3 cause it was new at the time) that Torchic was the popular starter to get the Blaziken. I went with the Mudkip because my brother got Torchic and fell in love with Mudkip’s line. I started a new game to give Treeko a run, but Mudkip was still superior. Kinda crazy to think how after several years the “best” starter went from being Torchic to Mudkip
Chillll, Chikorita was my first choice going into Silver all those years agooo
Definitely one of the most creative videos coming! I loved this one!
Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
I know that a lot of people didn't like the fact that Charizard gets a lot of attention from gamefreak but tbh Charizard getting a lot of attention is isn't the problem, the problem is that most of the other starters don't get as much attention.
The only starters that gets almost as much attention as Charizard are Venusaur and Blastoise I say almost because even they get shafted in favour for Charizard sometimes like in x and y where Charizard got two mega forms while Venusaur and Blastoise only got one or in sword and shield where Charizard is the only Kanto starter in the base game while Venusaur and Blastoise has to wait for dlc.
Meanwhile All the other starter trios especially the unpopular ones are left in the dust (although the hoenn starters got mega forms in gen 6 they didn't get Gmax forms like the kanto starters did in gen 8) and even greninja the most popular starter pokemon didn't make it to gen 8.
Totodile is my favourite out of gen 2
They ruined typhlosion in the 3d model of pokemon and the meganium line just don't stand out.But yet again Cyndiquill is more promoted.
Also I thought Cyndiquill was an armadillo rather than a mouse
I think totodile is also technically the most popular generally but gen 2 is the most balanced gen.
Piplup broke the fire mon dominance of marketability
My favorites by generation are
Kanto. All 3
Johto. Totodile
Hoenn. Treecko
Sinnoh. Chimchar
Unova. Snivy
Kalos. All 3
Alola. Popplio
Galar. Grookey
Charizard was made popular not by marketing but by the people. Game Freak eventually just decided to cash in on it.
Had Ash’s Cyndaquil fully evolved during the Johto region I 100% believe it’s popularity would have exploded. In fact, I think we were all awaiting for Cyndquil to fill the spot where Charizard left. Which never really came to fruition.
Piplup debuted when the whole penguin popularity and marketing thing was peaking; March of the Penguins, Happy Feet. It was weird to say the least but people were eating it up. Piplup just road that wave.
I'm glad Ash's Cyndaquil never fully evolved, Normal Typhlosion is just so bland & ugly, although I wouldn't mind seeing it become Hisuian Typhlosion if it had to evolve. Knowing Charizard's popularity a lot of fans would have hated it being replaced by Cyndaquil during the Johto Saga. The anime made the right choice choosing to focus on Chikorita & keeping Bulbasaur around longest to avoid upsetting the older fans. The Fresh Start approach that started in Hoenn was an ideal way of avoiding the Kanto vs Johto problem & preventing Ash from being too overpowered.
I agree Piplup rode the Penguin Popularity wave.
I think it's fairly easy to argue that Meganium is *the* poster child for New Pokemon Snap, and honestly I can't see any other starter that would fit as well on the front cover. If you think of any member of the Chikorita evo line you're very likely to picture a smile on its face. Plus its design is a lot less fierce and aggressive as most starters, Meganium is just an all around photogenic Pokemon. In an alternate timeline where it didn't get absolutely bodied in its native region, I think Meganium would've stayed a lot more marketable.
Not too mention how often you see Torchic in BDSP. Especially in marketing for the Amity Square
100% agree piplup is the most popular but that merch segment is a bit warped. the only reason it has so much merch is bc of project pochama, which yes again, the fact that it exists already makes it the most popular. but without it numbers would diminish by a lot
When I was a kid I always thought Blastoise looked cool af
“Good morning” uploads at 3 PM
shoutout to my Hawaiian fans
"Good morning" uploads at noon 🥲
Favorite from each Region/Game:
Kanto - Squirtle or Bulbasaur (I also like Charmander, but agree it's been overused)
Johto - Totodile
Hoenn - Any of the Three
Sinnoh - Turtwig or Chimchar
Unova - Oshawott
Kalos - Froakie (No surprise)
Alola - Litten
Gen 9 - Quaxly
...Wow, i thought i was a fire guy, but i'm more of a Water type then i thought
Hoenn starters are pretty much equally marketed, and they're all great. easily the strongest lineup of starters pokemon has ever made imo
For middle evolutions? Quilava is the only other time for me. Braixen is also insanely popular but I don't get that one, delphox is way cooler.
What about bayleef, monferno, dewott, torrcat, and raboot?
@@pokemonspinofffan767 I'm indifferent on bayleef and dewott. I hate the entire evolution lines of the others.
@@Jarekthegamingdragon "I hate the entire evolution lines of the others"
I can understand with litten and scorbunny but chimchar though now that's surprising considering that infernape is one of the most popular starters of all time due to how good it is in competitive battling and its anime counterpart.
@@pokemonspinofffan767 I just hate monkeys and never understood why people think they're cute.
Guesses for the next 4 gens:
Unova: Snivy/Serperior
Kalos: Froakie/Greninja
Alola: Tough one but its between Rowlet/Decidueye and Litten/Incineroar
Galar: Scorbunny/Cinderace
Pretty sure Rowlet completely defeats Litten in marketing. Rowlet is round and super adorable compare to Litten, Decidueye has appeared in Pokken, Unite, and was even mentioned to join Smash Bro’s but Sakurai wanted Incinaroar because he wanted a grappling character. Plus much like Typhlosion, Decidueye was given a completely new form.
@@gioanysgonzalez3396 Yea true
Me crying about being explained that Swampert is not as cool as the others, even though I kinda know why it's true (not as sleek maybe) and it's a still a really popular Pokemon.
I would like to bring out that Chikorita is a main character in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon animated miniseries
Piplup must be really tired from carrying the rest of it's line on his back alone.
“When other than Grovyle from mystery dungeon have you had any strong feelings towards a mid stage starter?” PT/Ivysaur mains in Smash: Hi there!
I think TPC has an preference for Fire Type Starters...
"When have you ever had strong feelings towards a middle stage starter?"
Cough cough Quilladin, who is right there
What? You never said the feelings needed to be positive.
Also, can't wait until we get to the 'super difficult' choices of Kalos and Alola. XD
Chesnaught gets too much attention smh
Back in 1999, I played Pokemon Gold for the first time but it was in Japanese so I couldn't understand anything and the internet at the time lacked information. When it came to the three Johto starters, I picked Totodile because it resembled Charmander the most and I found it to be the most cool looking. Its evolution Croconaw looked kinda fat but I absolutely loved Feraligatr.
While it probably won't change the outcome too much, I think it is worth to note that Grovyle was one of the main characters in the Mystery Dungeon series... out of all the Pokemon they could've chosen
Honestly it shouldn’t surprise that the gen 1 starters are marketed so hard, their designs are amazing.
A cute lizard with a flame on his tail becomes a dragon, a cute turtle becomes a tortoise with canons on his back, and a cute little plant dinosaur becomes a massive attack plant.
So, if it weren’t for Piplup, I probably never would’ve played Pokémon. My brother picked it as his starter when he played Pearl when it came out and I loved it! (My grandma got my brother and cousins the game and not me cuz I’m a girl. It be like that with grandmas sometimes.) But I watched the Gen 4 anime. Obsessed with Piplup. Loved this little blue dude. I started watching RUclips videos about Pokémon in 2012ish and got my own used copy of Pearl the day X and Y came out and kept my Piplup unevolved forever. She was very special. I have over a dozen Piplup plush and other pieces of merchandise, I’m sure. I met my freaking fiancé through a Pokémon community I joined. It’s all because of the marketability of Piplup. He’s my boy. My little wingman, lol.