X and Y seem to be a tremendous step forward for the series, but before we move on, I thought

it may be fun to look back; specifically at my favorite Pokémon over the years. There

are 649 in total as of Pokémon Black and White, a number that will surely increase

to near 800 as the sixth generation arrives. So you would think that it would be hard to

narrow it down to just ten, but it was surprisingly simple. Like all Pokémon players, I have

stories associated with each one and as I tell mine, I'd love to hear yours.

So please join me as I count down my top ten favorite Pokémon.

Like many of the original batch of Pokémon fans, I drifted away from the series at the

end of the second generation. I was growing older, and I was slowly buying into the fact

that maybe Pokémon really was just a fad. It wasn't until college that I began to look

back at the series. Diamond and Pearl were coming out soon, and I began to feel nostalgic

for the old games. But I only had my DS Lite with me and had no way to play them. So I

bought Pokémon Emerald. In truth, I wasn't impressed with it at first.

The fun times I had with Gold and Silver were fresh in my mind, and it just didn't seem

to compare. Even the Pokémon seemed to be subpar imitations of the past. But as I kept

playing, the old fun came back, and I stumbled across a Ralts. I've always loved Psychic

Pokémon since they match my battling style so well, and when it finally evolved into

Gardevoir, it became a permanent part of my team.

It had a unique design that was very much in the vein of Pokémon. And really, I think

it helped open me back up to the Pokémon series. Ever since Emerald, I have not missed

a single main series Pokémon game. It proved to me that all the predictions that the series

was nothing more than a fad were completely wrong.

By now, everyone knows that the three starters of each generation are the designs that are

most scrutinized. Both the developers and the fans pour over all three of these Pokémon

to make sure they are unique, cute, and best represent all the Pokémon you'll be catching

on the journey ahead. And in my opinion, the fifth generation had one of the best line-ups

since the second. I liked each of the designs, but there was something about Snivy that stood

out to me. Maybe it was his cocksure attitude or all

the memes made about him at the time. I'm sure many people still refer to him as Smugleaf.

But he was the one I chose, and I didn't regret the decision at all. I loved his speed and

his higher focus on defense, something I rarely worry about when creating Pokémon teams.

There was just something that endeared me to him. I eventually tried out the other starters

and enjoyed them as well, but never quite to the degree that I had with Snivy.

There's something special about the Eevee evolutions. Even back in the original, fans

had a special affinity for Jolteon, Flareon, and Vaporeon. But perhaps it was just me,

but I never grew especially attached to them. Don't get me wrong, I thought they looked

great and the idea of one Pokémon having many evolutions was cool to me, but none of

them caught my attention. That is until Umbreon was announced.

There was always something alluring about the Dark Type. I was well aware of how powerful

Psychic Pokémon were in Red and Blue, and the thought of Dark Types completely shutting

them down excited me. But few of the new Dark type Pokémon caught my attention. I enjoyed

all of their designs, but their actual fighting ability never really matched my style. Until

I found Umbreon. The design just looked really cool, and I thought the moves worked well

enough though I'll admit it wasn't the strongest on my team.

I think I love it so much, because it perfectly matched the way I play Pokémon in general.

In other words, mostly at night. So when my Eevee naturally evolved into Umbreon one night,

I was happily surprised and used the heck out of him. Over the years, Dark Type Pokémon

have lost a bit of their allure to me, but I'll always remember Umbreon.

When I was a kid playing Red and Blue for the first time, I loved Articuno. He was always

a part of my team because of how easily he could destroy Lance's dragons. That made him

awesome in my mind. Of course, this was before I realized that using Legendary Pokémon in

your team was kind of looked down upon. But even taking out the fact that Articuno kicked

ass, which he did, he was also the first Legendary Pokémon I caught.

I know I make myself sound old when I say this, but Legendary Pokémon felt more legendary

back in the original games. Now there's over thirty that can be found and caught. Some

are pretty easy, others are locked away behind special events. But in Red, Blue, and Yellow,

Articuno was one of only four Legendaries that could be caught in-game. He felt special.

Cyndaquil is an odd choice for me, mainly because he wasn't my starter in Gold and Silver.

Totodile was. And as much as I loved the little guy, I couldn't help but be jealous of a friend

who had chosen Cyndaquil. Totodile was cute, but Cyndaquil was adorable. Croconaw kind

of lost some of the appeal Totodile had while Quilava looked sleek and powerful. Feraligatr

felt like an ugly mess to me, especially compared to the raw power of Typhlosion. Don't get

me wrong, I still liked Totodile as a first choice. It was just obvious to me by the end

of the game that Cyndaquil would have been a better choice.

So when I did choose him in the HeartGold and SoulSilver remakes, it felt right. And

it was fun to experience the game with him. It's a strange example of your first choice

not necessarily being the best choice, at least when it comes to picking starters. Something

I learned again when I chose Chimchar over Piplup in Diamond and Pearl.

I don't think I know a single person who played Pokémon and didn't like Butterfree. It's

pretty much the perfect early game Pokémon. And it has purpose too, much like Weedle's

evolutionary line, which is to show new players that Pokémon can evolve. Since it happens

so early to Caterpie and Weedle, new players immediately realize that evolution is possible.

But I always preferred Caterpie over Weedle and especially Butterfree over Beedrill.

Butterfree just seemed to wreck other Pokémon in the early game, especially thanks to it

learning Confusion early on. That single move could get you through most problems early

on. And because of that, Butterfree stayed in my team for a long time. I only replaced

it once I learned that Kadabra was much more powerful. But I still prefer Butterfree because

he's the original. One of the first Pokémon you catch and a great teaching tool.

I don't know many people who like Kingdra as much as I do. And I'm not sure I understand

why I like Kingdra so much, especially because I was never a huge fan of either Horsea or

Seadra. Actually, that's a lie. I love Kingdra because of his typing, Water/Dragon. This

makes him the only non-legendary Dragon Type that had no weakness to Ice moves. And with

the rarity of Dragon Types at the time, I thought that made him an unbelievable addition.

Of course, with X and Y, he'll now also have to contend with Fairy Type moves, but I don't

believe that will hurt him too much. Especially because of his stats. Other than

his HP and Speed, his other stats are completely even across the board. This makes him an excellent

option to fill in wherever you need him. But what I find truly interesting about Kingdra

is that he's the only Pokémon on this list that I chose for stats alone. There aren't

any sentimental stories or anything like that. I simply love his potential in battle.

Look at any top ten list involving Pokémon and Mewtwo will be there. And I'm no different.

It's hard not to be when it comes to Mewtwo. As I said with Articuno, Mewtwo was one of

only four Legendary Pokémon that could be caught in the original Red, Blue, and Yellow.

Add on to that the fact that he was by far the most powerful thing in the game. I remember

taking on the entire Elite Four with just Mewtwo and absolutely trouncing them. It just

felt so good as a kid to go back through and tear them apart like that.

Mewtwo was also very easy to catch, provided you kept the Master Ball for him. At that

point, all you had to do was track him down and toss it. But despite that ease, Mewtwo

was also quite intimidating with his harsh eyes and powerful stance. And of course I

wasn't the only one who felt this way. Every kid loved Mewtwo. It was a major reason we

all went to the theaters to see the first Pokémon movie.

And now that he has a major presence in X and Y, with two new forms no less, I'm curious

to see if his popularity will be just as strong. Which form will fans take to more? Will it

be the sleekness of Mega Mewtwo Y or the muscled power of Mega Mewtwo X? We'll just have to

wait and see. Like any other kid that grew up with Pokémon,

I was a big fan of Pikachu. It felt like an accomplishment when you caught one in Viridian

Forest, and he could tear through Misty's gym with no problem. But as Gold and Silver

came around, the yellow mouse seemed old hat. I wanted something different. And it looked

like I found it in Mareep. It wasn't especially impressive at first, but when it finally evolved

into Ampharos, I was sold. I have no idea whether it's true or not, but

Ampharos feels like it's one of the most powerful Electric Pokémon in the series. And it's

a sheep. An animal I have no affinity for whatsoever. But here the concept works, and

I end up loving it. It's a staple of any team I make and probably the Pokémon I will use

most for Mega Evolutions in X and Y. There's just something that endears me more to Ampharos

than any other Pokémon. Except one of course. You never forget your first. To understand

my love for Squirtle is to understand my love for Pokémon in general because, to be honest,

I had no interest in the series. I was vaguely aware of it through commercials and hearing

about the TV show, but it just didn't catch my attention. And then one day my mother came

home from shopping. She handed me a blue Game Boy cartridge and asked if I had heard of

Pokémon before. I explained what I knew before she told me she randomly found the cartridge

in the parking lot of where she was shopping. It looked to be in good condition so she decided

to let me try it. After all, free game. At this point, my only familiarity with RPGs

was a few fruitless attempts at my cousin's copy of The Final Fantasy Legend. I would

constantly get lost with no idea of what to do so when I saw that Pokémon had a similar

visual style to that, I was immediately nervous. But as you can tell, there was no need to

worry. Pokémon Blue eased me into the game and immediately struck my interest in three

Pokémon. All of them looked kind of cool but because I saw Blastoise on the cover of

the game, I wanted that one. So on instinct I chose Squirtle.

And like many other kids, I was hooked. The battling, the capturing, everything just felt

perfect. And the entire time Squirtle was there. It's a strange sort of thing to get

so attached to data, but I did. It really felt like he was my partner at the time. And

it's something I'll probably never feel in quite the same way again. Everyone remembers

their first. When X and Y are finally released, that will be a new generation's first introduction

to the world of Pokémon and all the crazy creations within. They're truly lucky.

Thanks for watching, and as I said before, I'd love to hear your own Top 10 Favorite

Pokémon and why you love them. And be sure to subscribe as we cover more on Pokémon

X and Y as well as all things gaming. Bye.