E4's Favorite Raikou, Entei, and Suicune (Results)

[inertgeometry]

How this works:

There will be 3 sections of Voting

Design: the concept aesthetic overall

• the “Design” poll is just to get a rough count of participants. PLEASE make sure to vote in this.

Cards: individual cards

• cards are listed in chronological order based on first release
• • unless it makes sense otherwise to group them with other cards released at a different time.
• cards within a similar release will be grouped together, followed by an option for each individually
• vote for any card that you like.

Sets

• This will be grouped based on my discretion. There may be cards that were not actually released in the same set that end up grouped together (i.e.: Pokemon V which were released in different ways, but are all still the same kind of style)
• Sets will be based on a number ranking between 1 (bad) and 5 (great)
• The option to vote on each trio will be grouped with cards in order to reduce the size of this post.

Note: there may be some cards grouped since they are in a set, but without a set rating poll because it is not a trio

Additionally, for whatever reason, many cards with similar rarities/vibes (such as SM PreRelease Promos or GX/Vs) were released across completely different sets.

• Because of this, there may be some “trios” you have in a binder together that are not an option here.

The polls will automatically close on Sunday at 12PM Pacific Time. I will edit this post and title to count down from least to most voted, and we will see which cards are E4’s Favorite.

Most of these images are pulled from quick google searches, eBay, or Bulbapedia if they had a large enough file. If you'd like me to replace an image, you're welcome to post it in the comments.

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Results

Design

- 8.08 / 10

- 8.17 / 10

- 8.9 / 10

Cards

0-9 Votes

86th - 0 Votes:

82nd-85th - 1 Vote:

81st - 2 Votes:

78-80th - 3 Votes:

77th - 4 Votes:

72nd-76th - 5 Votes:

71st - 6 Votes:

69/70th - 7 Votes:

67/68th - 9 Votes:

10-19 Votes

66th - 10 Votes:

65th - 11 Votes:

63rd/64th - 12 Votes:

62nd - 13 Votes:

61st - 14 Votes:

56th-60th - 15 Votes:

53rd-55th - 16 Votes:

51st/52nd - 17 Votes:

49/50th - 18 Votes:

20-29 Votes

46-48th - 20 Votes:

43rd-45th - 21 Votes:

41st/42nd - 22 Votes:

38-40th - 23 Votes:

37th - 24 Votes:

33rd-36th - 25 Votes:

31st/32nd - 26 Votes:

30th - 27 Votes:

29th - 29 Votes:

30-39 Votes

27/28th - 30 Votes:

25/26th - 31 Votes:

23rd/24th - 32 Votes:

21st/22nd - 34 Votes:

18-20th - 35 Votes:

17th - 36 Votes:

15/16th - 37 Votes:

14th - 38 Votes:

Honorable Mentions (40+ Votes)

13th - 41 Votes:

11/12th - 45 Votes:

Top 10

9/10th - 47 Votes:

8th - 48 Votes:

7th - 49 Votes:

6th - 51 Votes:

4/5th - 52 Votes:

- 54 Votes:

2nd - 55 Votes:

59 Votes:

Note: because this illustration was never printed on a card, it will not be counted in the results archive , but I thought it would be fun to see how well it would do if it was a real card for the sake of this poll.

1st - 61 Votes:

Sets

Dishonorable Mention (Less than 2.5/5)

• 15th
  
  

2.5/5 - 3/5

• 14th
  

• 13th
  

• 12th
  

• 11th
  

• 10th
  

• 9th
  

• 8th
  

3.5/5 - 4/5

• 7th
  

• 6th
  

• 5th
  

• 4th
  

Top 3 (More than 4/5)

3rd

2nd

1st

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Polls

Design

Voting Scale:

[ 1 The Worst ] ↔ [ 10 The Best ]

---

Raikou

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10

Entei

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10

Suicune

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10

---

Cards and Trios

Neo

• 2000 - Entei - Neo File 2 / Entei Movie Ticket Promo

• 2000 - Crystal Tower’s Entei [Jumbo] - CoroCoro

---

2000 - Neo 3 / Revelation Holo Trio

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou

• Entei

• Suicune

---

2000 - Neo File 3 / Revelation Non-Holo Trio

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou

• Entei

• Suicune

---

Vs / e Series

---

2001 - Vs Series Rocket’s Trio

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou

• Entei

• Suicune

---

• 2002 - Suicune - Celebi Movie VHS/DVD P-Promo (e2 AA)

---

2002 E Series Holo Trio (e2, e3, e4 / Aquapolis, Skyridge

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• 2002 - Suicune - e2 / Aquapolis

• 2002 - Entei - e3 / Aquapolis

• 2002 - Raikou - e4 / Skyridge

---

• 2002 - Entei - Happy Adventure Rally - Ikebukuro Station

ADV-PCG / EX

---

2003 - TMvTA ex Trio

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou - Aqua Deck

• Entei - Magma Deck

• Suicune

---

2004 - Rocket’s ex Trio

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou (Battle Road Autumn, Team Rocket Box / Deoxys Box Topper)

• Entei

• Suicune

---

2005 - PokePark Blue / POP 2 Trio

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou

• Entei

• Suicune

---

• 2005 - Suicune - PokePark Blue (AA) Merry-Go-Round Promo

---

2005 - Gold Star Trio - Golden Sky Silvery Ocean / Unseen Forces

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou

• Entei

• Suicune

---

DP-Pt

• 2007 - Crystal Tower’s Entei - 10th Movie Commemoration Set

---

2007 - DP3 / Secret Wonders Trio

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou

• Entei

• Suicune

---

L / HGSS

• 2010 - Burned Tower Trio Cameo - Reviving Legends Release Top 3, L2 / Undaunted

---

2010 - LEGEND Trio - L2 / Unleashed

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou & Entei

• Raikou & Suicune

• Entei & Suicune

---

2010 - L Perfect Set / Fall Tin Promos

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou

• Entei

• Suicune

---

2010 - L Pack Purchase Lottery / Call of Legends SL

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou

• Entei

• Suicune

---

BW

• 2011 - Raikou EX - BW4 / Dark Explorers

• 2011 - Entei EX - BW4 / Dark Explorers

• 2011 - Raikou EX SR - BW4 / Dark Explorers

• 2011 - Entei EX SR - BW4 / Dark Explorers

• 2013 - Suicune - Blastoise & Kyurem EX Deck / Plasma Blast

XY

• 2015 - Entei - XY7 / Ancient Origins

• 2015 - Entei - Ancient Trait - XY7 / Ancient Origins

• 2015 - Raikou - XY8 / BREAKthrough

• 2015 - Suicune - XY9 / BREAKpoint

• 2016 - Suicune - Half Deck / CP5

SM

• 2017 - Raikou - Shining Legends

• 2017 - Entei GX - Shining Legends

• 2017 - Entei GX SR - Shining Legends

• 2017 - Entei GX HR - Shining Legends

• 2018 - Raikou GX - Legends of Johto GX Collections

• 2018 - Entei GX AA - Legends of Johto GX Collections

• 2018 - Jumbo - Legends of Johto GX Collections

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2018 - Lost Thunder (sm7a, sm8) Holo Trio

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou - sm8

• Entei - sm8

• Suicune - sm7a

---

• 2018 - Suicune GX - sm8 / Lost Thunder

• 2018 - Suicune GX SR - sm8 / Lost Thunder

• 2018 - Suicune GX HR - sm8 / Lost Thunder

• 2018 - Raikou - Lost Thunder (sm8) PreRelease AA Promo

• 2018 - Suicune - Lost Thunder (sm7a) PreRelease AA Promo

• 2019 - Entei - sm11a / Cosmic Eclipse

• 2019 - Entei - Cosmic Eclipse (sm11a) PreRelease AA Promo

SwSh

• 2020 - Suicune - s3 / Darkness Ablaze

• 2020 - Raikou Amazing Rare - s3a / Vivid Voltage

• 2020 - Suicune (s3a / Darkness Ablaze) - Shiny AA - s4a / Shining Fates

Note: because this illustration was never printed on a card, it will not be counted in the results archive , but I thought it would be fun to see how well it would do if it was a real card for the sake of this poll.

• 2021 - Suicune - Illustration Magazine [No. 229] Mockup

• 2021 - Entei - s5I / Battle Styles

• 2021 - Entei - s6a / Evolving Skies

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Since these all have the same ability and attack (name depends on energy type), there clearly was some sort of intention to make these a trio of cards available to players despite them not releasing at the same time

2021 - V Trio [s7D / Evolving Skies, Start Deck 100 / Brilliant Stars]

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou - Start Deck 100 / Brilliant Stars

• Entei - Start Deck 100 / Brilliant Stars

• Suicune - s7D / Evolving Skies

---

• 2021 - Suicune V SR - s7D / Evolving Skies

• 2022 - Entei - s11a / Crown Zenith

---

2022 - V SAR Trio - s12a / Crown Zenith

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

• Raikou

• Entei

• Suicune

---

SV

• 2023 - Entei - sv3 / OBF

• 2023 - Suicune ex - Pokemon Trading Card Game Classic

• 2023 - Entei (sv3 / OBF) - Shiny AA - sv4a / Paldean Fates

"E4's Favorite" Polls - Archive

Overview Why I began doing these polls in December 2023 as a way to see how the community here ranks cards of various Pokemon or types of cards. Sometimes we may have an idea of what is #1, but what might round out the top 10? It’s hard to guess, and we always end up surprised in the end. It is also a great avenue to learn about new cards of Pokemon we may not have seen before. As time goes on and the quantity of these becomes overwhelming, I figured it would be beneficial to have them all g…

[inertgeometry]

managed to get everything done already, so it’s up early.

i was going to do something more casual, but figured we may as well do the johto trio right after doing the kanto trio; and compare/contrast which got the better treatment over the years

[wooltchi]

The legends cards are some of the best artwork in the tcg. If they were just full cards instead of split into half cards, theyd probably be my favorite set cards in the entire hobby.

[quibble]

Same! That Lugia & Ho-Oh are still two of my absolute favourite artworks in the entire tcg.

[inertgeometry]

a face only a mother could love

[inertgeometry]

should the e2-4 holos have an option to vote on as a trio?

• yes
• no

[inertgeometry]

alright i went ahead and added it since it is a similar situation to the Vs where they have the same ability despite having different releases

please go back and give it a rating

[wooltchi]

[fresco]

One of those cases where there are a LOT of arts but the 60% are meh, 30% are ok and 10% are great.

[bk2021]

I know E4 loves Himeno but come on…

She should go back to watercolours since there are now so many artists, they are lucky if they feature in every set in the year, which is at max 10 or 11. More than enough time to work on any notes instead of these digital monstrosities.

Thank Arceus that Arita abandoned his awful attempts at CGI during the ex era.

[wooltchi]

It sucks to see artists who have distinct styles in the early tcg become much more bland over the years. There are a few others that fell victim to this, kizuki is one I can remember off the top of my head.

[ragingkraken]

I swear these threads are equal parts awesome and depressing. Awesome because all the different artworks you can see over time and rank. Depressing because over time the artworks feel less unique and spirited. Something happened after the gen 4 era that the artworks generally just don’t seem as cool. Could be nostalgia. Could be that most artworks just seem to be brighter overall, but the colors don’t stand out as much.

Also, for a trio that’s usually referenced together in games and lore, Raikou really got shafted in the looks department and just generally seems to get dropped. Whether it’s being excluded from getting a card in a set/GX, or just not getting its highlight in a move.

[mrbubbles]

Thank you as always for your hard work @inertgeometry . Enjoyed voting on this one as well. My personal favourite is Suicune, so was trying to have as less of a bias as possible.

Cheers!

[Taigataipan]

It makes me happy to see Suicune cards doing so well already, after all it was mascot for first Game Boy game I ever bought.

[inertgeometry]

@ragingkraken

Something happened after the gen 4 era that the artworks generally just don’t seem as cool

i think it started during gen 4 to a degree. just look at the trio from DP3.

there definitely was still good art in gen 4, but it hit a low in BW and has been slowly building back up with a higher % of “good”/interesting art. I think we’re in a good place now tho. Even last gen had a lot of strong art throughout the bulk.

[UKLugia]

I think the art went downhill drastically during B&W. Even just looking at the regular common/uncommon/Rare/holo cards, there’s a lot of bland CG and forgettable art. Definite improvements in recent gens though

This is a great poll as these three are some of my all-time favourites and it’s nice to see some arts that I have missed.

[ElijahtheTraveler]

I already knew I wasn’t going to be voting for entei a lot. I didn’t expect to be voting for raikou as much as I did suicune.
I also found some cards to add to my buy list lol.

[azulryu]

I love all 3 for different reasons. Entei has my favorite design. Raikou was the only one I ran into in the original games and also caught. And Suicune because it was a Suicune pack of Neo Revelations that had the Shining Gyarados card inside (also the main featured Pokemon for my favorite game - Crystal).

[PkmnTrnAnt]

@inertgeometry thank you for taking the time to do these. Your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed

[joponnes]

I’d love to like this trio more in tcg but they really haven’t gotten very good treatment modern has very few hits and even older sets have some big misses, legends era otherwise might take the cake but what the hell is this