How would you rank the overall designs of Pokémon per generation

General
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There recently was a discussion about if the designs of Pokémon have gotten less.

I actually don´t think this is the case, but I was curious to see what most people think.

I understand that designs are subjective, but I also think that we can agree that Pikachu is, by most standards, a better design than Patrat (no offense to Patrat ; ) ).

I rank the generations on three criteria; number of Pokémon that are good, number of Pokémon that are really good and number of Pokémon that are really bad.

Reasoning is always welcome. For me it´s;

  1. Gen 1 (a lot of the original Pokémon are really strong, and set the template)
  2. Gen 2 (same thing as with Gen 1, but less Pokémon and some more mediocre)
  3. Gen 3 (a mixed bag for me. Lot´s of strong, classic designs, but also some lesser ones)
  4. Gen 6 (a very underrated Gen I think. Lot´s of strong designs, but a small roster)
  5. Gen 9 (some interesting designs, some mediocre designs, and some ´not so good´)
  6. Gen 7 (the same as with Gen 9, but more mediocre)
  7. Gen 8 (there are some good designs, but this is the point where, for me, the majority is uninspired)
  8. Gen 5 (a few strong designs (Volcarona, Hydreigon, Zoroark), but so many missers)
  9. Gen 4 (I really only like Lucario here. Not that the rest is bad, but a lot are).
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When it comes to overall designs of all pokemon from every generation I would rank as below.

  1. Gen 6 ( I am very much sorry for this generation. XY is one where only a handful bunch are good and the rest are all look aways. The introduction of fairy types are nice but better designed fairy pokemon are made in later gens)

    1. Gen 9 ( may be the recency didn’t give the vibe but I think gen 9 has most of the goofiest designs. They are few standouts and the concept of paradox pokemon are interesting but many are mishits in this generation)

      1. Gen 4 (sorry but gen 4’s only success is starter final forms few handful of evo’s given to prev gen pokemon and lucario based on design, if for competitive gen 4 may come way before but designs are many unimpressive ones)

        1. Gen 8 (One of the gens exactly stands middle in designs. Starters messed up but many pokemon internally grew well. Corviknight is the best designed regional bird hands down, legendaries are great here. Overall it’s good with starters pulling it completely back)

          1. Gen 5 (few greatest designs and few worst. The mixture makes it to stand exactly at middle. Most of the bug type pokemon got justice here though)

            1. Gen 1 (yeah the classic gen with many great pokemon but few uninspired ones too. We all say which are great but pokemon like diglett, electrode ?? they may have trolled a lot if released in later gens)

              1. Gen 2 (gen 2 is one gen which completely left competitive pokemon for most part but gave a great contest oriented and excellent designed pokemon. One of the cutest gens to exist)

                1. Gen 7 (one of my favorite recent gens where they nailed almost every pokemon released. Most recent gens felt offguard but alola being island referenced pokemon gave me that beasty vibes again. Loved this gen)

                  1. Gen 3 (Hands down the best gen for designs no more explanation)
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Gen 3 has the fewest poopers and the most god tiers. Gen 1 and 2 are both incredibly well conceived. Gen 4 is still very strong but you start to see cracks in the facade. It was intended to be the climax of the franchise as you can tell both from the legendary pokemon lore and from the words of TPC themselves but it ended up being a step down. Gen 5 is the last classic gen and it is by far the most underappreciated one, it can hang with the rest.

Gen 6 is when they officially lost their touch. There’s a handful of good new designs in the new micro dex and the megas that you’ll only see in battle after using your digivice look fantastic but it’s obvious that the ship is sinking and any future effort is likely to be similarly mediocre or worse, which is exactly what ended up happening.

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  1. Gen 4. While some of this is nostalgia, some of my favorite Pokemon designs come from Gen 4. Shaymin, Honchkrow, the lake trio, Giratina, Mismagius, Pachirisu, Gallade, Roserade, Froslass, Luxray, Garchomp, Piplup (of course), the list goes on. I can’t think of a single Gen 4 mon I dislike.

  2. Gen 3. Super solid designs in Hoenn! Another generation that has a ton of bangers and really exemplifies what earlier Pokemon was getting at, especially with the box legends.

  3. Gen 9. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but Gen 9 has some of the best Pokemon designs of the modern era. Tandemaus and Maushold, the Tinkaton line, all of Squawkabilly’s forms, Killowattrel, and more are wonderful, fresh designs of the Pokemon world. Paradox forms play an interesting part in the lore, and the swords of ruin are extremely well designed.

  4. Gen 5. Super solid, another one of my favorite generations. Going through Unova and discovering all of the new pokemon for the very first time gave a beautiful new Pokédex to explore. Lilligant, Amoongus, Krookodile, Emolga, Zebstrika, and more are some of my top favorites, but there weren’t many misses (if any) in Gen 5.

  5. Gen 7. Alola was my foray back into the Pokemon universe after taking a break for a time, and the designs are clearly well-fit for the island theme. Comfey, mimikyu, the Tapus, and Alolan forms of Vulpix and Sanshrew are stand-out favorites of mine.

  6. Gen 2. I feel like Pokemon was still getting its legs in Johto, and Pokemon didn’t fit a standard quite yet. The johto starters are still some of the strongest full lines in my opinion, though!

  7. Gen 6. Still solid, but more misses than hits in my opinion. Still, designs like the Flabébé line are gorgeous and shouldn’t be discounted.

  8. Gen 8. Sword and shield was fine, but many designs felt underwhelming for the setting. Great standouts include Corviknight and Alcremie though, and there are definitely still nice designs (although fewer and farther between).

  9. Gen 1. There are maybe 5-10 total good designs in Kanto, and I blame lack of clear direction for what they wanted Pokemon to be for that. Even so, Mew, Ditto, Eevee, and Dragonair are some that still stand up to the rest of today’s Pokédex.

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5

As someone who grew up with Gen 1 & 2, they are without a doubt the best designed generations of Pokémon…after Gen 3 of course.

3 > 1 > 2 >>> 5 > 4 >>> 7 > the rest

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For me it would go as followed and I’m very bad about disliking more pokemon designs then I like.
So I am basing all this off basically the number of pokemon in the gen I like to those that I don’t but I am also heavily influenced by the games as well. Silver/Gold and SoulSilver/HeartGold were peak for me,

1st- Gen One- Most of my fave mons are in this Gen (Arcanine, Ninetales, Sandslash, Arbok, The birds, Rapidash) they are classic and I like that the gen sticks to the beast/animal inspired designs.

2nd- Gen 2 Silver bias showing. Great starters (Typhlosion, Feralgator) This gen gave me Kingdra by all time fave dragon, Ursaring, Houndoom, TarTar, The legendaries. Loved the game and remake peak for me.

3rd- This Gen gave me Absol and I want to be able to rank it higher but I just can’t. I love the legendaries but aside from Absol, Milotic and Spheal line I just can’t. I like salamence but if I look at to long all I can think is pancake. Its here cause of those mons and nostalgia for the game itself.

4th- Gen 5- Gen 5 had terrible terrible mons but it also gave me Volcarona, Haxorus (2nd fave dragon) Zebstrika, Hydreigon, Sawsbuck, most of the rest were just terrible. But I have a fondness for it cause I remember it releasing in HS and playing it with friends

5th- Gen 6- Ok This is here Cause it gave me Talmonflame, Gogoat, Dragalge, and Noivern but everything else was downhill but because of those 4 mons it gets 5th.

6th- Gen 4 Gave me Luxray and Leafeon , Tina and Arceus God but other then that I could leave most of this Gen behind. Lucario is ok I guess. Starters weren’t great.

After this it’s a free for all. I did not play SwSH or Sun and Moon I like the design of Solgaleo, Frosmoth, Lynroc and Corvoknight and some of the regional forms but for the most part I do not care about any of the mons of these gens.
Will not get behind teapots or perfume bottles or weird furries.

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Grew up with 1-3, so there’s bias there.

4/5/6 have grown on me but 7 is where I thought they started getting better again, or at least the location started having more effect which has carried on to 8 and 9.

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1: Gen 1.

All classics for a reason.

2: Gen 3.

Gen 3 dialled in the old design philosophy, yet still managed to feel fresh, while breaking away from some patterns formed in the first two generations.

3: Gen 2.

Love the second generation as a whole, but the duds really dudded in this one.

4: Gen 7.

Strong regional identity and lots of fun. Except the Ultra Beasts. Not those things.

5: Gen 4.

Some standouts in this one, but half the Pokédex is additions to previous evolution lines, and they’re all worse than the originals.

6: Gen 5.

Some cool inclusions, but the design aesthetic was noticeably starting to shift. Good chunk of the Pokédex are worse reskins of Gen 1 Pokémon. Began the worst trend of starters being too anthropomorphised.

7: Gen 9.

Some fun new Pokémon were added here, but it’s a mixed bag overall. By SwSh, the likes of Blipbug strayed far from the design aesthetic of what Pokémon was, but Paldea had a little less of this.

8: Gen 8.

Practically tied with Gen 9. The starter designs are probably the most gimmicky and overall worst in the series here.

9: Gen 6.

Not terrible, but such a small Pokédex with very little that stands out one way or another.

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The peak (1-3)

Gen 1: unsurprisingly classic and peak. It’s the generation that established what a Pokemon is and did it almost perfectly. Some weak designs are to be expected, but they’re a minority and still well characterized with a ton of personality.

Gen 3: solid designs from Hoenn, with a rich variety and a well balanced roster between cute and badass Pokemon. I placed it slightly above Gen 2, because it honestly feels more like a soft reboot, which was way more difficult to pull off.

Gen 2: a great sequel overall, the only defect being the over abundance of simpler shapes and roundy designs. It’s excellent at exploring new themes while keeping intact the same original intent. Personally one of my favorites.

The mixed bag generations (4-6)

Gen 6: a brief uptick of the design quality imho (probably an unpopular opinion). The smaller pokedex helps maintain a somewhat cohesive style with a return to more Sugimori inspired shapes and character designs. They are thoughtful, polished and decent in variety. Some poopers among the megas of course, but some bangers too.

Gen 4: the level was still good but we started hearing the first cracks. Pretty decent starters although I perceive a change regarding the design philosophy. I tend to place it above Gen 5 cause I like legendary and starter Pokemon more. Overall I have a positive opinion, and I’m nostalgic for it. Many poopers were among the newly introduced evolutions.

Gen 5: I remember playing White as a teen and for the first time being actually disappointed by a pokemon product: it was indeed a turning point for me. I’m not a fan of the starters, and a third consecutive fire/fighting is annoying at best. When it comes to the overall designs, often I end up praising the idea but not the execution. It excels at some but it’s almost always in a polarizing manner (like Chandelure). I can see how much thought and heart they tried to put inside these new creatures but they just can’t hit the same as it was.

The meh generations (7, onwards)
I’m definitely not well informed about new generations, but in general from what I’ve seen, I don’t exactly love them. The over abundance of gimmicky designs and meme Pokemon is astonishing. I don’t vibe with any of those weirdly humanoid, freshly introduced starters (maybe I’m a Poke boomer).
What I consider “good Pokemon design” frankly became then minority, although some are indeed cool. The brand evolved and it’s pretty evident but everyone has different tastes.

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Didn´t know it was meant to be the end.

Maybe that´s why they introduced all those evolutions of popular Pokémon, which is at the same time my problem with it. These designs just weren´t very good.

I used to think Gen 5 was the last classic Gen as well, but I actually think it´s Gen 6. It is the last Gen to follow the old formula.

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Love how everyone can see this different. It also tells you Pokémon is at a good place. Gen 9 seems to be fairly popular.

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Yeah, this was mostly the case in Gen 8. I do think they made a step in the right direction with the last generation, both game-wise and Pokémon-wise, but one can only hope that Gen 10 will bring it back to the glory days.

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I don’t entirely disagree, I think it depends on how one defines it. In terms of how that Gen 6 dex carries the games then I’d absolutely say XY (not ORAS) was the last hurrah of what Pokemon used to be. The amount of new good Pokemon may be pitiful but the megas do a great job of shoring that up. And I will say that the good Pokemon in the Gen 6 dex are very well integrated into the games, the lore and the world building is there. In more ways than one I think you could call it the intermediate Gen.

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I used to be pretty critical about the games. Until recently. The last few games (especially Gen 8) have shown me that Gen 6 was actually not without it´s charm. It reminds me the most about a somewhat (or a lot) lesser Gen 2, with a cosy dex where a lot of the Pokémon aren´t great, but they do have that feel about them (examples are Spritzee and Slurpuff, not great Pokémon, but decent additions, showing the new typing that was introduced well.) Also, Tyrantrum isn´t great, but it´s still a tyrannosaur.

Edit; this was also the last time, and the first time since Gen 3 that I liked the legendaries.

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Let me put it this way, look at the OG sugimori reference art for the starter trio and pikachu, and compare it to the modernized versions. Totally different vibes. So I could say gen 1 is better than gen 6, but when they retcon designs, are we talking about the same gen 1? Just something I thought I’d bring up.

Much of the gen 2 dex was meant to be in gen 1. So for this reason I do think they go together, so there is that but I’ll separate them out.

  1. gen 2 johto
  2. gen 1 kanto
  3. gen 3 hoenn
  4. gen 4 sinnoh
  5. gen 6 kalos
  6. gen 5 unova
  7. gen 7 alola
  8. everything after equally cruddy

I remember feeling like gen 4 was the peak. They literally made God. it felt like the end. Lots of mythical pokemon. I even got the manaphy the original way. yes, I beat pokemon ranger for it. My list is kind of…expected. A general slow decline.

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Yeah, I heard that too. Just curious, do you know which designs were actually designed for Gen 2? Is it really just a handful, or is it more of a mix.

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not really sure. There is some deep lore stuff that shows some early gen 2 pokemon elsewhere in gen 1 artwork. Its mostly down to tech and time crunch. The weirdest one is actually a very very early version of Tirtuga in original gen 1 art.

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My uniformed opinion is after Gen 6 they based a lot of Pokemon designs around the name. For example, “Maushold” is mouse + household so they just stuck a couple generic cartoon mice together, gave one a pair of pants and called it a day.

Earlier generations really tried to make the Pokemon feel like actual organisms you’d encounter in the wild or mythological yokai. Newer generations are all about tying the design to the name and hoping people get the inside joke.

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19

Yeah, Mausehold does stick out. It could be argued that this is just the ´we weren´t serious´ Pokémon, but I see your point.

My biggest problem with the newer generations, starting in Gen 4, but becoming more every Gen (with, for me, the exception of Gen 6) is that the legendary Pokémon became less inspired, and just bigger, and the starter Pokémon became jokes (Gen 8, we pick a drummer, a soccer player and a spy. Nice).

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The starter Pokemon are some of the biggest offenders of this. From Gen 6 onward it became apparent the real-world allusion was more important than having an organic creature design.

Gen 6: Knight, Wizard, Ninja

Gen 7: Archer, Opera Singer, Wrestler

Gen 8: Drummer, Spy, Football (Soccer) Player

Gen 9: Magician, Carnival Dancer, Singer

Sadly, I don’t see them reverting from this model anytime soon. None of these are meme mons either, as they’re literally the faces of each new generation.

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