#44: Gliscor

Gliscor looks like it's a poisonous, vampire-like scorpion/bat thingy, but strangely enough it's ground/flying-type, having immunity to electric-type attacks (despite it being a flying-type) and ground-type attacks. That combination also takes away a weakness to rock and grass, but Gliscor is extra vulnerable to ice-type attacks. Thankfully, it has a very good attack stat and an even better defense stat, while also capable of taking a special-based hit. And because Gliscor is also quite zippy, it will strike first very often. Yeah, Gliscor is a great Pokémon to use in the video games, and I can say that due to my own experiences with Gliscor in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum. It's almost a wonder the goofy Gligar evolves into the vicious-looking Gliscor (by leveling it up at night while it's holding a Razor Fang), because Gligar is actually a lame Pokémon in my opinion. I don't like it that much, so I was surprised that Gamefreak actually came with an evolution of Gligar in the fourth generation. And it looks cool, too! Besides, even though I don't watch the anime anymore, Ash also had a Gliscor (see images below; click on them to enlarge, or drag them to other tabs), although its whereabouts are currently unknown. Too bad it was more like a cuddly, happy fellow often close to bursting into tears, or so it looks like according to Google Search. Well, maybe that has something charming, after all. Anyhow, Gliscor is a great Pokémon and therefore it deserves a spot in my list of favorite Pokémon!

#45: Druddigon

And there we have the first fifth generation Pokémon in my list of favorite Pokémon: Druddigon. Dragon-type Pokémon have been around since the first generation, with the Dratini evolution line strangely enough as the only first generation dragons. I can understand they haven't made Charizard a dragon-type, for it's one of the first starter Pokémon and dragons are quite overpowered, but Gyarados shouldn't have been made part flying-type. Anyway, throughout the five generations there have been strange dragons that don't even look like dragons (Altaria and Vibrava and Flygon, for example), but Druddigon looks more like your average old-fashioned dragon from the bedtime stories than any other dragon-type Pokémon, at least in my opinion (see image below for a picture of a heavily 'real-made' Druddigon; click on it to enlarge it, or drag it to another tab). That's exactly why I like Druddigon: it's so obviously clearly a dragon to see. And it looks vicious, too, although that does not really apply to Druddigon in the video games. It's got good attack, but it is really slow and it often gets hit first. Thankfully it has a good amount of defenses to back it up, so it's definitely capable of taking a hit twice or more. And if the offensive Pokémon uses a physical-based attack, Druddigon's ability Rough Skin triggers, doing damage even before Druddigon gets the chance to attack. A good combination of the right ability (it can also have Sheer Force, not a bad ability either), slow speed and high attack can make for a great Pokémon to add to your team. I've never used it before, but I can understand it's a good Pokémon. It's one of my favourite Pokémon because of its design, though. 

#46: Tyranitar

Yup, that's my previous 'thing for dinosaurs' coming up again, just like Rampardos at number 47: at number 46 in my list of favorite Pokémon you can find Tyranitar. It's probably useless to say it's based on a Tyrannosaurus rex ('tyrant lizard king', commonly abbreviated to T-rex), but for the ones who don't think that's obvious I'm saying it anyway. When Pokémon Gold and Silver came out, I caught myself a Larvitar, added it to my team (back then, my team consisted of only my high-level starter Pokémon and some useless HM slaves), raised it to a Tyranitar and swept the floor with the entire Elite 4 and the Champion again. Yeah, I was a real fan of Tyranitar, but now I think it's a real letdown you can only catch a Larvitar until after you've obtained 16 FREAKING BADGES!!! That's right, you have to finish the entire main storyline first! You can catch it in Mt. Silver, where the highest-leveled wild Pokémon reside (mid-40s), but Larvitar is low-leveled (late-10s). By the time you reach Mt. Silver, you have already completed the main storyline, so it's kind of useless to use a Tyranitar in your team, except when you want to crush the Elite 4 and the Champion over and over again (remember that the levels of their Pokémon won't change in the original Gold and Silver games). If that wasn't the case, Tyranitar would have ended up higher in my list of Pokémon, but it is still a strong Pokémon to use nonetheless. It has a great attack stat and it has good defenses as well. It's a little slow, but many strong Pokémon aren't that fast, anyway, so that shouldn't matter. So yeah, when I think back about the days I used only my starter Pokémon and Tyranitar to defeat the Elite 4 over and over again to raise my Pokémon up to level 100, I think Tyranitar deserves a spot in my list!

#47: Rampardos

When I was a kid, I had a thing for dinosaurs. In some way I found them terribly fascinating. Now I have other interests, of course (although my even bigger thing for Pokémon has never disappeared), but I guess even now my short-term obsession with dinosaurs has affected my taste in Pokémon. Rampardos looks like the hunchback of the Notre Dame, but it is a cool Pokémon all the way! It evolves from Cranidos, which is in turn revived from a Skull Fossil. Rampardos looks like it's going to smash into you with high speed, destroying everything in its way. That's probably why it is called Rampardos, like in 'rampage'. The 'high speed' part does not apply to Rampardos, though. In the video games it's quite slow (although not so slow that it doesn't outspeed some Pokémon out there) and its defenses are absolutely terrible. But guess what? Its attack is MONSTROUS!!! By the time level 50 is reached, some Rampardos already have an attack of above 200 (depending on its nature). That's absolutely fantastic! Also, give it a Quick Claw to hold and it will probably hit first around 70% of the time. You'll almost definitely knock the opponent Pokémon out in one hit, anyway. Rampardos is a great Pokémon to use in-game (heck, even its pre-evolution Cranidos is already very strong!), although you should watch out against Pokémon who want to take advantage of its weaknesses, because most of the time it is not capable of surviving that attack! Still, Rampardos is great, that's why it's positioned at number 47 in my list of favorite Pokémon. 

#48: Rhydon

Yup, at number 48 you can find the rhinoceros Pokémon Rhydon. At first, I didn't really like or dislike Rhydon; it was just an average Pokémon being there just for the sake of it. Then why the hell is Rhydon in this list? Because I found out it's the first Pokémon ever created, that's why! You'd expect the first Pokémon to be Bulbasaur or even Pikachu, but Rhydon was drawn up before any other Pokémon, even its pre-evolution Rhyhorn. According to interviews with Ken Sugimori, who always creates the official Pokémon artwork, Rhydon's index number in the game code is 001 in the first generation, precisely because it was the first coded in. There are also early sketches of Rhydon from Capsule Monsters, the conceptual predecessor of Pokémon (see image below; click on it to enlarge it, or drag it to another tab). How awesome is that?! Besides, in the video games it's quite strong, too. It has a ton of attack and defense, while having abominable special defense and special attack. The latter doesn't really matter, because Rhydon doesn't need that stat, anyway. But don't let it get hit by a special-based attack, because it will almost certainly get knocked out in an instant (except maybe when it is resistant to that attack). You'll find it to be difficult to avoid special-based attacks, anyway, because it's slow as tar and doesn't often get the first hit. I don't use it very often, but it is strong and it can have a diverse movepool, too, so it's not a bad Pokémon to use. I'll just stick with other Pokémon though, and let Rhydon be one of my favorites just because the whole Pokémon hype has begun with it.

#49: Golduck

On number 49 in my list of favorite Pokémon you can find one of the first 151 Pokémon: Golduck. One of the most intriguing things about Golduck is that it evolves from the wimpy Psyduck, a yellow duck with a constant headache, which is the reason why it's immobile and holding its head most of the time. When this headache becomes too severe, Psyduck releases tension in the form of psychic powers. Apparently the headaches disappear when it evolves into Golduck, but its psychic powers (sort of) remain. In fact, Golduck learns Confusion and Zen Headbutt by leveling up and it can learn both TM03 Psyshock and TM29 Psychic, as well as some psychic-type status moves. Moreover, it can learn Future Sight, Psybeam and Synchronoise as egg moves when it's breeding with another Pokémon. It's a curious thing that neither Psyduck nor Golduck are part psychic-type aside from their primary water-type. Still, I love Golduck. It is based on the Japanese mythical monster Kappa, with its shape, blue skin and webbed hands and feet. Generally, I like Pokémon that are based on mythical monsters very much, and Golduck is no exception. In the video games it's quite strong, too. Golduck's defenses are not that impressive, but it is capable of taking a hit. What Golduck really exceeds in, though, are special attack and speed. It's not zippy, but it outspeeds a lot of Pokémon in-game, and when you're giving Golduck a movepool of Psychic, Surf, Focus Blast and Ice Beam it can easily pull one of these moves off once or twice and then knock out a Pokémon. Aside from that it's movepool is diverse, too. So why do I love Golduck again? Because it looks cool, it's a great Pokémon to use in-game, it's based on a mythical monster and it's a first generation Pokémon. Yup, aside from Ditto I don't dislike any of the first 151 Pokémon. But Golduck is definitely one of my favorites. Big time. 

#50: Spheal

Oh yeah, the ball that should resemble a seal. I really wanted to add Spheal to my top 50, because it's just too cute to ignore. I mean, just look at it and tell me that you are not touched by that cute little ball! YOU CAN'T! The position in my list of favorite Pokémon is purely based on cuteness, though. It looks like it can be used for anything you need a ball for: soccer, basketball, bowling, pinball (which Gamefreak actually did in Pokémon Pinball Ruby & Sapphire) and bouncing around on a bouncing ball; you name it. That's just too adorable! I never really used it in the video games, especially because it's not very strong. It evolves into Sealeo and eventually in Walrein, but even Walrein is not a great Pokémon to use in-game, at least in my opinion. It is quite slow to begin with. Its defenses are not bad, however, but compared to any water starter Pokémon it's not really diverse. Its special attack stat is the best of all stats, but there are more water-type Pokémon who can learn Surf or Ice Beam and can pull it off way more easily than Walrein can. No, it's an alright Pokémon, but not one of my favorites: Spheal is! It's almost a shame Spheal loses its cuteness when it evolves into Sealeo, anyway. Gamefreak should have come with such a Pokémon much sooner! Yes, the 3rd generation may have been a letdown (most Pokémon I dislike come from the 3rd generation!), but they have done something right! And Spheal is not the only 3rd generation Pokémon in my list of favorite Pokémon; there are more to come! Oh yeah, definitely check out the picture of a plush Spheal below. Cute! I want one!

My top 50 favorite Pokémon

Hey guys! I am The Shiny Luxray and I started this blog because I really wanted to post my top 50 favorite Pokémon of all time on the Internet! Why? I've been a huge fan of Pokémon since it first came out in 1998, it's that simple. I collected cards from the official Trading Card Game, official video games for the Gameboy and Nintendo DS, stickers, pogs, stuffed Pokémon, action figures, etc. etc. etc. You name it. Nowadays, I only have the video games left, but they're also the kind of 'toys' I'll purchase. In October Pokémon X and Y will come out and I'm definitely going to buy both!

Of course there have been Pokémon I really liked or strongly disliked (or still like or dislike). I've made a top 50 of my favorite Pokémon, although it definitely wasn't easy! So, what's my top 50 based on? Well, design is the biggest factor: my top 50 is generally based on how awesome a Pokémon looks, although there are other factors, too. How long it takes to make a Pokémon evolve in the games, for example, or the way a particular Pokémon evolves, together with the strength of a Pokémon and my own experience with particular Pokémon throughout my 'journeys' in the games. Also, 6th generation Pokémon are not included yet. I'll make a new list when I'm completely used to those new Pokémon and when I know how they work out in battles!

I'll post one Pokémon in my top 50 every day if I can, so be sure to check out my blog daily! Enjoy! Oh yeah, keep in mind that you'll occasionally encounter two or three (or more) Pokémon on one particular position, like an evolution chain or something. It's a little useless to put Ponyta on #50 and Rapidash on #33 when I like them both, for example... Also, when I'm finished with my favorite Pokémon, I'll see if I can make a list with my least favorite Pokémon! That list will probably not be a top 50, though.