Old Faithful: My Ultimate Pokémon Team

It is easy to label the Pokémon series as a basic turn-based RPG due to its seemingly simple turn-based combat, but longtime fans of the series know that it is the creatures themselves that add the most appeal, offering more party composition options than any other RPG on the market. Each new game brings with it 100-150 new Pokémon to learn and master, bringing us up to a grand total of 649 after the release of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. I’m excited to see what new creatures Pokémon X and Y will bring, but I can’t help but hope to find some of my old favorites as well. Here are a few of my MVPs, Pokémon that I can always count on to make my team great.

#257 Blaziken, the Blaze Pokémon

Even though I picked the Water starter Mudkip for my first play through of Pokémon Sapphire, I wised up the second time around and picked the plucky fire bird known as Torchic and haven’t looked back since. Looking at my Torchic then, I would have never guessed she would evolve into a humanoid bird martial art master that would lead my team of six to victory over the Elite Four over and over again. Although Blaziken’s Fire/Fighting typing does open her up to a number of common weaknesses, she has access to a large variety of attack types to counter with, including Fire, Fighting, Flying, Normal, and even Rock and Ground. It was this wide variety of moves that eventually allowed my Blaziken to take down the Elite Four single-handedly.

Signature Move: Sky Uppercut

Although Blaze Kick might seem like the more appropriate choice for Blaziken’s signature move (it is the first move you learn after evolving), my personal favorite move is Sky Uppercut. The mental image of my Blaziken sending an enemy skyward Shoryuken-style is just too cool to pass up.

#249 Lugia, the Diving Pokémon

I considered keeping legendaries off this list simply because they are usually the strongest Pokémon available, so of course I would want them on my team. But when I really thought about it, I knew there was only one legendary that I had to have: Lugia, the Guardian of the Seas. Not only is Lugia the subject of the best Pokémon movie, but also my favorite Pokémon game, SoulSilver. Lugia appears to be some kind of prehistoric bird with the skin and features of a shark, which would make sense since Lugia is equally comfortable in the water and sky. Even though Lugia’s typing is Psychic/Flying, he can learn a number of Water and Ice moves to combat all kinds of opponents. On top of that, Lugia is extremely bulky with huge defense stats, making him very hard to defeat. No doubt that Lugia was one of the main reasons I was able to beat the Elite Four in Pokémon Silver, and will definitely be the cause of many more victories down the road.

Signature Move: Aeroblast

As the only Pokémon in the entire series who can learn it, Lugia’s signature move has to be Aeroblast. Even though it only has five uses, each one will count, packing 100 power with a Flying STAB (same-type attack bonus) and a higher than average chance to be a critical hit. Even if you aren’t a Bug, Grass, or Fighting type you do not want to be on the receiving end of this legendary attack.

#214 Heracross, the Single Horn Pokémon

When I first saw Heracross, I figured he was an evolution to the similar looking Generation I Pokémon, Pinsir. They were both bipedal bugs, they both had claws, and they both had giant horns on their heads. But then I saw him in action and it was clear that Heracross could stand on his own merits. Like Blaziken, Heracross’s typing opens him up to quite a few weaknesses, including a painful 4x weakness to Flying. He makes up for these problems by being extremely strong, and having an awesome moveset, but none of that really matters when you are as cool as Heracross. He’s a giant blue beetle that does karate! Everything about him screams “must have.”

Signature Move: Megahorn

Heracross does have a lot of cool moves, but when it comes to the best one it has to be Megahorn. He has a horn on his head that is nearly as long as his body, and you better believe he is gonna use it to do some serious damage. 120 physical damage with a Bug STAB? That’ll do Heracross, that’ll do.

Pages: 1 2