What do you think is the generation with the best designs? Let me know below, and thanks for watching!

I watched a great video that points out an issue with pokemon starter desgins: "Starters now a days look more like characters than they do a fictional creature that lives in the wild." Could you imagine a pack of wild Cinderaces?

It’s wild seeing how gen 4 is like 50% hits and 50% pure misses

I think you nailed "over theming" as the biggest issue facing recent designs. Great video!

Personally, I really like the ambiguous, naturalistic design philosophy of generation 1. I really like how they feel like they feasibly could be real creatures while also not quite looking like any specific real animal. Generation 3 has some pretty great designs all around though, and even though their appearances oftentimes look too purposeful for my liking, they're still just really good designs at the end of the day.

Sinnoh's regional bird will forever be the best. I feel like the Starly line grows very believably from cute bird to weird transitional phase to straight up bird of prey. It perfectly rides the line between being animal enough that you could believe running into it in the wild yet outlandish enough to be a Pokémon. Staraptor will forever be the Bravest Bird

Hoenn is the best. Best starter designs. Best legendary designs. Everyone loves Rayquaza. We had Pokemon like Gardevoir, Milotic, Salamence, Metagross, Flygon, Altaria, Absol, Crobat, etc. No contest.

Even though I started pokemon from the beginning, Gen 3 has been my favourite in terms of designs. You've done a great job explaining why designs succeed or fail and I don't think I would've been able to pinpoint exactly why I like the ones I like myself. I'm kind of surprised how closely we agree with how generations are "ranked". For me, the pokemon themselves are what make or break a generation. Because if I don't like my team, then everything crumbles as it's largely the same game every time. Plus, great designs encourage players to use types they normally wouldn't have used before.

As a whole, I think Gen 2 appeals to me the most. I tend to gravitate towards simpler designs and don’t find those forgettable, as you said. I like the more natural colors you see a lot from Johto, too, like in the Sentret, Sunkern, and Swinub lines, to name a few. There’s a lot of browns, pinks, and subdued blues going around. I have favorites from every generation, though, and I fully agree with your statement near the end about how you’re bound to find favorites and least favorites from each gen 🌻

I like Gen 5. In terms of character designs, it’s lacking in some areas, but when every monster is cool and high-concept, then it saturates the roster, whereas picking the ones you think are the coolest adds more to the gameplay. The fresh new dex allowed for a more cohesive art direction amongst every creature you encounter, as opposed to previous generations where designs would conflict with each other, ultimately getting to be too much in Sinnoh. Gameplay-wise, Gen 5 is probably the best. Gym Leaders are actual characters and not just an obstacle to get to the next town. The removal of walking poison and TM consumption, among other QOL improvements, made for a more relaxing experience (imo, you should play a game to relieve stress, not create it). The postgame opening up a whole new side of the region is akin to Johto’s postgame in Kanto, and about the closest we could’ve gotten to it. The music in Gen 5 entirely is memorable and evokes emotion with those high notes. One of the things I argue in favor of the most for Gen 5 is battle animations. The classic and recognizable sprites were jumping around and gave life to each monster, and the second installment of Black and White only improved upon them (Emboar is a good example). However, in subsequent games, the 3D just makes everything more awkward, creating problems and moving farther down the uncanny valley and breaking the suspension of disbelief. The monsters sit still across from each other, and kick when they use Headbutt or yell when they punch. The franchise only got away with it because everyone was blown away by the new 3D models, whereas improving upon the 2D aesthetic of the previous games and even going for a 2D-3D hybrid a la Parapa the Rappa or DOOM could’ve made things more unique and made fewer issues to complain about. Alright, that’s my rant. If you read the whole thing, good job, I guess.

Generation 4: “They’re basically just cartoony animals.” Also Generation 4: “This is the generation where Pokémon became overdesigned”

I'll get hate for this but I'm a Generation 7 man all the way. In my opinion the Pokemon in Alola are so well integrated into the region. Moreover, I love how almost all of the Alolan Pokemon are more animalistic in design than anthropomorphic (Except InCENAroar).

4:25 I want to point out that that's actually a popular myth, but it's not actually true. There are no gen 2 Pokémon that were "carried over" from gen 1's development. That's a myth that came to be because of two reasons: one, because of how when you catch a MissingNo. in gen 1 and you attempt to trade it to a gen 2 game, it will in cases display as a gen 2 Pokémon from that game's perspective; and two, because Shigeki Morimoto once said in an interview that some Pokémon they cut from gen 1 were intended for gen 2 during development, but his words are often taken out of context. It's true that all MissingNo. in gen 1 are Pokémon that were cut during development, but because of the recent hacks to Nintendo's servers which leaked the source code of the Japanese Pokémon Blue, we now know what those cut Pokémon were meant to be, and it's all Pokémon that were never seen before. A couple of those were only briefly shown in Satoshi Tajiri's biographical manga which was released only in Japan in 2018. Some of those cut gen 1 Pokémon included a baby form of Ponyta, Meowth and Vulpix, along with a 3-stage Electric-type tiger Pokémon family. The same Nintendo hack leaked an extremely early, playable build of Pocket Monsters 2 (which eventually became Pokémon Gold and Silver), from a year after the release of Pokémon Red and Green in Japan. That build includes those cut baby forms from gen 1's development, as well as the electric tigers (now cut to a 2-stage family), along with Steelix and another huge batch of never-before-seen Pokémon in it. Tyranitar was actually added very late into gen 2's development, only months before Gold and Silver released in Japan, and it originally came from a drawing which was unrelated to Pokémon that Ken Sugimori made for a magazine. You can find all this information in The Cutting Room Floor website.

Imma say it right now, gen 2 overall FEELS the most Pokemon of them all, it felt like a genuine improvement of the series and even started the idea of adding more to previous Pokemon like baby forms and evolutions, we got Scizor from Scyther, Steelix from Onix, Crobat from Golbat, the fact that they were able to make these creatures feel like animals that would live in that world yet make them look so cool and and feel like an improvement both from a design perspective but even biological one shows me an amazing understanding and planning of collective designs ideas. Plus Lugia is such a technically simple design yet so appealing it mesmerises me to this day. An dthen you have the legendary beasts trio which a phenomenal achievement in "complex design made easy to look at". . Gen 3 is where I think they really got interested in making the designs have more "depth" other than just making the Pokemon animals or monsters. It makes perfect sense to say that gen 3 is potentially the best designed one, the variation in design is big, the concepts are nice, and a lot of them are very memorable. I personally don't find gen 3 that appealing but I do think it should take the cake. . I think you nailed gen 4, the too close approach of the design to a realistic animal makes it less fun to look at. Unlike gen 2 some of the deisgns chosen for the pokemons evolution did not feel like an improvment, I really don't find Rypherior to be a superior Rhydon, like I find Steelix to be a superior Onix, nor do I even find it an appealing design by itself. Weavile, Froslass, Mismagimus and Gliscor however do have that improved feeling to its previous forms . Going forward in the franchise I actually appreciate they are making more and more designs tied to the region, because its likely the games will not include every single Pokemon then, so the one who look more natural in their natural regions will be left behind. And personally even though that sucks, it does make sense since that's the way our world works, you cant find lions everywhere in the world but you can find cats. And because that logic exists in our world Im ok with Pokemon doing that as well. Plus I really don't mind not seeing a Pokemon like Stonehenger and Comfey in another region since they actually don't look that amazing kek

I'm happy someone finally mentioned that Electrode is a mimic, alongside some valid defense & criticism about the "object pokemon". They may be simple, but just because you dislike Vanillite doesn't mean you can ignore Grimer. One point I wished you brought up a bit more is the urban design philosophy used in Unova pokemon, because while you had criticisms over the designs, I feel the urban flavor of those pokemon give them a lot of character, and they're some of my favorites.

I really agree with your video. I thought that, out of all the pokemon generations, Hoenn had the best pokemon designs due to, well, just like what you said: balance. Keep it up, mate!

There is not a single bad design in gen 6 periodt. Even the oddball choices like Aromatisse and Klefki have merit in their designs. I don't care if this is controversial but XY *is* in the golden era of pokemon to me.

While I agree mostly with what you’re saying, I would argue that Gen 1 had just as many designs based off of real work clothing and items, as Gen 5. I mean sure, Tho and Sawk have Gi’s, and the Timburr lines have their beams, but we forget that Primape has boxing gloves, Hitmonchan has boxing gloves, Farfetched has its leek, Machoke has a wrestling belt, Hypno has it’s Yen in a string, and Mr. Mime was literally dressed like a mime. Gen 5 might have had a resurgence of Pokémon designed with items or outfits, but it definitely wasn’t where we started to see these concepts.

I don’t know how I found your channel, but I’m glad I did. The videos all have good production value and thought out behind them. I actually find myself looking forward to them. I’m just some random guy on the internet, but I hope to see more in the future. Keep it up.

I like to think that the reason that so many inanimate object pokemon exist in gen5 is because it takes place in unova aka NYC, which is, if I believe, the first real look into the more urban and lived in side of pokemon (in terms of world design at least). So it makes a little sense that there would be inanimate object pokemon in the region that is most the urbanized. Not that I think that gen5 has the best pokemon design, even though considering everything else its one of my favorite generations in general

Most of the pokemon on my favourite list come from Gen 5. So I have to go with Gen 5 imo

The time period should also be noted... Gen 1 was during a time when anime art was a little bit more rugged and sharp eyes were more popular... Also, if you think about it, I think having Pokemon from specific designs being in other regions would be fine. After all, the legendary Pokemon of Hoenn, which is based off of a place in Japan... is based off of Hebrew myth (for the most part at least). Because Pokemon is a unique world, even Pokemon that wouldn't fit for the real world would be fine in different regions...

imma say gen 8 have one of the best sets of pokemon, probably because it's very recent, and because of lockstin's vids, but still, i am very much liking every pokemon, even the galar forms

to be honest i think pokemon being very much like real world things is really interesting to the lore. like sawk and throh having karate gi as part of their body makes me think that in-universe that's where people got the idea to make them uniforms

I like the simplicity and natural feel of alot of the Gen 1 and 2 Pokemon, and the blended very well with each other. Picking up Gen 2 before ever playing the first, you may not know which Pokemon is from which gen, while now it’s very obvious which ones are from early gens. I feel like Gen 3, while not my favourite, just has a perfect mix between the simplicity and believability of Gen 1 and 2 and the wilder, almost over-designed look of the later gens.

For me, it's gen 3, and then 5 and then the rest are all about the same. Probably very biased though since Emerald was my first game.

Agree wholeheartedly about Gen 3. It's interesting how clear you can see the design philosophy of each gen when side by side comparing sprite/render sheets of each generation. Even when looking at Gen 3's sheet at a glance, it's clear how consistently appealing the design choices are. Things are soft and easy on the eyes (not too many details), but also just enough details and color to not be boring.

I love gen 2 the most! I think it has great pokemon and the best legendaries. But I do think the starters are mid-tier. Side note: I liked the blurry green and pink background, it could become your new signature look

I actually really like Gen 4's designs, though I'm probably biased since that was when I started playing Pokémon.

It should be noted Pokemon takes alot of inspiration from the Kaiju genre, like Godzilla and Ultraman. Heck, the basic concept of Pokemon is inspired by Ultraseven's capsule monsters. So, the "rugged dinosaur look" Gen 1 had is probably a result of this influence.

Totally agree with your verdict! Hoenn is very consistent imo, and I think the starters exemplify that - all of them are great and unique from one another! Personally I really like the Kalos and Alola designs too :)

I don't think "believability" is really a problem for a world with a living alphabet and a rat are classified as the same thing if jinx can be a Pokemon I'll believe anything can be a Pokemon

Really great video with an interesting topic, cool editing, and a VERY cool person! Thanks for the content, keep it up, and can't wait for that big project!

I think the last 3 gens being based on specific places is good because they feel more real like real places and have Pokémon designs that complement that. But I do miss those designs that could exist on their own like Garchomp or and water type from Gen 3.

am i the only person that thinks the vanilite line is really cute 🥺

Woah, only 2.7k? I hope you persist until the algorithm favors you, you’re good at this!

Gen 1 + 2 together are fucking chef kiss. The watercolours helped, I think.

I clciked on this video hoping for gen 3 and I was not disappointed

What I don't think you talked about enough in Gen 2's designs is that it all feels like a natural extension of Gen 1. Gen 2 was really a sequel, not a soft reboot like almost every generation afterwards, so their designs and mechanics were bigger and better. Wobbuffet and Steelix are the first ones to come to mind, as one is a gimmick who just feels like "wow, that's a cool idea for a Pokemon!" and the other is a *literally* upgraded version of previously super weak Pokemon who was entirely designed around being an early boss (a design quirk with the early games I kind of wish they brought back).

Personally my favourite gen in terms of designs is gen 8.idk really i just really like all designs and only hate 1 design

personally my favorite generation of designs is gen 7! i think that the shape design and bright colors they used meld really well with alola’s inspiration of hawaii, even the few pokemon I don’t like I can appreciate for not being boring and being campy

Gen 5 easily has the best designs imo, with gen 6 coming close to second. Just wish there were more of them in gen 6, if they continued to make more for it then it might’ve taken over gen 5 for me design-wise.

Haven't watched yet but to me it's gen 5. Bring it on.

I love gen 5. There's so many creative and unique designs due to the exaggerated proportions. However, I do feel Johto designs are underappreciated. The plain look makes it feel like a down to earth region. I can see myself living there pretty easily. It also feels so homely and organic? IDK but the gen 2 designs simplicity really gets me

I personally like mons based on their concept as well as execution, so it's gen 7 for me. It introduced things like a yeti crab that's literally a yeti, a giant, unified school of fish, some awesome legendaries, a diving bell spider that uses its bubble like a little helmet, the ultra beasts, *long exeggutor*, etc.

Here's an idea for stonjourner, maybe it could have regional forms that resemble historic monuments from the place the region is based on

gen 8 is literally the only generation where 99% of designs are absolutely terrible imo

I love your analysis. A suggestion for future videos: bulbapedia has a section named "User:Altruis/List of Pokémon by their designers". In this section, there is a list of Game Freak designers and the Pokemon each designer did. I'm highly curious to understand the differences in the style of each designer. By the way, Atsuko Nishida is the best designer, in my opinion. Judging by her creations, she is brilliant and creative.

oh yeah gen3 is my favorite by far. the designs just seem so genuine and not over or under complicated.

I completely agree! Rank wise Gen 3 just has it all. 3>4>7>8>2>1>6>5

Personally I prefer gen 4. It's has by far the most high tier designs for me and only 1line I would rate with the lowest possible score (that being wormadam and burmy). Gen 3 is a decent choice though. It doesn't hit nearly as many highs for me personally but it's also the only gen I don't have an F tier Mon for which is quite impressive.

I liked what you said that some designs in gen 1 are supposed to represent certain JRPG gimmicks, i didn't knew that. Gen 3 certainly has the best design philosophy, and they match pretty well the simplicity and complexity that i like from pokémon. I personally like gen 2 and some of their gen 4 evolutions.

Pokemon, a series where nostalgia is running wild.

This is the second video of yours that I watched and I can't not subscribe. And then I looked at your sub count... WHAT THE HELL MAN? You're so underrated! Also I really like how you moved the sponsorship at the end. Really shows how you value your viewers' time

That's something I never really thought about to be honest. Gen 1 and the earlier generations had designs that combined lots of different animals or philosophies or whatnot, and when compared to newer genes, seem so much more colourful and creative when compared to, say, a Yamper or a Yungoos. I only now just realised how much I missed the designs of the earlier generations. Whenever I look at a newer generations pokemon, I feel as though they're actual animals, with maybe some special powers or some weird aspect, not Pokemon. Of course this is just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

Great video! You took a close look at every generation's design and explained your reasoning very well! I think I agree, that Gen 3 has the overall best roster of Pokemon in terms of design. I am a child of Gen 4, however the things I dislike about the Gen 4 designs nowadays are the things that later went on to become more prominent in Pokemon designs: the more saturated, cartoony colors, less detail in the design (e.g. the screw on Magnezone's head, the rose-hands of Roserade, the pattern on Lickilicky's belly) and more rounded shapes. I really miss the more "naturalistic"/detailed look from Generations 1-3 :(. The second thing I dislike about some of the new designs (especially Gen 5 onward) are the extreme proportions. Look at Nickit for example, and compare it to Vulpix. The contrast is insane! My third complaint about some of the new Pokemon is, as you said, how many of them are heavily tied to the region they come from. I am already not the biggest fan of heavily themed regions, because such a theme restricts the creativity greatly. And the designs play into that. Why do we need a cup-of-tea Pokemon? Or a Stonehenge stone with a face on it that could have been drawn by a one year old? Overall., I personally dislike the new art style and the new trends.

This is some quality content.

this is the best recommended video on youtube. my opinion and thought process is 100% exactly in line with this video haha

This is my opinion please don't be angry Gen 1: simple yet effective designs Gen 2: the worst one. Least memorable monsters Gen 3: pretty good overall Gen 4; just ok. Some are amazing like garchomp and gliscor but some are like you said, just animals with a pokemon flair to them Gen 5: most inconsistent one there's tons of pokemon that i really like but some are just straight up garbage and uninspired. Doesn't help that some them are just rehashes of gen 1 pokes. A lot of the pokemon also felt like filler just to bloat the region's pokedex Gen 6: least amount of new Pokemon but honestly has the best designs in any of the regions. Almost every pokemon are great Gen 7: pretty good though incineroar is a bit...iffy Gen 8: second best region in terms of pokemon design

Personally I feel like gen 3 has the most consistent designs. I don't particularly hate any of them. if I have to rank all of them it would be: 3>5>7>4>6>8=1>2

I really do love the gen 1, 2, 3 and 4 designs because I see pokemon as animals and things that could actually exist in nature first. If a pokemon seems so extravagant that it doesn't make sense for it to exist anywhere besides the region it was created for then it is not a good design. It is why i love designs like golisopod, pyukumuku, pinurchin, and corviknight in later gens because i could see a pyukumuku being somewhere besides alola unlike that alcremie. Never liked the mimic idea though for pokemon like voltorb, grimer, magnemite, etc but magnezone does look cool.

I never knew Tyranitar/steelix etc were spare designs from gen 1. That explains a lot. I really like these pokemon and they stand out in gen 2 that otherwise feels like rotund and cute filler. My favorites are gen 1 and 3.

I think it’s really interesting that while going through this i disagreed with almost EVERYTHING, it just shows how subjective art and design are and i think it’s pretty cool that even though i disagree i can still see the points and i bet if i made my case for my favourites you could see mine as well:

definitely Gen1-Gen 4 but mainly 2. That's when the franchise had the finest mix of natural world feeling yet fantastic that fit together while having variety. After that the making the pokemon extra cute and smooth really gave them a unpleasant too artificial feel. Like You can tell it's designed for the merch like you can't put the newer stuff next to the old and say it belongs in the same world as the post gen 4 pokemon seem like they would be more at home in the Yo-kai Watch universe.

The cuteness of Gen 2 is a direct result of Game Freak working to capture the female market. Pokemania was definitely a boys’ phenomenon, but they have done a great job growing the appeal over the years.

What trailer was in the beginning? It looks newer but I’ve never seen it before.

I hope this video blows up

Wait... someone ACTUALLY analized Pokemon designs? Thank gods, I was getting tired of people just mentioning their favorites or talking shit. This video rocks!!! ♥♥♥

"Angry dinosaur eyes" lmfao

I'm happy to hear what I wasn't able to elaborate myself about my fav generation. Yet, I think that gen 7 differs from gen 6 and 8 in that the main focus is nature. Gen 7 aesthetic is described as really simple, with geometrical shapes and no sharp lines. Yet, if you look closely, the design are actually really elaborated, every detail merge organically with the general outline and striking colors help to read the design. To me, it's the same kind of balance seen in gen 3, and the ultra-beasts is the edge of this opus. It matches the atmosphere of the episode ( harmony with nature ), and the new gimmick ( variant forms that adapted to different biome ). Gen 6 and 8 are way too inspired by manufactured things, pokemon are conceived as characters with a solid concept and backstory, that eventually stifle the feeling of naturalness.

I've played since gen 1 and hoenn's Pokemon have always been my favorite.

Gen5 got alot of hate for "copying" older gens such as Bouffalant vs. Tauros, Jellicent vs. Tentacruel, Garbodor vs. Muk...but it never bothered me because there are many species of hooved animals and jellyfish. The entire gen was heavily criticized for "running out of ideas" Which is ironic because now the newer games feature regional variants, which if anything further supports the idea that Pokemon is running out of ideas

I think gen 6 has the best simply because there are very little universally hated designs. Gen 7 had the most creative designs though, especially with ultra beasts.

Well, I have bad opinions really cuz Incineroar is my fav Pokémon ever. He was my first starter and for some reason, I just like his design. He’s VERY expressive and emotes ALOT which makes me feel like he has a good design, but I know plenty of people who absolutely hate his design for many reasons (mostly cuz bipedal). I actually liked him before smash, and he was charming, like I feel most of Alola was (HOT TAKE IG)

This was one of the best Pokémon videos I’ve watched

Gen 1-2: Simple and appealing Gen 3-4: Dynamic with personality Gen 5-6: Odd but familiar Gen 7: Pastel yet vibrant Gen 8: literally too much going on, what are these designs? colors are too bright, unnecessary added details yet they some look dull but atleast kinda cute

I think generation 2 is by far the best set of games, but I find your analysis to be completely spot on. The pokemon designs in gen 3 are just unparalleled in finding that perfect sweet spot.

Good video, dude... Props 🤙🏽

You know what, I pretty much agree with you on every assessment here. That's a weird experience for something as devisive as pokemon designs.

Gen 3 had the best designs. I liked how 90% of all the pokemon looked that generation.

I have never in my life encountered anyone who thinks Xatu's design is intimidating... Is that what they were thinking when designing it? they royally screwed that up if so

These points are great and really well thought out. Amazing video :)

4:07 shit that's the freakin Rune Bear... don't mess with it.

Gen 1 and gen 2 are my favorites

I agree 150% with your final verdict and have been saying this for years.

Before watching the video. The best for me is 3 and 5's design. Edit: Yep. 3 is very balanced.

ngl I look back at pre-gen 5 mons sometimes and I just laugh at how they don't even feel like the same series anymore.

Gen 4 has the best pokemon designs!!!! Change my mind

THIS was the video I’ve been waiting to be made for years now by Pokétubers. I did hear a couple opinions taken from another channel, I.e, the “dinosaur eyes” and Gen 2’s ring obsession, but overall excellent job well done!

Gen 4. Gen 6 almost wins for Sylveon alone. But for me, gen 4.

Your final verdict actually does make perfect sense! Gen 3 really is the ideal balance between excellent designs full of personality, real world inspirations, and being believable organic animals in the wild! It's hard to think of any badly designed Pokémon in Gen 3!

Woah, I REALLY appreciate the level of analysis displayed here

I think the best designed generation is the first one you experience... For me, gen 1 - because playing the game all the monsters had a believable reason for being there, even the weird inanimate ones like voltorb etc.

2 and 5 will always be the best to me. It's hard to find anything to enjoy as a gen 2 lover. It's even harder when I look for something on gen 5 when I can't find gen 2.

Even though my favorite generation overall is gen 5, I think the generation with the overall best designs was 3 for sure.

Gen 5 will always have a place in my heart, it had the right mix of cutesy and tough looking pokemon, they weren't too over designed, even though this gen had alot of inanimate object pokemon they were still pretty quirky, also the gym leaders and elite four had such great aesthetics, Unova's just great and for me will always be great

I joined around Gen2 and was only “aware” of what I was playing come Gen3. There are still some Ge2/Gen3 pokemon I mix up 😅

Great video!

I agree with your veredict, but the thing is, the playtime on Gen 4 is abysmal compared with Gen 3, so people who played both would probably like most Gen 4 rather than 3 due to overexposure and extra work on sprites. Not to count most of gen 4 pokemon having 2 evolutions is a big difference for some (like me), and since you end up with cool pokes and NPCs also have cool pokes in the end-game getting rid of burmys and stuff, it's like if Gamefreak said "You know what, let's give everyone Toxicroaks and Stunktanks and make a cool game". Also, idk man, I played Pokemon yellow in my childhood and it's feels really weird to me to see the models in Pokemon Red and Blue, even though I've tried playing them

In my opinion over-themeing is not actually a bad thing as, irl a lot of species are primarily found in 1 specific area and so if a pokemom fits in to an area too well and can no longer be imagined in a different environment I think, yes it is bad for putting it in another region but not all creatures need to be in every environment or region.