To kick off the list we've got the Grass/Fighting type Breloom. Introduced in Ruby/Sapphire. I love how it looks. It looks like a mushroom with cute little red arms and feet. But what truly makes me like this Pokemon is its usability in battle, especially in competitive multiplayer. It's a very unique and very powerful Pokemon. It's standard that Breloom puts guys to sleep with Spore, and he sets up Substitutes and follows up with Focus Punch. The last move is optional, some folks go with Leech Seed, others Stone Edge. Maybe an elemental punch. But in my opinion, Seed Bomb is the way to go.

Scratching the top of the list is Kabutops. Water/Rock type, introduced in Red/Blue. This was one of the rare Fossil Pokemon from the original game. There was only one of these in the game, and you could pick only one fossil. Let me tell you, if you picked the Helix Fossil, you're stuck with Omastar lol, sucks to be you. But if you picked the Dome Fossil, you're the man. You've got the insanely fast (even faster if it gets to use its its ability Swift Swim), insanely powerful physical sweeper Kabutops. Plus he just looks cool, look at those blades.

At number 8 we've got the Steel/Flying type Skarmory, introduced in Gold/Silver. This guy's just cool; look at him. He's got red wings. His cry's cool. And he's an awesome Steel type - a freakin physical tank if I've ever seen one, can set up Spikes, can heal with Roost, and more. He's undeniably cool and I just couldn't leave him out.

That's right, it's a Pokemon introduced in the brand new Black/White, the Fire/Bug type Volcarona. I fell in love with this Pokemon, and I'll tell you why. First, he looks awesome. Second, he's got my two favorite types. But third and most important, he's completely broken in-game.

Here's the deal: he's got a move called Butterfly Dance, which raises its Special Attack, Special Defense and Speed. You catch this guy at level 70. So what you do is, you go fight the Elite Four Rematch, where all their Pokemon are level 72-77. You send out Volcarona. Use Butterfly Dance six times. Then Bug Buzz/Flamethrower and sweep. I beat the Elite Four, the Champion, Cynthia and the Game Freak dude using only one untrained Pokemon. I am dead serious.

The Fire/Flying type Charizard is just classic. Everybody knows Charizard. He was introduced in Red/Blue and he's the final evolution of one of the starter Pokemon. When I first played Blue, I picked Charmander. So Charizard's nostalgia factor on me is huge. On FireRed, I picked him again. He also just looks awesome and he's got a cool type (thanks to his Flying sub-type, he gets 4x weakness to Rock, but he also gains immunity to Ground, a type he'd otherwise be weak to) I just really like Charizard, but not quite enough to make it into the top 5.

The Fighting type Machamp, introduced in Red/Blue, is not a Pokemon I tend to use much anymore, neither in-game nor in multiplayer, and he's definitely not the most amazing Pokemon. But I've got a special bond with it, one no other Pokemon can take and one that makes it get a spot this low on the list. It's simple: Machamp was the first Pokemon I ever saw. A defining moment, that was. This kid in school had a Machamp Pokemon card. It caught my eye because he looked like Goro. So I asked what it was, and soon after I was introduced to Pokemon; the trading card game (which I never liked, but I played it on occasion), the anime, the video games. I never looked back.

Gengar was introduced in Red/Blue, and at the time, it and its pre-evolutions were the only Ghost types in the entire game. They are also part Poison, though, meaning there was no pure Ghost type until Misdreavus was introduced in Gold/Silver. You can't deny Gengar looks badass, you just can't. He's also an awesome special attacker, he loses his weakness to ground thanks to Levitate, and he's got a very versatile move-pool, there's tons of different, unique Gengar sets in competitive battling. My personal favorite is Destiny Bond Gengar.

Alright, we're getting pretty close to the end, with Scizor at number 3. If you're remotely familiar with Pokemon, I'm sure you know Scizor, he's pretty damn popular, because of its looks and its mad skills in competitive play. Scizor was introduced in Gold/Silver as a new evolution to the older Pokemon Scyther, and is Bug/Steel type.

We've already established that Scizor looks awesome, there's not much I can say to explain that. Just look at him. He's freakin' red. But, I also want you to understand this: he's got an ability called Technician which makes moves with 60 base power or less increase in damage. He's got Bug Bite, which is powered up by STAB and Technician. He's got Bullet Punch which also gains those two advantages, plus is a priority move (always goes first). He's got Brick Break, Superpower, Swords Dance, Roost, Pursuit, U-Turn, I mean, Jesus. Scizor kicks ass.

I can almost taste the number 1 spot. But first, we have to savor the number 2 spot, which is taken by Electivire, the Electric evolution of Electabuzz, introduced in Diamond/Pearl (Electabuzz was introduced in Red/Blue). I've used an Electivire in all my Pokemon playthroughs since Diamond back in April of 2007 (except the games where it wasn't available yet, of course). Electivire is a beast, his ability Motor Drive makes it raise its speed (and not take any damage) if he's hit by an Electric attack. He's an awesome physical sweeper too, gaining access to the elemental punches, Swords Dance, Earthquake, Cross Chop, and more. Love him. But not quite as much as...

Heracross. Bug/Fighting. Gold/Silver. Hell yeah. I loved it since the first time I saw him, and he's remained my favorite Pokemon bar-none for a long time now. Ash used one, but I don't even care. He looks so awesome, so cute yet so powerful-looking at the same time. He's a blue beetle! He's got cute eyes and a badass looking horn! Perfect.

But, looks aside, let me explain something about Heracross. He's got awesome Speed, awesome HP, amazing Attack, pretty good Special Defense and decent defense. His Special Attack stat sucks, but who cares? You won't be using it. The insanely powerful moves Close Combat and Megahorn get even more power thanks to STAB on him. His ability Guts makes him boost his Attack if there's a status problem (burn, paralyze, poison). If you equip a Flame Orb on Heracross, you make him burn on purpose, boosting his Attack stat. A Toxic Orb makes him even more powerful, but will make him die much quicker (unless you keep switching, which isn't convenient). It's your call.

You can also give him the move Facade, a 70 base power Normal-type move whose power is doubled if there's a status problem. So, if you use Facade on a burned/poisoned Heracross, you've got a 140 base power move, with even more power thanks to Guts. If you use one or two Swords Dances, you pretty much won. Heracross has three weaknesses: Psychic, Fire and Flying. He can use the moves Megahorn, Earthquake and Stone Edge respectively. Problem solved. It sucks that he's Borderline now instead of Overused, but I don't even care. He kicks ass and is easily my favorite Pokemon of all.