Pokémon has been a staple for Nintendo for almost as long as the company has been around, and Pikachu’s face and name recognition rivals or even surpasses Mario’s. Personally, I’ve been a Pokémon fan for my whole life, since I grew up with the series. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet recently provided a trailer revealing more from their upcoming title showcasing some of the new Pokémon as well as giving us a look at the new region.
I thought it would be a fun idea for those in this forum to play a little game of sorts. I’d like you all to list your Pokémon dream team. The rules are as follows, No legendary are allowed, and you may only select one starter Pokémon from the games. Lastly, if it wasn’t evident by the games, you may only have 6 Pokémon on your team. I’ll go first.
Oh, Pokemon has been my thing for as long as I can remember. While I did not play past generation four on the Nintendo DS, I still play Pokemon Go a lot.
I will stick with generations one through four because those are the Pokemon I am most familiar with in terms of competitive strategy and type coverage. While these my not be the most competitive teams here is what I think I would rock with that could help me win the most. I am not going to do abilities obviously because we will be here all day.
Starter- Charizard, the OG fire starter is always special to me, so I’d love to rock it.
Snorlax
Garchomp
Metagross
Walrein
Gardevoir
Feel like these might work well for a solid type of coverage team and with the right moves it can work well for me taking on the Elite Four and teams like that.
Also, since I love doing this I’ll post a few more lol.
Another team I think would be good for me is the following and I’ll explain why with each
Swampert, spent the most time on generation three battling and collecting Pokemon, and this was my starter of choice.
Houndoom- always had a thing for this Pokemon way back in the day, it was a fire-dark type and a dog that was so cool to me back then, so it holds a special place for me.
Luxray- before I got into generation four, I bought a Pokemon game for the Wii and Luxio was on my team, so I got attached to the Luxio evolutions and this was the final form.
Salamence- I remember you had to basically beat all eight gym leaders before you got the opportunity to catch a Bagon in generation three, so this made the Pokemon a meta of sorts. Love the shiny version too.
Sableye- Love the shiny version of this, and I have fond memories of using this Pokemon in generation three against a buddy of mine, and he could not beat it. The stats were nothing special, but in generation three, with no fairy typing, he could be a dominant one if used correctly.
Shedinja- this thing with one HP could do damage, but it was about using it correctly, again. When I was a little kid and the adult responsibilities yet to dawn on me, I studied these typing, abilities and items that could make my team better. While I did say to ignore that, this little bug wrecked.
I haven’t played (mainstream) pokemon for a while, and the last game I spent a lot of time in was Black and White (Gen V), so my picks are all from that or earlier.
I also tend to pick my favorites and just make them work regardless of viability haha - so this team isn’t related to meta or anything, it’s just a collection of pokemon I used a lot.
So, my party:
Serperior
Luxray
Liepard
Dragonair
Braviary
Gardevoir
I do like Charizard as well for a starter, but Serperior is slightly above for its design.
Luxray - I always have one on my team when I can!
Liepard is just cool to me and I used to like big cats as a kid (still do)
Dragonair - I love this design and never evolve it into Dragonite. I remember playing a lot of pokemon coliseum with this
Braviary is there because I always like to have some kind of “bird” on my team. From Gen V and backwards, it’s my favorite, although I also like Archeops a lot.
When I played Diamond and Pearl I spent a lot of time evolving a good Gardevoir!
Last game in the series I played was Moon, but to be honest I’ve always taken more of a liking towards the pokemon from earlier generations. Here goes my team:
Cyndaquil – I have 2 brothers who used to also play the game and I became the designated fire starter picker. I never really liked the concept of Charizard so much being a generic dragon looking monster who wasn’t even (as least originally) a dragon type. Plus Cyndaquil’s final form, Typhlosion, has a super cool name.
Dragonite – Yes, a generic looking dragon monster and I used to hate this one with a passion before. Generic looking, generic name (Dragonite, really?) so I went and just got one and made it my HM slave out of spite. But, because of its HM slave status it ended up being always on the team and soaking up so much EXP that it became somewhat of a pillar of my crew and saved me more than a couple of times. So it ended up being a permanent part of my lineup whenever it’s available in the current pokemon version I’m playing.
Drampa – It’s goofy looking thing, and nothing spectacular in moveset and stats, but its pokemon entry makes it out to be such a nice pokemon who cares for kids so I ended up really liking it.
Sirfetch’d – It’s a duck, with a lance.
Scizor – Scyther was one of my favorites in the original roster so Scizor has to be in my team whenever I can get it. I typically fill my roster with goofy pokemon so I need Scizor and Dragonite to bail me out when the goofsters fail.
Although, in many Pokémon tournaments, I’ve seen that they choose last generation Pokémon, I prefer these. I don’t see reliable any Pokémon from 4th or 5th generation onwards.
I believe that a great Pokemon team should cover all bases, so here’s my eclectic pick of favorites and practical choices:
Swampert. Every team has to have one fully-evolved starter Pokemon, and who better than the quick, electric-resistant mudfish king of Hoenn?
Alakazam. I cannot express how vicious my Kadabra was in FireRed. Single moves would make opposing Pokemon drop like flies. If I could evolve it, my Alakazam would be unstoppable.
Magnezone. Electric types are rare but are a must to combat the sheer volume of water Pokemon. This bulky dual-type will make quick work of the creatures of the sea.
Pidgeot. Every team needs a Pokemon that can fly, so why not the OG bird Pokemon that one can catch early and has excellent stats?
Lapras. Again, Lapras can primarily be used as an HM ■■■■■, but the ice typing and defensive stats will give Lapras more importance than just convenience.
Heracross. I love Heracross from a design standpoint, and he’s better than the average bug type.
I agree that the best teams need to cover all bases when it comes to weaknesses/super effective moves. But also, some are in my top 6 Pokemon team simply because of the nostalgia!
Feraligatr - Pokemon silver was the first Pokemon game I ever played. I chose Totodile on a whim as my starter and when I saw what it became when fully evolved I was not disappointed. An absolute beast in terms of attack and defence, and with a great choice of moves to boot.
Blaziken - Pokemon Sapphire is probably my favourite game of all time. When I first saw Blaziken, I knew I needed one in my party. Everyone needs a fire type!
Rayquaza - Another Gen 3 Pokemon, Rayquaza was my absolute favourite legendary. Dragon type moves are always good to have in your arsenal, but with special attack stats like Rayquaza’s, there’s not much that can stand up to it.
Heracross - I first came by Heracross in the Pokemon anime and instantly wanted one in my team. A Bug/Fighting type combination makes Heracross strong against Fighting, Ground, Bug, Grass & Dark types. Couple this with a high attack stat and Heracross is a valuable part of any team.
Snorlax - Do you want a Pokemon that can just lie there and absorb damage while you heal the rest of your team? You need a Snorlax. Enough Said.
Venusaur - I’m rounding off my team with a grass type. This way we can get rid of those pesky water types with ease. But also, I like to teach my Venusaur Earthquake, because that will get rid of any annoying Electric types that come in our path.
I’m sure there are better top 6 Pokemon lists out there, but this is what I’d choose for a balanced team (with a little bit of nostalgia thrown in!).
