So by chance, I managed to stumble across a survey from a few years ago, where someone on Reddit posted several surveys pertaining to each mainline game, and asked participants to answer which Pokemon they used in their in-game playthroughs of each mainline game in each region. A link to the thread in question is here. Anyway, the results shown here were pretty interesting, and credit to BLourenco on Reddit for doing this survey so long ago. Since this survey was conducted a long time ago, there's no data for Galar and Sword and Shield, of course, but the results are nonetheless still relevant as they cover the vast majority of the mainline games that have taken place so far, and are very interesting to look at.
The raw results were recorded in this spreadsheet, and they neatly labeled the top/botton 10 used Pokemon in each region in this.
Anyway, excluding the starters, which naturally got high placements in these lists, let's look at a rundown of each of the Pokemon in terms of usage based on these stats and see what we can cull from them:
KANTO
Starters:
If the general hard promoting of Charizard is any indication, Charmander was by far the most popular pick of the three starters, likely because it has so much surface level appeal despite Kanto being horrendously unkind to Charizard (and it's by far the worst of the three in terms of practicality in an RBY playthrough). Oddly enough, despite Bulbasaur being great and a better team pick in RBY than Charmander, it was the least picked of the three, again, likely because it has less surface appeal than the other two (ie it's less "cool"). Don't worry though, Bulbasaur, you'll always be my favorite xD.
Top 10 Team Picks:
The Top 10 Kanto Pokemon used on an in-game playthrough as per this survey. Some rundowns:
- Pidgeot takes the cake as THE most used Pokemon based on the participants who were in this survey years ago. While it's far from the best Pokemon, being an early route Flying-type and being one of Ash's more iconic Pokemon made it a veritable pick for people to immediately pick early on, plus it's an easy Pokemon to give the HM Fly with.
- Nidoking takes the runner-up, and it's a well known powerhouse in RBY, being able to be obtained as Nidoran early, it can evolve all the way very early on, and has incredible power, Thrash early on, and later it can be fed powerful TMs like Earthquake, Thunderbolt, Surf, Blizzard, Fire Blast, you name it, and carry you through coverage. It's also just hella cool, which an even more attractive factor.
- The rest going down the list are some interesting picks: Gyarados and Dragonite being on the list is quite the standout, considering the considerable grind you have to do to get them to evolve all the way through, even though they're incredibly strong. Although I admit, the Magikarp Salesman giving you a Magikarp for a fee is something where investing in it will reward a player handsomely.
- I think it's quite clear a lot of these have surface level appeal or are easy to get: Jolteon+Vaporeon and Lapras are gift Pokemon, and Snorlax is a mandatory encounter to get by while also being a good Pokemon which means it's an attractive catch. Eevee is popular and Jolteon and Vaporeon are the two most desired of the OG three: sadly Flareon is way behind them, seemed it was already below them by a noticeable margin even from the very beginning.
- Arcanine among these is certainly an interesting pick.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
The Bottom 10 least used Pokemon in any of the Kanto games from this survey.
- A common trend is that many of these Pokemon are (or were) single-stage Pokemon.
- There are at least three commonalities with all of these Pokemon: they are at least one of: extremely rare spawns or hard to get (Chansey/Pinsir), are visually and aesthetically unappealing, and battle wise they just plain suck. The exceptions to these are arguably Chansey and maybe Pinsir, but in general those two are hard to catch and hard to find being in the Safari Zone, and given how that worked at the time that was incredibly finicky.
- The rest are pretty terrible battle wise. Arbok and Weezing being down there is a big disgrace to Jessie and James though LMAO.
JOHTO
Starters:
The order of the Johto starters' popularity when it comes to in-game is unsurprisingly the same as that of the Kanto starters in their own game, lmao. Though this time it's arguably more justifiable: Typhlosion is an absolute boss both in terms of appeal and in battle, and in GSC given the scarcity of Fire-types, a good one like Typhlosion is all the better, and in Johto it is an absolute beast. Feraligatr, like Typhlosion, is also a Pokemon that can just clean through stuff in its path just like Typhlosion. Meganium unfortunately scores last because well...it unfortunately is in a game that is horribly unfavorable to it, and it's primarily defensive/support oriented, which is unappealing for a starter. This shows as Meganium is substantially behind, with only 325 people having used it as opposed to Typhlosion at 660 people and Feraligatr at 562 people having used it.
Top 10 Team Picks:
Let's run down GSC and HGSS's popular team picks!
- Ampharos being there is likely explainable by three factors. First, it's cute, which makes it likable. Its pre-evolutions are also adorable. The second is that it's a new Pokemon of Gen 2 that's obtained quite early on, right after the first gym in GSC and right before that in HGSS. The third is that it's a three-stage Pokemon, and it's a good Pokemon. Being an Electric-type, it also covers Water-types for Typhlosion and Flying-types for Meganium quite well, and it has Thunder Wave, already giving it a lot of team usefulness.
- Gyarados is a runner-up, and I believe this is primarily people catching and using the infamous Red Gyarados. Given how readily available Red Gyarados is for an in-game runthrough and it being a required encounter not unlike RBY Snorlax, it's an easy pick for a team especially when you can get it at such a high level for the point of the game you see it in. Crobat being here is also nice, but given it was a new evolution to an otherwise obnoxious Pokemon, and turned it into a good Pokemon, I imagine that drew a lot of people into using it.
- Tyranitar being so high is really odd though: Larvitar is not obtainable until post-post game in GSC and really only is available before Red, and needs a hellishly long grind to reach its full potential. I would assume this is either a popularity vote as people like it, or this is HGSS where it can be obtained earlier, or people truly were this committed to getting a Tyranitar even that late in the game.
- Espeon and Umbreon being the new Eeveelutions gave them tons of novelty value, especially with Eevee being yet again a gift Pokemon. Umbreon doesn't hit hard but it's a Dark-type which is pretty rare in Johto.
- Heracross is a great and cool Pokemon, and Pidgeot/Noctowl fulfill the traditional regional bird.
- Togetic is also close in, most likely because Togepi is iconic (Hi Misty!), and you get a Togepi from an egg canonically as part of the adventure. Granted, Togetic unfortunately isn't great, but it's popular.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
The Bottom 10 GSC/HGSS team picks
- Oddly mostly identitcal to those of the Kanto games. Seaking, Ditto, and Farfetch'd all suck so naturally they're here.
- Mr. Mime, Lickitung, and Tangela are all pretty bad in GSC too, but not even having evolutions in HGSS helped them at all in terms of usage, despite Lickilicky and Tangrowth being functionally decent Pokemon: I guess their availability meant they came too late to be of use or people just didn't like their designs.
- Delibird is a terrible gimmick and I think everyone knew this even back then, so it being in the bottom 10 is no surprise.
- Parasect and Venomoth now take the Bottom 10 least used picks.
HOENN
Starters:
An inversion of old trends, where the Grass starter gets a little bit more use than the Fire starter this time around, but even so, based on the survey the results were pretty damn close: Swampert at 619, Sceptile at 603, and Blaziken at 588. Really goes to show how GOATed Hoenn's starters are when there's a close call between all three of them
. That said, Blaziken being the least used of the three is a little surprising given Game Freak's favoritism towards it from the very beginning, seeing as how Blaziken was the one of the three who was shown off before RS released, and it got a Mega in XY which led into ORAS.
Top 10 Team Picks:
Hoenn's most popular picks, based on the survey I am reviewing here.
- Gardevoir takes the lead. It's a natural fan favorite, but it's obtained super early and even though it's so, so bad early on, the payoff is tremendous, making Gardevoir an absolute gem of a Pokemon and a quintessential member of many Hoenn teams, and everyone loves Gardevoir so there's that. Its rarity combined with Wally showing it off early on adds to its appeal, and it's a great Pokemon for any in-game playthrough.
- I'm surprised Aggron is this high, I didn't really figure Aggron was this popular. It's a good Pokemon but I certainly wasn't expecting it to be so commonly used on Hoenn teams. Aron is certainly cute though, and the progression from it to Aggron is beautiful.
- Flygon is a close runner-up given how iconic it is, and it's a Ground-type *and* a Dragon-type that is available pretty early on, which is why it's likely this high. Plus it's just a cool Pokemon.
- Metagross I assume is a result of people who played ORAS and the Shiny event Beldum that people got on release, because otherwise Beldum isn't available until post game. Unless people did decide to use a Beldum in RSE for post-game stuff.
- Swellow takes the fifth place, because it's a solid early bird and it looks cool.
- That said, I'm a little surprised Breloom was used this much. Shroomish is fairly common in Petalburg Woods, but Breloom while a good Pokemon doesn't really strike me as something most would try to use.
- Salamence is the pseudo-legendary, and while available late it's popular on that notion alone.
- Manectric takes the cake as a relatively early Electric-type, it looks cool, and is good and solid.
- Altaria at the ninth place is a little interesting: Altaria is cute and elegant, and it's a Dragon-type, so there's that, which makes it a good Pokemon and a bit of a more easily usable alternative to Flygon and Salamence, and a convenient Fly user all the same.
- Mightyena being this high is surprising even for an early game mammal. I suspect this is mainly ORAS and people using the mandatory DexNav Poochyena who has a Fang move that complements the starter.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
And here's Hoenn's bottom 10 picks!
- Hoenn, for all the great Pokémon it introduced, also had a whole lot of dud/not good Pokemon, and many of them single-staged, including Nosepass in the original RSE, and Probopass in ORAS is usable but generally overshadowed due to a design many consider to be unappealing. So them being among the bottom 10 is unsurprising.
- Seaking takes the bottom 10 for the third time in a row. It truly is the one Pokémon nobody likes, huh?
- Wigglytuff and Corsola, aside from being meh in battle, are pretty rare and hard to find in RSE which explains them being there.
- Pinsir is also a rare and obscure Pokémon that few probably realized was even *in* Ruby and Sapphire to begin with, since it's such a rare spawn in the Safari Zone. In general, it and Girafarig stand out as Safari Zone spawns that no one used apparently.
SINNOH
Starters:
Empoleon takes a bit of a lead, with the other two behind, and Torterra continuing the trend of Grass starters being in last place. Empoleon is likely more attributed to Piplup than Empoleon itself, but the point stands. That being said, it was a close call, with Empoleon at 463, Infernape at 431 users, and Torterra at 418 users. Like with Hoenn, this really goes to show how they nailed all three Sinnoh starters in terms of both usefulness and appeal. Sinnoh starters the GOAT. I imagine this will not be too different with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Top 10 Team Picks:
And here are the Top 10 picks for DPP teams based on the results. I do not imagine this will be any different for people who play BDSP unless they add Gen 5+ mons into the main adventure. But anyways, let's look!
- Staraptor and Luxray are the top 2, and they are far, far ahead in terms of usage above everyone else. Not only are they cool as heck, but they are obtained extremely early, Starly and Shinx are cute, and they are three stage, have good stats, and are consistently useful throughout the game, making them super appealing picks. If you've played DPP you've probably used these two at least once.
- Lucario and Garchomp are not too behind, they are harder to use but nonetheless fan favorites so people are compelled to use them. Riolu is an egg from Riley in the mid-game and Lucario is awesome, while Gible is found in a side dungeon and Garchomp is an incredible reward, and it's even easier to get ahold of in Platinum.
- The rest are obtained a bit later than Shinx and Starly, but Roserade and Floatzel are nonetheless popular team picks to cover whatever the starter cannot in both DP and Platinum, and they're available fairly early too.
- Gallade and Togekiss are at the lower end of the Top 10, but are lower likely because they're only in Platinum and not in DP. But they are appealing picks for being good, obtained early, and being overall strong new evolutions. Gallade has more use than Gardevoir here, likely because it had more novelty value at the time of DPP, being a cool evolution offshoot to an already popular evolution line. Togekiss gets a bonus for Togepi being a gift from Cynthia early in Platinum, and Togepi already being popular to begin with.
- I'm a little surprised Weavile is as high as it is considering Sneasel is obtained very late, but it's in both DP and Platinum as an Ice and a Dark-type and it's an awesome design nonetheless.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
The least used Pokemon in DPP. A rundown
- Unown obviously sucks and that's common knowledge
- Seaking is in the Bottom 10 least used Pokemon for the fourth time in a row. It really cannot catch a break, can it?
- Mantine is a decent Pokemon, but Mantyke unfortunately comes really really late in DPP, is very rare, and evolves using a very finicky method.
- Mr. Mime and Sudowoodo being in the bottom is quite an unfortunate thing: not even the introduction of baby pre-evolutions in Bonsly and Mime Jr. were enough to compel people to use them.
- Probopass is the least used of the new evolutions and the only one in the Bottom 10. I suppose its design just didn't appeal to people, huh?
- Dustox, Girafarig, and Chimecho are also at the bottom. Like Sudowoodo and Mr. Mime, Chimecho got a pre-evolution, but sadly that didn't save it.
UNOVA (BW1)
Starters:
Starter popularity. Serperior and Samurott were both comfortably ahead of Emboar in usage: considering the general level of dislike towards Emboar (which seems to largely be rooted in it being the third Fire/Fighting starter in a row), I suppose that's not surprising. Samurott and Serperior are generally considered decent designs, but unfortunately no one likes Emboar, considering no one in the Tepig Line made it into Unova's Top 30 in the Pokemon of the Year Poll of 2020 at all.
Top 10 Team Picks:
Unova's Top 10, consisting entirely of new Unova Pokemon of course.
- Krookodile is, bar none, THE most popular pick for a team in BW1. Sandile is adorable, it's available right before the electric Gym, and it's a three stage line with a cool mid-evo and an absolutely badass final one in Krookodile. I think the idea of a Ground-type with a good movepool, good Attack and Speed, and Moxie to make itself stronger and stronger with each kill made it an absolutely killer pick with a ton of appeal, and this made everyone (including myself admittedly) jump at the chance to grab a Sandile and use it on a team. There's no surprise that Krookodile has won itself a spot on a vast majority of BW1 players' teams.
- I'm a little surprised to see Chandelure and Haxorus so commonly used, considering they're obtained fairly late. I know they're popular in terms of fandom and appeal, and when fully evolved they are absolute nukes thanks to their absurd offensive stats. But they're obtained late and they evolve pretty late into the game as well: I suppose despite that, many people feel that the sheer nuking potential of Chandelure and Haxorus is well worth the delayed payoff in the end. I'm plenty guilty of having used them though, and they do very much kick butt once they fully evolve, of course!
- Coming in soon after are Zebstrika and Excadrill, which in contrast to Chandelure and Haxorus are available fairly early. These two are by far the most appealing of the early game Pokemon you get in BW1, even if they're both only seen after Striaton and are two-stage Pokemon, unlike other popular early-game picks. But even so, they have good stats, good movepools, and though they evolve a little late they can pull through and give a strong performance throughout, plus they look cool so that's an appealing trait most likely. People are compelled to fill their team early on and it would seem Blitzle and Drilbur were the most appealing picks for an early game member, as they're more valuable and less disposable than, say, the monkeys and the deadweight you get before Striaton.
- On an unrelated note to the above, the elemental monkeys are no where even close to the Top 10 popular picks. I think it's safe to assume despite the game handing them to you like gifts, that most people who played BW1 disposed of the monkey soon after the first gym, unfortunately.
- Unfezant sucks but it's the regional bird so it's natural people would grab it for a flyer, which is kind of a necessity for the HM Fly.
- Galvantula is also a fairly popular pick, while it's obtainable later than Zebstrika it has a fun gimmick in Compound Eyes Thunder which drew a lot of people into using it most likely.
- Hydreigon is surprisingly high, especially considering Deino's borderline ridiculous evolution levels. I suppose many people were willing to commit to using Deino in the post-game and raising it, and using it against Alder and Cynthia later on because the payoff for some of the post-game matches is great and Hydreigon is the pseudo-legendary, immediately making it more appealing than BW1's other late evo Pokemon.
- The last two are Darmanitan and Archeops. Considering they're obtained around mid-game and are disc-one nukes much like Chandelure and Haxorus, and absolutely break the game in half. BW1 was filled with disc-one nukes and Pokemon with high stats in some way, and everyone took at the chance to pick a few nukes to use on their team, most likely.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
And now here are the 10 least popular picks for a BW1 team! Based on the survey, that is.
- A big commonality with these is that, barring Watchog (lol) and Amoonguss, almost all of these are single-stage Pokemon who do not evolve
- I suppose in a generation with exclusively new Pokemon, and a ton of them to boot, single stage Pokemon are simply much less exciting to use than a Pokemon that has the potential to evolve and become better and stronger throughout the game, even if a lot of these single stage Pokemon in this case are actually fairly good.
- Cryogonal being here makes me a little sad, considering in-game it's actually a good and in many ways, a very interesting Pokemon to use in a playthrough. I used one myself in BW1 and it was a pretty neat and clutch Pokemon. But I can understand why: it's an extremely rare spawn in one area and the odds that you will even see one are extremely slim: few were likely willing to invest the sheer time it would take to find a Cryogonal and being a one-stage Pokemon likely did not make it too compelling to experiment with. It's also obtained fairly late, at a point where teams are likely filled. I suppose I was very fortunate to encounter a Cryogonal in the first place.
- Alomomola is at the bottom, likely because no one wanted to use it and its lack of attack prowess made it unappealing
- Basculin and Bouffalant, on the other hand, are not too bad as Pokemon, and are very solid in-game. I think the fact that they are one-stage Pokemon detracts from them or simply makes people not care enough about them to use them.
- Amoonguss and Watchog are the two exceptions to the rule here, and both are...well...bad. Both are visually unappealing and Watchog is an overdone concept/archetype and doesn't have anything interesting going for it, unlike Bibarel or Linoone.
UNOVA (BW2)
Not even gonna bother with the starters since the results were identical to those with BW1 haha. I think in a two-year timespan nothing really changed as far as peoples' opinions towards the starters.
Top 10 Team Picks:
- One of BW2's biggest appeals compared to BW1 was the return of several older generation Pokemon, and it seems a lot of people took advantage of this by gathering their favorites that showed up early on. Arcanine and Lucario are among the most popular of Kanto and Sinnoh Pokemon, respectively, and both can be caught fairly early on, so surprisingly, it would seem people jumped at the opportunity to use them.
- Flygon is also a fan favorite, and so are Ampharos and Magnezone, and so they join the Top 10 as well.
- Krookodile, Chandelure, and Haxorus rejoin BW2's Top 10 popular picks. At this point their place as fan favorites amongst Gen 5 and their incredible battle prowess was established, so people once again opted for them as team members.
- Zoroark is a popular Pokemon, but it was unobtainable in BW1 outside of a special event that eventually died out and so people finally got the chance to use it for real in BW2 thanks to N's Zorua being a gift Pokemon which is likely an explanation for its place here. It did get good usage in BW1 but in BW2 it does even better.
- Volcarona is another popular Pokemon who was practically exclusively post-game in BW1, but is obtainable much earlier in BW2, so it gets even more usage this time around.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
There were a lot of ties here, but these were generally the least used Pokemon
- Generally, all of these Pokemon are one-stage and flat out duds that are bad to use in battle
- Stunfisk is once again at the bottom. I've never used it so I don't know if it's good, but from the looks of it on paper it seems like it'll be a decent Pokemon. In this case however iirc it's only available post-game so it's not like anyone will be able to use it in time for the League. Even so it's probably overlooked because it's a bit derpy looking and funny.
- Raticate is here because it's frankly not good and Rattata is even less compelling in a region where it's existing alongside other Normal-types.
- Lickilicky cannot really catch a break sadly.
KALOS
Starters:
Since you get TWO sets of starters this time around, let's look at both. Greninja got a significant lead ahead of Delphox and Chesnaught, at 429 people having used it compared to Delphox at 280 uses and Chesnaught at 238. It was a pretty quick fan favorite, frankly I'm guilty of being Team Froakie myself! Charizard once again takes the lead in terms of Kanto starters, ahead at 299 users, but this time Venusaur is a bit ahead of Blastoise.
Top 10 Team Picks:
All the starters notwithstanding, these take the cake for popular team picks.
- Gardevoir and Lucario stand out as the two non-Gen 6 team picks that were popular, likely because one is a gift and has a Mega Evolution and the other gained the Fairy typing in Gen 6, as well as a Mega (though that's not available until post-game).
- Talonflame takes the top spot overall, however, and once again like Staraptor it is bar none the most used team member and far above everyone else. It's the regional bird and a solid three-stage line, and Talonflame has the benefit of a Fire-type and a cool design and high Speed to make it compelling to a strong degree.
- Aegislash also enjoys high popularity, as a unique Steel/Ghost Pokemon and a Pokemon that rose to competitive stardom back in those days.
- Tyrantrum and Aurorus do surprisingly well for fossil Pokemon.
- Sylveon is also a very popular pick, as the new Eeveelution and a popular mascot for the franchise, Eevee itself being popular, and getting promoted a lot beforehand as well as being the token poster child of the then-new Fairy-type helps.
- Goodra is this gen's pseudo-legendary and Goomy had achieved meme popularity at the start of Gen 6. Goodra is quite cute and has a wide movepool, and is easily accessible and to reach Goodra in the story, which makes it one of the more usable pseudo-legendaries.
- Heliolisk and Noivern were pretty well advertised prior to Gen 6 and it would seem they had a pretty good amount of use on teams as well.
Bottom 8 Team Picks:
I decided to leave it at just the 8 Pokemon that absolutely no one used. There are a whole lot of Pokemon in X and Y, so yeah.
- There's no surprises here. A bunch of dud single stage Pokemon that are forgettable, like Luvdisc, Carnivine, and Qwilfish, once again return here.
- Fearow being here is rather funny: that said, in this game and at this point it's not very good, and in XY it's obtained super late in Victory Road and by that point...yeah you really wouldn't wanna use Fearow.
- Gorebyss and Huntail at the bottom is interesting, though given Kalos's large dex and Clamperl being obscure and its two evos being locked behind obtuse evolution methods didn't really do them any favors.
- Seaking is here in the bottom again.
ALOLA
Starters:
Literally in order lmao. Decidueye got a pretty significant lead ahead of the other two: 537 people used it, while only around 300 people used Incineroar and Primarina respectively. I'm surprised they didn't capitalize on Decidueye's popularity like they did Greninja, but alas. Though I imagine a large part of it is due to Rowlet's popularity as well. Incineroar seems to have more rep with Smash and being the king of VGC, but it didn't translate to high in-game usage compared to Decidueye.
Top 10 Team Picks:
The Top 10 from the original Sun and Moon, but even if you factored USUM in here (this didn't exist yet when the user in question made these surveys), I doubt it would've been much different. Anyway, it's clear here that quite a few Pokemon achieved a bit of appeal
- Generally, it would seem the "cool" Pokemon were the most appealing
- Most of these Pokemon are available relatively early, namely Toucannon and Alolan Raichu. Alolan Raichu has the bonus of being an evolved form of Pikachu, who is literally the mascot of the entire series.
- Salazzle is the most used of the lot: which is very interesting. Salandit is very rarely female and only the females evolve, but Salazzle has a lot of appeal due to that and in a region where most of the Pokemon are slow, Salazzle being fast and hitting hard is a bonus.
- Lycanroc is second place: Rockruff is very popular and available early, and Midday Lycanroc is pretty likable (Midnight Lycanroc less so, but maybe some people used it).
- Toucannon is the regional bird, and as usual those seem to be picked for a good early-game Pokemon.
- Vikavolt also stands out: it's a good early-game Bug-type and Vikavolt is a cool design, so that helped entice a lot of people into using it.
- Alola Ninetales is here as one of the more popular regional forms, and given Ninetales was already well liked, a snow Ninetales was even more appealing.
- Mudsdale is seemingly a good tank, and Mudbray can be obtained early. Stamina helps it be a tank and that idea spread around.
- Kommo-o is here as well, and it's the generation's pseudo-legendary, even though it's obtainable late. There's always room for a pseudo-legendary on peoples' teams it seems.
- Golisopod rounds out the lot, with its association with Guzma and it being a genuinely fun and splashable Pokemon.
- Mimikyu breaks the trend of single-stage Pokemon being generally unpopular to use, as its design is likable as the wannabe Pikachu, and battle wise it's...quite interesting.
Bottom 9 Team Picks
- I will say nothing about these other than that they've been in the Bottom least used Pokemon before
- Seaking is here again LMAO
- That said, nothing from the roster introduced in Gen 7 itself made it here: having a lot of old-gen Pokemon take the bottom knocked any lower-used new Pokemon out of here it would seem.
Overall Observations of these Statistics
- Generally, the most appealing team picks tend to be three-stage evolution lines. Nidoking, the birds, Gardevoir, Aggron, Flygon, Staraptor, Luxray, Krookodile, Chandelure, Haxorus, Aegislash, Alolan Raichu, and the pseudo-legendaries all key examples of this.
- A good Pokemon obtained early on is also generally extremely popular, such as Staraptor, Luxray, or Ampharos
- Gift Pokemon such as the Eeveelutions, Lucario, and Lapras are also pretty popular. An exception to this rule is the elemental monkeys in BW1, who didn't really get that much use (only around 70 people apiece who responded to that poll admitted to using the monkeys).
- Design seems to be an extremely big factor: generally Pokemon who look "cool" or "badass", or in a way "cute" tend to draw in a lot of appeal for use on a team.
- Generally, Pokemon who don't evolve into or from any Pokemon are rarely if ever picked for an in-game team. Especially if the Pokemon has poor stats.
- A lot of those Pokemon also have unattractive designs.
- Seaking is very constantly in the bottom of the usage lists, with virtually no one using it in most of the games it has appeared in.
- Since this is an old survey that is being reviewed and assessed/studied, there is no Galar, but I imagine there would be a lot going on considering the sheer number of Pokemon there. It is safe to assume Pokemon such as Corviknight, Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, and Dragapult likely had lots of popularity in Sword and Shield.
Anyway, that's just a rundown of the results of an old survey, but it's interesting assessing what has historically been popularly used on in-game teams over the years, and what have been highly unpopular picks over the years. Anything you find interesting looking at the statistics of that old survey? Feel free to discuss the survey and some interesting findings you may have about them or trends you notice.
The raw results were recorded in this spreadsheet, and they neatly labeled the top/botton 10 used Pokemon in each region in this.
Anyway, excluding the starters, which naturally got high placements in these lists, let's look at a rundown of each of the Pokemon in terms of usage based on these stats and see what we can cull from them:
KANTO
Starters:
1. 
2. 
3. 
2. 3. If the general hard promoting of Charizard is any indication, Charmander was by far the most popular pick of the three starters, likely because it has so much surface level appeal despite Kanto being horrendously unkind to Charizard (and it's by far the worst of the three in terms of practicality in an RBY playthrough). Oddly enough, despite Bulbasaur being great and a better team pick in RBY than Charmander, it was the least picked of the three, again, likely because it has less surface appeal than the other two (ie it's less "cool"). Don't worry though, Bulbasaur, you'll always be my favorite xD.
Top 10 Team Picks:
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
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10. 
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. The Top 10 Kanto Pokemon used on an in-game playthrough as per this survey. Some rundowns:
- Pidgeot takes the cake as THE most used Pokemon based on the participants who were in this survey years ago. While it's far from the best Pokemon, being an early route Flying-type and being one of Ash's more iconic Pokemon made it a veritable pick for people to immediately pick early on, plus it's an easy Pokemon to give the HM Fly with.
- Nidoking takes the runner-up, and it's a well known powerhouse in RBY, being able to be obtained as Nidoran early, it can evolve all the way very early on, and has incredible power, Thrash early on, and later it can be fed powerful TMs like Earthquake, Thunderbolt, Surf, Blizzard, Fire Blast, you name it, and carry you through coverage. It's also just hella cool, which an even more attractive factor.
- The rest going down the list are some interesting picks: Gyarados and Dragonite being on the list is quite the standout, considering the considerable grind you have to do to get them to evolve all the way through, even though they're incredibly strong. Although I admit, the Magikarp Salesman giving you a Magikarp for a fee is something where investing in it will reward a player handsomely.
- I think it's quite clear a lot of these have surface level appeal or are easy to get: Jolteon+Vaporeon and Lapras are gift Pokemon, and Snorlax is a mandatory encounter to get by while also being a good Pokemon which means it's an attractive catch. Eevee is popular and Jolteon and Vaporeon are the two most desired of the OG three: sadly Flareon is way behind them, seemed it was already below them by a noticeable margin even from the very beginning.
- Arcanine among these is certainly an interesting pick.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. The Bottom 10 least used Pokemon in any of the Kanto games from this survey.
- A common trend is that many of these Pokemon are (or were) single-stage Pokemon.
- There are at least three commonalities with all of these Pokemon: they are at least one of: extremely rare spawns or hard to get (Chansey/Pinsir), are visually and aesthetically unappealing, and battle wise they just plain suck. The exceptions to these are arguably Chansey and maybe Pinsir, but in general those two are hard to catch and hard to find being in the Safari Zone, and given how that worked at the time that was incredibly finicky.
- The rest are pretty terrible battle wise. Arbok and Weezing being down there is a big disgrace to Jessie and James though LMAO.
JOHTO
Starters:
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3. 
2. 3. The order of the Johto starters' popularity when it comes to in-game is unsurprisingly the same as that of the Kanto starters in their own game, lmao. Though this time it's arguably more justifiable: Typhlosion is an absolute boss both in terms of appeal and in battle, and in GSC given the scarcity of Fire-types, a good one like Typhlosion is all the better, and in Johto it is an absolute beast. Feraligatr, like Typhlosion, is also a Pokemon that can just clean through stuff in its path just like Typhlosion. Meganium unfortunately scores last because well...it unfortunately is in a game that is horribly unfavorable to it, and it's primarily defensive/support oriented, which is unappealing for a starter. This shows as Meganium is substantially behind, with only 325 people having used it as opposed to Typhlosion at 660 people and Feraligatr at 562 people having used it.
Top 10 Team Picks:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Let's run down GSC and HGSS's popular team picks!
- Ampharos being there is likely explainable by three factors. First, it's cute, which makes it likable. Its pre-evolutions are also adorable. The second is that it's a new Pokemon of Gen 2 that's obtained quite early on, right after the first gym in GSC and right before that in HGSS. The third is that it's a three-stage Pokemon, and it's a good Pokemon. Being an Electric-type, it also covers Water-types for Typhlosion and Flying-types for Meganium quite well, and it has Thunder Wave, already giving it a lot of team usefulness.
- Gyarados is a runner-up, and I believe this is primarily people catching and using the infamous Red Gyarados. Given how readily available Red Gyarados is for an in-game runthrough and it being a required encounter not unlike RBY Snorlax, it's an easy pick for a team especially when you can get it at such a high level for the point of the game you see it in. Crobat being here is also nice, but given it was a new evolution to an otherwise obnoxious Pokemon, and turned it into a good Pokemon, I imagine that drew a lot of people into using it.
- Tyranitar being so high is really odd though: Larvitar is not obtainable until post-post game in GSC and really only is available before Red, and needs a hellishly long grind to reach its full potential. I would assume this is either a popularity vote as people like it, or this is HGSS where it can be obtained earlier, or people truly were this committed to getting a Tyranitar even that late in the game.
- Espeon and Umbreon being the new Eeveelutions gave them tons of novelty value, especially with Eevee being yet again a gift Pokemon. Umbreon doesn't hit hard but it's a Dark-type which is pretty rare in Johto.
- Heracross is a great and cool Pokemon, and Pidgeot/Noctowl fulfill the traditional regional bird.
- Togetic is also close in, most likely because Togepi is iconic (Hi Misty!), and you get a Togepi from an egg canonically as part of the adventure. Granted, Togetic unfortunately isn't great, but it's popular.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. The Bottom 10 GSC/HGSS team picks
- Oddly mostly identitcal to those of the Kanto games. Seaking, Ditto, and Farfetch'd all suck so naturally they're here.
- Mr. Mime, Lickitung, and Tangela are all pretty bad in GSC too, but not even having evolutions in HGSS helped them at all in terms of usage, despite Lickilicky and Tangrowth being functionally decent Pokemon: I guess their availability meant they came too late to be of use or people just didn't like their designs.
- Delibird is a terrible gimmick and I think everyone knew this even back then, so it being in the bottom 10 is no surprise.
- Parasect and Venomoth now take the Bottom 10 least used picks.
HOENN
Starters:
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2. 3. An inversion of old trends, where the Grass starter gets a little bit more use than the Fire starter this time around, but even so, based on the survey the results were pretty damn close: Swampert at 619, Sceptile at 603, and Blaziken at 588. Really goes to show how GOATed Hoenn's starters are when there's a close call between all three of them
. That said, Blaziken being the least used of the three is a little surprising given Game Freak's favoritism towards it from the very beginning, seeing as how Blaziken was the one of the three who was shown off before RS released, and it got a Mega in XY which led into ORAS.Top 10 Team Picks:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Hoenn's most popular picks, based on the survey I am reviewing here.
- Gardevoir takes the lead. It's a natural fan favorite, but it's obtained super early and even though it's so, so bad early on, the payoff is tremendous, making Gardevoir an absolute gem of a Pokemon and a quintessential member of many Hoenn teams, and everyone loves Gardevoir so there's that. Its rarity combined with Wally showing it off early on adds to its appeal, and it's a great Pokemon for any in-game playthrough.
- I'm surprised Aggron is this high, I didn't really figure Aggron was this popular. It's a good Pokemon but I certainly wasn't expecting it to be so commonly used on Hoenn teams. Aron is certainly cute though, and the progression from it to Aggron is beautiful.
- Flygon is a close runner-up given how iconic it is, and it's a Ground-type *and* a Dragon-type that is available pretty early on, which is why it's likely this high. Plus it's just a cool Pokemon.
- Metagross I assume is a result of people who played ORAS and the Shiny event Beldum that people got on release, because otherwise Beldum isn't available until post game. Unless people did decide to use a Beldum in RSE for post-game stuff.
- Swellow takes the fifth place, because it's a solid early bird and it looks cool.
- That said, I'm a little surprised Breloom was used this much. Shroomish is fairly common in Petalburg Woods, but Breloom while a good Pokemon doesn't really strike me as something most would try to use.
- Salamence is the pseudo-legendary, and while available late it's popular on that notion alone.
- Manectric takes the cake as a relatively early Electric-type, it looks cool, and is good and solid.
- Altaria at the ninth place is a little interesting: Altaria is cute and elegant, and it's a Dragon-type, so there's that, which makes it a good Pokemon and a bit of a more easily usable alternative to Flygon and Salamence, and a convenient Fly user all the same.
- Mightyena being this high is surprising even for an early game mammal. I suspect this is mainly ORAS and people using the mandatory DexNav Poochyena who has a Fang move that complements the starter.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. And here's Hoenn's bottom 10 picks!
- Hoenn, for all the great Pokémon it introduced, also had a whole lot of dud/not good Pokemon, and many of them single-staged, including Nosepass in the original RSE, and Probopass in ORAS is usable but generally overshadowed due to a design many consider to be unappealing. So them being among the bottom 10 is unsurprising.
- Seaking takes the bottom 10 for the third time in a row. It truly is the one Pokémon nobody likes, huh?
- Wigglytuff and Corsola, aside from being meh in battle, are pretty rare and hard to find in RSE which explains them being there.
- Pinsir is also a rare and obscure Pokémon that few probably realized was even *in* Ruby and Sapphire to begin with, since it's such a rare spawn in the Safari Zone. In general, it and Girafarig stand out as Safari Zone spawns that no one used apparently.
SINNOH
Starters:
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2. 3. Empoleon takes a bit of a lead, with the other two behind, and Torterra continuing the trend of Grass starters being in last place. Empoleon is likely more attributed to Piplup than Empoleon itself, but the point stands. That being said, it was a close call, with Empoleon at 463, Infernape at 431 users, and Torterra at 418 users. Like with Hoenn, this really goes to show how they nailed all three Sinnoh starters in terms of both usefulness and appeal. Sinnoh starters the GOAT. I imagine this will not be too different with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Top 10 Team Picks:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. And here are the Top 10 picks for DPP teams based on the results. I do not imagine this will be any different for people who play BDSP unless they add Gen 5+ mons into the main adventure. But anyways, let's look!
- Staraptor and Luxray are the top 2, and they are far, far ahead in terms of usage above everyone else. Not only are they cool as heck, but they are obtained extremely early, Starly and Shinx are cute, and they are three stage, have good stats, and are consistently useful throughout the game, making them super appealing picks. If you've played DPP you've probably used these two at least once.
- Lucario and Garchomp are not too behind, they are harder to use but nonetheless fan favorites so people are compelled to use them. Riolu is an egg from Riley in the mid-game and Lucario is awesome, while Gible is found in a side dungeon and Garchomp is an incredible reward, and it's even easier to get ahold of in Platinum.
- The rest are obtained a bit later than Shinx and Starly, but Roserade and Floatzel are nonetheless popular team picks to cover whatever the starter cannot in both DP and Platinum, and they're available fairly early too.
- Gallade and Togekiss are at the lower end of the Top 10, but are lower likely because they're only in Platinum and not in DP. But they are appealing picks for being good, obtained early, and being overall strong new evolutions. Gallade has more use than Gardevoir here, likely because it had more novelty value at the time of DPP, being a cool evolution offshoot to an already popular evolution line. Togekiss gets a bonus for Togepi being a gift from Cynthia early in Platinum, and Togepi already being popular to begin with.
- I'm a little surprised Weavile is as high as it is considering Sneasel is obtained very late, but it's in both DP and Platinum as an Ice and a Dark-type and it's an awesome design nonetheless.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. The least used Pokemon in DPP. A rundown
- Unown obviously sucks and that's common knowledge
- Seaking is in the Bottom 10 least used Pokemon for the fourth time in a row. It really cannot catch a break, can it?
- Mantine is a decent Pokemon, but Mantyke unfortunately comes really really late in DPP, is very rare, and evolves using a very finicky method.
- Mr. Mime and Sudowoodo being in the bottom is quite an unfortunate thing: not even the introduction of baby pre-evolutions in Bonsly and Mime Jr. were enough to compel people to use them.
- Probopass is the least used of the new evolutions and the only one in the Bottom 10. I suppose its design just didn't appeal to people, huh?
- Dustox, Girafarig, and Chimecho are also at the bottom. Like Sudowoodo and Mr. Mime, Chimecho got a pre-evolution, but sadly that didn't save it.
UNOVA (BW1)
Starters:
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2. 3. Starter popularity. Serperior and Samurott were both comfortably ahead of Emboar in usage: considering the general level of dislike towards Emboar (which seems to largely be rooted in it being the third Fire/Fighting starter in a row), I suppose that's not surprising. Samurott and Serperior are generally considered decent designs, but unfortunately no one likes Emboar, considering no one in the Tepig Line made it into Unova's Top 30 in the Pokemon of the Year Poll of 2020 at all.
Top 10 Team Picks:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Unova's Top 10, consisting entirely of new Unova Pokemon of course.
- Krookodile is, bar none, THE most popular pick for a team in BW1. Sandile is adorable, it's available right before the electric Gym, and it's a three stage line with a cool mid-evo and an absolutely badass final one in Krookodile. I think the idea of a Ground-type with a good movepool, good Attack and Speed, and Moxie to make itself stronger and stronger with each kill made it an absolutely killer pick with a ton of appeal, and this made everyone (including myself admittedly) jump at the chance to grab a Sandile and use it on a team. There's no surprise that Krookodile has won itself a spot on a vast majority of BW1 players' teams.
- I'm a little surprised to see Chandelure and Haxorus so commonly used, considering they're obtained fairly late. I know they're popular in terms of fandom and appeal, and when fully evolved they are absolute nukes thanks to their absurd offensive stats. But they're obtained late and they evolve pretty late into the game as well: I suppose despite that, many people feel that the sheer nuking potential of Chandelure and Haxorus is well worth the delayed payoff in the end. I'm plenty guilty of having used them though, and they do very much kick butt once they fully evolve, of course!
- Coming in soon after are Zebstrika and Excadrill, which in contrast to Chandelure and Haxorus are available fairly early. These two are by far the most appealing of the early game Pokemon you get in BW1, even if they're both only seen after Striaton and are two-stage Pokemon, unlike other popular early-game picks. But even so, they have good stats, good movepools, and though they evolve a little late they can pull through and give a strong performance throughout, plus they look cool so that's an appealing trait most likely. People are compelled to fill their team early on and it would seem Blitzle and Drilbur were the most appealing picks for an early game member, as they're more valuable and less disposable than, say, the monkeys and the deadweight you get before Striaton.
- On an unrelated note to the above, the elemental monkeys are no where even close to the Top 10 popular picks. I think it's safe to assume despite the game handing them to you like gifts, that most people who played BW1 disposed of the monkey soon after the first gym, unfortunately.
- Unfezant sucks but it's the regional bird so it's natural people would grab it for a flyer, which is kind of a necessity for the HM Fly.
- Galvantula is also a fairly popular pick, while it's obtainable later than Zebstrika it has a fun gimmick in Compound Eyes Thunder which drew a lot of people into using it most likely.
- Hydreigon is surprisingly high, especially considering Deino's borderline ridiculous evolution levels. I suppose many people were willing to commit to using Deino in the post-game and raising it, and using it against Alder and Cynthia later on because the payoff for some of the post-game matches is great and Hydreigon is the pseudo-legendary, immediately making it more appealing than BW1's other late evo Pokemon.
- The last two are Darmanitan and Archeops. Considering they're obtained around mid-game and are disc-one nukes much like Chandelure and Haxorus, and absolutely break the game in half. BW1 was filled with disc-one nukes and Pokemon with high stats in some way, and everyone took at the chance to pick a few nukes to use on their team, most likely.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. And now here are the 10 least popular picks for a BW1 team! Based on the survey, that is.
- A big commonality with these is that, barring Watchog (lol) and Amoonguss, almost all of these are single-stage Pokemon who do not evolve
- I suppose in a generation with exclusively new Pokemon, and a ton of them to boot, single stage Pokemon are simply much less exciting to use than a Pokemon that has the potential to evolve and become better and stronger throughout the game, even if a lot of these single stage Pokemon in this case are actually fairly good.
- Cryogonal being here makes me a little sad, considering in-game it's actually a good and in many ways, a very interesting Pokemon to use in a playthrough. I used one myself in BW1 and it was a pretty neat and clutch Pokemon. But I can understand why: it's an extremely rare spawn in one area and the odds that you will even see one are extremely slim: few were likely willing to invest the sheer time it would take to find a Cryogonal and being a one-stage Pokemon likely did not make it too compelling to experiment with. It's also obtained fairly late, at a point where teams are likely filled. I suppose I was very fortunate to encounter a Cryogonal in the first place.
- Alomomola is at the bottom, likely because no one wanted to use it and its lack of attack prowess made it unappealing
- Basculin and Bouffalant, on the other hand, are not too bad as Pokemon, and are very solid in-game. I think the fact that they are one-stage Pokemon detracts from them or simply makes people not care enough about them to use them.
- Amoonguss and Watchog are the two exceptions to the rule here, and both are...well...bad. Both are visually unappealing and Watchog is an overdone concept/archetype and doesn't have anything interesting going for it, unlike Bibarel or Linoone.
UNOVA (BW2)
Not even gonna bother with the starters since the results were identical to those with BW1 haha. I think in a two-year timespan nothing really changed as far as peoples' opinions towards the starters.
Top 10 Team Picks:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. - One of BW2's biggest appeals compared to BW1 was the return of several older generation Pokemon, and it seems a lot of people took advantage of this by gathering their favorites that showed up early on. Arcanine and Lucario are among the most popular of Kanto and Sinnoh Pokemon, respectively, and both can be caught fairly early on, so surprisingly, it would seem people jumped at the opportunity to use them.
- Flygon is also a fan favorite, and so are Ampharos and Magnezone, and so they join the Top 10 as well.
- Krookodile, Chandelure, and Haxorus rejoin BW2's Top 10 popular picks. At this point their place as fan favorites amongst Gen 5 and their incredible battle prowess was established, so people once again opted for them as team members.
- Zoroark is a popular Pokemon, but it was unobtainable in BW1 outside of a special event that eventually died out and so people finally got the chance to use it for real in BW2 thanks to N's Zorua being a gift Pokemon which is likely an explanation for its place here. It did get good usage in BW1 but in BW2 it does even better.
- Volcarona is another popular Pokemon who was practically exclusively post-game in BW1, but is obtainable much earlier in BW2, so it gets even more usage this time around.
Bottom 10 Team Picks:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. There were a lot of ties here, but these were generally the least used Pokemon
- Generally, all of these Pokemon are one-stage and flat out duds that are bad to use in battle
- Stunfisk is once again at the bottom. I've never used it so I don't know if it's good, but from the looks of it on paper it seems like it'll be a decent Pokemon. In this case however iirc it's only available post-game so it's not like anyone will be able to use it in time for the League. Even so it's probably overlooked because it's a bit derpy looking and funny.
- Raticate is here because it's frankly not good and Rattata is even less compelling in a region where it's existing alongside other Normal-types.
- Lickilicky cannot really catch a break sadly.
KALOS
Starters:
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Since you get TWO sets of starters this time around, let's look at both. Greninja got a significant lead ahead of Delphox and Chesnaught, at 429 people having used it compared to Delphox at 280 uses and Chesnaught at 238. It was a pretty quick fan favorite, frankly I'm guilty of being Team Froakie myself! Charizard once again takes the lead in terms of Kanto starters, ahead at 299 users, but this time Venusaur is a bit ahead of Blastoise.
Top 10 Team Picks:
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All the starters notwithstanding, these take the cake for popular team picks.
- Gardevoir and Lucario stand out as the two non-Gen 6 team picks that were popular, likely because one is a gift and has a Mega Evolution and the other gained the Fairy typing in Gen 6, as well as a Mega (though that's not available until post-game).
- Talonflame takes the top spot overall, however, and once again like Staraptor it is bar none the most used team member and far above everyone else. It's the regional bird and a solid three-stage line, and Talonflame has the benefit of a Fire-type and a cool design and high Speed to make it compelling to a strong degree.
- Aegislash also enjoys high popularity, as a unique Steel/Ghost Pokemon and a Pokemon that rose to competitive stardom back in those days.
- Tyrantrum and Aurorus do surprisingly well for fossil Pokemon.
- Sylveon is also a very popular pick, as the new Eeveelution and a popular mascot for the franchise, Eevee itself being popular, and getting promoted a lot beforehand as well as being the token poster child of the then-new Fairy-type helps.
- Goodra is this gen's pseudo-legendary and Goomy had achieved meme popularity at the start of Gen 6. Goodra is quite cute and has a wide movepool, and is easily accessible and to reach Goodra in the story, which makes it one of the more usable pseudo-legendaries.
- Heliolisk and Noivern were pretty well advertised prior to Gen 6 and it would seem they had a pretty good amount of use on teams as well.
Bottom 8 Team Picks:
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I decided to leave it at just the 8 Pokemon that absolutely no one used. There are a whole lot of Pokemon in X and Y, so yeah.
- There's no surprises here. A bunch of dud single stage Pokemon that are forgettable, like Luvdisc, Carnivine, and Qwilfish, once again return here.
- Fearow being here is rather funny: that said, in this game and at this point it's not very good, and in XY it's obtained super late in Victory Road and by that point...yeah you really wouldn't wanna use Fearow.
- Gorebyss and Huntail at the bottom is interesting, though given Kalos's large dex and Clamperl being obscure and its two evos being locked behind obtuse evolution methods didn't really do them any favors.
- Seaking is here in the bottom again.
ALOLA
Starters:
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Literally in order lmao. Decidueye got a pretty significant lead ahead of the other two: 537 people used it, while only around 300 people used Incineroar and Primarina respectively. I'm surprised they didn't capitalize on Decidueye's popularity like they did Greninja, but alas. Though I imagine a large part of it is due to Rowlet's popularity as well. Incineroar seems to have more rep with Smash and being the king of VGC, but it didn't translate to high in-game usage compared to Decidueye.
Top 10 Team Picks:
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The Top 10 from the original Sun and Moon, but even if you factored USUM in here (this didn't exist yet when the user in question made these surveys), I doubt it would've been much different. Anyway, it's clear here that quite a few Pokemon achieved a bit of appeal
- Generally, it would seem the "cool" Pokemon were the most appealing
- Most of these Pokemon are available relatively early, namely Toucannon and Alolan Raichu. Alolan Raichu has the bonus of being an evolved form of Pikachu, who is literally the mascot of the entire series.
- Salazzle is the most used of the lot: which is very interesting. Salandit is very rarely female and only the females evolve, but Salazzle has a lot of appeal due to that and in a region where most of the Pokemon are slow, Salazzle being fast and hitting hard is a bonus.
- Lycanroc is second place: Rockruff is very popular and available early, and Midday Lycanroc is pretty likable (Midnight Lycanroc less so, but maybe some people used it).
- Toucannon is the regional bird, and as usual those seem to be picked for a good early-game Pokemon.
- Vikavolt also stands out: it's a good early-game Bug-type and Vikavolt is a cool design, so that helped entice a lot of people into using it.
- Alola Ninetales is here as one of the more popular regional forms, and given Ninetales was already well liked, a snow Ninetales was even more appealing.
- Mudsdale is seemingly a good tank, and Mudbray can be obtained early. Stamina helps it be a tank and that idea spread around.
- Kommo-o is here as well, and it's the generation's pseudo-legendary, even though it's obtainable late. There's always room for a pseudo-legendary on peoples' teams it seems.
- Golisopod rounds out the lot, with its association with Guzma and it being a genuinely fun and splashable Pokemon.
- Mimikyu breaks the trend of single-stage Pokemon being generally unpopular to use, as its design is likable as the wannabe Pikachu, and battle wise it's...quite interesting.
Bottom 9 Team Picks
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- I will say nothing about these other than that they've been in the Bottom least used Pokemon before
- Seaking is here again LMAO
- That said, nothing from the roster introduced in Gen 7 itself made it here: having a lot of old-gen Pokemon take the bottom knocked any lower-used new Pokemon out of here it would seem.
Overall Observations of these Statistics
- Generally, the most appealing team picks tend to be three-stage evolution lines. Nidoking, the birds, Gardevoir, Aggron, Flygon, Staraptor, Luxray, Krookodile, Chandelure, Haxorus, Aegislash, Alolan Raichu, and the pseudo-legendaries all key examples of this.
- A good Pokemon obtained early on is also generally extremely popular, such as Staraptor, Luxray, or Ampharos
- Gift Pokemon such as the Eeveelutions, Lucario, and Lapras are also pretty popular. An exception to this rule is the elemental monkeys in BW1, who didn't really get that much use (only around 70 people apiece who responded to that poll admitted to using the monkeys).
- Design seems to be an extremely big factor: generally Pokemon who look "cool" or "badass", or in a way "cute" tend to draw in a lot of appeal for use on a team.
- Generally, Pokemon who don't evolve into or from any Pokemon are rarely if ever picked for an in-game team. Especially if the Pokemon has poor stats.
- A lot of those Pokemon also have unattractive designs.
- Seaking is very constantly in the bottom of the usage lists, with virtually no one using it in most of the games it has appeared in.
- Since this is an old survey that is being reviewed and assessed/studied, there is no Galar, but I imagine there would be a lot going on considering the sheer number of Pokemon there. It is safe to assume Pokemon such as Corviknight, Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, and Dragapult likely had lots of popularity in Sword and Shield.
Anyway, that's just a rundown of the results of an old survey, but it's interesting assessing what has historically been popularly used on in-game teams over the years, and what have been highly unpopular picks over the years. Anything you find interesting looking at the statistics of that old survey? Feel free to discuss the survey and some interesting findings you may have about them or trends you notice.
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