What if every Pokémon type had a dedicated mascot?

[bdt2002]

I feel like the presenting question of this thread could be a little confusing at first glance, so allow me to explain my thought process. So by this point we all know what a mascot is, right? Someone or something that represents a team, a brand, et cetera? For anyone who's been living under a rock for the past 27 years and counting, it may come as a surprise that the Pokémon franchise... technically doesn't have a true mascot. To be fair, certain Pokémon like Pikachu, Eevee, Charizard, heck I'll even throw in Mewtwo and Mew for good measure, they definitely fill the role of "this is what you think of when you think of Pokémon" very, very well, and a similar argument can be made for the classic Poké Ball even though it's an inanimate object.

I want to take this one step further, though. Those examples I mentioned earlier are definitely iconic, yes, but one of the factors that contributes to how well known they are is how they represent their respective Pokémon types. Basically, what I want to try and do with this thread is try and figure out which Pokémon we think best represents every single type to the point where that Pokémon could be considered the representative mascot for the type as a whole. I've seen people talk about this before for the different regions (gee, I wonder who Gen 4's most iconic Pokémon could possibly be), but there are literally double the amount of Pokémon types now as there are Pokémon generations at this point in time. In practice, this means we have a lot more options to pick from alongside needing to consider what exactly makes a Pokémon look and feel like it represents its typing well.

We can handle this thread one of two ways. Option #1- we make a running list of nominations for each type and choose between them, likely using one of those "favorite Pokémon of each type" charts as a visual aid of the final results. Option #2- instead of focusing on individual nominations, we'd all post our own picks for every single type and then compare each other's results accordingly. What I'm most interested in here is finding out why some of you might pick the selections you did, and potentially if there are any under-the-radar nominations I or other users haven't really considered. Feel free to use whichever option you'd like for you own post. Once we have some more users here, I'll go back and add one of those charts to this OP if that's okay. Happy posting, everyone, and I'll see you all later. Take care :)

 

[SMOGONBIRD]

I feel like the presenting question of this thread could be a little confusing at first glance,

no, i think it was perfectly clear!

 

[QuentinQuonce]

I'm just going to throw out a few easy suggestions...

Here's your Psychic one

No but fr, if you're thinking about Psychic-types I guarantee Alakazam comes to mind pretty quickly. It's the top Psychic of RBY (in casual gameplay I mean, obviously Mew and Mewtwo are better) and it exemplies everything Psychics tend to be: fast, speedy, powerful, frail, excellent elemental moveset.

Here's your Electric one:

I don't think I really need to explain this. Is there a more notable Electric-type in the series? Not really, no.

There's an obvious candidate for Fairy too:

I mean they literally revealed this to tease the Fairy-type. I'm not sure there's another Fairy-type with the same notoriety. Gardevoir maybe, but it's not really known as a Fairy-type specifically; it was notorious before that.

And for Dark:

Umbreon didn't "debut" the Dark-type in the same manner, but out of all the initial swathe of Dark-types it's by far the one with the biggest profile; neither Murkrow or Houndoom or Tyranitar is quite as popular as Umbreon is. It gets name-dropped by a few NPCs who're baffled or intrigued by their Eevee's sudden evolution. It's the premier Dark-type, which is quite funny since it's atypical as far as Dark-types go.

As far as Steel goes...

You could make the case for Magnemite for much the same reasons as Umbreon. They were notorious for being the first Pokemon to change type and even now stand out as your "bread and butter" Steel-type, often getting added to Pokedex listings as a matter of course.




In general though, I wouldn't say each type lends itself to a mascot per se. Yeah, you can assign a flagship Pokemon for each as I did, but people will never agree. In my view Magneton might be the most high-profile Steel but someone else might say it's Skarmory. And then a poll might prove us both wrong. Generally speaking the older the Pokemon the more credible the case for it being a mascot but then you've got examples like Lucario.

What I often find more interesting is looking at the general character of each type, by which I mean how they operate and the way they tend to look stat-wise. Obviously there are outliers in every type - that's obvious enough to go without saying (but you know I need to say it anyway or someone will!) - but each type has broad trends that characterise them. For instance, Water-types tend to be bulky, Dragon-types tend to be highly powerful, Steel-types tend to be physically impregnable.

It's one of the things I like about the Eeveelutions, that they all tend to work as a representative of their type as a whole. Vaporeon is your typical bulky water (high HP offset by competent but not spectacular defences), Jolteon is your classic super-speedy frail Electric-type, Espeon is a fantastic special sweeper but can't take a physical hit, and so on. A different, but perhaps equally interesting question, is "which Pokemon particularly exemplify their type?"

 

[Ironmage]

Currently working on a full list, generally following the process of "what does the type embody" -> "which mons embody these aspects the most?" It's led to an interesting result regarding Fairy. Is it inherently otherworldly, like Clefable? Traditionally cute at its most basic form, like Togepi? Another source for artificial-looking mons, like Klefki? Psychic-adjacent, like [pick your favourite]? A concentration of strange energy, like Xerneas or Magearna? Something that just shows up on strong mons like Mega Mawile owing to the types mechanics-first introduction?

But, it turns out I don't need to sort this out when picking a mascot,

Because I can just go with "all of the above."

 

[Imperial Magala]

-Literally oozing Steel type energy through being made of wire, liquid metal, and hex nuts.

-Strong affiliation with type close to Steel (Electric) without being that type.

-Powerful Signature Steel type move (Double Iron Bash).

-Stats built off of Steel types' reputation to tank hard and hit hard back.

-First Steel type owned by Ash.

-Arguably one of the strongest reasons to play Pokemon Go and the Let's Go games is to easily obtain it.

Melmetal may be a relatively recent Steel type, but puts in so much work I believe it's the Steel type. The closest competition would be Lucario and Scizor, who are more times associated with their other types, and Metagross, who's arguably the proto-Melmetal.

 

[SturdyShedinja]

I feel like most of these are pretty safe picks, but I thought it was still interesting enough to warrant a post.

Normal

It's not the most iconic or well-liked normal type out there, but imo it represents the type perfectly. It's probably the most "normal" pokemon in a literal sense, as it's basically just a rat. Pokemon like snorlax or meowth have enough popularity to justify picking them, but picking the most bland option fits the most bland type. Plus, it starts the trend of an early game normal type that peaks around the midgame before falling off.

Fire, Water, and Grass

It seems wrong not to pick the original starters. They teach players the basic mechanics of typings and are among the most beloved and iconic pokemon in existence. I went with the base forms over their evolutions because I felt that they had more general appeal and are the forms used to introduce type matchups to the players.

Electric

Jokes aside, there's no competing with pikachu. I don't really have anything to say about it.

Flying

Another iconic pick, it's the original regional bird, Blue's star player, and almost a second starter for a lot of casual fans. It's not as strong or flashy as kanto's other birds, but it's a reliable partner throughout the whole adventure.

Bug

It's the much more popular choice of kanto's archetypal bugs, with more anime presence and being easily available in more regions for some reason. As an earlygame powerhouse, it's much more useful than beedril and even has some surprisingly good options lategame with the powders and quiver dance in later gens. Imo, it's everything a bug type should be: strong early, with enough tricks up it's metaphorical sleeves to stay relevant yet outclassed in the endgame.

Ice

This was one of the hardest ones to pick. Most early gen ice types don't exactly incorporate the typing into their designs (lapras, dewgong, cloyster, jynx, piloswine, and sneasel can lose the type and basically keep their designs the same). The other early ice types didn't really fit the bill imo, delibird and glailie aren't exactly showstoppers and it felt weird to include articuno and not the other birds. Imo, alolan vulpix and ninetales fit perfectly despite being later additions. They're both fairly popular and the ice type is integral to their designs. Setting hail/snow is also nice when it feels like a big part of the type's design.

Psychic

It's an iconic and powerful pokemon for an iconic and powerful type. Not much to say here.

Poison

It's probably biased to put smogon itself here, but it fits well imo even if it's not particularly popular. It looks toxic, it's bulky and specializes in passive damage, and it's evolution is even Koga's ace in RB and FRLG (but not yellow, for some reason) There are a lot of solid choices for this one but imo, koffing fits pretty well.

Ghost

It's iconic and is the first and only RBY ghost. Almost every ghost specialist seems to use this line if it's available in the region. Not much to say here.

Fighting

Not much to say here either, it's the epitome of raw physical strength and it's evolutionary line is used by almost every fighting specialist if it's available.

Rock

Rock and ground were pretty tricky since the types overlap so much in the earlier generations. I originally considered one of the fossils, but they play very differently from the standard rock type. On the other hand, the literal rock is slow, physically bulky, and dies to any special move. It's a boring pick, but it's a basic, well-known rock type in every sense.

Ground

A pretty tough choice again, but rhydon is much more standard than options like dugtrio and the nidos and is a lot more well known than sandslash. It's role as the first pokemon ever designed makes it worth including somewhere imo, and it being used as Giovanni's ace makes it seem more fitting of the ground slot.

Dark

It seems weird to include umbreon but not espeon, but all of the other pokemon that introduced players to the dark type are locked to kanto, with tyranitar and sneasel being locked to the final area in the original GS. Umbreon is also more iconic than the other early darks, which helps.

Steel

This one was a pretty tough choice. Imo, despite it not being a super popular pokemon, steelix fits the type best as it gets more focus in the original GSC as Jasmine's ace while fitting the slow, defensive archtype a steel should. I considered magnemite, scizor, and skarmory, but the former two play very differently from most steels and the latter two get almost no showcasing in the original GSC.

Dragon

Nothing earth-shattering here, it's the original dragon.

Fairy

Given it's original intended role of the mascot before pikachu earned that spot, it seemed wrong not to include clefairy somewhere. I even debated putting it in normal for a while since it was it's original type, but it seemed out of place compared to the other picks. Sylveon is probably the better overall choice, as it was heavily relied on to market the newest type, but I wanted to give clefairy some justice for pikachu taking it's place.

Overall, there's a pretty heavy bias towards kanto and johto, since those are the regions where players would first encounter and build associations with these types. Still, it's interesting to think about, even if I don't think any of may picks were too outrageous. I'm interested to see what other people can come up with.

 

[Scorpio]

I’ve got a few good options, all from Gen 5 and all of them a pure three-stage evolutionary line of their represented typing (granted, the former is coincidental):

Rock:

Honestly I feel it’s a better pick than the likes of Golem, largely by virtue of being pure Rock. Beyond that, though, it’s got the general stat line established by the likes of Golem (High ATK and DEF, low special stats and speed), plus its movepool is majority Rock moves.


Tho in fairness, had Garganacl been introduced earlier it’d be a great candidate too, albeit it has a way higher SpD than other Golem-likes.

Steel:

The sole 3-stage pure Steel-type. Plus it just looks like what someone would think of when thinking of the Steel-type. Also, while it doesn’t have quite the bonkers Defense that Steel is known for, it is it’s highest stat.

Ice:

Similar to Klinklang, it’s the sole 3-stage pure Ice-type, and it just looks like the embodiment of ice, snow, and other cold things. Plus its movepool is largely Ice moves, and it even gets Snow Warning as of Gen 7. Also, it’s got a surprisingly high BST (535, along the lines of the starters)

 

[bdt2002]

Hey everyone, I'm back. I have some spare time right now and I wanted to go over some of my own nominations for types that haven't been discussed yet.



Choosing Donphan as my nomination for the Ground-Type mascot doesn't really make a whole lot of sense at first glance, but hear me out. As a type, Ground is known for a few things, notably its strong offensive coverage, the fact that these Pokémon can be found in several different biomes (specifically being the most prominent type in most deserts), and its role as one of the two dedicated Earth-themed types alongside its best friend Rock. The thing is, though, there aren't that many iconic Ground-Types that represent the type's theming versatility, so much as they're iconic Pokémon that just happen to be a Ground-Type too. If you asked me about this specific criteria before, I'm not sure what my answer would have been when groups of Pokémon like the Water/Ground crew would have been competing against each other for the nomination. Ever since Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's releases, however, Donphan suddenly gained a prominent role as more or less being the mascot for the Paradox Pokémon concept as well as joining the ranks of names like Garchomp and Excadrill as powerful, versatile Ground-Types recognized for their importance in both single player and multiplayer.



On the other end of the Pokémon power spectrum, I can understand why many of you might pick something like the Squirtle family or maybe something more specific like Marill as your Water-Type nomination. Aside from being one of Pokémon's famous three "rock-paper-scissors starter types", Water's most prominent role as a Pokémon type, at least in my opinion, is how it's the most common type for any Pokémon to be by a long shot, and with how many water-based areas and Water-Type Pokémon exist in this world, the disparity between the strongest and weakest Water-Type Pokémon tends to be much, much greater than it is for several other types. I find it incredibly fitting because of this that the "original weakest Pokémon ever" happens to be the Magikarp that, upon a second glance, represents everything that the Water-Type can and has been in nature for 27 years now. This Pokémon unironically has everything I could want for this nomination- it evolves into a much, much stronger species than itself was beforehand, said species also being probably the most iconic Shiny Pokémon as an added bonus, and it's able to be found in so many water-themed locations by surfing or fishing that I've genuinely lost count on how many Routes this thing spawns in.



Back in Pokémon's glory days, the Bug-Type was known for its role as "that super weak early-game type that just happens to have a few strong Pokémon later on". The second generation gave us some more early-game Bug-Types as well as an evolution to Scyther, a second counterpart to Pinsir, and a handful of other utility-based Bug-Types specializing in different stats. This isn't to say that the third and fourth generations didn't have a few solid Bug-Types either, but historically most longtime fans seem to be in agreement that the selection of new Bug-Types reached its peak during the Black & White era, led by a three-man early-game group, a pair of new Unova Pokémon with a unique trade-related evolution requirement, and the Bug/Fire Larvesta family that was so restricted in-game they genuinely had fans thinking Volcarona was a Legendary Pokémon for a second. This focus on newer, flashier, stronger Bug-Types alongside other Bug-Types returning in Black & White 2's expanded PokéDex ended up being exactly what longtime fans of the Type wanted for so many years, but no one, and I mean no one could have seen the likes of Genesect coming right around the corner at the very end of Unova's new Pokémon listing. The Bug-Type had existed for over 15 years at the time of this Pokémon's introduction, and competitive Generation 5 players and casual fans alike could only watch in absolute horror as the first-ever Bug-Type Legendary/Mythical Pokémon sliced through what felt like absolutely everything with ruthless efficency, fully comprehending the fact that the type original created to be the weakest had finally come full circle. You don't earn a title in Pokémon Rumble U's postgame like "Lord of the Bugs" without doing something to deserve it.



Come on, the new Normal-Type icon is literally in the shape of Bidoof's head. Do I even need to say more than that?

 

[DrPumpkinz]

I decided to take a more mechanics-focused approach in choosing the mascots. I also found a quote from a specialist of each type that best encapsulates that type.

"Some problems have different answers depending on the person."
The defining trait of Normal-types is customizability. Many have wide movepools and balanced stats that can be tailored to any situation. Silvally is the pinnacle of this, being able to fill just about any role you want, though not all at once, and perhaps not to the best that role can be filled.

"Doesn't matter who you are. I'll bury anyone who tries to take down Team Star!"
Fighting-types are characterized not only by their overwhelming power, but also their supportive capabilities in doubles with moves like Coaching and Quick Guard. This is especially true for Hariyama, whose access to moves like Fake Out, Helping Hand, Feint, and Knock Off make is great at supporting its team, as well as being equally capable of dealing big damage with Guts.

"Why don't we see who the winds favor today, you...or me?"
Flying is a volatile type. When things are going a Flying-type's way, with a Tailwind at its back and its Hurricanes landing confusions, with a safe switch-in soaring over Earthquake and Spikes, there are few things that are scarier to face. At the same time, if Stealth Rocks are up or Hurricane keeps missing, Flying-types are quite easy to take down. Charizard can deal incredible damage if its Fire Blasts and Hurricanes connect, but it'll faint if it so much as looks at a rock.

"Pokémon are not merely about brute force--you shall see soon enough!"
Poison is a defensive type first and foremost, relying on its good resistances and mastery over residual damage to outlast the competition. Between Recover, Regenerator, Knock Off, Scald, and Toxic Spikes, few Pokemon are as good at wearing down opponents than Toxapex.

"My Mudsdale here is as sturdy as all get-out. She can easily carry two."
Many formats end up with a Ground-type as the best and most splashable Pokemon. These Pokemon usually aren't overbearingly strong, but their ability to compress multiple roles allows the rest of their team to branch out and shine, and no Pokemon exemplifies this more than the GOAT Lando-T.

"You can see just by looking at my Pokémon how rock hard my willpower is."

Where there's a will, there's a way.

"La Primera asks me to go soft on Trainers–like a nice sponge cake. I feel sad for my sweet little bugs, though, since that means they quite often lose their battles. Hehe. But opportunities like this get me excited because I can finally show my true skill."
For a long time, Bug was the designated weakling type. However, it's acquired a lot of really strong tools like U-turn and Quiver Dance over the generations, and when put on a Pokemon like Pheromosa, the Bug type can show just how powerful it really is.

"I'm a specter from which there is no protector."
Modern generations has had Ghost move away from its original role as tricky utility type and toward unrelenting offense. Ghost doesn't hit many things super effectively, and its moves aren't really that strong, but the power of its neutral coverage allows Ghost-types like Gengar to blast through most things with repeated Choice Specs Shadow Balls.

"Steel will hang on to the very last!"
Steel is the defensive type. Steel-types don't typically have reliable recovery, but thanks to their outstanding bulk and resistances, even the resisual healing of Leftovers can allow a Steel-type to stick around much longer than most. Ferrothorn uses Leech Seed to augment or replace the healing of Leftovers, and its Iron Barbs ability mean that it can deal out chip damage until the bitter end.

"One with a fiery passion that burns!"
Despite its bevy of resistances and association with the burn status, Fire is primarily characterized as an explosive glass cannon type that blazes bright and quickly burns itself out. Infernape hits fast and hard, but constantly wears itself down with Life Orb, Overheat, Close Combat, and Flare Blitz.

"At times your Pokémon should dance like a spring breeze, and at times they should strike like lightning."
Water-types are masters of performing offensive and defensive roles simultaneously, flowing and crashing in equal measure. Suicune highlights this clearly, with its outstanding bulk, Calm Mind, and Rest allowing it to both sweep through teams and withstand countless heavy blows.

"I can't deny that Grass-type Pokémon have many weak points. But I'll show you that's not the only factor in deciding who wins!"
Grass is a peculiar type. Its poor coverage and many weaknesses make it seem bad at both offense and defense at first blush, but its key resistances and access to varied recovery and status powders allow Grass-types to perform very well in a defensive role. Jumpluff is often lumped in with stuff like Yanma and Dunsparce when people complain "why did the devs make Gen 2 Pokemon so weak" but its good bulk, great speed, and wide support movepool allow it to put in work.

"Did the fantastic speed leave you dizzy? My beloved Pokémon will be the next one to make your head spin!"
Electric-types have always been defined by their speed, and ever since Gen 5 gave them near-universal access to Volt Switch, they've been primarily defined by fast pivoting. Electrode is among the fastest of all Pokemon, and once it's set up its screens, it can pivot out with its choice of Volt Switch or Explosion.

"It's true that psychic power is a potent ability. However, there are things that cannot be overcome with that power alone."
Psychic has the potential to be extremely powerful thanks to near-universal access to Calm Mind and the ability to go mixed without spreading investment thin with Psyshock, but it's reliant on coverage more than any other type thanks to Dark- and Steel-types. Most accomplish this with Dazzling Gleam, Focus Blast, or Hidden Power Fire, but I'm giving a shout out to that period in Gen 7 where Reuniclus was the hottest shit, blasting through Steel-types with Stored Power and stalling out Dark-types with +6 in each defense and an ally's Toxic Spikes.

"Ice is both extremely hard and terribly fragile at the same time."
Many Ice-types are built like tanks with amazing bulk and power, but the ones that rise to the top are the ones that sidestep their horrible defensive profile and act as glass cannons. Cloyster highlights both sides of this duality, using its heavily defensive stat spread to buy enough time to shed its bulk and become an offensive powerhouse with Shell Smash.

"No point in letting this drag on... Behold, the power to overwhelm everything!"
Dragon-types are synonymous with crushing power, and nothing says crushing power more than a Haxorus boosting with Dragon Dance or Swords Dance and just going to town on some poor fools.

"I will make you regret paying heed to your heart!"
Dark-types excell at playing dirty with moves that bend the rules of the game, honor be damned. Many Dark-types can spam Knock Off and Sucker Punch, but nothing comes as close to abusing all of Dark's tricks than Weavile and its excellent use of Pursuit and Beat Up.

"If you think Fairy types are all about cuteness, you're in for a nasty surprise!"
As the newest type, Fairy hasn't yet had the time to find its identity beyond "balance patch". One thing is for certain though, and that's that Fairy-types are not to be underestimated. You wouldn't think a Pokemon without any stats above 100 could be a meta-defining threat, but the brave cower and the mighty weep when they hear the name of Clef.

 

[Kin+ak (✧∇✧)]

Normal Type mascot should be snorlax. It's one of the most popular pokemon. psychic Type is obv mewtwo, the legend, in the top 10 of nost well-known pokes, and also the best of It's kind. As for steel types, steelix, it doesnt makes sense to put anyone else to me. Fire Type needs a big false dragon in charizard. In fact gen 1 starters fill the roles for their primary Type mascot. As for.poison types, golbat is the one you search, for flying types search nowhere else, pidgeot is THE guy. Dragon types are resumed in, charizard mega x as it is the most well-known. fairy types obviously are représented in sylveon. Rock types have as mascot the good old geodude Ground types are not represented better than bY diglett electrix= and fighting types have as a mascot Machamp as it is the fighter by excellence.ice types are représented in goat articuno spooky ghost = gengar and dark types are kinda divided. Is it ttar or umbreon, but as this isn't a contest of which Is my favorite, umbreon Is the best to represent dark types bug types = that silly horde of caterpie which means that the mascot Is choses already.

 

[Local Dog]

Growlithe should be fire. Like he isn't, Charmander probably is, but he should be

 

[Snak]

pikachu is the mascot of all the types

 

[Ironmage]

Did get around to the full list.

Normal:
I often focus on Normal as the type with a lot of potential, effectively being the "too many elements" type instead of something like Rattata which is too few. There are several good options, but I was stuck thinking about how Eevee lost a lot of those aspects when it became a major mascot. As a result, I've gone for the most focused option: a mon where being anything is the only thing it can do.

Fire:
Fire feels like it stands out as a type that goes heavy on offense compared to both other starter types and other 'standard element' types. It has a lot of moves with very high power and limits on spamability while Flash Fire is an offensive counterpart to its early equivalents in Water/Volt Absorb. Which means that if I'm picking a starter, I should pick the one that has both Flash Fire and Eruption.

Grass:
Grass is known for a large amount of healing and draining options, but this doesn't actually overlap much with its role as a starter type: most starters of any type nowadays are just attacking. Venusaur is from before that trend took effect.

Water:
The most successful bulky attacker type. Of the options that also show off it being a starter, Swampert ironically doesn't muddy the waters by overlapping with another strong defensive type. As well, its mega works into Rain.

Electric:
In addition to being the only mon that explicitly uses Electric Terrain without Quark Drive (which isn't particularly aligned to any type), it uses it to double down on Electric's focus on Speed advantage. It keeps up the effort with a signature Z-move that always paralyzes.

Bug:
Frequently an early-game encounter (with the poor chart matchups and low BST that can imply), but with the kind of utility that can win the game in one turn. Ribombee is packing two of the main culprits for that (Quiver Dance and Sticky Web) with a bunch more utility besides while being originally found as early as route 2.

Fighting: and Psychic:
The dedicated physical and special types, with trade evo counterparts.

Ground:
Earthquake's almost too common as a generally good attack, so I figured the Ground represantative should have a more exlusive STAB to use. I considered Rhydon here since it can also use Drill run and was the ace of the original Ground leader, but it (and especially its evolution) had enough Rock going on as well.

Rock:
While sand abusers are often found among Ground-types, it is officially the Rock-type field effect so Sand Stream felt necessary. Tyranitar gets in on seniority over Gigalith.

Poison:
While its status focus is important, Poison type at times feels like it shapes the worlds of the games. It's on so many mons in gen 1 that have been repeated since while current plots revolve around mons like Poiple, Eternatus, or the Loyal Three. The Zubat line may not be the best at passive damage like Toxapex or directly tied to important phenomena like Glimmora, but it, and Crobat's evolution emphasizing the importance of friendship, is unmissable.

Dark:
As the type dedicated to fighting dirty, there's no shortage of Dark mons that are noted to gang up on opponents. The reason I placed the Murkrow line above the rest is that the goons' Prankster also helps with the trickery needed to fight unfair in the limited numbers of trainer battles.

Flying:
In gen 1, Pidgey was the more Normal Normal/Flying because it used gust and Spearow was the more Flying Normal/Flying because it used Peck. Nowadays, with wind generally being the Special side of Flying and (drill) Peck being superceded by Brave Bird, Pidgeot represents more of the Flying type with little overhead.

Steel:
I've looked at Metagross as the archetypal Steel before, mostly in the context of spinoffs/crossovers getting a Steel type that isn't Lucario. I find Beldum cute, a common thing for Steel-type first stages. Statwise, a fairly even spread with good Atk/Def means that it can show off Steel's high number of resistances while not being useless with Flash Cannon (since all Special Steel moves are light-based, I consider it as the primary type encompassing light, which should be represented somewhere).

Ghost:
The classic Ghost leans pretty heavily on the 'shadow' aspects of the type and just enough on the status angle that I don't feel the need to look elsewhere.

Ice:
A type that can't decide whether it wants to be offensive or defensive. Thick Fat provides Mamoswine (or eviolite piloswine) usable defensive stats, at least in a Monotype context. Meanwhile, its nearly unresisted STABs showcase Ice's strengths.

Dragon:
Dragon is often shown ingame as connected to ancient traditions, but I never really bought that hype. It instead stands out to me as a brute force type, embodied by Outrage locking in the user. Ghetsis' ace then fits my mental concept of the type perfectly: rampages hidden behind the veneer of old mentors.

Fairy:
As mentioned above, Fairy can mean a lot of things. Valiant is most of them.

 

[Hugin]

So, my thoughts: I want mono-types, and ones that are mostly complete mons on their own, that mostly do things you'd expect of that type. Legendaries, starters, and other gimmicks(Eeveeloutions) are discouraged, but not banned. Obvious existing mascots are the exception, but in those cases I'll list a runner up. I'll also be ignoring early gen privilege, if something fitting is from Galar, I'm picking it. Competitive viability isn't really a concern, but being able to sell merch is(as possible as that is with mono-types that explicitly don't have anything else to bring to the table).
Eevee/Furfrou, Charizard/Torkoal, Lucario/Machamp, Lumineon, Swellow, Bellossom, Muk, Pikachu, Hippowdon, Mewtwo/Alakazam, Gigalith, Cryogonal, Vivillon, Haxorus, Banette, Zoroark, Klinklang, Sylveon.

Justification

Normal: Eevee has been shoehorned in as a backup mascot HARD since Gen VII, and it's potential to turn into any type feels like an obvious thing to bring to the Normal type. For a runner-up, Furfrou. It's an early-available normal, with both the normal type's usual "really good and then falls off hard" thing, but also with the "new gimmick here" thing. All of that feels very fitting.
Fire: Charizard. Yes, it's a dual-type starter, but there's no denying, they've said this mon is special since at least the TCG. Runner-up, Torkoal. This one was hard. The number of pure-Fires is rather small, and a lot of them are not great fits. I wanted something with visible fire on it's body and a special attacker. I originally wanted speed too, but a LOT of fires are slow when you look at things. The Drought Turtle ended up being it. Rapidash and Magmortar came close, though.
Fighting: Lucario, as much as it feels forced. I never got the appeal, but TPC clearly thinks it's worth focusing on. Runner-up, Machamp. Do I need to say anything about that guy? He was one of the first Fighting types and the model for later ones, introducing the conscious focus on physical strength and the basic statline that we'd come to expect from the type.
Water: Lumineon. This one was tough. I wanted an actual fish, and there just aren't that many, especially not without gimmicks. I also wanted special attack and some bulk, but not completely passive. Lumineon isn't good competitively, but it does everything that water types do and would make for a cool image on box art.
Flying: Swellow. It had to be a Flying/Normal, since the pure Flyings are excluded, and Flying/Normal was the rule for so long. And I wanted one with no shades of other types(Toucannon is tinged with Fire, Braviary with Fighting). So this came down to Swellow, Fearow, or Pidgeot. And frankly, Swellow is cooler.
Grass: Bellossom. It's an actual plant, and a "normal" one(not a cactus/fungus/etc). It's also bulky with a lot of status moves, which is what you want the grass-type for on your team, Sleeping the Legendary or Poisoning an enemy's Ace.
Poison: Muk. Like Machamp, they got it right early here. There aren't many pure poisons to choose from, but this one nails both the useage side of things and the look of "that will kill you if you touch it". Seviper was a close second, if you want an animal instead.
Electric: Pikachu. I don't even have a runner-up here, the rodent nails fast special attacker so well that while you could go with Blitzle or Jolteon, there's no reason to. Meanwhile, the electric rat is the face of the franchise and has been from the word go. It's not a contest.
Ground: Hippowdon. Most ground-types are big and bulky, and the sandstorm bot fills that role. It's also one of two families(Dugtrio) IIRC that have the soil visible in their sprites. It's also a really dangerous design, and would be the only mascot that would be cooler female.
Psychic: Mewtwo. Again, this has been a thing since the beginning, I don't feel a need to discuss it. Runner-up, Alakazam. There's actually a reasonable number of Psychics that are slow and bulky, but LBH, no one ever thinks about them. People remember the ones with 100+ in Speed and SAtk. And Alakazam is the big boy of that crowd. Also a Humanoid mon, which is relatively common among the Psychics, gets all the weirdo moves, and has an immediate recognition factor about what he does that you don't get with Espeon or Gothitelle.
Rock: Gigalith. This is an interesting one. I wanted pure Rock, slow, with good def, and an actual rock. That leaves Gigalith. And Rock/Ground is far less common than the omnipresence of Geodude would make you think. But Gigalith does fit, so it goes here.
Ice: Cryogonal. It's a snowflake. Great for art, great for being the epitome of the Snow type. I would have preferred something slower(Avalugg came to mind), but good SAtk is nice too.
Bug: Vivillon. It isn't quite an official mascot, but they tried for that, and there's not a lot of fully-evolved pure bugs in the game, so the common Bug/Flying type is close enough. It's an early-route bug with cool design, some nice initial power/status moves, and falls off a cliff by midgame. The exact thing you expect of the type.
Dragon: Haxorus. I came close to Dragonite or Salamence, tbh, but a non-Pseudolegend dragon with sky-high stats, an excellent movepool, and tough to train hits everything I want from the type, and it's very visibly a giant angry dragon.
Ghost: Banette. It's a creepy doll. I considered a pure-spirit mon, but Banette is creepier, which seems like the goal here.
Dark: Zoroark. The trickster type turned up to 11. A lot of the other options are just black animals, Zoroark has a more distinctive design than Thievul or similar IMO.
Steel: Klinklang. There's basically no pure-steels that qualify, and no Steel/another type that's particularly common to use instead. Fortunately then that the Klinklang line fits perfectly. It's obviously man-made, has the right stats, is very distinct...just a good obvious Steel mascot.
Fairy: Sylveon. It's the mascot for the type. There's others I could reference(Florges), but they clearly chose Sylveon and I can't argue with that.

 

[KalosianPorygon]

SturdyShedinja suggested Butterfree as the mascot for the Bug type, and I don't disagree... But I feel like one must also give a shoutout to Beedrill, Kanto's other early bug. If Butterfree is the friendly-looking flying butterfly with psychic powers and powders, Beedrill is the intimidating poisonous wasp.
Subsequent generations, or at least earlier ones, tended to pair a "cute" early bug with a "scary" one:



On top of this, Beedrill's preevolutions are the player's introduction to the Poisoned status condition, Pokémon's most basic take on the classic "damage over turns" status effect.
...Would this then make Jigglypuff and Snorlax the series' mascots for the Sleepy status condition? The first makes others asleep, the second is known for sleeping all the time.

 

[Eeveeto]

Grass: Bulbasaur. Number 1 Mon, very iconic.
Fire: Charizard. No need to explain.
Water: Greninja. More for anime reasons than anything.
Bug: Scyther. Its one of the few Mons that have 2 different evolutions. Its the NFE with the highest BST. Its also the only Mon as strong in BST as its evolutions. When you think about strong Bug types, Scyther is one of the first that comes to mind.
Normal: Back in 2009 when I created the Eeveeto nick, Eevee wasn,t even close from being a mascot. However, since Gen 6 its popularity rose and it got something new every Gen (except in SS, but Eeveelutions got buffed at least). Nowadays, after Pikachu is the most iconic Pokemon, we Eevee fans finally won.
Poison: Koffing. Not only for Smogon reasons, but it got a prominent role in the anime too.
Electric: Well, answer is not needed here.
Fight: Machamp. First Mon that is thought about when the type is mentioned.
Psychic: Mewtwo. Could be Alakazam, but that first movie really gave this Mon protagonism.
Rock: Onix. Brock.
Ghost: Gengar, like Machamp, its the first Mon you think about.
Ice: Lapras. Used by Lorelei. Got a Gigamax form (and used by Galar Gym leader as a result). Also is in Pokemon Unite. Alolan Ninetales is the only other serious contender here.
Dragon: Dragonite, similar reason to Machamp and Gengar.
Steel: Lucario. Very popular Mon, competes with Machamp as most known Fight.
Dark: In some poll, Umbreon was a top 5 most popular Mon, which is pretty cool.
Flying: Pidgeot. Anime reasons.
Fairy: Sylveon. Among with Umbreon, one of the most popular Mons out there. First Fairy revealed too.