2. Pikachu
Electric Pichu - PIKACHU - Raichu Pichu becomes Pikachu via an increase in happiness, Pikachu evolves into Raichu when exposed to a Thunderstone A lot of people probably wanted this to be number one, and in many ways it is just as deserving as our eventual winner. Pikachu is cute, powerful and lovable. It was my first ever Pokémon because my first game was not Red or Blue but the Yellow version - in which the only starter Pokémon available is a Level 5 Pikachu, freshly caught by Professor Oak. Although Pikachu is forced upon you on Pokémon Yellow it is still the best starter Pokémon ever. It's not even that powerful in all honesty - it's Defence and Special Defence stats are actually really vulnerable to attack. However, Pikachu's Special Attack and Speed make it a match for a lot of Pokémon. It's probably THE ultimate hit and run Pokémon - you get in, Thunderbolt some poor thing to death and then get out! So as I say, Attack good, Defence bad. And that's reflected in Pikachu's move set. Moves such as Light Screen and Double Team are designed to make Pikachu more durable in battle by increasing it's evasiveness and Special Defences. Thunderbolt and Thunder are Pikachu's best learned moves whereas Zap Cannon, Thunderpunch and DynamicPunch are its best taught moves.
1. Charizard
Fire/Flying Charmander - Charmeleon - CHARIZARD Charmander becomes Charmeleon at Level 16, Charmeleon evolves into Charizard at Level 36 Need I say more than simply the name? It's always been my personal favourite and
in 2011 it was voted as IGN's Number 1 Most Popular Pokémon. It can be ferocious, lackadaisical, ignorant, ice cool and moody all at once. Because of the TV anime series, Charizard has a personality and that personality is grafted onto every representation of Charizard that exists - be it on our Gameboy or DS screens, our trading cards or just random pictures. The way Charizard just ignores Ash is great - rolling its eyes and picking its nails while Ash flips out and barks unheeded battle orders. It's similar to Pikachu, Ash's Pikachu also has a lovable personality which has ensured its position as one of the most loved Pokémon ever to exist in the franchise. Charizard is probably Ash's most powerful Pokémon and this is represented in the games. Moves like Flamethrower and Fire Blast come easy to Charizard - whilst it's dual-type ensures moves like Fly and Wing Attack are also really powerful and useful against Fighting types. It's also similar looking to a Dragon type and Dragon types are inherently cool. Do you agree with my run-down? Share your own picks and thoughts below in the comments.
Twitter: @ZAForster