Ranking All 151 Original Pokémon From Worst To Best

17. Gengar

Ok so, nostalgia and heart-warming tales to one side, Gengar is just a straight up badass in the games. It was also, until a good few generations later, the only really viable way of having a serious Ghost-type in your party too. Plus, and just take a second to appreciate this, look at it. Gengar is terrifying, and possesses the sort of grin that prospective serial killers would all happily bid on eBay for.

In game (and let's put aside the fact that Red and Blue had a glitch that made Ghost-types slightly useless) it's Special Attack is absolutely massive and learns a great variety of moves that work off it, making it genuinely one of Gen 1's best battlers. Dream Eater was also a brilliant move when you could pull it off, and Night Shade doing damage equal to the opponent's level was a clever dynamic to introduce.

16. Starmie

I would almost go so far as to say that Starmie was the single most dynamic attacking Pokémon in the entire first generation. It had a brilliant Special Attack stat, the Speed to use it, and could learn Ice Beam, Surf, Thunderbolt and Psychic, as well as Recover. Trained right, it could be an absolute lynchpin of your team.

It also enjoyed a lot of exposure in the both the anime and the comic books, becoming a central character both with Misty and without. I can't speak highly enough of how distinctive it looks as well, being one of the few in entire franchise that doens't have the now-customary Japanimation-style cute face. Merely a jewel in its centre.

15. Jolteon

Lightning quick, lightning moves. Jolteon's just a brilliant electric Pokémon. It looks exactly how you'd want a pet to look if you were allowed to design it yourself. You don't need any more than that.