Pokémon Day 2025: Our Favourites

Happy Pokémon Day! To help get into the spirit of the day we were tasked with deciding our favourite elements of the series and decided to break it down into five fun and unique topics: our favourite monster, game, NPC, type, and location. You can join in the fun in the comments below, we’d love to hear yours too! To continue the festivities you can catch Riley playing their Randomized Emerald Nuzlocke over on our Twitch on Saturday at 7 pm BST or join our Discord right now to keep the conversation going.

Pokémon: Umbreon

I have many favourites, picking one monster from over 1000 unique designs is a task more daunting than fun. Even though this may be a more generic pick, I have always held a soft spot for Umbreon ever since he was thrust upon me in Pokémon Colosseum back in 2004. Always reliable, Umbreon usually outlived the rest of my teams, gradually whittling down health with Toxic and slowly healing with leftovers and Wish. He’s the perfect Toxic staller and I even have a large plushie I used to take out on adventures with me. Beyond his outstanding battle capabilities, his sleek, almost moon-rabbit-esque design and the lunar rings that glow in the moonlight are especially appealing. Considering my admiration for the moon and moon-rabbit mythology, he’s always been an easy favourite for me.

Game: Black 2

My first game, Sapphire, has a special place in my heart and I can replay it infinitely. But I have to give merits to the game with the highest quality the franchise has yet to see (in my opinion). The graphics and sprite work are fantastic, each area feels grand. The character designs really pop out at you, especially characters like Colress, although I do enjoy the characters introduced in the 3D era more (Sun and Moon have an exceptional cast). The music here is notable, from the incredible highs of Iris’s champion theme, to the remixes of older generation’s themes in the PWT (The Galactic theme being a notable upgrade). Artistically I’ve never felt more at home in a Pokémon game than the aesthetic outlined here and I’ve barely scratched the surface on the hundreds of micro details Game Freak managed to wedge into this entry.

The selection of Pokémon here is matched only by the open-world entries too: access to early Riolu, Mareep, and plentiful Eevee among other fantastic Unova Pokemon means that your team can be massively different every time you play, which for replay value breeds creativity. The medal system introducing achievements to the games grants unique targets to aim for, as well as the early forms of dexnav, the presence of every quality of life feature you could fathom being here makes this a perfect package of form and function. I could go on for hours about the strengths of Pokémon Black 2 so I’ll leave it here and highly recommend playing it if you haven’t. P.S. Challenge Mode come back pls.

NPC: Lillie

Meaningful stories in Pokémon games were something you just didn’t expect to happen. Most generations have an over-the-top evil villain hellbent on world domination or devastation through some world-ending legendary entity that the player, a 10-year-old kid usually, has to face down and save the world, and this was fine. But in Sun and Moon, Game Freak decided to change things up and make a character-driven story its focus. While, yes, the villain does eventually go insane and starts wreaking havoc with a potentially catastrophic threat with the Ultra Beasts, the intent is a lot smaller than that. She becomes obsessed with beauty, the Ultra Beasts become her fixation and this leads to her abusing her children. With her husband lost due to ultra wormholes and her eldest son off with Team Skull, Lillie takes the brunt of her abuse and is forced to run away from home with a small and mysterious Pokémon in hand that she rescues from the clutches of her mother and the Aether foundation.

Her story is about self-acceptance, personal growth and facing her abuser. It’s uplifting and real, something we hadn’t seen Game Freak attempt. It felt grounded in how people would really react to this bizarre situation. She does eventually forgive and console her mother, but it’s after a horrific event takes place which nearly leads to her mother’s demise. My favourite part of her journey is her costume change at the midpoint. She becomes her “Z-Powered Form”; this change reflects her newfound self-confidence and will to push forward despite everything she’s gone through. Lillie’s journey reflects how good storytelling can elevate an otherwise average game experience into something memorable and exciting. I look forward to experiencing it again when I replay Sun and Moon in the future.

Type: Steel

What’s not to love about the solid and defensively sound Steel-type? On its own it’s formidable, hard to take down, completely resists poison-typing and is a great counter to the Fairy typing, but combined with other types it can create deadly combinations. Lucario’s Fighting/Steel combination means it can hit like a truck while maintaining its defences to ensure it can take a non-super effective hit and continue its attack. Mawile and its Mega Evolution aids in its resistance to poison meaning due to its defensive nature, only a well-placed special fire attack can deal deadly damage… if you don’t get sucker punched first. With a diverse dual-type selection, it’s resistances and defence-focused stats, a well-placed steel type fits every team effortlessly, and can even work well in a mono-type run. It’s hard to believe it wasn’t always there as it fits the games so easily. Long live the mighty steel-type!

Location: Phenac City

A desert oasis is a trope we’ve seen again and again in video games and especially JRPGs. There’s something often mesmerising about seeing those luscious waters amongst the desolate sandy backdrop. Phenac City utilises this and a beautiful mixture of the past and the future that blends together so seamlessly, it can often be overlooked. As the first real town you visit in Orre it houses the necessities for the journey’s beginnings, the pre-school to teach the basics and the colosseum to test your skills later on. It also offers you the opportunity to capture your starter Pokémon for the game.

The design of the city is what I find most appealing, from the high walls built to keep the desert out, with aqueducts to transport water from the giant fountain over the colosseum to the crashing cascading waterfalls that separate the lower areas of the city from the higher. The abundantly hydrated feeling of the town, feeling almost wasteful of its water, brings a unique and opulent feel to the city; which contrasts the beaten down and rough around the edges feel the rest of the region presents. It’s a nice escape away to normalcy in an otherwise crime-ridden and hectic region in the most unique RPG entry in the series.

Pokémon: Gorochu

Fluffy, floating Altaria. Elegant, sage-like, Mienshao. Convenient, laundry-doing, team-destroying Rotom-W. Literally every Ultra Beast, Pokémon based on a kaiju, and every paradox Pokémon with a prehistoric aesthetic. All these species have a place in my heart. But only one Pokemon maintains an iron grip on it after shattering my ribcage with an Electric Wind God Fist. Perhaps one of the only really mythic Pokémon, as it does not exist in any official Pokémon game.

For those not in the know, my favourite Pokémon is Gorochu, Pikachu’s planned third evolution before it was scrapped and eventually replaced by its pre-evolution Pichu. Existing only in the interpretations of artists more talented than I, Gorochu consistently has a striking silhouette and a regal countenance. Raichu, but bigger and fluffier; it builds on the chonk factor of the best Pikachu designs while adding fearsome edges.

It’s also a secret boss in Pokémon: Close Combat where it combines the toxic swagger of Heihachi Mishima with the moveset of Shin Akuma to deliver defeat after devastating defeat while wearing its tail like a black belt. By the time you overcome this monster, game’s gotta respect game.

Game: Pokémon Platinum

I haven’t had the pleasure of playing every mainline iteration of Pokémon (as of the time of writing I haven’t played HGSS, XY, BW2, USUM, SS, or SV) but when I think about my favourite experiences, 2 games come to mind: Black (or White) with its ambitious story, sick music, and willingness to take a page out of Gen III’s book with an initial dex roster consisting of brand new Pokémon; and Platinum.

Platinum was the only game from Generation IV I played, so I associate it with the first time I had the ability to trade with other trainers from all over the world. No longer a slave to the whims of the disastrous local pocket monster economy, I suddenly found myself with shinies and legendaries I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. I also got to experience a version of Sinnoh with no shortage of fire-types, could customise the explosions my pokéballs made, and enjoy a cornucopia of post-game content such as rematches with trainers of note and this game’s version of the Battle Tower.

NPC: Guzma

It’s ya boi, Guzma. Far from the Machiavellian supervillain with grand ambitions you’d find in the other games (in the game he appears in, that’s Lusamine) Guzma is the leader of Team Skull, a worryingly large group of delinquents in Alola. An angry, violent asshole from the abuse he experiences at his father’s hands, Guzma nevertheless has the best interests of his gang at heart and shows an admirable willingness to change for the better in the end. An underdog using the oft-overlooked bug-type, he also boasts a dope theme song and funny dialogue.

Shoutout to the runner-up, Blue! He is my favourite rival for his consistent one-upmanship, the iconic WWE entrance theme that plays as soon as he shows up on screen, and his impeccable drip.

Type: Fighting

I’ve always had a particular fondness for ethereal types like Ghost, Psychic, and Fairies. These types tend to demonstrate a capacity for both compassion and mischief, as well as some interesting moves like Trick Room and Destiny Bond. However, after playing the fangame Pokémon: Close Combat, I am now a certified meathead. Fighting-type Pokémon embody the type of self-expression I find fascinating in martial arts, dancing, and (perhaps redundantly) fighting games. With their dynamic movements, diverse design concepts, and the stock-shounen attitude radiating from their pores and attacks, they’re the kinda little guys I’d love to have by my side dapping me up whether I win or lose.

Location: Yo mama’s house

I jest, it’s the vibrant and verdant Celadon City from Red and Blue. I look back at my times at the game corner and the department store fondly. I also enjoyed using it as the base of my operations to become a successful/disgusting capitalist pig in the Pokémon version of Monopoly.

Pokémon: Blaziken

Blaziken has been my favourite Pokémon since I was a child. Though the exact reason why has been lost to time, I can only imagine that it’s because I was very much a fan of Dragon Ball Z and Blaziken reminded me a bit of Goku with its colour scheme and martial arts. Game Freak blessing the blaze-kickin’ chicken with an amazing ability back in Generation 5 was just the cherry on top.

Game: Emerald

Emerald being my favourite is very likely heavily influenced by the fact that I played a LOT of it as a child. It wasn’t the first Pokémon game I played (that honour goes to Gold that wasn’t even mine) but it was the first Pokémon game that I bought and could call my own. Everything about Emerald and Hoenn at large just clicks for me. I believe Emerald has love the way the region has an intersection of nature and technology, a majority of the designs are great, the soundtrack is full of absolute bangers and the Legendaries are all cool. I mean, we got the Regi Trio, the absolute peak of Legendary design.

NPC: Miror B

Miror B. Might genuinely, literally be one of my favourite NPCs in any game, ever. Pokémon Colosseum generally has quite a ‘gritty’ (for Pokémon) standards atmosphere to it. There are grimy streets, criminal gangs on the loose, corruption in office and you can’t walk into a town without being jumped. Standing tall (and groovy) amongst the rough and unsavoury inhabitants of the criminal underworld is Miror B, an 8-foot-tall funk master with an afro styled like a pokéball. Ignoring the shadow Sudowoodo, Miror B’s entire team consists of Ludicolo’s stuck in a perpetual dance in the rain which can prove a slight challenge at that point of the game if you don’t have a good way of dealing with them. His battle theme is unlike anything you’ve heard before in the series: a deliciously spicy salsa dance track that gets stuck in your head. You may think that Colosseum is the last you see of Miror B, but amazingly he returns in the sequel, sporting a whole new outfit and a funky new theme that’s arguably even better than the old one.

Type: Steel

I don’t really have much of a reason for preferring Steel above other types, but some of my favourite Pokémon happen to be Steel type, so there’s that. Scizor, Aggron, Origin Forme Dialga and Excadrill are among my top favourites and I had to give them a shout-out.

Location: Slateport City

Slateport City is easily the place I would most happily live in, if I were to be squeezed inside the game cartridge. It’s got a beach with a soda bar and a rapping toddler spitting out bars, a market to peruse the local goods, a museum to look at interesting ocean things (and listen to the lovely music), a battle tent, and the Trick Master’s House is just up the road. The music is also downright lovely, it has this upbeat, festive vibe that makes me think of Christmas.