In celebration of April 22nd’s release of Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl for the Nintendo DS, we’ve decided to give you our picks for the top 25 Pokémon of all-time. We’ve gone through the first three generations’ entire list of 386 different Pokémon, and we’ll be listing out a few of our picks each day over the course of the week until we reach our undisputed #1 pick for our favorite Pokémon of all-time on Saturday evening!

Wednesday! Mid-week! Tonight we finally dive into the bottom of the top ten, with three of tonight’s four Pokémon holding “legendary” status. Click on to find out who we ranked as #10 through #7, and why we chose to do so!

#10 - Jirachi

Who’s That Pokémon?
Those of you that at least hear of new Pokémon movies as they come out should at least know that Jirachi is the wish-maker Pokémon. Jirachi will sleep for over thousand years, protected in a crystal casing around its body. If attacked, this shell will actually fight off the enemy on its own while leaving Jirachi to its sleep inside. When the time is right, this shell will disappear, and travelers are free to write down their wishes on the post-it notes attached to Jirachi’s head. Then, Jirachi must awaken by being sung to. However, only someone with a pure, good voice will be able to successfully wake Jirachi. Once awake, Jirachi will begin to grant the wishes written down for it, and will not stop until each wish is granted, using grand cosmic powers from within. After the last wish has been granted, Jirachi will go into a new protective shell as it hibernates for another thousand years.

In the video games, Jirachi is not naturally occurring. However, players can obtain Jirachi by chance when using special machines at Pokémon Center stores in select world cities. Due to the inconvenience of traveling to these cities and the rarity of events where they will open up these trading machines, many Pokémon trainers have resorted to the only other official method.

North Americans who pre-ordered Pokémon Colosseum and Europeans and Australians who bought Pokémon Channel are able to download Jirachi to their Game Boy Advance games using the GameCube to GBA link cable. The bonus disc for pre-ordering Colosseum gives players access to a level 5 Jirachi right away, while those with PAL versions of Pokémon Channel will have to first clear the channel before unlocking access to the downloadable Jirachi.

Why did we pick it?
Jirachi is one of the few legendary Pokémon that Nintendo bothered to come up with great backstory for. Jirachi represents the Advance generation’s version of Mew or Celebi, all three of which are legitimately sitting in Box 14 of Christian’s Pokémon game. Jirachi also intrigues me in that here we have a Pokémon standing a foot tall and weighing two and a half pounds, and yet this thing has the ability to harness the power of the cosmos and grant any wish asked of it. It’s like a genie in a lamp, except the genie’s the size of the lamp.

#9 - Moltres

Who’s That Pokémon?
Moltres was the original bird of fire in Pokémon world (that is if, of course, you don’t count the fact that Ash saw a golden Ho-Oh in the very first episode of the Pokémon anime). This majestic and magnificent bird creates a scene of awe and wonder as it flies through the night, lighting up with every flap of its wings. Seemingly on fire, Moltres’ wings give off glowing embers as it soars through the air. In addition to being on fire, Moltres can create and control fire as it wishes, to an extent nearly unrivaled in the Pokémon universe. While being immensely fast and powerful, it is still possible that Moltres may become injured. If this ever occurs, Moltres will head for a volcano and take a bath in the molten lava. The burning lava actually has a healing effect on Moltres and will cure any injuries that may have been obtained.

Why did we pick it?
The legendary birds were about as legendary as you could get in the original games, with Moltres representing one third of the group. At least for Christian, the thought of a seven-foot tall bird on fire with more power than imaginable was something to hold in extremely high regard, as fire represents power in many circles. In addition, Moltres had the most powerful attack of all three of the legendary birds’ Pokémon cards, if memory serves well.

In the movie, Pokémon the Movie 2000, Moltres was supposedly at the submission of the psychic Lugia, but you could definitely feel the wrath in Moltres’ flamethrower as it disregarded Lugia’s power and fought to emerge victorious against Articuno and Zapdos. Even when throwing in Ho-Oh, the other legendary bird of fire, Moltres still seems to command more respect as there aren’t many sights more intimidating than a giant flame hovering over you. According to our list, Moltres ranks as our top fire-type Pokémon to date.

#8 - Mewtwo

Who’s That Pokémon?
In an attempt to create the ultimate Pokémon, scientists (hired by gym leader Giovanni, according to the movies) cloned what DNA they had of the legendary Pokémon Mew and altered the DNA through gene-splicing genetic engineering. Their goal was to create a Pokémon that would be unmatched in battle. It would seem as they succeeded, but Mewtwo’s immense power had no restraint due to the fact that its creation and own logical thinking resulted in the lack of a compassionate heart.

Mewtwo remains one of the most powerful in the games, and, up until Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, shared having the highest average base stat with other legendary Pokémon such as Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Deoxys, etc. Its psychic attacks are almost unrivaled, making it imperative that trainers seek out to catch Mewtwo with nothing less than a Master Ball after beating the Elite Four.

Why did we pick it?
Mewtwo is our test-tube baby, its name is derived from the 151st Pokemon, Mew, but the suffix “two” distinguishes him as the cloned, upgraded version. And it’s obvious, too! Mewtwo has bulging pectorals, a permanent snarl on is face and can stand on its own two feet (as opposed to floating around, like Mew). You only have one chance to catch Mewtwo in Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow, but the effort is well worth it, Mewtwo’s psychic powers are undeniable, as all of his stats are the most powerful out of any Pokemon in the game (aside from Mew’s, if you are lucky enough to have Mew!). Mewtwo is also an unlockable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, where he is just as formidable. Any battle with Mewtwo is hands-free as he uses his telepathic brainwaves to pick up items and throw foes across the arena. And how cool is it to completely KO someone with a homerun bat you just picked up with your mind?!

#7 - Gengar

Who’s That Pokémon?
What beats psychic? Gengar was the final evolution of the only ghost family in the original games. Not much is known about Gengar due to the lack of story concerning ghost Pokémon in the games, anime, cards, movies, and more. In addition, Gengar only tends to come out at night, at which point it will find some person or Pokémon to stalk, possibly hiding in their shadows. Gengar actually find pleasure in doing so - if you were to be walking one night to notice your own shadow suddenly overtake you, there’s a good possibility that it was simply a Gengar imitating your shadow, and then running in front of you to mess with your head.

In the games, Gengar is no longer the most logical choice for a ghost Pokémon. One of a ghost-type’s best characters should be the advantage it has over psychic Pokémon, an advantage rare among Pokémon. However, Gengar is also of the poison-type. As a result, while Gengar’s ghost attacks may be super-effective against psychic Pokémon, trainers shouldn’t keep them in the battle longer enough to be hit by a psychic attack for fear of being knocked out.

Why did we pick it?

In the original games, nothing was more frustrating than entering a battle against all those damn psychic Pokemon. No matter which Pokemon you had in your arsenal, those battles were an absolute nightmare! Fortunately, our friend Gengar helped ease some of those battle woes, even if he looks by far the most scary of the original Pokemon. Well, except for Jynx, the transgendered wonder!

We’re nearing the end of our list! Tomorrow we’ll be taking a look at a dragon, an Eevee evolution, and a legendary bird. Check back tomorrow as we look at our picks for #6 through #4, as we target the #1 Pokémon for Saturday night, setting you up for Pokémon Diamond and Pearl this Sunday, April 22!

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