The Supple-Tongued Greninja is the Most Popular Pokemon in the World

The Supple-Tongued Greninja is the Most Popular Pokemon in the World

Everyone's favorite blue frog bounds away with the big win.

News by Nadia Oxford, Staff Writer

Updated on 27 February 2020

Happy Pokemon Day! Grab your nearest Pokemon stuffie and give it a big hug, because today's the official day to celebrate one of gaming's most beloved franchises.

To commemorate the event, The Pokemon Company and Google held a Pokemon of the Year vote and invited fans from all over the world to pick their favorite Pokemon. The Top Ten countdown went up today, and there's a strong possibility you might not agree with the picks. Nevertheless, the people have spoken. Here are the Top 10 Pokemon as voted by randos worldwide:

  • 10. Gengar
  • 9. Gardevoir
  • 8. Rayquaza
  • 7. Garchomp
  • 6. Sylveon
  • 5. Umbreon
  • 4. Charizard
  • 3. Mimikyu
  • 2. Lucario
  • 1. Greninja

I'm surprised to see Greninja take the top spot. I knew the evolved Pokemon X and Y starter was popular, but not "Number One" material.

To be faaaaaair, Greninja shows up on our own List of the Top 25 Pokemon at #8. Greninja is fierce on the battlefield thanks to its quickness and ability to shift weaknesses. Its design is also unapologetically bold: It honestly took guts to decide one of X and Y's top tier evolutions would use its own tongue as a scarf. It's so cool, yet so unsettling.

Our own list (almost) matches up with The Pokemon Company's list in other spots. Both give accolades to Gengar, Charizard, Lucario, Mimikyu (our #1 pick), and Umbreon. It's a shame the official list doesn't acknowledge Litten or Arcanine, but I guess that's the curse of being born into an imperfect world like this one.

The Pokemon Company also unveiled a new Mythical Pokemon for Sword and Shield: a red-eyed baboon-thing named Zarude. Zarude's fierce disposition and unique Dark/Grass-typing makes it an intriguing specimen. We don't know when Zarude is coming, but we do know DLC is coming to Sword and Shield this year. That means Pokemon celebrations will go far past Pokemon Day and will probably stretch into eternity.

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Nadia Oxford

Staff Writer

Nadia has been writing about games for so long, only the wind and the rain (or the digital facsimiles thereof) remember her true name. She's written for Nerve, About.com, Gamepro, IGN, 1UP, PlayStation Official Magazine, and other sites and magazines that sling words about video games. She co-hosts the Axe of the Blood God podcast, where she mostly screams about Dragon Quest.

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