Greninja, the final evolution of Pokémon X and Y water-type starter Froakie, was named Pokémon of the Year, while perennial favorite Pikachu appears to have fallen out of popularity.
The polls, organized by The Pokémon Company and held through Google, asked fans to vote for their favorite once per day, from one region at a time. After the dust had settled, Greninja, who is also a part of the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster, came out on top with just over 140,000 votes, beating second-place Lucario with about 102,000 votes and third-place Mimikyu with about 99,000 votes.
Here are the top 10 Pokémon of the Year:
- Greninja – 140,559 votes
- Lucario – 102,259 votes
- Mimikyu – 99,077 votes
- Charizard – 93,968 votes
- Umbreon – 67,062 votes
- Sylveon – 66,029 votes
- Garchomp – 61,877 votes
- Rayquaza – 60,939 votes
- Gardevoir – 60,596 votes
- Gengar – 60,214 votes
The top 10 features mostly Pokémon from the expanded collections, including a couple of Eevolutions, but only two from the original 151. That honor goes to Charizard and Gengar, while Pikachu, with a recent movie and the face of various spin-off games, is conspicuously missing.
Pikachu is found all the way down in the 19th spot with about 48,000 votes. Other first-generation Pokémon in the top 30 are Bulbasaur at 13th with about 56,000 votes and Eevee at 20th with nearly 48,000 votes.
Meanwhile, the Pokémon that received the most votes from each region are as follows:
- Kanto – Charizard
- Johto – Umbreon
- Hoenn – Rayquaza
- Sinnoh – Lucario
- Unova – Chandelure
- Kalos – Greninja
- Alola – Mimikyu
- Galar – Dragapult
The results for Pokémon of the Year were announced on National Pokémon Day, which is also when The Pokémon Company revealed the monkey-like Zarude.
Zarude is a new mythical dark/grass-type Pokémon that will soon find its way into Pokémon Sword and Shield for the Nintendo Switch. There is not much information about Zarude for now, but The Pokémon Company should provide more details as its arrival draws nearer.
The Pokémon Company recently launched Pokémon Home, an app that allows players to store and transfer Pokémon between games. It had a successful release week with 1.3 million downloads between Android and iOS, coming on the heels of backlash from hardcore fans against Pokémon Sword and Shield for Game Freak’s alleged shortcomings on the games’ development.
