It’s nowhere near the ballpark of a secret that the Pokémon games are my favorite. Pokémon is an iconic millennial franchise, a staple of the quintessential 90s/early 00s childhood (and beyond!). My family was certainly no exception, though with four kids, our collection was…eclectic, rather than complete: a hand-me-down original GameBoy with Red and Yellow, one GameBoy Advance with Crystal, and two GameBoy SPs with FireRed, Sapphire, and Emerald, with a Blue Version and a Ruby Version floating around in my brothers’ room due to trades with friends. I still have our original Sapphire and Emerald cartridges, with a FireRed version given to me by a friend. Our Gen 1 games are lost to time (along with original Tetris, RIP sweet friend), but thanks to the 3DS Virtual Console I have Red and Yellow again, as well as Crystal and Gold, which I never got to play as a child; never underestimate the tenacity of a baby sibling’s unwillingness to share once they have something of their own, as I learned to my detriment. I have at least one game from every generation, and am looking forward to Gen 8 with the tearful joy of a lifelong fan.

Which leads me to this post: the first of many in a once-monthly series I’m starting, where I list my top five Pokémon from each generation of Pokémon games. The original draft of this post was…frightful, to say the least. For one, I had all my favorites from each generation listed, and once I’d finally gotten all of it down, I realized I needed to streamline for my own sanity as much as anyone else’s. So, to kick it off, here it is, my Top Five for the Generation 1 series of games, taking place in the Kanto region.

Eevee starts at the top of this list, because Eevee has been my all-time favorite from the very beginning. I love its cute design (getting to pet it in Let’s Go Eevee caused real tears in my adult eyes), and more than that, I love the concept of a Pokémon that can evolve in so many different ways depending on the conditions presented to it. Some Eeveelutions are my favorites more than others, but sticking with Gen 1, the original Eevee will always have my heart. (Hey, Game Freak, more Eeveelutions in Gen 8 pls? Plssss????)

The most important first choice in any kid’s life starting on their Pokémon adventure is picking the right starter. It’s usually hard for me, because I tend to be split between the Fire- or Grass-type starters (avoiding Water-types with an aversion that can only come from a certain pesky little brother’s obsession with them and subsequent years of wiping my precious Fire-type starters with them). Gen 1 is where that split started, but for the sake of this list, Bulbasaur edges ahead of Charmander in the polls. It’s a charming design, with its froggy dinosaur body and adorable big bulb, and the Poison typing makes it a heavy competitor with its range of status moves (the Poison condition will always be my least favorite to suffer under but most favorite to use against others). Overall, for the first Pokémon in the Pokédex, it’s a standout, really setting the fun tone for all the hundreds of Pokémon to follow.

Following up next with another Grass-type is Paras, a Grass/Bug ‘shroom zombie with a horrifying Pokédex entry and an adorable design (the aesthetic I strive for in all things: cute and unsettling). I didn’t think much of it until I used it in a game once, and found out that despite the fragility of its typing, it’s something of a tank, dealing out devastation and absorbing non-super-effective damage quite well. Also it’s cute. Like, really cute. Have I mentioned it’s cute?

Not many people have fond memories of Zubat, given how in Gen 1 caves were a nightmare with how often this Pokémon would spawn for encounters. I was certainly no exception, until in Gen 2 it got a third stage of evolution that made me rethink my stance on Zubat (more on Crobat later, when it’s time for the Gen 2 list). Over time, I came to appreciate its design and its utility as a Poison/Flying Pokémon much more than I used to, and finding a plushie of it out of the blue really endeared it to me more than I thought possible. Zubat is one of my go-to Pokémon now, and my Zubatman shirt I bought to see Detective Pikachu in on opening night is one of my favorite articles of clothing.

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My fifth slot is a tie, which is cheating, but I really wanted to include both, because as with a lot of Pokémon in the Gen 1 bracket, they’re both underappreciated, in my opinion. Beedrill is a recent favorite of mine, with how much I’ve been leaning into Poison-types the last few years; it’s a Bug/Poison wasp with giant spikes, fragile but speedy (and stylish; can’t go wrong with a nice black and yellow stripe). People tend to underestimate Beedrill, which is unfortunate given its wide range of hard-hitting attacks and annoying status moves. Magikarp is canonically one of the most useless Pokémon in the Pokédex, evolving into one of the most dangerous powerhouses in the franchise with patience and time on the part of the trainer. It really kicked into popularity with the Magikarp Jump mobile game, which is how I came to love it so much; not as a means to get to a Gyarados, but more as a doofy floppy fish friend trying its best. And, honestly? Mood.

That’s it for the Kanto region and the first generation of games; picking five from one hundred and fifty-one original Pokémon wasn’t easy, but at least it’ll get harder with each following generation! Until next time!