Disclaimer

Okay, so before I begin I feel the need to give a quick disclaimer. For those of you who read Day 23 of last year's Lent Marathon, this exchange occurred.

Beginning Flashback

Lyra: Can you maybe tell me what 2024's Lent Marathon will be about.

Me: Sure. Next year is going to be WildCard0531's Top 50 D-

(Static)

End Flashback

Originally, I was planning on doing a 'Disney Related Lent Marathon', most likely either Top 50 Disney Songs or Top 50 Favorite Disney Movies, the latter being the more likely option. However, I never got around to watching and re-watching all of Disney's films so I can make a proper list. I do have plans in the works for a Disney themed Lent Marathon one of these days, but until then we'll just have to wait.

But for right now…let's talk about Pokemon.

Opening

Oh, Pokemon, what a juggernaut of a series you are and likely always will be. Even though I'll fully admit I prefer the older generations (Generations 4 and 5 specifically), I still get a great amount of joy from playing the more modern games, and the Pokemon series is up there as one of my favorite video game franchises; up there with the likes of Mario, Kirby, Crash Bandicoot, and Sly Cooper.

It's honestly hard to believe that we are two years shy of the Pokemon series being 30 years old. It seemed like only yesterday we had only the original 151 to dote upon and battle with, but now that we're currently in Generation 9, the total number of Pocket Monsters has reached the thousands; 1,025 to be precise. And given that we'll likely see the release of Generation 10 in November 2025, that number is guaranteed to increase.

Lyra: You really think Game Freak will release Generation 10 by then?

Me: You know I'm right, you all know I'm right!

In retrospect I probably should've waited until the release of Generation 10 to do a marathon like this so that there would've been an even number of five pokemon per generation, but…screw it, I feel like doing it now.

For this year's Lent Marathon I'm going to be talking about my Top 50 Favorite Non-Legendary Pokemon. Honestly there are so many legendary and mythical Pokemon out there they can pretty much make up their own Lent Marathon.

A few rules before we begin. Each type needs to be represented at least once somehow, at least three Pokemon per generation needs to be present, I won't be talking about regional variants unless they evolve into a brand new Pokemon entirely (i.e: Galarian Corsola evolving into Cursola) I'll solely be looking at the final evolved form of an evolutionary line, and I'm strictly looking at the Pokemon in the main series games; their representation in the anime, trading cards, or other Pokemon related media will not be taken into account.

Trust me, picking just 50 of my favorite Pokemon, even with the restrictions of only fully evolved forms and no legendaries/mythical Pokemon, was no easy feat. But, by some miracle, I handpicked 50 of my favorites and now I'm going to share them with you. But, before we begin, how about some honorable mentions.

Generation 1: Charizard, Poliwrath, Gengar, Starmie, Gyarados

Generation 2: Ampharos, Espeon, Umbreon, Steelix, Ursaring

Generation 3: Sceptile, Swampert, Aggron, Altaria, Salamence

Generation 4: Roserade, Ambipom, Luxray, Toxicroak, Honchkrow

Generation 5: Samurott, Excadrill, Scolipede, Darmanitan, Reuniclus

Generation 6: Delphox, Florges, Goodra, Noivern, Hawlucha

Generation 7: Incineroar, Toucannon, Tsareena, Wishiwashi, Mudsdale

Generation 8: Inteleon, Corviknight, Flapple, Hatterene, Centiskorch

Generation 9: Dachsbun, Farigiraf, Revavroom, Cetitan, Pawmot

Something's telling me I've lost a good amount of you already by having these Pokemon in particular being just the honorable mentions, but I think the 50 I chose for this marathon should suffice.

Well, with all of the formalities out of the way, let's get ready to catch 'em all…or at the very least these next 50! This is WildCard0531's 2024 Lent Challenge: Top 50 Favorite Pokemon! Let's do this!

Day 1: Gogoat

You know, all things considered, I still really like Pokemon X and Y.

I know I'm probably like one of the five people on this planet that still thoroughly enjoy the sixth generation of Pokemon, and future generations would prove to blow X and Y out of the water, both on a technical scale and a storytelling scale…but…damn it, I can't bring myself to hate these games like the rest of the world does; it's still the fun, engaging, addicting RPG series we've been playing since 1996.

I guess people were disappointed with X and Y because, like I said, the story, characters, and especially the Pokemon roster were severely lacking when compared to its predecessors Black and White 1 & 2. Now, yes, while the roster is the smallest one we have so far, there are still some really good monsters to be found here. Case in point…Gogoat!

(Insert Gogoat cry here)

(BGM: Battle! Gym Leader X & Y)

Ever since my first playthrough of X & Y way back in 2013, Gogoat, and by extension its pre-evolved form Skiddo, have struck a chord with me. We've certainly had pure grass types before, so what makes Gogoat so special?

Well, for starters his ability is Sap Sipper, a great ability that boosts its attack stat if it gets hit by a grass type move; think Electivire's Motor Drive Ability for grass types and it boosts attack rather than speed. But, if attacking isn't your thing, there's always Gogoat's hidden ability, and an ability exclusive only to it, Grass Pelt, which boosts defense stat in Grassy Terrain. So, if Grassy Terrain is activated, Gogoat will be a tough nut to crack, especially with its amazing HP stat.

Speaking of stats, let's take a look at them. Like I just said, it has some amazing HP. Not as good as say, Wailord, but still impressive and gives Gogoat some good tanking capabilities, especially if it has Grass Pelt to take care of its so-so defenses. And while it's speed might not be anything too special, it has some pretty good special attack and attacking moves, the latter of which getting even better if it has the aforementioned Sap Sipper and it gets hit by a grass move.

To take advantage of its potentially great attack stat, Gogoat comes with some great grass type moves for STAB such as Seed Bomb, Leaf Blade, and Horn Leech, the latter of which is especially good as it can do damage to your opponent while healing yourself. On top of that, Gogoat learns some pretty interesting moves to take care of its weaknesses.

Gogoat can learn moves like Earthquake to deal with Fire types, Wild Charge to deal with Flying Types, Aerial Ace to deal with other Grass Types, and Brick Break to deal with Ice Types.

How a goat can break a brick with a karate chop is a mystery to my ass…Gogoat doesn't have hands, it has hooves, but I'm rambling now.

If you're someone who wants your Gogoat to be a bit of a tank, it also knows some good recovery moves like the aforementioned Horn Leech, Leech Seed, and Synthesis, making this thing a pain to take out if put in the right hands.

And I haven't mentioned how it can learn Rain Dance to weaken Fire-Type moves, and how, as of Generation 9, it can learn Zen Headbutt and Play Rough for more interesting movesets.

Gogoat is just such an amazing Pokemon that I've used many times in many of my playthrough of Pokemon X & Y, and you'd better believe that I'd consider using one again on one of my future playthroughs.

There's nothing left to say except that Gogoat is an amazing Pokemon, one of Generation 6's best, one of the best grass types, and a fantastic way to start off this marathon.