Best / Worst alternate pokémon mascot?

[moon]

If they decided to change pokémon's official mascot from Pikachu to some other pokémon now (and for example, ditched Ash and Pikachu and got a new protagonist in the anime to make this more clear) what pokémon would be the best for that job? Basically: if Pikachu was not the mascot, what pokémon should be?

Extra question: what pokémon do you think would be the absolutely worst mascot they could choose to represent the pokémon franchise? And of course - why do you think that?​

 

[Chalifoux]

I seem to recall reading in Bulbapedia that Clefairy was originally gonna be the mascot of Pokémon (there's even a manga about a guy with a male Clefairy), so if they were to ditch Ash, that'd be my first guess :p Also because I think it's very cute, but male audiences could disagree? I dunno.

Spoiler:

But if they went with Magikarp, god, I would flip tables so bad >.<
"Surrender, you are not gonna defeat Candice!"
"Magikarp, SPLASH!"
"KAAAAAARP"
Of course, seeing a fish splash his way to victory would be hilarious, but is it still that way after the first badge? I think not, unless they were to introduce Gyarados early, but that still takes the fun out of Magikarp...​

 

[XeroNos]

Let's say Eevee fits well as a Mascot Poke and the worst Mascot I think is a Dunsparce. (Man Why do i hate this Poke so much !!!!)

 

[moon]

I agree that Eevee would make a good mascot. Mainly because it's normal type, being quite neutral, and because it's evolutions are so special that it would make sense to make it the most important (or at least prominent) pokémon as it's quite interesting. Yeah, Eevee would probably be my pick.

Clefairy doesn't make as much sense to me. I'm glad they changed it to Pikachu, tbh. Pikachu has a decent level of cute and cool at once, while Clefairy is mostly.... Cute, I guess. I don't see how it would have appealed to as many people as Pikachu has.

Eevee can be cool in a way too, even if it's really cute. Much like Pikachu.

 

[CliCliW]

In terms of making the series awesome I'd have to go with Charizard, Squirtle/Blastoise or Mewtwo, but while I complain about it I can't see anything but Pikachu being the best fit for the series as a whole.

Eevee would be a great choice too considering the whole "evolution" thing that he has going on.

In terms of the worst Pokemon to be mascot I'd say Grimer or Voltorb. I like the mascot to show a bit of creativity other than a blob and a ball respectively.

Interestingly, a lot of the mascots we're going to hear opinions on are more than likely (but not entirely) probably going to be first gen Pokemon I would think.

 

[Pinkie-Dawn]

The best alternative mascot would have to be Scizor, if they're going to appeal to the competitive audience, for he's the most overused Pokemon in the metagame.

The worst alternative mascot would have to be Burmy, as everything about it, along with its evolutions, are not only outclassed by other Pokemon but also fights horribly in battle due to their stats.

 

[Sableye~]

I agree that Eevee could be a good choice, but I personally would prefer something less..."cute". More like Scyther, or Kabutops.

 

[Captain Gizmo]

I would love Emolga to be the mascot :3

Worst Pokemon for a mascot? Hmm... I would say...Stunkfish? I don't know, he just looks too derpy for me.

 

[Brendino]

Knowing that the target audience for Pokemon is children, I'd probably expect a new mascot to have some cute qualities, yet still be decent at battling (so that it captures the interest of both boys and girls). And assuming that any new mascot would be from newer generations, I think Pancham would be a really good choice. It seems like a Pokemon that could be fairly strong through evolution, yet I think a lot of kids could easily latch on to a panda mascot.

As for the worst mascot, I don't think you could do worse than Zubat. Anyone with experience in the games probably hates it to begin with, and it really wouldn't help bring in any new fans. Plus, I think they'd want to promote newer Pokemon over the old ones, so even Pokemon like Garbodor would probably be a better choice.

 

[Sheep]

Eevee would be a great mascot; its many evolutions can represent all the types Pokemon has to offer so it would be very fitting. Meowth is a close second for me personally, though that's just personal preference. :3

 

[Olli]

Pidgey Yeah, I agree with Eevee. Basically, it's a Pokemon who's based around evolutions, one thing Pokemon is really well known for (and one which has also stirred up a lot of controversy :p), and as said, could represent all the types that the Pokemon world has to offer (despite not even having half of them, but it's some of the most well-known typings, so yeah). Two of those evolutions so far are based around friendship, which is something Gamefreak are trying to promote in Pokemon, aka it isn't all mindless battling, so all in all, it just has a lot of the qualities needed from a mascot, as well as it appeals to just about everyone, being a mixture of cute, as well as strong when you take all of its evolutions into consideration. Also, the whole thing about how you can choose which of all the eeveelutions you want it to be just promotes another aspect of the games; that you have a free choice over which team you want to go through the game with, instead of following a linear setup of characters like most other RPGs :p

Another Pokemon that could probably fit the role as mascot would be Mewtwo, since it was such an iconic Pokemon back in the day, being the strongest and all, having an elaborate backstory to it, as well as just being a favourite of many. Only problem is that they're trying to target several age-groups as well as both genders, and I reckon Mewtwo appeals far more to boys than to girls :p

As for the worst mascot, I can't really think of a Pokemon that'd be utterly terrible to have as mascot of the franchise, because they're all Pokemon, and all capable of drawing in at least someone. But a Pokemon that probably wouldn't be the best idea to have as mascot, would in my opinion be Arceus, solely for the fact that Pokemon has faced controversy with the whole creationism vs evolution debate beforehand, due to believers of creationism accusing Gamefreak of trying to brainwash children into believing in evolution instead. I think Arceus might actually have been created to compensate for believers of creationism, by incorporating both beliefs into the game, so that they can't be accused of trying to promote one thing. But I think making Arceus the mascot would kinda turn it around, and we'd probably end up getting complaints from believers of evolution instead. Either way, the whole thing is pretty silly, because it's not like Pokemon is a realistic depiction of the evolution theory, and I've actually seen people state that evolution was fake, because they'd never seen a Pokemon evolve. Just...

But yeah, that's the best I have to bring :D

 

[Thergox]

Why have one mascot when you can have two -- Lugia and Ho-oh. Those two Pokemon probably won't fit the cool/cute perspective, but the legends put behind them and just their plain out look will probably instill enough awe to draw in anybody.

In a less radical look, maybe every generation should just use the starters as their mascots -- it would be simple enough to restart with a whole new protagonist than a forever-ten-year-old and give him or her a whole new batch of Pokemon to learn about. It would also get rid of things like "Why isn't Pikachu level 100" or "How does Pikachu defeat legendaries but gets beaten by so-and-so" and successfully replace them with things that would make a little more sense. And, in the end, the starter Pokemon all start out as cute but reliably cool.

The issue with that is how children don't like to let go of things that are so lovable, so introducing a whole new batch might disagree with them. However, there is nothing against integrating a lovable character into the story that will later be the new protagonist or having the old protagonist be the teacher of the new one.

As for worst mascot, perhaps Giratina. I love Giratina -- he's currently my Avatar -- but something about a renegade Pokemon destroying everything in its path PROBABLY won't agree with many people.

 

[ps3smileyface]

what about zubat for the worst. that was the most annoying pokemon...EVER. Squirtle would have made a great one too. (i had a pillow that was him and a pikachu one too)

 

[HaiImNate]

I think that Charizard would be a good replacement! Or pichu, but that's too close to pikachu I guess. :p

 

[Turnip]

Actually, I think Abra wouldn't be too bad of a choice. Although you'd have to get around the TELEPORTTELEPORTTELEPORTTELEPORTTELEPORT aspect.

But yeah, Zubat would be pretty horrendous. Koffing maybe a little better, but still... eugh.

 

[Livewire]

It would have to be Charizard, I mean really. No other Pokemon has that kind of universal popularity or notoriety. Worst would have to be Ekans or Koffing, maybe Zubat for lols.

 

[Nolafus]

I've got to agree with Charizard, because polls have shown it's the most popular pokemon. If they want to appeal to new kids who might not know the older pokemon, Zoroark might be a good choice as well.

There aren't many pokemon that would make bad mascots, but I feel Sigilyph and Slaking won't make the best mascots. They aren't the most popular pokemon and both are a pain to battle with/against. Slaking skips every other turn and Sigilyph makes people rip their hair out of frustration.

 

[S[he] Be[lie]ve[d]]

Oh gosh, it would be so sad if Ash ditched Pikachu T_T
The best mascot would be Eevee because of all the evolutions, it just makes it unique, and we'd need a unique mascot ^^ The worst mascot would be Lileep because how freakin' lovable would a Lileep be? Yeah, not much XD

 

[fenyx4]

If they decided to change pokémon's official mascot from Pikachu to some other pokémon now (and for example, ditched Ash and Pikachu and got a new protagonist in the anime to make this more clear) what pokémon would be the best for that job? Basically: if Pikachu was not the mascot, what pokémon should be?

Extra question: what pokémon do you think would be the absolutely worst mascot they could choose to represent the pokémon franchise? And of course - why do you think that?​

Hmm...Charizard :t006: and Mewtwo :t150: immediately came to my mind...other than Pikachu, they seem to be 2 of the most recognized Pokemon from my experience, even from people who only have cursory knowledge about the Pokemon franchise... And I recall Charizard winning an IGN poll recently, which counts for something, even if not much IMO... And the awesomeness that Charizard exudes simply is unparalleled by any subsequently-introduced Pokemon...Pokemon like Generation 4's Lucario and Generation 5's Kyurem come close, but none seem to outright match Charizard.

Charizard (Lizardon in Japanese) also, from my experience:
-is a Pokemon introduced in Generation 1
-is essentially the full manifestation of one of the original starter Pokemon
-was one of the first two mascots of a Pokemon game, and has been the mascot of an original game (Red Version), a remake (FireRed Version), and a large number of other home console and spin-off/side games.
-has a ridiculously awesome name (English and Japanese), anime cry, and design (normal variant and Shiny variant)
-can fly
-breathes, manipulates, and uses fire (not to mention sporting one on its tail, which is representative of its life-force)
-is reminiscent of dragons, which seem to be widespread throughout "pop culture"
--due to its 'relation' with dragons, Charizard manages to be "legendary" (which dragons in general seem to be) without actually being a legendary Pokemon
-isn't actually Dragon-type, but is essentially a Dragon by way of perseverance (design, numerous Dragon-type moves in its movepool, part of the Dragon Egg Group, etc.)
-can learn Steel-type moves (which, when combined with a Fire/Flying Pokemon, equates to awesomeness)
-shares the same type combination as Moltres (one of the originally introduced legendary Pokemon) and Ho-Oh (a notable legendary Pokemon, debuting in the 1st episode of the Pokemon anime), both of which are phoenixes (which are excellent), all of which serve to enhance Charizard's coolness (or hotness? :P)
-looks totally awesome whenever Seismic Toss is used in the anime (particularly, Ash's Charizard)
-is owned by Ash, also being one of Ash's first "outsider Pokemon" (Pokemon with a different Original Trainer)
-has a a whole freaking valley dedicated to it in the anime
-went toe-to-toe with Entei (a legendary Pokemon) in the 3rd Pokemon movie, and has a lot of appearances in the anime, similar to how Ash's Pikachu has also faced legendary Pokemon and has a slew of anime appearances to its name
-has appeared in the first three games of the Super Smash Bros. series, eventually being fully playable in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
-did that really cool thing in the Pokemon anime where it uses a Fire-type attack while Blastoise uses a Water-type attack, both of which collide to 'form'...Ash's first hat! ^_^
-its evolutionary line is nicely representative of the concepts of metamorphosis and/or evolution. Any school boy can catch a salamander, but only the great can tame a dragon(-ic creature). Then again, any school boy can probably catch/train/evolve/hack a Charizard as well....
-can maximize its Attack in one turn, something a lot of Trainers are itching to do with a lot of Pokemon
-seems to be among the most well-liked starter Pokemon
-lots of other good reasons not mentioned here XD

Mewtwo also, from my experience:
-is a Pokemon introduced in Generation 1
-starred in the first Pokemon movie (with its own 'pre-movie' introduction) as well as 2013's ExtremeSpeed Genesect movie, has appeared in a few specials/side-stories, and appeared in playable and Trophy form in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Brawl, respectively
-was among the first legendary Pokemon to be introduced, and was the first one sighted in the English Pokemon anime's opening
-is the most powerful Generation 1 Pokemon in terms of Base Stat Total (680 FTW)
-was apparently absurdly powerful in Generation 1 games due to its exceedingly high Special stat
-is associated with the concept and ethics of cloning
-had quite a bit of character development in the 1st movie, which some viewers could relate to
-was the 1st Pokemon that was a 'Trainer' (again, 1st movie)
-was a 'Champion' in one of the Pokemon Stadium games
-epically mocks Ash's "I'm going to win!/I'm gonna win!" quote in the Nintendo 64's Pokemon Puzzle League
-has a terrific English name, game cry, anime 'cry' and design ('Normal Forme' and 'Awakened Forme')
-has a cool 'walking/floating' animation in SSB Melee, along with great Japanese voice clips for its victory poses
-has been voiced by Dan Green, immediately cementing its voice in Pokemon legend
-seems to be among the most well-liked legendary Pokemon
-has a signature move, Psycho Break (AKA 'Psystrike', bleh)
-from what I've seen, is among the most wanted veteran characters/combatants/Smashers for Super Smash Bros. 4
-lots of other reasons not mentioned here

It would have to be Charizard, I mean really. No other Pokemon has that kind of universal popularity or notoriety.

This.

Pidgey Yeah, I agree with Eevee. Basically, it's a Pokemon who's based around evolutions, one thing Pokemon is really well known for (and one which has also stirred up a lot of controversy :p), and as said, could represent all the types that the Pokemon world has to offer (despite not even having half of them, but it's some of the most well-known typings, so yeah). Two of those evolutions so far are based around friendship, which is something Gamefreak are trying to promote in Pokemon, aka it isn't all mindless battling, so all in all, it just has a lot of the qualities needed from a mascot, as well as it appeals to just about everyone, being a mixture of cute, as well as strong when you take all of its evolutions into consideration. Also, the whole thing about how you can choose which of all the eeveelutions you want it to be just promotes another aspect of the games; that you have a free choice over which team you want to go through the game with, instead of following a linear setup of characters like most other RPGs :p

Another Pokemon that could probably fit the role as mascot would be Mewtwo, since it was such an iconic Pokemon back in the day, being the strongest and all, having an elaborate backstory to it, as well as just being a favourite of many. Only problem is that they're trying to target several age-groups as well as both genders, and I reckon Mewtwo appeals far more to boys than to girls :p

Great comments for both Eevee and Mewtwo!

Aside from Charizard, Eevee, and Mewtwo (in that order, with reasons noted above), Bidoof would be good (due to its simplicity and derpyness), and Clefairy maybe (as it was primed for the role prior to Pikachu's explosion in popularity power). Ditto also works well (its origin, the smiley-face, seems to be a commonly-used symbol in the world; it represents the concept of transformation (which typically seems to be appealing to people); and it's essentially every single Pokemon combined into one (by virtue of the move Transform and the Ability Impostor)! :) Mew works well, too, since it contains the DNA of all Pokemon, its rarity is quite famous, can learn 'all'/most moves & Machines (Hidden and Technical; HMs & TMs), and also possesses the move Transform (not to mention its spectacular "last moment" inclusion in the coding of Red/Green as well as the sheer myriad of rumors and stories surrounding it and being the only Pokemon legitimately unobtainable in-game in Generation 1, IIRC).

Aerodactyl, Blissey, and most Dragon-type Pokemon would probably qualify, particularly because they seem to evoke a reaction every time you see them.
-Aerodactyl: "AAAAGH, it's gonna outspeed me and KO my Pokemon!"
-Blissey - "Sigh.....this is gonna take a while to bring down... T_T"
--after using Substitute, Softboiled, and/or Double Team, and/or surviving with a Focus Band up to 3 times in a row: "ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME??!?! asdfghjklKSGDRSJFDKOEDKI" >:(
-most Dragon-types: "Crap....hopefully, this thing doesn't KO my Pokemon.... >.<"

The worst Pokemon mascot IMO would undoubtedly be Jigglypuff, because it's generally annoying (in my opinion) in the Super Smash Bros. series; in the SSB series, it somehow has appeared more often in playable form than Mewtwo and Charizard's playable instances combined (as of 2013, Jigglypuff has appeared in SSB64, SSB Melee, and SSB Brawl; with Mewtwo to date only being playable in Melee, and Charizard to date only being playable in Brawl), and in the main series games, it's pitifully weak compared to Charizard and Mewtwo. However, excluding the SSB reasons mentioned above, I probably would have said that Jigglypuff was somewhat more viable in the Generation 1 and 2 days, particularly because it had a lot of humorous anime appearances, as well as whole songs dedicated to it in RBY and the Pokemon anime.

 

[Ace.]

I think Eevee would make a good alternative mascot. Since it has a variety of Eeveelutions it would make a great mascot. I'd say Zubat, Geodude, and Ratata would be bad choices for mascots.