Two almost identical teams depending on which generation
Generally a Pokémon had to hit at least one of these criteria to be considered:
- Ethan has used one in some other part of the franchise (Pokespe Excluded; Official Artwork is only additive not a main reason.)
- Forced encounters/Mandatory gifts
- Optional Gifts
- References a mechanic or feature in his games
- Can Reference a part of his Journey/Region
- Decent Popularity
Other then that I aimed for Pokémon that were decently strong and did not have much type overlap with other members as well as excluding Legendaries.
Pokémon:
Typhlosion: This one's pretty simple, he has had one most times he's shown up but especially in his major appearances.
Ampharos: He is seen with one in the Gotcha! music video in the only animated depiction of the Red battle thus far. Other then that its a reference to Amphy the Ampharos and the species is one of the most used Pokémon in Johto playthrough teams.
Tyranitar: Once again in the Gotcha! Ethan is using one against Red. Speaking of Tyranitar feels like a good Pokémon to reference Mt. Silver (he could've gotten it from the Safari Zone but whatever). Tyranitar is also not used by any major trainer in Johto despite being a Johto Pokémon which given how its not only iconic but its Johto's Pseudo-legendary
Togetic/Togekiss: The egg it hatches from is a mandatory gift from Professor Elm but more importantly its the poster child for the breeding mechanics added in Generation 2.
Gyarados: The Shiny Gyarados from the Lake of Rage is the most iconic of its species. Its a mandatory, guaranteed shiny that is also tied to Team Rocket. And since Gen 2 introduced Shiny Pokémon to the franchise this feels perfect. Granted this does mean he definitely had another water Pokémon to actually get to it but whatever.
Umbreon: An incredibly popular Pokémon evolved from the gift Eevee that Bill hands you. Not only does it represent the Day/Night Cycle but it has a really good contrast with Red's Espeon. Plus both it and Togetic are friendship evolutions.
Scizor: Another very popular Pokémon that also represents Later Gen Evos and the Steel Type, one of the two types introduced in Gen 2. It's also a reference to the SS Aqua and by proxy Ethan's Journey in Kanto. Scizor is debatably the best pick for this since Sycther has the same BST so it's believable that he beat the League without fully evolving his team first.
Why Umbreon in one and Scizor in the other? I was heavily debating putting Umbreon in at all since its a Dark Type on the same team as Tyranitar and the gift Eevee you get really isn't relevant to the game's plot. In fact you have to backtrack just to get it. And since Red's Espeon was replaced by Lapras in the remakes, the Day/Night cycle immediately disappeared in the following Generation and the other features it represents are on other team members I felt like it didn't have a very good reason to stay. It is insanely popular though so I think it works on the Gen 2 only team.
There's some other popular choices I didn't pick so I want to run through why real quick
Dragonite: The Dragon's Den is not a bad place to have represented on the team and a gift Pseudolegend is just plain cool but I'm gonna be real the Dragonite line has enough attention from in Johto Lance has THREE OF THEM. Imagine they made like a Johto anime or something and the full 6v6 battle for the Champion title has a THIRD of the Pokémon be Dragonite. Tyranitar is just the better choice and giving Ethan multiple Pseudo-legendaries is just kind of weird since it doesn't feel that warranted.
Sudowoodo: An iconic roadblock Pokémon like Snorlax is tempting but he kind of just sucks, I like his concept and design but man 410 BST is not good especially when Its mostly allocated to Physical Offense and Defense. Sudowoodo gets especially screwed since if you put Tyranitar on the same team then that tree is getting severely overshadowed.
Donphan: Probably my most contentious drop but hear me out. Yes he uses one at the start of an anime movie, but that's a cameo appearance that also shows him losing. Ground also doesn't really need to be on his team and you can easily just give Tyranitar Earthquake if you think he really needs the coverage, it even learns the move by Level Up. The main reason why I didn't put Donphan on though is not just cause someone else can do its job but because I really struggle to see what else it could be repping. The only reason I see it put on teams is because he used it once which is not a terrible reason but it also means that it could be easily replaced by anything else.
Suicune: I'm gonna be real I think only Kris should get Suicune outside of Ethan using ALL of the mascot Legends.
Ho-Oh/Lugia: Pokémon doesn't seem to like favoring one Game Mascot over the other nor do they like giving NPC trainers Legendary Pokémon so I doubt they'd be thrilled about having to choose which mascot to give Ethan. But the real issue is that Ethan can get ALL THE KANTO AND JOHTO LEGENDS IN EVERY GAME. The game you pick hardly matters it just means who do you get first so aside from giving him BOTH or even ALL THREE mascots I think it's be easier just to say he didn't add them to his normal team.
by JasondoesmoreStuff