I see a lot of posts here asking people for their favorite Pokemon, but one thing that fascinated me was how demographics can influence a person's favorites.
Region: In general, developing countries having more exposure to Pokemon through the anime and merchandise as opposed to the video games and TCG. For instance, on the Indian internet, I see that Greninja is extremely popular, which I believe is due to the XYZ anime which was marketed heavily in the country.
Even within countries of similar socioeconomic status, there might be cultural differences that undermine preferences in Pokemon. For the most part, Pokemon preferences in the Japan and the West are very similar. However, looking at the results of the Pokemon of the Year surveys done a few years ago, Japan may have a slight preference for simplistic or cute designs compared to the West. (however, the survey results are probably not be the most accurate, due to scandalous votes)
Gender: The stereotypes are that men/boys prefer cool Pokemon, girls/women prefer cute Pokemon, and nonbinary people prefer wacky Pokemon. From my experience, I have noticed that masculine-presenting people prefer "strong" or "badass" designs, and feminine-presenting people are more likely to have fairy and (to a lesser extent) grass types as their favorites. However, I do not find the correlation to be strong, as I find most female Pokemon fans also like the badass designs. Most of the male Pokemon fans I know personally don't mind cute Pokemon, but I feel like that may be a different case on the internet, where I see a lot more dislike for Pokemon like Meganium and Primarina.
Age: People who were "too old" during the original wave of Pokemania are more likely to be familiar with Generation 1, as that is the most marketed generation. Most of the original Pokemania cohort (millennials) has Generation 1 favorites, especially if they are casual fans and/or were only interested in Pokemon in their childhood. Even among people born in 2000+, I feel like older generations (Gen 1-4) dominate favorites, because those Pokemon had more exposure in official media as opposed to newer Pokemon.
What I did notice, however, is that people are more likely to have a favorite Pokemon from the generation they were in elementary school during (for example, people currently in their early 20s are most likely to have a favorite from Generation 5 compared to other age groups). I also noticed Gen Z is also more open about keeping up with Pokemon as a teen/adult compared to older generations, to the point it is not uncommon to see them with a favorite from the very newest generations.
These are not hard rules, of course there are many exceptions (people in developing countries liking the most obscure Pokemon ever for a gameplay mechanic, men whose favorite type is fairy, and 40 year old adults with a favorite from Gen 9). This is just a summary of what I have noticed from my observations.
Has anyone noticed any demographic differences in Pokemon preferences?
by Away-Ad8897
38 Comments
I’m a 31-year old European female and I am 100% guilty of preferring the cute, pink or feminine Pokemon. I recently got back into the TCG and I’m collecting mostly cute cards. Which are…expensive in some cases but thank god I do not care about Gengar & Charizard because those card prices are INSANE. xD
Yes. Boys like Charizard and girls like Gengar.
There is a level of fan engagement too, for a ton of people who dropped the series early and only played the first few gens, you’re often going to find Charizard topping their list. Not much subjected to beyond that but they have every right to state their favourite even if not engaged with the series any longer. I haven’t watched the anime since Gen 4 also so there are tons of mons I’ve never seen exhibit a personality as I did the first few gens, while others will have the same thing but with a different selection of gens.
I started with Blue in 99, yet my favourite seems to swap between Ampharos and Golisopod.
>However, looking at the results of the [Pokemon of the Year](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_of_the_Year) surveys
The thing to remember about online fan votes is they are highly susceptible to manipulation. I remember one being particularly scandalous/infamous because trolls decided to pool votes into poor ol’ Magnemite… which as the link indicated (2021) proceeded to score the Kanto top spot and ranked fairly high overall. Maybe *that’s* the reason TPC stopped doing it the past few years…
I’d like to remind people that Fairy doesn’t automatically mean cute. Fairy can very much be mischievous and sinister.
You’ll find a lot of millennials that have trouble counting above 151
I’m millenial, male, from Indonesia. Exposed to pokemon anime since it was shown, back when I was in elementary school. Been playing the games ever since with emulators, starting from 2001. I like Gengar and Lucario. I like Arbok. I don’t like butterfree (tho did use it as my ace as it was a sweeper with its mega evolution). I don’t like mr mime, I don’t like dragonite, I don’t like electabuzz, but I like electivire.
Worth to note that I’m from upper middle class. So others were not as fortunate back in the time.
Anyone on the same boat?
I’d consider myself a millennial fan. Followed it since the gen one days (mainly the anime, but I did dabble with a cousin’s copy of Blue and had Stadium), and it’s stuck with me ever since. For me, while I will have some preferences, I generally enjoy the games since. Hoenn and gen three are where I felt it had the most impact on me since Sapphire was the first game I owned, Blaziken being my favorite starter, Metagross is my favorite Pseudo, and Steven being one of my favorite champions. I also adore the Hoenn arc of the anime.
Nidoking has always been my favorite, though there are days where I feel other Pokemon want to surpass it, and I will always have at least one Pokemon from every generation that I like. More depending on the region. Heck I skipped over SM/USUM and I love Primarina thanks to a Fairy run I did in SWSH. The same could also be said for Pyroar and Gogoat (though I now own X and Legends ZA).
As for the games, I can’t say there’s one I “dislike/hate”, so much as one I’m more critical of.
While there definitely will be preferences and differing demographics, I can’t really say I felt like I ever fell into one (I probably do though). I just tend to enjoy the franchise and the games in general even when I do have criticisms.
25 years old trans woman, first started playing the Series in 2007 with Pearl. I grew up with the series as a boy, and realised I was actually a girl only in adulthood, if that changes anything.
My absolute Favourite Pokémon is Glameow, and my preferences with Pokémon designs tend to drift towards what I deem elegance, but my reasoning for favourites aren’t always design based. There’s a pretty even mix of old and new gen species among the top 20 or so of my favourites, though I’d need to sit down and figure out exactly what they are at any given time. Glameow has always kinda been my favourite though, but when I was younger I wouldn’t really think about that fact.
Yes, I am in rh demographic of people who love Clefable.
I have not, but here to say I am 31, Peruvian, male, was in high school for gen 5, and my favorite Pokemon is Volcarona. I will admit I grew up middle class (which is tiny in Perú) and had access to playing all the main games since Gen 1 (granted, 4 and 5 I played on flashcart lmao). I moved to the US at 18, too, so my experience might be a bit different from the average person back home.
A survey on this sub for this would be very interesting.
35yo lady person from Oklahoma, Crystal was my first game, and I watched the anime casually up until I was about 12 and didn’t have cable anymore. Kept playing the main games until Switch. I am as stereotypical as they come: if it’s cute, pretty, or elegant and a pastel color I am more likely to love it. Sylveon is my favorite eevee, of which I love all of them. My first love was Mew. Primarina is my favorite of all starters. I also really enjoy off kilter Pokemon but they still have to also fit one of those descriptors. However, I still love Beedrill and other “cool” pokemon as long as they aren’t too hyper masculine/beefy or “ugly”.
I tend to like stuff that are either cute, mythological, or composed (aka calm/smart), though I won’t necessarily like one that fits those criterias
I’m a 28 year old man and I’m definitely very much a fan of tough/cool looking pokemon above others, but I do also like a lot of cute and especially wacky or weird pokemon. I’ve also kept up with pokemon all my life and I have favourites in every gen, but most of my absolute faves also happen to be in gens 1, 4 and 7.
There are also a lot of pokemon that people find ugly which I’m a huge fan of. Stuff like Weezing, Muk, Diggersby, Rhyperior, Magmortar, Probopass, Garbodor, the Ultra Beasts and the future paradox mons
I’m a 26 year old straight male.
My favorites largely revolve around Ghost Types like Chandelure, Banette, Frosslass, Trevenant, and Dusknoir.
But I also love others like Lucario, Meowscarada, Lopunny, Tinkaton, Mawile, Pikachu (Libre), Pangoro, Simipour/sage/sear, Eevee, Glaceon, and Umbreon.
The anime and spinoffs (Pokken Tournament, Unite, and Gale of Darkness) largely influenced which ones I liked due to how cool they were before in these materials before I touched the regular games.
The term “gen wunner” exists for a reason.
I think so
Older millennial, male, construction worker in America. My favorite Pokemon is Oricorio, Bai’le, Pompom, Sensu. I’ve been playing since gen 1 came out as an elementary schooler. I do have favorites from Gen 1, Wartortle and Ninetales.
Most of my favorites end up being cool types. My most favorite before Oricorio was most likely Flygon.
I also like a lot of Pokemon from gen 5, my favorite gen.
27 yo woman, my favorites are Empoleon (OG starter btw, was held back from the games until Gen 4 because catholic parents were a little wacky abt it, despite having a GBA SP), Polteageist/Sinistcha, and Simisage (due in very large part to [Notepaddle](https://youtu.be/MdhGbDdxGLM?si=HDZ-DwIlPvZdhXFk)). Notably, I’ve grown distant from legendaries in general because I’m a frequent replayer, and opportunities to raise a legendary in a playthrough are very few and far between.
My other favorites tend to be based on cuteness (Pombon, Goodra, Pawmot, etc), badassery (Hawlucha, Mega Absol Z, Charizard, etc), sleekness (Porygon2, Grovyle, Buizel), or just plain sentimental value (Torterra, Umbreon, Marowak, and many, *many* more).
Demographic probably play a role. I come from Sweden where runestones are around aplenty, to such degree I saw them daily, and my favorite pokémon ever since I saw it was Runerigus. But I also love pokémon like Pidove and Zoroark…
I’m a 19 year old gay boy and my favorite is Murkrow
31 year old trans man from Canada here who adores both cute and “badass” Pokemon!! My two all time fave Pokemon are Terrakion and Sylveon, if you want a good representation of the contrast in my tastes lmao. Been into Pokemon since I was a kid, and the vast majority of my faves are post gen 1.
(I am also very much the “man whose fave type is Fairy” :D)
gen z, straight, male, canada
my favorites are all over the place.
1: eternatus
2: jigglypuff
3: golurk
4: gliscor
5: lumineon
6: amoonguss
7: snorlax
8: gengar
9: necrozma
10: hisuian zorua
I’m a younger millennial male (33), and a lot of what you said tracks for me. I got into the series during Gen 1, and most of my all-time favorites are from earlier generations. My top three are Lugia, A-Ninetales, and Espeon.
I tend to like the badass designs over cute ones, but I am indifferent to some of the most popular badass mons like Charizard and Mewtwo, while counting Greninja and Lucario among my all-time favorites.
My preferences tend toward sleek, elegant, and intelligent, regardless of generation. But the Pokemon I’ve been a fan of for decades tend to remain my favorites.
I noticed people having a favourite in the generation they grew up with too, in my case I started with gen 1, watched the show for gens 1 and 2 and gradually stopped in gen 3, but I still was big on the games. My favourite has been Sneasel since I first saw it on the show when I was in elementary school, I’m also non binary, and I think Sneasel is both cute and badass looking. There’s a lot of Pokémon I love in all gens, but I’m the most fond of 1, 2, 3 and 5, I never cared much for 4, despite it having some cool designs and some favourites, like Leafeon or Drifloon, I stopped playing at gen 5 but still enjoy a lot of designs from the gens I didn’t get to play yet, like Nickit, Lurantis, Toxtricity and Meowstic (hopefully I’ll be able to play it sometime!)
It’s personal. My pikachu is a Luxray
That said I use dark, dragon and steel
(2 of those inspired by lance and Steven)
I always assumed it was based on nostalgia, whichever generation you grew up with or played first
I’m surprised that the stereotypical “boys like cool and girls like cute” is actually true, as I have seen many exceptions around me irl and myself being one of them.
As a Generation Z, my favorite Pokemon is Diancie from Gen 6, with Latias, Latios, Meloetta and Miraidon following at #2 to 5. (Don’t ask why it’s all legendaries or mythicals) Also, Primarina is my favorite starter line while Serperior is second. And yes, Fairy is my favorite type, even though “cool” types like Electric and Dragon follow it at #2 and 3.
I’m a gen z woman who started with Gen 4 and kept playing every release as I grew up. I can confirm that my favorite was from the generations I played in childhood! My all time favorite is Lopunny (5 year old me was ecstatic over a fluffy bunny, sue me). A VERY close runner up is Hisui Samurott. 3rd place is Mega Staraptor.
The bulk of my favorites are from gen 3-6 (counting megas + alt forms released for a pokemon originating from gen 3-5) which matches the anime/games being shown in the USA at the time.
As you can tell from my top 3, I still have relatively new pokemon taking the titles of my favorites. I say relatively because they’re still newer forms of old pokemon. notably, scream tail, farigiraf, pawmot, kingambit and slither wing have all made it into top spots as well.
From my gen z peers, I’m pretty sure all of us started with a Gen 3-5 game. My friends who enjoy Pokemon in our 20s generally keep up with it in the form of VGC/TCG.
I will say I admittedly feel like the Gen 4 version of a genwunner lmao… I’m not the hugest fan of the current design philosophy. most of my favorites from the newer regions usually end up being alternate forms of existing pokemon as you can probably tell from the ones I’ve mentioned.
Inteleon is the most popular Galar starter third stage in Japan. Or at least close second.
20 year old gay trans man from the USA here, my favorite is Scizor.
I started out with the TCG as a kid because of my brother and collected mostly gens 3-5 , but didn’t get into the games until 2 years ago when I started playing Shield. My love for Scizor is fairly recent and is mostly because of a Pokémon Go character i really like whose main Pokémon is a Scizor.
I’m a guy and my favorite look badass or cool to me
I’m a straight man (mid Gen Z) and tbh while I do like the badass/cool Pokemon, I also like mons such as Roserade, Tsareena, Florges, etc. If WiWa introduces a three-stage mon similar to one of the following fakemon it would go on my team as long as it doesn’t overlap with Gecqua type-wise.
[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf_ibpfP0wZ/?img_index=1)
[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/CiARX6_LTcP/?img_index=1)
[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/DDZpCSQPbUC/?img_index=1)
General rule, yes but with exceptions. People are mostly going to be nostalgic for what was relevant when they were kids, and the Pokemon company is always going to have something new that catches their eye that they make an exception for.
I know a few genwunners who became fans of Lucario, Darkrai, and Sylveon as adults.
From what I’ve noticed, while region may play a role, age and gender doesn’t always.
Personal anecdotes, but I’m a dude and I really like weird Pokémon the most, I have a friend and he really likes cute Pokémon, and my cousin, who’s 12, is a big fan of Charizard despite being born way after Gen I (He did, however, buy a Gameboy and Pokémon Yellow just recently, which is neat). I also knew a girl in school who was a big fan of ‘dark’ Pokémon like Gengar and Gothitelle, so it really depends on the individual
One i can definitely confirm it the age bias. My brother was born in 1997 and generally prefers the older gens and their pokemon, especially crystal. My husband was born in 2002 and his favourite games and their mons is pearl and diamond. I was born in 2005 and love black and white the most, and the 5th gen pokemons are absolutely my favourites. What a funny observation!
22yo male, southeastern US, and my favorites are Lapras and Alolan Ninetales
Could def be some interesting research. Also curious how language differences and availability might play into the equation.
I just turned 36. I’m a guy. I played every gen except 4.
Clodsire is the best pokemon to ever exist.
That’s it. That’s my hill. You may come at it if you wish but know that I will die on it.