"THE BEST GUY THEY'VE EVER MADE!!!!!!" Best of the best. Included if it innovates on a design from the tier below, or has a unique quality.

• GMAX Venusaur

What a fantastic take on a design I thought couldn't get more perfect. The drooping flowers give the sole impression of a swamp monster, and combined with the eyes, GMAX Venusaur looks much more poisonous than any other iteration. Plus, it looks like the Pokemon version of Huu from ATLA: just a powerful backwater swamp guy.

• Mega Charizard Y

This is the best Mega design out of all of them. No extra elements, no changes in color palette or typing. It's undeniably Charizard, but looks stronger and faster. It reminds me of how just a few new elements on HTTYD's Toothless conveyed such a leap in power. The usage of simplicity to convey a marked difference puts Mega Charizard Y in the topmost tier.

• GMAX Charizard

It looks like the fifth form of Charizard after Mega Y, as the power becomes too much to contain and Charizard turns into a gigantic, fire-breathing monster. It looks terrifying and powerful, and I absolutely love the diamond shaped scales on the lower half of its body. Getting rid of its wings was an excellent idea, as it's reminiscent of Godzilla.

• Piplup

Piplup has a fantastic design, but the quality that puts it in the first tier is merchandising. Piplup wasn't even one of my favorite starters, until I one day suddenly had more Piplup merchandise than any other Pokemon. Piplup's design elements can be perfectly translated into a plush toy or keychain in any pose or size, and the mild color palette fits in with any setting. Piplup is the only score which was influenced by sheer merchandising power.

• Hisuian Samurott

Hisuian Samurott pulls a regional form off perfectly, changing only the gold accents and the shapes of Samurott's edges. What puts this redesign in a tier above the original is that Samurott's original design exudes the nobility and discipline of a samurai, and tainting that with the dark type is quite tricky. However, the twisting and crumpling of its silhouette conveys the dark type without sacrificing Samurott's shrewd nature. Successfully ntegrating a seemingly clashing concept into a regional form is what puts Hisuian Samurott in top tier.

• GMAX Blastoise

The original Blastoise is quite low in this list, and the reason is cited as the cannons looking quite out of place. The GMAX form's design is what I crave from the regular Blastoise form: the skin of the shell feels more solid, and the cannons give the effect of an intimidating, well equipped battleship on the back of a beast. This design is the best upgrade from any original starter design.

• Incineroar

I'm not gonna lie, I HATED Incineroar. But I was misunderstanding the point. Incineroar isn't meant to be a fire-breathing cat. It's a goofy, gimmicky wrestler which just happens to be a fire-breathing cat. And its introduction into Smash and competitive Pokemon (as the reigning best competitive Pokemon to date) is such an excellent use of its design. Incineroar's fight animations, utilizations and moves meld so well with its design, setting it apart from any other Pokemon in that sense. Incineroar is top tier because we are able to see it in the habitat it's meant for, and it does REALLY, really well there.

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"FANTASTIC GUY!!!!! EXCELLENT:" Superior design. Perfect color palette and silhoutte/accents.

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"GREAT GUY!!!!:" All around standout and interesting design.

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"SOLID guy!!!:" Strong design with a standout quality or two.

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"Good guy!!:" Neutral design, no standout flaws or strengths.

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"OK guy!:" Flaws balance out with strengths.

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"I don't like this guy too much:" A flaw or two which can't be overlooked; possibly bad color choices or accents.

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"I hate him ngl. Horrible guy:" Very flawed design with no redeeming qualities.

• Quaquaval

I think this is my first time complaining about Pokemon standing up. The concept of a Carnaval dancer Pokemon could have been interesting if it actually looked like an animal. The silhouette makes Quaquaval look like a curvy human woman in bird makeup. Espathra and Fezandipiti are way better examples of eye-catching and pretty Pokemon with animal-like silhouettes. Also the feet make me shudder, why did they make them bulbous and red at the ends? Quaquaval is a complete letdown and those gorgeous water feathers are wasted on it.