Ranking the Revealed Pokémon of Galar

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You love them, you hate them, and you can’t help but want to make one yourself when you see them. Below is this writer’s own tier list on the new Gen VIII Pokémon that have been officially revealed. Plan to see an updated version of this article when the games are fully released.

Here is the link to the tier maker used in this article, though there are others. Just beware of spoilers when you search! We want you to rank the officially revealed Pokémon so far, so we can get a feel of which Pokémon of Galar appeal to a wide audience and which are universally agreed as… ew.

Note: the rankings in this article are purely the judgments of the author, and you are in full right to disagree (or agree), especially down in the comments! These rankings are based on what has been officially revealed, not considering leaks, rumors or unofficial sources.

S Rank – LOVE

  • Starting off right away is everyone’s favorite sheep. Mareep who? Seriously though, just when you thought Wooloo couldn’t get any more adorable, you find out they roll!
  • Corviknight is so intimidating, imposing, and really captures the regional-bird vibe with a great twist
  • A hilarious and creative use of the industrial era fashion, along with the smoke-stacks. Galarian Weezing is top notch

A Rank – Very Good. Many Pokémon fall in to this rank, so let’s move fast.

  • Yamper truly embodies the newer style of Pokémon, and he really is a Very Good boy
  • Drednaw and its Gigamax form both capture the older style of Pokémon really well. It looks like it could easily fit in with Gen I Pokémon, and that’s a good thing
  • Galarian Zigzagoon and Linoone feel like they are living their best life, their true life, in the Galar region
  • Polteageist is a more cute ghost type, but a welcome one. It conjures up a sort of Beauty & The Beast vibe, and its name is quite creative
  • Impidimp is up this high as a meme, but really that is what this PokÉmon is all about. It’s got a fanbase already, and that has grown even more since the 24-hour chime stream
  • Rolycoly is one of the Pokémon that ignite hopefulness for its future. It does have a similar feeling to Geodude, with a lot more attitude than something like Roggenrola
  • Galarian Ponyta looks exactly as expected to, though the lack of a Fairy typing is surprising. Still, it looks great!

B Rank – Good. Another large group, these ones are generally well designed but not my favorites, or could have done better.

  • Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble. These three have really climbed in the rankings, as most starters do. At first, all of them were much lower. Looking at them now though, they are all good designs
  • Morepeko is an interesting twist on the Pika-clone of this generation. Not my taste, but it does look more interesting than some past generations
  • Zamenzenta and Zacian are interesting enough legendaries. The sword in the mouth is a bit odd, but I would put them about the middle of the pack compared to past box-art legends
  • Sirfetch’d is hilariously good. Its leek is just so long! A surprising design and they did well to give an old Pokémon some well deserved attention
  • Eldegoss is quality. Much appreciation for the big poof, the spreading of seeds, etc
  • Cramorant is the new man’s Pelipper. Gulp Missile seems like an interesting ability, and It’s easy to look forward to using this Pokémon. But… its design isn’t anything particularly special. That’s not to say it’s bad, but it could be better

C Rank – Meh/Okay. These ‘mons are just not anywhere near favorites. Either not fitting personal taste, or could have been better.

  • Alcremie isn’t necessarily bad, just not the tastiest of the Galar Pokémon flavours. The Gigantmax form is a bit cooler with just how large and grand it is, and it is cool that you can find different varieties of Alcremie
  • Gossifluer feels similar to many other feminine-plant types we have seen in the past. It just doesn’t do enough to excel beyond those

D Rank – Dislike and nothing can be done about it.

  • Obstagoon was an interesting concept on paper but fails to deliver. Behaving like a human and a general distaste for humanoid Pokémon places this one way down low
  • Duraladon is the first one of the new reveals that got an audible “no way that is a Pokémon”. There are just so many cooler ways a Steel/Dragon Pokémon could have been done.

Overall that’s the list! Comment down below with your thoughts about these rankings and feel free to make your own! Once again, here is the link to the specific one used above. Whilst you’re here why not give us a follow on Twitter and come join our Discord for constant Pokémon chat!

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106 thoughts on “Ranking the Revealed Pokémon of Galar”

  5. Project due next week on Thursday plus some friends being out of town this weekend means I’m delayed to enjoy the game. But at least I’ll have the guide book by the time I’m able to play

    Reply

    • I feel really bad for the GF employees (if there are) who genuinely care about pokemon and know what its fans want but have to put up with this because of superiors 🙁

      Reply

  11. Stuck between two premises for my Jungle Writing Project.

    Idea 1) Trainer Guild.
    This is the one you’re all familiar with, and the one I’ve been working on currently. Concept is that Pokemon communities like PokeJungle are translated into ‘Trainer Guilds’ that provide accommodation and services to trainers in exchange for trainers doing allocated jobs and roles. Training is a lot harder in the setting than it is in the games/anime, so evolving takes longer and most people have 2-3 Pokemon.

    It’s kind of like a more western version of the Pokemon Sun and Moon anime. Slice of life, episodic. Easy to read.

    Idea 2) Fantasy World
    This is the alternative that I keep flirting with. Basically, the world is split into eighteen regions each governed by different bodies, and boundaries are set by the prominence of the Eighteen Crystals. These crystalline swellings of elemental energy are said to be the manifestations of the creator’s eighteen aspects, and it is said that they are the source of the power that people and Pokemon have manifested.

    In this story, humans have slight powers and have one companion Pokemon they’re gifted the egg of when they reach the right age – this depends on which of the Eighteen Nations they’re born in. This is more of a serial story, and if you want to imagine the concept it’s kind of Final Fantasy/Bravely Default meets Avatar

    Reply

  14. http://g-media.work/archives/%e8%a9%95%e5%88%a4%e6%a0%aa%e5%bc%8f%e4%bc%9a%e7%a4%be%e3%82%b2%e3%83%bc%e3%83%a0%e3%83%95%e3%83%aa%e3%83%bc%e3%82%af%ef%bc%88%e8%a8%98%e4%ba%8b%e7%95%aa%e5%8f%b737462%ef%bc%89.html

    god, PLEASE read this. Chrome can google translate it. It’s an interview with a gamefreak employee who left

    Reason for Retirement: “I decided to change my job because I wanted to make an interesting game”

    Points that I think are bad or frustrated at the company: “There is no enthusiasm for the game. Because it is a Pokemon, you can sell any piece. Because my salary is also high, there are many people who think about how to get a high bonus without making a mistake, rather than the enthusiasm of making a game, so it is difficult to challenge new things.”

    It also talks about how they make people do stuff they aren’t prepared to do and end up needing help from other staff who end up retiring despite their excellence. Just read it. I’m so fucking disappointed and upset with Pokemon and something needs to fucking change.

    Reply

  16. Is there a pokemon that you like that others seem to dislike?

    For me, its gotta be Delphox. It’s my favorite fire starter and everyone seems to loathe it and wish it would die.

    Reply

  17. Well i’ve worked all day today in literal sleet and i think i need to get some rest
    Tomorrow is the last full-full day of waiting
    Technically thurs is but y’know midnight and all

    I need a warm soak….like a Goron

    Reply

  18. On the glitches like the raboot randomly dying

    “Allegedly, that’s a modified version and everything is bugged in this dude’s version, he has max master balls as well”

    So the majority of it is coming from a pirated hacked game.

    Reply

  19. Who wants to help me pick a starter? I’m really torn because all of the final evolutions have grown on me! There’s not a single one I don’t like.

    Reply

  20. Nintendo 128 GB microSD cards were for sale on Amazon, so I nabbed one in order to play Pokémon Sword right as Friday begins. Now I have to debate whether or not I should go to morning classes.

    Reply

  21. I’m so glad the people here aren’t being toxic about what they like/dislike about the games, they are regaling the fun old times and being excited for the new games this is what I wish this community was like all over 🙂

    Reply

  23. Going off of a discussion below, here’s a question : what’s a Pokemon you initially hated and grew to really like?

    For me it has to be incineroar and it literally just happened yesterday. I’ve been vocal about my feelings about incineroar before so I think it needs to be redeemed. The reason for my change of heart is entirely subjective though.

    So I have this weird pet peeve of mine. I classify Pokémon designs into masc and femme and then I like to put them on my team in the opposite gender. Don’t ask why, maybe it has something to do with being subversive or whatever but it really helps me get attached to the Pokémon knowing that it’s not just playing up to some stereotype. Example, my first ever SM Playthrough was with my male Primarina. I’ve also used male Gardevoir in the past, which apparently doesn’t make sense to some people.

    So I kept resetting till I got a female litten last week when I decided to play Ultra Sun once before Swsh to get the hype fuelled, and since I hadn’t ever played with litten I thought let me give it a try. I also wanted to name all my Pokémon after characters from SU. I named my Litten Amethyst as an homage to her purple puma alter ego, and started imagining stories around her that matched amethyst’s personality. Before I knew it, I’d fallen I love with her as a torracat and was genuinely excited when she evolved into inci because I really did see her as amethyst. She’s aloof, loves to joke around to mask her vulnerability but secretly harbours a deep insecurity about not being strong enough. She channels that energy into her battles against other pokemon which she always treats as wrestling matches. She may seem standoffish, distant and goofy at first but soon enough you’ll realize she has a huge heart!

    Sorry for the long post

    Tldr, I now really like Inci

    Reply

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