Pokémon of the year contest proves no one actually knows what the best pokémon is

Earlier this month, The Pokémon Company International announced that it would hold a vote to determine the pokémon of the year. The polls, held via Google, allowed fans to tally in their favorite once a day, from one region at a time, until February 14th. With all of the series’s creatures at their fingertips, who would fans decide was worthy of the top spot, let alone top 10? Would it be the bravest?

The most beautiful? The most huggable? Nay. None of these, declared fans with the gusto of a true ding-dong.

Instead, after a respectable list that included formidable foes like Gengar, Rayquaza, Charizard, and Mimikyu, the top spot was revealed as... Greninja. Greninja? You know, the angry toad-man wearing a scarf?

Pokémon of the year, baby, perhaps championed by its role in Super Smash Bros. and what even I cannot deny is an excellent color scheme. Greninja has been winning hearts for years, it seems; a 2016 poll of Japanese fans also crowned it No. 1.

If you’re curious if your favorite made top 30, the official website has more. RIP to my beloved Bulbasaur who came in at number 13. At least it beat out Pikachu at number 19. As a consolation prize to all of us who are sad about a loss, The Pokémon Company revealed an upcoming addition to Sword and Shield: Zarude, a new mythical monkey with a love for fashioning its own pretty bracelets.