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#20: Gengar (and pre-evolutions)
Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar have the distinction of being the first Ghost-types to ever exist. Spearheading the Pokemon type that would soon become full of great spooky apparitions such as Froslass and Jellicent, this family of ghosts function great as ghosts; Gengar, especially, is cool as a "doppleganger" Pokemon that likes to hide in shadows. It's on the battlefield, though, where Gengar is truly fearsome. Gengar is one of only two Pokemon to have been OU in every generation, a fact made more interesting by how vastly different he has been for four of those generations. In Gen I, Ghost was a really bad offensive type (the only Ghost-type attack affected by type matchups was Lick), but Gengar had its role in being a fast sleep inducer and having immunity to Normal attacks, which were incredibly common and powerful back then. Ghost still wasn't a good attacking type in Gen II due to Gengar's low Attack, but made up for it with a huge movepool that could threaten anything in the game, as well as the ability to use a Mean Look + Perish Song combo. Gen III gave Gengar Levitate, negating one of its weaknesses, as well as Will-o-Wisp, making him more of a status spreader that could still hit hard. Gen IV, though, turned his Shadow Balls into Special attacks, and finally made him into an overall powerful attacker that was both strong and fast, not to mention having nearly perfect coverage with Focus Blast. Finally, we come to Gen V, where he's very much the same, having strong attacks and not being afraid to use them. He gets one additional tool: with Disable now having perfect accuracy, it's actually a viable move now. Otherwise, Gengar is still the best Pokemon for straight-up striking fear into the hearts of Trainers everywhere.
#19: Dragonite (and pre-evolutions)
Yeah, I like this guy. Sure, he's not exactly the sort of Pokemon you think of when you think of "fearsome Dragon" (and his family spearheads the Dragons much like Gengar's family spearheads the Ghosts), but he's still cute while still being ferocious (especially in the anime). However, it's in battle where Dragonite really shines, especially in Gen V with the light now shining off his Multiscale. This new Dream World ability halves the damage he takes if he's at full health, allowing him to tank weaker Ice attacks and either squeeze in more Dragon Dances or just stay alive longer (especially with Roost). He still gets all sorts of powerful physical attacks like Outrage/Dragon Claw, ExtremeSpeed, Earthquake, Superpower, Fire Punch, and Waterfall/Aqua Tail to launch from his incredible Attack stat, and while his good Special Attack gives him a particularly interesting moveset to use in Rain teams, which involve a STAB Hurricane, Thunder, and possibly Surf. He can also use Dragon Tail to shuffle around the opposing team while causing damage, preventing any one opponent from racking up boosts. There are seriously a ton of things Dragonite can do, and that is why he is one of my favorite Pokemon.
#18: Volcarona
Tired of mediocre moth-based Pokemon? Try Volcarona, a Pokemon that proves that neither being a moth nor being 4x-weak to Stealth Rock is enough to keep a Pokemon from destroying the opposition. A couple of things allow Volcarona to be incredibly threatening in a metagame where Stealth Rocks float all over the place. First, he learns Quiver Dance, a move that boosts his Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed all at once--a deadly combination that quickly turns Volcarona into a powerful, fast, and hard-to-defeat opponent. (And his Special Attack is already incredibly high.) He gets powerful attacks in Bug Buzz and Fire Blast, as well as Fiery Dance, which has the fun 50% chance of boosting his Special Attack even further. Roost gives him an option to heal and get even more Quiver Dance boosts. His Flame Body ability is also cool, and it not only allows him to switch in to Fighting-types relatively safely, but give them a crippling burn in the process. And if you thought putting a fire moth in rain was a bad idea, having Hurricane means Volcarona can either take a place on Rain teams or threaten them. That his concept revolves around the sun as well as being a giant moth of doom just makes this Mothra that much more awesome.
#17: Jirachi
This star-shaped pixie is so awesome. She's adorable, has a very neat concept based on wishing on shooting stars as well as having a big Tanabata influence, and is incredible in battle. She gets a lot of mileage out of her Serene Grace ability and Base 100 across-the-board stats. She can use either special or physical sets; special sets can boost with Calm Mind and use STAB Psychic/Psyshock and Flash Cannon, and can also fit on Rain teams with Thunder, which has a 60% chance of paralysis, and Water Pulse, which has a 40% chance of confusion--combine the two for best results. Thunderbolt can also be used for more general reliability. Then there is her physical sets, which wield a STAB Iron Head that has a 60% chance of flinching and is probably the most annoying thing to face this side of Shaymin-S. Other physical moves she can use include Fire Punch, Ice Punch, and Body Slam (from Gen III). She can also run mixed sets, and on top of that heal with Wish or revitalize a teammate with Healing Wish at the cost of her own battle life. Jirachi is easily one of the best Pokemon out there, so why not make a wish on one today?
#16: Heracross
Here's a Pokemon that I instantly fell in love with upon first discovering it. Its cool concept based on the hercules beetle and great design, its unique Bug/Fighting typing, and its power on the battlefield all serve to make him a great Pokemon, especially with a high Attack, strong STAB moves like Megahorn and Close Combat that both deal a ton of damage, combined with Stone Edge and Earthquake for coverage and Swords Dance for more power, and abilities like Guts and Moxie that turn him into something even more fearful when statused or after taking down an opponent (Guts makes him a particularly effective Sleep Talk user). Heracross is a great Pokemon to bring into battle and even better to have on an in-game team, as he does not need to evolve to be strong, and can immediately start smashing things to bits, and will remain useful throughout the game. This guy is definitely an incredible Pokemon and one that will not disappoint.
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