When analyzing Generation 3’s Pokemons, one thing became clear. This Gen is top loaded and well balanced. This is kind of problematic for this list. Let’s break it down. First, the top loaded. This list, like all my others of this type, exclude legendaries and starters. As a result, Hoenn loses what it did so well. Blaziken, Sceptile, Swampert, Deoxy, Rayquaza I could go on and on about how well designed this subset of Pokemons are. They are some of the best in the entire series of starters and legendaries, and none of them will be on this list. I like to spotlight some of the lesser known Pokemons. However that gets us to the second issue.

It’s well balanced. In most other Pokemon games, if you remove legendaries and starters, the top 5 are obvious. However, very little separates these Pokemons. I think the top 3 are obvious, I think theres about 10 Pokemons that could be battling for the 4th and 5th spot. I wouldn’t blame anyone for moving Pokemons on this list or having ones I didnt even mention. In fact, my list might change next week if you ask me. Anyway, let’s get on with the list.

#5 Aggron- When you see what misses the list, you’ll see what I mean. I actually never got to use Aggron. Aron is so bad, I haven’t been able to evolve it. I’m trying to fix that with my current playthrough of Emerald, but he is still my weakest mon. All that aside, Aggro is ferocious, well designed, on the champions team and represents a new type. All things that give him a lot of street cred.

#4 Altaria- I was going to give Altaria the 3 spot, but on second thought, I feel like my new #3 is more iconic. Something Altaria has in common with the top 2 Pokemons on this list is that they got a Mega form when ORAS came out. Altaria loses a little bit of its charm when you realize this Generation gave us, I think 4 Dragon types. Generation 1 just had Dragonite’s line. I dont believe Johto gave us a single Dragon. Hoenn gave us at least 4 dragon lines. She is awesome, a gym leader used her and she got a Mega. Again, it was tough separating these early entry Pokemons but I think Altaria did enough to crack the list.

#3 Breloom- I actually think solely from a design perspective struggles to make into the top 5. However, I think it was the first grass fighting Pokemon to exist and in the competitive scene it was a beast. It was able to set up substitute and barrage its enemies with focus punch. I can completely see someone wanting a different Pokemon in this spot but I feel he was an iconic strong gen 3 Pokemon with a unique typing that is awesome and hasn’t happened a lot, and it had a clear defined role in the meta. I think all these characteristics are enough to find a spot on this list.

#2 Salamence- I could see some people wanting this at #1, but I’ll explain. When Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire came out, he was undoubtedly one of the coolest Pokemons ever, including legendaries and starters. However, as time gas moved on, I think he has lost a lot of his luster. I think design wise he is one of the coolest dragons in the game, but he wasn’t the original (that honor goes to Dragonite) and he has to compete with all the other dragons in just this generation, namely Rayquaza. Still there is no denying how epic he was in his debut. He was featured on Drake’s Elite Four team, is a dragon type, was a clear OU in the metagame, and his design is just so hard to beat.

#1 Metagross- Metagross is a very interesting Pokemon. He takes the top spot in my list for several reasons. Steel was still (hehe) a new type. Prior to this generation, only the magnemite line, Skarmory and Steexlix had the distinction of the type. Gen 3 did add a handful of new steels including Registeel, Mawile and the aforementioned Aggron, but unlike Salamance, Metagross is the coolest steel type this generation. He also was a nondragon pseudo legendary. Something only himself and Tyrantiar can say. As the series would go exclusively Dragons for the pseudos as the series progressed into newer regions. He was the iconic Pokemon on Champion Steven’s team. He was powerful and had a clear role in the competitive scene. He checks off every box needed to be #1. I could see people rooting for the giant flying dragon, but I’m giving the nod to Metagross today.

So there’s my list. I think generation 3 was summed up by Metagross and Salamence (excluding starters and legends) and my list reflects that. However there were so many great Pokemons that just did not separate from the pack like Gardevoir and Miltoic. I think Gen 3 might have the best roster top to bottom because it does not have many dud Pokemons. Theres still the arbitrary early bugs, but every gen has that. Some Pokemons like Linoone and Kecleon can get lost in the shuffle but they’re never really bad. So this was a tough top 5.

Let me know what 5 Pokemon would have made your list. Thank you guys for reading and have a great day!