With Pokémon turning 25 this year, I wanted to draw my OC Ralus with my personal favorite fully-evolved mon from each generation. The franchise has been through a lot, from the classic gens 1-3, the dizzying highs of gens 4 and 5, the terrifying lows of gen 8, and the creamy middle, courtesy of gens 6 and 7. Two things that keep my attention is the music and the creature designs. This is dedicated to the latter, though have a listen to my favorite battle theme while reading the rest, from a gen 3 spin-off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RFW3dRzg_c

Gen 1: Arcanine. Even before getting into the series, Chuggaaconroy's LP's of Crystal and Fire Red started my adoration for this bad-ass fiery lion-dog. He's been a competitive mainstay, and his surprisingly versatile movepool contributes to that. I actually like Growlithe more (lap dogs for the win!), but even with Eviolite, ol' Growlie ain't winning any battles; this isn't the anime after all. This particular Arcanine, Aslan, has Flamethrower, Snarl, Will-O-Wisp, and Protect with the Intimidate ability; taking a more defensive role. [Honorable mentions: Vaporeon, Dragonite, Rhydon]

Gen 2: Heracross. It's Pinsir, but better! Just keep the Heracronite far, far away from it. I'm not a fan of its mega evolution. Hera has the added bonus of making the normally scary Whitney look like most of the Kalos gym leaders. Hercule has the Guts ability, with Close Combat, Megahorn, Rock Slide, and Shadow Claw at its disposal. [Honorable mentions: Feraligatr, Espeon, Ampharos]

Gen 3: (Mega) Absol. THIS is where the mega stone belongs, on my edgy wolf-thing. The much appreciated speed-boost elevates Absol into a powerhouse, both physically and specially. Luna has Justified (then Magic Bounce when mega'd), with Night Slash, Play Rough, Fire Blast, and Close Combat. [Honorable mentions: Sceptile, Metagross, Ludicolo]

Gen 4: Weavile. If you wanted dragons slain before gen 6, it was either this or Mamoswine. Sure, it faints if it even so much as looks at a fist, but who cares about defense when you hit fast and hard? Vega has Pickpocket, with the moves Fake Out, Throat Chop, Icicle Crash, and Poison Jab. [Honorable mentions: Lucario, Garchomp, Magnezone]

Gen 5: Golurk. The gen I started with has a rotating door of favorites, but Golurk has been winning my heart recently. It's a stinking clay robot right out of Sentai shows, that can Fly and shit. Megazord has No Guard with High Horsepower, Poltergeist, Stone Edge, and Dynamic Punch. [Honorable mentions: Samurott, Braviary, Haxorus, Eelektross, Krookodile]

Gen 6: Gogoat. I don't see a lot of love for the GOAT goat. The XY prerelease time frame was hype, and seeing Gogoat in action in the anime was really cool. Please come back, it sucked seeing you Dexit-ed.... Mountaineer has Sap Sipper with Horn Leech, Earthquake, Wild Charge, and Aerial Ace. [Honorable mentions: Greninja, Hawlucha, Noivern]

Gen 7: Kommo-o. As soon as Hakamo-o was revealed to be Dragon/Fighting, the rest of Alola had no chance; its final evo WOULD be my favorite. Thankfully, the region provided little competition, and none could dethrone my brawling dragon from his throne. Scalebound has Bulletproof with Bulk Up, Draco Meteor, Body Press, and Iron Head. [Honorable mentions: Mudsdale, Incineroar, Ribombee]

Gen 8: Toxtricity. Say what you will about Sword and Shield (and believe me, I have a LOT to say), but Game Freak nailed the designs of the creatures in Galar. The amped punk rock lizard takes the cake, though. Just keep it away from dirt. Venom has Punk Rock with Overdrive, Sludge Bomb, Boomburst, and Hex. [Honorable mentions: Dragapult, Grimmsnarl, Sirfetch'd]

A standard team of six would drop Weavile and Heracross for type-balancing reasons. Do you accept Ralus' challenge, or perhaps you'd like to fight Ral himself in the ring? Either way's good!

Okay, that's enough words for one post, yeesh. Back to your regularly scheduled martial arts stuff for the foreseeable future.