The Rarest Pokémon from the Original Anime Series, Ranked (2024)

It goes beyond question that Pokémon is a pop cultural phenomenon that starts with the original anime series. With 251 pocket monsters that span across two generations, not to mention 274 episodes and a few specials and movies, Ash Ketchum’s journey has a lot of ground to cover in his epic quest to catch them all. His travels will take him from Kanto all the way to Johto. With so many different species out there, Ash and his friends end up everywhere, from virtual worlds to hot volcanic mountains.

However, not every Pokémon will get a chance to bask in the glorious spotlight, like Pikachu and Meowth frequently do in every single episode. A select few are very hard to find in both the games and the anime. Powerful legendaries may only show up in a feature length film, while even normal Pokémon end up debuting in episodes taken off syndication due to censorship. These Pokémon are truly rare sights to see in the 1997 anime.

10 Blaziken Shows Up a Generation Early

Blaziken's Appearance Marks The End of The Original Era

The original anime series ends with the Silver Conference, eligible only for Pokémon trainers with all eight Johto gym badges. Ash Ketchum faces off against Harrison, a determined rival from Littleroot Town in the nearby Hoenn region. Harrison provides a sneak preview of the next generation with his fire starter Blaziken, which has never been seen before. The resulting battle is among the best in the entire series.

Ash’s Charizard and Harrison’s Blaziken put on a fiery display of willpower in the quarterfinals of the Silver Conference. The latter even debuts a brand-new move from the third generation with Blaze Kick. Ash ultimately loses to Harrison, but his Charizard deals enough damage to Blaziken to leave it unable to compete in the next round, which results in Harrison’s exit from the tournament.

9 Ho-Oh Gives a Rare Glance at Newer Pokémon

Ho-Oh Proves There is a World Far Beyond The Kanto Region

The world always seems bigger in the eyes of a child. At the start of the original anime series, Ash starts his journey to become a Pokémon and catch all 151 species in the Kanto region. However, by the end of the very first episode, he catches a magical glimpse of a golden rainbow bird in the sky. Not even his national Pokédex, has a definitive answer.

Ho-Oh’s brief cameo is a very special moment for one specific reason. It’s the appearance of a second generation Pokémon in a pilot episode for the first generation. This proves Game Freak has more in store for the series far beyond the original 151 creatures. Ho-Oh leaves behind a rainbow, symbolic of hope and happiness in store for the viewers themselves.

8 Raikou Gets Its Thunder Stolen

The Legendary Beast Rarely Appears in The Original Series

Raikou is among the legendary trio of elemental beasts that appear in the second generation, along with the volcanic Entei and water-based Suicune. However, the Thunder Pokémon lacks the dedicated focus of the other two. Entei is the main star of the third Pokémon movie, ''Spell of the Unown: Entei,'' while Suicune features heavily in ''Don't Touch That 'dile.''

Meanwhile, the Thunder Pokémon makes a few brief cameos in two anime episodes before it gets attention in '' The Legend of Thunder!'' special. It was originally broadcast for Japanese audiences on December 30, 2001. It wouldn’t see an international release in the United States until June 2006, long after the original anime series had already ended.

7 Aerodactyl Flies Right Back Into Action

A Prehistoric Creature Finds Its Way Into The Future

Fossil Pokémon are exceedingly rare by the definition of their very nature. The underground creatures have not been awakened from their slumber in over several million years. However, when Ash and his friends stumble upon a hidden cave within a huge canyon, several fossilized creatures proceed to wreak havoc, chief among them Aerodactyl.

The flying reptilian is the primary reason why Ash’s Charmeleon evolves into a Charizard in the first place, since the former wounds the pride of the latter after a show of strength. Ash is ultimately rescued, but the excavation site is shut down over safety concerns. Aerodactyl is not seen again in the original anime series beyond flashbacks and Todd Snap’s pictures.

These Mysterious Entities Drive The Plot of The Third Movie

Unown are more akin to mystifying aliens than Psychic type Pokémon. With cyclopic appearances based on the Latin alphabet, they come in many different forms and prove to be dangerous cosmic forces in the third anime movie. The Unown create a fantastical land of dreams for a young little girl, but eventually lose control of their powers.

Not all of the Unown are unintentionally antagonistic towards the main cast of characters. A single Unown with the ''G'' designation also shows up in the anime episode ''The Spell of the Unown.'' Ash and his allies take care of the mysterious creature. In return, it helps defeat Team Rocket and even assists in getting Ash’s Larvitar to open up more.

5 Mew Fights Mewtwo in a Fated Clash on The Big Screen

The New Species Pokémon Seeks to Save The World

Fans of the original anime series will always remember the sight of Mew and Mewtwo in the very first intro. Mewtwo gets at least three anime episodes dedicated to it, namely ''The Battle of the Badge,'' "It's Mr. Mimie Time," and "Showdown at the Poke Corral." The especially rare Mew doesn’t appear in the anime proper until the first ever Pokémon movie.

Mew and Mewtwo are two of the strongest in their generation. They are destined rivals who represent different philosophical views on life. The former personifies childhood innocence while the latter embodies adult negative thinking. Mewtwo is a genetic clone of Mew, so they share the same Physic typing and absurd power stats from the original games.

4 Dratini Lamentably Debuts in a Banned Episode

It Only Shows Up in One Proper Original Anime Episode Afterward

Pseudo-legendary Pokémon are very uncommon in the wild. Dratini, Dragonair, and Dragonite are the first of their powerful evolutionary line to be put under this category. In the original anime series, however, the controversial "The Legend of Dratini" episode lives in utter infamy. This is due to featuring the use of firearms in a cartoon primarily meant for children.

The episode never aired in the United States, which means Dratini’s major debut goes largely unnoticed. It does make a few minor appearances in a few Christmas specials, and Claire’s Dratini gets some focus later on in the original series, but it evolves into a Dragonair in the very same episode that it shows up in.

3 Celebi Only Appears in a Movie in The Original Series

The Mysterious GS Ball Hints at Much Earlier Plans

Celebi is just as rare in the original anime series as the Pokémon games it originates from. The mythical guardian of the Ilex Forest only shows up on the big screen where it travels from the past into the future. A Team Rocket executive member by the name of Iron-Masked Marauder uses a dark ball to brainwash Celebi, but Ash and his friends eventually put a stop to his plans and set the creature free.

According to a 2008 interview with Masamitsu Hidaka, a storyboard artist and director for the original anime series, there were plans to introduce Celebi long before the movie came out. It was supposed to reside in the mysterious GS Ball from the Orange Islands arc, but the plot device was dropped in favor of a cinematic debut instead.

2 Porygon is Caught in a Massive Controversy

Its Feature Episode Gets Banned Worldwide Due to Seizures

December 16, 1997 is a date with dubious notoriety. Porygon’s debut episode has Ash and his friends enter a computer network to deal with Team Rocket. Their latest plan involves stealing Pokémon from within cyberspace itself. During the climax, Pikachu destroys several missiles with Thunderbolt, which causes epileptic flashing lights to go off simultaneously.

Approximately 685 seizures took place in Japan according to the country’s fire defense agency. The episode was pulled from syndication and never made the airwaves internationally. Porygon wasn’t responsible for the strobe light effects, yet it took the fall and never appeared in the original anime outside of minor cameos via scene transition shots.

1 Porygon2 Never Shows Up in The Original Anime

The Porygon Line Pays The Price For Pikachu's Actions

With the exception of the Johto Pokérap in the English dub by 4Kids Entertainment, Porygon2 never makes any official appearance in the original series anime. This is the result of the infamous ''Electric Soldier Porygon'' episode a generation earlier. Despite it being Pikachu’s fault entirely, the Porygon family continues to face exclusion in the anime.

Porygon2, along with its evolution Porygon-Z, doesn’t make a physical appearance until ''Pokémon the Movie: Kyurem VS. The Sword of Justice,'' which takes place in the fifth generation several years later. It remains the only Pokémon from the first and second generation without any sort of feature episode in the original anime series.

Pokémon (1997)

TV-Y7

Anime

Action

Adventure

Ash Ketchum, his yellow pet Pikachu, and his human friends explore a world of powerful creatures.

Release Date

September 8, 1998

Cast

Veronica Taylor , Eric Stuart , Rachael Lillis , Sarah Natochenny , Bill Rogers , Rica Matsumoto , Ikue Ootani

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

25

Studio

OLM Inc.

Creator

Junichi Masuda, Ken Sugimori, Satoshi Tajiri