>>43417240>Was blastoise always the number 2 pick back then?Yeah it was, because it was the cover mascot. If you wanted to be a chad you'd pick Venusaur, though.
Charizard didn't get more popular because of the anime. It was disobedient for most of the show. But in the card game, everyone wanted the 1st edition Charizard because it had 120 HP and a 100 damage attacking move.