something people who weren't around for pokemania might not know is Poliwhirl was pushed really hard with merchandising back then. there was pokemon branded everything, and Poliwhirl was usually there along with pika/meowth/starters. Always thought it was odd cause even though I like it and it's a 10/10 design, I don't remember it being a particularly popular mon or anything, at least for how insanely common it was on merch.
