Never forget, Pokémon Blue Version outsold Pokémon Red in the US. According to Bulbapedia: “In the United States, Pokémon Red has sold 4.83 million copies, while Pokémon Blue has sold 5.02 million copies.” This is clear proof that there was a time Blastoise was just as, if not marginally more popular than Charizard as a mascot for the series, before the heavy marketing pushes that favored Charizard, such as him being featured so heavily in the anime, being a desirable chase card time and again in the TCG, becoming playable in Smash Bros. in 2008, etc. But when you strip away all the marketing designed to influence the taste of fans, and look back to the original era of Pokémon where fans were left to make choices for themselves, the truth is clear. Hail to the true king.