>>53434960generation 3 is the only generation with less than 2 designs that I dislike
Grumpig gets close, but I like it enough on its own merits for me to get over it honestly wasting what potential Spoink had. Salamence has always looked like dogshit to me, but that's it. Everything else is something I'm either pretty happy with, neutral on, or actively really like.
I can't really explain why. I usually don't like pastels, yellow and green are some of my least favorite colors (despite them being on 90% of the dex for whatever reason), and I should really dislike the couple of gimmick pairs obviously made exclusively to shill double battles by my own standards (Plusle/Minun, Volbeat/Illumise, etc).
But for whatever reason I really just don't. By all accounts I shouldn't like the dex at all, but it pulls through and is somehow my favorite. What the fuck lol.
Gen 1 is second place for just having a lot of solid variety. It's an extremely unique dex to this day, with a lot of variation in little things like concept or body shape, and yet it maintains cohesion through little motifs like the Toriyama eyes or oddly-prevalent pseudo-cat ears. The few designs that really don't work can be easily excused as early-day experimentation, and even the plainer designs are still interesting due to those aforementioned motifs.
Gen 5 also gets a mention
to satisfy my immense bias for having a bunch of my favorites of all-time, even if the dex itself is hilariously hit or miss. A lot of the early-game designs are really questionable, and not a single legendary or mythical save for the ones on the first games' boxes work, but it easily has the best late-game dex EVER and its midgame is also incredible. Seriously- full of so many home runs, but then you realize those home runs are on the same team as the elemental monkeys and Beartic and you question whether the team as a whole is actually great or if those star players are clouding your perception.
