Every Pokémon fan has their favorite generation and, of course, their favorite Pokémon. Fans are ionate about them, and oftentimes, the more powerful Pokémon are the most popular. Generation 4 was filled with them, from epic, world-bending legendary Pokémon to extremely powerful evolutions to older generation favorites.
With the recent Pokémon Legends: Arceus game being a huge hit among fans, as well as the recent Gen 4 remakes, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the popularity of Generation 4 has resurged, and Ranker s have voted on their favorites.
Empoleon
Generation 4 hit the ball out of the park with its starters. Both the first and final forms of evolution for each option are fantastic, and picking between the three is incredibly difficult. Empoleon is always a nice option since the Water moves can make the first gym a breeze.
Empoleon's Water/Steel combination gives it resistances to many different types of moves, making it one of the more durable options for a Sinnoh adventure lineup. It also has the highest special attack of the three starters, making it a force to be reckoned with. Piplup is ranked as one of the best Water starter Pokémon.
Torterra
Another starter evolution, Torterra is a great choice for a Diamond and Pearl starter, as its strong attacks allow for the player to burn through gym leaders like Roark, Crasher Wake, and with the help of its Ground moves, Byron and Volkner. Like with Empoleon, the type combination gives Torterra significant advantages over some leaders.
Torterra has a really cool design, which earned it an appearance in Pokémon Detective Pikachu. It also was a reliable member of Ash's lineup in the animated series, which likely earned it some of its popularity.
Arceus
Arceus is one of the most powerful Pokémon, not only in Generation 4 but also in the entire universe, making it an obvious choice to be a source of intrigue for fans. As the headliner of the recent game Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Pokémon has gotten a recent surge in popularity.
Arceus is one of the most difficult Pokémon to get in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, as it requires the player to not only have beaten that game and gotten the National Dex but also to have completed the main story of Legends: Arceus.
Luxray
One of the first Pokémon available to catch in any Generation 4 playthrough is Shinx, which many players will keep in their party and train. The evolved form, Luxray, is one of the most used Pokémon in Diamond & Pearl and is a very strong Electric-type Pokémon, the likes of which are scarce in the Sinnoh region.
Luxray can be a great help to any team but, unfortunately, won't get much time to shine until after the first few gym battles due to its type. However, it's one of the only effective options to defeat Crasher Wake's Gyarados in the fourth gym battle.
Giratina
Giratina was so cool that it got its own game centered around it, with Pokémon Platinum becoming the improved version of Diamond and Pearl, with a larger focus on Giratina and the Distortion World. It was one of the first Pokémon to have multiple forms, as players will find it in its Origin form.
In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, as well as Legends: Arceus the boss can be found late-game and is very high leveled and difficult to catch.
Dialga
Brilliant Diamond outsold Shining Pearl, and one of the reasons is that the mascot for the game is Dialga, which is one of the most well-designed legendary Pokémon in all of the games. Dialga and Palkia are some of the most powerful legendary Pokémon, which was part of the reason for the generation's major popularity.
The master of time can be caught throughout the story in Diamond and in the post-game in Platinum. The legendary can be a major help in defeating the Elite Four in Diamond, except for Cynthia's Garchomp, which has a type advantage against Dialga and is likely to out-speed it.
Infernape
The most popular of the three starters is Infernape. The early game may be a bit harder when trying to defeat Roark, but if the player has leveled it high enough to evolve into Monferno and earn some of its Fighting-type moves, it should make it easier.
Infernape is among the many extremely popular bipedal Fire-type starters. Its dual type with Fighting and powerful speed make it a formidable member of any trainer's roster. Chimchar is one of the reasons why Generation 4 has one of the best starter trios in the series.
Darkrai
Darkrai has an awesome design, is perhaps the best pure Dark-type Pokémon, and many fans of Generation 4 will the excitement of earning one in the post-game, given the popularity of the monster, which grew from the animated movie Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai.
Darkrai was also featured in an intense battle with Ash's Sceptile in the Sinnoh League, which was owned by the mystical trainer Tobias. Darkrai has one of the coolest side storylines in the Pokémon games in its pairing with Lunar Duo partner Cresselia.
Lucario
Lucario has one of the coolest designs in all of Pokémon. Its calm, lone wolf personality appeals to many fans, in particular in Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, in which it was the centerpiece of one of the more emotional Pokémon movies.
Obtaining a Lucario is a more unique experience, like with many of Sinnoh's more powerful Pokémon. It's not obtainable through capture, and the player instead will have to obtain an egg to hatch and later evolve.
Garchomp
Being in the elite tier of a "pseudo legendary" puts a Pokémon in high regard no matter what, but Garchomp is one of the best and most powerful options for any team in any region.
Dragon-types are almost always strong, but the mix of Ground allows for access to more powerful moves like Earthquake. It takes some progress in the game before a trainer can catch a Gible, and it will be a while before it fully evolves to Garchomp, but the wait is definitely worth it.
