With a series that's been around for as long as "Pokemon," and with each new core game adding a new "generation" of Pokemon, you would easily expect there to be many different Pokemon designs. Unfortunately, as stated by the famous Sturgeons law, a lot of these designs are mediocre at best, and can be seen as variations from the original 151. That does not mean that all the 'Mons from the other five "generations" are bad, and it's easy to think all the 'Mons from Red/Blue/Yellow are the best when looking at them through nostalgic rose-tinted glasses. That's why I am not going to include ANY 1st generation Pokemon on this list, as they've already received all the attention they probably need.
TYRANITAR - ARMOR POKEMON (GROUND AND DARK TYPE)
Tyranitar is exactly as his name implies: A giant dinosaur Pokemon with very thick plated armor for scales on his body. His back and shoulder blades have jutted out plates, and the center of Tyranitar's chest is a diamond shaped silver grouping of scales. Tyranitar looks tough and intimidating, and has a very Godzillaish appearance.
XATU - MYSTIC POKEMON (PSYCHIC AND FLYING TYPE)
One of the reasons Xatu's design is great is because just one look at him should immediately tell you of his Native American influences. Xatu is a tall Condor-like bird with a well-clocked body, giving him the appearance of a Totem Pole as well as a Kachina, a spirit in western Pueblos religious beliefs.
GARDEVOIR - EMBRACE POKEMON (PSYCHIC/FAIRY TYPE)
Gardevoir takes a spot by the sheer elegance of her design. With a body that resembles a pretty white dress, and with the green hair that is curled over her face, it shows that the Game Freaks team was definitely inspired by balls and masquerades when working on Gardevoir's design.
METAGROSS - IRON LEG POKEMON (STEEL AND PSYCHIC TYPE)
Metagross is a four-legged robotic tank with sharp, glaring red eyes separated by a large "X" across the center of his face. He also has the innate ability to fly by tucking in his large spiked legs. Metagross's design is super imposing and looks nearly indestructible, completely lacking the vulnerability a lot of other designs have.
FROSSLASS - SNOW LAND POKEMON (ICE AND GHOST TYPE)
Frosslass basically embodies all of the traits any Japanese horror fan craves. Her body is stylized after the former Japanese garment called the kimono, and even contains the red band around the torso, known as an obi. Frosslass also contains a mask, with her ghostly face and glowing eyes partially concealed underneath. Her design completely gives the player a sense of ghostly beauty.
DRIFBLIM- BLIMP POKEMON (GHOST AND FLYING TYPE)
One of the reasons Drifblim deserves some love is because of its design that works, even though it should NOT have worked at all. Turning a blimp into a creature that enters elemental warfare with other creatures was an idea that was destined to fail, but ended up actually working! His overall look is simple, yet adorable with a cloud tuft for hair and a cartoonish bandaged X that works partly as a mouth. The ribbon like arms, and the bottom part of Drifblim representing fire are also really nice touches.
SCOLIPEDE - MEGAPEDE POKEMON (BUG AND POISON TYPE)
Scolipede is basically what you get when you combine a centipede with a horse. The colors Scolipede consists of: red, black, and magenta, work really well here and makes Scoliopede stand out. The eight poison barbs on his torso look threatening, the antenna on its head, and horns on its rear also work really well with the rest of its body.
COFAGRIGUS - COFFIN POKEMON (GHOST TYPE)
Similar to the case with Xatu, the genius of Cofagrigus is his Egyptian-based design, which is obvious as soon as you see it. Cofagrigus is a possessed golden sarcophagus that uses ghostly shadows for limbs, with a sculpted face on the sarcophagus slightly above the actual face of the Pokemon. His design is cool and somewhat flamboyant, and is something I wish more designs have.
FLORGES- GARDEN POKEMON (FAIRY TYPE)
While not the first, nor the last "flower" Pokemon, Florges stands out by being able to come out in a large variety of colors, like red, yellow, white, blue, and orange as determined by the flower patch you catch it in. She also contains a more elegant, fragile and sassy design that a lot of other "flower" 'Mon's seem to lack, which is something a flower should have.
MALAMAR- OVERTURNING POKEMON (DARK AND PSYCHIC TYPE)
Squid-like in design, Malamar expresses the feeling and overall look of most real-life deep sea creatures. Malamar looks like an upside down squid, where what would normally be the body, now acts as the lower torso and legs, and where the squids tentacles actually act as both the head and as the hair. The bright red beak and glaring eyes work really well with the dark torso, which contains six circles and two lines that are a flourescent yellow color.
