3 Kanto Pokémon Everyone Obsessed Over In The '90s

Published Aug 7, 2026, 8:00 AM EDT Austin King is the Senior Editor of Gaming at ScreenRant and has been with the site since 2020 with a focus on RPGs and tabletop games. He previously managed content for Geek to Geek Media, and has served as a writer for sites like Nintendad, Geek Fitness, and more. In addition to his work at ScreenRant, he also hosts the Dragon Quest FM podcast and is the author of several books, including co-writing Nimbus (a #1 bestseller in 2013). His latest is the nonfiction The Dragon Quest Book, available now. He's written about pop culture, video games, and genre studies over the course of his career. You can find him on BlueSky, X, and at Dragonquestaustin.com Pokémon was first introduced in the 1990s, and it's been massively popular ever since. The Kanto region of the Gen 1 games has provided many of the most endearingly popular Pokémon of all time, including the series' mascot, Pikachu, and fan-favorites like Gengar, Psyduck, and the Gen 1 starters. And then there's the Legendary Pokémon Mewtwo and the always popular Eeveelutions. The Pokédex from Kanto is absolutely stacked, but back when Pokémon Red and Blue were still new, some 'Mon became early favorites. As the anime and Pokémon Yellow popularized the franchise even more, the series quickly became a major part of the zeitgeist. Pokémon were everywhere in pop culture, and no matter which was your favorite, there were a few that everybody obsessed over in the '90s. 3 Charizard Charizard's fame started in the '90s, but it remains one of the most popular Pokémon of all time today. It started with Charizard being on the cover of Pokémon Red, but it was quickly compounded by the fact that Charizard was the most sought after card in the official TCG. Charmander—and eventually Charizard—had a memorable arc in the Indigo League anime, which cemented its popularity even further. Even people who didn't play Pokémon knew that this orange dragon was a part of those games. People who did play the Kanto games were in love. Charizard is incredibly powerful and looks cool, all of which meant Pokémon fans were obsessing over it in the '90s. And, honestly, that hasn't slowed down much by 2026. 2 Pikachu Pokémon and Pikachu are synonymous now, but the face of the franchise got there for a good reason. In the '90s, there were even news broadcasts explaining who Pikachu was. Comparisons to Mickey Mouse and other famous entertainment mascots ensued. But more than anything, '90s kids just loved this Electric Mouse Pokémon. By the time Pikachu showed up as Ash's sidekick in the anime, the cute little guy was a household name. It's weird to think about now, but Pikachu wasn't even originally the mascot for Pokémon. But everyone quickly fell in love with Pikachu, and its design is truly iconic now. There are people like my dad who have no clue what Pokémon really is, but even he knows Pikachu when he sees one. That's pretty impressive, when you think about it. 1 Mew If there was one Kanto Pokémon that truly caused obsessions in the '90s, it was Mew. If you were a kid in the '90s, then you probably remember the playground rumors about a secret 'Mon in Red and Blue. The internet wasn't as ubiquitous back then, which meant a lot of those rumors spread by word-of-mouth. I can still remember the kid who claimed to have Mew, brought his Game Boy to school, and then promptly had it confiscated by a teacher before he could show anyone. Was Mew real or not? Any Pokémon fan alive in the 1990s had this conversation. You might've even stayed up nights thinking about it. By the time Pokémon: The First Movie was out, it was easy to forget that Mew had been a mystery at all. It felt like Mew had been a part of the Pokémon discourse for ages. In this era of datamining and omnipresent internet leaks, it feels like this kind of Mew mystery can never be repeated, but it certainly had people obsessing during the Kanto era. Released September 28, 1998 ESRB Everyone / No Descriptors Developer(s) Game Freak Publisher(s) Nintendo Multiplayer Local Co-Op Sequel(s) Pokemon Silver & Gold Franchise Pokemon Number of Players Single-player