Last year, we assembled a team to decide the 25 best games of all-time. It was a serious endeavor, but the end result turned out to be pretty damn good, I think. Despite a variety of opinions, we ended up with a list that covered a ton of platforms and genres and the like.

This year, my goal was to do another top 25 starting on January 1st, just like in 2013. Our unfortunate (and well-documented) internet situation prevented that from happening. But now that we’re up and running again, why not dive back in?

Choosing just 25 of the 718 Pokemon released to date (although a couple more than that are known) is not an easy task. While there are a handful of creatures who would never make anyone’s list, a lot of people are fiercely protective of of their favorite Pokes.

We’ve put together a panel of ATB stars and guests to narrow down the list. Today is just an introduction. Starting tomorrow, we’ll count down all the way to the best game of all-time on March 31st, then wrap this whole thing up in the first few days of April. And you’ll have a chance to give us your input every step of the way. Agree with our choices? Wish a Pokemon was ranked higher/lower? You’ll be able to sound off in both comments and polls.

[NOTE: You might be thinking to yourself .oO(Didn’t you guys already do something like this?) Well, sort of. We each picked our favorites for a series last year. But this is much more comprehensive and serious.]

Here’s how the whole thing will go down…

HOW IT WORKS

Two of the main folks from At the Buzzer (Chris and Shaun) have assembled, along with friends of the show Gary, Jason, Nick, Michaela, Michelle, Joseph and Sam. Each person was tasked with putting together a list of his or her top 25 games ever. Those lists were combined, tossed into a giant spreadsheet with a points system, and the final tally was put together.

I’d put this in table form, but it’s a vertical mess and WordPress doesn’t like spreadsheets for some reason. So the hell with it. The top-ranked game on an individual’s list received 100 points; the No. 25 game received 1 point. It’s weighted toward the top and looks like this: (1 rank/100 points, 2/75, 3/60, 4/50, 5/45, 6/40, 7/37, 8/34, 9/31, 10/28, 11/25, 12/23, 13/21, 14/19, 15/17, 16/15, 17/13, 18/11, 19/9, 20/7, 21/5, 22/4, 23/3, 24/2, 25/1). The two folks who make up ATB got an increase in how many points their votes were worth.

Our list only guarantees the top 25, because that’s what we were shooting for. Ultimately, I ended up compiling the list of the top 125, and we’ll run all the way through them so you can see how it turned out as well.

THE SCHEDULE

Today: Introduction

March 2: Honorable Mention

March 3: #125-101

March 4: #100-76

March 5: #75-51

March 6: #50-26

March 7: #25

March 8: #24

…

March 30: #2

March 31: #1

Early April: Recap, our individual lists, stat breakdowns, the WORST Pokemon, and your best comments

THE BOTTOM LINE

You’re going to want to catch all the posts! Get it! HA HA HA HA H– oh snap! A wild Shocked Cat appears!