Game mascot

The mascot of a is the that appears on the boxart—and often label—of that game.
Early on, the mascot of a game was not necessarily relevant plot-wise, and did not even have to be met to complete the game. Generation III (with the exception of the Generation I remakes) began the trend of the game mascot being mandatory to encounter in order to progress the plot, and more recent games even force the player to catch the mascot to continue. Game mascot Pokémon are often given increased catch rates and the ability to respawn if they are defeated in order to account for this. All core series games have Legendary Pokémon as mascots, except for games where the player starts in Kanto, which feature a first partner Pokémon instead, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which lacks a game mascot on its boxart.
In general, only core series games have mascots, as most side series and spin-off games display multiple Pokémon on their box covers and so none of them qualify as mascots. The only current exceptions to this are Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, , and .
In most games, when pressing A or Start on the title screen, the game mascot's cry will be heard.
==Core series==
===Generation I===
 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	
 	Final form of a first partner Pokémon	Final form of a first partner Pokémon	Final form of a first partner Pokémon	Sole first partner Pokémon
 	 	 	 	
 	Final form of a first partner Pokémon	Final form of a first partner Pokémon	Sole first partner Pokémon 	Sole first partner Pokémon
===Generation II===
 	 	
 	 	
Tower duo	Tower duo	Part of the legendary beasts
===Generation III===
 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
Super-ancient Pokémon 	Super-ancient Pokémon 	Super-ancient Pokémon 	Super-ancient Pokémon 	Super-ancient Pokémon 	Super-ancient Pokémon
 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
Final form of a first partner Pokémon	Final form of a first partner Pokémon	Final form of a first partner Pokémon	Final form of a first partner Pokémon	Final form of a first partner Pokémon	Final form of a first partner Pokémon
===Generation IV===
 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
Pokémon of Myth	Pokémon of Myth	Pokémon of Myth	Pokémon of Myth	Pokémon of Myth	Pokémon of Myth
 	 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	 	
Tower duo 	Tower duo 	Tower duo 	Tower duo 	Tower duo 	Tower duo
===Generation V===
 	
 	
Two members of the Tao trio 	Two members of the Tao trio
 	
 	
of , the third member of the Tao trio	of , the third member of the Tao trio
===Generation VI===
 	
 	
Two members of the aura trio 	Two members of the aura trio
 	
 	
Primal forms of the rival members of the Super-ancient Pokémon	Primal forms of the rival members of the Super-ancient Pokémon
===Generation VII===
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
Light trio	Light trio	Light trio	Light trio
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
===Generation VIII===
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
Legendary heroes 	Legendary heroes 	The "secret armor" of the Master Dojo	King of Bountiful Harvests
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
Two members of the Pokémon of Myth	Two members of the Pokémon of Myth	Two members of the Pokémon of Myth 	Two members of the Pokémon of Myth
===Generation IX===
 	 	 	
 	 	 	
Paradox duo	Paradox duo	The ogre of the land of Kitakami	The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero
==Side series==
===Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness===
XD001 the ultimate Shadow Pokémon
==Spin-off games==
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Title character
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Central character
==Related articles==
* Special Pokémon
Category:Fanon terminology
*
Category:Pokémon groupings
de:Cover-Pokémon
it:Mascotte dei giochi Pokémon
ja:パッケージを飾るポケモン
zh:封面寶可夢