After weeks of voting, the results of Google's Pokemon of the Year poll have finally been revealed. With more than 6.6 million votes cast, the winner is Greninja, the Ninja Pokémon, with 140,559 votes. In second place is Lucario, with 102,259 votes, and in third Mimikyu, with 99,077.
As a relatively new Pokémon, Greninja may seem like an odd choice to beat out fan favorites like Charizard (who came in fourth with 93,968 votes) or Pikachu (who didn't make the top 10), but it's not too surprising when looking at how popular it's been in that time.
Debuting in 2013's Pokémon X & Y, Greninja is the final evolved form of the Water-type starter, Froakie. While Froakie was not super-popular upon its reveal, many fans ultimately chose it once they saw what it would become. Many starter evolutions are divisive, as the starter Pokémon themselves are meant to be small, cute and marketable, while the evolved forms need to look stronger. Greninja's design was unusually well-received.
The Pokémon gained popularity due to its presence in the anime, where Froakie was the first Pokémon Ash caught in the XY series. Froakie, later Frogadier and eventually Greninja, was a reliable member of Ash's team with an intriguing backstory: Froakie had refused to listen to his previous trainers, to the point that they either brought him back to Professor Sycamore or he abandoned them himself. Despite his stubbornness, Froakie saw something in Ash and chose to follow him, indicating that the boy was destined to accomplish great things in the Kalos region.
The anime also debuted a new, unique form for Greninja called "Ash-Greninja." This transformation, similar to Mega Evolution, allowed Greninja to draw power from his bond with Ash. While in this form, the two share each other's pain, and for awhile, using this power would cause both to pass out.
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Ash-Greninja eventually made its way to the games. It debuted in the special demo of Pokémon Sun and Moon, and it could be transferred from the demo to the main game. This Greninja has the ability Battle Bond, which changes its appearance, boosts its stats and increases the power of its signature move Water Shuriken after defeating an opponent.
Greninja also gained popularity as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. The game released about a year after X&Y when Greninja has already gained popularity among the fanbase, but it was actually chosen for Smash before the Generation VI games released, meaning that game director Masahiro Sakurai had to use concept art to develop the character.
This isn't the first time the Ninja Pokémon has taken the top spot in a major Pokémon popularity contest. In a 2016 Japanese poll to decide which Pokémon would be distributed to audiences of Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel, Greninja won and was distributed at Level 100 holding a Master Ball. Though the fact that this was a giveaway may have influenced the results, the fact that this Pokémon, which is relatively easy to obtain, won over rare, Mythical creatures like Arceus and Mew (who came in second and third respectively) indicates that Greninja is just that beloved.
Greninja's popularity, especially in Japan, has been fueled by its prevalence since its debut. With a unique form, a memorable anime arc and an appearance in Smash, in just seven years Greninja has overtaken Pokémon who have been in the franchise for more than two decades.