How many pokémon can you name?
- SJ Williamson
- Nov 30, 2025
- 3 min read
A recent conversation with one of my fellow pokémon fans and friend brought up some interesting concerns about how well I know the only franchise that matters to me: Pokémon. I went through a timed quiz for each of the 9 generations where I try to name as many as I can within a given time limit.
Generation I: Kanto
This quiz gave me 15 minutes to name 151 pokémon. I ended with 102 pokémon, or 68%. The quiz suggests the average score for this generation is 67%. I performed about as well as other quiz takers. Starting here, I felt a lot of pressure to think aloud and to keep track of the time limit, which I believe impacted my score on every single quiz, not just this one. I had to trim this one in the middle for it to fit upload requirements but you still get to see my struggle here.
Generation II: Johto
This quiz gave me 12 minutes to name 100 pokémon. I ended with 33 pokémon, or 33%. The quiz suggests the average score for this generation is 71%. I performed quite poorly. Still, I love the number 33. I also realized some pokémon I thought were from other regions were actually from this one, like girafarig and azumarill.
Generation III: Hoenn
This quiz gave me 12 minutes to name 135 pokémon. I ended with 68 pokémon, or 50%. The quiz suggests the average score for this generation is 73%. I performed way lower than I expected to. Some frustration came from not being able to spell certain names right, like Vigoroth and Gorebyss. 50% isn't bad but I expected higher of myself here. Oh well.
Generation IV: Sinnoh
This quiz gave me 12 minutes to name 107 pokémon. I ended with 51 pokémon, or 48%. The quiz suggests the average score for this generation is 75%. I performed alright, but again, not as high as I would have expected.
Generation V: Unova
This quiz gave me 12 minutes to name 156 pokémon. I ended with 26 pokémon, or 17%. The quiz suggests the average score for this generation is 70%. I performed really poorly on this one and I expected as much as this is my least favorite generation.
Generation VI: Kalos
This quiz gave me 6 minutes to name 72 pokémon. I ended with 23 pokémon, or 32%. The quiz suggests the average score for this generation is 68%. I performed pretty poorly considering that Z-A just came out to refresh my memory of the Kalos pokémon.
Generation VII: Alola
This quiz gave me 8 minutes to name 88 pokémon. I ended with 13 pokémon, or 15%. The quiz suggests the average score for this generation is 70%. I performed poorly here, unsurprisingly.
Generation VIII: Galar
This quiz gave me 10 minutes to name 96 pokémon. I ended with 17 pokémon, or 18%. The quiz suggests the average score for this generation is 63%. I performed poorly here, again, unsurprisingly.
Generation IX: Paldea
This quiz gave me 12 minutes to name 120 pokémon. I ended with 25 pokémon, or 21%. The quiz suggests the average score for this generation is 69%. I performed more poorly than I expected. I thought with this being one of the newest, I'd have stronger memory. I was wrong.
Overall
I'm pretty surprised at how low my scores were. I was able to name 358 pokémon total, a little over 34% of all pokémon at this time. I know I haven't always been a good test-taker, and the time limit and spelling requirement made me anxious. Still, I expected more of myself. I wonder how many of the quiz-takers prepared for this beforehand as I had no prep whatsoever. I haven't even played my Switch today, so my memory was pretty blank. Funny enough, when I see the pokémon I forgot to name, I know their types, their strengths ad weaknesses, and most of their breeding potential. I think that's proof that even someone who can't name the majority of over 1000 pokémon can still be a pokémon master. I've completed the pokédex in pretty much every game I've ever owned and have logged thousands of hours in the games over my short lifespan. I love pokémon and will continue to train to be the ultimate pokémon master despite my low scores.
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