Each year, a poll is conducted to determine the most popular Pokémon. The results for this year are in, and you may be surprised to learn that Dedenne has taken top honors.

This year, the poll was conducted in Japan alone, putting aside a few clever people who found a way to vote anyway. Because of this, Japanese sensibilities dominated the poll.

As it turns out, the Japanese have different sensibilities than we expected. The top Kanto Pokémon wasn’t Pikachu (at #7), it was Magnemite (at #5). The runner-up was Cincinno (#2), and after that was Sableye (#3). Barbaracle (#22) and Spheal (#24) also placed, which seems kinda odd.

Come to think of it, it’s possible that the poll was rocked by troll votes.

Dedenne is a small Electric/Fairy Pokémon. It bears a resemblance to Raichu, and considering that, I think I understand much of its appeal. It spent some time among the cast of main characters in the anime during the 6th generation of Pokémon games. It was caught by Clemont, a member of Ash’s group, who then allowed his sister Bonnie, another of Ash’s group, to care for it (Bonnie was not old enough to catch her own Pokémon).

To be honest, Dedenne doesn’t seem to have much competitive value. Though that’s not preventing some genius player from finding a way to become world champ with the little guy on their team, as Se Jun Park did with Pachirisu.

These may not be the poll results we were expecting, but it’s still great to see something different get the spotlight. Are we months away from seeing more Dedenne merch?

Congratulations, little guy.