The Most Popular Pokémon Music, According To Famitsu Readers (2024)

by William Hernandez November 25, 2024

Fairly recently, Famitsu polled readers on what their favorite Pokémon music was. Readers got to vote on various different categories, ranging from their favorite overall music to route music and battle themes. A lot of the answers aren't surprising at all, but it's interesting to see them ordered by fan interest. Quick spoiler alert: Pokémon Diamond and Pearl absolutely dominate.

Favorite Overall Music Winner: Champion Cynthia ~ Battle! Champion Cynthia

For the purposes of voting, it appears that Cynthia's encounter theme and battle theme were unified. Its win was inevitable with that being the case. Cynthia's theme is very famous. It's also very good. The piano section is elegant, striking, and intimidating. The battle section feels as grand as it should, both fast-paced and epic. If you consider them as one unified theme for Cynthia, there really is no competition.

Rounding out the rest of the top 5 in this category are three other champion themes. Battle! Champion Iris takes 2nd place, Battle! Champion Lance takes 3rd, and Last Battle! VS Rival (Kanto) takes 5th. Fans seem to really love the series' climactic music. Victory Lies Before You!, the 4th place winner, perfectly encapsulates that sentiment, even if it isn't a champion theme. There's nothing quite like a final push to the end.

Most Memorable Music Winner: Champion Cynthia ~ Battle! Champion Cynthia

This isn't the last category that Cynthia's theme will win. What's more interesting is that Battle! Champion Lance takes 2nd place this time around. Lance would love to take all the credit for that, but the theme is perhaps better remembered as Red's theme. No surprise that it takes second then.

The third most memorable track, according to readers, is Lavender Town. It's hard to argue with that. The song isn't exactly anything impressive, but it is hard to forget. Its infamy gives it a plenty deserved spot on the list.

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Favorite Battle Theme Winner: Battle! Champion Cynthia

Yup, even just the battle portion of Cynthia's theme can handily beat out other battle-related music. In terms of other data worth looking at, Battle! Gym Leader (Galar) is the most popular gym leader music, ranked at 3rd. Battle! Elite Four (Unova) is easily the most popular Elite Four music, ranked at 8th. No other Elite Four themes are even in the rest of the top 20.

Battle! Ultra Necrozma is the most popular encounter battle theme, ranked at 11th. If any result is surprising, it's this one. The Swords of Justice trio in the Unova games have such a good battle theme. Guess it wasn't a clear option...that's the only explanation for its absence.

Favorite City Theme Winner: Driftveil City

Nobody has ever walked into Driftveil City expecting one of the grooviest tracks in all of the Pokémon series. Independent of the context, though, Driftveil City just has such a gorgeous theme. It has a traditional Asian aesthetic to it, but in a way that feels natural for pop/dance music. It's vaguely inquisitive under all that grooviness, which just makes it stand out even more. The theme's placement is more than deserved.

Snowbelle City's theme backing up Driftveil in 2nd place probably isn't something that most fans would expect. Pokémon X and Y don't exactly stand out for their soundtrack. Still, Snowbelle is worth a listen. Atmospherically, it's one of the best pieces of music in all of Pokémon. Violet City takes 3rd on this list by going for a somewhat similar vibe. It's peaceful and nostalgic but in a more quintessential Pokémon way. There really is no better way to describe it.

Favorite Route Music Winner: Route 209

Route 209 is an absolute beauty of a theme. It's calming. It's serene. It's adventurous. Somehow Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl made it even better. The intro to the theme in the remakes is just brutal with how divine it is on the ears. It's hard for any other route theme to measure up to Route 209.

Route 10 from Pokémon Black and White is pretty damn good competition, though. It came in 2nd in Famitsu's poll, but it's arguably the better of the two themes. It has a faintly melancholy tone, but it's the bold and hopeful energy of the music that really stands out. A lot of the notes feel heavy and impactful. Just a beautiful, beautiful theme.

Favorite Other Music Winner: Eterna Forest

Eterna Forest helps the Sinnoh games seal 5 out of 6 first-place finishes. It's a calm, little piece. Mystical, enchanting, and soothing, it makes you feel like you're exploring more than just a simple forest. Calling it better than Area Zero's theme just feels wrong, however. Area Zero came in as the runner-up, but it does what Eterna Forest does even better. It's just a more complex and interesting theme. It's a little too hard to beat nostalgia, I suppose.

Mt. Coronet came in third in this category, and that's totally understandable. It's creepy and subtle at first, hiding a more intense side. Team Rocket Hideout is very similar in its vague eeriness, coming in at 5th. Fans really love an ominous atmosphere, I guess. Skyarrow Bridge in 4th place doesn't quite fit that mold. It's wholly cheery and uplifting. A great note to end this entry on.

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Pokémon music is a pleasure to listen to at any time. I absolutely implore you to give every piece of music mentioned here a listen, even if you think you remember it all well. Your ears will thank you. If you think any theme was absolutely robbed of a good placement, let us know on X Much thanks to Joe Merrick for making this information easy to view.