I'll go through the top 30s and point out things that I find interesting.
1: Honestly not much interesting here. We've had these guys for over 25 years and how popular each one is is pretty cemented by now. The most surprising things are how the Abra line isn't even in the top 30 which I think is a drop in popularity from previous polls, and Muk's historic rise to #16 beating the likes of Charmander, Ditto, and Slowpoke. Articuno is the only Legendary Bird who made the top 30, perhaps because Electric- and Fire-Type Pokémon are already very well represented in the list, while the only other Ice-Type Pokémon is Lapras at #10.
2: The new types introduced in Gen II reign supreme, with Murkrow, Sneasel, and Steelix being the only members of the new types introduced in Gen II not being represented, and Umbreon and Tyranitar taking the top spots. Suicune placed top 10 and Entei further down the list, but Raikou is nowhere to be found. Kingdra is perhaps lower than expected at #30 being beaten by both members of the Quagsire line, and the highest-placing Baby Pokémon is Pichu at #19, followed closely by Togepi at #21. By far the most surprising thing here, to me, is Natu at #18. I'm a huge fan of Natu so I'm happy to see it, but it beat the aforementioned Baby Pokémon, Houndoom, Shuckle, Misdreavus, and Wobbuffett, to name some Pokémon that I would definitely have expected it to lose to. Let's go, Natu!
3: This list is completely expected up to #12, but #13 and #14 are Aron and Aggron, respectively. I think it's awesome since I love both Pokémon, but I have to wonder why Aron beat its evolution? Ludicolo is lower than I'd have though at #28, keeping company with Sableye and Shedinja either side of it. Mightyena slides in at #30 which is a little surprising since I thought everyone had forgotten about it, but the popularity of Dark-Type probably keeps it on the list since the typing as a whole has been very successful in this poll. Breloom also underachieved at #19, losing to the likes of Mawile and Altaria, but recent surges in those two Pokémon's profile while Breloom has been fairly left out may explain it. Overall, Gen III went pretty much as expected, though it's surprising that the Aron line would be an easy top 5 is this were done by evolutionary lines.
4: There's genuinely nothing surprising about Gen IV's rankings at all.
5: Chandelure got into Pokken Tournament for a reason: people forget all the time how popular it is, but it's held the accolade of most popular Unovan Pokémon for a while. Joltik ranked #27 while Galvantula didn't break top 30 which, though surprising, makes sense since Joltik is pretty damn cute. Genesect and Keldeo, who had pretty big pushes, only made #30 and #26 respectively. Excadrill is at #19 behind Pokémon like Scolipede and Reuniclus who have completely organic popularity, which is pretty cool. At first I was surprised by Whimsicott at #12 but upon second thought it's actually expected; I think Whimsicott had the potential for icon status had it been pushed more.
6: Noivern beats Talonflame and Goodra to place at #4 which is awesome and a little unexpected considering the marketing the other 2 have had that Noivern hasn't. Similarly, Hawlucha is right down at #12 behind Pokémon like Tyrantrum and Dedenne. The Espurr line are big winners with it placing #19 and its evolution Meowstic at #13. Froakie had a shocker placing #30, behind Pokémon like Phantump, Pumpkaboo, Dragalge, and Trevenant.
7: The top 6 here are pretty much who you would expect based on marketing investment and if not for Golisopod at #7, the entire top 10 would be. Buzzwole is the most popular Ultra Beast at #11, while no other Ultra Beasts even made top 30. Tapu Koko is the only Tapu to place, expectedly, but it only managed #25 which is a little surprising. Kommo-o, who has been pushed quite a bit, lost to Vikavolt and Salazzle due to their organic popularity. Tsareena and Lurantis both made the list, continuing their pretty unexpected iconic status.
8: Probably the most interesting and exciting. Dragapult makes its mark as the debut icon for Gen VIII, but it only earned around 2,000 votes more than Toxtricity, making them somewhat of a breakout star duo. Corviknight is the third organically popular Pokémon and final one to rank above the internet-generated popularity of Snom, making these 3 the ones to watch for marketing this time around as well as perhaps Alcremie at #5 for its appeal to women. Yamper and Wooloo make top 10 which demonstrates how, soon after a game's release, having a big role in the video games can successfully generate popularity that it's now TPCi's job to try and build off of. Rillaboom loses the starter war for the generation ranking at #29 and Grookey ranking below its fellow base starters too at #20. Hatterene, Falinks and Appletun beat out pushed Pokémon like Morpeko, Grimmsnarl, and Eternatus, which I hope TPCi takes notice of in order to support these Pokémon lines in the future. I was honestly expecting to see Applin here somewhere and pretty surprised to see Eiscue rank at all. Dracovish wins the fossil war being the only one to rank -- I was expecting to see Arctozolt here as well.
Overall Top 30: As others have said, the top 3 being Gen IV or later is awesome to see. Dragapult beating Tyranitar, and Toxtricity beating Rowlet, Aegislash and Chandelure, is a great sign for this generation's popularity and is pretty unexpected. Luxray making #21 is impressive, above fellow canine Lycanroc who has been pushed way more, and way more recently. Hydreigon keeping pace with Flygon is a little surprising but also nice to see, considering Gen V's relative annihilation this time around.
Winners:
Porygon Line - The Porygon line manage to appear in each of their 3 respective generations. Porygon is #21 in Gen I, Porygon2 is #25 in Gen II, and Porygon-Z is #30 in Gen IV. Their popularity is especially impressive considering Porygon2 and Porygon-Z have never appeared in the anime, and Porygon's sole anime appearance is banned everywhere. I've been expecting to see this line get supported again for a while now; I really thought Porygon-Z would get a mega and in the buildup to Gen VIII I thought it's get a Gigantamax. Perhaps this poll will be the final show of support to make Game Freak give them some attention again.
Lugia - The fanbase's 2nd-favourite legendary and the only one to make the top 30 besides Rayquaza, am I the only one surprised by this? I knew it was more popular than Ho-oh, but it's also more popular than Mew and Mewtwo, and every legendary that's come after it. Fair play.
Gen VIII - 4 Pokémon in the Top 30 is pretty impressive for the first poll after its release; I'm pretty sure it's performed better than Gen VI and VII in their respective post-release polls. Alcremie almost made it, too. Dragapult was only a couple thousand votes beneath Gengar, who placed one spot above it, meaning Gengar might have some competition for the crown of most iconic Ghost-Type -- after having beaten worthy challengers Aegislash and Chandelure to the title.
Gen III Legendaries/Mythicals - Was this the golden age of Legendary Pokémon design? This is the only generation where every Legendary and Mythical Pokémon is in the top 30, comprising almost a quarter of the entire list. Even with Latias and Latios splitting the vote between the two of them they both made the list easily.
Dark- and Ghost-Type - 11 of the top 30 are one of these two types, with 5 and 6 representatives respectively. Dragon-Type also achieved well with 5 representatives, matching Dark-Type, but Dragon-Type Pokémon are pushed hard every generation while Pokémon like Umbreon, Chandelure, Aegislash and Hydreigon have pretty much generated their popularity organically.
Rowlet - I know that Rowlet has been pushed hard in the anime and other media, but it beat both Pikachu and Eevee. That's impressive, and it's the 2nd-highest NFE behind Bulbasaur who will always have the title of most popular LC mon.
Luxray - This Pokémon's popularity will never die, I swear. Why it didn't receive a mega or gigantamax is beyond me, but perhaps Game Freak figures they can't build upon perfection. They tried to emulate Luxray with Lycanroc and, sure, Lycanroc also made top 25, but it was still beaten by Luxray who has had way less marketing and push behind it. Had it been used by Ash in the anime I can see this being a Top 15, easily.
Muk - I don't recall if Muk has been this popular for a while or not, but it's surprising to see it above the likes of Charmander, Psyduck and Nidoking.
Natu - Similar to Muk -- how did it rank so highly and when did it become popular?
Furrett - Walky boi really worked out for it. This is the definition of a Pokémon being pushed by the internet into popularity but it's also pretty organic. There was always potential for Furrett to be way more popular than it is; glad to see it come to fruition.
Snom - Coming to a toy store near you.
Losers:
Gen V - Damn. It got fewer Pokémon into the top 30 then Gen VIII with only 3, which for a generation that introduced 150 new Pokémon really sucks. I like a lot of Gen V designs, but I think they lost their shot at iconography with all of the ill will surrounding Unova only including new Pokémon in their regional dex.
Abra Line - The Abra line normally performs pretty well in these polls. I have no idea what's behind the drop in popularity, but it's kind of a shame, with none of them making the Top 30 for Kanto.
Scyther - Scyther was good at maintaining its own popularity despite receiving a cool evolution in Scizor. I'm not sure what's behind it dropping out of Kanto's top 30 entirely, but perhaps Pinsir becoming more popular has something to do with it now that it's claimed the most iconic Bug-Type title for Gen I. Remember when Scyther and Pinsir were counterparts? That was cool.
Heracross - Heracross-Mega may have ruined Heracross. It's a pretty unpopular mega, and most people see it as a downgrade from Heracross' original design. This may have been a case where it would have been better to leave Heracross as it was and just not give it the special treatment that its popularity demanded, because it's now less popular than Feraligatr, Chikorita and Crobat, dropping gradually down the list of Johto popularity to reside next to Natu.
Raikou - Earns the title of least popular Legendary Beast, for some reason. All of Suicune, Entei and Raikou have been popular in their own rights since they were introduced, but suddenly Raikou is now less popular than Wooper, Misdreavus, Shuckle and Wobbuffett. I wonder what's behind this?
Breloom - Years of neglect by Game Freak and TPCi has taken its toll on Breloom, whose popularity is receding with each passing generation. This used to easily be one of the most iconic Gen III Pokémon, so seeing it at #19 is a little sad.
Manectric - Manectric didn't even make the Top 30 for Hoenn while fellow doggo Mightyena did. That's after receiving the support of a mega and appearing in Galar, neither of which happened to Mightyena. I wonder what's behind this decline in popularity too, because I really have no idea.
Emboar Line - The only starter line not to appear in their region's top 30 in any form. Can we accept that it's still a pretty great line, despite being the third Fire/Fighting starter in a row? I mean, they were beaten by Mincinno, Emolga, Joltik, and Litwick, who all made Top 30. Tepig isn't even Fire/Fighting and it's adorable, it should definitely be on this list!
Genesect - #30 for Unova is pretty bad for a mythical Pokémon of its status and calibre. It was beaten by the same 4 mentioned in the above bullet point, which is a little crazy to me. This thing used to be an easy top 10 for Unova.
Inkay - Inkay used to be more popular than Malamar, hence its inclusion as a PokéBall Pokémon in Super Smash Bros., yet it didn't rank at all this time while Malamar claimed #28.
Volcanion - The wait for Pokémon's first Fire/Water-Type was long and hype-building, but when we finally got it no one cared. It's a cool design and good in battle, too, it's just a victim of being the final Mythical Pokémon released in a generation over-saturated with mythicals. #VolcanionDeservedBetter
Ultra Beasts - Man, apparently this concept flopped. I'm a little unsure why Buzzwole is the only one to make the Top 30 for Alola -- I'd have wagered it'd be either Guzzlord or Kartana -- but either way I think that post-game exclusivity of UBs ultimately ruined their chances at popularity. Receiving 5 of them in each version at the same time in post-game made it difficult for each one to stand out individually despite all of them being really damn cool designs. Furthermore, there being 11 UBs in total makes it a really difficult spotlight to share -- there's a reason why previous legendary/mythical groups have been capped at 3 (or 4 in regards to the musketeers, but Keldeo was held until BW2).
Tapus - Tapu Koko is the only one to rank and pretty low, too. These were supposed to be the icons of the generation and that didn't really pan out.
Copperajah - I was honestly expecting to see Copperajah in the top 20, at least. It's the villainous team leader's ace with an awesome Gigantamax form and use in a cutscene prior to the battle with Bede. Add an awesome design on top of that, and I'm really unsure why popularity hasn't followed.
Impidimp - Another Pokémon who I'm surprised not to see here at all. It had a lot of hype before game release and was pushed by Game Freak a bit during that whole Ponyta-Galar livestream reveal. Grimmsnarl made the list instead despite the general reaction I'd seen being bewilderment and unpopularity surrounding its design upon its reveal.
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Man this is a long post but I'm glad I noted my thoughts down. Overall this was pretty interesting in some unexpected ways. Cool poll.
