The Best Streamers To Watch If You Love Pokémon
Gotta watch 'em all!
Not everyone likes to play their video games in a vacuum, including Pokémon fans. Some might want to see others' experiences after they beat the latest game themselves. So, if a player feels the need to see other trainers in action, what better way to do that than through a livestream?
Some of the most popular streamers on Twitch and YouTube play a variety of Nintendo games, including "Pokémon," while others focus solely on Pokémon-centric titles from "Pokémon Pinball" to "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet." Many of them place a heavy emphasis on challenges like Shiny Pokémon hunting, randomized restrictions, and Nuzlocke challenges, but the personalities and their differing areas of expertise are unique. Every Pokémon streamer is different and appeals to the tastes of different viewers.
So who can you count on for an entertaining "Pokémon" stream? Here are a handful of "Pokémon" content creators worth watching, whether you're into hardcore Pokémon training, competitive play, or just giggles.
Alpharad
Jacob Rabon IV, more commonly known as Alpharad, originally came from YouTube but also regularly streams on his Twitch. His YouTube channel has over 2 million subscribers and his videos range from video game opinion pieces to reality TV-esque productions. He streams about three to four days every week and uploads videos of himself enjoying current titles. While he's a variety streamer first and foremost, he's always happy to stream "Pokémon" whenever it becomes a hot topic or new entries like "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" are released. He also creates fast-paced supercuts of his "Pokémon" playthroughs and participates in Nuzlockes.
Alpharad is also well known in the "Super Smash Bros." community because he used to play competitively and participate as a tournament organizer. In this capacity, he has worked around familiar names like Ludwig Ahgren and Mew2King. However, he left the "Smash" community in 2019 because he was unhappy with the state of the scene, and he doesn't seem to have returned.
That's okay though, because also has a bunch of side projects to keep him busy, like being a musician and producing a wide variety of content. Viewers watching Alpharad will get a lot more than just "Pokémon."
SmallAnt
Tanner "SmallAnt" Ant is a variety streamer known for speedrunning Nintendo games in the "Mario," "Pokémon," and "The Legend of Zelda" franchises. In fact, he's an internationally ranked "Super Mario Odyssey" speedrunner and won Speedrunner of the Year at the Streamer Awards in 2022.
SmallAnt also specializes in odd challenges on his Twitch stream. His types of challenges include playing "Pokémon Platinum" without taking any damage, playing "Mario Odyssey" while being chased by an evil Mario, and playing "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" using only Woopers as his party members.
He has a dedicated streaming schedule visible on his Twitch channel, so his "Ant Colony" can easily plan to watch him ahead of time. If you don't have time to watch him live, no worries — he uploads all the most important highlights to his YouTube channel. SmallAnt has over 1 million followers on Twitch and over 2 million subscribers on YouTube, where he keeps separate channels for his VODs and clips.
Pokemon Challenges
Pokemon Challenges, a.k.a. Jan, specializes in streaming old and new Pokémon games with varying kinds of restrictions. After all, he's known as a "pro Nuzlocker" in the community. His Twitch channel focuses on his own playthroughs, but his YouTube videos tend to have more variety, including "reaction videos" to popular Nuzlocke content. His commentary includes critiques on how the choices made during the playthrough, which Pokémon work best in a given situation, and other details that a casual fan might miss.
Jan is also connected with other Pokémon content creators. For example, he has rapport with JaidenAnimations and Alpharad (as seen in the reaction video to their two-player Nuzlocke) and was also involved with one of SmallAnt's Nuzlocke playthroughs. He even hosted a $5,000 Pokémon streamer tournament that included Ludwig Ahgren, pitting popular Pokémon streamers against each other in randomized battles.
Jan doesn't stream as often as some others on this list, but those interested in more regular content can check out his "pChal Daily" YouTube channel, which regularly posts stream clips and videos every Monday through Friday.
MajinPhil
MajinPhil has broken records as a speedrunner and challenge-taker in multiple Nintendo games. One of the records he's broken includes the first world run for beating "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask" without taking any damage. However, he received his first official Guinness World Record for the fastest time collecting all original 151 Pokémon as Shiny variants during a community event. As noted on the certificate, the event was hosted by content creators Jack Taylor and Naomi Finnegan in June 2022.
In addition to streaming on Twitch, he also makes guides for his YouTube channel like how to hunt for Shiny Dusk Lycanroc in "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet." He has uploaded content on other Nintendo series like "The Legend of Zelda" in the past, mainly "The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask," so nostalgic Nintendo fans will find a lot to love on his channel.
MajinPhil is also a part of Console League Gaming, so he sometimes collaborates with other content creators from the organization, like during the speedrunning "Streamathon," which raised money and awareness for mental health issues.
aDrive
Daniel "aDrive" Clap is a Pokémon streamer and YouTuber known for hunting Shiny Pokémon, wifi battles, and participating in League matches. He's been in the Pokémon community for over seven years, long enough that even Reddit threads from six years ago were gushing about how his Shiny hunting was top tier.
His passions also include projects such as his trading card game, Elestrals, which has been fully funded on Kickstarter and is currently in development. The mascot, Teratrals, appears in his most of the streamer's official art. aDrive also regularly posts about the game's current progress on Twitter.
aDrive still streams Pokémon games like "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet" and "Pokémon Sword" and "Shield" fairly often on Twitch. However, his main presence continues to be on YouTube, where he started over 12 years ago. He has over one million subscribers on YouTube and over 600k on Twitch, though, so he's obviously a big success on both.
Tiller
Tiller is a Pokémon streamer mostly known for his Shiny hunting. He streams on Twitch most days of the week and uploads his highlights to his smaller YouTube channel. He's been with Twitch for three years and made it as a YouTube partner in late 2022. While "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Pokémon Violet" are his main interests more recently, he seems to swap between "Pokémon" games whenever the hype kicks up for a new title. For instance, he was Shiny hunting in "Pokémon Legends: Arceus" right up until "Scarlet" and "Violet" launched.
If you just want to look at Tiller's hauls, he also posts fairly regularly on Twitter. For example, he posted a haul of sunset-colored Pokémon and spooky vibe Pokémon from "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet." He also shouted out his Shiny Zorua, which he had to put in the work to find because these Pokémon can transform and hide in the game. They could be disguised as another Pokémon, so you might not even know one is in the area until you directly lock onto it.
For fans looking for gameplay tips, Tiller often posts the gear he used to find particular Pokémon. In the case of the Shiny Zorua, this included sandwich materials and Herba Mystica.
RyanWasTaken
RyanWasTaken tackles a number of Pokémon challenges, including Shiny hunting and randomizer challenges. Unlike the many creators who only focus on newer content, he also streams a variety of old and new games, ranging from "Pokémon FireRed" and "LeafGreen" to "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet," typically chasing goals like completing a Shiny hunt for all the Pokémon in a game's Pokédex.
RyanWasTaken might seem like just another Shiny hunter to the uninitiated, but he has a loyal following and a unique backstory. In his "Why I Was Banned on Twitch" video, the Pokémon streamer explained that he'd received an email about Twitch banning him for "fraud" just as he was on the cusp of reaching partner status. He then tussled with Twitch about the offense – which he didn't commit – for over a year and a half. He eventually posted the aforementioned explanation video that went viral via the LivestreamFail subreddit, and the company admitted the ban was a mistake and finally lifted his ban.
That's why RyanWasTaken's bio says "the guy who was banned on Twitch for no reason for 21 months."
The4thGenGamer
The4thGenGamer streams and uploads Pokémon videos on a variety of topics, not just the typical randomizer challenges. He might interview a Pokémon modder one day and then speed through all the Nintendo Switch Pokémon games the next. He also has a passion for speedrunning, as seen in his streams completing any% runs for "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Violet." His speedrunning page displays an impressive list of his most recent runs, which are mostly "Pokémon" games.
He streams most days a week on Twitch, but those just looking for highlights and Pokémon guides will probably be better off following his YouTube. His YouTube channel has over 118k subscribers, where he posts highlights from his streams, guides, and other content, including his speedrunning show called "Speedrun Survivor." The speedrunning show often features contestants who don't have any experience speedrunning "Pokémon" games, which just adds to the fun chaos.
TwitchPlaysPokemon
TwitchPlaysPokemon isn't really a streamer, but it's still a popular Pokémon-centric channel. It's actually a program that follows viewer inputs to play "Pokémon" games on Twitch. The channel began in 2014 with a playthrough of "Pokémon Red," quickly becoming a hilarious viral sensation (per Kotaku) and inspiring a million memes. Although the channel's streams mostly stuck to "Pokémon Battle Revolution" in 2022, TwitchPlaysPokémon still occasionally pivots to other games.
"Pokémon Battle Revolution" makes sense, considering how betting is set up. Twitch chat can control what the robot does with commands. The chat has a long list of rules for its users to keep it fun and available for everyone, but actually using the commands is easy. Not everyone can give commands at the same time, so those who bet the most have more say than a rando who jumps in. No real money needs to be involved unless you want it to be, though, so viewers can bet all they want and expect it to be replenished later.
M4_used_rollout, the person in charge of the bot, regularly updates the code for the program and even shares a portion of it on Github.