Oshawott is indeed hilarious and the best.
Part of the reason I ended up picking it was the anime. It was my (and a lot of people's) least favourite starter when they were first revealed, so I wonder if making him Ash's first Unova Pokemon - as well as making him so awesome - was a deliberate marketing decision.
(Most of the reason was because I found out that Serperior was worthless garbage in battle, despite having an excellent design. That, coupled with the awfulness of Meganium putting me off grass starters and the fact that Samurott was also a total badass made it an easy decision.)
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