All 151 SNL Cast Members As Pokmon

A very important undertaking.

It all started with a tweet. Comedian Joe Kwaczala recently pointed out that there are now 151 cast members of Saturday Night Live, which also happens to be the number of Gen 1 Pokémon. With his blessing, Vulture began a great undertaking: matching each Pokémon with their SNL counterpart. It wasn’t easy. For one thing, comparing humans to semi-sentient pocket monsters can be incredibly cruel. For another, there are 22,801 possible pairs of Not Ready for Prime Time Pokémon.

The pairings came from different places. Some were physical, while others came together from evolutions. If there are three similarly surreal oddballs, they become male Nidoran♂ and his cohort. Other pairings were more of an instinctual feeling, something that sang out from a dark and primal place. So after much contemplation, multiple spreadsheets, and rewatching Indigo League, we present to you the occasionally borderline arbitrary entries in the SNL Pokédex.

001. Bulbasaur: Dan Aykroyd

The OG.

002. Ivysaur: Mike Myers

An evolution. Same character-heavy energy, but with stronger catchphrase and visual-style vines.

003. Venusaur: Will Ferrell

He has his vines in everything. Venusaur has executive-producer energy.

004. Charmander: Andy Samberg

Same openmouthed grin. Also, it’s very easy to imagine Andy Samberg saying “Char! Char!”

005. Charmeleon: Charles Rocket

Ash’s Charmeleon was a sullen, self-sabotaging teen, and that sums up the man who first said “fuck” on air.

006. Charizard: Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy is the foil Charizard of SNL performers.

007. Squirtle: Dana Carvey

Self-explanatory.

008. Wartortle: Beck Bennett

A beefier turtle man.

009. Blastoise: Jimmy Fallon

The cannon on Blastoise’s back fires musical impersonations and giggles.

010. Caterpie: Melissa Villaseñor

The potential to become anything.

011. Metapod: Colin Jost

Basically inert.

012. Butterfree: Cecily Strong

While Colin Jost is stuck in the cocoon of anchoring, Strong broke free and is flying above it as Cathy Anne.

013. Weedle: Chris Redd

Weedles live on trees, and Chris Redd loves trees.

014. Kakuna: Garrett Morris

His strength lay in his chill, both on SNL and 2 Broke Girls. Also, this has nothing to do with Pokémon, but Garrett Morris was a playwright before doing SNL. More people should know that.

015. Beedrill: Tracy Morgan

If Tracy Jordan never described himself as a bee with drills for hands, I will be stunned.

016. Pidgey: Gail Matthius

A.k.a. Shirley the Loon.

017. Pidgeotto: Jason Sudeikis

The way he jumps into “What’s Up With That?” proves that he’s flying type.

018: Pidgeot: Chris Parnell

Underrated evolved flying king.

019. Rattata: Laura Kightlinger

There are stages in Pokémon Moon where it seems like you can’t take two steps without encountering a wild Rattata, and Laura Kightlinger cameos also pop up in the least expected places.

020. Raticate: Leslie Jones

Raticate is the embodiment of being “on one,” as Jones always is when she does an “Update” spot.

021. Spearow: A. Whitney Brown

A flying type can see the “Big Picture.”

022. Fearow: Jim Breuer

Identical haircut and demeanor.

023. Ekans: Danitra Vance

Danitra Vance had Shakespearean training, and what could be more Shakespearean in the Pokémon world than the rhyming couplets of Jessie and James?

024. Arbok: Jan Hooks

No shade, but Jan Hooks looks like she can unhook her jaw and swallow you whole. This is her power.

025. Pikachu: Vanessa Bayer

Adorable. Powerful, powerful cheeks.

026. Raichu: Rachel Dratch

Slightly less adorable, but with a stat boost to compensate.

027. Sandshrew: Michael Che

Allegedly thick-skinned, but with a soft underbelly.

028. Sandslash: Norm Macdonald

Actually thick-skinned, also prickly as hell.

029. Nidoran♀: Michaela Watkins

A cute-ass smile.

030. Nidorina: Nora Dunn

Nidorina is the most second-wave feminist Pokémon.

031. Nidoqueen: Jane Curtin

Imagine watching 3rd Rock From the Sun and not only is Dick secretly an alien, but Mary is secretly a Pokémon. Don’t you want to live in that world?

032. Nidoran♂: Tim Robinson

The three fellas in the male Nidoran line have an offbeat energy, with surreal touches that make you feel like you’ve been hit with Leer.

033. Nidorino: Mike O’Brien

Mike O’Brien used his SNL tenure to sharpen his poison horn in film pieces.

034. Nidoking: Will Forte

(Nido)King Weirdo Will Forte. For what is the “Potato Chips” sketch if not a Sludge Bomb?

035. Clefairy: Abby Elliott

Two woodland sprites …

036. Clefable: Chris Elliott

… From the same kooky family.

037. Vulpix: Mary Gross

Meek but powerful. Have you seen Troop Beverly Hills? A perfect shy li’l fox.

038. Ninetales: Laraine Newman

Gorgeous, gorgeous hair.

039. Jigglypuff: Luke Null

Jigglypuff’s musical sketches always seem to get cut between dress and air, and that’s a shame.

040. Wigglytuff: Adam Sandler

Like a Jigglypuff that can hang.

041. Zubat: Pamela Stephenson

Two Eastern hemisphere hires (New Zealand and England), a region as mysterious to the SNL ethos as the underground caves where you find Zubats and Golbats. Escape Rope is the Concord in this analogy.

042. Golbat: Morwenna Banks

What’s even their deal down there (in England and New Zealand)? Unclear. Morwenna Banks was an evolution, however, because she found success on British TV after her SNL stint.

043. Oddish: Melanie Hutsell

An optimist, Oddish shares Melanie Hutsell’s Valley Girl–like uptalk.

044. Gloom: Heidi Gardner

Gloom is the Patronus of Baskin Johns, Goop staffer.

045. Vileplume: Janeane Garofalo

“In the late eighties when I first met Janeane Garofalo, she said to me, ‘I’d really like to do some mushrooms with you.’” —Jeff Garlin in his memoir, My Footprint.

046. Paras: Aidy Bryant

Like Bryant, Paras juxtaposes her baby-doll eyes with a manic edge.

047. Parasect: Paul Shaffer

You will never see either Paul Shaffer or Parasect’s pupils.

048. Venonat: Kyle Mooney

Perhaps the quirkiest of the Gen 1 Pokémon, Venonat would probably also star in a lot of pretapes that get cut and put on YouTube later.

049. Venomoth: Nancy Walls Carell

Nancy can really portray the fragility of a moth.

050. Diglett: Brian Doyle-Murray

Essentially the Pokémon equivalent of the gopher from Caddyshack.

051. Dugtrio: Gary Kroeger

More comfortable underground where there’s less competition.

052. Meowth: Billy Crystal

The cartoon’s Meowth is a catchphrase machine, much like Billy “You Look Mahvelous” Crystal in his SNL years. And what wouldn’t you give to see Meowth host the Oscars?

053. Persian: Ann Risley

According to Saturday Night by Doug Hill, Risley’s gorgeous catlike overconfidence sabotaged her time at SNL. She also had the gravitas of a large wild cat.

054. Psyduck: Jenny Slate

If you saw Jenny Slate freak out at the concept of space on Drunk History, you get it.

055. Golduck: Joan Cusack

And if you’ve seen Cusack sing “Edge of Seventeen” in School of Rock, you see why she’s an evolution of that same wahhhhhh energy.

056. Mankey: Chris Kattan

Mr. Peepers is definitely fighting type.

057. Primeape: Rich Hall

Primeape is the Moe Szyslak of Pokémon.

058. Growlithe: Jerry Minor

Loyal, and plays a lot of cops. Jerry Minor is Growlithe if Bob Odenkirk is Officer Jenny.

059. Arcanine: Tim Kazurinsky

Was literally in Police Academy. Although, do Growlithes stop being police dogs when they evolve into Arcanine? Do they retire to desk duty, or become like SWAT dogs?

060. Poliwag: John Milhiser

Both possess an adorable, spritely attitude.

061. Poliwhirl: Paul Brittain

Paul Brittain is an Aquarius, and Poliwhirl definitely bears water.

062. Poliwrath: Alex Moffat

Like Moffat’s Guy Who Just Bought a Boat character, Poliwrath has a tiny dong he’s trying to compensate for.

063. Abra: Siobhan Fallon

Weak against bug types, and yes, this is a Men in Black joke. Also, she disappeared out of sketches that went against her Catholicism.

064. Kadabra: Dean Edwards

A mid-level impersonation wizard.

065. Alakazam: Michael McKean

Michael McKean has BSME: Big Stage Magician Energy.

066. Machop: Jon Rudnitsky

Muscle boy.

067. Machoke: Rob Riggle

Muscle man.

068. Machamp: Joe Piscopo

Muscle-est man.

069. Bellsprout: Noel Wells

Bellsprout has the same expression as Noël Wells’s Zooey Deschanel. It’s a 1:1 likeness.

070. Weepinbell: Julia Sweeney

Like Pat, Weepinbell also has an exactly 50/50 shot at being male or female.

071. Victreebel: Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Like Selina Meyers, Victreebel is victorious but toxic.

072. Tentacool: Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman is a “cool girl,” and only kind of like in Gone Girl.

073. Tentacruel: Rob Schneider

In Gasping for Airtime, Jay Mohr says Rob Schneider only ate sushi at every lunch, examining each piece of fish for worms with a jeweler’s loupe. This is (1) insane and (2) evidence that he is a water type.

074. Geodude: Chris Rock

Both rock type. Also Geodude got a bad edit in the anime, which echoes how Rock got shafted at SNL. There’s no way an electric type would beat a rock or ground type, Pikachu, and you know it!

075. Graveler: Patrick Weathers

Graveler looks like conceptual art, and Patrick Weathers owns several art galleries now.

076. Golem: Terry Sweeney

Played No. 1 stone-cold bitch Nancy Reagan.

077. Ponyta: Denny Dillon

A Broadway hoofer!

078. Rapidash: Christine Ebersole

A Broadway hoofer with more acclaim (and who thinks 9/11 was an inside job)!

079. Slowpoke: Chris Farley

Slowpoke literally lives by a river. In a van? Hard to say.

080. Slowbro: David Koechner

Such a bro.

081. Magnemite: Brad Hall

A magnet robot is kind of like a Human Stapler (which was one of Brad Hall’s recurring characters). They attach one thing to another thing, and they blur the line between animal and machine in a way that is an affront to God.

082. Magneton: Robert Smigel

Magnetons are formed when three Magnemites come together, and Smigel is a writer–voice actor–puppeteer triple threat.

083. Farfetch’d: Jon Lovitz

Same eyebrows.

084. Doduo: Matthew Laurence

A two-headed ostrich is the same thing as an SNL performer with a twin who’s also an actor, right? Right.

085. Dodrio: Anthony Michael Hall

The heads are named “Anthony,” “Michael,” and “Hall.”

086. Seel: Kevin Nealon

Kevin Seel-on. We’re not beneath this joke.

087. Dewgong: Seth Meyers

Both exude a certain serenity.

088. Grimer: Pete Davidson

Grimer vapes.

089. Muk: Jay Mohr

His memoir cements his place as a muk-raker, and I’m sorrier for this pun than all the other ones that came before it or follow.

090. Shellder: Alan Zweibel

Shellder is more comfortable hidden behind the camera, like Zweibel, whose greatest contribution to SNL was writing for Gilda Radner.

091. Cloyster: Yvonne Hudson

Her breakout sketch was “Bad Clams,” and Cloyster is a bad clam. This isn’t rocket science.

092. Gastly: Michael O’Donoghue

Dead, with a dark sense of humor like the prankster Gastly.

093: Haunter: Tom Davis

Dead, and bff to Gengar.

094: Gengar: Al Franken

Dead, to us.

095. Onix: Don Novello

Okay, follow me on this one: Onyx the Birthstone Kid was in KMD with MF DOOM, who referenced Father Guido Sarducci in “Space Ho’s,” off the Adult Swim tie-in album DangerDOOM. Is that anything?

096. Drowzee: Peter Aykroyd

Like the character co-created by Peter Aykroyd in Nothing But Trouble, Drowzee has a penis for a nose.

097. Hypno: Randy Quaid

Hypno would 100 percent be a conspiracy theorist.

098. Krabby: Harry Shearer

Notoriously cantankerous.

099. Kingler: Christopher Guest

Krabby stars in A Mighty Wind; Kingler directs it.

100. Voltorb: Dan Vitale

Prone to exploding.

101. Electrode: Ben Stiller

Has channeled his explosive tendencies more productively.

102. Exeggcute: Jay Pharoah

An egg of many faces.

103. Exeggutor: Bill Hader

Slightly fewer faces, but more mobility with the faces he has.

104. Cubone: Mikey Day

Any questions?

105. Marowak: Bobby Moynihan

Ay papi!

106. Hitmonlee: Jim Belushi

All Belushis are fighting type.

107. Hitmonchan: John Belushi

The difference is the power of the punches.

108. Lickitung: Kate McKinnon

Thanks to the “Last Call” sketches, McKinnon has probably licked the most people in SNL history.

109. Koffing: Colin Quinn

Extreme smoker energy.

110. Weezing: Dennis Miller

Everything Dennis Miller says is a poisonous cloud.

111. Rhyhorn: Jeff Richards

Vulture comedy editor Megh Wright said Richards “occupied the weird middle ground of oily frat guys and burly dopers,” which are the rhinos of comedy stock characters.

112. Rhydon: Tony Rosato

Tony Rosato has lived a life. He endured hospitalization, and having to relearn improv. He needed a Pokémon equivalent with some strong base HP. Rhydon takes a hit and gets back up.

113. Chansey: Phil Hartman

A nurturer. Too good for this sinful earth.

114. Tangela: Tim Meadows

This one is hard to explain, but a guy did a video about how much he loved his Tangela and regretted ever trading it, and that’s how I feel about Tim Meadows.

115. Kangaskhan: Damon Wayans

Both know how to rock a bald head. And that makes Damon Wayans Jr. the baby Kangaskhan in the pouch.

116. Horsea: Nasim Pedrad

Nasim Pedrad just is a seahorse. Imagine her floating through a kelp forest, or squirting ink at an attacker. Seahorses don’t squirt ink, but Horsea does, and that’s what makes Horsea so good on Scream Queens.

117. Seadra: Casey Wilson

Seadra’s favorite Housewife is Lisa Vanderpump, and this is the one way it differs from Casey Wilson.

118. Goldeen: Maya Rudolph

The most glamorous Pokémon, with Rudolph’s half-lidded gaze.

119. Seaking: Fred Armisen

Same facial expression. Seaking used to be in a band, but he’s doing his own thing now and that’s chill.

120. Staryu: Finesse Mitchell

Who could forget Mitchell’s recurring “Update” character, Staryu-kisha?

121. Starmie: Beth Cahill

As a costume designer, Cahill deserves the Pokémon that looks most like a sequin.

122. Mr. Mime: Taran Killam

Regardez-vous “Les Jeunes des Paris,” s’il vous plaît.

123. Scyther: David Spade

Scyther can only gesture in air quotes with his forelegs. Much like Spade and his forelegs.

124. Jynx: Victoria Jackson

Politically insupportable.

125. Electabuzz: Ellen Cleghorne

Was buzzy enough to get her own sitcom.

126. Magmar: Martin Short

Martin Short is a volcanic duck and I will not be taking further questions at this time.

127. Pinsir: Robin Duke

Large mandibles for a biting wit.

128. Tauros: Laurie Metcalf

Met-CALF, get it? Also she’s an unstoppable force and can literally break boulders with her skull.

129. Magikarp: Brooks Wheelan

It had to be someone.

130. Gyarados: Robert Downey Jr.

RJD was in a real Magikarp season of SNL, but somehow evolved into Iron Man? How’d that become that? Baffling.

131. Lapras: Kenan Thompson

Much like Kenan, Lapras carries people across deep and choppy waters.

132. Ditto: Darrell Hammond

Look at the effort he put into even being Colonel Sanders. He values accuracy of impersonation over everything, even the funniness of the impersonation.

133. Eevee: Gilda Radner

The Ur-cutie. Can evolve into …

134. Vaporeon: Ana Gasteyer

The cool fox.

135. Jolteon: Molly Shannon

The hyper fox.

136. Flareon: Cheri Oteri

Or the fiery fox. Firefox, if you will.

137. Porygon: Gilbert Gottfried

Seizure-inducing.

138. Omanyte: Emily Prager

You don’t see much of Omanyte, under that shell. Similarly, Prager never appeared on SNL when she was officially cast, instead having bit parts before and after the WGA strike of ’81.

139. Omastar: Fred Wolf

Most of the shelled Pokémon roles are for people whose greatest impact on the show was writing rather than performing. Fred Wolf is one such dude, who wrote or helped write Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Dirty Work, Joe Dirt, and Grown Ups 1 and 2.

140. Kabuto: Tom Schiller

Ancient king of pretapes.

141. Kabutops: Jim Downey

Possessing the second-longest writing tenure after Lorne Michaels, Jim Downey is best represented by the Pokémon that was the first life-form to make the transition from water to land in Poké history.

142. Aerodactyl: Bill Murray

A legendary fossil. Aerodactyl sightings are a big part of the first Pokémon anime, much as Billy Murray sightings are a big part of New York.

143. Snorlax: Horatio Sanz

A dormant powerhouse. Sanz doesn’t get up as much as some of his SNL cohort, but when he does it’s extremely impactful.

144. Articuno: Tina Fey

Legendary, a bit cold.

145. Zapdos: Kristen Wiig

Legendary, electric.

146. Moltres: Amy Poehler

Legendary, spits fire.

147. Dratini: Ego Nwodim

Lithe and full of potential.

148. Dragonair: Sasheer Zamata

Elegance personified.

149. Dragonite: Mark McKinney

How does sleek Dragonair turn into this goober? Mark McKinney has the sweet temperament of this orange boy, and Dragonite has “huge Canadian energy,” according to Vulture intern Rebecca Alter.

150. Mewtwo: Chevy Chase

A megalomaniac. A mistake of science.

151. Mew: George Coe

Mysterious. The lost original Not Ready for Prime Time Player. Did he ever really exist?

All 151 SNL Cast Members As Pokémon

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