Ophie
Salingerian Phony
I'm going for Shield. Word on the street is that more people are interested in Sword, and I go with whichever is the less popular version so I'll have an easier time trading for version exclusives. The only time I ever went with the more popular option is Diamond due to the Stunky line because I like skunks.
I turned out to be incorrect picking Sapphire and White, however. For this one, I'm reasonably certain, between said word on the street and people going for the more offense-based options over defense-based ones. (For instance, both BattleBots and Robot Wars currently prohibit weaponless robots from competing because they cause viewership to drop. At one point, BattleBots even deducted judging points from robots with shields if they couldn't land decisive KOs.)
I turned out to be incorrect picking Sapphire and White, however. For this one, I'm reasonably certain, between said word on the street and people going for the more offense-based options over defense-based ones. (For instance, both BattleBots and Robot Wars currently prohibit weaponless robots from competing because they cause viewership to drop. At one point, BattleBots even deducted judging points from robots with shields if they couldn't land decisive KOs.)