in top 10 lists of the cutest pokemon, you almost always see these from red/blue:
pikachu
charmander
squirtle
mew
eevee
meowth
I couldn't find lists of the top 10 best names, but IMO the g/s had the worst names of all with none really having a cute reason, and the d/p/p had the most unimaginative names with names like "buneary" (facepalm)
sure they are unbalanced and could do with a change, but the creative department was in full form for the original games.