I prefer Pokemon. though both are pretty much the same thing over and over, I prefer to watch Pokemon, Mario shows did indeed suck. However Mario does have those party games, so that's a plus, but then there is also those Gamecube, and Wii Pokemon games but idk...
Pokemon get's my vote.

Mario is a great game and I love how you can play it for so long and also play it over and over again. Pokemon is long and honestly the new games are not as good. So my vote goes out to Mario.

mario had a better game but pokemon had a better show.mario was originaly a carpenter in donkey kong.very different from a plumber

I love Mario, but sorry I love Pokémon more.

EDIT by noelia: Due to layout problems =/

I would say Mario mainly because he's just the cooler franchise. There's not much explaining needed. >.>

I vote Pokémon because I'm more into adventurous games.

well my name is pokemad so i guess you can guess what i like best, i think it makes a brilliant show and an awesome game, i prefer adventure games mixed with fighting alot more than platform (sorry i think mario is platforn, w/e the running jumping about games are called :| )

I very much enjoy the Pokémon games, but I have to go with Mario.  In terms of replaying, I am much more likely to replay a Mario game than a Pokémon game.  I also grew up with Mario, so my loyalty goes there.

I believe every reckoning of each game can be as fun as you want it to be. I myself have a strong preference for Pokémon games, but Mario can be an equally fun game depending on how you look at it.

 As a character, Mario is super cool! Games with his face in them are very enjoyable. If you just look at the bulbous nose and black mustache, you know you're in for a good time.

As I type this, the vote count seems as split on it as I am.

Nintendo forever!!!

Hmm...it is subjective, but in the end I will say Pokémon because in the end you get more game play than Mario (I can beat the original Mario in an hour, hour and a half whereas the average Pokemon game takes me 20+ hours, even if I know everything inside and out). As well, I loves the strategy elements in Pokemon...I like Mario, don't get me wrong but...Pokémon gets my vote.

For me, Pokemon KILLS Mario. I just always liked Pokemon better.

Pokémon, mainly because Pokémon is an rpg. I get more play out of it. New characters each game is cool too

Pokemon is so much better

Well, this is kinda an odd comparison, since Pokémon and Mario are made by the same company, but are in different genres, with Mario being a platformer and Pokémon being an RPG. It's kinda like comparing Sonic to Phantasy Star.

But I'll break it down as what each game has, because I like game comparing topics

Story - Pokémon, Not even close.

Pokémon - Realize your second greatest dream - to finally own a Pokémon - from your town's professor. By becoming friends and training many different Pokémon, you must realize your first greatest dream... "to be the very best... like no one ever was". Defeat 8 gym leaders, stomp the elite four, and finally that mean guy next door that's been one step ahead of you all game, to finally become the Pokémon master!

Mario - Save Princess Peach. Again. Can they at least explain why Bowser kidnaps her to begin with? Show the grieving masses missing their princess? No. Just save her. Thanks.

Graphics - This one goes to the Mario man.

Mario - Super Mario 64 was a legend to anyone that laid eyes on it in 1996. OMG 3D! I can move INTO THE BACKGROUND! No more side-scrolling! This is what the Nintendo 64 was all about - GET N OR GET OUT!

Pokémon - It's Gameboy. Enjoy your 4 shades of grey. No Pokémon game has ever tried to push the limits of it's system, not even the console versions like Pokémon Coliseum.

Controls - Pokémon wins this battle.

Pokémon - Has any turn-based RPG ever had bad control? I have never had a  single issue with the play control of Pokémon.

Mario - It's a platformer, and is therefore plagued by the evil "platform referee". Remember the time you ran, made that jump, but fell anyway? Game randomly decided to count that hammer thrown at Mario as a hit despite the fact the same throw was a miss the last 3 times? Yeah, it's the platformer control.

Sounds - It's a-me, Mario!

Mario - Mario's sounds are famous. Besides the Mario Bros. Theme itself, we have the coin collect sound, jumping on koopas, and Mario upgrading to fire Mario. All set to a fantastic soundtrack by Koji Kondo.

Pokémon - AH, the classic charm of the Pokémon saying there names, and the nice voice acting... WAIT, this is the game. While the music is pretty great in it's own right, the sound effects for the Pokémon are... not so good. Digitized random grunts and groans? No thanks.

i mean this is a no brainer pokemon is so much better than mario

now luigis mansion is something to put in there!!!!!
but as for mario ehhhh not much  for me to say hes better than growing up with pokemon

It's a toss-up, but I have to go for Pokemon. I find the games more entertaining. I LOVE RPGs. =P 

I would choose Pokémon because Pokémon has a lot of things to do compared to Mario. You can train, fight, breed, and catch Pokémon. Pokémon also has lets you trade your Pokémon for another one. You can also fight other people with the netplay on Pokémon or meet new people everyday. While Mario, on the other hand, does not have much going for it. All you really do is save a princess, collect stars, and go through different worlds to get the stars. So my vote goes to Pokémon.

I absolutely love to play Pokémon, but Mario is even better.  As others have said, in Mario you can have more than one save file and the storyline is usually different unlike Pokémon.

I love Mario a lot more than Pokemon. Mario games are amazing. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Sunshine are the best of all of them.