I'm more used to the first option but neither really sound realistic to me due to one sounding too human and the other too mechanical.

I always go with animalistic in my head

It really depends. I usually think of a mix of both, but I don't mind also go full animal cry.

I prefer more animalistic. Like for example: Thanatos roars like fucking Godzilla (a bit deeper tho) and Kronos grunts or in the case of Blake, Amadeus his Luxray sounds kinda like a lynx-lion. I was never a big fan of Pokemon saying their names as "cries" in the anime

I always prefer it when Pokémon sound like actual creatures. Them saying their names is nostalgic but it’s hard to imagine any serious setting like that haha

the more animal-y ones

I would say a bit of both, but sorta leaning more so towards "cries". In my mind if the situation is calm/relaxed enough, a pokemon could choose to do a more anime-like cry and say it's name - but it's rare. Likely also something that's more common with tame Pokemon rather than wild ones. Otherwise they prefer to stick to more animalistic cries and sounds.

Honestly, the cries like in the anime because it has more variety, despite just saying their name, which also reflects their individuality and nature. If it's like the game, then it quickly becomes monotonous.