News

Oct 10, 2023

The worst Pokémon

Nathan Ellingsworth

Nathan Ellingsworth

Published: Jun 8, 2023

With so many creatures to choose from, the worst Pokémon sadly have to exist. I love almost every Pokémon, but with over 1,000 of the collectible critters now clogging up our Pokémon Home and bank systems, someone has to get the shove. We’re choosing the worst of the worst today, so you know who to avoid when picking your team.

Luckily, there's a whole heap of amazing Pokémon to choose from, and we explain them all in our many comprehensive guides. Check out our lists explaining the best monkey Pokemon, cat Pokémon, dog Pokémon, horse Pokémon, the best gen 1 Pokémon, gen 2 Pokémon, gen 3 Pokémon, gen 4 Pokémon, and even the strongest Pokémon.

Alright, it's time to pick the worst Pokémon, and we’re sorry if your favorite creature makes the list.

Just an absolute mess of a Pokémon, Bruxish looks like Arceus themself spilled several different awful Pokémon and then gave the mixture a swirl with the ugly stick. With no cohesion, a big stupid head, and useless in battle, Bruxish is a waste of space. I don't know if whaling exists in the Pokémon world, but I say this as a vegan, I wouldn't shed a single tear if I saw every Bruxish harpooned and turned into sushi.

What's worse than one awful Pokémon? Six awful Pokémon. Not content with taking up a single space in the Pokédex, the three elemental monkeys from Pokémon Black and White also have evolutions, each of which has the audacity to make you part with an elemental stone to evolve them. These monkeys just look terrible, and there are better picks in-game for every single element. If you think I’m wasting a stone to evolve any of these monstrosities, I’d rather skip them across a lake.

Sorry to Pokémon Black and White and Black and White 2, because those incredible games sadly have a few truly disappointing Pokémon. In an effort to soft-reboot the franchise, Game Freak revisits and reimagines some existing archetypes. Zubat gets Woobat, Tauros gets Bouffalant, and instead of Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, Unova has Throh and Sawk. Sadly, these Bert and Ernie-looking little freaks are just a touch too anthropomorphic and lack any of the charm of their inspirations.

Just a pathetic little Pokémon. I hate what Luvdisc isn't as much as I hate what it is. The idea of basing a Pokémon on the kissing gourami fish is great. The aquatic creature exhibits strange kissing behavior, so turning it into a cute little kissing ‘mon is adorable. However, in Unova, there's also the Pokémon Alomomola, a heart-shaped Pokémon based on a sunfish.

Fun fact, Luvdisc and Alomomola, the two heart-shaped fish Pokémon, have NOTHING to do with each other. Game Freak, I need a word. What is going on over there? It's not like you don't make evolutions to Pokémon from previous generations. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet we even have divergent species with Wiglett, but you’re telling me Luvdisc and Alomomola share a relation as close as a bear and spaghetti? Just a maddening choice, and two useless Pokémon that could have at least had a cool connection.

We got a Pokémon based on barnacles before we got one based on a dolphin. Just think about that. Binacle and its monstrous evolution Barbaracle represent the stationary mollusks, but Game Freak decided to further the design with tiny little hands with eyes waving out of the body of these rock-like creatures.

I think the issue is that Binacle is just a mess, and if Game Freak can make a Pokémon based on rubbish cute (I’ll defend Trubbish with my dying breath), then I believe the team can make a mollusk cute. But instead, Binacle and its bothersome older brother are just lumbering collections of odd appendages with an awful typing combo to match. Sorry to all two Binacle fans.

Gholdengo is another Pokémon where the wasted potential is as bad as the actual Pokémon. If you haven't been keeping track, the national Pokédex keeps a running tally of every single pokémon announced throughout the many generations. With the arrival of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, that total number of Pokémon finally tips into four digits, and what do you know, Game Freak blessed Gholdengo with the privilege of being Pokémon 1,000.

Now, the idea of collecting 1,000 Gimmighoul coins to evolve the Pokémon is great, the issue is that Gholdengo looks like the cheesestring man met the same ‘golden crown’ fate as Viserys Targaryen. An anthropomorphic nightmare, Gholdengo looks like the Mr. Men version of the Silver Surfer but drawn by a toddler, and I hate everything about it. Ah well, there's always Pokémon 2,000.

Do I even need to explain this? The worst Pokémon are the ones that look nothing like animals, and Jynx not only has some very unsettling racial undertones, but the whole thing just gives me the creeps. Some sort of ice witch in a bad wig, Jynx is a plague on the first generation, and I can scarcely believe that someone thought to make its pre-evolution Smoochum as well. If ever there's a Pokémon purge, I’ll happily throw Jynx and Smoochum into the lava pits of Cinnabar Island myself.

Another blight on the original 151, and making up the second part of the agonizingly awful anthropomorphic duo is Mr Mime. Now, had I made this list but a few short years ago, Mr. Mime would have been pride of the place at the bottom. But dear reader, things have gotten worse.

While beloved and fantastic Pokémon like Lapras, Flygon, Bellsprout, or even Marill have seen nary a regional form or evolution, gigantamax form, mega evolution, hell, or even just a regular new evolution… Game Freak decides that Mr. Mime deserves some love. In comes the abhorrent tap-dancing devil known as Mr. Rime, an ice-type evolution of Mr. Mime taking inspiration from Charlie Chaplin and taking the biscuit for the worst Pokémon in Galar.

It's time to return to Paldea, as another new entry to the pantheon of Pokémon is Spidops, a creepy arachnid that just seems to hang around in trees and makee web origami or something. It's hard to explain why Spidops doesn't work other than it just looks dumb. The block primary colors are really unappealing, it's useless in battle, and it looks like a bloke in a suit from a dodgy Godzilla rip-off. Sorry Spidops, I eight you.

The final entry on this list (for now) is Stunfisk. Just a waste of space, Stunfisk is here because it just doesn't do anything interesting. It's not good in battle, it looks ugly (in both forms), and it certainly doesn't evolve into anything interesting. I’m all for Pokémon based on weird little sea creatures, but Stunfisk doesn't look like it could bite through tissue paper, even if it has razors for teeth. Plus, I’m so sick of hatching them in Pokémon Go.

Alright, trainers, that is all we have for our list of the worst Pokémon today. Sorry if your pick made the list, but we suggest making better life choices. If you do need to find a new bestie, be sure to check out our lists of the best water Pokémon and best ground Pokémon next.