Now with over a thousand Pokemon that can be registered in the Pokedex, you're bound to meet a few flops. Not every pocket creature can be a Lucario, Garchomp, or Charizard.
Some designs look like they were conceptualized four minutes before the meeting for the next Pokemon game. Others have stats that make you wonder if Game Freak forgot to give them proper programming.
Sure, a few manage to squeak by with hidden talents or niche abilities. But some? Just plain bad and disappointing. Welcome to the list of the absolute worst video game Pokemon of every generation.
What Are the Worst Pokemon in Every Generation?
Let’s just say that when it comes to duds, Beedrill, Ledian, and Luvdisc are among the first names to come to mind.
Beedrill has all the sting of a weakly straw, Ledian calls itself a tanky Bug-type but has the durability of wet tissue paper, and Luvdisc is basically a gimmick Pokemon that only exists to make the Move Reminder richer. Intrigued? You should be. The Pokemon world is huge, and these misfits are just the beginning. Keep reading to meet the worst of the worst generation by generation.
Generation 1: Beedrill
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+ 10I mean, we can all admit it, Beedrill looks cool. It’s a dual-stingered wasp with mysterious intent in its eyes. But in the early games, it hits like a Caterpie and folds even faster. And no, Magikarp doesn't count. That Splashing fish at least evolves into a sea beast.
Beedrill stays "just okay" unless you were lucky enough to use its Mega Evolution introduced in Generation 6. Back in Red and Blue, though, its Attack stat was decent, but its Speed and bulk were too low to live through anything. Its stats are somehow weaker than Onix’s.
Since Mega Evolutions have been taken away from us in newer games, Beedrill's been sent back to bug obscurity. Maybe Legends ZA will give it another chance.
Generation 2: Ledian
click to enlarge + 10Bug-types just can't catch a break. Ledian, with its comic-superheroic design, seemed promising. But it flies straight into the villainy of bad stats. It’s supposed to be defensive, but it’s more fragile than your 15-year-old Game Boy Color screen after throwing it to the wall.
It has decent Special Defense, sure, but its Defense and Attack are laughable. It also has the Flying type, making it four times weak to Rock-type moves. Stealth Rock sends it packing in seconds.
Even when it got the Iron Fist ability later, its Attack stat was so low, it couldn’t punch through the hearts of Pokemon trainers.
Generation 3: Luvdisc
click to enlarge + 10Luvdisc is what happens when Game Freak forgets to give a Pokemon a purpose. It’s shaped like a heart, but no love is given to this Pokemon. Its only good stat is Speed, and that just might mean it's rushing itself to defeat.
The only joy it brings to players is that it sometimes holds Heart Scales, which you need to remember old moves with the help of a Move Reminder. Otherwise, it's a romantically weak Pokemon.
Generation 4: Kricketune
click to enlarge + 10Bug-types are being mentioned again? Shocking. Kricketune is one of those Pokemon that makes you ask, “Okay, what now?”. It has a fabulous mustache and an incredible cry. But its base stats are just terrible.
An 85 base Attack isn’t cutting it when everything else is bad. It has a Speed of 65 and its bulk is... just forget it. Sure, it can set up a few Swords Dance, but that’s assuming Kricketune survives a turn or two.
For a game so inspired by bug catching, Generation 4 sure gave us a disrespected bug.
Generation 5: Simisage, Simisear, and Simipour
click to enlarge + 10The Simi Trio is a trio of missed opportunities. These elemental monkeys of Unova could have had potential as their pre-evolutions, Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour, were adorable and seemed like they were building up to something interesting.
But instead, what we got were three bigger monkeys with unremarkable stats and boring personalities. Their designs feel like someone pasted a hair catalogue on generic monkey bodies. They’re too similar to each other and too generic to use.
Even their typing of Grass, Fire, and Water is done better by countless other Pokemon. In a generation that gave us Hydreigon, Excadrill, and Krookodile, these mons feel like fillers.
Generation 6: Carbink
click to enlarge + 10Carbink is like a wall made of biscuit bricks. Rock and Fairy is a fairly interesting typing combo. Base 150 Defense? That’s perfect! Until you realize it has no recovery moves and gets chipped away quickly. It's laughably non-offensive, too.
It can be used in niche setups with Trick Room or dual screens, but other Pokemon can do it better. Carbink just delays its inevitable downfall. In addition to that, it was introduced alongside Diancie, its mythical relative, who basically does everything Carbink does but much better.
Generation 7: Pyukumuku
click to enlarge + 10Pyukumuku is what you get when you design a Pokemon while crushing on Wobbuffet. It literally doesn't attack. Its moveset is just an arsenal of status and stall moves. Its signature ability, Innards Out, damages the attacker when or if Pyukumuku faints.
That’s cool until you realize Pyukumuku's low HP and passive gimmick rarely let it make any relevant difference. Its Defense is high, but with no offensive pressure, it turns every battle into a borefest. A Pokemon that exists to be a squishy roadblock.
Generation 8: Grapploct
click to enlarge + 10One would think a Pokemon designed around grappling would be able to take multiple hits. With this bad Pokemon, you'll need to think again. Grapploct’s ability to glue foes in battle is interesting, but its low Speed and average defenses make that gimmick pointless.
It’s a Fighting-type that fights like it just got cramps. Once it uses Octolock, it gets knocked out before the move can make any difference. It feels like a cool idea that just never got fleshed out, which is a shame because its design had potential, except it could've had a secondary Water-typing.
Generation 9: Spidops
click to enlarge + 10And finally, here we are, the most recent offender. Spidops looks like someone was stuck in the designs of Generation 2. It’s supposed to be a sneaky, string-slinging spider, but everything about it screams “only good in the early game”.
Its stat distribution makes no sense as it’s not bulky enough to stall and not strong enough to defeat anything. Its signature move, Silk Trap, is just Protect with a Speed stat drop added. And guess what? It can be bypassed by Taunt.
The worst part? It had so much potential as a stealthy Bug-type. Instead, it's nothingburger of bug types.
click to enlarge + 10Every generation of Pokemon video games has its superstars, and every generation has its duds. While some Pokemon dominate competitive play or etch themselves into our hearts of trainers, others quietly rot in the corners of our boxes or would never know the feeling of living inside a Poke Ball.
Whether they were cursed by bad stats, pointless abilities, or just bad timing, these poor pocket monsters represent the low points in Pokemon’s otherwise incredible legacy. But hey, not everyone can be a Pikachu.
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