30 Worst Pokémon Designs in History

We all have our favorites and are biased toward certain Pokémon. Your full roster may consist of the same type or a team with different strengths and weaknesses, but your reasons likely remain the same: you either found them cute or cool. I was in the latter camp, using my preferences to decide which Pokémon I wanted based on if they looked like stone-cold killers.

Yes, I was the type of player to choose Charizard because it’s a dragon. It was a no-brainer. Yet, there are some Pokémon that surely weren’t picked by anyone, right? These are the ones chosen last in gym class.

Now that there are over a thousand Pokémon, each Pokédex entry can’t always be a hit. Some have to be left in the wild, but really, they’re the lucky ones, as they’re not forced to fight until they faint. These are the 30 worst creature designs in the history of Pokemon.

30) Toucannon (#733)

Yes, you can send Zazu into battle, but that doesn’t mean you should. The fact that this is the final evolution for two flying Pokémon that have no clear link to real-life birds and become Toucannon at the very end is very underwhelming.

29) Chewtle (#833)

Knowing that this derpy little guy becomes the absolute badass that is Drednaw is inconceivable. If you didn’t know about Chewtle’s evolutionary chain, you’d probably never try to capture it. But Drednaw is well worth the wait if you can manage to stare at this bobblehead Pokémon in the heat of battle.

28) Inteleon (#818)

If Mr. Nimbus was a Pokémon, he’d be Inteleon. It’s creepy and I’m uncomfortable looking at it. I want to leave.

27) Spidops (#918)

Imagine sticking it out with the puny Tarountula in hopes something better was around the corner, and you end up with Spidops. Like something made on Bamzooki, Spidops is angry about its own existence and reminisces about a time when it was a cute little spider carrying its web on its back. There are no distinctive features and its color makes it like a gone wrong Sudowoodo (which is a difficult feat to achieve).

26) Ferrothorn (#598)

Ferroseed already looks skippable, then you evolve to Ferrothorn after 40 levels and get a trio of spiking semicircles. Oooo, scary.

25) Girafarig (#203) / Stantler (#234) / Bidoof (#399) / Flamigo (#973)

Did they even try with any of these Pokémon? Please just leave them in the wild, where they belong. I see these entries as animals that are meant to bring the region to life or be used as target practice. They’re the perfect entry into Pokémon as they’re typically so low-levelled that they help newbies understand how to knock or capture them. It was tiresome having to catch and research so many Bidoofs in Arceus.

24) Bruxish (#779)

The colors. Its face. Everything is so ugly, yet it’s strangely hypnotic.

23) Stonjourner (#874)

As a British citizen, I’m offended by Game Freak’s take on Stonehenge. Resting atop two gigantic legs is the world’s most meagre upper body. Trudging along the desert, Stonjourner is a rock formation with a makeshift face slapped on its front. If humans weren’t capable of pareidolia (seeing patterns like faces in surfaces), then Stonjourner would be a tiny landmark we’d all walk past. It doesn’t look particularly proud of its existence, but at least it’s never skipped leg day.

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22) Orthworm (#968)

I feel as though Orthworm is peering into my soul when I look at it. This Pokémon seems innocent, but reminds me of Rick and Morty‘s talking cat. It knows something it’s not telling us. I pity it while also being simultaneously on edge about its existence. With no evolution, Orthworm is the most underwhelming and bizarre Steel Pokémon, especially when compared to the absolute tank that is Onyx. How did Orthworm not get knocked out of the food chain?

21) Sunflora (#192)

If the Teletubbies were high all day, they’d be Sunflora.

20) Clamperl (#366)

I know we’ve had a moon, a sun, and hieroglyph Pokémon, but they all at least looked interesting as opposed to the Pokémon whose name says everything you need to know. There’s nothing about a bluish gray clam holding a live pearl inside that makes me want to capture it, aside from adding another entry in my Pokédex. Leave it in the ocean.

19) Musharna (#518)

It doesn’t help that Musharna evolved from a small egg-like Pokémon called Munna. I get that it’s supposed to be like a dreaming baby elephant, but all I see is a stomach with intestines coming out of it. I think I’ve been watching too much horror.

18) Spiritomb (#442)

A pillar with a flat, block color swirl atop it and a basic ghost face scratch on its front; Spiritomb looks like it was dreamt up by a child. It doesn’t evolve either. It puts so many legendary Ghost Pokémon to shame. I miss Gengar and Drifblim.

17) Vanillite (#582)

It’s the world’s happiest ice cream. Vanillite looks like the Pokémon equivalent of Spooky’s Jumpscare Mansion. Then it evolves into derpier ice creams, gaining more scoops as it levels up. At least it’s having a good time.

16) Lampent (#608)

I hate this design, this Pokémon, and its chain so much. No, I don’t want to capture and send a lantern into battle. After seeing so many great designs and clear references to real animals, the shift to inanimate objects is soul-destroying. Let’s just use these guys to light up paths instead, that way we don’t have to waste electricity or Poké Balls.

15) Eiscue (#875)

Just when you thought you’d seen enough of random animal Pokémon, here comes Eiscue. A penguin with an ice cube for its head. I genuinely would have taken an exact replica of an emperor penguin over this. And it doesn’t even evolve!

14) Bramblin (#946)

I’m adamant that this is not a Pokemon but part of the sandy biome scenery. I’m transported to a black and white western every time I look at the Bramblin. Worst of all is that you can evolve this useless-looking Pokemon by walking, where it becomes tumbleweed…but with a face. I’m not taking a trip to the desert anytime soon.

13) Applin (#840)

It’s an apple that looks like a butterfly was shoved into the top of it. Turns into an apple shaped like a bat or a tortoise-looking apple pie. Enough said.

12) Comfey (#764)

If the lei used in Midsommar came to life, it’d look like Comfey.

11) Sinistea (#854)

Named after something I could see a constant saying on Drag Race’s reading challenge, Sinistea is a teacup with a face and purple goo dripping on its side. It turns into a teapot that features the lil purple ghost popping out of its lid. It’s debatable which design is worse, but having a cup floating around in the wild is just ridiculous.

10) Calyrex (#898)

There’s a bunch of pretentious-looking Pokémon that give the vibe they wouldn’t shut up if they could speak. But the worst is Calyrex. Clearly born in the wrong century, Calyrex’s entire appearance makes little sense on paper. His spindly legs holding up a gigantic and pointless bulb, alongside a pearl necklace made out of smaller bulbs makes Calyrex look a tad ridiculous. And it only gets worse when he evolves. Where did he get that horse and why does he think he’s so cool riding it?

9) Enamorus (#905)

Enamorus makes me feel as uncomfortable as Jynx. Like, why would anyone want to pick this one up? With a borderline seductive appearance like a strange take on Lucifer right before he fell from the clouds of Heaven, Enamorus doesn’t fit in with the rest of the Pokédex. An awful color scheme, strange placement of the snake, and cloud-like lower half make Enamorus a Pokémon I’d actively avoid in the wild. You don’t want to meet this guy in a dark alley.

8) Honedge (#679)

This Pokémon and its evolutions are a joke, honestly. I don’t understand how people are okay with sending a sword with a flag attached to its handle into battle.

7) Charjabug (#737)

It’s a cuboid bug with very minimal details that looks like it was sketched within 10 seconds. I’m sure this was originally a bus and got transformed into a Pokémon. How this is between Grubbin and Vikavolt, I don’t know. It’s likely supposed to be a cocoon, but that doesn’t make it any better.

6) Klefki (#707)

Why did this species of Pokémon evolve into a set of keys? It’s like the “normal” version of Unown, but Klefki just looks like a poor man’s Q-pid from Death Stranding.

5) Minior (#774)

What am I even looking at? I don’t understand. It doesn’t even evolve but it comes in a wide range of colors, so that makes it worth it. Not.

4) Palossand (#770)

It’s a sand castle. I can’t.

3) Binacle (#688)

Two furry hands raised from a rock, that’s all that Binacle is. Then it transforms into the same thing multiple times, to become a humanoid version of hands protruding from rocks. I don’t get the design at all. It just looks like if Crash Bandicoot fell in Snow Go and couldn’t get respawned.

2) Runerigus (#867)

What is this and why does it exist? Why have a dragon when you could just paint it on a rock, attached by black tape, and call it a day? I’m guessing the spirit of a dragon possessed some rock like a cave painting brought to life, but it just doesn’t work and it only makes me miss Charizard even more.

1) Gholdengo (#1000)

This being the thousandth Pokémon is incredibly disappointing, even if it’s meant to reference a trophy. All I see when I look at this thing is the Cheesestring mascot, inviting me to order some over-processed kids’ snack. I hate the food and I hate Gholdengo.