Alright, let’s stay on the topic of Pokémon. It is one of the easiest franchises to make lists about, after all. I have countless times in the past declared that I love this franchise, and I do. There has, however, always been something that bugged me with Pokémon and every new generation: Gimmick Pokémon.
Okay, so let’s be clear: Most Pokémon have gimmicks,
or grew and changed throughout the Generations to gain a gimmick. Some have
special moves, some have special abilities since the third Generation. It’s
like some were meant to suck and started sub-par compared to the others, and
never really improved. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I get that not every Pokémon can
be a tournament-worthy killing machine. It hasn’t stopped some gimmick Pokémon
from having a gimmick that made them perfectly deadly and destructive in their
own right. Not all gimmick Pokémon have this chance. There are various types of gimmick: Plot-based, appearance-based, form-based, ability-based, moveset-based, myth-based... I have examples of all of those.
Some Pokémon were given a gimmick that lasted all of
one Generation, only to be forgotten by the next. Some simply have horrible
stats that wouldn’t make them viable for serious matches. Others are more
viable in combat but there’s still that gimmick that follows them around, that
annoys some players about the very existence of these Pokémon. Here, I am
listing the 12 gimmicky Pokémon that I consider the worst. I will probably make
a Top 12 list to counterbalance this someday… just not right now, enough
discussing Pokémon for a bit after this list. As a note, I am also not
including Pokémon that are weak and have nothing to help them, unless it’s tied
into the gimmick. Okay, we’re counting down! (P.S. This list may contain
spoilers from the newest games)
12. Slaking
Type of gimmick: Ability-based
Type of gimmick: Ability-based
Note how this is the only ability that this Pokémon can ever have at the moment. |
11. Durant
Type of gimmick: Concept-based
Type of gimmick: Concept-based
Looks all menacing, but its reason to exist is to get its ass whooped by Heatmor. |
10. Kecleon
Type of gimmick: Ability-based
Type of gimmick: Ability-based
It was also a gimmick in Gen 3 as an invisible barrier, for some reason. |
9. Phione
Type of gimmick: Myth-based
Type of gimmick: Myth-based
The not-so-legendary baby... |
...the proud, Legendary mommy. |
8. Chatot
Type of gimmick: Moveset-based
Type of gimmick: Moveset-based
Polly wants a mirophone - It was taken away from him! |
7. Farfetch’d
Type of gimmick: Concept-based
Type of gimmick: Concept-based
It's a shame this Pok.mon was in Gen 1, if it was from a later Gen it might have been revealed by Game Freak... Through a leak. Leak, leek, geddit? |
6. Spinda
Type of gimmick: Appearance- and moveset-based
Type of gimmick: Appearance- and moveset-based
♪♫You spin me right round, baby right round, like a record baby right round round round...♪♫ |
5. Castform
Type of gimmick: Form-, Ability- and Moveset-based
Type of gimmick: Form-, Ability- and Moveset-based
It's like most of the worst things about gimmick Pokémon, all rolled up into one. |
-Using the weather effect move takes a turn, which is
already difficult if you’re encountering an opponent.
-Weather effects only last 5 turns, so you’ll have to
use one again soon.
-Castform’s type changes to Water under rain, Fire
under harsh sunlight, Ice under hail. That’s it. First off, this means that
Castform gains that type’s strengths and weaknesses. Second, it doesn’t have a
form for one of the most common overworld weathers, sandstorm.
-Castform re-loses the new typing when the weather
ends.
-Its attack that changes type, Weather Ball, has only
10 PP, so even if you were able to use it for a while, you would run out very
quickly – even if its PP are increased to its maximum 16. If you have the three
weather-changing moves in his arsenal and Weather Ball, that also makes it
Castform’s only way to defend itself.
-Its ability is Forecast, the one thing that lets it
transform in the first place, and it has no other, better ability (Hidden or
not) that would be more useful.
-It looks like a ball with a face over a pair of the
other kind of balls.
-Oh, and Castform’s stats are crap to start with.
In Pokémon Sun and Moon, Game Freak at least tried to
add something interesting to the concept by having it pop up only when weather
effects are used during SOS battles. However… this can also summon other
weather-related Pokémon sometimes, like Poliwhirl, Goomy, Vanillite or Gabite,
all of which are better than Castform in every freaking way. Big thumb-down for
this Pokémon of little use.
4. Luvdisc
Type of gimmick: Plot-based
Type of gimmick: Plot-based
Awwwww, it's so cute! Let's kill it and steal its treasure! |
3. Cosmog and Cosmoem
Type of gimmick: Plot- and myth-based
Type of gimmick: Plot- and myth-based
(Nebby "Pew-Pew" ["Get-In-The-****ing-Bag"] Cosmog... ,,,The second. The first one has already reached its final form.) |
Never mind the fact that Lillie was perfectly able to carry around in her bag officially one of the two heaviest Pokémon in existence. That it floats in place is not good enough of an explanation. |
-They are the first to evolve into a Legendary
Pokémon, which was never seen before;
-And they evolve differently depending on the version,
which was also never seen before Gen 7, a gimmick also used by Rockruff when it
becomes Midday or Midnight Lycanroc. I take issue with that one in particular
because it doesn’t explain how, exactly, any of these Pokémon will evolve when
the next games come in and they’re not Pokémon Sun or Moon. Will they evolve
based on the time of day? Will they be given arbitrarily one version of the new
games in which they’ll evolve into one or the other? Long story short, I am not
a fan of version-exclusive evolution.
-Hell, to some extent, the change from being among the lightest Pokémon to turning into one of the heaviest Pokémon may as well be a gimmick too.
-Hell, to some extent, the change from being among the lightest Pokémon to turning into one of the heaviest Pokémon may as well be a gimmick too.
These two are a burden until they reach Level 53, with
nothing to save them until their evolution into Solgaleo or Lunala. In the seventh
Generation, which had tons of gimmick Pokémon, those are among the worst. Good
thing they are Legendaries in disguise, huh?
2. Delibird
Type of gimmick: Moveset- and concept-based
Type of gimmick: Moveset- and concept-based
I like to imagine a few Game Freak employees during
their Holiday party, after a couple drinks, going, “You know what would be
funny? Creating the worst Pokémon ever.”
“We already have plans for it, they’re called Unown.”
“No- *hips!* I mean, the worst. Like, worst of the
worst. Not even the mythos of the Pokémon world could save it. See what I
mean?”
“I would love to pull that sort of prank on the enormous
fanbase of our most famous series, but we’re gonna be stuck with that decision
for a long time! We need something smart!”
“No worries. I got that idea of a Pokémon based on
Santa… sorta… *hips!*”
Thus Delibird was born. One of the biggest jokes in Gen 2, where
all it could learn was Present, an attack that dealt varying damage at random
(40, 80 or 120 base damage)… and, 1/5th of the time, would actually
HEAL the opponent. The only way to make it even slightly viable was through TMs
and HMs, at a time where TMs had only one use, and most of them couldn’t be
bought again once gone. Nowadays, since TMs don’t disappear, you can actually
give Delibird many good Ice- and Flying-type moves, and it can also learn more
good moves through breeding. However, its base stat total is still 330, thus
still utterly awful. Don’t expect this guy to be seen anywhere in the teams of
serious players… Thanks, Game Freak, for the second most useless Pokémon of
all… Only surpassed by…
1. Unown
Type of gimmick: Myth- and concept-based
Type of gimmick: Myth- and concept-based
Well, I foreshadowed them in the previous entry. There’s
28 different Unown. All they ever learn is Hidden Power, an attack with a
secret type which, until recently, you couldn’t learn about until you battled
enough Pokémon in the wild. They can’t be taught any other moves through TMs,
HMs, or any other method. Unown have a base stat total of 336, barely better
than Delibird. The only ability they can ever learn is Levitate, which just
protects them from Ground-type attacks. That’s something, I guess, but they
have nothing more useful. They are an intricate part of the Pokémon mythos,
involved in the Arceus’s ritual when he creates another Dialga, Palkia or
Giratina, and they are also implied to have ties with other legends of that
world. They are the true villains in the most memorable (and, in my opinion,
best) Pokémon movie, where they were frequently shown as all-CGI to highlight their eldritch nature.
But they’re shit. Only good for the collection and nothing else. Oh yeah, sure,
they can hold their own for a very short time, but let’s say I wouldn’t cash in
on beating the Elite 4 with a full team of those. These are the worst Pokémon
to exist. In my wildest dreams, I could imagine them having some bonus
in-battle based on how many Unown are in your team, and a full team of Unown
could be more viable – in stats, at least – but like Farfetch’d or Delibird,
these were never meant to be viable, so we’ll never see those awesome
possibilities.
There's nothing to be scared of! It only had Hidden Power and crappy stats! Just whack it with the closest blunt object, you'll be fine! |
This concludes my list! I would like to say that,
despite what I’ve said in the article so far, I have nothing against gimmick
Pokémon. I am however sad when a Pokémon loses its gimmick when we move to a
new Generation, or when a Pokémon’s gimmick is a hindrance to its usefulness or
turns it into a joke. To end on a more positive note, here are some other
Pokémon with gimmicks that are either appreciated by the community, actually
useful in a team, or with something that greatly helps them.
Waa-bah-bah! Wobuffet spoke Rabbid before the Rabbids existed. |
-Wynaut and Wobbuffet: The masters of the
counterstrike, a pain in the ass to fight against, which just proves how
powerful they are. All they need is their four best moves.
-Smeargle: One of the Pokémon with the poorest stats
overall, but able to learn practically any attack through its Sketch attack. If
it learns a set of powerful attacks, it can pass them on, and help the rest of
the team.
-Shedinja: Immune to all but 5 types thanks to Wonder
Guard, against the right opponents Shedinja can attack at will and never be
defeated. Its stats are poor, and it takes some time learning to use strategies
that benefit its 1HP status, but it has the potential to become incredible.
Christ, this thing is ugly. You can fish out a Magikarp almost anywhere - this thing is mighty rare. |
-Feebas: The only Pokémon that ever had to evolve
through max beauty, which is extremely annoying. Unfortunately (or fortunately)
lost its gimmick in later Gens, where it could then evolve by being traded with
a Prism Scale; but it becomes Milotic, so it isn’t all that bad. I wished it
wasn’t that friggin’ rare though.
-Rotom: An awesome gimmick that changes it Ghost-type
to one of 5 different types. The one annoying thing about it is that, now,
every main series game needs a room with the appliances Rotom uses to
transform.
-Deerling and Sawsbuck: Correct Pokémon, but they were
created for the seasonal gimmick of Gen 5, which was dropped in Gen 6. To have
all 4 versions of Deerling and Sawsbuck, you need to catch one of each in Gen 5
and transfer them to the new games. Another Pokémon that lost its reason to
exist when its gimmick stopped being used…
-Zoroark: One of the most special abilities, and a
very good Pokémon to use it. Not much else to say, Zoroark is awesome.
So much pink - so much potential. |
-Oricorio: Stats that are merely correct, but its
transformation between four different sets of types is what makes this bird
interesting. You can carry one in your team and adapt it to the next opponent
you’ll encounter!
-Wishiwashi: That’s Magikarp Power turned to 11. Starts
off with the official lowest base stat total at 175, but at Level 20 becomes,
through its ability, a monstrous beast with a base stat total of 620 as long as
its Hit Points are over 25%. It’s a good Pokémon that probably takes some
strategy to use correctly, but it’s much better than many Pokémon on this Worst
12 list, due to the low base stats totals, weak concepts, shallow movepools or weakening abilities
some of those happened to have.
You can disagree with me on any of those, but some of
them are better than the ones on this list, that’s for sure.
Okay, this was a very long list, but I’m happy with
the end result. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Is there a gimmick Pokémon that
you believe should have been discussed here? Feel free to comment!
Next week… Hm… Probably a film or a TV show.
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