With the pop culture explosion that was Pokémon in the late ‘90s came the memorable mantra: “Gotta catch ‘em all!” After over 20 years and the creation of over 800 creatures, however, catching each and every last Pokémon has become nothing short of a Herculean task. Not to mention, with a handful of subpar designs and useless abilities, the Pokémon Company has given players very little incentive to actually “catch ‘em all.”

So, if you are not a completionist to the highest degree, or if you simply do not have the hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of free time required to answer the call, you may be wondering: Which Pokémon are worth skipping over? Well, you are in luck as we have compiled a list of some truly terrible Pokémon you will not regret passing on – the top 15 creatures that you absolutely shouldn't catch.

Taking stats, abilities, and character design into account, this article details some truly awful Pokémon that are, honestly, not worth the trouble. When it comes to these monsters, you are better off saving your time, your energy, and your Pokéballs.

15 Zubat

via: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

Given the Pokémon’s annoying status move “Confuse Ray,” Zubat can be an extremely irritating creature to capture. And the truth of the matter is: It probably is not even worth the hassle.

Zubat evolves into Golbat starting at level 22, but it is not until it reaches its final evolutionary state, Crobat, that this Pokémon becomes truly viable – and that is still debatable. Not to mention, Golbat requires an extremely high level of friendship with its respective trainer in order to evolve, so good luck with that.

All in all, Zubat is simply a pain to deal with and it does not offer near enough upside. It is far from the most useless Pokémon on this list, but it is still probably not worth your time.

14 Slaking

via bulbagarden.net

Slaking is actually an incredibly strong Pokémon, but being as lazy as it is, it is hardly worth a spot on any respectable team. Due to its ability Truant, this giant sloth can only attack once every other turn. What is it doing on turns it does not attack you ask? Loafing around.

Slaking can learn a myriad of varied attacks and has very few weaknesses aside from its crippling laziness. If only this creature could get its act together for the occasional battle, it could be a dominant force on even the most competitive of teams. But for the time being, it truly is not worth your time.

It hurts to call Slaking a terrible Pokémon, but if earning gym badges and beating the Elite 4 are your aim, you should probably look elsewhere.

13 Plusle & Minun

Plusle and Minun from the anime
Plusle and Minun from the anime

Nearly every generation of Pokémon has a brand-new Pikachu clone, a creature that shares a resemblance to the franchise’s most popular mascot. From the likes of Pachirisu and Emolga to Togedemaru most recently, you can pretty much count on a Pikachu look-a-like every few years or so.

However, arguably the least inspired of the bunch (as well as two of the most useless) come in the form of Hoenn region’s very own Plusle and Minun.

With abysmal stats and no evolutions to speak of, Plusle and Minun truly serve no purpose other than being blatant rip-offs. If you truly want a Pikachu-like Pokémon, we suggest sticking with the original. With better stats and an evolution to boot, Pikachu is easily the preferred alternative, and with the addition of Alolan Raichu, this Pokémon line has become even more powerful.

12 Hoppip

via: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

If there has ever been a less threatening Pokémon in the history of the franchise, we have yet to hear about it. Conventional wisdom will tell you not to judge a book by its cover, but in the case of Hoppip, what you see is pretty much what you get.

Like the often teased Magikarp, Hoppip inherently learns the game’s most pointless move: Splash. In fact, it is not until level 8 that Hoppip finally learns an attack that can actually inflict damage. The aforementioned Magikarp maintains many of the same issues as Hoppip, but at least Magikarp evolves into Gyarados, one of the series most fearsome monsters.

Hoppip, on the other hand, evolves into Skiploom starting at level 18, and Jumpluff beginning at level 27 – each of which is only marginally better than its predecessor.

11 Farfetch’d

Farfetch'd in the Pokémon anime

Like Slaking, Farfetch’d is actually a pretty unique Pokémon but makes this list due to the fact that it is pretty useless in battle. Farfetch’d is a dual-type Normal/Flying Pokémon, always seen carrying a leek stalk. It is said that Farfetch’d are unable to live without their leek stalk and will defend it with their lives. Interestingly enough, this bird Pokémon also uses its leek stalk as a weapon in battle.

As we said, these creatures are certainly unique, but leek stalks are probably the least effective weapons in the history of hand-to-hand combat. Getting hit by its stalk would probably feel an awful lot like getting whacked in the nose with a rolled-up newspaper. So, unless you are looking to add some zest to your Potato Soup recipe, we recommend leaving the Farfetch’d where you found it.

10 Delibird

via pokemon.wikia.com

Yet another dual-type bird Pokémon makes our list in the form of Delibird. This red, penguin-like Pokémon is known for its signature move, Present, which may cause damage to an opponent, or it may even heal their foe.

The truth is, you just never know what you are going to get with Delibird. You may deliver the decisive blow in a match or you might give an opponent a major advantage by using up your own turn to heal an opposing Pokémon. It is all up to chance.

Hey, everybody likes presents, but not when it's coal in your stockings or an advantage for an opponent. If you like Russian roulette, Delibird might be the perfect Pokémon for you. Otherwise, you might want to steer clear of this one.

9 Sunkern

Sunkern Pokémon

Prior to the franchise’s seventh generation, Sunkern was statistically the weakest Pokémon in the entire series. With the introduction of dozens of new characters in Pokémon Sun & Moon, however, Sunkern has been promoted to second weakest – the last place spot now taken up by a Pokémon that will later appear on our countdown.

As a cute little seedling, it is hard to hate on Sunkern too much, but nevertheless, it is still known as being extremely fragile. It obtains some power after evolving into Sunflora, but even then, it is still no juggernaut by any stretch.

If you still want this adorable little seed part of your squad, we certainly will not stand in your way, but do not expect it to protect you from any wild Pokémon or foes, formidable or otherwise.

8 Luvdisc

via pokemon.wikia.com

The Pokémon Company certainly has a knack for designing lackluster fish creatures, but the least they could do is give them all badass dragon evolutions like Gyarados. Unfortunately, Luvdisc has no evolution or really any redeeming qualities to speak of.

Its name is uninspired and its design is perhaps overly simplistic. Frankly, Luvdisc looks like the beginning of a Pokémon design that the creators were too lazy to finish.

With all of the time players spend on the water in Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire – as well as their respective remakes, Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire – you would think that the Pokémon Company could come up with a better Water-type offering than this. Honestly, there is absolutely no reason to catch this terrible Pokémon.

7 Dunsparce

4- Dunsparce
Via: 4.bp.blogspot.com

Perhaps the Pokémon Company should have taken a page from Luvdisc’s playbook and gone a bit simpler. What is this thing anyways? Its known as a serpentine Pokémon, but it also has wings, a drill tail, and contains two bug-like prongs on its chin. This thing is seriously weird. The color scheme of pale, putrid yellows and dull blues also are not doing this creature any favors in the looks department either.

But aside from its aesthetic, Dunsparce is terribly weak and has no known evolutions. The Land Snake Pokémon does learn a couple worthwhile moves, but overall, Dunsparce is truly a terrible Pokémon with very few redeeming qualities.

Catch a wild Dunsparce if you truly want to, but don’t say we didn’t try to warn you.

6 Wishiwashi

Wishiwashi Pokémon

Before the Pokémon franchise’s seventh generation, Sunkern was known, statistically, as the weakest Pokémon. However, that title now belongs to Wishiwashi.

Wishiwashi’s one redeeming attribute is its Schooling Ability which it obtains after reaching level 20. The Schooling Ability allows for this Pokémon to join with a group of other Wishiwashi and become exponentially stronger. Outside of its school form, however, it is just a weak, sad-looking fish.

Perhaps if Wishiwashi’s Schooling Ability were inherent, it would be a much more worthwhile catch, but having to train this small fry all the way to level 20 is quite the grind – a grind not on par with the likes of Magikarp perhaps, but nevertheless, training a Wishiwashi is not an exceptionally rewarding experience.

5 Unown

via pinterest.com

In the Pokémon world, Unown is an extremely rare creature that is said to live in its own dimension. There are several different types of Unown, each representing a different letter of the alphabet along with two different punctuation marks. With that said, one would think Unown to be an extremely strong creature, but that simply is not the case.

Unown’s only purpose is filling out a Pokédex. In battle, there is little use for this rare Psychic-type as it is lacking in the stats department and has no evolution to speak of. Aside from sporting some interesting designs and starring alongside Entei in the franchise’s third feature length film (Pokémon 3: The Movie), there is little appeal in catching even one Unown – much less collecting the entire set which grants players absolutely nothing.

4 Jynx

There is an argument to be made that Pokémon designs have gotten increasingly worse over the years. That said, Jynx is the perfect counter to that argument.

In all likelihood, Jynx was not designed with the intention of being racially insensitive, but even still, its blackface implications are hard to deny. In fact, the design has come under so much scrutiny that the character’s color scheme was later altered.

Aesthetics aside, Jynx is not that all that strong to begin with and features no evolution. Additionally, with other more powerful and less creepy looking Ice-type Pokémon out there, catching Jynx is, honestly, a waste of time.

3 Stunfisk

Stunfisk from the Pokémon anime

Remember what we said before about the Pokémon Company having a knack for lackluster fish designs? Well, Stunfisk is not only uninspired, it is downright ugly. With a face only a mother could love, one would think that the creators would reward Stunfisk with some incredible power or a worthwhile evolution, but apparently, life is not fair under the sea either.

Stunfisk maintains mediocre stats at best and has access to an underwhelming move pool. The dual-typing of Ground and Electric is certainly intriguing, but this poor soul does not even learn Thunderbolt until level 45. We assume most trainers would abandon this troubled creature long before that point, however.

After taking one quick peek at this aesthetically unpleasing monster, you probably do not need us to tell you to avoid this terrible Pokémon.

2 Trubbish

Trubbish
via photobucket.com/user/boberry_2009

At this point, the Pokémon Company is trolling us – right? Seriously, a garbage Pokémon? Well, at least Trubbish evolves… into an even bigger garbage Pokémon. Not only that, but Trubbish does not evolve until level 36. That is likely hours of training just to obtain an even bigger garbage monster.

Preferring unsanitary places, such as garbage dumps, Trubbish will only cease to expel unpleasant odors once it befriends a person. These burp-like gasses and odors, when inhaled, can render a victim bedridden for an entire week.

Not only is training this Pokémon dangerous, but it is largely fruitless. There is little incentive to evolve Trubbish, and there is even less incentive to train it up. If you are the type of person who likes the smell of garbage, then, by all means, capture a Trubbish. Otherwise, you are better off ignoring this foul beast.

1 Bidoof

via: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net

Perhaps Bidoof might be somewhat endearing if not for its ridiculous overpopulation in the Sinnoh region... probably not, though. Seriously, it feels as though you cannot take five steps in any direction without running into a wild Bidoof and it does not help matters that this Pokémon is as useless as it is goofy looking.

Luckily for Bidoof, it receives an evolution, early on, at level 15. However, rather unlucky for Bidoof is the fact that its evolution, Bibarel, is even goofier looking and only marginally stronger. Also, Bibarel can be caught later on in the game, so there is no sense in training Bidoof if you do not have to.

Not to mention, the Sinnoh region is home to some incredibly strong, fan-favorite Pokémon – i.e. Lucario, Garchomp, Infernape, Luxray, Rampardos, Staraptor, and more. There simply is no need to waste your time with this silly nuisance.