Pokémon Gold & Silver introduced the first new crop of Pokémon to the series. The original line of up 151 Pokémon that were introduced in Red & Blue were unbalanced in terms of power, so new types were added in order to help even the playing field.
It was actually hard to determine which of the new Pokémon from Johto were effective or not, as the games made it so hard to find most of them. The best new Pokémon were stuck near the end of the game, which meant that you were still running into the original creatures from Red & Blue throughout most of your journey.
Pokémon Gold & Silver has returned to our systems, with the Virtual Console versions of the game being released on the Nintendo 3DS. With the help of the Internet, you can now determine which of the (relatively) new 'Mons are worth keeping on your team and which ones should be ignored.
We are here today to look at the creatures introduced in Pokémon Gold & Silver that were unfairly overlooked and the ones that need to be locked away in your computer box for good. From the monkey who can't keep up, to the artist who can unleash hell with its tail.
Here are Ten Gen 2 Pokémon Nobody Should Pick (And Ten That Are Totally Underrated)
20 This Monkey Is Only Good For Countering
Aipom was an attempt at creating a monkey Pokémon that was cute, as the original ones (like Mankey and Primeape) were murderous fuzzballs. Aipom is another in a long line of useless Normal-types that make no attempt to transcend their typing and become something special.
Aipom has terrible stats and an empty move pool that doesn't allow it to excel in any specific area. The best use for Aipom is as a revenge killer with Counter, but even this isn't that great of a tactic, as a lot of other Pokémon can use Counter in Gold & Silver, so are you spoiled for choice when it comes to this method of defeating your enemy. It's best to leave this purple monkey in the wild.
19 A Good Grass-Type Starter?
Starter Pokémon generally aren't used in a competitive format, barring a few notable exceptions like Blaziken and Greninja. This is because starter Pokémon usually have an accelerated experience point pool which allows them to level up faster and make your Pokémon journey easier, which is offset by lower stats and subpar abilities.
One of the exceptions to this is the Grass-type starter of Pokémon Gold & Silver. Chikorita will eventually evolve into Meganium, which is one of the most versatile Grass-types in the game. Meganium has an excellent move pool, which allows it deal a lot of damage and provide team-wide support, as well as possessing the ability to heal itself. These moves, coupled with Meganium's high defensive stats make it a force to be reckoned with.
18 The Sheep Is Too Slow
One of the recurring themes of Electric-type Pokémon is that they are incredibly fast and hit like a truck. Their high Speed and Strength is usually offset by low defensive stats and not many hit points, which is why many fans refer to them as Glass Cannons: they can dish it out, but they can't take it.
Ampharos is the exception in this regard. It is one of the slowest Electric-type Pokémon in the series. This wouldn't be an issue if it had amazing defensive stats to back it up, but it doesn't. Ampharos has an incredibly powerful Special Attack stat, but it won't get the chance to use it before the enemy Pokémon shuts it down with a status effect or a nasty hit of its own.
17 This Hedgehog Will STAB You
If you don't feel like using the utility of Meganium, then you should turn to its Fire-type counterpart on the starter list. Cyndaquil will eventually evolve into Typhlosion, which is one of the heaviest-hitting Fire-types of the second generation of games. Typhlosion is a worthwhile choice for a final party member in the game, due to how few Fire-type Pokémon you will encounter on your journey.
Typhlosion has high Speed and Special Attack stats, which means that you are likely to get off at least one Fire Blast attack, which will receive a STAB (Same-Type Attack Bonus) modifier. Typhlosion also has decent defensive stats and hit points, which means it's likely not going to go down quickly to anything that doesn't have a type advantage against it.
16 The Spider Can't Keep Up
The ability to prevent the opponent from switching their Pokémon would become a powerful one in later games. Dugtrio rose to prominence in Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire when it gained Arena Trap, while Pokémon that possessed Shadow Tag were reviled.
Ariados (and its pre-evolution form) possessed a move called Spider Web that prevented the opponent from switching out. The problem is that you had to waste a turn using a move to do this. This would give the opponent plenty of time to squash this bug, thanks to its low stats and a typing that gave it a ton of exploitable weaknesses. It's low Speed stat also prevented it from performing many of the utility roles that Bug-types are known for.
15 The Ring Bearer Will Destroy You
Normal-type Pokémon have a bad rap among casual Pokémon players. This is because most people encounter the junk Normal-types like Rattata and Sentret and assume that the rest of the type are just like them. The truth is that some of the best competitive Pokémon of all time are Normal-types, with Snorlax and Chansey dominating the scene for years.
Ursaring manages to defy its solo Normal-typing by being one of the best physical attacks in the game. Ursaring's sky-high Attack stat, coupled with several amazing STAB moves make it one of the best sweepers in the game. It's best used as a follow-up to a Pokémon that uses a status effect, as giving Ursaring a turn to use a Curse will make it nigh-unstoppable.
14 No Wonder Pollution Is Destroying You
If a Pokémon is going to have horrible stats, then it needs a killer gimmick to make it viable in a competitive battle. Pokémon like Ditto, Sableye, and Smeargle were able to overcome their shortcomings through amazing abilities and typing, which allowed them to rise above their horrible base stat total.
Corsola is not one of these Pokémon. It has horrible stats and a typing that would be good if it weren't shared with some of the Fossil Pokémon from Red & Blue, like Kabutops and Omanyte. The lackluster move pool also prevented Corsola from rising to prominence.
The uselessness of Corsola continued on into the later games, as the new abilities and moves did nothing to help it overcome its awful stats.
13 The Elephant That Holds Up The World
A lot of the Ground-type Pokémon from Red & Blue were also Rock-type Pokémon. This means that a lot of old-school fans will get the strengths/weaknesses of the two types mixed up.
Pokémon Gold & Silver sought to dispel the myths by adding some awesome solo Ground-type Pokémon to the games. One of the most overlooked Ground-types was Donphan, despite its prominence in the Pokémon anime.
Donphan is a Ground-type Pokémon that is one of the best physical attackers/defenders in the game. Its weakness lies in its low Special Attack/Defense stats, as well as being very slow. The real reason to use Donphan is due to the STAB bonus that it gains when using Earthquake, which makes it one of the most devastating moves in the game.
12 Choose This Flower Last
Pokémon Gold & Silver introduced several new evolutionary forms for older Pokémon. These included new trade evolutions, such as Steelix, Scizor, and Slowking, while others used the new Friendship mechanic, such as Espeon and Umbreon.
The Sun Stone allowed Gloom to evolve into Bellossom, instead of evolving naturally into a Vileplume.
You might want to consider not using either Bellossom or Vileplume. This is because they are totally outclassed by the other Grass-type Pokémon in the game. The likes of Meganium, Venusaur, and Victreebel are all far better Pokémon in terms of their stats and utility.
If you have to choose between the two, then Vileplume is the better choice, as it retains its Poison-typing, which grants it a STAB boost to some of the best Poison attacks in the game. Bellossom loses this, as it is a solo Grass-type Pokémon.
11 Who Cares If It Can't Show Up In The Anime
The Porygon line has been screwed over since the early days of the anime. The backlash from the "Electric Soldier Porygon" incident has prevented Porygon and its evolutions from returning to the anime. This means that the line has received very little attention in other forms of Pokémon media, including the card game. We have yet to see Porgyon in the English version of the anime, save for brief background shots and the Poké Rap.
Don't worry Porygon! You received an upgrade in Pokémon Gold & Silver that finally made you a force to be reckoned with. Porygon2 is the perfect mixture of great stats and impeccable move pool. It can fill almost any role in the party and is one of the best users of Paralysis-inflicting attacks in the game.
10 Keep Your Presents!
The Pokémon anime established early on that Santa Claus is served by a group of Jynx. This episode would later be taken out of rotation, due to accusations of Jynx's design being offensive. Pokémon Gold & Silver would later create two other Pokémon that served Santa - Stantler (the reindeer Pokémon) and Delibird, which shared Santa's color scheme and his penchant for giving out presents.
Santa might possess a range of diabolical magical abilities in real life, but his Pokémon equivalent should be left at the North Pole. Delibrid has abysmal stats and no gimmick to make it worthwhile. There is literally no reason to use this Pokémon. You would be far better off using Jynx or Stantler if you want to get your fix of Christmas Pokémon.
9 Give Them All Diseases!
You won't find many Grass-type Pokémon that exist solely for beating up the enemy in the early Pokémon games. The primary use of Grass-type Pokémon is their amazing range of status effect moves, which can totally shut down the enemy team. What use is a Mewtwo if he's sleeping on the ground?
Jumpluff is one of the best status effect wielders in Pokémon Gold & Silver. It has an incredibly high Speed stat, which means that it is almost guaranteed to go first. Jumpluff has terrible offensive stats, but you're not going to be using them anyway, so it doesn't matter.
The fact that Jumpluff's typing also protects it from Earthquake (which was one of the biggest threats in the competitive scene) makes it one of the most valuable Grass-types of the second generation.
8 It Only Exists To Fill Up Space
The Pokémon games will sometimes make you jump through hoops in order to get the best Pokémon available to you. The Safari Zone in Pokémon Red & Blue had an absurdly low encounter rate for the most worthwhile Pokémon that you could encounter there, while Ruby & Sapphire only spawned Feebas in a few random squares on one route.
One of the most useless Pokémon of all time is Dunsparce. You only have a 1% chance of encountering one in the Dark Cave in Gold & Silver, which means you could be searching for hours.
There is no point going to the trouble of looking for a Dunsparce. It has terrible stats and a move pool with no redeeming qualities. It only exists to take up space.
7 The Song Of Death
By far the most frustrating tactic used by players in competitive battling is stalling. This is where the enemy Pokémon uses moves that increase its defensive abilities or prevent you from taking turns. These kinds of tactics will make you want to throw your 3DS out of the window.
Misdreavus was the best solution for dealing with walls in Pokémon Gold & Silver. This is due to a strategy that involves Mean Look and Perish Song. You can use Mean Look to prevent a stubborn enemy Pokémon from fleeing and follow it up with a Perish Song, which will kill it in three turns. All Misdreavus needs to do then is survive through a few turns (using either Protect or Hypnosis) and it will knock out the enemy Pokémon.
6 Your Palindrome Won't Save You This Time
Psychic-type Pokémon ruled the roost during the days of Red & Blue. This was due to their lack of exploitable weaknesses and the fact that the Special stat had yet to be split in two. A single Kadabra was all you needed to dominate the Pokémon League in Red & Blue, which is to say nothing of the power of Mewtwo.
Girafarig was a victim of the weakening of Psychic-type Pokémon after Red & Blue. Its Special stats weren't up to snuff and that is the bread and butter of most Psychic-type Pokémon. The fact that it is also a Normal-type Pokémon does it no favors. The only thing Girafarig is useful for is passing on stats using Baton Pass, and there are many other Pokémon that can do the job better.
5 Whitney Was Right!
Those who played Pokémon Gold & Silver will remember destroying Falkner and Bugsy in battle, before feeling all confident as they entered Whitney's Gym. It was there that the player encountered Whitney's Miltank and learned the true meaning of fear...
Whitney was actually on the right track, as Miltank is a fantastic Pokémon to use in competitive battles. It has access to both Milk Drink and Heal Bell, which makes it one of the best support Pokémon in the format and it has the power of some frightening offensive moves like Body Slam, Rollout, and Stomp to use on the enemy. This is all helped by Miltank's amazing stats, save for its weak Special Attack, which you won't be using anyway.
4 Breakdancing Sucks!
When Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee debuted in Pokémon Red & Blue, the fans speculated that they would receive an evolution that combined their punching and kicking prowess into a single awesome Pokémon. Pokémon Gold & Silver introduced Hitmontop, which evolved from the same Baby Pokémon as Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee did.
The thing that holds back all three members of the "Hit" family is their small amount of hit points. They won't last long in the ring against other heavy-hitters, which makes them practically useless. It doesn't help that they are all overshadowed by the dominant Fighting-type Pokémon from Red & Blue, which includes the likes of Machamp and Primeape. Hitmontop just doesn't have the bulk to back up the threat of its Capoeira knock-off fighting style.
3 The Unbreakable Nut
The most powerful Pokémon in the game might be overlooked due to their boring design. The same is also true of bad Pokémon being used due to how cool they look, as was the case with Charizard for the longest time.
Forretress might look like a pair of googly eyes that have been stuck on a chestnut, but don't let appearances deceive you: Forretress is one of the best Pokémon in Gold & Silver.
The secret to Forretress' strength lies in its Defense stat. It's going to take a physical attacker a long time to knock a Forretress out. While the enemy is chipping away, Forretress will be setting up entry hazards and inflicting status effects on the opponent. The enemy will have to come up with a strategy fast if it intends to take this Pokémon out.
2 No Home For Toads
The addition of held items in Pokémon Gold & Silver allowed for a new form of trade evolution, where a Pokémon needed to be holding an item in order to evolve. The most prominent examples of this were Scizor and Steelix, which required the use of a Metal Coat in order to evolve.
Trading a Poliwhirl that is holding a King's Rock will allow it to evolve into a Politoed instead of a Poliwrath. You might want to reconsider doing this, as Politoed is outclassed by a ton of other Water-type Pokémon, including Starmie and Blastoise. This is due to its mediocre stats and an unexciting move pool. Poliwrath at least has dual-typing and a better selection of moves to choose from.
1 It Shall Unleash The Powers Of DeviantArt On You!
Smeargle is the ultimate example of a Pokémon only being used due to a gimmick. This is because Smeargle has absolutely abysmal stats, save for its mediocre Speed. The only thing that makes Smeargle worthwhile is that it is the only Pokémon that can learn Sketch.
Sketch allows Smeargle to permanently copy a move used by another Pokémon. This means that Smeargle is the ultimate Pokémon in terms of utility, as it can utilize almost any strategy that the player can think of. This means that Smeargle can use all of the best stat-increasing moves in the game and give them to another Pokémon using Baton Pass, or hit the enemy with every status effect in the game.
The sky is the limit when it comes to using Smeargle. Its power is limited only by the player's ingenuity. It just needs to stay alive long enough to put its plan into action.