Back when there were only 151 Pokemon in the Kanto region, the motto of, “Gotta catch ‘em all” still seemed imposing, but not impossible. Now, decades after launch and generations of Pokemon later, there are over 1,000 entries in the global Pokedex as of the release of Pokemon: Scarlet and Violet.
And while we’re still steadfast on our missions to be the very best and truly catch ‘em all, we’ve caught some Pokemon along the way that are generally forgettable. Whether it’s design, power, timing, or something else, here are our picks for the most forgettable Pokemon throughout the series.
Updated on September 5, 2023 by Gabrielle Castania: With The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC for Pokemon: Scarlet and Violet coming before the end of the year, we wanted to come back to our list of the most forgettable Pokemon of all time and make sure we still stand by our choices.
15 Literally Any Fish From Any Generation
We won't be grouping Pokemon like this throughout the article, but how could we not talk about the absurd amount of "just a fish" Pokemon? In every generation, Game Freak seems to feel it's necessary for them to add a couple more fish Pokemon to the already-crowded pool, offering up Stunfisk, Sebas, Barboach, Barraskewda, Remoraid, Relicanth, and so many others.
Without fail, these fish are almost immediately forgotten about by the fanbase. Outside a few notable designs like Wailord, Wishiwashi, or Sharpedo, a few of them still see a bit of competitive play, but from a casual standpoint, they all blend together.
14 Knock-Off Pikachus
Just like how every new Generation of Pokemon has a Pidgey and Ratata clone to ease you into a new game , every new Gen also seems to have a knock-off Pikachu. In fact, it’s literally called the Pikachu family, and it includes one Pokemon from every generation that’s obviously trying to capitalize off the popularity of the iconic yellow electric mouse.
None of the designs are “forgettable," but because there are so many of them, we’re willing to bet you forgot about at least one until you saw the image above. Leave the mascot alone already, guys.
13 The Bag Worm Pokemon: Wormadam
Every generation of Pokemon has some sort of "caterpillar into butterfly" situation, and in Gen Four, it's Burmy into Mothim. But, unlike the others, Burmy actually has an alternate path it can evolve into depending on its gender — Wormadam.
Wormadam's appearance is not much different from Burmy's, and it may feature a Plant, Sandy, or Trash Cloak. But, outside the Cloaks, it's just as obscure of a Pokemon as Burmy is, and the multiple forms don't exactly add much.
12 The Scarf Pokemon: Cinccino
Cinccino is quite obviously based on a chinchilla and was designed by Atsuko Nishida, a graphic artist who has worked on numerous Pokemon designs since the franchise first began.
And after giving us Pokemon like the Eeveelutions as well, Cinccino doesn't have the same "wow" factor. Apparently, Cinccino and its pre-evolution Minccino were designed to be parallels to Kanto's Clefairy and Clefable, but it's not even contest between the two evolutionary lines.
11 The Constraint Pokemon: Meowstic
Another Pokemon line with distinct styles between the males and females, Meowstic is a fine Pokemon on its own, but its pre-evolution, Espurr, has far more of a reputation than its evolved form, and for good reason.
Espurr's thousand-yard stare is both haunting and hilarious, leaving it a favorite for players even if only as a meme. And when your first form is so iconic, it's easy to overlook lackluster secondary evolutions.
10 The Drowsing Pokemon: Komala
Komala is such an oddball little Pokemon of the Alola region. On the surface, Komala seems like it belongs to that niche group of Pokemon that are ninety-nine percent real-world animals and one percent Pokemon, such as Seel, Swanna, or many of the fish Pokemon.
But, though Komala is adorable, it's still just a koala. It's an interesting Pokemon, but the lack of any real explanation or evolution makes it so that Komala goes the way of other single-evolution oddballs.
9 The Emotion Pokemon: Indeedee
One of the more recent entries in our list, Indeedee is here because it serves much the same purpose as Chansey and Blissey, while lacking the iconic status of the two first-gen emotion Pokemon.
While both gender designs for Indeedee are well-made and not at all forgettable, they pale in comparison to most of the other Galar Pokemon and are certainly not putting up any sort of fight against Happiny, Chansey, or Blissey.
8 The Collective Pokemon: Barbaracle
Binacle is sort of the Rock version of Magnemite, because, when they evolve, multiples of them come together to form Barbaracle, just like Magnemite becomes Magneton.
And with two Pokemon becoming one, you wouldn’t expect the end result to be so utterly forgettable! Barbaracle crops up in ugliest Pokemon lists fairly often, and though they may be mean-spirited, who can blame fans for not being into the barnacle abomination?
7 The Firefly Twins: Volbeat And Illumise
The insects of the Pokemon world actually tend to be the opposite example of the fish - most of the time, they're well-designed and strong. Of course, Beedrill and Butterfree are the OG classics, but there are also a few forgettable inclusions.
The worst of them are bug designs that don't really accentuate the things that make bugs unique, like their big eyes, exoskeletons, or pincers. One of the most forgettable examples of this is the pair of firefly Pokemon from Gen Three, Volbeat and Illumise. They were like the Plusle and Minun of the Bug-types, just not nearly as adorable or useful.
6 The Karate And Judo Pokemon: Sawk And Throh
Sawk and Throh (or Bert and Ernie, as they're lovingly called in the community) are the ultimate examples of the classic Pokemon oddity of being “born” with clothes as part of your body. Just like how Hitmonchan has a skirt and boxing gloves, Sawk and Throh come into this world with entire judo/karate outfits on.
It doesn’t help that outside of their martial arts uniforms, these two Pokemon are basically just red and blue blobs with big eyebrows and nothing truly unique about their designs.
5 The Living Blossom: Cherrim
Cherrim falls into the category of "a plant with a face drawn on" Pokemon that tends to land for fans only sometimes. This category has produced winners like Oddish or Tropius, and it's also generated some weaker designs like Cherrim or Flabebe.
Brought back to partial relevance due to their catch difficulty in Legends: Arceus, fans can't deny that even with its different forms, Cherrim looks like a plant with googly eyes.
4 The Cactus Pokemon: Maractus
With a vast desert prominent in Pokemon: Scarlet and Violet, we were glad to see some of the desert-theme Pokemon return. Cacturne was a welcomed return, but the other cactus Pokemon, Maractus, seems to have been overlooked again/.
Maractus is cute, inspired by a cactus holding maracas, but with a lackluster move pool and no series staying power, Maractus is just desert dust in the wind.
3 The Cerebral Pokemon: Elgyem And Beheeyem
On one hand, we can absolutely respect a Pokemon line designed to mimic alien life forms that call on ancient tech, but Elgyem and Beheeyem kind of look like earlier evolutions of more powerful Pokemon - what do you mean, that's the end of the evolution line?
Partner other strong Psychich-type choices as their competition in their debut generation with their lackluster stats, and it leads to the alien Pokemon have been glossed over for generations.
2 The Jewel Pokemon: Carbink
This next one ends up on the list purely because the Pokemon Team handled the Diancie/Carbink relationship incorrectly, not because of the design itself. Diancie is a Mythical Pokemon that came into being due to a random mutation in a Carbink's DNA. They don't typically spawn from Carbink, and there's no known way to turn a Carbink into a Diancie in-game, so Carbink is still just as forgettable in concept as it was previously.
And though it'd be really cool to explore this genetic mutation - a concept that's given us some pretty Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo - there's not much other than a nod. And without a way to turn Carbink into Diancie in-game, the concept ends up being forgettable.
1 The Dragon Orb And Electron Pokemon: Regidrago & Regieleki
The Regis were a pseudo-legendary trio introduced in Gen Three, with Regirock, Regice, and Registeel all required before you could track down and catch Regigigas. Then, in the Sword and Shield DLC, we met Regidrago and Regieleki - multiple generations too late for them to feel canon.
Though the new Regis are strong, ask any casual Pokemon fan, and it's likely they'll still think that there are only three. They don't impact getting Regigigas, so while their design is neat, they seem a bit too late to the party.