Bug-type Pokémon tend to get the short end of the stick. Perhaps it’s because of the traditional early forest adventure and you’re just looking for Pokémon to fill your team. Maybe it’s because not a lot of Bug Pokémon are worth continuing with after you get them to evolve for the Pokédex.
Out of all the possibilities for competition Pokémon, admittedly, Bug-type isn’t the best way to go. But there are some that stand out from the rest and are definitely worth your time to IV and EV train. And let’s be real, some of them are actually adorable.
Here are 5 Bug-type Pokémon that are underrated and 5 that are still completely useless.
10 Useless: Masquerain
What’s the point of naming a Pokémon Masquerain if it’s not actually Bug/Water type? Like, the “rain” part of the name is the entire draw, why is it a Bug/Flying that’s STILL weak to Flying?
Overall, the stats aren’t complete garbage. What saves Masquerain from being completely bottom of the barrel is a good Sp. Atk stat and the ability to learn some ridiculous Sp. Atk moves. Ice Beam, Shadow Ball, and Scald are useful offensive moves to keep for the type variety.
But, you know, it’s just bad when your previous evolution had fewer type weaknesses. Thanks for adding Ice and Fire to the super effective list!
9 Underrated: Pheromosa
Our Bug/Fighting Ultra Beast sort of lady! Just looking at stats alone, Pheromosa looks intimidating. It also looks like a cockroach, but it’s probably the only cockroach you could probably fail to kill.
Pheromosa has high Speed, Attack, and Sp. Atk stats, but very low Defense stats, going along with the whole “fragile” description in the Pokédex entry. Used creatively, Pheromosa can go beyond a one-hit KO addition to your party. But it’s a risky Pokémon to use. It’s worth trying if you are a competitive player and you’re good at reading people.
8 Useless: Ledian
Ledian is a classic Pokémon from Generation II. Evolved from Ledyba, everyone’s favorite not-ladybug Pokémon, Ledian remains a Bug/Flying with pretty much the same stat layout. Seriously, there are no improvements to what Ledyba was capable of doing.
But Ledian means something to the kids who grew up on the anime. It premiered in the 172nd episode of the anime, still with the original crew of Ash, Misty, and Brock. Ledian’s design is great and it’s one of the few incredibly cute evolutions.
7 Underrated: Venomoth
Our OG purple moth, Venomoth, is the classic Bug/Poison combination of the ages. It’s a pretty balanced Pokémon, with its highest stats in Speed and Sp. Atk. On a team or in a double battle, that could be enough. Almost specializing in status moves, Venomoth shines the brightest as a support fighter.
Venomoth can learn a decent amount of moves outside of Bug and Poison. It naturally learns Psychic at a high enough level and through TMs, can learn Dream Eater. If Sleep Powder hits and you’ve somehow paired it up with Darkrai, that’s double sleep damage.
6 Useless: Mothim
Mothim gets points for being cute, but that’s about it. First off, Mothims can be a challenge to get because despite having a 50/50 shot at a male or a female, it’s ridiculously hard to catch a male Burmy in the wild. Introduced in Diamond and Pearl (Gen. IV), Burmy was always an addition to complete your Pokédex and not round out a team. The same thing goes for Mothim.
Though it has decent Attack and Sp. Attack stats, it’s still weak to Flying moves despite being Bug/Flying itself. Understandable, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it. Crucially, Mothim just comes across as a worse Butterfree.
5 Underrated: Galvantula
Joltik was advertised as the first Bug/Electric-type Pokémon and with such a cute design, it was hard not to get hyped. In Black and White, Joltik is extremely easy to catch in Chargestone Cave in Black and White and Route 116 in Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby after completing the main game.
For a Bug Pokémon, Joltik evolves later in its life cycle at Level 36. Galvantula has high Speed and Sp. Atk stats so any Electric special move is great. Due to being half-Electric, it’s finally resistant against Flying types. Its two weaknesses are Fire and Rock, which isn’t ridiculously common. That’s it. Go fuzzy yellow spider!
4 Useless: Beautifly And Dustox
Yes, every Generation of Pokémon needs its Caterpie and Rattata and Pidgey; however, can we stop with the many, many Caterpies? Wurmple’s fun to have for the split evolutionary family and filling your Pokédex, but that’s it. Dustox and Beautifly are not worth training beyond evolution.
Seriously, if you want a Bug or Grass-type early on and didn’t pick Treecko, just go with Shroomish. At the very least, it serves as more than just a placeholder for a future catch.
3 Underrated: Parasect
Parasect is a classic Pokémon and yes, it is included in the PokéRap. As #047 in the National Pokédex, Parasect evolves from the tiny mushroom crab Paras. Apparently, two little mushrooms on Paras grow into a big one when it evolves. According to the Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon entry, the core insect is pretty much dead and if you remove the giant mushroom, Parasect dies. Dark, right?
Taking a look at Parasect’s base stats, it can be used as a pretty good tank or support. It’s got decent Defense and Sp. Defense stats and at max IVs and EVs, rakes in some great HP and Attack stats. As a Bug/Grass dual type, it can learn status moves like Stun Spore and Sleep Powder. If you really want to mess with your opponent, Parasect can learn Dig from a TM!
2 Useless: Beedrill
This is the biggest lie you’ve been living since you started playing Pokémon. As one of four Bug-type Pokémon with a Mega Evolution form, you’d think Beedrill would have a maxed out Speed stat due to the Pokédex entry. Nope!
Beedrill brings nothing but disappointment and wasted time. Go for Heracross, who has a higher Attack stat than Beedrill. Yeah, even Beedrill’s highest stat is outdone by other better Bug types. Shatter the nostalgia illusion: Beedrill is useless.
1 Underrated: Volcarona
Larvesta is probably the hardest Bug-type Pokémon to evolve, but the work is worth the reward. Introduced in Black and White, Volcarona has high Sp. Atk, Sp. Def, and Speed stats. In a similar but more intense vein as Joltik, Larvesta doesn’t evolve until Level 59. That’s very late for any Pokémon with one evolution.
Volcarona is Bug/Fire, the first of its kind. Fire moves do normal damage, hooray! Its three weaknesses are Water, Flying, and double for Rock. A fair trade-off, all things considered. If you can get up to Level 90 and/or 100, Volcarona will naturally learn Hurricane and Fiery Dance. Pokémon Mothra is totally worth it.