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Articles regarding the best Pokemon in Pokemon GO are quite commonplace. There are not, however, very many articles about which Pokemon are not worth the trouble. Considering candy is limited and weaker Pokemon can be just as difficult to catch as the top-tier ones, knowing which Pokemon to avoid is important.

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When deciding on the weakest Pokemon, one cannot go on their CP rating alone (although it is a good indicator). No, one must also take into account the balancing of the three primary stats — attack, defense, and stamina. Another criterion to consider is the strength of a Pokemon’s best move-set. This list will try to focus more on evolved Pokemon; since Pokemon at the beginning of an evolutionary chain will naturally be weaker.

Updated on June 14, 2022 by Gabrielle Huston: Pokemon GO is updated all the time, changing the available moves, adding new Pokemon, adjusting stats, and more. We've made sure this list is up to date and added information to make sure you get the full picture of exactly how much these Pokemon suck.

Terms To Know

CP

Combat Power

HP

Health Points

DPS

Damage Per Second

EPS

Energy Per Second

Legacy Move

Any move that cannot be obtained by capturing, hatching, or evolving a Pokemon normally, and cannot be obtained from regular Technical Machines. They are often only available to a Pokemon if it is caught during a specific event.

10 Arbok

Great Ball hitting Arbok.

Max CP

2171

Max HP

142

Attack

167

Defense

153

Stamina

155

Type

  • Poison

Type Weaknesses

  • Ground
  • Psychic

Quick Moves

  • Acid
  • Bite
  • Dragon Tail

Charged Moves

  • Acid Spray
  • Dark Pulse
  • Gunk Shot
  • Sludge Wave

Arbok is the evolved form of Ekans. In the regular series, Arbok is not that strong, but it is even worse in GO. A big reason for Arbok making this list is its very weak possible move-sets.

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Dragon Tail may have the best DPS of Arbok's three quick attacks, but its EPS is one of the worst in the game. The others, Acid and Bite, are lacking in both DPS and EPS. Of its charged moves, Gunk Shot is honestly not that bad, but it is hardly being used to its fullest when used by Arbok.

9 Lickitung

Max CP

1595

Max HP

186

Attack

108

Defense

137

Stamina

207

Type

  • Normal

Type Weaknesses

  • Fighting

Quick Moves

  • Lick
  • Zen Headbutt

Charged Moves

  • Hyper Beam
  • Power Whip
  • Stomp
  • Body Slam (Legacy Move)

Lickitung is another Pokemon that is not worth the effort. It may have an alright stamina score, but its defense and attack scores are way below average. To make matters worse, Lickitung has a very lackluster choice of move-sets.

Of its quick attacks, neither of which have a good DPS or EPS. The choices for charge moves are a little better. Surprisingly, Hyper Beam is the worst of the three in terms of DPS.

Lickitung did receive a raid day feature where it could, temporarily, be caught with the charge move Body Slam. This is probably Lickitung's best charge move, with relatively good damage thanks to the Same-Type Attack Bonus and low energy cost. However, Lickitung is still outclassed by other Pokemon like Snorlax and its own evolution, Lickilicky.

8 Seaking

Water Pokemon seaking

Max CP

2444

Max HP

172

Attack

175

Defense

147

Stamina

190

Type

  • Water

Type Weaknesses

  • Electric
  • Grass

Quick Moves

  • Peck
  • Waterfall
  • Poison Jab (Legacy Move)

Charged Moves

  • Ice Beam
  • Megahorn
  • Water Pulse
  • Drill Run (Legacy Move)
  • Icy Wind (Legacy Move)

Seaking is the evolved form of Goldeen, but is supremely outclassed by a plethora of other pure Water-types. Its stats aren’t the worst - they're best described as "middling" - but its moveset could definitely be better.

Out of the available quick attacks, Waterfall is probably the best since it has a high DPS. However, its charge time and EPS are both below average. Then, there are a wide variety of available charged attacks. Megahorn is actually one of the better charge moves, but not when used by Seaking.

In PvP, it's recommended to use Poison Jab and either Icy Wind or Drill Run, all of which are legacy moves, making its usefulness in the PvP system hard to achieve. Overall, opt for Vaporeon, Kyogre, Blastoise, or another pure Water-type. There are plenty.

7 Dugtrio

Pokemon Alolan Dugtrio

Max CP

1760

Max HP

105

Attack

167

Defense

134

Stamina

111

Type

  • Ground

Type Weaknesses

  • Grass
  • Ice
  • Water

Quick Moves

  • Mud-Slap
  • Sucker Punch
  • Mud Shot (Legacy Move)

Charged Moves

  • Earthquake
  • Mud Bomb
  • Stone Edge

Dugtio is the evolved form of Diglett. Those who played Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green will remember Dugtrio as being a stout little Pokemon with the ability to defeat much stronger Pokemon using the Dig move. In GO, Dugtrio is best to be collected and then left out to pasture.

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Dugtrio's low stamina is enough to not make it worth training. Of its available quick attacks, none are very good in terms of DPS and EPS. Stone Edge is one of the best charge moves in terms of DPS, but having only one bar means it will take a while to recharge. Opt for Earthquake instead, if you must use Dugtrio.

6 Persian

persian

Max CP

1910

Max HP

149

Attack

150

Defense

136

Stamina

163

Type

  • Normal

Type Weaknesses

  • Fighting

Quick Moves

  • Feint Attack
  • Scratch

Charged Moves

  • Foul Play
  • Payback
  • Play Rough
  • Power Gem
  • Night Slash (Legacy Move)

For a cat Pokemon that weighs around 70 lbs, Persian should be stronger. The evolved form of Meowth, Persian's CP, HP, attack, defense, and stamina stats are all below average.

Persian’s quick attacks are Scratch and Feint Attack, both of which are high on the list of least-desirable quick moves. The three most available charge moves have fairly decent DPS ratings, but with an attack score of 150, Persian cannot make the best of them. Honestly, Persian’s attack score should have been one of the best in the game seeing as big cats are apex predators.

5 Onix

Trainer Brock riding Onix behind others in a forest

Max CP

1245

Max HP

105

Attack

85

Defense

232

Stamina

111

Type

  • Rock
  • Ground

Type Weaknesses

  • Fighting
  • Ground
  • Ice
  • Steel
  • Grass
  • Water

Quick Moves

  • Rock Throw
  • Tackle

Charged Moves

  • Heavy Slam
  • Sand Tomb
  • Stone Edge
  • Iron Head (Legacy)
  • Rock Slide (Legacy)

Players of Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green likely remember Onix as a powerhouse; yet, for some reason, it is one of the worst Pokemon in GO. Onix has a max CP of only 1245 and a measly 85 attack score. The large number of its type weaknesses should also be a big indicator.

Of its quick attacks, Tackle has a good DPS but a low EPS; meanwhile, Rock Throw has a good EPS but a so-so DPS. Meanwhile, of its charged attacks, two (Rock Slide and Iron Head) are legacy moves for Onix. Again, Stone Edge is one of the best available charge moves in terms of DPS, but not when used by Onix.

Of course, Onix is primarily known for being a defensive powerhouse. Unfortunately, that's not enough in the Pokemon GO meta.

4 Vespiquen

Pokemon Anime Vespiquen flying by a tree.

Max CP

2267

Max HP

157

Attack

149

Defense

190

Stamina

172

Type

  • Bug
  • Flying

Type Weaknesses

  • Electric
  • Fire
  • Flying
  • Ice
  • Rock

Quick Moves

  • Air Slash
  • Bug Bite
  • Fury Cutter
  • Poison Stin

Charged Moves

  • Bug Buzz
  • Fell Stinger
  • Power Gem
  • Signal Beam
  • X-Scissor

Vespiquen is the evolved form of Combee. If one goes by DPS, then Vespiquen has two of the worst quick attacks in GO: Poison Sting and Bug Bite. To make matters worse, neither of those quick attacks have particularly high EPS ratings. It also has access to Fury Cutter and Air Slash, but neither helps it much.

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Of its charged attacks, X-Scissor and Power Gem have about average DPS ratings, while Bug Buzz has a lower than average DPS. X-Scissor is probably the best of the group due to its quick recharge time and Same-Type Attack Bonus.

3 Venomoth

Venomoth base pokemon

Max CP

2354

Max HP

157

Attack

179

Defense

143

Stamina

172

Type

  • Bug
  • Poison

Type Weaknesses

  • Fire
  • Flying
  • Psychic
  • Rock

Quick Moves

  • Confusion
  • Infestation
  • Bug Bite (Legacy)

Charged Moves

  • Bug Buzz
  • Poison Fang
  • Psychic
  • Silver Wind

Venomoth is the evolved form of Venonat. This Generation I Bug/Poison-type has never been one of the stronger Pokemon in the main series, and nothing has changed in GO. Venomoth has weaknesses to Fire, Psychic, Flying, and Rock, which are some of the more common attack types.

In terms of quick moves, Confusion and Infestation are middling in terms of DPS, EPS, and recharge times. As far as charged moves go, Bug Buzz and Silver Wind are both fairly weak and Poison Fang is useless on a Venomoth. Psychic, while powerful in the main series, is only slightly above average in GO.

2 Pachirisu

pachirisu

Max CP

1372

Max HP

142

Attack

94

Defense

172

Stamina

155

Type

  • Electric

Type Weaknesses

  • Ground

Quick Moves

  • Spark
  • Volt Switch

Charged Moves

  • Thunder
  • Thunder Punch
  • Thunderbolt

Pachirisu is an Electric Pokemon through and through, meaning its move-set is comprised entirely of Electric moves. It has a max CP of only 1372 and a very weak attack score.

Pachirisu's two quick moves are among the worst in terms of DPS. At least, Volt Switch has a good EPS rating (but not that good). Out of Pachirisu’s possible charge attacks, Thunder is a great charge move, but Pachirisu cannot use it to its fullest potential because of its low attack score.

1 Fearow

Pokemon - Fearow

Max CP

2257

Max HP

149

Attack

182

Defense

133

Stamina

163

Type

  • Normal
  • Flying

Type Weaknesses

  • Electric
  • Ice
  • Rock

Quick Moves

  • Peck
  • Steel Wing

Charged Moves

  • Sky Attack
  • Drill Run
  • Aerial Ace

Fearow is the evolved form of Spearow. Steel Wing is the better of the two charged attacks available, but is still only about average. The charged move Sky Attack is fairly powerful and should be taught to a Fearow over the other two options: Aerial Ace and Drill Run are both lacking in DPS and have lengthy recharge times.

There are better Flying-type Pokemon in GO; in fact, pretty much any evolved Flying-type Pokemon should be chosen over Fearow. This is especially true now that Pidgeot can Mega Evolve. Fearow looks cool, but it just doesn't have the capabilities to back up that image.

NEXT: The Rarest Pokémon in Pokémon Go (& How To Get Them)