Now, lots of gamers are guilty of being just a little too protective of their beloved franchises. We’ve all been there. Say you’re an ardent follower of Resident Evil, and the guntastic action movie-athon the series became after Resident Evil 4 just doesn’t appeal to you at all. It hurts, doesn’t it?

That’s just the way with any long-running game. Or TV show, band or anything else, really. It’s going to gradually change over time. Some can get on board with that, and they’ll pick up new fans along the way as a result. Others will spew rage, bile and vitriol all over the internet in response.

When it comes to Pokémon, one common criticism is the very opposite: it doesn’t change enough. However much Game Freak may rest on its laurels and stick to its formula, there’s one thing that’s always going to steadily grow and change: the roster of critters themselves. Which is where the problem comes in.

For a lot of nostalgic gamers, the original 151 Pokémon were where it was at. This was the pinnacle of Pokémon design (yes, there was a rock with arms and a face in there, but the polite thing would be not to mention that), and things have only gone downhill since.

Now, I’m not one to hop on the genwunner bandwagon, but I’ve got to admit: there certainly were some shonky designs introduced in later generations. Join me for a look at trash bags, ice cream cones, grandpa dragons and much more besides.

30 Magmortar: This Clown Is NOT Kidding

Now, Magmar, I have precisely zero issues with. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a perfectly-designed Fire-type. Charizard may be my favourite overall (there’s no purer love than that between a man and his first ever starter lizard dude, after all), but visually, Magmar is just superb.

I mean, stats-wise, it needed an evolution, there’s no doubt about that. I’m super glad that it got one, but what in heckola is this? I’m sure this guy came to my fourth birthday party. I wasn’t a fan of clowns then, and I’m sure not now.

29 Castform: So Many Forms, All Of Them Horrible

Now, on the surface, I think Castform was an excellent idea. With the great prominence of weather in battles (rain teams are freaking everywhere, friends; it’s wetter than a English winter around here), this was inspired: An artificial Pokémon acquired at the weather institute, which has a different form depending on the weather conditions.

Sadly for Castform, it’s just terrible, and it gets no stat bonuses in any of its forms. The Sunny one has the advantage of looking far too darn adorable for human eyes to process, but that doesn’t mean much competitively. It’ll be crushed into sad, defeated hunks of spam regardless.

28 Trubbish: Yep, It’s The Trash Bag

That’s right, friends. Inevitably, it wasn’t going to be long before this guy made an appearance. This is one of the most-snarked designs in the entire franchise, right here.

Typically, when somebody refers to something as garbage, they’re not speaking literally. A video game or movie might be garbage, but it’s difficult to be garbage both literally and figuratively. Generation five’s Trubbish and Garbodor manage to nail that, though.

While these Poison-types aren’t especially bad in terms of viability, they… well, just look at Trubbish. You can see where the accusations of lazy design are coming from.

27 Luvdisc: Looks Bad, Is Bad

Now, granted, I can appreciate the concept of Luvdisc.

Statistically, it’s right up (or rather, down) there with the worst Pokémon ever created, but that’s not all there is to a Pokémon’s story.

The whole shtick about it being a symbol of love and devotion (“Luvdisc's heart-shaped body is a symbol of love and romance. It is said that any couple meeting this Pokémon is promised a loving relationship that never ends,” reports Pokémon Sapphire’s Pokédex) is endearing, but they went just a little too far down the road of cheesy to fit in with that motif.

26 Vanilluxe: The Ice Cream Cone

Ah, yes. When it comes to Pokémon designs that take the brunt of a genwunner’s snark, these tend to be the major players. You’ve seen Trubbish and Garbodor, now meet the Vanillite family.

Personally, I have to say, I have no problems with anything that’s happening here. I’m a huge fan of Ice-type Pokémon, and an even huger-er (no, that’s not a thing) fan of ice cream in all its delicious forms. This Pokémon is a bit of a lazy copout, sure, but I have no issues with that.

25 Crabominable: Crab-Freaks Wobble But They Don’t Fall Down

Come on, now, Game Freak. I see what you’ve done here. This thing is a Weeble knock-off if ever I’ve seen one.

The more decrepit gamers among you will surely remember the Weebles, those odd egg-shaped toys from yesteryear. I don’t know what I was expecting to see on Crabrawler’s evolution (I hadn’t spoilt it for myself beforehand), but it sure as heckles was not this. There are all kinds of different bizarre factors at work in this design, I don’t really know where to go with it.

On the plus side, it’s the first Ice- and Fighting-type, which is neat.

24 Bouffalant: The Disco Stu Of The Four-Legged World

If you’re an old-school dinosaur nerd like myself, I’m sure you know all about the Pachycephalosaurus. This species has the unique USP of a very, very thick skull, which enabled it to engage in headbutting combat with its fellow males (typical men).

The Pokémon Bouffalant can also do this, using the power of its mighty sixties afro. I don’t know who it was at Game Freak that devised this thing, and I don’t know whether to laugh or cry about it either. It’s like Tauros crossed with Ross Geller in one of the flashback episodes of Friends.

23 Probopass: The Mighty Moustache

When it comes to Pokémon, I like to think that I’ m pretty darn open-minded. I’ve loved the series since 1998, and I’m not one to just relentless bash on everything that’s been released since just because. Love, peace and Pokémon, that’s my motto.

Nevertheless, there are some things that I just cannot condone.

One of those things would be the fact that Probopass is a gigantic, flying, magnetic nose, with a luxurious mustache of iron filings.

Where did this thing come from? Why can’t it disappear back there? It’s a scientific fact that Nosepass and/or Probopass are nobody’s favorite Pokémon, nobody anywhere ever, and don’t even try to @ me on that.

22 Klefki: It’s… A Keychain

When it comes to imaginary creatures, I’d say that it’s pretty important to strike a balance in their design. You want something different and fantastical, but which retains some kind of resemblance to something in the real world. You know, for relatability’s sake.

I can totally see how some Pokémon fit into that, but Klefki? As I’m sure you’ve already established, it’s a freaking keychain. Did the team just rifle through their pockets for inspiration? (“A piece of lint Pokémon? Nah. A loose change Pokémon? Nah. A slip of paper that says pick up dry cleaning Pokémon? Nah. A KEYRING Pokémon? Nailed it!”)

21 Bidoof: Well, They Got The Doof Part Right

There’s never been a more appropriate recipient of the Simple ability than this little thing, that’s for darn sure. Bidoof is the Pokémon that’s had us all dreading the day that generation four was released in Pokémon GO, purely because there’d be Bidoofs EVERYWHERE.

Sure enough, that’s exactly the case. Still, we knew that was coming, we’d mentally prepared ourselves for it, and Bidoof’s dopey-yet-cute face is nowhere to stay. Not that we can complain about its existence, because it’s proven itself pretty darn handy over the years. Essentially, Bidoof and Bibarel exist so we can get onto all the best rides at Disneyland, while it waits for us at the bottom and holds all our HMs.

20 Lickilicky: When You Dial The Silly Up To Eleven

In my humble opinion, Lickitung is probably the most peculiar-looking Pokémon of generation one. The color, the odd markings, the fact that ITS DARN TONGUE IS SIX FEET LONG… there are several things here that I just cannot get on board with.

Nevertheless, with our buddies at Game Freak, there’s always scope to make a ridiculous thing more ridiculous. They took that ball and ran it to the end zone with Lickilicky, which arrived with Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Sure, it got the stat boost it sorely needed, but it also got… well, a Wi-Fi signal on its stomach.

19 Gumshoos: The Obligatory Normal-Type

This poor mongoose-like ‘mon has been a subject of snark since it was first revealed, but that’s not the real issue here. The truly peculiar thing about this Pokémon is that it’s an early route Normal-type that actually isn’t worthless.

Generally, these Pokémon are kind of fodder for catching practice, and are dropped like Snoop Dogg when it’s hot later on. When was the last time you took a Raticate to the Elite Four? Never, that’s when.

While Gumshoos is hardly a top-tier pick, it’s surprisingly powerful.

It also gets some nice abilities to boost its damage output further. Not bad at all.

18 Buzzwole: Okay, Stop Flexing Already

Now, I’m sure we all know somebody who’s just a little on the touchy side about their height. That’s the sort of thing that can make a person, or a weeny little bug, feel totally insecure.

Don’t worry, though, Bug-types, because there are a lot of hugely powerful Pokémon in your ranks that defy that whole stereotype. Ultra Beast Buzzwole clearly has something to prove. I mean, sure, it’s actually 7’10’’, but it’s trying way too hard here. Its flinching animation on being hit? A flex.

Just look at this thing. Its official Pokédex designation is the Swollen Pokémon, and I’m not even going into the implications of that.

17 Spinda: I’m All Shook Up

As I say, then, the Pokémon franchise does like to mix and match different animal characteristics when designing new creatures. That’s a solid basis for starting, but you’ve got to be careful where you take it. Don’t, say, mix elements of a panda and a rabbit, or you’ll end up with the abomination that is Spinda.

Another in an endless stream of nondescript Normal-types, Spunda is an odd little thing with worthless stats. Its only selling point is the variety of patterns it can have (there are billions of different Spinda, technically), and that’s not going to get anyone anywhere.

16 Stunfisk: Falling Completely Flat

Now, I can appreciate Stunfisk, I really can. Statistically, it’s very average and tends to be left in the dust, but I’ve had some success with it. With its bulkiness and excellent Electric/Ground STAB, it can take some powerful hits and deal some back in return.

This is all well and good, but there’s another key thing about Stunfisk to bear in mind: it’s hilariously flat, like a sumo wrestler has jumped from a tenth story window onto a grape. Still, it’s smiling, and it’s just thrilled to be here.

15 Dedenne: When Rodents Attack

I understand, Game Freak, I really do. Pikachu was the Pokémon that rocketed you to superstardom, the face of the franchise for two decades. You want to reference it and support it as much as humanly possible.

This is why we’ve got a whole trunkful of electric rodents. Plusle, Minun, Emolga… and, of course, Dedenne.

The thing about all of these is that they’re completely mediocre, competitive-wise. Dedenne can pull some health-restoring shenanigans with Cheek Pouch, but that’s about it. Outside of that, it’s just a smaller, plumper clone.

14 Bruxish: Come On, Be Honest — You’ve Had Your Lips Done, Haven’t You?

I can see how some might find Bruxish intimidating. It’s officially designated as the Gnash Teeth Pokémon, has the ability Strong Jaw, and also boasts an exclusive move called Psychic Fangs (a very rare physical Psychic move). All signs point to one thing: this thing is vicious, dangerous and very, very bitey.

That’s clearly what they were going for here, but certain aspects of its design let it down a little. Small, subtle ones, such as the fact that its garish, multicolored body looks like a suit someone would’ve worn on stage in the eighties.

13 Slurpuff: It Looks Delicious

Nobody’s saying that Slurpuff can’t be super threatening. If you’ve ever seen this thing bust out its famous Belly Drum and Unburden combo, you’ll know that it can sweep through your team before you can say what the holy heckola happened?

That’s about all it can do, granted, but it’s brutally effective. Its stats are average to middling, but it can boost them in a heartbeat and crush your soul, hopes and dreams. Not bad going at all, for something that resembles a fondant fancy. You can consider me impressed.

12 Klinklang: St-St-St-Steely To The Bone

In this day and age, there aren’t too many new pure-type Pokémon. They all tend to be getting on the dual-type bandwagon. In fact, there are some fans who say that triple-type Pokémon are the next natural evolution for the series. The logistics of Pokémon with three types make we want to lay down in a darkened room for a while, but there it is.

Regardless of all of this, generic pure-type Pokémon are still a thing. Klinklang is a perfect example of this. The Klink family don’t do anything particularly wrong, it’s just that they’re so by-the-numbers. It’s a bunch of cogs, with reasonable Attack and quite high defense. It just screams Steel in every way.

11 Wormadam: Third Time’s A Ch… No, Still Bad

Right from those Caterpie and Weedle in Pokémon Red and Blue, we all learned a valuable Poké-lesson: the evolutions of early-game Bug Pokémon are going to be a little on the lame side.

In generation four, Burmy got a total of four attempts at an evolution, and they’re all bad.

It’s gender-dependent, to a certain extent. Male Burmy will evolve into Mothim, while a female will evolve into one of three different forms of Wormadam: Plant Cloak, Trash Cloak or Sandy Cloak. This affects its typing and moves its base stats around, but otherwise, there’s no major difference and you don’t want to be saddled with any of them.