Pokemon's generational format sees new batches of critters joining the franchise on a pretty regular basis, which can make it easy for older ones to fall by the wayside. Fortunately, Game Freak has been smart about avoiding this problem, introducing new ways to keep old 'mons fresh, such as mega evolutions, regional forms, and Z-moves
Another way older Pokemon are refreshed is with crossgenerational evolutions — new additions to existing evolutionary families, added in a later generation. This commonly takes the form of baby Pokemon, but back in 2008, Diamond and Pearl's Sinnoh added the largest batch of full-fledged final evolutions the franchise has seen to date. Here they all are, ranked from worst to best.
19 Lickilicky
Among the Pokemon community, stances on Lickitung vary. Some see it as pretty cute, others find its tongue-centric gimmick uncomfortable. At worst, though, it's just a weird design that's easily ignored. Why, then, did it get an evolution? One that inarguably made the design worse, at that?
Lickilicky's design is so much stranger to look at than Lickitung, with its weird inflated proportions making it look like some kind of creepy balloon creature. The only thing it has going for it is that it's the only Pokemon who can learn a STAB Explosion - never mind the benefit in battle, just be glad it's destroying itself.
18 Ambipom
Aipom is fine. It's cute. Its stats aren't anything impressive and it's overshadowed by several other normal types, even in its own region, but it's a fairly inoffensive 'mon. Could it have used a refresh? Arguably, sure. What it absolutely not need, however, was for said refresh to take the form of Ambipom.
Its more detailed eyes, the addition of a nose, and the weird ballooning hands all contribute to making it a far more uncomfortable and uncanny Pokemon aesthetically than its pre-evolution, which is by all accounts pretty cute.
17 Probopass
It would be possible to pretty much copy and paste everything said about Aipom and Ambipom here to apply to Nosepass and Probopass. Nosepass was a pretty cute, harmless Pokemon. Was anyone particularly desperate to see it get more love just a generation later? Probably not.
It did, though, and Probopass has the same problem as Ambipom. The texture of its moustache is such a strange and uncomfortable choice visually (even if it is supposed to be iron filings). Add in its garbage typing and you have a Pokemon that really isn't worth the bother of evolving it.
16 Tangrowth
Tangela is a pretty cute Pokemon, if perhaps a bit forgettable. It filled a pretty decent role as a single-stage Grass type, having stats on the slightly more impressive end for the typing at the time of its introduction. As is becoming a theme for this worse end of the Sinnoh evolutions, Tangela had a cuteness to it.
True to this theme, Tangrowth, on the other hand, does not. Its proportions make it look too awkward and uncanny, and the result is a Pokemon that just feels unnecessary. It's pretty bulky defensively, which is nice, but it's hard to justify Tangrowth's existence in the first place given how needless the evolution was.
15 Rhyperior
Fun fact about Rhydon: It was the first Pokemon ever designed. Though it sits at #112 in the Kanto Pokedex, Ken Sugimori — the Pokemon franchise's primary designer — came up with the rocky rhino before anything else. The inspiration that struck him for Rhydon was what began the Pokedex we all know and love.
When it came time to design Rhydon's evolution four generations later, that inspiration clearly didn't strike again. Rhyperior's stats are nice, but it's just another awkward-looking Sinnoh evolution that many fans almost wish didn't tarnish an otherwise great line.
14 Magmortar
Magmar and Electabuzz have been counterparts since their introduction. Fans quickly identified the similarities between the two — they were both bipedal, single-stage, monotype Pokemon of similar power levels. The pairing was cemented when they received baby pre-evolutions a generation later.
When Diamond and Pearl came out, the pair got final forms, and Magmar was definitely dealt the worse hand. Magmar had always been a bit goofy looking, but in an endearing way. Magmortar, though a formidable battler, just looks awkward. Its proportions make it seem clunky, and its odd face gives it a permanent creepy grin.
13 Honchkrow
With Honchkrow, we're out of the particularly bad-looking evolutions. From here, every Pokemon added something to their line to some extent; Honchkrow just ranks this low since it's not as good as the others. It's still cool, though — it's visually intimidating, formidable in battle, and made a memorable member of Cyrus' team.
Murkrow was a cool addition in Gen Two, but always seemed a bit underwhelming as a single-stage 'mon, so a powerful evolution was the perfect addition to help the dark type fulfill its potential. Though not the best of the Sinnoh evolutions, Honchkrow was a welcome addition to the world of Pokemon.
12 Magnezone
Magneton was already a powerful Pokemon, though its design often brought criticism — it is literally just three Magnemite stuck together. Add in the fact that the line was already unpopular with haters of so-called "object Pokemon", and the argument for a shake-up of the Magnemite line becomes clear.
Though not a radical shift, Magnezone did depart from Magnemite's design far more than Magneton did, and it built on the already-strong battle prowess the line had. For these reasons, Magnezone is a pretty decent addition, just not as amazing as some of Sinnoh's other evolutions.
11 Dusknoir
Duskull and Dusclops were pretty popular Pokemon in the Hoenn games, as is often the case for powerful, well-designed ghost types. Sinnoh expaned the line, adding Dusknoir — an even bigger, even spookier ghoul that evolved using the sinister Reaper Cloth.
Dusknoir not only looks cool, but boasts great stats, being incredibly defensive. Add in its two immunities as a ghost-type, and you've got a pretty great tank on your hands. Dusclops was already a pretty tanky 'mon, but Dusknoir took things to the next level and cemented itself as a great asset to any team.
10 Electivire
As mentioned above, Magmar was dealt the worse hand in Sinnoh. It follows, then, that Electabuzz was dealt the better hand. It's a far cooler-looking Pokemon, and considering that the power boost the evolutions bring to their respective lines are about the same, the aesthetics make all the difference.
Whereas Magmortar looks awkward and clunky, Electivire just looks forboding and strong. Its bulky appearance immediately lets foes know they're going up against something powerful — an experience many players will remember when facing Volkner in Platinum.
9 Mismagius
Like Murkrow, Misdreavus was added in Gen Two, and it was a cool Pokemon, but it always felt like it was missing something. It seemed a bit too small and underpowered to be a single-stage Pokemon. It was cute, it just could have used something extra.
That something extra came in the form of Mismagius, the bigger, more powerful evolution added in Sinnoh. Fantina, the fifth gym leader in Diamond and Pearl (but third in Platinum), used one as her ace, cementing Mismagius as a memorable and welcome addition to the franchise.
8 Porygon-Z
Porygon evolves into its Gen Two evolution — the imaginitvely named Porygon2 — when traded while holding an Upgrade. For its Sinnoh evolution, however, instead of upgrading a second time, the digital Pokemon becomes infected with a virus.
Give Porygon2 a Dubious Disc, trade it, and it'll turn into Porygon-Z — the corrupted final form of the line. According to the Pokedex, the Dubious Disc was supposed to contain an upgrade that would allow Porygon2 to work in alien dimensions, but there was some sort of glitch or bug that led to Porygon-Z's creation.
7 Togekiss
Togepi and Togetic made a cute evolutionary line. They were perfectly fine Pokemon, but when looking at Togetic, it's hard to see it as a final form. It could actually be a first stage itself, with how small and unassuming it is.
Enter Togekiss, the result of using a Shiny Stone on Togetic in any game from Sinnoh onwards. This graceful creature far more embodies what a final evolution should look like, and armed with Serene Grace and, as of Gen Six, the fairy typing, Togekiss serves as an excellent final form for the adorable line.
6 Yanmega
Like Murkrow, Misdreavus and Togetic, Yanma was an adequate Pokemon with one problem — it looked a bit too weak to stand as the last (and only) in its line. In keeping with one of the major trends of the Sinnoh evolutions, Yanmega changed that.
This intimidating 'mon's power is shown in its appearance — a scary flying bug monster that will show no mercy to its foes. It's quite the departure from the cute and friendly Yanma, but at least fans of the line now have the option of absolutely terrifying their opponents in battle.
5 Weavile
Sneasel was a great Pokemon on paper, but it had a few problems — most notably, as a physical attacker, its stats were wasted on the ice- and dark-type STABs it had access too. This meant that in spite of its great speed stat, it could never do much damage before being KOed, which was an inevitability given its frailty.
Gen Four brought the physical/special split, meaning Sneasel finally had access to STABs that could take advantage of its stats, but even better, it got an evolution — the substantially more powerful Weavile was able to take full advantage of its speed and attack stats and deal huge damage before opponents could do anything about it.
4 Roserade
Grass types have never been particularly exceptional Pokemon — their numerous weaknesses simply mean they'll never reach the heights of dragons or fairies. Introduced in Gen Three, this was certainly true of Roselia — while cute, it was a fairly underwhelming and forgettable Pokemon.
Come Gen Four, though, Roselia got not only a baby Pokemon in Budew, but a final form in Roselia. Roselia is a pretty strong Pokemon with well-rounded stats, access to many great moves, and a secondary typing that came into its own two generations later thanks to its usefulness against fairy types.
3 Gallade
The Gardevoir line is an interesting one, as, uinlike all the others on this list, it already had a final form — Gardevoir. Rather than capping off an "unfinished" line, Gallade followed in the footsteps of Politoed and Bellossom as a branched evolution.
If your Kirlia was male, instead of waiting until it hit level 30 and having it evolve into a Gardevoir, you could use a Dawn Stone on it to turn it into Gallade, a physical attacker with a fantastic psychic/fighting type combination.
2 Gliscor
Gligar was already pretty great. Ground and flying seem utterly juxtaposed as types to have on one Pokemon, but Gligar made it work, and its respectable stats allowed it to take advantage of its unique STAB combination pretty well.
When Gliscor was added, things became even better for the flying scorpions. Thanks to remarkable bulk and access to some great moves, Gliscor was a powerhouse in battle, and when it was given Poison Heal in Gen Five, it was cemented as a truly outstanding 'mon.
1 Mamoswine
Yet another Johto line that felt like it was missing something, Swinub and Piloswine were adorable Pokemon that got a new family member in Sinnoh. Though Piloswine was pretty powerful in its own right, Mamoswine took things to the next level.
With a visit to the move reminder to make sure your Piloswine knew Ancient Power, it'd turn into its new final form from level 33 onwards, and the endearing gentle giant was an absolute unit in battle. Cemented as an icon of Sinnoh as part of Dawn's team in the anime, it's easy to see why Mamoswine is loved by so many.