Back in February, we ran a series of polls to determine your very favourite Pokémon after 30 years of the franchise.
With 1025 known Pokémon at the time (this was before the reveal of the Gen 10 starters, and we've asked for your thoughts on those already), it was no mean feat to catch 'em all, so we divided it into Generational polls before a final showdown between the nine winners.
No spoilers here — check out the final battle for the overall winner — but we were pleasantly surprised by the variety in the nine finalists. Looking over the stats, though, it was interesting to see the Pokémon that literally nobody voted for.
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During the 30th anniversary celebrations, we did look at 30 Pokémon we thought deserved more love, but today we're rounding up the poor monsters that didn't get a single vote from you lovely people. Not a bean!
At the bottom, you'll find another poll letting you pick up to three of these 47 Pokémon which don't deserve the shame of 'nil point'. But before we get the word from our esteemed judges, Team NL will take a look at these poor also-rans. In National Pokédex order, we begin with a tough nut from Gen I...
NL staff key: Alana Hagues (AH), Jim Norman (JN), Ollie Reynolds (OR), Gavin Lane (GL)
Kakuna #0014
Maybe it's Kakuna's general ineffectiveness in battles and its mid-evolution status that means we never properly bonded. But that goes for #0011, too, and Metapod got chosen.
Maybe it's those angry, waspy eyes that put you off, but whatever the reason, while both Weedle and Beedrill made off with some votes, no one rates this cocoon 'mon highly.
Able to move only slightly. When endangered, it may stick out its stinger and poison its enemy.
GL
Machop #0066
Forgetting about the odd middle evolution, I can understand, but Machop? The Gen I fighter that kicks off one of the most troubling humanoid evolution lines in series history? Come on!
We've all had this little guy on our teams at some point, so I feel he's been done a bit of a disservice to end up here.
Its whole body is composed of muscles. Even though it’s the size of a human child, it can hurl 100 grown-ups.
JN
Skiploom #0188
A Hop, A Jump, A... I'm sorry, I'm not really sure why people don't love the gormless eyes and wonky smile of Skiploom. What is it with middle evolutions, people?
The lovely spring-time colour scheme, the ridiculous ears — it doesn't really make sense. But honestly, it's the perfect middle ground between Hoppip and Jumpluff for me.
It spreads its petals to absorb sunlight. It also floats in the air to get closer to the sun.
AH
Pineco #0204
When people point to uninspired designs in later gens, I always refer back to Gen II's Pineco. It’s just a stony-looking pinecone with an uninspired name!
Wait, what’s that? It’s meant to be a Bagworm?
Its evolution was a defensive powerhouse at one point, and its Pokédex entries certainly give it a more-fearsome edge than its initial design suggests. It’s just lacking a little imagination. Bug-types have certainly improved over the decades.
It likes to make its shell thicker by adding layers of tree bark. The additional weight doesn’t bother it.
AH
Granbull #0210
Sometimes, when one evolutionary stage of a Pokémon has a bit of notoriety, the other forms suffer. Snubbull didn't particularly shine in our Gen II poll, but the Fairy-type (formerly Normal-type) has been around since before Gold & Silver even came out.
Granbull is also drastically different in its design, shedding its pink frock for a much more intimidating look. But like any good pupper, it's actually pretty timid if you give it a chance. So maybe don't judge a book by its cover?
It is actually timid and easily spooked. If attacked, it flails about to fend off its attacker.
AH
Remoraid #0223
Okay, I get it. One glance at Remoraid and I can understand why it didn't garner any votes. It's a pretty basic fish Pokémon, and when you've got the utterly iconic Magikarp hoovering up the votes, it's hard to compete.
Still, think of what it evolves into! An octopus! It makes no sense, and it's brilliant!
The water they shoot from their mouths can hit moving prey from more than 300 feet away.
OR
Silcoon #0266
Similarly to Kakuna and Metapod, why is it that Cascoon gets votes over Silcoon? Is it that pure white is boring? Or that Beautifly is less interesting than Dustox?
Admittedly, only one of you voted for the purple equivalent, but what split the difference here? Really?
Silcoon was thought to endure hunger and not consume anything before its evolution. However, it is now thought that this Pokémon slakes its thirst by drinking rainwater that collects on its silk.
AH
Nincada #0290
People were already getting tired of 'standard Pokémon bugs' by Gen III, but you can't forget about Nincada! Ninjask is one of the coolest-looking bugs out there, and I wouldn't have it without this basic form before it. Respect the roots, guys!
Because it lived almost entirely underground, it is nearly blind. It uses its antennae instead
JN
Whismur #0293
This pink little fella might be able to make a sound as loud as a jet plane, but they didn't make enough noise for you to consider voting for them.
And look, if Loudred and Exploud can both get votes (how??), then why not this cutie?
Whismur is very timid. If it starts to cry loudly, it becomes startled by its own crying and cries even harder. When it finally stops crying, the Pokémon goes to sleep, all tired out.
AH
Meditite #0307
Meditite's Fighting / Psychic combo made it a mean little combination in Gen III. I can only assume that this fella got overlooked in favour of its (admittedly, very cool-looking) evolution, Medicham, but I can't forget about this little cutie.
It never skips its daily yoga training. It heightens its inner strength through meditation
JN
Illumise #0314
When there are “twin” Pokémon like Plusle and Minun and one doesn’t get any votes, it’s a little confusing. Volbeat may have received a single vote, but that’s more than Illumise, who is essentially the same ‘mon, just… purple?
Okay, that’s maybe not fair – Illumise is more of a Special Attack-focused ‘mon. Well, if you want to make things difficult. It looks happier in the key art! It has smaller antennae… I'm trying here!
Illumise uses its sweet scent to guide Volbeat, having them form over 200 patterns in the night sky.
AH
Carvanha #0318
Evidently, Sharpedo has some fans (17 of you voted for the terrifying Water/Dark-type), so why not Carvanha? It's got a savage design, and hints at the threatening aura of its evolution.
Okay, so there's a lot of fish in Hoenn, but surely Carvanha stands out from the pack?
If anything invades Carvanha's territory, it will swarm and tear at the intruder with its pointed fangs. On its own, however, this Poémon turns suddenly timid.
AH
Barboach #0339
Loaches aren't the most inspiring creatures on our planet, so Barboach had a bit of a steep hill to climb to begin with. It's a lovely, unique Pokémon though, and I reckon if you actually saw one of these while out and about, you'd stop and go 'ooh!".
Okay, maybe you wouldn't, but I like it.
Its two whiskers provide a sensitive radar. Even in muddy waters, it can detect its prey’s location.
OR
Baltoy #0343
Turns out, even if an Elite Four member has your evolution, sometimes others don’t care. Baltoy is like an ancient balancing toy, and could easily be a fossil of some sort as it’s based on ancient Japanese figurines.
Its clicky cry and strong evolution should’ve earned it at least one vote; and look, if you’re curious, they can spin on their heads, too.
It moves while spinning around on its single foot. Some Baltoy have been seen spinning on their heads.
AH
Anorith #0347
Pokémon's second stab at Fossils are a lot more creative, so I'm shocked that no one gave some love to this bug-eyed 'Old Shrimp'.
There's something endearing about its eight wings, big eyes, and vulnerability to water despite having Swift Swim and apparently being an underwater 'mon back in the day. But apparently Armaldo, Lileep, and Cradily are a lot better. According to you all.
This Pokémon was restored from a fossil. Anorith lived in the ocean about 100,000,000 years ago, hunting with its pair of claws.
AH
Huntail #0367
Unless you had a friend and a GBA link cable, you probably never saw Huntail and Gorebyss. But while the pink-coloured eel managed to gain a few supporters, its scarier-looking cousin fared worse.
There are also a lot of Water-types to choose from in Gen III, so Huntail’s fearsome design and fish-shaped tail – used to attract prey – aren’t exactly unique. I quite like it, but I do think more could’ve been done with Clamperl’s evolutions. Maybe Gen X is the time?
It’s not the strongest swimmer. It wags its tail to lure in its prey and then gulps them down as soon as they get close.
AH
Head to page two for the next batch of love-lacking 'mon...
Comments 55
Lampent is a surprise, given Chandelure's popularity. And Petilil is utterly adorable.
I love Lampent. It's a great mix of creepy and cute without being too simple or over-elaborate. In a vacuum I would have voted for it over Chandelure. I didn't think anyone else would do the same. Poor lad's a victim of tactical voting, perhaps.
Most likely the majority of these didn't get a single vote just because people preferred their final evolutions (or pre-evolved forms in rare cases, but the reason is the same) - that said, still surprised to see here Pokémon like Anorith, Lampent, Machop etc. here and I'm definitely voting for those at least in this poll!
If we were doing evolution lines most of these pokemon would be fine, but single evolutions yeah I get it with some. Tho surprised Garbodor isn't on here XD
They don't have very appealing design for my taste.
I don't even bother them.
Honestly I do really love a lot of these ones. I feel like some designs just get a bad wrap in comparison to contemporaries of similar designs. For my 3, I did Purugly, Mienfoo, and Fraxure. Fraxure I'm pretty sure just didn't get picked because Axew and Haxerous leave much longer standing impressions. Mienfoo I feel like is so different to Moenshao that they both offer different styles of design, and they both have their own worth. And then Purugly, honestly man idk why people say they're so ugly, it's just a big chonky cat, idk what makes them so much worse than some of the other cats of the series. If anything I do think they are actually pretty cute imo. They deserve more love for sure.
Machop, then everyone else.
Yeiks. The designs are not strong in this collection.
I liked Panpour #0515 the best of these 47 outcasts.
As others have mentioned, some of these are great Pokemon but are tied to lines with more recognizable Pokemon. I typically go by either the first stage or final stage of a line. I voted for Metang, Gabite, and Fraxure since all three are part of stellar evolution lines.
...I'm not surprised two of the Unova monkeys didn't net votes. No offense to fans of them, but I've never cared for any of them since they felt like unnecessary filler. In fact, I didn't feel that GF had any "good" monkeys from after Slaking up to Grookey and its line.
Every single one of these Pokemon listed has an evolution, pre-evo, or alternate form that got votes. Except Alomomola, which makes sense because people really dislike ocean sunfish in real life.
After all these years, I am just now noticing that Vullaby's "eggshell" is a skull
I did a whole rundown, but, it's apparently too long, so, I'll just go over a few stand-outs.
Machop - MY BOY! What the heck, NL faithful?
Skiploom - The entire line is useless, and this is the middle evolution (and the least cute of the three), so, I get it.
Pineco - THESE THINGS ARE JERKS!!
Granbull - No excuses, you failed this one, NL faithful. Granbull is a good boy who is great on your team, especially when it became a fairy type!
Whismur - Oh, come on, this one's cute!
Meditite - FAIL! The Meditite line is great! Look at it!!
Illumise - Yeah... I hate her and Vulbeat, honestly... wait, who voted for VOLBEAT over ILLUMISE?! At least Illumise is pleasant to look at.
Metang - Let's be honest, we're just enduring this thing before we get to Metagross... but I still like it! Joust nose!
Staravia - NOOOOO! All three of these are GOAT'd birds! ;_;
Kricketot - Kricketune is already a weak Pokemon, but Kricketot doesn't even get the benefit of that epic cry. DeleleleleleleWOOOOOOP!
Gabite - Wow, really? Catch one of these early and your playthrough is made. You failed me, NL faithful.
Basculin - JUSTIFIED!
Frillish - Their only crime is being stuck in a region with a lot of better water AND ghost types. Even then, I love these things.
Alomomola - For a long time, my least favorite Pokemon... then Bruxish entered the chat. I get it. But it's a good fish! It helps other Pokemon! I blame the expression.
Lampent - Look, just because these things stole your souls doesn't mean you can hate them for it, and this is one of the much better middle evolutions out there.
Meinfoo - I can't get over the default pose for this thing being both arms out like a zombie. That alone should have gotten it a few votes.
Scatterbug - Look at it! It's cute!
Trumbeak - Middle evolution, doesn't have Toucannon's biblical levels of hatred for us all.
Barraskewda - Wait, seriously?! Guys, use one. It's attack is S-tier! Move first, hit hard, lots of coverage, and it's pretty cool looking! Get one and win the game.
@Lofoten someone needs to do something to up their design game for sure!
Chose Granbull, Chingling and Purugly
Lol at Tranquill with still 0% votes.
Now we can know, in this way, which is the worst Pokemon ever.
Hey, there were only so many that you let us vote for.
I wanted to give Huntail and Arctovish my votes, but perhaps something had to give. It was also an oversight to not include regional forms for their respective generations.
Arctovish is easily my favourite fossil Pokémon of all. It's so ridiculous and so wickedly inspired. I also cannot say the Vishes names without throwing in a Russian(?) inflection.
@Yoshi3 : Thanks a lot for calling attention to it. Now some sucker's gonna give it a pity vote and we'll never see the "Tranquill is the most hated of all Pokémon" follow-up article.
There are a lot of great 'Mons which got no votes, it seems: Barboach, Lampent, Spritzee, and more. And then you mean to tell me that the most atrocious Pokemon design ever (Inc*neroar) had SEVERAL votes!?! HOW???
Lot of trash Pokemon on this list, yep. Many more trash ones that should have been here, too.
The amount has just gotten way too bloated. More =/= better.
I feel like there’s still people out there that don’t know why Remoraid evolves into Octillery. Beta sprites people!
Kricketot, Anorinth, Tranquill.
@Aquinas I understand some of these, but what I don't understand is how some people could vote for a literal trashbag, seeing as we are on the subject of trash.
Out of a 1,000 Pokemon, no surprise that some of these didn’t get a vote. Especially the mid-tier evolutions.
@Daniel36 Because trubbish is the stereotypical “hated” pokemon for being literal trash lol. The ones no one voted for are the truly overlooked ones. There’s always going to be fans of the over-hated pokemon. Besides, when was this poll? Trubbish has a major role in one of the Pokopia storylines, and he’s funny and cute there, so wouldn’t be surprised if he picked up fans from that.
@UpsideDownRowlet A final evolution starter pokemon that’s in Smash Bros? He was always going to be one of the top contenders just from that lol
@Daniel36 100% agree. So crazy.
It would help if these polls didn't have limits on how many Pokemon you could choose. Just because I picked 3 or 5 of whatever doesn't mean I don't like lots of others.
I say that Volbeat' single vote comes from Volbeat being one of the first Pokémon revealed from Gen 3.
I really can’t believe that the trash bag Pokémon and the ice cream Pokémon weren’t on this list. 🤔 shocked, actually….
I’d have put money down that those two at least would’ve made a least liked list.
Some of these deigns are really cool on this list but seeing some of them also reminds me of why I fell off the bandwagon after Gen 2. Some of them are just … eh, uninspired. Like, making more ‘mon for the sake of making more ‘mon. That never really rubbed me in a good way.
Nonononono hold on, I’m POSITIVE I voted for Lampent. This is BS and I won’t stand for it (only half kidding)
Actually machoke being more popular than machop makes perfect sense.
A lot of people (myself included) were stuck on red/blue with no way to do any trade evolution, so it was easy to grow attached to Machoke and especially Kadabra.
Venipede, Gabite & Fraxure
Anorith, Iron Boulder, and Venipede get my votes for extra love.
Anorith is the only one I care enough about to vote for. Anorith's design is adorable.
It is hilarious that you guys put this list together. I love it!
Most of this list makes total sense. No huge surprises, but I do definitely love Kricketot and have love for Petilil.
Let's be honest. Most of these guys are kinda ugly.
😂
No kricketot votes is a crime
I make it a habit to never play with someone's Chingling on the first date
Throwing shade at Exploud. Not cool, man. Not cool.
I have to be that guy who points out that Remoraid isn’t a fish evolving into an octopus—it’s a revolver evolving into a tank. (Hence the markings on Remoraid’s side, and the “trigger” fin; and the words “raid” and “artillery” in the names; and the beam/shooting moves it gets like Lock On and Hyper Beam)
tranquil is a personal favorite of mine.
The lack of Chingling love here is disgusting
Skiploom being on this list is a crime
A lot of middle evos and bugs. Exactly what I expected.
@SlowPokemon How am I only just now seeing this? That must be the most obtuse evolutionary link in the entire series. Never have I looked at either of those Pokemon and thought anything other than 'oh it''s a fish' or 'oh it's an octopus'. That's hilarious.
The brilliant idea of a literal pinecone didn't make it? Shucks.
Lots of underrated bird and bug Pokémon here. Poor poor tranquil, you deserve much better.
That said the gen 5 monkeys all belong in the garbodor.
Who tf voted for Spidops and are you okay?
Varoom is the worst...
@TrogdorTheBurninator
I'm a Poison trainer, and this baby just whacked it's way through the Elite four in Violet! So proud of the little guy!!
He had the same route as Corviknight the game before it. Punching bag and barely useable during the game and turning into the MVP as soon as I hit Victory dirtpath!
What have they done to my boy Venipede??
Edit: Personally, the mid stage evolution of every starter looks like the awkward teenage years but I still think Ivysaur, Charmeleon, Wartotle and a handful of others look cool. Now, how come only Prinplup didn't get any votes?
@Axecon They don't have their ocean sunscreen.
Not remotely surprised that Hoenn and Unova are the most represented regions here
Wonder how Pokopia's existence might change a few ratings now, since this poll happened before it. It's kind of made me a bit fonder on some Pokemon I wouldn't have given the time of day to before, like the Timburr line (even if I still think Gurdurr looks like a diseased muscle man crossed with a clown)
@garfreek
Ha ha, look at that, any one can find love, even if you're the ugliest pokemon!
There is hope for all of us
@TrogdorTheBurninator Love wins, go out there and give it your best everyone! 😂💪🤎
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