Overrated: 15 Classic Pokémon Are Secretly The Worst (And 15 New Ones Who Can Replace Them)
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Not all Pokémon are created equal. Some of the classics aren’t as good as fans remember, but luckily there are replacements from new generations.
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We all have fond memories of our first Pokémon game. For veterans of the series, these were anywhere between Gen I-III. Red, Blue, Yellow, Crystal, Silver, Emerald, whatever the game it was special and made a lasting impact on what would become lifelong fans of the franchise. But as we get older we tend to see things through rose tinted glasses. We remember things a little better than they actually were and that can cloud our judgement sometimes. That’s true with Pokémon too, and it especially comes into play when forming up a party with childhood favourites.
There are currently a total of 802 Pokémon out there. That’s coming a long way from the original 151 that started the series off with a bang. While everyone has their favourites, some are obviously better than others. With such a mind blowing number like 802, there are definitely gong to be an elite tier of Pokémon being used and you know what? It’s pretty likely that that special Pokémon from your formative years isn’t going to be on that list. Some Pokémon have fared better than others in this regard, and while bringing out the classics is fun and all, it sometimes isn’t as practical as you’d hope.
So let’s take a look now at 15 Pokémon from your childhood that are secretly overrated and 15 new ones that you can get to replace them.
30 Overrated: Butterfree / Beedrill
We’re cheating a little bit with this entry, but when you think about how big both of these Pokémon were in Gen I then you can pretty much just discuss the two of them in one go. Bug-type Pokémon don’t have a great history as being particularly strong or useful. Of course, there are various scenarios and matchups that favor Bug-types, but as the roster has increased there have been many new additions that just serve as better options in battle. Two of the original and most recognized Bug-types are Butterfree and Beedrill. Both final evolutions, these Pokémon don’t take all that much grinding to obtain and are seen as fairly early game options.
A cool looking Mega Evolution doesn’t do much to change Beedrill while Butterfree never got one despite its popularity.
As the roster of Pokémon has increased over the years, the usefulness of these two has waned. Butterfree is a pretty weak Pokémon with a plethora of weaknesses. While on the other hand, Beedrill received a Mega Evolution to buff up its stats, but despite the effort, it’s still essentially a glass canon – and there are tons of those out there that aren’t Bug-type.
29 Replacement: Golisopod
One of the newer Pokémon introduced, Golisopod isn’t just a great Bug-type option, but a solid and capable Pokémon overall. A towering Pokémon, Golisopod is another Pokémon in a trend of fearsome Bug-types both visually and statistically. Game Freak has really been making an effort over the years to reshape how we think of Bug-types and it’s been going great so far. This guy is just the icing on the cake. It takes a little bit of grinding and effort in order to get your hands on this beast. First, you have to get your hands on a Wimpod and train it till it reaches level 30. Wimpod only has one evolution, so you’re good to go from there. Just a little bit of work, and you’ve got yourself a powerful battle partner with some pretty impressive stats. Golisopod is pretty slow, so you’re likely to attack first, but it has pretty solid HP and both its Defense and Special Defense are fantastic. What’s better is that its attack is high too, so you’re getting a really balanced Pokémon that can both dish it and take it from a plethora of strong Pokémon. Don’t sleep on this one.
28 Overrated: Magikarp
With hundreds upon hundreds of Pokémon out there, there’s always going to be a debate going on about which ones are the absolute best you can get your hands on. Simultaneously, there’s always chatter regarding which Pokémon are absolutely terrible and not worth the effort put into catching them. This is going to be one of the latter discussions. People have always played the waiting game when it comes to Magikarp. It has a solid evolved form in Gyarados – which gets a Mega Evolution. So while training this little guy might be worth it in some people’s eyes, there are plenty better Water-types to invest time in. Magikarp is without a doubt the most useless Pokémon in the game by far. It infamously only knows splash and is relatively useless in battle until it actually evolves. Essentially it’s just dead weight; a golden egg you’re waiting to hatch. Magikarp can only learn three moves, and one of those is learned a whole ten levels after it can first evolve. It’s as if the developers were intentionally trying to make this dead eyed Pokémon the most ineffectual thing in the game – and boy did they. With a paltry stat-line of 200, Magikarp would be an afterthought if it wasn’t for its evolution.
27 Replacement: Wishiwashi
Believe it or not, Wishiwashi actually has a lower stat-line than the aforementioned Magikarp, which might not seem to put it in a very favorable position with this list, but hear this out. Wishiwashi and Magikarp actually have some pretty striking similarities when you line the two up side by side. Both are weak Pokémon, Water-type and get a beneficial evolution (or form) at level 20. But what makes Wishiwashi even marginally more useful than Magikarp is that it actually has a learnset and can learn TM’s. No matter which of Magikarp’s stats are superior, it doesn’t do much when all it knows is splash and tackle. Whereas Wishiwashi can learn a plethora of useful TM’s and actually learns a few good moves before it hits level 20. Once this Pokémon does reach level 20 its Schooling ability takes effect, essentially transforming it into a beast of a Pokémon. It receives a significant stat boost and significantly beefs up its Special Attack & Defense along with its Attack and Defense, making it one of the best new pure Water-types you can get your hands on. Want another reason to choose this Pokémon Being a Water-type, it only has two weaknesses and can hold its own normally against typically advantageous types such as Fairy and Dragon.
26 Overrated: Farfetch’d
Sometimes the tougher the Pokémon is to find and catch, the better it is. However, this isn’t always the case, and you’re sometimes stuck having out in a whole lot of effort into acquiring a Pokémon for nothing. Back when it was first introduced in Gen I, Farfetch’d was quite the tough booger to track down. Though it has gotten significantly less uncommon as the games have gone on, it’s still quite the unusual find. The problem here is that this creates an air of desirability that really isn’t justified for anything other than completing your Pokédex. See, Farfetch’d isn’t really all that useful in battle. Maybe when there were only 151 Pokémon to choose from it could’ve been good justified in certain situations, but we Pokémon fans are very much spoiled for choice right now, and as far as Normal-types go, there are much more practical options to choose from. Farfetch’d got a bit of a stat boost after Gen VI, going up a total of 25 points. But that still puts its total stats at under 400, and aside from a slight boost in Attack, there’s nothing all that special going on here.
25 Replacement: Silvally
One of the cooler looking new Pokémon introduced in Sun & Moon, Type: Null also has one of the stranger names we’ve ever seen for a Pokémon to date. This scientifically created Pokémon has the look of a mad scientist’s experiment taken to the extremes, and while you have to feel for it a little, it’s stats are crazy. It’s almost perfectly balanced, though its speed is considerably lower. That’s its only real flaw, and luckily that’s changed with its evolved form, Silvally. You can get your hands on this absolute beast when leveling up Type: Null with high enough friendship. Aside from an awesome new look, Silvally also gets a speed stat of 95, matching with every other stat it has and making it one of the most well-balanced Pokemon you can hope to get. Still not convinced? Well aside from its fairly versatile learnset – through both leveling up and TM’s – Silvally also only has one weakness (Fighting) and is completely immune to Ghost-types. This is pretty normal, seeing as it is a Normal-type, but it’s more icing on the cake than anything else. You should definitely invest your time into picking this Pokémon up.
24 Overrated: Weezing
Weezing was a pretty popular Pokémon in the early days of the franchise. The Poison-type was pretty heavily featured in the anime at a certain point and had one of the more striking designs that seems to have stuck with players for a good while. It looks as though Nintendo was vigilant in their efforts to try and keep this old classic viable, as it admittedly does have decent enough stats and barely any weaknesses. However, it is on this list for a reason, and so we’re going to spend the rest of this entry dissecting just what makes this Pokémon so deceptively bad. Let’s start with the good; attack and defense. Weezing has very solid attack with a stat of 90. Its best stat, however, is its defense, hands down. At 120, it can theoretically take its fair share of damage if trained right. However, its Special Attack and Defense are lacking. More pressing, however, is its speed and HP stats, as one guarantee’s that it will probably be attacking second in nearly every battle, and the other that it won’t last very long throughout the process. Simply put, Weezing is a Pokémon that has potential but isn’t fleshed out enough to be a serious option.
23 Replacement: Naganadel
We wouldn’t typically put a legendary Pokémon on this sort of list given that these Pokémon are usually barred from competitive play and don’t offer all that much of a challenge in training and battling with. Legendaries are made to be broken. They’re put in the games to get players excited, add to the adventure and give you something overwhelmingly powerful. When it comes to Ultra Beasts, however, the line is a little blurred. So we’ll take this time to examine Naganadel a little bit. The evolved form of a Poipole that knows Dragon Pulse, Naganadel is a dangerous Poison-type.
It’s quick, and does a ton of Special damage while its defense stats aren’t low enough for it to be considered a glass cannon.
It’s HP, Attack, Defense and Special Defense are all pretty mid-tier at 73. But its Speed and Special Attack stats are where it really impresses. With a 121 in one and 127 in the later, Nagandel can do some real damage and quickly pick off a multitude of foes. It’s not quite a glass canon, but don’t expect all that much longevity from it. Still, it’s worth the party slot if you’re looking for something that hits hard and can throw in status effects as well.
22 Overrated: Typhlosion
Well, we can already hear the shock and outrage now. Typhlosion, a beloved starter probably second in popularity among Fire-types next to Charizard as an example of a bad older Pokémon. You might think this too harsh for such a well liked and historically strong Pokémon, but there are some legitimate claims to be made in regards to Typhlosion’s inability to hold on to its mantle. It actually does learn a good few moves much later on that fully take advantage of its incredible Special Attack stat. But it’s very much middle of the road in practically everything else. Its Speed is fantastic but that’s the last great thing about it. Typhlosion has very average stats in Attack, Defense, and Special Defence. What’s more, it’s HP stat isn’t all that great either. While we acknowledge that Typhlosion learns some incredibly useful and powerful moves later on, it’s a pretty average Pokémon when you first acquire it. Fire-types are incredibly popular among Pokémon fans and there’s a huge list of them to choose from. Starters aside, you’re pretty much spoiled for choice when it comes to this bunch. So why not go and choose a truly exceptional one?
21 Replacement: Volcarona
Speaking of truly exceptional Pokémon, let’s move on to our next entry. We’ve already featured some Bug or dual Bug-type Pokémon thus far, so the inclusion of Volcarona shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise here. Volcarona is a Bug/Fire-type Pokémon, which is a pretty unique pairing seeing as Bug-types are usually useless against the ever popular Fire-type. This is one of many advantages of going for a Volcarona as your go to Fire-type. First off let’s take a look at its stats; we’ll start off with the bad, which is its attack and defense. They’re terrible. If you’re fighting a POkemon that’s proficient in physical attacks then you’ve got little chance with this guy on your team. That being said, its HP is pretty well above average, and it really shines when looking at its Speed, and Special Attack & Defense. Those three stats are 100 and higher. Volcarona also has a very favorable learnset that’s suited to its more prominent stats, as mostly all of the moves it learns are special attacks and vary from Bug, Fire, Flying, and Grass. It also has great Type effectiveness. While it does take four times the damage from Rock-types due to it being both Bug and Fire, it’s incredibly useful against Ice, Fairy, and Steel, types – with two of those being some of the most powerful in the game.
20 Overrated: Delibird
We move on from one dual type Pokémon to another, with this latest Pokémon serving as an example of a childhood favorite that’s lost most of its use (if it ever had any in the first place). Delibird is a peculiar Pokémon that’s probably had more use in the animated series than it’s ever had for trainers in the games. Delibird is an Ice/Flying-type that isn’t all too useful in battle, and is probably caught more often by those looking to complete their Pokédex as opposed to trainers looking to put together a strong team. It’s incredibly weak to Rock-types as well as Steel, Fire and Electric and while it is immune to Ground-types, its weak Defense and Special Defense stats all but assure that it won’t stay in the fight for long. Another unfortunate thing about Delibird is that it only learns two moves by leveling up; Present and Drill Peck. While it is able to learn a number of useful TM’s its incredibly low Attack and Special Attack stats make it less than ideal for battle. Long story short, Delibird just isn’t a viable
19 Replacement: Froslass
Unlike other entries on our list, this next Pokémon is more notable from various eerie and sometimes disturbing Pokédex entries rather than its actual use in battle – but let’s focus on the later for this list. A Gen IV addition to the POkemon universe, Froslass is one of Snorunt’s final evolutions. In order to obtain this Ice/Ghost-type, players must first have a female Snorunt and expose it to the Dawn Stone. Glalie is probably the more useful of the two evolutions, but didn’t make the cut-off for our list. That being said, Froslass is a solid Pokémon and is more than capable of occupying your party’s Ice-type slot.
As terrifying as she is useful, Froslass is an underrated and incredibly powerful Ice-type that will almost certainly improve your party.
A quick Pokémon, Froslass will almost assuredly always hit first. It has pretty balanced out stats that are above average, with its Attack and Special Attack and Defense and Special Defense mirroring one another. Frosslass’ learnset is a good mix of status and powerful special moves, which play into its strengths nicely. While it’s not overtly powerful, good strategy and the right skill set make this Pokémon an absolute terror to face head on.
18 Overrated: Slowpoke
Poor Slowpoke. One of the older Pokémon on this list, Slowpoke’s demeanor is just as its name would suggest it. The sloth-like Pokémon has an ever-present and sometimes off-putting grin stapled to its face, and its evolved forms don’t fare much better on the aesthetic side of the ball either. Slowpoke is a funny looking Pokémon that’s for sure – and this side of it has been played upon in things like the manga and anime – but one thing you can be sure of is that Slowpoke is not a fun Pokémon to use. Aside from having a good deal of HP, the problems with this Water/Psychic-type greatly outweigh the pros. It’s as slow or slower than most tank Pokémon, and hits just about as hard, but its defensive stat isn’t reflective of this at all and makes it so that Slowpoke really can’t take all that much damage before it faints. Aside from all of that, Slowpoke has no shortage of weaknesses either. With five different types of Pokémon more than able to likely knock it out in one shot, it’s safe to say that Slowpoke isn’t the most fortunate Pokémon out there. The fact that people around the Pokémon world apparently have a penchant for eating its tail is yet another unfortunate strike against this perpetual punching bag.
17 Replacement: Toxapex
Don’t let its cutesy design fool you; Toxapex is one dangerous Pokémon you’d be lucky to have on your side in any battle. A dual Poison/Water-type, Toxapex might be getting some extra attention due to James’ Mareanie in the Sun & Moon anime. But if you’re still not all that familiar with this Pokémon then you should do yourself a favor and give it some real consideration should you have an empty slot in your party. Two stats really stand out when you look at them here; Defense and Special Defense – making Toxapex something of a tank. Everything else is pretty low and below average, even its HP. But that’s ok due to Toxapex’s learnset. The strategy here would be to have taught your Toxapex at least a couple of Status moves, and while its taking the hits in battle slowly reduce down your opponents HP with status moves and any other attacks you’ve taught it. One particularly useful move to keep in mind when training your Toxapex is Baneful Bunker. The move is exclusive to Toxapex and is learned as soon as it evolves. It’s a protective move that also poisons the attacker should they make contact with their move, and also has high priority, almost assuring that it’ll go first every time it’s used – save for a few situations.
16 Overrated: Hitmonlee / Hitmonchan
Another dual entry on our list, this time focusing on two Pokémon that are more intimately linked together than our last pair. If you’ve played the Gen I games or their Gen III remakes, then you no doubt will be able to recall one of the most pressing conundrums that pops up midway through; choosing either Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan. These two iconic Fighting-types both have their strengths and weaknesses – though it would’ve been impossible to know all of that when they first made their debut. While they were each solid options in their prime, they’ve been outgrown as the years have went on. Hitmonchan is technically the better out of the two, as it doesn’t have as weak Defense as Hitmonlee does. But they’re both pretty bad when you take away their Attack and Special Defense stats. If you wanted to stay within the same evolutionary line, even Hitmontop would be a better option than these two, as its stats are better rounded out than its predecessors. The weakness to Fairy-types also isn’t helping this duo out, though their high Special Defense does help out – if only marginally – in those situations.
15 Replacement: Lucario
Well if we were to go and think up some alternatives to the previously mentioned duo, then why not just go straight for the best Fighting-type Pokémon out there right now? Aside from being one of the most popular and instantly recognizable Pokémon among the fan base, Lucario is also one of the strongest non-legendaries you could hope to train. It’s an incredibly useful Pokémon that gives you leverage in nearly any type of battle. Its stats total out at 525, which is a great start but it gets better from there. Lucario is all about its attack stats.
Lucario is a great option for those seeking a competent Fighting-type due to it being damaged normally by both Psychic and Fairy-types.
With particularly strong Attack and Special Attack, Lucario is a bruiser and has high enough Speed that it’ll probably be going first in a majority of the battles you use it in. Though its defensive stats are pretty much average, they’re still decent enough to ensure that Lucario can take some damage before it faints. But the real advantage to using Lucario is its Mega Evolution which increases not only its Defense, but its Speed, Attack and Special Attack as well – making it that much better rounded out and all the more powerful in battle. It’s also immune to Poison-types, which always helps avoid some nasty status effects.
14 Overrated: Nidoking
Anyone who started playing Pokémon with the Gen I games will have something of an admiration for Nidoking. The towering brute of a Pokémon was one of the most intimidating and awesomely designed of its time, and was a pretty rewarding one to train. A Gen I Nidoking that knew Thrash was absolutely unstoppable, and could very easily decimate opposing trainers and even some Gym Leaders in a few turns. But the times have changed, and Nidoking has had a bit of a tumble down the ranks. It would’ve most definitely avoided this spot on our list. Despite receiving a ten point stat boost after Gen V, Nidoking remains something of an ineffective Pokémon for competitive use. Aside from being resistant to Fairy-types and having a high Attack stat, Nidoking isn’t all that well rounded of a Pokémon, and probably won’t last you all too long in battle. That isn’t to say that it’s a glass cannon or anything like that. But it just can’t take the same kind of punishment it deals. Despite the stat boost, the only thing that got raised was its already high Attack power. A boost to one of its Defensive statistics would’ve done wonders for this Pokémon. But alas that isn’t the case.
13 Replacement: Pangoro
Well, we move on from one intimidating Pokémon to another one. Though they’re both physically similar in how they tower over their opponents, we didn’t choose to add Pangoro as an alternative to Nidoking due to its aesthetic similarities. Unlike Nidoking Pangoro is kind of a tricky Pokémon to obtain. You first have to have a Pancham and get it to at least level 32. The kicker here though is that Pancham won’t evolve into Pangoro unless you have a dark-type Pokémon in your party. Once you’ve got that sorted out though you’ll get your hands on a useful and strong Fighting/dark-type Pokémon. Statistically, Pangoro is kind of similar to Nidoking. It has noticeably higher Attack when compared to any of its other stats and its Defense stats leave something to be desired. But its main purpose on your party would be to serve as a bruiser and do as much damage as possible. One good thing about it is that it’s heavily resistant to Dark, Rock and Ghost-types. Though it’s very weak against Fairy-types, which is admittedly a huge disadvantage. One last bit of advice would be to teach this Pokémon Hammer Arm – an incredibly powerful move that would make it tough to handle, even with the disadvantage against Fairy-types.
12 Overrated: Flygon
There was a point in time where Dragon-type Pokémon were some of the best you could hope to have on your team, and would give your friends headaches during battles. But as the games have gone on and more Pokémon have been added to the roster, Dragon-types have somewhat lost the same prestige they once had – and have been replaced by the new Fairy-type as the go to OP choice. Flygon was introduced in Gen III, so Dragon-types were already starting to trend downwards. It also isn’t a pure Dragon-type, so it has that going against it too. Looking at its stats, Flygon is a pure glass canon. There are no two ways around that. Its stats are actually petty balanced, but its Attack and Speed are pretty disproportionate. They both come in at a solid 100, which usually means that Flygon will hit hard and it’ll hi fast. While this does help take down certain enemy Pokémon at times, you’ll probably never finish a battle with a conscious Flygon unless you get really lucky or you just don’t use it. It takes a ton of damage from Ice-types and is also weak to Dragon and fairy-types. Which means that there are a whole bunch of powerful Pokémon out there that can one shot this guy.
11 Replacement: Garchomp
We’ve mentioned how Dragon-types were once the most intimidating type of Pokémon to go up against for a while now, and you don’t have to look any further than our next Pokémon to find an example of that. Garchomp is part of a pretty exclusive group of Pokémon and is an incredibly desirable one for any player to have in their party. Of course, it does take a good deal of patience and effort to train it. Garchomp is what you’d call a pseudo-legendary Pokémon due to its incredibly high stats. While most Legendaries are ridiculously powerful in their own right, the pseudo-legendaries are just as strong as and even stronger than a good deal of Legendary Pokémon out there. Their main draw is their increased availability when compared to actual Legendaries. It’s also worth noting that a considerable chunk of them are Dragon-types. Garchomp starts off with a 600 stat line and can have that number go up to 700 with its Mega Evolution. At the cost of a little bit of Speed, Garchomp’s mega Evolved form gains a ridiculous amount of Attack as well as Defense and Special Attack. It’s an incredibly difficult Pokémon to take down and one of the best out there.
Adriano Valente is a writer from Montreal, Quebec. He attended Concordia University, studying Journalism & English Literature. When he’s not writing, Adriano enjoys playing music, watching anime, and catching up on his massive JRPG backlog.
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