The Pokemon series is home to some of the finest creature designs. If not for the great mix of creativity and simplicity, Pokemon would not nearly be as successful as it is today.

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However, when so many Pokemon are required to fill a Pokedex, there are going to be a few misses. Some designs are uninspired or lazy, and they seem to just fill the space between the good designs. Despite what some fans may think, the worst designs aren't the weird ones. The worst designs are the ones that simply have no purpose. They don't take any risks or creative spins. In some cases, they're outright just not appealing. This isn't something every person is going to agree on, but these designs are widely regarded as far from spectacular.

Updated on June 13, 2024, by Ben Painter: Some Pokemon are perfectly designed. Garchomp, Metagross, and even Pikachu are fine examples of this, and they are much loved across the board by fans. However, there are some creatures that do not receive the same treatment. Some Pokemon are so poorly designed that even the Pokemon franchise does not give them much play after they debut. Their designs can be confusing, offensive, and just downright awful, and with so many to choose from, this list has been updated to feature even more of the worst-designed Pokemon, providing additional information on each of them.

30 Blacephalon

A Confusing Design Meets A Clown

• Type: Fire/Ghost
• Generation: 7
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Sun & Moon
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

Ultra Beasts deserve a lot of slack because they are meant to look weird and confusing; they originate from an alternate dimension, so it makes sense why they look the way they do. However, that does not mean that they all have good designs.

Blacephalon is a clown that meets a disco ball. Clowns are not favored among many as it goes, so this Pokemon was not off to a great start when it first appeared. What makes this Pokemon worse is its confusing typing, Fire and Ghost. There is nothing to suggest about this design that it should be either of those types; Fairy and Psychic would make much more sense.

Blacephalon's Base Stats:

29 Stakataka

The Most Un-Pokemon Looking Pokemon

• Type: Rock/Steel
• Generation: 7
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Sun & Moon
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

As far as Ultra Beast designs go, Stakataka is easily one of the worst. There are a lot of Pokemon in the franchise that 'don't feel like Pokemon,' and this particular creature is a fine example of one.

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Its design appears to be based on a building. Pokemon are usually based on animals or plants, with a few exceptions like Magnemite and Klefki being based on objects. That said, these designs work much better than Stakataka. A building inspiration seems like a bit of a stretch, even for an Ultra Beast. At least its typing of Rock/Steel makes sense for it.

Stakataka's Base Stats:

28 Probopass

The Mustache Needs To Go

• Type: Rock/Steel
• Generation: 4
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Diamond & Pearl
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Tera Raid Battles (5★)

The pre-evolved form of Nosepass was first brought to fans in Generation 3, and it was not regarded as a bad design. But in the next generation, it received an evolution in Probopass, and it was disliked among fans. The mustache simply makes no sense on a Rock/Steel-type.

Its nose is its full gimmick, which can be understood, but the matching hat and the human-like eyes make for a hideous-looking Pokemon. This is without mentioning the potential negative racial stereotype that Probopass' design alludes to. It's a problematic and awfully designed Pokemon.

Probopass' Base Stats:

27 Binacle

An Angry-Looking Pokemon

• Type: Rock/Water
• Generation: 6
• Game Introduced:Pokemon X & Y
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

This Pokemon looks like something from The Last of Us. Binacle has two faces, which is just creepy. What makes it worse is that they also look like hands. A Pokemon based on a barnacle was always going to end in a nightmare-fueled way, as it isn't the prettiest of creatures on Earth.

What Binacle has going for it is its evolution. Barbaracle is a much better-designed Pokemon. The Rock/Water 'mon gains one face and looks more like a golem, standing on two feet. However, its four hands each have an eye on them, which is quite creepy. At least it is useful in battle with high defense, impressive attack, and a base stat total of 500.

Binacle's Base Stats:

26 Mr. Mime

Clowns Are Always Going To Lose

• Type: Psychic/Fairy
• Generation: 1
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Red & Blue
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

Where should one start with Mr. Mime? Clowns are disliked by many across the world, and that's for obvious reasons. So why did Game Freak create a clown Pokemon? Mr. Mime is also a prominent feature in the anime, playing the role of Ash's mom's Pokemon, and it just looks so out of place among its animal-like peers.

Human-based Pokemon are never revered as the best Pokemon, and Mr. Mime is no exception. In the live-action Detective Pikachu movie, Mr. Mime makes an appearance with a more realistic appearance, and if fans have not had the pleasure of seeing this design yet, they should look with caution, as it may as well have been Pennywise the Clown.

Mr. Mime's Base Stats:

25 Alolan Persian

A Worse Version Of An Iconic Pokemon

• Type: Dark
• Generation: 7
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Sun & Moon
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: Trade with Salvatore in the League Club Room for Mewoth and then evolve

The Pokemon Persian is an iconic Pokemon, playing the role of the main villain, Giovanni of Team Rocket's, signature Pokemon. So it is understandable why Persian would receive a new form when Alolan forms were introduced in Pokemon Sun & Moon.

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This design falls flat on its face. Its face is too round and does not match the rest of its body. Making it a Dark-type was a good move, but Dark-types are meant to be evil-looking, and Alolan Persian even fails at that. It looks very different from its original counterpart, which kind of defeats the point of Regional Variants.

Alolan Persian's Base Stats:

24 Sawk & Throh

Slightly Too Human-like

• Type: Fighting
• Generation: 5
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Black & White
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

As mentioned with Mr. Mime, human-looking Pokemon do not work well, and Sawk and Throh are perfect examples of why. They are even wearing clothes, which raises another question. Since these Pokemon are not seen without their karate outfits, it is assumed that the clothes are part of their skin.

Perhaps that is critiquing the design too much, but when discussing the lore of Pokemon, some fans need everything to make sense, and Sawk and Throh just don't. It is hard looking at the two Fighting Pokemon and not seeing Sesame Street's Bert & Ernie. There are several memes on the internet that highlight this similarity, and once one of them has been seen, it's very hard to forget.

Sawk and Throh's Base Stats:

23 Jynx

A Controversial Design That Needed To Be Changed

• Type: Ice/Psychic
• Generation: 1
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Red & Blue
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

Jynx's original design was so controversial that it had to be recolored, and it has not been a main feature in the anime since 2006. The less said about the original design the better, but even with its retouching, Jynx's design is still quite strange. It is very human-like, complete with a dress and flowing blonde locks.

Human designs don't really work, and in Jynx's case, it's hard to deny. It was given a pre-evolution in Smoochum, and this works much better. Unsatisfied fans have even gone on to redesign this Pokemon themselves.

Jynx's Base Stats:

22 Mothim

A Forgettable Pokemon With A Plain Design

• Type: Bug/Flying
• Generation: 4
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Diamond & Pearl
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

There are several butterfly/moth Pokemon in the franchise (Butterfree, Venomoth, Beautifly, Vivillon, and so on), and all of them do a better job than Mothim. The Generation 4 Pokemon is just forgettable. It is part of a split evolution between Burmy and Wormadam, and gamers always prefer to go the Wormadam route, as it has more use in battle.

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This Pokemon is simply just a moth and not a clever interpretation of one, such as Frosmoth. The design seems lazy and is easy to forget when one considers the nicer designs of similar Pokemon in the series.

Mothim's Base Stats:

21 Slurpuff

A Truly Bizarre Pokemon

• Type: Fairy
• Generation: 6
• Game Introduced:Pokemon X & Y
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

Generation 6 brought the Fairy-type and several different designs of Pokemon, mainly all that fit with the cute, pink aesthetic, such as Slurpuff.

However, Slurpuff, along with its pre-evolved form of Swirlix, doesn't fit the cuteness that other Pokemon have. Their faces are silly and look pained. The fact it needs to be traded to evolve is a blessing, as few trainers will ever get the chance to use a Slurpuff and its derpy face. The Fairy-type has produced some amazing designs, but Slurpuff is not one of them.

Slurpuff's Base Stats:

20 Celesteela

A Complicated Mess

• Type: Steel/Flying
• Generation: 7
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Sun & Moon
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

As a whole, the Ultra Beasts are horribly designed, although that may be the point, as they are from another dimension. Nonetheless, Celesteela is the worst of the bunch. Looking at it, it is hard to tell what it is meant to be, and it certainly does not look like a Pokemon.

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The arms on its side aren't attached and just look out of place, and its long thin neck and large body are disjointed. The whole design is bizarre and lacks clarity.

Celesteela's Base Stats:

19 Eiscue

A Penguin With An Ice Cube On Its Head

• Type: Ice
• Generation: 8
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Sword & Shield
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: North Province: Area Three, North Paldean Sea, Tera Raid Battles (4★) (Violet only)

This Pokemon certainly has its fans, but in reality, it is just a penguin with an ice cube on its head. It is another example of a strange design choice, but again, this may be the point.

Thanks to its Ice Face ability, the ice cube on its head acts as a substitute, and it takes damage for Eiscue, but it reverts to its Noice Face form. This design is even worse as it is just a blue penguin head that doesn't even match the rest of the body. Although it is all for a gimmick, it just doesn't work.

Eiscue's Base Stats:

18 Klink

A Strangely Simple Design

• Type: Steel
• Generation: 5
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Black & White
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

Klink feels like a cheap rip-off of Magnemite - an industrial-designed steel Pokemon that adds more heads with each evolution. Klink feels dull in this regard.

Moving gears simply don't make for an interesting Pokemon design, and there isn't much of a twist in terms of what this Pokemon can do. A member of the fifth generation, Klink is instantly one of the worst and most forgettable Pokemon designs.

Klink's Base Stats:

17 Vanillite

A Flying Ice Cream Cone

• Type: Ice
• Generation: 5
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Black & White
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

Food Pokemon are just weird, and Vanillite is one of the stranger variants designed for this category. A flying ice cream cone isn't exactly the most exciting or interesting Pokemon.

Fans have to wonder how the creature's designers came up with this one because it is really off-color for the series. Pokemon fans want their monsters to be cutting-edge and unique, not edible.

Vanillite's Base Stats:

16 Luvdisc

An Oddly-Shaped Fish

• Type: Water
• Generation: 3
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: South Province: South Paldean Sea, East Province: East Paldean Sea, West Province: West Paldean Sea, Tera Raid Battles (2★), Coastal Biome

At least Luvdisc doesn't try to hide behind a cool-sounding name - it is literally a heart-shaped disc. A heart doesn't exactly invoke a sense of power or danger either, which makes it easy to categorize Luvdisc under the cute Pokemon section.

But Luvdisc isn't even that cute; it's just a pair of lips and eyes on a heart. It's neither compelling nor appealing as far as even the worst Pokemon designs go.

Luvdisc's Base Stats:

15 Manectric

A Somewhat Boring Design

• Type: Electric
• Generation: 3
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

Manectric is another Pokemon that just feels unoriginal - as if several previous, better-designed Pokemon were scrapped for their parts to make an electric dog that was a significantly worse design.

Manectric might have some pretty cool moves, but its design is just odd. The giant pyramid on its head looks like a helmet and hair at the same time. The hand-shaped tail feathers are weird, too. Considering there was already an electric cat before, this Pokemon feels redundant.

Manectric's Base Stats:

14 Dedenne

A Poor Pikachu Clone

• Type: Electric/Fairy
• Generation: 6
• Game Introduced:Pokemon X & Y
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: West Province: Area Three, North Province: Area Three, Tera Raid Battles (3★, 4★)

Dedenne is a cute electric mouse Pokemon that echoes physical similarities of Pikachu and Raichu just a little too much - it really feels like they just copied aspects from these two classic Pokemon to create a cuter version.

It's an overly simplistic design that comes off as slightly dull. That being said, Dedenne isn't the absolute worst-designed Pokemon; it's just a bland carbon copy of two of the best-known creatures in the series.

Dedenne's Base Stats:

13 Voltorb

A Pokeball With Eyes

• Type: Electric
• Generation: 1
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Red & Blue
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: East Province: Area Three, West Province: Area One, Area Three, Tera Raid Battles (2★)

Kanto's designs are great, but there aren't too many standouts. The thing that works about Kanto's Dex is simplicity. Considering some of the beta designs, it's for the best they kept it simple with rats, birds, and the occasional oddity. Unfortunately, while most oddities are forgivable, Voltorb is just pure laziness.

Voltorb, in lore, is the result of a Pokeball being hit with a strong electrical impulse. There are some theories that it's also the result of a paranormal incident. Either way, it's an orb with an angry face. There are so many other more interesting electric types out there, even the literal magnets. Electrode is also pretty bad, but its smirk gives it a bit of charm.

Voltorb's Base Stats:

12 Sigilyph

A Very Confusing Design

• Type: Psychic/Flying
• Generation: 5
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Black & White
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: N/A

If any generation gets ire for "bad designs," it's Gen 5. Unova's Pokedex was wildly inconsistent. Some additions were instant classics, and some were just head-scratchers. The biggest issue in their designs is how overly-designed they are, particularly the legendary Pokemon. However, designs like Sigilyph are also a bit much.

This psychic bird Pokemon is appropriately mystical in design, but there's just so much going on with it. It's hard to tell the head of Sigilyph from its tailfeathers. With so many clashing colors, it's not even internally consistent. The design can work in theory, but in practice, it's just far too bizarre. At the very least, it's surprisingly effective in combat.

Sigilyph's Base Stats:

11 Bramblin

A Simplistic Design

• Type: Grass/Ghost
• Generation: 9
• Game Introduced:Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
• Location In Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: East Province: Area Three, West Province: Asado Desert, Tera Raid Battles (2★)

Bramblin is a strange concept, and although the design is charming in some respects, it feels a bit weak compared to many of the other Pokemon created in recent generations. At its core, Bramblin is nothing more than a rolling tumbleweed, given the Ghost and Grass-type moniker thanks to its sentient appearance in which two large seeds sit as eyes.

Even its evolution, Brambleghast, is simply a slightly detailed continuation of its base form, outlining the eyes more and making the tumbleweed shape a bit more pronounced. Bramblin is a novel idea but doesn't translate super well among the sea of more exciting options.

Bramblin's Base Stats: