Not only was this the generation that introduced the physical/special split, but Sinnoh also gave us some of the coolest Pokémon the entire series ever made! Gallade, Infernape, Empoleon, Bidoof, the list goes on and on. However, in every Pokémon generation, there are a few duds. Gen 4 is no different. And while I like to remain positive, I could easily come up with at least a dozen Pokémon that are pretty terrible. So let’s take a look at them!
12. Rotom-Fan
The Rotom forms are some of the best looking and most useful Pokémon in the whole series, with great type-combinations that balance each other out with the Levitate ability by them immune to Ground-type attacks. The outlier here is Rotom-Fan. What makes Rotom-Fan so bad is its redundancy. It’s an Electric/Flying type. These work great together because Flying covers Electric’s weakness to Ground. Combine this with the aforementioned levitate ability, and you have… a Pokémon that really can’t get hit by Ground attacks. Rotom-Fan is still a fairly decent Pokémon. It just got unlucky with having to share Levitate with all the other forms. So this is a perfect way to start off this list.
11. Bastiodon
At first look, Bastiodon seems like the perfect wall. And while it has monstrous 168/138 defenses, that is unfortunately the only thing it has going for it. Every other stat is 60 and below, meaning it has no health and no offensive presence. Also, its typing leaves a lot to be desired. While it does resist 8 different types and is immune to one, its 3 weaknesses are some of the most common attacking types in the game: Water, Ground, and Fighting, with the latter two being a 4x weakness. Even a Machop has a chance to KO this thing with one hit. If you’re supposed to be the best defensive Pokémon ever, that shouldn’t be possible.
10. Abomasnow
I have always had a soft spot for Abomasnow and Snover. They have a unique look, and are one of the few Pokémon with the Snow Warning ability, making them able to summon Hail when they enter the field. But even I have to admit that Abomasnow has issues. Mostly, it’s plagued by what many people consider to be the worst dual-typing in the game. With a total of 7 weaknesses, this big boy can easily be destroyed by any of its opponents. What makes it worse is its low base 60 Speed. That means it’s going to have to take a hit from whatever is coming out against it. The other Pokémon with Snow Warning just do its job better, including Aurorus and Vanilluxe. And when Vanilluxe does your job better than you, you’re doing a bad job.
9. Phione
Phione is interesting because it’s the only mythical Pokémon you get by breeding. This is done by breeding a Manaphy or a Phione with a Ditto. And with that, you have learned the one interesting thing about Phione. It’s the most lackluster mythical/legendary Pokémon of all time. While it can be bred from Manaphy, it can never evolve into a Manaphy. That means that this Pokémon with the mediocre base 80 stats across the board can never get any better. Finally, Phione isn’t even as cute as Manaphy. For me, this is easily the least interesting legendary/mythical Pokémon out there. And I’m not excited for it to be returning.
8. Lickilicky
I gotta be honest: Lickilicky isn’t totally terrible stat-wise. It has a wide movepool and can be an average supporting Pokémon with its decent bulk and access to Oblivious. But have you seen this thing? It’s disgusting! Its pink coloring isn’t cute. It makes it look swollen, like a zit that’s about to burst. And its tongue is just unnatural. Lickitung’s tongue design curves the way a tongue is supposed to. Lickilicky’s sticks straight out like a tongue depressor. All things considered, Lickilicky is a disgusting Augustus Gloop-looking Pokémon. And I hope that it drowns in a river of chocolate.
7. Carnivine
I like Carnivine. I think it looks delightfully goofy and I loved it in the anime. However, it just doesn’t stand out competitively. While Carnivine has good Attack and decent Special Attack, its other stats leave a lot to be desired. Its defenses are all mediocre and its Speed is awful. And like Rotom-Fan, it has a pretty useless Levitate ability. Yes, a Ground immunity is nice, but the Grass-type already resists that so you don’t need it. There are just a ton of better physical Grass-type Pokémon, like Shiftry and Tsareena.
6. Finneon/Lumineon
Did you remember Lumineon and Finneon? Because I didn’t. They are the most generic fish to ever be generic fish. Yes, they’re pretty, but I can think of a bunch that stand out more. Like Goldeen and Whiscash. Also, they’re mediocre competitively. They have a decent ability with Storm Drain, but their stats are all in the middle. I guess they’re meant to be Specially Defensive, but if you want a Pokémon that does that better with the same ability, use Gastrodon. The only thing going for these fish is that they’re adorable in New Pokémon Snap. Without that, they’d probably be ranked even further up this list.
5. Cherrim
Cherrim doesn’t look that impressive at first. It just looks like some leaves covered with a stem. However, when there’s sunlight on the field, it literally blossoms and becomes one of the cutest Pokémon ever! But that’s about it. Yes, its ability Flower Gift does boost its Attack and Special Defense in sunlight. But it does nothing for its middling Speed. Not to mention that almost all of its moves are Special. Really, Cherrim is only helpful if you’re trying to get Shuckle to execute the strongest attack in the entire game. But that’s only a gimmick, and you need much more than that if you want to make an impact.
4. Wormadam
Gen 4 brought along some of the most important innovations in the Pokémon franchise. But it should be noted that it also brought in some of the worst Bug-type Pokémon too. And I’m going to talk about all of them now, starting with Wormadam. Wormadam has a unique gimmick with its 3 different forms: plant (Grass/Bug), sand, (Ground/Bug), and trash (Steel/Bug). Which one you get depends on where you evolve Burmy. The stats change slightly depending on the form, but they’re all really lackluster. The most useful is Wormadam-Trash because of its awesome typing, but that’s really all it has going for it. Essentially, all forms of Wormadam are just worse versions of other great defensive Pokémon like Forretress and Torterra. Which is a shame, because this is actually a pretty cool concept.
3. Burmy/Mothim
There are a ton of mediocre Bug/Flying Pokémon that are based on moths and butterflies. And Mothim has got to be the worst of that whole group. Its base stat total is 424, and both of its attacking stats leave a lot to be desired, even though it is a Quiver Dance user. There really isn’t much more to say. Mothim is just as bad as all the other butterflies/moths. So why not spend some time talking about a uniquely terrible Pokémon: Burmy. Burmy is similar to Magikarp in that it starts without an attacking move until a later level. However, it doesn’t get the benefit of turning into a powerhouse like Gyarados. Instead, we get either Mothim if male, or Wormadam (who we mentioned earlier). Burmy is completely useless. Its stats are awful, it can only learn 6 moves, and the Pokémon it can evolve into are also pretty bad. To be frank, this whole line is just a waste of time.
2. Kricketot/Kricketune
Burmy might be a waste, but not as much of a waste as the Kricketot line. Kricketot is like Burmy, but much worse. It has a lower base stat total and it can learn even fewer moves. By level up (in Diamond and Pearl), Kricketot learns Growl and Bide. That’s it. Fortunately, it evolves at level 10. So the evolution must be better, right? God no. Kricketune is just as awful. Its base stat total is 384, some of the lowest for any fully evolved Pokémon. Plus by the time you learn any good moves, you’ll have a ton of better team options. Finally, both of these Pokémon are just ugly. The combo of brown, yellow, and black is incredibly unappealing, even with Kricketune’s impressive moustache. These are easily my least favorite Pokémon of all time. And even though these are my least favorite Bug Pokémon, there’s still one more from Gen 4 that’s just truly, truly awful.
1. Male Combee
When it comes to useless fully evolved Pokémon, there’s nothing more useless than Combee. “But wait,” I hear you say, “That’s not true! Combee evolves into Vespiqueen!” And you’re correct… partially. Female Combee evolve into Vespiqueen. Male Combee doesn’t evolve at all. So this base form is as strong as male Combee is going to get. 244 base stats. Awful dual-typing. 6 total moves. It’s just like in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. Vespiqueen is the Queen of Hearts: big, memorable, and beloved by fans. Male Combee is the King of Hearts: small, pitiful, and completely forgettable.
