In the past, playing Pokémon was only about using the pocket monsters that were lovable favorites for each individual player. Features like great designs and coolness of the Pokémon were the deciding factors, not natures, Effort Values, and Individual Values. However, all of this changed once competitive play was made accessible around the world.
With players looking for strategic advantages and not just a hyper beam to the face, some Pokémon emerged that may look good, but had little to no value on the battlefield. Some of them don’t even evolve, making them the least wanted and least valuable players on a team.
Delibird
Introduced in Generation II, Delibird is a dual Ice/Flying-type Pokémon based on the humble penguin. It carries a sack full of presents and food which it often shares with travelers lost in the mountains. Its adorable personality and design aside, Delibird is one of the weakest Pokémon around with poor stats and a gimmick-based move pool.
Its abysmal speed and defense stats leave it outclassed by almost every offensive Pokémon. Delibird’s dual typing also leaves it vulnerable to common offensive types as well as leaving it double weak to Rock types (it takes quadruple damage!) Lastly, the only move it ever learns, Present, can randomly restore its opponents HP rather than cause damage.
Smeargle
Smeargle is a Normal-type, bipedal Pokémon with a large, bushy tail that it uses as a paintbrush. It is known as the Painter Pokémon and is best remembered for its gimmick move: Sketch.
Sketch allows it to copy virtually any move and commit it to memory. Unfortunately, its awful stats mean that it doesn’t survive long enough in battle to copy any useful moves. However, if used correctly and very patiently, Smeargle can be quite an asset on any team.
Luvdisc
A Water-type Pokémon from Generation III, Luvdisc may be an extremely cute Pokémon with its simple heart-shaped design, but it's not too strong, and it's safe to say there are no unique evolution methods for this Pokémon.
It is known as the Rendezvous Pokémon since couples who catch sight of one on the seas are blessed with eternal love. However, Luvdisc itself is not blessed with strong stats or viable defenses, which leaves it extremely vulnerable.
Unown
Unown is a Psychic-type Pokémon introduced in Generation II. It has twenty-eight derivative shapes — one for each letter in the English alphabet, plus a question and exclamation mark. Simply put, Unown has terrible stats.
It has pitiful defenses, leaving it incapable of withstanding common offensive moves. As far as bad moves go, Unown only ever learns one move, which is of a Random type. A trainer can only find out what this move is through a painstaking process of trial and error. Happy hunting.
Wishiwashi (Solo)
An extremely lovable Water-type Pokémon from Generation VII, Wishiwashi is a little fish with “teary” eyes, making it instantly endearing to everyone. This Pokémon's wholesome and cute design doesn't make it useful, though.
The Pokémon is laughably weak with ridiculously low stats. Its ability, Schooling, does give it a stat boost, but its dismal speed stats force it to take multiple hits before dealing any damage (or even getting a turn).
Stunfisk
Stunfisk’s design leaves it on the fence of being either cute or just plain weird. It is a Ground/Electric Pokémon from Generation V and its unique typing makes it so that it's a Ground Pokémon that is weak to Ground moves and an Electric Pokémon that is weak to Water type moves, which is just unreasonable.
Stunfisk has decent defensive bulk and special attack stats, but its lousy speed stats leave it outclassed by other Electric or Ground Pokémon — making players think many times about why it deserves a spot on their team.
Lunatone
Another entry from Generation III of Pokémon, Lunatone is a moon-shaped Pokémon that was introduced for the new double battle mechanic. Don't be fooled by its tough exterior though, as this one is not the strongest.
Its dual Rock/Psychic typing makes it extremely vulnerable to common offensive typing, and considering its average defensive and speed stats, it's one stone everyone would like to leave unturned.
Spinda
Spinda is a bipedal Pokémon that's loosely based on a red panda. This Spot Panda Pokémon is known for each individual Pokémon having completely unique spot patterns, meaning only 2 in 4 billion individuals will have the same distinctive tracing.
Normal-type Pokémon have some powerful moves, but this one is flat-out dreadful with a base stat of 60 across the board, making it awfully average and leaving it easily outclassed by other Normal types.
Shuckle
This Pokémon has an incredibly high defense stat of 230. With a whopping defense stat like this figure, the red turtle Pokémon should be a beast. Unfortunately as Arceus the Pokémon deity giveth, Arceus taketh away.
Poor Shuckle has almost no offensive typing and too poor of an offensive move pool to ever be able to deal any damage. This makes this Rock/Bug Pokémon extremely frustrating and challenging to use in battle.
Plusle And Minun
Plusle and Minun are Electric-type Pokémon introduced for Generation III’s double battle mechanic, with their signature move Helping Hand. The move is not only annoying, but also does little to enhance their partner's damage. Their design is similar to everyone’s favorite Electric mouse Pikachu (a Pokémon even non-fans are familiar with), and unfortunately, they share the same battle viability.
Plusle and Minun are terrible on the offensive, with an even worse move pool which makes them unable to deal significant damage. Together, Plusle and Minun have the potential to make a dent in their opponents' battle plan, but individually they're rendered virtually useless. This makes it especially hard to pick them over other, cuter Electric types.