Players want the best possible team when playing any Pokemon game. The goal is to become the very best and, eventually, the Pokemon Champion. But what about the Pokemon we never hear of? Everyone knows about the strong and versatile, but hardly anyone mentions the misfits.
Well, today, we are going to talk about just that. We will be giving you our list of the worst Pokemon in Pokemon Black/White so you’ll know who to avoid on your next playthrough. While all Pokemon can beat the game, some will turn a challenge into a headache you won’t want to deal with. These Pokemon are only good for adding an entry to your Pokedex.
Patrat
From a purely objective standpoint, Patrat is the worst of the worst in Pokemon Black/White. Base stats can tell us a lot about a Pokemon, and Patrat has the lowest base stats in the entire game. While it sports a 55 attack, which isn’t bad compared to other Pokemon around the same area, every other stat is low. It is one of the slowest Pokemon, and its evolved form, Watchdog, has some of the lowest stats out of the fully evolved Pokemon roaster.
Patrat has nothing unique about it. They are a Normal-Type with an unusually high attack. While that may sound good, consider that almost half of its abilities are special attacks, with its lowest stat being, you guessed it, Special Attack.
Luvdisc
This heart-shaped fish boasts an impressive 97 speed, giving it one of the highest base speed stats in the game. But that’s about the only nice thing that can be said about Luvdisc. Maybe it looks cute while completing your Pokedex.
But what makes this Pokemon worse than almost any other in history? It has low stats, but surely its speed and Water-Type make up for that. Comparing it to another Water-Type like Squirtle, we can see Squirtle almost has better overall stats and has higher attack and special attack than Luvdisc. Squirtle can also evolve two times, making him one of the strongest Pokemon, while Luvdisc has no evolutions.
Simisear
A Generation V list must have one of the three elemental monkeys on it, and Simisear is by far the worst. Simisear goes the extra step of not just being an uninspired Pokemon but one of the most hated. In a poll voting on their favorite Pokemon, Japan ranked Simisear dead last, officially making it the most hated Pokemon ever.
Adding to its infamous design, as a Fire-Type Pokemon, its abilities are less than desirable. Simisear and the two other elemental monkeys feel gimmicky and outclassed by other Pokemon of the same type.
Emolga
An Electric/Flying-Type has a lot of potential to be a fan favorite, but Emolga doesn’t make the cut. Its base speed is a whopping 103. However, the rest of its stats, especially its HP, are lacking. What makes Emolga disappointing is the potential to be an amazing Pokemon, useful on any team comp.
But given that they don’t have an evolved form and die before battles even get going, they are among the worst. While they aren’t totally useless, there are much better Electric-Types in the game that can pack a punch.
Deerling
There will always be gimmick Pokemon added for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the lore around them is important, or it’s just a fun idea. Deerling follows the ladder as its most impressive feat is changing colors depending on the season. Along with their color changing, their scent also changes with the seasons, which is interesting.
Similar to Patrat, its lowest stat is Special Attack, despite half its abilities relying on special attacks. This also transfers to its evolved form, Sawsbuck, which also changes forms with the seasons. While visually pleasing, nothing about the Pokemon changes, even staying as a Normal/Grass-Type, with no exciting moves or adding more special attacks.
Smeargle
Similar to how Deerling’s gimmick is changing forms, Smeargle’s gimmick is changing abilities. Smeargle has no evolutions and only one move, Sketch. Sketch lets the user learn the last move used by the target permanently. So if your opponent’s Pokemon uses Flamethrower, Smeargle will permanently learn the move, which is an interesting concept. However, the biggest downside, and its ultimate downfall, is that Sketch disappears once Smeargle learns that move.
Additionally, Smeargle can only obtain Sketch every ten levels, so you will have a while in between when new moves can be learned. Now, admittedly, Smeargle can be very beneficial and good if used correctly, especially when it comes to Breeding. However, this is only useful to players who know what they are doing and have played many times before. A new player on their first run will probably not have the forethought to know which moves are good and which to avoid.
Basculin
Continuing the trend of fish Pokemon being some of the worst in the game, Basculin is our next entry. Its base stats are fairly good, with its speed and attack being the best. Unfortunately, 11 of its 16 moves use special attacks and rarely are Water-Type. While Basulin received a glow-up in Generation IX, there’s no denying that his beginnings were rocky, not even evolving until later games. His potential was always there, but in Pokemon Black/White, his design is boring and is outclassed by many other fish.
Pidove
Pidove is a classic early bird Pokemon that lacks design and an interesting move set. They are the standard Flying/Normal-Type you’d expect to see the first time you step into the tall grass, and that’s the issue. There’s nothing unique or exciting about Pidove.
As for its stats, they are okay when just starting on your journey but will soon become obsolete. Its abilities look like an afterthought and were just thrown together at the last moment. To sum up, just how useless they are, consider the flavor text from the game’s Pokedex: “Each follows its Trainer’s orders as best it can, but they sometimes fail to understand complicated commands”.
Magikarp
No list would be complete without the infamous fish. Magikarp is the most well-known example of a useless Pokemon. And this isn’t a hit piece designed to target the fish, the game explicitly says Magikarp is useless. Take these Pokedex entries from Gen IV: “A MAGIKARP living for many years can leap a mountain using Splash. The move remains useless, though”. and “It is said to be the world’s weakest Pokémon. No one knows why it has managed to survive”.
Players will be greeted with this when using Magikarp’s Splash attack: “The user just flops and splashes around to no effect at all…”. If that wasn’t enough, the attacks that can do damage are a coin toss to see if Magikarp can even hit the opposing Pokemon. If they are so lucky to do so, the damage will be laughable at best. However, in some twisted joke, Magikarp, once evolved, will turn into Gyarados, one of the strongest Pokemon in the game.