Everyone wants the strongest Pokemon team possible, making becoming a Pokemon Champion a walk in the park. But what about the other end of the spectrum? The misfits, outliers, and Pokemon who you’d never want to see unless it was in your Pokedex?
Well, today, we are going to talk about just that. We will give you our list of the worst Pokemon in Pokemon Platinum 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.
Regigigas
It’s not often that you see a legendary Pokemon on a “Worst of” list. Regigigas is not bad, especially compared to the other entries. They can effectively take out Pokemon and win battles without a sweat, but getting to that point is the problem.
Regigigas nerfs himself using his ability, Slow Start. Regigigas’s attack and speed are halved for five turns, making for a frustrating experience. While they are perfectly usable in solo play, as any Pokemon are, they are the weakest legendary in the game, hindering their ability to be used competitively.
Magikarp
Magikarp is the most famous and 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 is laughable at best. However, in some twisted joke, Magikarp, once evolved, will turn into Gyarados, one of the strongest Pokemon in the game.
Sunkern
While Magikarp may have some of the worst attacks in the game, there is potential for his evolution. On the other hand, Sunkern has the lowest base stats in the entire game, objectively making it the worst. With 30 in every stat, Sunkern has an overall score of 180, ten points lower than the next Pokemon on the list.
Players of Pokemon Platinum have even gone as far as doing Sunkern-only runs to beat the game. So, while the little seed has the potential to get the player to Pokemon Champion status, the fact the challenge exists in the first place should be enough to show you how bad they are.
Kricketune
A lot of bad Pokemon are their base forms, which is understandable. Pokemon get better as they evolve, and by their second or third evolution, you’ll have a decent Pokemon on your team. Kricketune, while stronger than their pre-evolution form, Kricktot, is one of the weakest final evolution forms in the game.
While you can level them up and get some pretty effective abilities, putting in the effort is a waste of time. By that point in the game, there will be much better options that don’t require the headache. It also doesn’t help that Kricketune is a Bug-Type, which is one of the worst Pokemon types in Platinum.
Combee
When it comes to base stats, Combee is not the worst, with an overall score of 244, putting it above 28 other Pokemon. Combee can also evolve into Vespiquen, a strong and versatile Pokemon to add to your team. The problem is that only female Combee can evolve into Vespiquen, with males not evolving at all.
If that wasn’t bad enough, only 12.5% of all Combee are female, making it much harder to obtain and evolve one. If you are fortunate enough to capture a female, consider yourself lucky, as the rest of us will be stuck with a useless Pokemon with low stats and minimal attacks.
Unown
It’s never a good sign when your very existence is for a gimmick. On the surface, Unown is cool and mysterious. A Psychic-Type Pokemon that looks like ancient writing; the potential is limitless. The reality is Unown knows one move. Yes, a single move in its entire set.
Hidden Power is “A unique attack that varies in type and intensity depending on the Pokémon using it.” This is the game’s vaguest ability. The hidden power mechanic was ultimately abandoned in future titles, showing how useless it was.
However, lore-wise, Unown is said to be fairly powerful, going as far as helping Arceus create the world. But while Arceus is at the top, being the strongest Pokemon in the game, Unown was cast aside as a gimmick letter to stick on walls.
Phione
Just as Unown is a gimmick, Phione is also a gimmick Pokemon, but worse. Capturing a Unown at least gives some benefit, adding its entry to the Pokedex. You can never battle with it or see it again. To get Phione, players have to go out of their way to breed Manaphy, a Mythical Pokemon. You would expect that getting rid of a Mythical Pokemon for another would grant you a powerhouse that will destroy opponents in battle.
That is not the case with Phione. In an ironic joke, Phione has lower base stats than Manaphy and is on par with non-mythical Pokemon. The gimmick is that Phione is just a rare Pokemon. Stats don’t matter, moves don’t matter, and nothing matters except that they are one of the rarest Pokemon to obtain.
Nosepass
Admittedly, Nosepass and his evolved form, Probopass, have good defensive stats and one of the highest base defenses in the game. With abilities like Iron Defense and Harden, Nosepass can increase his defense, making it difficult to take down. However, that’s all it will do in battles, as its HP, attack, and speed are comically low.
It doesn’t help that it is a Rock-Type, eventually evolving to a Rock/Steel-Type. Most Pokemon in the game are strongest against Rock and Steel, making his defense not as good. The best thing going for Nosepass is that it looks like a walking Easter Island statue with a giant nose, giving a good chuckle.
Bastiodon
Bastiodon is basically the same as Nosepass but without the funny looks. They have one of the highest base defense stats in the game, a Rock/Steel-Type, and have low stats in every other category. In Pokemon Platinum, the best defense is a good offense, so while Bastiodon can lower damage taken, it won’t be producing anything else.
Despite the defensive boosts, the minimal damage output will cause opponents to K.O. Bastiodon. Additionally, with most Pokemon being strong against Rock/Steel-Types, it’s no wonder why Bastiodon and Nosepass made the list.