10 Greatest Pokémon Nobody Ever Talks About

Published Jul 19, 2026, 8:00 PM EDT Matthew Danielson is a Senior Gaming Staff Writer for Screen Rant, using their expertise in fighting games, RPGs, and action titles to provide insight into your favorite experiences. Matthew does a bit of everything, including helping ideate new content surrounding the hottest games and classics that continue to stoke nostalgia. With multiple years of experience, Matthew is your go-to expert on a variety of topics, from detailed fighting game experience to the most nuanced builds for your favorite RPG. Matthew has worked for Screen Rant as a Gaming Senior Staff Writer since August 2022, and has been proud to release many articles that have helped people with unique problems while playing games. As a long-time fan of TTRPG games, Matthew is also a veteran DM for Dungeons and Dragons, having hosted numerous campaigns over nearly a decade. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Everyone has a favorite Pokémon, whether it's an obscure team member from earlier Generations or a new creature that has captured someone's preferences perfectly. Many factors go into a Pokémon's notoriety, from if they were in the anime to how cool or memorable their design was. However, each era of Pokémon games has at least a few Pokémon who are forgotten, despite being interesting additions to the iconic franchise. Some of the most well-known Pokémon include Gen 1 mainstays like Charizard and Pikachu, but creatures from later games like Greninja and Tinkaton have gained popularity through their visual appearance or backgrounds. One of the reasons why Pokémon Winds and Waves is so anticipated is that rumored new forms will only expand a player's fondness for their favorite Pokémon. That being said, some Pokémon are unlikely to receive extra attention. Silvally Legendary With Ability To Change Typing At Will Silvally is a strange case in Pokémon's history, being introduced first in Pokémon Sun and Moon and the Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon sequels. This Pokémon is the only creature in the entire series with the ability to change its typing at will, acting as a jack-of-all-trades for trainers to use. Through its RKS System ability, Silvally can transform into each of the 18 Pokemon-related elements, and without having to rely on an item or trigger like other Pokémon. The only pocket monsters capable of doing this prior to Silvally were Kecleon and Arceus, the latter of whom was one of the rarest Legendary Pokémon of all time. That being said, Arcues could only switch types through the use of equipped items, while Silvally could do so naturally. This made the Pokémon incredibly strong and adaptable, but its limited appearance in the Gen 7 games has made it fall from memory since then. Kubfu/Urshifu Different Fighting Styles Created A Customizable Legendary Seen in the Gen 8 games Pokémon Sword and Shield through it's The Isle of Armor DLC, Kubfu and its evolution Urshifu are unlike almost any other Pokémon in the series. Kubfu starts off as a standard Fighting-type Pokémon, but Urshifu is gained depending on which fighting style it learns as it evolves. Players can expose Kubfu to either a Scroll of Darkness or Scroll of Waters in a certain area to transform the Legendary Pokémon into: Single Strike Urshifu - Fighting/Dark-type Rapid Strike Urshifu - Fighting/Water-type The flexibility of this choice creates two equally powerful Legendary Pokémon, with both of them defining the competitive meta they were introduced in. Both in the standard turn-based battles of the video games and in the TCG, Urshifu was a dominant force for quite some time. As either game moved on, though, the limited DLC status of this Pokémon slowly faded away, not returning for any following title and becoming lost to history. Boltund Unofficial Mascot Of A Generation That Needed One Yamper and its evolution Boltund are an adorable pair of dog-like Pokémon also seen in Gen 8, almost immediately when your journey starts. Much like Pikachu, Shinx, or other infamous Electric-types, Boltund is almost the perfect visual representation of its Generation. Since Pokémon Sword and Shield's Galar region is based on the country of England, the image of an English Corgi dog through Yamper is a beautiful way to communicate the setting. Although maybe not the worst region in the series, Galar's biggest weakness was a sense of identity. Boltund's energy and presence provide that, as a Pokémon that many players can imagine seeing run free in the wilds of Galar. While not the strongest Pokémon in the region by a wide margin, Yamper and Boltund give Galar some character that it desperately needed beyond its starters. Grimmsnarl Two Types Put Together Despite All Odds Many Gen 8 Pokémon haven't gotten a lot of love in the series, including Grimmsnarl, a Dark/Fairy-type players can obtain. Grimmsnarl is the antithesis of what fans had long expected a Fairy-type could be, with a sinister look rather than a cute, fluffy, or otherwise "adorable" design theme. Meant to resemble a goblin-like creature from multiple folklores, Grimmsnarl's Dark-type is very apparent, almost forming a duality that makes it interesting. In battle, Grimmsnarl's innate Fairy-type makes it resistant against other Fairy-type moves, which would normally deal devastating damage to a Dark-type Pokémon. Grimmsnarl becomes even more impressive through its Gigantamax form in the Gen 8 games, accentuating its unique design even further. Possessing moves only available to it too, Grimmsnarl has a level of quality to it that, unfortunately, doesn't really move forward with the series. Future games have seen very little of Grimmsnarl, causing it to be left behind with many other Pokémon. Trevenant Haunting Plant With Unorthodox Play Style There is very little to praise about the Gen 6 Pokémon X and Y games, in my opinion, but Trevenant is a big exception. This Ghost/Grass-type already shows a rare elemental pairing, with Trevenant's form as a haunted tree forming a striking silhouette that players could recognize. Among the series' strong selection of other Ghost-types, like Gengar, Chandelure, and Dusknoir, Trevenant stands strong on its own, especially compared to other Ghost/Grass-types like Pumpkaboo. What makes Trevenant so interesting is not just a type combination that wasn't seen for six Generations, but how it uses the best of both those paths. Trevenant is a specialist in learning moves that drain an enemy's health to restore its own, using attacks like Horn Leech and Giga Drain often. With the Ghost type's natural resistances and the Grass-type's ability to drain life, Trevenant has a strong play style that not many other Pokémon have. Escavalier Overlooked Armored Creature With An Evolutionary Gimmick Escavalier is an extremely strong dual-type Pokémon from Gen 5, but rarely any players were able to get it in the original Pokémon Black and White. This Pokémon is incredibly underrated due to how it evolves, with players only able to get Escavalier by being traded a Karrablast, but only when they trade the Bug-type Shelmut in return. This is due to Pokémon's in-game lore, where Karrablast steals Shelmut's knight-like armored helm to become Escavalier. The Shelmut that gets traded for Karrablast to evolve the latter Pokémon into Escavalier will transform into Accelgor for that player, acting as another underrated Bug-type from Gen 5 with tremendous Speed. When players get Escavalier as a Bug/Steel-type, it's easy to compare it to Scizor, the infamous Gen 2 Pokémon that always comes back as a fan-favorite. Yet, Escavalier hosts extraordinary defenses compared to Scizor, acting as a tank rather than a Pokémon focused on Speed like Scizor. With incredible Attack power as well, Escavalier has great potential against anything that isn't a Fire-type, using Steel's immunities and resistances to be a stalwart Pokémon for anyone's team. Glalie Original Ice-Type Powerhouse Overshadowed By Another Even with a Mega Evolution of its own, Glalie is an Ice-type Pokémon from Gen 3 that is often overlooked for its alternate form, Froslass. Froslass' naturally strong abilities and Ice/Ghost-type affinities have made it consistently strong in every game it's ever been in, using increased Speed from icy hail to be an evasive opponent that trainers dread to face. By comparison, Glalie has always felt underwhelming, a far cry from its strong status as one of the best pure Ice-types. Mega Glalie was a step up in Gen 6, but Pokémon Legends: Z-A introduced Mega Froslass to once again step over Glalie. Despite the comparisons, Glalie is still an incredibly solid Pokémon to have, with incredible Attack and Special Attack power for greater adaptability compared to Froslass. Perhaps Glalie will gain a third form to differentiate it from Froslass eventually, but for now, it remains an option mainly for the few fans who prefer it over Froslass. Magcargo Fire-Type Tossed Aside Amidst The Series' Most Popular Element Magcargo is from Pokémon Gold and Silver during the Gen 2 era, acting as a Fire/Rock-type evolved from Slugma. This fiery snail sported a simple but effective design, like a living volcano players could train. That being said, while there weren't many Fire-types in Gen 2, others like Typhlosion and Houndoom easily overshadowed Magcargo with fiercer personalities that were more "traditional" and in line with what players expected from Fire-types. The slow, less aggressive nature of Magcargo sets it apart from other Fire-types, an element Pokémon fans notoriously hold to a higher standard than most types. The consistency of Magcargo's defensive abilities still make it a solid pick, just not one players will likely choose over Charizard, Blaziken, or even newer Pokémon like Armarouge or Pyroar with its new Mega Evolution. Magcargo continuously loses out on being featured in newer games, despite its longevity in the series. Xatu Extremely Strong Aesthetic Without Much Strength Another underrated Gen 2 Pokémon is Xatu, evolved from Natu as a Psychic/Flying-type veteran players may remember. Xatu plays an important role in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon spin-off games, but in the mainline series, it is underwhelming compared to other Pokémon. For example, Noctowl, another Psychic/Flying-type, has more notoriety in the same game as Xatu due to its existence as a staple Pokémon in Ash's early teams in the Pokémon anime's first seasons. Xatu is also underrated due to how difficult it is to catch, with its pre-evolution Natu only appearing in rare or lategame locations. For example, Pokémon Emerald only has Natu appear in the Safari Zone, with a low spawn rate compared to other Pokémon. Despite its shortcomings, Xatu is one of the most visually impressive Pokémon in the series, with its bright green colors and calm expression creating a contrast from other "bird" Pokémon in the franchise. Xatu is meant to resemble a totem pole, with spiritual mysticism tied heavily into how it channels its Psychic powers. With red eyes on its chest and a variety of other small design details that stick out, Xatu is a Pokémon that is still very memorable. Garganacl Pure Stone Tank Most Players Never See Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has a lot of forgettable Pokémon, as the Paradox Pokémon take up a majority of the Pokédex. Those Pokémon are simply alternate past and future forms of familiar faces, but Garganacl is something completely original. There have been many "golem" Pokémon in the series' history, yet the progression from Nacli to Naclstack to Garganacl feels almost as natural as Gen 1 and 2 transformations. Although pure Rock-types are often considered weak, Garganacl has incredibly strong HP, Attack, and Defense, making it a physical juggernaut Gen 9 tends to lack. With Sturdy to prevent one-hit K.O.'s or Clear Body to prevent stat drops, Garganacl is almost like a living castle of pure stone, unrelenting to opposing pressure. Having this strong Rock-type Pokémon on your team can counter the many Fire and Electric-types in Scarlet and Violet, giving you an advantage. Based on salt minerals and rock salts, Garganacl has a powerful identity as a strange three-stage Rock-type that rarely exists in any game. As the only Pokémon who can learn the ability Purifying Salt too, Garganacl's status is something players can recognize as special within the context of its game. When it comes to underrated Pokémon in the series, Garganacl is one players forget about, despite its obvious strengths. Video Game(s) Pokemon Red and Blue, Pokemon Yellow, Pokemon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Crystal, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, Pokemon Sapphire, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Pokemon Platinum, Pokemon Black and White, Pokemon Black and White 2, Pokemon X and Y, Pokemon Sun and Moon, Pokemon Sword and Shield, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Pokemon Winds and Waves, Pokemon Legends Arceus, Pokemon Legends Z-A First Game Pokemon Red and Blue Genres RPG TV Show(s) Pokémon First Film Pokemon: The First Movie First TV Show Pokémon