Boy howdy are there a lot of Pokemon nowadays. Of course, Gen 1 kids remember all the original 150, but in the present day, there are over 890 of the little pocket critters. And, among those designs, there are a good number of fantastic ones, even a few that are iconic.

As these things go, there are also a fair number of arguably "bad" designs. But, what people don't often talk about are the middle-of-the-road Pokemon that are often forgotten about or completely ignored by the rest of their generation. We're here to talk about those guys, so let's get started.

Updated March 22, 2022 by Jacob Buchalter: Now that the next line in the internationally beloved Pokemon franchise, Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet, has been revealed as coming late in 2022, it's time to take another look back. There is such an absurd amount of different Pokemon these days, all with expertly crafted designs, yet some still slip through the cracks and are almost entirely forgotten about. Let's talk about a few more examples of this, and why exactly these Pokemon tend to slip people's minds.

20 Literally Any Fish Pokemon From Any Generation

Pokemon - Some Fish Pokemon PNGs Overlaid On Image Of Ash Looking Into A Fish Tank

We won't be grouping the Pokemon up like this throughout the whole article, but how could we not talk about the absurd amount of "just a fish" Pokemon? In every generation, Game Freak seems to feel it's necessary for them to add a couple more "fish" Pokemon to the ever-growing pool. Stunfisk, Sebas, Barboach, Barraskewda, Remoraid, Relicanth, and so many others.

Without fail, these fish are almost immediately forgotten about by the fanbase. Well, outside of a few notable designs like Wailord, Wishiwashi, or Sharpedo. Sure, a few of them still see a bit of competitive play, but from a casual standpoint they all sort of blend together.

19 The Pikachu Family Tree From All Gens: All The Knock-Off Pikachu's

Pokemon - All The Pikachu-Like Pokemon PNGs Overlaid On Image Of Two Pikachus Eating Together

Just like how every new Generation of Pokemon has a Pidgey and Ratata clone in their first few routes, every new Genalso has a knock-off Pikachu. In fact, it's literally called the Pikachu family, and it includes one Pokemon from every generation that's obviously trying to capitalize off the popularity of the iconic yellow electric mouse. To name those that aren't in the Pikachu evolution line, there's; Plusle, Minun, Emolga, Pachirisu, Dedenne, Togedemaru, Morpeko, and Mimikyu (though this one is assuredly a much darker iteration than the others). Now, none of these designs are "forgettable" per se. But, because there are so many of them, we're willing to bet you forgot about at least one of them until you saw the image above. There may be a ton of them, but we're willing to bet none of them would make it very far in one of the many popularity polls out there.

18 The Bag Worm Pokemon From Gen IV: Wormadam

Pokemon - All Three Wormadam Forms Overlaid On Image of Wormadam from Pokemon Anime

Every generation of Pokemon has some sort of "caterpillar into butterfly" type Pokemon, the original, of course, being the Caterpie to Butterfree (one of Ash's best Pokemon) and Weedle to Beedrill evolutionary lines. Well, in Gen IV, it's Burmy into Mothim. But, unlike the others, Burmy actually has an alternate path it can evolve into depending on the gender — Wormadam.

Now, Wormadam's appearance is not much different from Burmy's, and it also has the whole "Cloak" thing going on with the Plant, Sandy, and Trash Cloaks. But, outside of the Cloaks, it's just about as obscure of a Pokemon as Burmy is, and the multiple forms don't exactly add much anyway. Even competitively, Wormadam is almost entirely forgotten.

17 The Scarf Pokemon From Gen V: Cinccino

Pokemon - Cinccino PNG Overlaid On Image Of Its Apperance In Pokemon Anime

Now, this next one might seem odd, considering that the design of the Pokemon itself is pretty much the perfect balance of simple and complex, but Cinccino is still forgettable. This Pokemon, obviously based on a Chinchilla, was designed by Atsuko Nishida, a Graphic Artist who has worked on many different Pokemon designs since the franchise first began.

Now, it only makes sense that Cinccino's design works, given that its creator also came up with fantastic designs like Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon, and Sylveon, but Cinccino just doesn't have the same "wow" factor. It's neat that it uses its fur "scarf" covered with natural oil to repel attacks, but that's really about it. Apparently, Cinccino and its pre-evolution Minccino were designed to be parallels to Kanto's Clefairy and Clefable, but it's just not a close contest between the two of them.

16 The Constraint Pokemon From Gen VI: Meowstic

Pokemon - Meowstic Male and Female Forms Overlaid On Image Of Both Forms Being Used In Pokemon Anime

Then there's Meowstic, another male/female final evolution Pokemon that, for some reason, is pretty forgettable. But, what exactly is the primary reason that this Gen VI Pokemon doesn't stay forefront in the minds of the franchise's fans? Well, it's actually pretty simple, Espurr is just better. The pre-evolution of Mewostic, Espurr, just has far more of a reputation than its evolved form, and for good reason. Espurr's thousand-yard stare is both haunting and hilarious. Honestly, Espurr is essentially Gen VI's version of Psyduck (one of the most popular Pokemon by far) in that it is a Psychic Pokemon who is constantly troubled by the very same psychic abilities that make it so formidable. But, instead of headaches, Espurr has those ever-open eyes. Comparing that gimmick to anything that Mewostic has going on is a losing battle, no matter the scenario.

15 The Drowsing Pokemon From Gen VII: Komala

Pokemon - Komala PNG Overlaid On Image Of Komala Sleeping In A Tree In The Pokemon Anime

Komala is such an oddball little Pokemon of the Alola region. On the surface, Komala seems like it belongs to that niche group of Pokemon that are ninety-nine percent real-world animals and one percent Pokemon, such as Seel, Swanna, or many of the fish Pokemon.

But, upon further inspection, this Koala-inspired Pokemon has an extra gimmick in that it is asleep its entire life, which is actually pretty apt for a Normal-type Pokemon. It's born asleep, dies asleep, and lives its whole life within a dream. Now, that sounds fun, right? Why is this Pokemon so forgettable then? Well, part of this is the lackluster design. It's cute, but it's just a Koala. The bigger reason is likely because it just doesn't make sense. If Komala is asleep its entire life and its movements are no more than reactions from a dream, how does it battle, how does it know when to eat, and where do its parents get that trademarked log pillow that all Komalas have? It's an interesting Pokemon to be sure, but the lack of any real explanation or evolution makes it so that Komala goes the way of other single-evolution oddballs such as Dunsparce or Kecleon.

14 The Emotion Pokemon From Gen VIII: Indeedee

Pokemon - Both Indeedee Forms Looking Very Cute In Pokemon Sword And Shield With Their Official Art PNGs Overlaid On Top

Ah, finally, another Sword and Shield Pokemon. It's hard to say that any of the Pokemon from the most recent generation, Gen VIII, are forgettable. After all, these are the Pokemon that were introduced to the franchise most recently, usually resulting in them being at the forefront of Pokemon fans' minds. But, Indeedee somehow manages to remain forgettable even with that advantage.

To be frank, it's simply because these Pokemon serve the same purpose as Chansey and Blissey, but without nearly the same amount of love for their designs, or the same charm. Indeedee are Gratitude Pokemon, choosing to help out others in Galar almost like Butlers or Maids in exchange for gratitude. They're expertly aware of the emotions of those around them and aim to make everyone happy. But, the sad part is, this is basically exactly what the Chansey evolutionary line was created for, and they have had a longer history. Simply put, while both gender designs of Indeedee are well-made and not at all forgettable, they pale in comparison to most of the other Galar Pokemon and are certainly not putting up any sort of fight against Happiny, Chansey, or Blissey.

13 The Collective Pokemon From Gen VI: Barbaracle

Pokemon: Barbaracle And Biancle Overlaid On Image Of How Barbaracle Looks In The Anime

Binacle is sort of the Rock version of Magnemite. Because, when they evolve, multiples of them come together to form Barbaracle, just like Magnemite becomes Magneton. With Barbaracle, it's two instead of Magneton's three. Still, with two Pokemon becoming one, you wouldn't expect the end result to be so utterly forgettable! The only time you might remember that this weird monstrosity exists is when someone brings up "didn't they make a barnacle Pokemon once?" Yes, yes they did, modeled after the goose barnacle. And it's hideous.

12 The Sunflower Pokemon From Gen II: Sunflora

Pokemon: Sunflora Design Overlaid On An Image Of A Field Of Sunflora

Gen II is a great generation. The game developers really nailed the designs of this region and 99% of them are winners. But nothing is perfect, and the only oft-forgotten Pokemon is the Sunflower called Sunflora, who evolves from Sunkern.

Obviously, this lad was introduced to compliment the new Day/Night cycle Gold & Silver brought to the table, as well as the shiny stone. But Sunflora just felt like a safer and more boring Bellsprout design that people quickly forgot even existed.

11 The Firefly Twins From Gen III: Volbeat & Illumise

Pokemon: Illumise & Volbeat Overlaid On Image Of These Two Bug Pokemon In The Anime

The insects of the Pokemon world actually tend to be the opposite example of the fish. Most of the time, they're well-designed and strong like Scoliopede or Goliospod. Of course, Beedrill and Butterfree are the OG classics, but there are also a few forgettable inclusions.

The worst of them are bug designs that don't really accentuate the things that make bugs unique like their big eyes, exoskeletons, or pincers. One of the most forgettable examples of this is the pair of firefly Pokemon from Gen III, Volbeat and Illumise. They were like the Plusle and Minun of the Bug-types, just not nearly as adorable or useful.

10 The Karate & Judo Pokemon From Gen V: Sawk & Throh

Pokemon: Sawk & Throh Overlaid On Image Of Throh In The Anime

Sawk and Throh (or Bert and Ernie, as they're lovingly called in the community) are the ultimate examples of the classic Pokemon oddity of being "born" with clothes as part of your body. Just like how Hitmonchan has a skirt and boxing gloves that it burst out of its egg wearing, Sawk and Throh come into this world with entire judo/karate outfits on. It doesn't help that outside of their karate uniforms, these two Pokemon are basically just red and blue blobs with big eyebrows and nothing truly unique about their designs other than maybe the fact that they look like crypto-bros who practice Karate in their spare time.

9 The Multi-Formed Weather Pokemon: Castform

Pokemon: Castform Overlaid On Image Of Sunlight Castform

Sometimes, a Pokemon is introduced that perfectly utilizes the new "gimmick" of that generation. Umbreon and Espeon (two of the many complex Eeveelutions) were perfect to show off the Day/Night cycle in Silver & Gold, Alolan Pokemon like Executor and Persian showed off the Regional Variants, and then there was Castform.

Castform was meant to show off the "Weather" system that the Ruby & Sapphire games were so proud of. And, it did that... mostly. The only problem was the base Castform design was so lame and uninspired that no one wanted to use it regardless, even if it did turn into a little ice cube or raindrop. Plus, they love to scrap new concepts anyway, so fans can't even get attached to many of them or the Pokemon related to them.

8 The Living Blossom From Gen IV: Cherrim

Pokemon: Both The Open And Closed Versions Of Cherrim Overlaid On Image Of How Cherrim Looks In-Game

Cherrim falls into the category of "a plant but with a face drawn on" Pokemon that tends to only work for fans about 60% of the time. This category has produced winners like Oddish or Tropius, and it's also generated some weaker designs like Cherrim or Flabebe.

Cherrim honestly just feels like they slapped googly eyes on a plant, although it does have its closed, open, and sunlight forms, which are at least a tad memorable. Though, to be fair, it recently became a lot less of an obscure Pokemon in people's minds solely because of how annoying it is to catch in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

7 The Cactus Pokemon From Gen V: Maractus

Pokemon: Maractus Overlaid On Image Of Maractus In-Game

Remember Cacturne? The Cactus-themed scarecrow Pokemon that James had for a while in the anime? Cacturne was such a great design, a brilliant combination of two different ideas into one Pokemon that didn't seem to clash with each other. Well, most people aren't aware that another, lesser-known, Cactus-based Pokemon exists in the form of Maractus.

Maractus is actually a great Pokemon design, in our opinion. It's based on blending the concept of prickly pear cactus with maracas, and it works well visually. But, sadly, sometimes even good designs get left in the dust, and no one even seems to remember that Maractus exists.

6 The Cerebral Pokemon From Gen V: Elgyem & Beheeyem

Pokemon: Elgyem & Beheeyem Overlaid On Image Of Elgyem From The Anime

Seriously, did anyone voluntarily use either of these two Pokemon back in the Gen V days? And we don't mean using them purely for competitive reasons, we mean did anyone walk out into a patch of grass, come upon Elgyem, think to themselves "Man what a great design," and feel the need to immediately snag it?

Because we doubt it, given how we couldn't even remember this evolutionary line existed. Elgyem and its evolution Beheeyem are supposed to have a lot of visual cues to extraterrestrial lifeforms, aka aliens, but as a simple Pokemon design, they just don't do the job. Honestly, they look more like Ultra-Beast pre-evolutions more than anything, and those are a group of "Pokemon" that are arguably also forgettable in their own right.

5 The Jewel Pokemon From Gen VI: Carbink

Pokemon: Carbink Overlaid On Image Of Carbinks From The Anime

This next one ends up on the list purely because the Pokemon Team handled the Diancie/Carbink relationship incorrectly, not because of the design itself. Simply put, Diancie is a Mythical-type Pokemon that came into being due to a random mutation in a Carbink's DNA. They don't typically spawn from Carbink, and there's no known way to turn a Carbink into a Diancie in-game, so Carbink is still just as forgettable in concept as it was previously.

To be fair, Carbink and Diancie both have a good move pool and decent stats, but even then they're both far from being "underrated" or anything like that.

4 The Season Pokemon From Gen V: Sawsbuck

Pokemon: Deerling And Sawsbuck Overlaid On Image From The Anime Showing Off All Four Varaitions Of Sawsbuck

There have been so many gimmick-based Pokemon. I mean, we literally talked about Castform just a bit earlier. Sawsbuck, and its pre-evolution Deerling, are deer/stag-based Pokemon that were meant to capitalize on Black and White's introduction of the seasons system. And, to that effect, they do a very good job. Sawsbuck's antler designs differ widely from season to season, and using deer antlers as a symbol for trees going through different stages of the year is a pretty ingenious idea. But, outside of that concept, these Pokemon are just too forgettable. Much like Stantler, they're literal deer with a little something extra, but even Stantler got a new evolution with Wyrdeer in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

3 The Dancing Pokemon From Gen VII: Oricorio

Pokemon: All 4 Variants Of Oricorio Overlaid On Image Of Oricorio In The Anime

Wow, there are a lot of Generation gimmick Pokemon on here huh? Wonder why The Pokemon Company still puts so much work into them each gen when the Pokemon themselves are quickly forgotten about? In any case, Oricorio changes forms based on the Nectar it drinks from certain flowers, and that nectar is different depending on which island of Alola you're on.

Obviously, the intention was to impress you with the different forms as you continue through your journey. But, while it was a nice attempt, no one really seemed to latch onto this bird. People only seemed to use it when they didn't have anything better and almost immediately forgot about it by the time the game ended.

2 The Dragon Orb & Electron Pokemon From Gen VIII: Regidrago & Regieleki

Pokemon: Image Of Regidrago and Regielekti Overlaid On Image Of All Three Classic Regis

Here's the thing, Regidrago and Regieleki, the two new Regi-Pokemon that were introduced in Sword and Shield DLCs, aren't forgettable designs. Not at all. Honestly, they're pretty amazing designs, all things considered. And they're so incredibly strong! But ask any casual Pokemon fan, and it's very likely they'll still think that there are only three Regis. People don't even remember Regigigas half the time, no way they remember these two. Something about the other new Legendaries introduced in the DLCs or the timing, in general, caused these two Regi-recruits to be quickly forgotten about.

1 The Coral Pokemon From Gen VIII: Cursola

Pokemon: Image of Cursola Overlaid On Image Of Cursola In Battle

And finally, we're not sure why The Pokemon Company is so obsessed with being mean to Corsola. In the early gens, Corsola had a friendly sort of relationship with other Pokemon who wanted to hide in their branches, like Luvdisc or Seadra. But in recent games, the devs just seem fascinated with torturing these cute little things. Honestly, it's starting to seem like giving old Pokemon new ghost-type forms with new regions is a trend with The Pokemon Company, with examples like Basculegion and Hisuian Zoroark in Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

In any case, circling back to Corsola, in Sun & Moon, these Pokemon were suddenly targeted by Toxapex and we were told they were constantly hunted by them. Not exactly a cute Pokedex entry, huh? You would think that Toxapex problem carried over into the Galar region, and that's why there's this ghost-type Regional Variant now. But nope, that's not right, a meteor actually wiped them all out? What? Yet, with a design as good as this and a backstory as wacky as that, no one even remembers this variant exists.

NEXT: Pokemon Who Would Make Good Pets, But Ruin Your House