Underrated Pokemon

[Blite]

Just as the title says, mention some underrated Pokemon in your opinion. Please give context.


Here are mine...

Take a look at Audino's overview on the BW In-game tier list:

Audino

Availability: Kill it
Stats: Kill it
Movepool: Kill it
Additional Comments: Why bother to catch one of these when you can kill one for mountains of experience points? Honestly?

Silently cries
I caught an Audino for my 1st run through BW, and it was a beast. It was insanely useful against Lenora, being able to stall and soak her Retaliate very well. And even though I chose Oshawott, Audino is more suitable for Surf, IMO. Looks amazing coming out of a Heal Ball too.

Stunfisk isn't obtainable until postgame in B2W2, but oh well.

Stunkfisk

Availability: Late
Stats: Average
Movepool: Decent
Additional Comments: It has average stats, is very slow, is not useful in any of the major fights, and looks like a...I don't even want to describe it.

Call me weird, but I love this...thing. I used Stunfisk for my first run through B2W2(traded from BW) and to be fair, Stunfisk has a really cool typing, and I remember running Surf, Bounce, Mud Bomb, and Thunderbolt, pretty versatile...

 

[SincPlays]

Tapu Bulu.
I know it sounds weird, deal with it.

Tapu Bulu, if used correctly, can sweep any team (except for fire types).
Set up Grassy Terrain, Horn Leech.
Boom. Done. Poop (sandwiches).
-SincPlays

 

[MyNameIsLouise]

Flygon is super underrated.
It probably lost fame with the introduction of Garchomp, another dragon/ground Pokemon with better stats, but even then
Flygon is STILL cool though.
(and also the best pokemon ever, dont @ me)

It has a fantastic design, sporting a unique red&green color palette. A dragonfly that's an actual dragon is ingenious.
It's also very good in RU, with an immunity to ground and the ability to sweep with dragon dance or outspeed with choice scarf.

 

[Hugin]

I do love Flygon.

Whiscash. It’s basically a worse Swampert to most people, which, fair, but that’s still a really broken type combo with solid offenses and bulk for an in-game run. I had one carry me through a good chunk of a Sapphire Nuzlocke before, because there’s just nothing that can hurt it.

 

[DrumstickGaming]

While I know the thread creator posted years ago, I second Audino being a BEAST in BW1. On our current tier list, it’s actually C Tier (meaning while not the best, it’s useable). You can Work Up on any boss pre-League, heal up and destroy. Regenerator and Screens are an incredible combo though I never used them. It only starts falling off lategame, though you can still solo Shauntal and Ghetsis. While far from the best Normal, it’s much better than its stats would have you think.

As for original picks, I would say Drampa. Unusable in-game, but if you use it right it’s an absolute tour de force. Special Attack equal to Alakazam is incredible, and it has the coverage to really use it. Low Speed hurts, though Trick Room helps, even if it is weak to Ice Shard and Mach Punch.

 

[bdt2002]

Here are some of my picks for this underrated thread for underrated Pokemon.

Chikorita + Evos: My whole life I've been an advocate for the Totodile family. That will never change, because of all of the memories I have with this Pokemon back from my early days in SoulSilver and following games. If it wasn't for my extreme bias, I'd be using Chikorita a LOT more. It gets so much neglection compared to the other two starters. It's actually quite good as a wall in the Johto games, which is a rare niche on its own. It's less that Chikorita sucks and more so that Grass is a VERY bad type in Johto.

Ludicolo: Where do I even begin? This sombrero wearing pineapple duck has always been popular to some extent thanks to this underrated dude called Miror B and for its downright amazing design. That bring said, its battle performance is the textbook definition of underrated. Being an absolute force in the rain (especially pre Gen 6), it can function as a sweeper, a wall, a mixed threat, and so much more. It's even pretty decent in RSE runs. I'd like to state that Ludicolo is the only Pokemon in history I don't have a single problem with. Not one. THAT, my friends, is saying something.

Trevenant: This is on here for one reason only. Trevanent with only Recover and a Leppa Berry with Harvest + Primal Groudon = infinite healing chains. Need I say more? (Apparently Exeggutor could do this too, but I'm not sure.)

 

[BP]

Golduck but only because its my favorite Pokemon

 

[DrumstickGaming]

Ludicolo: Where do I even begin? This sombrero wearing pineapple duck has always been popular to some extent thanks to this underrated dude called Miror B and for its downright amazing design. That bring said, its battle performance is the textbook definition of underrated. Being an absolute force in the rain (especially pre Gen 6), it can function as a sweeper, a wall, a mixed threat, and so much more. It's even pretty decent in RSE runs. I'd like to state that Ludicolo is the only Pokemon in history I don't have a single problem with. Not one. THAT, my friends, is saying something.

Trevenant: This is on here for one reason only. Trevanent with only Recover and a Leppa Berry with Harvest + Primal Groudon = infinite healing chains. Need I say more? (Apparently Exeggutor could do this too, but I'm not sure.)

Ludicolo is great in general (rain sweeper + not many weaknesses due to unique type) and a beast in the Battle Factory, where it has a nigh unbeatable Double Team Toxic Leech Seed and Rain Dance set which is even better with Rain Dish. The other ones are like wide lens Blizzard, Pump, and Focus Blast and there’s also a potential Rain Dance sweeper.

Harvest Trevanant with Wisp is indeed awesome but it’s stats don’t mesh well with the play style. Here’s hoping GF makeS a Defensive Grass type with Harvest (not talking about Tropius because it has so many weaknesses)

 

[DrPumpkinz]

I'm a fan of Vespiquen. It's got good bulk, a good defensive ability, and reliable recovery. It also has decent mixed offenses, and cool move options like Power Gem, Pursuit, and Destiny Bond.

 

[DrumstickGaming]

I'm a fan of Vespiquen. It's got good bulk, a good defensive ability, and reliable recovery. It also has decent mixed offenses, and cool move options like Power Gem, Pursuit, and Destiny Bond.

And male Combee holds the distinction of being one of the worst mons.
But seriously, Vespiquen is cool, it just needs a slightly better pool of moves (though what it gets is useable).
Basculin is another underrated mon, at least in-game. Adaptability Waterfall is pretty potent, and it has just enough options to not be walled (Crunch, Return, Final Gambit, and I guess Ice Beam).

 

[bdt2002]

And male Combee holds the distinction of being one of the worst mons.
But seriously, Vespiquen is cool, it just needs a slightly better pool of moves (though what it gets is useable).
Basculin is another underrated mon, at least in-game. Adaptability Waterfall is pretty potent, and it has just enough options to not be walled (Crunch, Return, Final Gambit, and I guess Ice Beam).

Press F to pay respects for male Combee

Edit: F

 

[Jerry the great]

Ya know... I actually think Inceneroar is pretty underated. It doesn't deserve the hate. It looks cool, for you competitive players it's excellent in NU, I like it's concept, LOVE it's Z move, and to show my point, even game freak thinks it's underated, as it got in smash bros instead of decidueye!

 

[OrangeGuru]

Ya know... I actually think Inceneroar is pretty underated. It doesn't deserve the hate. It looks cool, for you competitive players it's excellent in NU, I like it's concept, LOVE it's Z move, and to show my point, even game freak thinks it's underated, as it got in smash bros instead of decidueye!

Wouldn't Smash Bros putting Incineroar point to Incineroar not being an underrated pokemon? As in, other games consider it a worthy fighter to put in their own game (though I know Smash and Pokemon are both under Nintendo's umbrella).

As for me, I'll throw Nidoqueen in the ring. Very wide movepool makes it very flexible, especially in-game for Gen 1 and 3, and it helps that it is overshadowed by Nidoking (helping it go under the radar a bit more and be successful in RU)

 

[Jerry the great]

Wouldn't Smash Bros putting Incineroar point to Incineroar not being an underrated pokemon? As in, other games consider it a worthy fighter to put in their own game (though I know Smash and Pokemon are both under Nintendo's umbrella).

As for me, I'll throw Nidoqueen in the ring. Very wide movepool makes it very flexible, especially in-game for Gen 1 and 3, and it helps that it is overshadowed by Nidoking (helping it go under the radar a bit more and be successful in RU)

About that... I tend to see quite a bit of hate for the thing, and I disagree. If you hate it, I ain't stopping you, but I still like it quite a bit.

 

[bdt2002]

Ya know... I actually think Inceneroar is pretty underated. It doesn't deserve the hate. It looks cool, for you competitive players it's excellent in NU, I like it's concept, LOVE it's Z move, and to show my point, even game freak thinks it's underated, as it got in smash bros instead of decidueye!

Incineroar honestly does deserve more love imo, despite the Smash thing (expecting one of the DLC packs to be for Gen 8 btw.) It's similar to Emboar in that many people hated the transition from adorable to "ugly", and while it isn't one, it definitely looks like a Fighting-Type evolution. I actually like Blaziken, Infernape, and Emboar quite a lot, actually.

Wouldn't Smash Bros putting Incineroar point to Incineroar not being an underrated pokemon? As in, other games consider it a worthy fighter to put in their own game (though I know Smash and Pokemon are both under Nintendo's umbrella).

As for me, I'll throw Nidoqueen in the ring. Very wide movepool makes it very flexible, especially in-game for Gen 1 and 3, and it helps that it is overshadowed by Nidoking (helping it go under the radar a bit more and be successful in RU)

As for Nidoqueen, I think just the same about it. It's practically interchangeable with Nidoking in literally every game it's in despite most people preferring Nidoking's offense as opposed to Nidoqueen's extra bulk. That being said, following the Psychic-Type and Ice-Type nerfs in Gen 2, both of them got major buffs. Nidoking fit right in as a versatile offensive threat in Gen 2 OU, and Nidoqueen essentially became the Snorlax of Gen 2 UU, as it wouldn't make sense for both to be OU at the same time, especially with Skarmory and Cloyster both existing. Basically what I'm trying to say is that Gen 2 Nidoqueen was definitely OU material, but was only UU because of the fanbase and the metagame. Huge step up from Gen 1 competitive play indeed, considering how stale and unpopular Gen 2 competitive play is.

Also, shoutouts to the forgotten but overpowered Gen 2 UU core of Slowking/Nidoqueen. Two underrated threats quite literally ruling over the tier without even realizing it. Nice.

 

[Jerry the great]

Incineroar honestly does deserve more love imo, despite the Smash thing (expecting one of the DLC packs to be for Gen 8 btw.) It's similar to Emboar in that many people hated the transition from adorable to "ugly", and while it isn't one, it definitely looks like a Fighting-Type evolution. I actually like Blaziken, Infernape, and Emboar quite a lot, actually.

As for Nidoqueen, I think just the same about it. It's practically interchangeable with Nidoking in literally every game it's in despite most people preferring Nidoking's offense as opposed to Nidoqueen's extra bulk. That being said, following the Psychic-Type and Ice-Type nerfs in Gen 2, both of them got major buffs. Nidoking fit right in as a versatile offensive threat in Gen 2 OU, and Nidoqueen essentially became the Snorlax of Gen 2 UU, as it wouldn't make sense for both to be OU at the same time, especially with Skarmory and Cloyster both existing. Basically what I'm trying to say is that Gen 2 Nidoqueen was definitely OU material, but was only UU because of the fanbase and the metagame. Huge step up from Gen 1 competitive play indeed, considering how stale and unpopular Gen 2 competitive play is.

Also, shoutouts to the forgotten but overpowered Gen 2 UU core of Slowking/Nidoqueen. Two underrated threats quite literally ruling over the tier without even realizing it. Nice.

In all honesty, you don't really see hate for Blaziken or Infernape. But yeah though. Glad that you agree with me on Inceneroar being underated.
As for the Nidos, I really do not see much of a difference. Nidoking is slightly stronger, Nidoqueen is slightly bulkier.

 

[DrumstickGaming]

Incineroar honestly does deserve more love imo, despite the Smash thing (expecting one of the DLC packs to be for Gen 8 btw.) It's similar to Emboar in that many people hated the transition from adorable to "ugly", and while it isn't one, it definitely looks like a Fighting-Type evolution. I actually like Blaziken, Infernape, and Emboar quite a lot, actually.

Speaking of Emboar, that’s another decent mon. Yeah, it’s Fire/Fighting but eh, I don’t mind all that much, lots of mons exist after all. What matters more to me is if the mon can bring an interesting playstyle to the table.

Emboar has a halfway decent playstyle in its Hidden Ability Reckless with recoil moves. Reckless Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, and even Head Smash (if you wanna be insane) all hit pretty hard off 123 Attack. While it has weird bulk so it won’t survive much (110/65/65) at least the high HP absorbs some of the recoil. I even have a shiny one with optimal stats on cart.

Since I’ve been praising a bunch of Unova mons, let’s give some love to the other gens:

Gen 1: Exeggutor: A mon that gets shafted solely due to weaknesses when it can do a lot of cool things (sun sweeper, trick room, and even Harvest). It was popular and OU relevant for roughly 3 gens (though it was BL Gen 3) before falling by the wayside.

Gen 2: Girafarig and Octillery. The former is pretty good in-game if you don’t want to go for Drowzee or Abra, even learning Psychic at a decent level of 37. The latter is pretty great because it can learn so many great moves, though it’s slow so it’s less effective than it could be.

Gen 3: Cradily. A type no one ever remembers (Rock/Grass) combined with solid defenses. Very unique mon with a cool concept, I didn’t know where its eyes were for the longest time.

Gen 4: Bronzong. While it may suck to use in-game (you have like a Special Attack stat of 18 when you catch Bronzor lol, tho it gets better after evolution), this bell is cool. You have Trick room, screens, and even a few oddball moves like EQ and SolarBeam. Plus it technically had only 1 weakness thanks to abilities prior to Gen 6.

Gen 6: Malamar. Cool evolution method, cool strategy (Contrary Superpower is awesome) decent enough stats, and a pretty unique type and design. Helps it showed up in the anime twice as an interesting villain. Also like Clawitzer: cool name, awesome moves, slick design, only downside is despite the diversity it’s also kinda predictable if you glance at the movepool.

Gen 7: Said Drampa above but Tsareena is also nice. Cool ability in Queenly Majesty, nice design, and a good movepool for a plain Grass type (HJK is cool, as is Play Rough via breeding). Trop Kick is an awesome pun and a good move against switch-ins.

 

[OrangeGuru]

In all honesty, you don't really see hate for Blaziken or Infernape. But yeah though. Glad that you agree with me on Inceneroar being underated.
As for the Nidos, I really do not see much of a difference. Nidoking is slightly stronger, Nidoqueen is slightly bulkier.

My point on the Nidos was that people prefer King usually because of the slight power boost, but that makes Queen a little underrated bc the bulk helps a lot. There isn't a lot of difference but enough to allow Queen to be more easily forgotten

 

[PsychicAcademic]

Right now I'll just be quick.

Compared to other "especially advertised" mon, it looks like the Rockruff line fell hard. Riolu and Lucario is forever famous, and in Japan there are still enough love for Zorua, being in the kinds of Vulbit-err... -pix and Fennekin to have dedicated Pokemon Day. Rockruff on the other hands seems to be forgotten, until now there's no Pokemon Day for it by fans. Its very basic role in battles are also not helping (while Midnight-roc unfortunately fails to do anything much). I can even argue Alo-pix stole its limelight. Somewhat sad to see....

Gen 7: Said Drampa above but Tsareena is also nice. Cool ability in Queenly Majesty, nice design, and a good movepool for a plain Grass type (HJK is cool, as is Play Rough via breeding). Trop Kick is an awesome pun and a good move against switch-ins.

You said Tsareena. I raise you Lurantis. Poor thing is overshadowed in pretty much everything. Straightly beaten in BST, availability (Tsar' is easier to get), ability (until it gets Superpower to rise in its own niche, and even then Tsar's special anti-priority ability still stand out) and so on. Shame, I actually like Lurantis much better than this... dominatrix I wonder how GF could let this get passed for Pokemon.
Iirc At least they tried to redeem her in USUM a little bit with Superpower, and funnily there you can also (ironically) get the overly fanservice Luran set girls' wears. (I only bought them to burn money and make Sylveon ribbon substitute)

 

[DrumstickGaming]

L

Right now I'll just be quick.

Compared to other "especially advertised" mon, it looks like the Rockruff line fell hard. Riolu and Lucario is forever famous, and in Japan there are still enough love for Zorua, being in the kinds of Vulbit-err... -pix and Fennekin to have dedicated Pokemon Day. Rockruff on the other hands seems to be forgotten, until now there's no Pokemon Day for it by fans. Its very basic role in battles are also not helping (while Midnight-roc unfortunately fails to do anything much). I can even argue Alo-pix stole its limelight. Somewhat sad to see....


You said Tsareena. I raise you Lurantis. Poor thing is overshadowed in pretty much everything. Straightly beaten in BST, availability (Tsar' is easier to get), ability (until it gets Superpower to rise in its own niche, and even then Tsar's special anti-priority ability still stand out) and so on. Shame, I actually like Lurantis much better than this... dominatrix I wonder how GF could let this get passed for Pokemon.
Iirc At least they tried to redeem her in USUM a little bit with Superpower, and funnily there you can also (ironically) get the overly fanservice Luran set girls' wears. (I only bought them to burn money and make Sylveon ribbon substitute)

Lurantis is neat but if you want a Contrary physical mon that’s actually effective with decent coverage just use Malamar.

I’ve been thinking lately about Sewaddle. The poor thing has a lot of good attributes in Black and White (and the sequels) if you can just look past the terrible defensive type, which makes it unviable to most due to major battles (it’s C in our tier list currently).

Sewaddle, unlike most of the Bug and Grass brethren, actually has both Bug Bite and Razor Leaf at only level 15. Compare this to Venipede who gets Poison Tail at 19 and Bug Bite at 22. It has a similar period of waiting as Sewaddle does for better STAB (Leavanny gets Leaf Blade at 36 and X-Scissor at roughly the same time via TM or naturally at 39, and the latter relearnes Megahorn and is able to get Poison Jab post-Surf).

The other Bugs? Accelgor gets Bug Buzz at 44 and has to put up with lol Struggle Bug for a Special Attack. Escavelier gets Iron Head at 37 and X-Scissor at 44/TM. Dwebble gets Bug Bite at 23 (already has Smack Down).

The Grasses tend to be mediocre (Cottonee) competent but need to evolve to get good (Pansage, Deerling) or come late (Ferroseed, Foongus). Snivy is a starter and is also generally mediocre until it gets Coil. The only one that is arguably equally good out of the ball is Petilil.

I feel so bad for Leavanny. It gets Swords Dance in time for endgame and evolves early if you treat it right. It’s cute while not being useless. This thing is useable if you know how to utilize it, especially outside of in-game. The unfortunate flaws cast a shadow over it when it’s really not that bad, and is loads better than the early Bugs in generations prior to 5 (most of which were Bug/Flying).

 

[Cresselia~~]

Just as the title says, mention some underrated Pokemon in your opinion. Please give context.


Here are mine...

Take a look at Audino's overview on the BW In-game tier list:


Silently cries
I caught an Audino for my 1st run through BW, and it was a beast. It was insanely useful against Lenora, being able to stall and soak her Retaliate very well. And even though I chose Oshawott, Audino is more suitable for Surf, IMO. Looks amazing coming out of a Heal Ball too.

Stunfisk isn't obtainable until postgame in B2W2, but oh well.


Call me weird, but I love this...thing. I used Stunfisk for my first run through B2W2(traded from BW) and to be fair, Stunfisk has a really cool typing, and I remember running Surf, Bounce, Mud Bomb, and Thunderbolt, pretty versatile...

Stunfisk is quite popular in Japan
It had a lot of votes in popularity poll.

 

[thelandlordsmm]

My choice is Shiftry. A Swords Dance set with Sucker Punch can be used to great effect. It also gets Chlorophyll and can be used effectively on a sun team. He also looks cool too.

 

[Sonikku A]

Psyduck in Mystery Dungeon B/R Rescue Team. He's overlooked due to his low movepool and late evolve, but his stats and Disable really help against Articuno. Also Cloud Nine and Damp neutralize bad weather and explosions, so that's sweet for post game
Golduck's Sprite looks nice

 

[War Incarnate]

Delphox for sure is criminally underrated. Many people say that it looks like a piece of trash and they hate it because of its design, but to be honest, many people fail to look at the competitive aspects of Delphox (oh, and its design looks cute.). It's just so versatile and quite hard to predict what it's running until it's too late. It can run a Choice Scarf, Choice Specs, Calm Mind + Grassium-Z or Firium-Z, or even a defensive Wish + Protect set. That's 4 sets right there. And trust me, it can run a lot more non-gimmick sets as well.

The same can be said for Barbaracle. Its design may not look good, but its lore sure does. Take a look at its Pokedex Entry for Pokemon Y and AS:

"Barbaracle's legs and hands have minds of their own, and they will move independently. But they usually follow the head's orders."

Yep. Ugly design at first, but its lore sure gives it a lot of depth! And to be honest, it's also quite nifty competitively. Being a Shell Smash sweeper which outspeeds quite a bit of common defensive and even offensive pokemon is not something to be trifled with.

You know how I feel when I hear this about Mega Aggron?: "Do I remember using this guy? Registeel kinda outclasses it." What is this, Gen 6 UU? No. THIS IS GEN 7 UU! Anyways, Mega Aggron's design looks really, really, good. It fits its design of being some sort of armored rhino. And it's not like this aura of being good won't carry over into its competitive aspects. 230 physical defense + mono-Steel typing + Filter = Fantastic physically defensive wall. Not to mention that its base 140 attack is quite meaty for a defensive pokemon, meaning that it can run a defensive set yet still hit immeasureably hard, which is something even Blissey wishes it could do.

 

[Sonikku A]

I honestly prefer Delphox's design over Braixen's. It's nowhere as feminine looking for a 50/50 male female poke