Many people regard the third generation of Pokémon as the turning point of the franchise. Because it was set to end after the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver, Game Freak had to come up with a lot of new ideas to keep the series going. That’s how we ended up with the Hoenn Region and Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.
While the Pokémon were, for the most part, quite original, there was a lot of criticism over many of the designs. Some thought that Game Freak was losing their touch and others said that the franchise was running out of steam. That being said, the games were massively successful and paved the way for Pokémon Emerald to follow soon after.
Now that we’re in the seventh generation of Pokémon, we can look back and see how purely underrated gen 3 was. Sure, it had its useless Pokémon like L💙uvdisc, but it also had some triumphant moments and featured a great lineup of ♔starters as well. Even the Legendary Pokémon were all well-implemented and designed.
If you’re🐈 looking to create a Pokémon team and want to use some Gen 3 Pokémon, there are definitely some you should steer clear of as well as some powerful ones that are criminally underrated.
20 🍷 Dusclops You Want To💟 Pick Me? (DON'T)
There aren’t a lot of Ghost Pokémon in Gen 3, but Duskull and Dusclops were easily the most popular. It wasn’t hard to see why; the defensive stats of Dusclops com🐷bined with his tendency to cause status ailments was extremely useful in battle. He was the go-to Ghost Pokémon in the metagame at the time.
However, as time went on, Dusclops is no longer as viable as he used to be. In Gen IV, he was given an evolution in the form of Duskn🅘oir, but it's actually worse than Dusclops. Furthermore, other Ghost Pokémon have been created that are much more useful in battle (like the nearly broken Mega Gengar). This was definitely one of the worst generations for all you ghost lovers out there.
19 ๊ Hey, Arma꧅ldo! (DO)
When it comes to the fossil Pokémon of Gen 3, there isn’t much to write hom༺e about, at least not at first glance. Cradily is the lesser of the two for reasons already mentioned and Armaldo, while not fantastic, has some potential in terms of combat. He boasts a Bug and R🌜ock typing as opposed to Grass and Rock, making him a bit more difficult to damage.
However, where Armaldo really shines is his raw Attack stat. With the proper amount of STAB moves, Armaldo can function well in the late game when your opponent is on the defensive. His speed isn’t fantastic, but his regular Defense isn’t anything to sneeze at. Overall, Armaldo could be used to great effect if the right ಌperson had one.
18 It's Just Cl𝓰aydol (DON'T)
Claydol is the famous Psychic-type from Gen 3, but it’s not particularly memorable. It and ﷺBaltoy are interesting on paper but, in actual battle, they leave a lot to be desired. Being Psychic and Ground, Claydol has more weaknesse♛s across the board that make it an easy target on the battlefield.
There’s only one reason that you’d ever want to use Claydol, and that’s because it can use both Stealth Rock and Ra෴pid Spin in combat. However, that’s about as far as the usefulness of this Pokémon goes. Its weakness to Water and Grass-types make it a severe target for OHKO moves, and there are much better Psychic Pokémon that could fit in its place. Some of them are from the very same generation as well.
17 Feeling Pretty Flygon (DO) 𒈔
There is more than one massive Dragon Pokémon introduced in Gen 3. Unfortunately, one of them would be praised and the other would be left in the dust. Salamence, for his insane potential in battle, clearly got all of the attention while everyone forgot about Flygon. However, another look at♒ this Dragon and Ground-type, and you’ll see that there’s more to this creature than meets the eye.
In its own class, Flygon is one of the best Pokémon to use. While its stats don’t compare to other, more impressive Dragon-types, it’s no pushover. With t✤he Levitate ability, Flygon won’t be targeted by any Ground-type attacks, 🍌meaning that it’s a fantastic support Pokémon if you’re using moves like Earthquake, Magnitude, or Sandstorm. Flygon can also deal some heavy blows itself.
16 ꦇ Masquerain, Every Face A Different Shape (DON'T)
There’s a certain niche involving Bug-type Pokémon. Despite how easy they are to come by, they can actually be fairly dangerous if trained properly. The one exception to this rule is Masquer🎐ain. Despite having a unique Bug and Water typing (canceling out🍰 its weakness to Fire), Masquerain doesn’t have enough power or stats behind it to make it viable.
Every potential strength that Masquerain ha꧋s is immediately done better by another Bug Pokémon. You could argue that its🎀 tendency to use Water-type moves would make it more useful, but it doesn’t do enough damage. If you see one of these thrown out during a real battle, then you’ll have absolutely nothing to worry about. It will go down in just a few blows.
15 Manectric, I Feel Like A Woman (DO) 🍬
When Manectric was first introduced, there wasn’t much to him. He was decent in the early game, but once anyone tried to use him𓆉 late-game or in competitive matches, he just didn’t make the cut. However, that all changed when Mega Ev🧜olutions were introduced in Gen VI. Manectric was given one and his potential in battle improved exponentially.
Nowadays, Manectric is one of the best 🐟offensive attackers in the entire metagame, with stellar Speed and Special Attack that can outperform just about any other Pokémon on the battlefield. His Intimidate ability further lowers your opponent’s Attack, making them ripe for the taking. The only problem is that Manectric is a bit of a glass cannon, not being able to take a hit very well.
14 Maybe She's Beautifly/Dustox... (DO𒈔N'T)
When you arrive in the Hoenn Region, you’ll encounter a little Pokémo🦩n called Wurmple. What’s special about this little guy is that he can evolve into two different Pokémon: Beautifly or Dustox. However, options don’t translate well in combat, and these two Bug-types have a lot to improve on before they can be used in battle.
Beautifly is the better of the two, but it doesn’t offer anything that other Bug-types offer. As a matter of fact, similar🍷 Pokémon use Beautifly’s moves better than it does. Then there’s the case of Dustox. Not only does it have a poor moveset, but its stats guarantee that it will be taken out by anything that merely sneezes at it. At the end of the day, Wurmple is not a Pokémon you’ll w🍌ant if you’re just battling.
13 Alway🦹s Trust A Ludicolo (DO)
Ludicolo is one of the weirder Pokémon to come from Gen 3, which motivated a lot of peop🔜le to stay away from it. However, that would be a disservice to Ludicolo, as it isn’t a bad Pokémon to use in combat, having access to a useful a🅺bility and a useful typing to shake up a match.
Wher𒅌e Ludicolo really shines is one of its abilꦇities: Swift Swim. It seriously increases its Speed during the Rain, meaning that it can function really well if your team plays with Rain Dance a lot. Its combination of Grass and Water typing means that it has a sizable resistance to the Water-type as well as having access to moves that can seriously harm your opponents.
12 𓂃 We're Plusle/Minun On This One (DON🐎'T)
There are numerous powerful Electric Pokémon that are 🃏often seen on the battlefield, like Raichu, Zebstrika, and Eelektross. It comes as no surprise then, that the duo of Plusle and Minun don’t hold a candle to these titans. If there’s one thing we can say about them, it’s that they’re a creative take on the Pikachu clone trope that’s present with each generation.
Plusle is clearly the weakest of the two, with no defining stats oಌr moves that make it rise above its competition. Minun is slightly better, having better stats and moves, but ultimately falls short. Even when the two of them are paired up for deadlier attacks, they can’t compare to the stronger Electric types.
11 𓆏 🎃 I'm Feeling A Bit Sceptile (DO)
Of the starters used in the metagame, Sceptile isn’t talked about a whole lot. That’s because he gets thrown by the wayside in favor of Venusaur, Charizard, or Blaziken.🅷 When first introduced, though, it makes a lot of sense. Sceptile had fairly decent stats, but without a great ab♛ility or a useful move pool, it wasn’t doing much in battles.
When it got a Mega Evolution to coincide with the release of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Sceptile became a whole lot better🔜. Gaining the Dragon-type, immunity to Electric attacks, and a much-needed stat boost in Speed, Attack, and Special Attack, Sceptile is much more viable to use. However, if a cocky Ice-type gets thrown on the field, Sceptile doesn’t stand a chance.