So, Pokémon fans. You’ve had ample time to play your way through Pokémon Ultra Sun and Moon by now. What were your thoughts? Were you one of those players who howled and whined online about Game Freak making us buy the♋ same game again, only to proceed to do so anyway? There were lots of those, as there always are.
In my eyes, a lot of the Ultra content was specifically geared towards those who had already played through Sun and Moon. That was evident in all kinds of little touches, from the bait and switch with the Elite 4 to the subtler ve𒊎rbal exchanges. What was my personal highlight of the Ultra games? The new Pokémon, for sure.
Now, sure, everyone’s going 🤪to feel their own unique type of way about this. There are those detractors who believe Game Freak are completely out of ideas now, and only the original 151 Pokémon designs are worth the time of day. They’ll point out Vanilluxe💧, the ice cream cone with a face, or Trubbish, the literal trashbag Pokémon, and they’ll mock. They’ll mock like the mocking mocksters of mock that they are.
Which is all well and good. Not everybody can support the ridiculous-looking Blacephalon’s design, after all. Nor can you pick your team on looks alone, as some of the coolest-looking Pokémon in Alola are some of the worst. On that note, let’s check out 25 Awful Ultra Sun and Moon Pokémon Everyone Uses (Even Though Thꦓey Have The Worst Stats).
25 Incineroar, The Awkward Teenage One
Now, l♈et’s not misunderstand each other here. Nobody’s talking needless smack about Incineroar. For me, this is one of the best-looking Fire-typ൩e starters Game Freak have brought us for generations. I hardly need to tell you about the mass love-in that Litten enjoyed from the moment it was announced, either.
Incineroar’s issu𝓡e, I would say, is its stat distribution. It isn’t super strong, and it’s not weak either. The same goes for its defenses. It’s darn slow, though. As a result, it doesn’t quite have a place in most teams, competitive-wise. However you use it, it could pꦏrobably be replaced by something more effective.
Let’s talk about those enormous hands, too. The poor guy looks like it’s been stung by bees.
This is the reason animators generally choose to give their an𝕴thropomorphized animals less than five fingers.
24 Gumshoos, The One That’s A Little Less Interesting Than You Thought
If you’ve been playing the Pokémon games as long as I have, you’ll know certain well-established rules about them. One of these is that there’s going to be designated Rout൩e One Trash. These are some of the first wild Pokémon you encounter on your journey, and they have about as much personality as a flat-pack dresser.
Usually, they’re some of the first Pokémon Game Freak reveal when a new game is on the way. Sure enough, prior to Sun and Moon, we got an early glimpse at Yungoos and its evolution. I had high hopes for this thing, with its unique ability and all (Stakeout, which increases the damage of a move if a Pokémon has sꦺwitched into it). It’s just totally underwhelming in practise, though, even in game. A lot of people tried out this meme of a Pokémon when it arrived, but it proved to disappoint.
23 Alolan Raichu, The Gimmicky Surfing One
I 🐓see where you were going with this, Game Freak. Alola is a tropical, sandy sort of region, and Pokémon have had to learn to adapt to life there. The idea of Alolan forms is one that I quite like, and of course, the much-beloved mascot(‘🤪s evolution) was going to get one. The whole surfing motif Alolan Raichu has going on looks pretty darn great too, in my books.
It gets style points, that's for darn sure.
Pikachu has always been quite a gimmicky choice, relying on its incredible frail Light Ball shenanigans to achieve anything in battle. Similarly, Alolan Raichu is a♈ very specific team member, enjoying the support of Tapu Koko and its ability. Outside of this specific area, it just doesn’t have the firepower to get the job done.
22 Alolan Muk, The Oily Rainbow One
You know, I’m just not quite sure how I feel about Alolan Muk. On the one hand, there’s no denying this super-slimy character’s popularity. Competitive wise, it’s probably the most frequently used of all the Alolan forms Pokémon Sun and Moon introduced.🥀 In practise, it’s easy 🍬to see why. It performs so well against a lot of the big threats (Tapus and such), delivering a swift (albeit funky and diseased) fist to the meta.
It’s odd, though. Looking at its stats, they’re by no means bad, but they aren’t stellar either. Alolan Muk, for me, is a Pokémon that tends to perform much bett♏er than it lo﷽oks like it should. It can’t quite be built fully offensive, nor does it really function in a solely defensive role. It gets the dang job done, though.
21 Lycanroc Dusk, The One That Tells You They’ve Changed But They Totally Haven’t
Ew, I bitterly regret that tagline alre🎶ady. That conjures up all kinds of memories of awful relationships. I thought I’d flushed those memories down some rotten Hades u-bend years ago.
Anywho, back to the point. Lycanroc is a Pokémon I so wan𝄹ted to like at the start of seventh gen. It looks beyond supercool, the Midday/Midnight form thing is a neat concept, and...
It has an exclusive motherfreaking priority Rock move.
That last fact alone is enough to make me come 𒈔dangerously close to losing bowel control (who am I kidding, I actually did when Acce🐟lerock was revealed).
Lycanroc is a simple, straight-up offensive Pokémon, in its superior Midday form. Again, though, it doesn’t quite boast the raw strength needed to succeed in that role. Ultra Sun and Moon saw the addition of a new form, Dusk, which is another grea🦄t design with the same unfortunate problems.
20 Alolan Marowak, The One With The Sweet Dance Moves
You know, I’ve always had a sweet spot for Marowak. That tragic backstory, th🏅e eerie design… what’s not to like?
When it comes to battling, I prefer to base teams around particular archetypes, rather than throwing six great Pokémon together and rolling with that. Goodstuffs teams, as they’ꦅre called, are fine if that’s your bag, but they’re not really for me. I like to stick with a rain or Trick Room-based strategy.
When it comes to Trick Room, classic Kanto-style Marowak is must for all of my teams. Statistically, it’s nothing special, but man alive is it powerful with that Thick Club equipped. The same is true of Alolan Marowak, 🦩which sports a different typing (Fire/Ghost) but identical stats to standard Marowak. It🌄 can perform well, but it’s totally reliant on that item (which doubles its Attack stat) to do so.
19 Decidueye, The One That Tried Desperately To Be Super Cool But Failed
Once again, I’𒁃m not just bashing anyone for no reason here. I’m a huge fan of Rowlet, and the little guy has been my companion throughout every Alolan adventure I’ve had.
The weeny owl is just the right choice, and I don’t often pick the grass-type starter.
While I do totally dig the design of its final evolution, I’m still all kinds of disappointed with its stats. When the final evolutions were revealed at long last, I was expecting this thing to be the Grass-type Greninja of the generation. Deceptively powerful, swift, with all the defensive ability of a one-legged kitten in a coma. While Decidueye’s a little more robust than 💟I was expecting, and its offenses aren’t bad at all, its speed is just completely average. 7/10, not enough ninja.
18 Alolan Persian, The One-Trick Pony
Ever since the first generation of Pokémon, Persian has been one iconic kitty. 🦩A lot of this is due to its associations with Giovanni, Team Rocket boss, and all-round bumbling supervillain. It’s just the image of the guy sitting in his spinning office chair, Bond villain style, stroking his Persian.
When it comes right down to it, classic Kanto Persian can’t do a whole lot, besides a gimmicky Technician set with ജWater Pulse or something. Alolan Persian might fare a little better, but it’s quite a predictable supporter. Fake Out and Parting Shot are the crux of this thing’s gameplan. It can do little damage by itself, outside of Foul Play which does slim to bupkus against specially-oriented threats.
I wanted t🃏o like Alolan Persian, but it looks like its head has been inflated with a bicycle pump, and Iℱ can’t condone that.
17 Crabominable, The Weeble
Now, I hear what 🅠you’re saying. I get it, I totally do.
Crabominable, frequently used? Stick with me, though, there’s some logic here.
In-game, Crabrawler is quite popular, because there aren’t many notable Fighting-types available. This😼 is one of the first you’ll come across. By accident, probably, as it leaps at you out of nowhere while you’re trying to collect berries.
On first sight, a lot of people wanted a piece of that action. It’s an angry 🍒🐲little crab wearing boxing gloves, after all, and I don’t know how you turn that down.
The good news is, on evolving, Crabominable becomes a Fighting/Ice type. This is a unique new combination, andဣ I always enjoy seeing those. Its ridiculous design is unfortunate, if hilarious, but this thing can do some decent work in a Trick Room team. That’s all, though, because its stats in everything but HP and Attack are appalling.
16 Alolan Dugtrio, The One That Looks Like A Sixties Boy Band
There was some logic to Alolan Dugtrio’s design. Somewhere along the line, there was. I’m sure of it. It wasn’t just a case of Game Freak watching Queen’s video for Bohemian Rhapsody one night and thinking, hey, you know what would be darn funny?
However the whole thing🌱 went down, here we are with this thing. If simple novelty value alone is enough to earn a Pokémon a teamslot, Alolan Dugtrio would be right in there. I do see a s⭕urprising amount of them cropping up, but I can’t quite fathom why.
If you’ve used Dugtrio in the past, you’ll know that ✤it’s great for finishing things off. Its raw speed, its ability (which traps opponents in with it)… it totally shines in this role. Alolan Dugtrio is much worse in this regard, losing precious speed and gaining more weaknesses with 🃏that Steel typing. It does have fabulous hair, though.