Unpopular Pokemon that you like

[PageEmp]

Are there any creatures in the franchise you are a fan of even though you barely see any acclaim for them?

As for me, I'm very surprised that Palossand isn't considered a fan favourite. I mean, come on, a ginormous living sandcastle, that sounds like something I'd imagine many people would consider cool, and even though it's personally a top 10 favourite for me… I'm seemingly the only one I know who seems to like it. And it turns out that sandcastle looks to be a forgotten mon amongst everyone else, and everyone I've seen who do remember it don't have high opinions of it. I even tried looking it up on other ' Unpopular Pokemon that you like' threads and saw only one mention of it and the one mention didn't delve much into why they liked it.

And I mentioned it before on another thread I made, I think the gen2 starters are criminally underrated especially nowadays. Especially the Grass and Water starters. And yes, Meganium is not as bad as you'd think. The worst you'd get is possibly useless matchups against the Bug and Ghost gyms and that's it. Last time I tried using one, it was literally the MVP of the playthrough, because it took hits really well, had a great movepool with many options, and helped save my team many times thanks to both those options as well as access to the screens.

Salamence is my favourite psuedo legendary simply because I just personally found it to be the most useful of them all. (But if I were ranking them solely by design then that would be Garchomp) That said, I wasn't sure if I should give it a mention, but the last 5 psuedo legendary rankings I found ranked Salamence in the lower half or even last, so I think it's fair to mention it here too.

 

[Devalue]

Likes some of the more forgotten middle evolutions: Fletchinder, Vibrava, Floette, Dolliv, Naclstack, and some starters (which can be a little popular?). Also Yanma and Audino. Liked Drapion and Crustle more after using them, neither of which are popular. Probably appreciates Castform and Avalugg more than most, likely out of pity.

Personally used PokeCommunity's Top 50 Favorite Pokemon (from 2021) as a means of determining what was popular. Covers only a handful of opinions, though.

 

[ReKoil]

The Gothita line seems to be pretty unpopular, but I consider it one of my favorites.

and Steenee is adorable imo, idc what anyone says.

 

[Explorer of Time]

Delphox was my favorite Gen 6 starter and I always thought it was way cooler than Greninja.

 

[Lavender]

I don't see Spidops get that much love, but I love him so much!

 

[Gruffin]

I have a fondness for Silcoon and Cascoon. I don't know why I like them so much...maybe it's the goofiness of them being ovals with eyes? The funny little animations with their spikes perhaps?

I like most of the cocoon pokemon, actually--none of which aside from maybe Swadloon are very popular.

 

[Sheep]

Floette comes to mind. Absolutely adorable and easily cuter/better than Florges to me, but most people don't seem to think so (that I can tell). Also Beautifly. Started loving it after watching the anime and still do, but of course no one talks about it and it's quite weak in the games. :tears:

 

[Sweet Serenity]

How can I determine what Pokémon is popular or not? Is Butterfree considered an unpopular Pokémon? It does have a reputation for being a "weak," early route Bug-type Pokémon. However ,when used in battle, Butterfree being "weak" can't be further from the truth. Butterfree is actually very strong and one of my favorite Pokémon to use competitively when I can. Despite Butterfree's lackluster stats, Butterfree is able to learn powerful moves and has good Abilities. For example, Butterfree can have the Ability Compound Eyes, which multiples a Pokémon's accuracy by 1.3. Butterfree is also able to learn powerful moves such as Sleep Powder and Hurricane. Sleep Powder normally has an accuracy of 75%, and Hurricane, despite having 110 base power, only has an accuracy of 70%. However, with Compound Eyes, Butterfree's Sleep Powder has its accuracy increased to 97%, and its Hurricane attack increased to 91%, making these normally risky, inaccurate moves highly accurate. While the opponent's Pokémon sleeps, Butterfree can use Quiver Dance, another powerful status move it can learn that booses it Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed by one stage, which can turn Butterfree into a deadly sweeper. With moves such as Bug Buzz and Hurricane, Butterfree can KO many Pokémon when boosted by Quiver Dance. In addition, Butterfree can also learn Baton Pass, allowing it to pass its stat boosts to the team's special sweeper, and can do so relatively safely if the opponent's Pokémon is asleep. In addition to its use in battle, Butterfree is also very cute. How can you resist that?

 

[Setsuna]

I have to mention Celesteela! It's always been my favourite UB and I've never seen anyone talk about it! The story of Princess Kaguya is just the right amount of weird for a Pokemon inspiration. A giant bamboo spaceship fits right in with the weird alien designs of the rest of the UBs but it never gets the recognition it deserves. Yeah, Xurktiree does a funny dance and Guzzlord screams but... my darling Celesteela...

 

[CoolKid575]

Magnemite; it's considered one of the "bad" Gen 1 Pokemon but I think it has a cool design and Magnazone is a great evolution.

 

[Sheep]

Oh, more love to Mothim too. I have almost never seen anyone like it except me which is sad. Super cute design and the shiny is nice!

Also echoing Magnemite. I like it and Magneton a lot.. though I have yet to warm up to Magnezone.

 

[Cherrim]

So many of my faves are woefully unpopular. Probopass is my second fave of all time and most people can't stand it or Nosepass. I also looooove a lot of the "item" Pokémon especially in gen 5, but people hate on Vanillite and Trubbish all the time. (I feel like people ironically started loving Trubbish and came around on its line but for years those two were toted as examples of how bad Pokémon designs got in gen 5.)

Also! Overcast Cherrim doesn't get enough love. :( It's so cute but it was years and years and years before it got an official plush in Japan and if people mention it at all, it's often just to say they don't like it in comparison to sunny form.

Also echoing Magnemite. I like it and Magneton a lot.. though I have yet to warm up to Magnezone.

What warmed me up to Magnezone (and then its pre-evolutions) was the 11th Pokémon movie where the villain was sometimes riding it around like a hoverboard. I thought that was funny but also kinda cool, esp given its sort of UFO look.

 

[FakeNate0]

Gen 9 nacli. Gen 8 cufant. Gen 7 turtanator. Gen 6 carbink. Gen 5 drilbur. Gen 4 buizel. Gen 3 torkoal. Gen 2 lanturn. Gen 1 primeape. I'd like to include more from each gen, but wanted to keep it short. Gens 2, 5, and 7 have the most underappreciated designs in my opinion.

 

[Nathanchekkk]

I don't know which Pokemon are popular among players, but I really like Darumaka from 5 gen. He is caught almost at the beginning of the game, and the damage is huge. plus it's fire type, and there are a lot of grass pokemon in gen 5. And in general, have you seen what he looks like? Red round chicken. :p

 

[giradialkia]

So, since it's been newly reintroduced in the SV DLC, it mightn't exactly be considered unpopular, but I just know I haven't seen a whole lot of people vouch for it: Malamar.
I freakin love it. Its type combo is awesome - has a 4x weakness to Bug and a weakness to Fairy, but Bug moves are few and far between, and U-turn users are easily spotted.
I guess I mostly love how sneaky it is in the OU online scene - moreso in SwSh, but it's made a great dent for me in SV too.

People loved to spam Incineroar and Lando-T back in SwSh; thanks, that's an attack boost for me.
But most of all...
There were a handful of broken-ass strategies.
1) A Lucario/Terrakion and a Whimsicott with Beat Up.
2) A Dragapult/Weavile with Surf and a Coalossal with Weakness Policy.
Ultimately both strats resulted in a Pokémon with an immediate 4x boost to their Attack or Speed.

People caught wind of these strats and they were literally found every second battle. You know what none of them were prepared for? Topsy Turvy.
I honestly lost track of the amount of people who DC'd after I landed my Topsy Turvy turn-one. It was just... Impeccable. I still smile thinking about it.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

I've always liked the Voltorb/Electrode line. There's something about a electrified ball that explodes whenever it feels like it that's appealing to me. Plus they're fast bois.

 

[RadEmpoleon]

Bruxish! One of my favorite gen 7 mons. Makes me sad to hear people say it's ugly.

 

[Descendng]

I've always been pretty fond of Xatu. I'd go as far as saying that it's my favorite psychic type, which has gotten me some weird looks and people asking me "but why Xatu?"
some may think it's because of the Mystery Dungeon games but honestly, I liked it even before I gave those games a try. maybe it's the bird bias, I dunno.

I'd also like to give mention to Toxicroak as well, though I don't think it's really unpopular, but it does feel a little overshadowed by the titans of its debut gen.