Last and Least: The Most Forgotten Pokémon

There are some Pokémon, such as Pikachu and Mew, who are destined to forever be the first thing people think of when they think of Pokémon. I've been in a position where a friend of mine knew nothing about Pokémon (what a horrible friend!) aside the iconic "Pika!" squeal. Now, with over 700 Pokémon, there are bound to be some Pokémon that fell through the cracks. This article will bring attention to these Pokémon, pale as a sheet from forever being in the shadows. Sure, I could pull up a whole list of first-evolution and middle-evolution Pokémon, but then the list wouldn't look too great. Nobody wants to read about Marshtomp and Wailmer. So, I'm going to list only fully-evolved Pokémon. Enjoy!

Exploud

I don't even know what to talk about when it comes to Exploud. A classic case of "This thing exists? Oh yeah." It suffers from the same thing the other guys do—lack of spotlight time. Maybe if it got Chatter, it would cash in on some of Chatot's "Hey guys, I'm banned from Wi-Fi because voice chat!" But nope, the Loud Noise Pokémon doesn't get the move that allows you to say <CENSORED EXPLETIVE> over a friendly Pokémon battle.

Lumineon

The embodiment of irrelevancy. It's a pretty fish, which is all it has going for it. Now stick it in a generation that gave us stuff such as Garchomp, Infernape, and Arceus; it was destined to be completely ignored. Too bad it can't drown itself out of shame.

Dewgong

What a poor Pokémon—with those decent looks, it could have been an awesome Pokémon, but the most exposure it got was being on Lorelei's team. A sub-par Pokémon in most ways (if not every way), it didn't even get out of Kanto—there have been no games (aside from GSC / HGSS which don't really count) that feature Dewgong and whatever the thing evolved from. I don't even remember.

Swalot

Aside from a vague memory of a Swalot being used in a tournament match in an episode of the anime, and its pre-evolution being the most infuriating thing in Super Smash Bros Brawl, we have yet another useless Pokémon. It is almost as if this article is highlighting the useless and forgotten Pokémon.

Vespiquen

Somehow, Beedrill was successful where Vespiquen failed. Be it anime exposure, Beedrill looking cooler, or giving off a "Meh." vibe on the part of Vespiquen, Beedrill has somehow survived the tests of time, while Vespiquen, a far more recent Pokémon, has failed to stake out a position for itself. Somehow, having three unique moves doesn't instantly give you popularity. Tough luck.

Maractus

We already have Cacturne, which actually served a purpose in the anime (Harley, anyone?) and is somewhat cool. So now we got its cousin, the pretty flower girl of whatever the Pokémon equivalent of Mexico is. Sadly, it was given less attention by Nintendo than I do to your complaints about this list. It's just a rip-off of a previous Pokémon, and is destined to a life in the shadows.

Heatmor

What? Who? Exactly. Heatmor is, in my honest opinion, the least remembered fully evolved Pokémon in Generation V. No competitive viability, no big game, movie, or anime time, aside the infestation at Victory Road—even then, you're more likely to find a Boldore. Also, someone told me I shouldn't include Heatmor because apparently people make jokes about its shape / body structure. I've not seen any—am I reading the wrong parts of the internet?

Ariados

I don't like spiders, so I'm glad this thing got an early death. It's completely unoriginal and uninspired. This just screams of "filler Pokémon, please ignore".

Banette

The Pokédex entry speaks for itself: "This Pokémon developed from an abandoned doll that amassed a grudge. It is seen in dark alleys." Now that this fact has been stated, it's hard to argue that such a Pokémon doesn't belong on this list. It isn't even remembered for being forgotten—Stunfisk, Dunsparce, and Magikarp to an extent all enjoy the dubious honor of being "the forgotten ones," yet Banette is supposed to be "the forgotten one." Poor kid.

Phione

Who?

Honorable Mentions

Sadly, there were some excellent suggestions by ~~Oglemi~~ The Smog contributors, but we couldn't include all of them in here. Some of them we had to leave out altogether. But we do have some honorable mentions, so here goes. Huntail and Mothim I'm not sure I can even say anything about. They're just Pokémon lost over time: they have nearly no relevance to the competitive community, and aren't exactly the prettiest of Pokémon either. Girafarig somehow had relevance (read Girafarig backwards) yet was still lost in our memories. Granbull is a dog but it's also a fairy and it's ugly and I don't really get it. Meganium I wish I could give a full part to, but there's just no room. Likely the only starter Pokémon to be actually forgotten, and it wasn't even suggested to me until after I made the full list. Thanks, shrang.

Conclusion

And that's all the space we have for. Now, a quick disclaimer. You're welcome to have different opinions on the above list, but please understand something: while I value people's opinions, the issue is already out. I cannot and will not change the list. If you want to do a "Why Lady Salamence is wrong: The real forgotten Pokémon" article, please post in Article Approvals or something. You're welcome to debate the list, but don't post something like "Idiot, where's Sceptile on this list". Hope you enjoyed!

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