Surely when you hear the word “Pokémon,” adorable creatures like Pikachu, Eevee, or Jigglypuff come to mind… But the truth is, in a world with 1,015 creatures, some of them are bound to be as pleasant as smashing your finger with a hammer. Monsters created on a lazy day, evolutions that go overboard with rococo, and other creatures born with the deliberate intention of being an eyesore. So that you don’t get scared if you ever visit Johto and come across them, we have compiled the top 10 ugliest Pokémon in history. Pure body horror.
10-Muk (from Alola)
Not that the original Muk drives us crazy (after all, it’s a piece of sludge with eyes), but when they redesigned it for the Alolan Pokédex, they gave it a twist that makes it even more sinister: a grotesque, multicolored body. The upside? It feeds on waste products but stores the foul odor within itself. It’s like having a vibrant, living compost for your plants that you never, ever want to look in the face.
9-Vullaby
Vullaby first appeared in Pokémon Black/White, and since then, we haven’t been able to forget it. This chicken-like creature (the Pokédex claims it’s a vulture, but who knows) with a featherless head and a two-legged stance seems to come straight from our worst nightmares. And what surrounds its delicate parts is not an egg like Togepi, but the skulls of its enemies. Dealing with Vullabys is truly an experience full of surprises.
8-Crabominable
With a name that already includes the word “abominable,” what did you expect? This yeti-crab species is the evolution of Crabrawler and first appeared in Sun/Moon to unsettle anyone who ever wanted to add it to their team. If you want more material to wake up in a cold sweat one day, we can tell you that when Crabominable is in trouble, it can tear off its own claws and throw them at its opponents. Pure class.
7-Dracovish
It is one of the most recent Pokémon on the list, which we could first catch in Sword/Shield. It’s a water dragon-like species that doesn’t seem to have teeth and has a C-shaped body with spikes inside. It can’t breathe underwater, and it doesn’t move with much agility there either, being as useful as a four-euro bill. It’s a fossil that hatches from eggs, but sometimes it’s not even necessary to hatch it to complete the Pokédex. We’d also be fine without it.
6-Jynx
I wanted to resist including Jynx, one of the most iconic Pokémon and part of the first generation… And at the same time, it’s so problematic with its blackface resemblance and its parody of the drag world, and, let’s say it, it’s downright ugly. It’s true that in an attempt to mitigate the issue, they introduced a pre-evolution, Smoochum, which doesn’t improve things much but at least gives it a slightly cute touch. Just in case, we hope that when we go out to dance, Jynx doesn’t suddenly appear in a corner, scaring us to death and trying to give us a kiss.
5-Feebas
In the tale of “The Ugly Duckling,” the protagonist eventually transforms into a beautiful swan. That’s exactly what happens with Feebas, which is considered the ugliest Pokémon in its world (even though it’s not much different from, let’s say, Magikarp), but it evolves into one of the most beautiful ones, Milotic. It’s perfect for beauty contests if you manage to train it and level it up… if you can get it to learn something other than Splash. Frustrating indeed.
4-Barbaracle
Half rock, half water, all ugliness. If its pre-evolution, Binacle, is already a horror, this version where the clawed hands multiply by three and form a head-hand seems more like a parody of Pokémon than a canonical creature. It is said that Barbaracle is based on a barnacle, but we assure you that if barnacles looked like that, they would be the least consumed seafood product in history.
3-Grafaiai
If I were to encounter Grafaiai on a Thursday night in the middle of the street, I would change streets. Despite the Pokédex stating that it belongs to the Poison type, it seems more like the “Give me everything you’ve got” type. Those slimy fingers and those eyes that seem to want to take everything from you, including your dignity, don’t help either. Interestingly, its name comes from the word “graffiti,” and it is supposed to have a bad temper and enjoy committing crimes, something that is quite evident. It evolves from a Shroodle, which is not particularly beautiful, but at least it doesn’t appear to roam the streets with a multi-purpose Swiss army knife.
2-Bruxish
You’ve guessed it: its name comes from the word “bruxism,” and rightfully so. Just by looking at it, we start grinding our teeth at the excessive display of colors, the teeth capable of taking off a finger if you try to pet it, and that generally malicious face. It is said to cause headaches in its enemies, and considering what it causes us, we can only agree.
1-Garbodor
It’s a Pokémon that resembles a torn garbage bag. There’s really no need to add anything else.
