The Pokémon franchise has a long history and each game comes with many changes. One thing that has been consistent since the beginning is the introduction of gimmicks and gimmick Pokémon. These Pokémon are usually included to show off the game's features in a unique way, like in the first generation when certain Pokémon could only evolve by being traded through a link cable.
Similar gimmicks have continued since then, and the series now has several Pokémon that are mostly known for a feature unique to their generation.
10 Voltorb's Design Is Deceptive
Voltorb first appeared in Gen I and is most notable for its appearance: it looks like a Poké Ball with a face. Voltorb are found around power plants and look exactly like items to entice players to interact with them. They are essentially the mimic chest of the Pokémon world, and many players have developed a hate for these tricky creatures.
9 Feebas Forced Players To Use Poffins
Feebas was introduced in Gen III, where Pokémon contests made their first appearance. Feebas' gimmick has to do with its evolution: it evolves into Milotic, but only once it reaches very high level in its Beauty stat. The easiest way to increase this stat is by giving Feebas poffins.
This concept directly fed into the debut of poffins and Pokémon contests. Luckily, all players need to do now is trade Feebas while its holding a Prism Scale.
8 Delibird Is Just A Cuter Santa Claus
Delibird was introduced in Gen II and is essentially just a bird version of Santa Claus. Its signature move is Present, where it reaches into his strange tail sack and pulls out a gift that can damage or heal the enemy. Delibird was also used in the Pokémon Holiday Special and is shown to give out holiday gifts to other Pokémon. It's a wonder that Delibird is never shown in a sleigh pulled by Stantlers.
7 Rotom Is More Tool Than Pokemon
Rotom has the ability to take over any nearby appliance; it has now become Pokémon's living Pokédex. While this is an interesting concept, Rotom has become less of a Pokémon and more of a handheld Google Home. Rotom is also used as a bike, and trainers can never use these Rotom in battle, despite the fact that they are still Pokémon.
6 Furfrou Is A Customization Gimmick
Furfrou is a Gen VI dog that is meant to resemble a Poodle. Furfrou has several different forms that the player can collect, all of which must be obtained by taking the Pokémon to the salon for a fur trim and coloring.
This is the generation that introduced customization, and Furfrou was thrown in to include Pokémon partners in the fun. The unique trim will be removed after a few days as Furfrou's coat grows out.
5 Cosplay Pikachu Is Only Useful In Contests
Cosplay Pikachu is a special Pikachu that was made to compete in contests in the remakes of Gen III for Nintendo 3DS. This Pikachu has five different forms corresponding with the five contest categories: Coolness, Beauty, Cuteness, Cleverness, and Toughness. Each Cosplay Pikachu has moves specifically linked to these categories.
This means that Cosplay Pikachu isn't very usable in battle, despite the fact that Pikachu is usually so overpowered in the Pokémon anime, as Cosplay Pikachu is only designed to help win contests.
4 Alcremie Is Sugar With No Substance
Alcremie was introduced in Gen VIII in Pokémon Sword and Shield. It evolves when the player gives Milcery a treat and makes it spin around. How much Milcery spins, plus which fruit it is given, determines which one of 70 possible forms Alcremie evolves into.
Pose-striking was introduced in this generation, and Alcremie is meant to entice the player to spin around and strike a pose multiple times. To add a little more to Alcremie's gimmick, it has a Gigantamax form that looks like a giant wedding cake.
3 Vivillon Takes Up Space In Pokémon Snap
Vivillon was always a bit gimmicky. To begin with, it has 20 different forms that reflect the climate it's caught in. Vivillon shows up several times throughout New Pokémon Snap, including with a special Poké Ball pattern that isn't seen in the mainline games.
All Vivillon in Snap count as the same Pokémon, despite the fact that there are so many patterns. This makes Vivillon feel like filler to many players, many of which believe Vivillon's spot should have been used to include other Pokémon.
2 Chatot Repeats After Players
Chatot is a Gen III Pokémon that was meant to take advantage of the original Nintendo DS microphone. Players who had Chatot could record a message that the bird would repeat when thrown into battle, which likely caused quite a few playground problems.
In fact, Chatot is banned from official tournaments due to the move Chatter, which relies on a loud recording to raise the move's chance of confusing the opponent.
1 Unown Can Spell Out Words
Unown are essentially alphabet soup – there is a form for every letter of the alphabet. Unfortunately, Unown turned out to be a lot less important in the Gen II games than players originally thought they would be.
In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Unown were part of an infuriating puzzle in the Ruins of Alph where players had to decipher text made of Unown to progress. After Johto, Unown fell by the wayside in favor of other puzzles.
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