Pokémon come in all shapes and sizes, with a wide array of colors and designs on show throughout the eight generations of the franchise's existence. Many species have drawn obvious inspirations from real life animals, with some being more obvious and apparent than others.
There are even several Pokémon that are based on animals that would be found on a farm, from pigs and cows to chickens, with more obscure examples such as pheasants and rabbits. A handful of these are even shown to be strong Pokémon in the anime, with them being given extra quirks and abilities to make them stand out in battle as being more than just farmyard-inspired Pokémon.
10 Mudsdale Is A Horse With A Devastating Kick
The Draft Horse Pokémon has the features of a real horse but is larger in stature. Its hooves are especially accentuated to show off its considerable physical prowess, and it has base stats of 125 for attack and 100 for defense.
In the Sun & Moon anime, Poni Island Kahuna Hapu used a Mudsdale against Ash's Pikachu during Ash's Grand Trial. Mudsdale's sheer power and type advantage should have defeated Pikachu, but it managed to hang in there and persevere, eventually picking up the victory. Regardless, Mudsdale was shown to be strong, with it also helping out in "Z-Move Showdown," in fighting back against an invading Guzzlord.
9 Unfezant Is An Average Pheasant
Out of all of the Flying-types that Ash has caught over the years, Unfezant is arguably one of the less memorable ones, partially due to the fact that it barely battled for Ash, managing just three wins and three losses. However, it did still pull its weight outside of battle, performing the usual duties of a Flying-type in scouting for Ash and stopping numerous Team Rocket escapes.
Alain also had an Unfezant which he used against Ash in the Lumiose Conference final in X & Y, forcing Ash's Talonflame into a double knockout. The Proud Pokémon resembles a pheasant and turkey hybrid, with its appearance changing drastically depending on its gender.
8 The Wild Bull Tauros Should Have Been Used More by Ash
During his Kanto adventures, Ash not only managed to catch one of the Wild Bull Pokémon, but he instead captured thirty of the same species, mainly due to them stampeding and blocking his Poké Balls that were aimed at other species.
Ash kept all thirty back at Pallet Town and barely even called upon the services of one, let alone all thirty. Perfectly representing the rage that a bull can exert, Tauros showed that it could channel its aggression in battle, but was only used a handful of times, such as against Drake at the Orange League, Gary in Johto and Anabel at the Battle Tower.
7 Sirfetch'd Is A Combative Duck
Sirfetch'd is a Gen VIII Pokémon and is the evolved form of the Galarian variant of the Gen I Wild Duck Pokémon, Farfetch'd. Sirefetch'd is currently an active member of Ash's impressive team in Pokémon Journeys, with it being a powerful Fighting-type.
While Ash already has a Fighting-type Pokémon on his team in the exceptional Lucario, Sirfetch'd offers more than just Fighting-type moves, as it knows Detect and previously used the likes of Fury Cutter when it was still a Farfetch'd. With its improvised sword and shield, appropriate for the generation that it was introduced in, this is one duck that is not to be messed with.
6 Pryce's Piloswine Had An Emotional Backstory And An Impressive Move-Pool
Swinub and Piloswine, known as the Pig and Swine Pokémon respectively, essentially resemble woolly pigs, with the distinguishing feature being their pig-snout of sorts. The final evolution of the Swinub-line, Mamoswine, is more of a pig-mammoth hybrid.
While Dawn owned a Swinub in Diamond & Pearl, with it evolving all the way through to a Mamoswine, the Ground and Ice-type evolution line was mainly showcased by Mahogany Gym Leader Pryce's Piloswine. Not only was it given a touching backstory, but it easily defeated Ash's Cyndaquil and had Pikachu on the ropes before Pryce forfeited the match due to Piloswine being tired.
5 Despite Its Distant Persona, Misty's Psyduck Possessed Exceptional Psychic Powers
Given the fact that Misty accidentally caught her Psyduck, with it subsequently releasing itself from its Poké Ball on numerous occasions, and with it always getting bad headaches, it makes it all the more impressive that eventually the Duck Pokémon learned to channel and use its headaches as one of the franchise's most devastating attacks.
Despite not being a Psychic-type and remaining just a Water-type, Psyduck's Confusion and Psychic moves managed to surprise several trainers, given that at first glance, Psyduck does not seem at all dangerous.
4 Pignite And Emboar Were Strong Pigs But Not Enough To Defeat Cameron At The Vertress Conference
The Fire Pig evolution line, including Tepig, Pignite and Emboar, got a good showing in the Black & White anime series. Ash ended up with a Pignite, and his friend Bianca fully evolved hers into an Emboar.
At the Vertress Conference in Unova, both Ash and Bianca's Fire Pig Pokémon were showcased against a trainer named Cameron, who ended up defeating both of them. However, Ash's Pignite defeated Cameron's tough Hydreigon and Ferrothorn before falling to his Samurott, which was the Pokémon that Bianca's Emboar had previously defeated, before it fell to his Riolu. Ash's Pignite was one of the bright points of a rather disappointing Unova team and campaign.
3 Miltank May Look Harmless But Can Easily Roll Over Teams
Despite being a completely different representation of a cow than Tauros, Miltank is still regarded as one of the most formidable Normal-type Pokémon, as its appearances under the ownership of Whitney have proven, both in the games and the anime.
In the anime, Whitney's Miltank annihilated Ash's Cyndaquil, Totodile and Pikachu in the initial battle, then defeated Cyndaquil and Totodile once again in the rematch before falling to Ash's Pikachu. The Milk Cow Pokémon's devastating Rollout attack was too much for Ash's team to handle, until they were able to devise a strategy, gradually building a trench system to counter it.
2 Blaziken Is An All-Powerful Chicken-Inspired Species
Introduced in Gen III, the Blaze Pokémon that resembles a chicken, Blaziken, was not only shown in a prominent role in the Ruby & Sapphire series under the ownership of May, but it also made appearances in earlier and later generations.
A Blaziken belonged to Harrison, who defeated Ash at the Silver Conference in Johto by taking out Ash's Bayleef and Charizard, thus knocking Ash out of the tournament. Blaziken was also shown off in the X & Y series, mainly in its Mega Evolved form under the ownership of Meyer and under the guise of Blaziken Mask. Despite still resembling a chicken to a degree as a Blaziken, it takes a more combative and hybrid form compared to its pre-evolution forms of Torchic and Combusken, which still keep more of their chicken-like appearance.
1 Cinderace Is Goh's Best Battler
In the Pokémon Journeys series of the anime, Goh's main Pokémon Cinderace has grown to become a popular figure with fans. Quickly evolving from Scorbunny into Raboot and then into Cinderace, the Striker Pokémon is a Fire-type rabbit-like Pokémon that specializes in kicking-based offense, as shown by its devastating Pyro Ball.
When Ash's Riolu eventually evolved into Lucario, it presented both of the main characters of the series as legitimate and powerful trainers, each with an impressive Pokémon, with Pikachu even making them a formidable trio.
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