10 Unfortunate Pokémon That Ruined Their Evolution Lines Forever

While most Pokémon designs among the over 1.000 that exist are beloved by fans of the franchise, there are a few oddballs in the roster. There are some notable creatures that stand out as awkward design choices, be they from their initial conception or from how strangely a creature evolved. Some of the worst and most uncreative Pokémon designs are just inanimate objects that were brought to life – Klink, Klank, and Klinklang, for instance, compose one of the weirdest evolutionary lines, but that starts with Klink and carries on until its final form.

On the other side of the spectrum of bad designs are creatures that start off with a promising concept and then evolve into something grotesque. A recent example of that is Fuecoco, the adorable Fire-type starter in Generation 9 games. It evolves into the uncanny Crocalor. Luckily, it did not ruin the entire evolutionary line, as Skeledirge’s design is a significant improvement. Not all Pokémon are this lucky, however, as some beloved creatures are completely ruined because of what they evolve into, ending what first seemed like a promising line – and even tricking players’ expectations.

Gourgeist

Generation: 6

Pokémon X and Y’s Gourgeist is a prime example of how a creature can ruin its evolutionary line. The dual Ghost- and Grass-type Pokémon made its debut in the first Gen 6 titles and is a direct evolution to Pumpkaboo, which shares its typing. The problem with the evolution is that, while Pumpkaboo has a pleasant and cute design for a Basic Pokémon, Gourgeist does not live up to that reputation. In fact, Pumpkaboo looks like a creature that will bloom into something much larger and menacing, which is the case of Trevenant, the evolution to Phantump.

Unlike its Gen 6 colleagues, however, Pumpkaboo evolves into the oddly shaped Gourgeist, which feels like a Stage 1 evolution in dire need of a final Stage 2 form – perhaps that can be solved with the release of the teased Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Essentially, Pumpkaboo went from being a pumpkin and elongated into a gourd. Conceptually, it makes sense, but design-wise, it feels like a poor decision. Unless Trainers keep Pumpkaboo in its regular form, there is hardly a reason to actually evolve it or use it in their teams.

Diggersby

Generation: 6

Yet another Gen 6 creature, Diggersby completely ruins its own evolutionary line. The dual Normal- and Ground-type Pokémon’s design is represented by a bipedal rabbit that uses its ears as appendixes to burrow underground. Conceptually, it is a fascinating creature. The problem is how it turned out to be. Diggersby has an obnoxious and rather unsettling smirk that never really goes away, making it look like a creep. Worse than that, it goes against the initial design set by its predecessor.

Diggersby’s previous form, Bunnelby, is a cute bipedal rabbit that has not yet gained the secondary Ground-type. The creature is not among the most well-designed ones in the series, but it is an honest early-game Pokémon to catch. As early as level 20, however, the Digging Pokémon evolves into Diggersby, which ruins any chances of continuing to use it. Diggersby’s weird expression along with its awkward fur belt is extremely off-putting.

Probopass

Generation: 4

Probopass is among the wildly divisive Gen 4 titan-like evolutions, which also include Electivire, Magmortar, Tangrowth, and many others. Diamond and Pearl’s Probopass is the evolution of Gen 3’s Nosepass, which was already a somewhat awkward design, but one that was acceptable. The Rock-type Pokémon, clearly inspired by Moai statues of Easter Island, was a great addition as a single creature without much complexity to it. In fact, Nosepass’ resemblance to Moai statues while also having short arms and legs make it arguably cute.

When it evolves, however, anything positive goes to waste. Probopass becomes a giant head with a magnetic mustache. The Rock- and Steel-type Compass Pokémon’s design just feels strange and its lack of visual appeal makes it very hard to want to have them in any player’s party. The idea of Probopass being a Compass Pokémon is truly great, but its execution ruins the fine work established with Nosepass.

Sneasler

Generation: 8

The introduction of Sneasler in Gen 8’s Pokémon Legends: Arceus is quite a disappointment. Gen 2’s Sneasel and its first evolution, Weavile are a fantastic class on how to create innovative and welcome designs based on creatures released years before. With the introduction of Hisui, a Hisuian Sneasel was created, which works perfectly as a regional form. It takes on the main characteristics of the classic Sneasel but is distinct enough to be a regional creature. Hisuian Sneasel also has an evolution, which is a cool thing in theory.

It evolves into Sneasler in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The problem with this evolution is its weirdly stretched-out design. Sneasler is a tall and long-limbed bipedal figure that just looks strange. The idea of it having longer claws to climb mountain walls is cool, but its size and disproportionate humanoid body make it hard to look at. It could have been a much cooler creature than it turned out to be.

Crabominable

Generation: 7

Pokémon Sun and Moon’s Crabominable is one of the poorest creature designs in the franchise and, while it does actually look like a direct evolution to its predecessor, Crabrawler, it loses a lot of its main traces. Crabrawler, as the name implies, is a crab-like Fighting-type brawler, which uses its claws as boxing gloves. Crabominable gains as secondary Ice-type and becomes an abominable snowman, or a yeti, inserted into the body of a crab.

Crabominable looks terrible. The design makes it look like it is shooting for two different sources of inspiration and barely scratching the surface on both fronts. Crabrawler’s boxing claws become yeti feet, though the crab body retains its short legs. Additionally, Crawbrawler’s characteristic black eye, which fits the brawling theme, is substituted for a monster-like expression that looks foolish. Crabominable looks neither here nor there and it ends up butchering the potential that its previous form had.

Rillaboom

Generation: 8

Rillaboom is one of the most recent examples of a Pokémon that ruined an entire evolutionary line. The Gen 8 creature introduced with Pokémon Sword and Shield is part of the family that starts with Grookey and later transforms into Thwackey. The big issue with it is that it simply does not look the part. Grookey is an adorable little monkey that plays with the stick on its head, and Thwackey is the mid-tier evolution that builds on top of its predecessor.

Rillaboom, on the other hand, is a full-grown gorilla-like ape rather than a monkey, per si, and its entire design doesn’t seem to communicate well with its previous forms. Surely, Rillaboom shows that the aspiring Grookey became a full-time drummer, but Rillaboom’s design is unappealing and it easily makes anyone who chose Grookey as a starter instantly regret the early-game decision. In all fairness, Rillaboom’s design is actually cool, especially in its Gigantamaxed form in Pokémon Sword and Shield, but not as part of Grookey’s evolutionary line.

Chesnaught

Generation: 6

Much like its Gen 8 Grass-type starter counterpart, Chesnaught is another final Grass-type starter that butchers its evolutionary line. The Gen 6 creature is inspired by a hedgehog and a warrior class in RPG games. It does attend that very inspiration, but its design is very different from what its first forms, Chespin and Quilladin, were aiming at. The smaller brown-colored creatures with a growing green suit end up evolving into a white-toned creature in beige armor.

The lack of visual synergy between Chesnaught and its previous forms is appalling. Those who picked Chespin as their starter in Gen 6 will end up with something they could not have expected. The Grass- and Fighting-type creature throws out a lot of potential and, curiously enough, its Shiny form would have been a better choice for its standard design. At least, with the Shiny version of Chesnaught, it retains a glimmer of Chespin’s original color palette. Overall, it’s a really disappointing Pokémon evolution design.

Scovillain

Generation: 9

The most recent example of an evolution that ruins the entire line is Scovillain, from Generation 9. There are a lot of questionable design choices in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, from Klawf to Spidofs, but none seem to match the unsettling potential of Scovillain, a dual Grass- and Fire-type creature. Its previous form, Capsakid, is a small bird-like pepper that actually looks like a mischievous chick that just hatched from its egg. What one would expect from it is that it would become a larger bird-like Pokémon.

Scarlet and Violet go in a wildly different direction with Capsakid’s evolution, and it’s a bad choice. Scovillain is a walking pepper plant with two heads; one is green and the other is red. It certainly matches its typing and inspiration in peppers, but just looks strange and very unappealing. As a very early-game creature, Capsakid didn’t have too much potential to grow on, but Scovillain destroyed every last ounce of potential it had.

Rhyperior

Generation: 4

Possibly one of the most notorious and hated evolutionary forms in the franchise, Rhyperior is also part of the controversial Gen 4 titan-like evolutions. As the name indicates, it is an evolution to Rhydon and the final form in Rhyhorn’s family. It is clearly related to that family, but it undoes all the work invested in its previous forms. It is as if Rhyperior were an alternative form to Rhydon rather than a direct evolution. Its horns and eyes are still there, but Rhyperior looks weighted down, literally.

The Gen 4 Pokémon gains a brown armor and it seems as if it revested its entire body to look like a mud lump. While Rhydon looks like a blend between a dinosaur and a rhinoceros, Rhyperior is a mix of things that do not work. For some reason, its bulky body and larger horn are not enough anymore, and it now also shoots boulders from a cannon in its palm. Rhyhorn and Rhydon are still great designs, but they could have been a much better evolutionary line if it were not for the mistake that is Rhyperior.

Persian (Alolan Form)

Generation: 7

Debatably the most laughable design in the franchise, Persian’s Alolan form from Pokémon Sun and Moon is a total disgrace that messes up Alolan Meowth and the entire Pokémon family. Alolan Meowth was created to resemble a trickster with its Dark-type. It is a deviation from the original Meowth, and it has a funny though cute face that hints at its trickery. Then, it evolves into Alolan Persian and becomes very weird, to the point that it is uncomfortable to look at.

Its round and edgeless face is hilarious, especially due to how hard it is trying to look serious. Its color palette and body design are all fantastic to be a counterpart to the original Persian, but the Alolan form’s face really stands out in a negative way. It looks as if it were a caricature of a Persian rather than a real person, and it really ruins the potential that a well-designed Dark-type Persian could have had in regard to fan commitment toward this Pokémon.