Pokémon has introduced us to interesting creatures throughout time. And with every unique personality that each creature has comes its quirks. While each creature is well-thought-out, some are outright weird. Maybe it’s their design or is how they fit within the Pokémon world.
Out of the over 900 known Pokémon, at least one of them is weird for a variety of reasons. From them being out of place to the way it behaves in the Pokémon world, each of them is interesting in a weird, yet interesting way. And maybe it’s a good thing because it makes the Pokémon world feel more diverse.
Here are some of the weirdest Pokémon from each generation.
Gen 1 – Kangaskhan
Why is there a kangaroo living in Japan?! This Pokémon has no evolution line and the joey in this Pokémon’s pouch only leaves when it mega evolves. However, in the anime, they can move independently. While the anime gives more explanation and details to Kangaskhan’s existence, seeing the Pokémon in the games alone felt out of place. You’re presented with these cute and sentient creatures, and suddenly it’s a kangaroo. And to justify Kangaskhan’s out-of-place inclusion to the gen 1 lineup, that Pokémon is regionally exclusive to those in Australia only.
Gen 2 – Sudowoodo
Sudowoodo’s weirdness stemmed from the fact that they’re a rock-type Pokémon disguised as a tree. Even the anime called this out, which means the Pokémon company was aware of this. And it’s not just any plant either, its body somewhat resembled the trees that block your path in the Pokémon games. Also, it’s a tree that runs away from water – quite the opposite from most trees. Poor Sudowoodo. It’s a tree-wannabee, a pretty convincing one too. If only it could take in a bit of water.
Gen 3 – Kecleon
Kecleon is an interesting chameleon-like Pokémon. Despite being able to change its color, the red stripe on its chest stays the same. But that’s not what makes this Pokémon weird. Most Pokémon in the game try to stick to accuracy based on their PokéDex description, both in the games and anime. So, as someone who has played Pokémon Ruby way too many times, why is the red stripe gone when Kecleon disappears in-game? Also, why does it just block your path like an invisible wall in the games rather than have it move or something? Sudowoodo does a fun juggle when the player interacts with it. All we get is nothing but “oh, we can’t walk past because there is an invisible wall in front of us”.
Gen 4 – Rotom
Rotom is weird because it’s the only ghost type-Pokémon that can possess objects (mostly electrical appliances). Meanwhile, other ghost-type Pokémon just fuse with the item they possess (or wear it if you’re a Mimikyu). Once it does that, it changes its “ghost” typing to either water, fire, grass, flying, or ice, depending on what object it possesses. It’s technically like a mini electric Arceus, meets Ditto. But just like Kecleon, Rotom’s transformation is different between the games and anime. Unlike the anime where Rotom can change forms willy-nilly, the video game version requires a Rotom Catalog before granting the electric-ghost Pokémon the ability to transform. Also, the game is limited to a few objects, while the Sun and Moon anime series not only turned it into a PokéDex but also took over a giant electrical building.
Gen 5 – Genesect
Genesect is a weird Pokémon because it doesn’t even look like one. It looks more like a living animatronic weapon from an alien race. And this says something as there are other robotic and mechanical-looking Pokémon that looked more “Pokémon”-ish than this. The reason for Genesect’s robotic appearance is because this 300 million-year-old Pokémon was heavily modified by Team Plasma, transforming them into something more dangerous and potentially deadly.
Gen 6 – Klefki
You know that ongoing joke in the Pokémon community, that the newer creatures are running out of ideas. Well, Klefki is possibly one of those Pokémon that fit on that list. This Pokémon is literally a floating keyring, and it’s not even a ghost type. It is said that the rattling of Klefki’s keys is able to threaten predators. Also, this Pokémon’s strange obsession with keys is relatively recent, they used to live in mines where it fed itself metal ions, but eventually moved to the suburbs and started collecting keys instead.
Gen 7 – Alolan Dugtrio
Alolan Dugtrio has to be the weirdest regional variant that has ever existed in the entirety of the Pokémon franchise. Because, unlike other regional variants that change form because of diet or climate, Alolan Dugtrio just have long hair with metallic properties that helps them sense vibrations. So basically, these Pokémon were able to grow their hair in the Alola region and were unable to do so in Kanto.
Gen 8 – Eiscue
And lastly, Eiscue is the weirdest Pokémon to have ever existed in Gen 8. Not only is it the 4th penguin-like Pokémon in the entire franchise, but it has an ice cube on its head. Also, the Pokémon can change the shape of its ice-like head to something rounder. But what’s weird is that this Pokémon has an ice block that’s nearly half its size and it’s able to waddle around normally like nothing is wrong. How is that ice cube able to stay on its head for so long? I get that the Galar region is based in the UK but the region has sunlight. How has it not melted?
Not all Pokémon has to make sense. Some are outright weird for a variety of reasons. But just because they are weird doesn’t mean that they’re not well-loved or hated by fans. They just make liking Pokémon and knowing the living creatures in the world more interesting. And with Generation 9 coming out with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, there will be more weird Pokémon for us to uncover once the game comes out.