In the world of Pokemon, it’s hard to describe anything as “normal” when there are creatures infused with elemental powers running around. The irony is that a set of these Pokemon belongs to a category called the Normal-type which often features plenty of small mammals and birds of all sizes.
This type has made its mark and the recent release of Pokemon Sword & Shield introduced a couple more Pokemon of this type to the franchise. With the type itself being so underwhelming it’s interesting to see what creatures sit at the bottom of the barrel in each region and generation.
8 Skwovet (Galar)
The Galar region featured in Pokemon Sword & Shield doesn’t have many Normal-types in its roster. That means that Skwovet isn’t necessarily bad, but among the few Normal-types in the region, it simply has the smallest potential and lowest base stats. It’s an adorable creature that takes the idea of a plump squirrel to another level. So much so in fact that it is called the Cheeky Pokemon which is a play on both its chubby cheeks and a nod to British slang. The Galar region is inspired by the England countryside, so that nod makes perfect sense.
7 Yungoos (Alola)
Without getting political it’s fair to say that many Americans are thankful to not see a certain somebody on their television screens every day in 2021. That’s partially why Yungoos is a bit of a bummer among the various Normal-types that call the Alolan Islands home.
It’s an invasive species that has caused tons of environmental issues and it also evolves into something that strongly resembles former President Donald Trump. Add on its lackluster base stats and Yungoos has a case for being the worst Normal-type of the 7th generation.
6 Litleo (Kalos)
The concept of a Fire-type lion Pokemon sounds neat on paper, but it appears that Arcanine was where all of the good design work went towards this idea. Litleo is a Normal and Fire-type native to the Kalos region and the Lion Cub Pokemon made its debut in Pokemon X & Y. One could argue a case for it being worthy of capturing if its final form wasn’t so abysmal in terms of design. This Pokemon is in desperate need of a new regional form that can help make it desirable to the greater Pokemon fandom.
5 Pidove (Unova)
With there being almost 1,000 different Pokemon at this point there’s going to be a handful of them that just don’t interest people. Every generation sees a new 2-stage bird evolution that’s featured in the early game and more often than not they’re slight to greatly interesting. The Unova region decided that a weak pigeon made the most sense and thus Pokemon Black & White was home to one of the least sought-after 2-stage Pokemon evolutionary lines. Pidove isn’t bad, it just isn’t very good either.
4 Bidoof (Sinnoh)
When Pokemon Red & Blue originally released people couldn’t stop making fun of how odd and weird Psyduck and Slowpoke looked. They were often drawn as aloof creatures staring into the void. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl decided to up the ante and introduced the Normal-type beaver named Bidoof as the Sinnoh region competitor to the oddities that were Psyduck and Slowbro. Its evolutionary form named Bibarel is gifted the Water-type as its secondary typing, which leaves the base form as the clear cut worst Normal-type of the Sinnoh region.
3 Whismur (Hoenn)
On top of being a clear candidate to receive the Fairy-type in some sort of retroactive editing, Whismur just needs more trainers to remember that it exists. Every base form of a 2-stage evolution has terrible base stats simply because it gives the creature room to grow with each new form it evolves into.
No one looks at Whismur expecting it to be stellar, but it just being a Normal-type makes it less desirable considering it takes 40 levels for it to reach its final form and the Normal-type is not as effective or strong as many other types.
2 Dunsparce (Johto)
The reason Dunsparce is the worst Normal-type Pokemon in the Johto region is that it’s an obnoxious symbol of wasted potential. Ever since Pokemon Gold & Silver was originally released, fans have been hoping for the Land Snake Pokemon to receive some love in the form of an evolution or possibly a new regional form. It has wings on its back and is referred to as a snake so the idea is that it should evolve into a menacing and powerful dragon or leviathan in the same way that Magikarp and Feebas do.
1 Rattata (Kanto)
As if Rattata wasn’t given enough hurdles to overcome in its existence, it simply doesn’t measure up to any of the other Normal-types that made their debut in the Kanto region back during the release of Pokemon Red & Blue. Its regional Alolan forms are neat and provide it some depth, but in terms of its first-generation stats and abilities, it’s lackluster at best. If players want a Normal-type early on they’re going to pursue a Pidgey and if they love mice and rodents then they’ll spend time hunting down the Electric-type icon known as Pikachu.
NEXT: The 10 Most Valuable Gen 2 Pokemon Cards
