The Best and Worst Gimmick Pokemon 

Big thanks to The Ridge for sponsoring today's video! Get the best available offer with my link: ridge.com/jpr Which Gimmick Pokemon is YOUR favorite? Mine is probably Castform :)

I love that in the Pokemon 3 movie, the Unown have the power to warp reality, and in the games they're unbelievably useless.

Unknown makes sense in that it takes thousands of them to do that as you need thousands and thousands of letters to make a story, but that single letter by itself isn't very useful.

I’m surprised Plusle and Minun weren’t considered gimmick pokemon

Eevee was 100% a gimmick pokemon at the beginning. It's a one-of with three potential evolution lines to require trading, shows off the elemental evolution stones as soon as you're able to buy them, is *literally* named after evolution just to drive the point home. There have been alternate evolution lines since then, but in context it's totally unique.

Fun fact: Chatot was actually banned in tournaments for one reason, chatter. With the mike feature you can record slurs to your opponent, hence they banned it. Rly funny ngl

I'd argue Mimikyu is also a gimmick Pokemon, in that it has a signature ability unique to it and falls in line with its concept.

I feel like Luvdisc should have been mentioned in gen 3, it’s only purpose is to give out heartscales

I feel like no one talks about how Gen 3 introduced so many gimmick pokemon just to be counterparts in double battles. Plusle and Minun, Volbeat and Illumise, Zangoose and Seviper, Solrock and Lunatone, arguably Latios and Latias, and I might be forgetting some. Heck you could argue it's the reason there are two regional birds, two pseudos, and two evolutions of Wurmple

I’d argue that Gen 5 does have a gimmick Pokemon in form of Zorua and Zoroark. Their illusion ability is their gimmick and I personally like it a lot even if it’s not very good.

Komala is the only Pokemon to just have a baseline status condition baked into it's ability treating it as permanently asleep being able to use moves like Sleep Talk innately, being unable to be status conditioned and dealing double damage with moves like Facade.

Ditto has also become surprisingly useful in competitive battling as well! With impostor copying any stat changes of the opponent, it now functions as a great answer to set up sweepers, especially in high powered meta games like Ubers: It equips a Choice Scarf and then uses the opponent’s boosts against them by out speeding and KOing, sometimes even leading to a reverse sweep.

The downside to Furfrou is that if you change its Trim in the Kalos games, it automatically reverts to its base form if you deposit it in a box, meaning that, at this point in time, the only way to obtain the other trims is to trade with other players around the world since the Furfrou Trims are region-locked in different parts of the world in Pokemon GO. It took me quite some time and a lot of extra legendaries from the Dynamax Adventures to get them all.

For gen 7 you forgot meneor. The cute meteor pokemon that loses its shell when taking damage but gets faster and hits harder (while taking more damage)

Kind of surprised Vivillon isn't on the list. Collect every region Vivillon was an impossible gimmick.

That unown rant is so accurate it hurts. Especially the part about the "unown dumping ground". So many cool ruins in pokemon games robbed of any interest by such a nothing pokemon

They retroactively gave Unown a connection to Arceus, that bumps it up a bit I'd say

i'm surprised sawsbuck not mentioned here, i think it's kinda gimmicky how it change it's appearance every season

My favorite gimmick pokemon is rampardos for the strat of destroying or getting destroyed, zero in between

As a kid, I collected Unown and was super upset that they were weak. But I guessed that I just had to collect all of the forms and spell something special with all 5 or 6 of them to unlock their full powers. I tried "POWER", "UNLOCK", "UNOWN", "STRONG", "ALPHA", "REVEAL" None of them did ANYTHING!!!

Lore wise the Unown are linked with Arceus in some capacity, whether it be little tools of his or an extension of him directly. In game they are terrible, but if we could carry more than 6 at a time, it can be assumed they’d be greater in power. There’s the legend of Arceus shaping the universe with his 1,000 arms, which could very well be the Unown.

Wobbuffet was my very first shiny Pokémon, and I actually used it, to some mild success. I think the needing a Pokémon to not evolve is a bit much of a restriction. If you rule that out, that opens up Cherrim in Gen 4 and Deerling/Sawsbuck in Gen 5.

Excluding Pokemon like Sawsbuck (meant to show off the seasons mechanic), Slaking (show off abilities), and Plusle/Minun (double battles) really shows the weakness of the criteria. Each of those are far more "gimmick" Pokemon than Pokemon like Shedinja. Actually, why _were_ Plusle and Minun excluded from this list?

Their "hidden power" is language. That's what the ability to warp reality really symbolizes. Written language. Hard to translate that power into battle strength I guess ✍️ It's funny that the concept goes over so many heads when it's so on the nose

I’m surprised you didn’t mention gimmighoul and gholdengo. I know you had a rule about evolutions but that Pokémon only exists so people spend hours collecting tiny coins

I'm honestly surprised you didn't include Komala as a candidate for a gimmick Pokémon, heeding how much of one it can be. I guess I saw for some reason some usability of it similar to that of Shedinja, but you tell me how good the ability Comatose can be alongside its usable sets

I think with Unown, one is supposed to be very weak but they act as the programming language of the Pokemon world thus you need a lot of them to make cool stuff happen like the events of Pokemon 3.

Something worth mentioning about Wishiwashi is that it doesn’t need to get hit to transform, it just needs enough health and be above level 20. It’s problem is that it just doesn’t have enough HP despite its massive defenses along with a rather shallow move pool, only really having earthquake, hydro pump, Ice beam and U turn making it pretty predictable. And where’s Spinda? I’d have expected that Mon if all Mons to appear gives how it’s only really got it’s millions of patterns to its name.

I feel like Palafin could be considered a gimicky pokemon even though it evolves just based on its evolution method and it's ability

Ditto, Smeargle and Kecleon come to mind. Fun fact, in the original Pokémon Snap on the N64, there is a cave section with some Bulbasaur that have goofy looking dot eyes. Hit them with a Pester Ball, and you’ll reveal them as Dittos. But what I’d really like to know is why Castform and Rotom can’t change form in Pokémon go when Furfrou can?

Deoxys could be a gimmick legendary. It’s two main features are its origins, one of the closest things to an alien in the Pokemon canon (hence the persistent rumour about it being linked to the space center in Mossdeep in Gen 3), and its ability to transform into different formes.

Out of so many hours of playing Pokemon, I had never ever noticed that Wubbufet literally cannot deal any damage unless being attacked, wow.

Deerling & Sawsbuck, depite being an evolutionary line, was definitely designed in Gen 5 with the Season mechanic in mind. Altho Seasons have not returned since then...

What’s funny, is that I actually went and caught all of the Unown types in Platinum a few years ago just to say that I did, and during that process, I got a FULL 1/8192 ODDS SHINY. My first og full odds of getting a shiny pokemon….it was the “G” Unown.

What castform lacks in viability in the mainline game it makes up for in the Mystery Dungeon games. Being able to change the weather at any point on a floor and having it last WAY longer than in the mainline games, Weatherball being a long reaching decently powerful special move that can be one of four different types, and getting a STAB boost regardless of type makes castform a pretty potent party member for most dungeons

Smeargle can be good under certain circumstances. It's the only pokemon that can learn both Circle Throw and Surging Strike. The only pokemon that can benefit using them at full potential thanks to the Technician Ability.

I love dondozo and tatsugiri’s similarly goofy yet wildly different designs, and the fact that Tatsugiri controls Dozo from inside its mouth if very funny to me.

For Unown, I feel like GameFreak missed a great opportunity with that Pokemon. Like how you'd need to collect 999 Gimmieghoul coins to evolve a Gimmieghoul, they should make it where if you catch all 28 Unown shapes, you'll be to evolve one Unown into Several Unown, like the ones in the movie. Giving it close to legendary stats, and learning all sorts of moves instead of just Hidden Power. Making the Pokemon actually really threatening, and one worth going through the hassle of getting all 28 forms. I can understand not doing that when Unown debut in gen 2 due to time and technology limitations... but come on, I feel like they could totally do something like that in this day and age, and I find it to be a crime they haven't.

Castforms ability should summon the weather corresponding to the weather move in its first moveslot on top of doing what it is doing already

I would have included Aegislash, Palafin, and Shuckle in the conversation as well.

In the Gen 3 games, aren't Plusle and Minun gimmick Mons by the rules in the video? They don't have an evolution line, they're unique build comes from the Plus and Minus abilities making them work well together in double battles, and aren't they the posters for double battles because of those abilites?

funfact: unown actually taught me about how evs worked as a kid. for some reason i was training my raikou in the unown ruins in leafgreen and i noticed that once i leveled up i got an unusual high +10 in attack and special attack, when normally you would only get like 3 per level up.

Smeargle is actually super popular in PokeMMO due to being able to carry the optimal moveset for a catcher.

In VGC, Shedninja is actually popular back then due to the fact it counters the one of the most dangerous mon in VGC at that time Kyogre

One thing you neglected about Kecleon, it actually made Hidden Power more useful, or at least slightly more practical to use. Normally, you're left guessing what type of move it gave you based on invisible factors. Sure, you could figure it out from trial and error based on how it responds to certain types of Pokémon, but it's *SO* much more convenient to just use it against a Kecleon and let the Color Change tell you what type it was.

It is unfortunate that the Unknown didn’t provide a super powered version when you collected all of them

I am surprised you didn't mention Plusle and Minun for gen 3 they were literally made for double battles Kyruem I consider a gimmick with its ability to fuse with Reshiram or Zekrom Passimian with its ability Reciever Cramorant and its Gulp Missile

I hope there will be a new tomb/book item in the next gen that evolves unown once you collect all letters

Pyukumuku is a pretty fun stall pokemon with recover, toxic, soak, and counter. And one of the best defensive typings

actually gen 1 ditto did have a small niche in ubers of all places. you could bring it in against a paralized mew or mewtwo, transform into them and waste some pp or get lucky crits and a ko. mew also sometimes ran transform to surprise the opponent (not clear on how that set worked exactly)

wouldn't Minior also count as a gimmick? the different colors plus it's unique signature ability. I'm surprised you missed mentioning it since it's also in the footage for Pyukumuku.

If you look up missed potential, you can find Unown! Which is spelled with other Unowns

I remember hearing stories about people that would level 100 their unknowns. And even I got an unknown to a high level thinking it would be good in gen 4

Shednija is one of my favorite Pokémon, because it’s gimmick doesn’t automatically make it bad. You can use certain strategies to make it op

Wait, why did Wishiwashi make the list but Minior didn’t? If anything Minior’s gimmick is more relevant because it’s more likely to actual take effect in battle since it triggers at 50% instead of 25%. Plus the immunity to major status conditions while in meteor form is a more dynamic element than just high stats.

Shedinja actually saved me in my last Emerald playthrough, i had nothing well fit against Wallace's Gyarados, my Flygon was at low HP(and was not the best option against Gyarados Anyway), my Swampert was at a little more than Half HP(she also didn't had a well fit moveset to use against Gyarados), my Seviper, Gardevoir and Breloom were all fainted, my only hope was this small Ghostly bug(which for context, i didn't knew Wallace's Gyarados didn't had bite), it was quite literally a leap of faith. But then, i began to grim after a realization: He couldn't be hurt by Gyarados. I slowly but surely took Gyarados' HP, and then... He fainted. The 1 HP bug that took 13 levels(which felt like years) to evolve, was the one whom gave me victory. Although it probably didn't happened, I'm pretty sure i heard him saying "Stand proud Gyarados, you are strong." It truly was our Lobotomy Kaisen.

Wobuffett ended up being banned in singles. It is pretty OP

Sometimes I wonder what competitive would look like if Shedinja had stats better than a 90 in attack and 30 in sp attack. Probably would have included evos like Slaking, Palafin, Aegislash, and Darmanitan (both forms). If you ask me, what makes a gimmick is how all encompassing their ability and/or signature move is, how much the play style revolves around that one aspect of it's build. Though arguably any Mon that is locked into only one ability would qualify for this.

Ditto is basically a breeder that's the gimmick. Unknown has some good lore but in the game its lame. Gimmighoul is the One Piece!

In Kalos I would consider Aegislash a gimmick pokemon as well, and a VERY good one at that. It is a gimmick being able to change forms redisitributing its stats either in attack or defense depending on its moves. When used correctly it is extremely powerful, but the player needs to learn how it works to properly make use of it

I do like that legends arceus ties hidden power to unown only while also changing it to be always super-effective. It actually make it quite strong.

Great video 10:27 Gunsparce, the Dunsparce evolution that we deserved Surprised didn't include Plusle and Minun with there Plus and Minus ability since were meant to promote the Gen 3 double battles

We have reached a point in Pokémon where people have forgotten that Wobbuffet was in Ubers tier. That thing wreaked havoc in competitive battling for a while.

Castform is like the "magic weather rock", an item I always give my players in DnD games. the rock will tell you the current weather. If the rock is wet, its raining, if its hard to see, its foggy, if its dry, its sunny.

Wb spinda? 😢

If gen 2 ever gets another remake they better do a post game hunt similar to the hunt for gimighoul coins in gen 9 for unown and once you caught all the unown and organize them in the box it finally gets an evo and evolves( and having one shiny unown and the rest being normal will make the evo shiny)

How to make Unown awesome: Have all 28 forms combine into one Pokemon. We all saw how straight up broken the Unown are when they’re together. This takes it to the next level. When combined, they have double the base stats of a regular Unown, can learn other moves besides Hidden Power and have a new ability and signature move.

I know we aren't counting evolutions but zorua and zoroak from gen 5 definitely have a gimmick and they use it well

Ditto in 6v6 singles is one of the most useful Pokémon that exists. Choice Scarf Ditto is the best "no u" counter to setup sweepers

As a resident Castform enjoyer, I'll still love him even if he's utter garbage and didn't get a Sandstorm form and only got shinies for his other forms like 20 years later. He's just so charming to me.

I know baby Pokémon evolve, but they can come off as gimmicky. They mark a unique capability of breeding, use the happiness mechanic and pad out the Pokédex with new Pokémon without needing to come up with new lines entirely. Tyrogue’s evolution method is still unique to it, manipulating its stats to determine whether it evolves into Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan or Hitmontop. Later gens would add another layer to their gimmick, incense pots needed to be held. Speaking of baby Pokémon and held items, Emerald added in Pichu learning Volt Tackle as an egg move if one of the Pikachu used to breed it holds a Light Ball, another one where the phenomena is unique to that Pokémon line and item combo.

I think that Plusle/Minun could also be considered gimmick Pokemon, created to showcase the double battles feature that was introduced in gen 3. As for gen 5, I would also consider Deerling and Sawsbuck as gimmick, since they change appearence according to the season.

Having unown in your party that spelt certain words should've unlocked secrets in the games.

I had no idea chatot had a move based on recording your voice through the DS mic. That's nuts.

Video request: The Best and Worst of Paldea. This has a type specialist for most major battles.

Delibird: “Ho Ho Ho, presents for everyone” Iron Bundle: “Y’all are naughty kids. Prepare for your demise!”

Fun fact on generation 8 anything goes ditto was an absolute beast of a Pokémon because you couldn’t set up to sweep if your opponent had one

Unown actually isn't beyond saving imo. They just need to give it an evolution that requires you to have all the forms. Simple way to add to the mystique while fixing its stats and movepool

To be fair to Ditto, it is CRACKED in metagames with broken pokemon in them. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve seen someone copy Xerneas/Zacian/Calyrex and reverse swwep.

My therapist: "Gunsparce isn't real, it can't hurt you." Gunsparce: "10:27"

One of my favorite internet trends/memes as of recent is people reminding viewers to drink water. As someone who has drunk way more water in the past few years than I ever used to, I'm proud of people telling others to move away from the soda for one gosh diddily darn moment

There was a rumor in my neighborhood that if you could spell "CELEBI" using Unown, you would be able to encounter a wild Celebi

I would have thought the Hoothoot and Deerling lines would have been shown here, with the fact that they are used to show off the new time and weather mechanics respectively.

In addition to Machop, gimmick Pokémon are my absolute JAM! So I greatly appreciate this video! Throughout 2019 I actually used Shedinja in VGC, alongside a Golduck with Soak, which changed Shedinja to a Water-type reducing the number of types it's weak to to just 2 (while alternatively threatening 3 of the 5 types Shedinja is normally weak to). I didn't compete much in Sun and Moon series due to other commitments, but the core did take down the reigning World Champion at the Oceania Championships, plus it got some consistent top 4 results throughout Ultra Series (where it was in a team with no Mega, and the Golduck was Scarfed with Cloud Nine). In addition, I for one would consider Zoroark a gimmick through its Illusion ability. But I guess by your logic it doesn't count since it's an evolved Pokémon.

Got the video recomended in my feed, nice thumbnail!!

I’m still unreasonably angry that we never got those other Castform formes especially Sandstorm and MAYBE even terrains.

I'm surprised Togepi wasn't mentioned as a gen 2 gimmick pokemon to show off egg hatching. Its signature move is a bit sketchy but I'd say Metronome counts even though it's not exclusive.

Squawkabilly is actually a really good support pokemon because it can run Choice Scarf Intimidate Parting Shot

So fun castform fact, it was actually pokemon go that gave castforms weather forms their shiny variants. Which makes it the only major addition to main series games from go besides meltan and melmetal

If I remember correctly, in one of the games for the gameboy if you caught all the Unowns and had the little printer attachment, you could print out words/sentences that use the unowns

You’re sleeping on Pyukumuku. Can it attack? No. Can it toxic stall? Hell yeah. Soak, Toxic, Protect, and Recover with unaware and you’re a menace

I can feel a certain Team Sky Leader that was offended by the thought of no one caring about his special little Castform.

Those ex delta species dittos were awesome back in the day lol. Especially the reverse holos

I didn't even know about Wobbufet's mechanic because i never bothered trying to use it in a battle lmao

Kecleon may be pretty useless in the main series games, but it’s an absolute powerhouse in the mystery dungeon series.

Oricorio's Dancer ability is amazing, making it a great companion to Volcorona and Lilligant for Fiery Dance, Petal Dance, and Quiver Dance. In Ultra Sun/Moon you could teach Lilligant Role Play which meant you could have her Role Play Dancer and get 4 moves off in a turn! That worked gangbusters when I played Ultra Sun online. I don't think they let her keep Role Play in subsequent games though.

Generation 5: I think Zorua and Zoroark are gimmick Pokémon whose ability - just like Shedinja's and Ditto's - has impacted the game significantly ever since. Still today, there are children on Pokémon Showdown who call their opponent "a hacker" because their psychic, normal, fighting or ghost moves don't work on the opponent's Zoroark in disguise.

Fun Fact on Wobbuffet: It's the reason that the official format is Doubles nowadays. Since it got Shadow Tag when abilities came out, the concern was if two of hem got sent in, it could just be a never-ending stalemate

For a brief time unknown were usable in the trading card game. Not the origionals that triggered abilities by filling your bench in order to spell words, a later set. Unknown that turned themselves into held items, unknown that could perform damage swap (only between unknown) Unknown that shuffled themselves back into the deck, and thus removed a damaged pokemon without counting as a knockout. I had good fun with an unknown deck.

4:32 as a player whose first full year of VGC competition was in 2016, I was pretty happy about that nerf lol