Gimmicky Pokemon
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Pokemon is a simple game. You have a bunch of stats, a few types, four attacks, and that's about it. So to keep the series feeling fresh, Nintendo creates species like these 10 Most Gimmicky Pokemon. These Pokemon all have weird mechanics, bizarre moves, and strange special rules that set them apart from the rest. While there are more than just these 10, these are the ones that we thought were the coolest. Here are the top 10 Most Gimmicky Pokemon.

  • 10

    Rotom

    Rotom’s gimmick is the ability to change forms, and while there are lots of Pokemon that can change forms, Rotom doesn’t do it by holding a specific item or responding to the seasons or anything like that. Instead, you have to take it to a room filled with appliances in order to get it to possess a microwave, a washing machine, a fridge, a fan, or a lawnmower. It definitely belongs in our top 10 Gimmicky Pokemon.

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  • 9

    Spinda

    Spinda’s gimmick is the placement of the spots and spirals on its body. Each Spinda has a different assortment of markings determined in part by its personality value. Altogether, there are over four billion different markings a Spinda can have, making it exceedingly difficult to actually catch them all.

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  • 8

    Feebas and Magikarp

    Both of these Pokemon are essentially completely useless ugly fish in their first form, but after they evolve they are badass serpent dragon monsters! Magikarp even has a bit of status as an internet celebrity through the, 'It’s Not Very Effective,' and, 'Magikarp Used Splash’ memes. Feebas is only slightly more useful than Magikarp but not by much.

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  • 7

    Castform

    Castform’s… er… form is as changeable as the weather. It can turn into a normal, fire, water, or ice type depending on what the weather is outside. This is really useful if you have it learn moves of each type, or if you have other Pokemon that can change the weather at will.

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  • 6

    Eevee

    Eevee gets a special slot on this list for being one of the first ever gimmicky Pokemon. The idea behind Eevee’s gimmick is simple. It’s a normal type Pokemon that evolves into several different elemental forms based on different conditions. It used to be that you just had to use specific types of elemental stones, but now Eevee can evolve based on the time of day or the location it levels up in as well.

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  • 5

    Smeargle

    Smeargle’s gimmick is the move Sketch, which allows it to copy the last move used by an opposing Pokemon. Why is this so good? Because it literally can learn any move in the game, even those reserved only for legendary Pokemon. There is one move it can’t learn, Chatter, the reasons for which we will get to in a second.

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  • 4

    Ditto

    Ditto, like Smeargle, is best known for its ability to copy opposing Pokemon. But, while Smeargle only copies a move, Ditto copies the opposing Pokemon entirely including moves, types, form, and all stats except for HP. Thus, the only two stats you really need to focus on when using Ditto are HP and speed to be sure that it gets Transform off first. Also, Ditto can breed with nearly any Pokemon in the game, including some genderless Pokemon! How the heck does that work?

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  • 3

    Chatot

    Chatot is gimmicky because of Chatter, it's unique move that no other Pokemon can learn. Chatter is a move that damage the enemy and causes confusion and, most importantly, allows you to record your own voice during its execution, even as Chatot’s cry. Unfortunately, the chance of confusion goes up the louder the volume of the recorded voice sample. So Chatter is literally most effective if you scream obscenities into the microphone as loud as you can. This is also why Chatot is banned in online play.

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  • 2

    Unown

    If you enjoyed Alphabet Soup or Alphabits cereal, you’ll love Unown. Like Spinda, Unown comes in a variety of different purely aesthetic forms. However, each form stands for a letter of the alphabet, making it possible to have entire teams that spell out words and phrases. Unown have been used to great effect in horror themed Pokemon hacks, or just to spell obscenities while battling online. Pokemon fans are really strangely obsessed with getting some form of curse word in a Nintendo game.

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  • 1

    The Nidoran

    Finally, the Nidoran species of Pokemon take the top slot in our list of 10 Gimmicky Pokemon because their gimmick created an entirely new game mechanic. Nidoran were the only Gen 1 Pokemon to have a gender. Every other species was essentially genderless. However, as sequel after sequel to the Pokemon franchise was made, gender eventually became a basic trait of most Pokemon. So now, the Nidos are strangely two genders that are also different species. Weird.

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