Which is the worst Pokemon?
Our writers vent their venom on the pocket monsters
This week we found out the new Pokemon Switch games are called Sword and Shield, and the internet immediately fell in love with the new starters, especially walking sadpole Sobble. Incapable of feeling any good or wholesome emotions, that immediately got the GamesRadar team talking about which Pokemon they considered the actual spawn of Satan. This is the latest in a series of big questions we'll be interrogating our writers with, so share your answers and suggestions for topics with us on Twitter.
Yamask
Now it's not only a Yamask's physical form that it creeps me out, but the entire backstory behind how it exists at all. You know the mask it's carrying? Well, that's all that's left from when it was alive... as a human. Yes, a Yamask is basically a living death mask. The body and physical face has long disappeared, but a Yamask likes to hold a reminder of its human life by carrying a mask of its face using its odd tail-like appendage. Occasionally it's known to look at the mask and cry, longing for its former life, because of course you would. That's one hell of an afterlife. Plus, let's factor in the fact that if anyone wears the mask Yamask carries, they'll be possessed by the Yamask. It's like a horror story waiting to happen. Sam Loveridge
Aipom
Monkeys freak me out. Human, but not too human, their eerily intelligent faces just give me the creeps. So imagine my horror when I stumbled upon Aipom, the Pokemon with a distinctly monkey-look who also has stubs for hands, a permanent rictus grin, and a hand for a tail. Ick. I hardly trust humans who smile too much, so basically everything about this critter is a big no from me. Plus when it evolves into Ambipom, its hand-ended tails squeeze those it likes, which intrudes upon my strict Personal Space rule. Thanks but no thanks, Satan. Zoe Delahunty-Light
Mr. Mime
I’ll freely admit that I’m no Pokemon expert having only watch a few episodes of the original TV show, but there’s one thing I do know: Mr. Mime is the most freaky, scary AF Pokemon in existence! Watching the latest Detective Pikachu trailer, I was terrified by Mr. Mime’s creepy movements and jolly painted face. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he doesn’t speak, or that he looks like a doll James Wan would make a horror movie about, or that his whole persona is built around one of the most terrifying performance arts of all time. Mr. Mime is like some sort of twisted nightmare Pokemon and we need to KILL IT WITH FIRE! Lauren O’Callaghan
Lickitung
There is something very, very wrong with Lickitung in the Detective Pikachu trailer. Not only are those glistening, blistered nodules on its tongue straight-up gross, it has the look of a 'cute' sci-fi trope that murders you the moment you stop and say "Awww." Oh, and remember those sticky-tongued toys from your childhood? You know, the ones that got all grubby and grey after five minutes playing with them? That’s probably how a Lickitung’s tongue would be in reality. Excuse me while I throw up. Benjamin Abbott
Pidgey
The pigeon of the world. The rat of the sky. The most annoying Pokemon known to exist. Pidgey is by far my most hated Pokemon. Every single time I venture through the world of Pokemon and bump into this winged migraine, I feel the need to launch my console across the room. What makes everything worse is that it takes me a good few seconds to actually run away from this thing, and I've bumped into it thousands upon thousands of times when I don't even want it! I catch it once to put it into my Pokedex and that's it, be gone! But no, it tends to find my screen what feels like every other Pokemon. I have wasted many hours of my childhood and adult life thinking "FFS" every time look into its stupid pigeon eyes. Brandon Saltalamacchia
Weedle
They say go with what you know - so because Pokemon Red and Blue hold my most precious Pokemon memories, I'm going to take this opportunity to hate on Generation 1's Weedle. Who in their right mind would want to catch and befriend a giant, vacant-eyed bug larva? It looks like a turd-colored centipede with spikes on its head and tail, aka the stuff of nightmares, and its face is way too similar to Diglett's for my liking. I can't envision a world in which anyone is excited to encounter and capture a Weedle, beyond claiming the necessary Pokedex entry. Weedle's only saving grace is that it evolves into the cool-looking Kakuna, who (along with Metapod) stars in Rock Harden, my favorite Pokemon Stadium minigame. Lucas Sullivan
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Rachel Weber is the former US Managing Editor of 12DOVE and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She joined 12DOVE in 2017, revitalizing the news coverage and building new processes and strategies for the US team.