Welcome to the wild world of Pokemon, where creatures come in all shapes and sizes. Any and all themes of design have been covered over the years — including food!
Since the first generation, Pokemon have been found to mimic or be based on food items, and the list has only grown as more regions have been covered. Here, we will run down the best food-themed 'mons, judging mostly by aesthetics and canonical source material. This list is not in any order, so there is no specific food Pokemon that comes out on top.
Updated on September 3, 2022 by Michael Christopher: With the release of Generation IX, several new Pokemon themed around various types of food have been released. We've updated this list to add a few of the best.
13 Dachsbun
The Paldea region introduced several new food-themed Pokemon, including the pepper-themed Scovillain and the olive-tree-themed Arboliva. However, easily the cutest is Dachsbun, a Fairy-type dog-like Pokemon that looks like bread rolls. Prized by bakers for its ability to make wheat grow faster, Dachsbun also has a fun ability: Well-Baked Body, which makes it immune to Fire-type damage.
Dachsbun evolves from another bread-themed dog Pokemon, Fidough. Both have clever names which are even better in Japanese. Fidough is Pupimocchi and Dachsbun is Bowtzel.
12 Garganacl
A Pokemon that would probably taste great with many of the others on this list is Garganacl. This Rock-type from Gen IX is themed around salt, appearing to be made of layers of sedimentary rock and salt blocks. Its name is a play on "gargantuan" and NaCL, the chemical formula for salt, or Sodium Chloride.
Garganacl has a cleverly-themed Ability and signature move: Purifying Salt and Salt Cure, respectively. Purifying Salt makes Garganacl immune to status conditions, a reference to salt being used in medicines by many civilizations, and it makes Garganacl take half-damage from Ghost-type moves, perhaps a reference to the belief in salt being a way to ward off ghosts.
Its signature move, Salt Cure, inflicts damage and continues to deal out damage for a few turns afterward. The damage is increased against Steel- and Water-types. This seems to be a play on the idea of rubbing salt in a wound, which inflicts more pain. The increased damage against Steel-types is likely because of how salt water will rust steel faster, and against Water-types, it seems to be based on the idea of salinating the water changing its composition from fresh water to salt water.
11 Cherubi
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Introduced in Generation IV, Cherubi looks like a small, ripe berry, with another, secondary berry attached to it, sort of like an uneven cherry. According to the Pokedex, the main "head" drains energy from the secondary head, moving it toward evolution.
Cherubi is so clearly meant to be food-inspired that its Pokedex entries state how delicious it is, how Starly try to eat the smaller head, and that its coloring denotes how many nutrients are in its body.
10 Sirfetch’d
Introduced in Sword & Shield's Galar region, Sirfetch'd is an evolution to the Galarian variant of Farfetch'd, one of the oldest Pokemon designs around. This time, it is a white duck holding a giant leek and a shield made of leaves. It still retains the yellow beak and angry, furrowed brow.
The three birds in the Farfetch'd line are all food-related, but this latest addition is the best. It can pack a mighty punch in battle, as it is the only Pokemon that can learn Meteor Assault, a devastating Fighting-type move.
9 Tropius
Tropius is known as the 'Fruit Pokemon' for good reason. Found originally in the Hoenn region, this leafy pal lives up to its title due to its appearance and Grass/Flying typing. It resides in tropical areas and is even used on food production farms in areas like Alola.
The dinosaur-like Pokemon has big, leaf-like wings that it uses to produce sugar by photosynthesis. But the most interesting part is the fruit it can grow. Around its neck, it produces banana-like fruits, which Trainers and other Pokemon can harvest and eat. These grew due to Tropius constantly consuming that specific type of fruit in the wild.
8 Vanillish
Vanillish, evolving from Vanillite and evolving into Vanilluxe, is a frosty ice cream cone. Plain and simple. The three in the evolutionary line take the forms of a small cone, a usual-sized cone, and a double cone, with ice shards looking like sprinkles and other decorative pieces. These Pokemon can be found without the ice-cream like snow, revealing their round heads made of the same icy material as their 'cones.'
Appearing in colder climates, the dessert-themed Pokemon are known for their Ice-type attacks. But, it is recommended not to try and eat them, as Vanillish is known to freeze and then shatter enemies.
7 Sinistea
The Galar region introduced many food-themed Pokemon, possibly due to the wide variety of famous British dishes (Galar is based on the UK). However, it did give players the adorable Sinistea and its evolution, Polteageist. Born of a lonely spirit inhabiting a leftover cup of tea, there are two forms to this Pokemon: the phony and authentic. These require two different items to evolve into Polteageist.
Polteageist, Sinistea's evolution, is made from a specific black tea, which is a delightful drink but can cause illness if consumed in excess. Only trusted Trainers are allowed to drink it.
Polteageist and Sinistea have also received a new convergent form relative in Poltchageist, being instead matcha tea inside a tea caddy. Poltchageist wields a chashaku, which is used for scooping tea powder in traditional ceremonies.
6 Alcremie
It's not hard to see why this particular Pokemon is on the list — Alcremie is literally a large, anthropoid stack of dollops of cream. The Gigantamax form doesn't disappoint either, as it turns into a huge multi-layered cake.
All types of Alcremie evolve from Milcery in slightly different ways. There are nine different flavor variations of it, including Matcha, Lemon Cream, and Rainbow Swirl, as well as seven Sweets it can use to determine its form. This makes for 63 total form differences. What determines the form is the time of day, duration of Milcery's spinning, and what Sweet it is holding. This probably is to mimic a mixer's movements.
5 Steenee
Another 'Fruit Pokemon' is Steenee. The middle child of the evolutionary line is the one that closest resembles the source material: a mangosteen fruit. Native to tropical areas, the fruit is a portion of sweet and tangy food.
The fruit (and Pokemon) have a round, purple body with white sectional segments inside. There is a short stem and curved leaves on top. Bounsweet, the previous evolution, is particularly known for its sweet smell, and due to this, the line is targeted by fruit-feeding birds like Toucannon and Corviknight.
4 Exeggcute
An old classic, Exeggcute is one of the first food Pokemon to exist. Despite looking like eggs (and its name also suggesting as such), Exeggcute is actually seeds, not eggs. Its evolution, Exeggutor, is a coconut bearing tree. According to the Pokedex, though, they are closely related to plant seeds despite their incredibly eggy appearance. Their genes contain that of plants, among other species.
If Exeggutor's heads should fall, they become Exeggcute, and the more cracked they appear, the closer to evolution they are. They can also somehow replace a missing 'egg' overnight, should it be lost.
3 Swirlix
Swirlix is another creature that is known for being closely based on food. It's called the 'Cotton Candy Pokemon.' This is due to its fluffy, white fur that so closely resembles a wad of candyfloss. Swirlix evolves into Slurpuff when holding a Whipped Dream — which looks like a meringue with a cherry on top.
This 'mon is known to only eat sweets, which makes its body sticky. The more it eats, the more it weighs. But, if it does not eat enough sugary foods, it can become angry. It also exudes the smell of cotton candy! Swirlix's evolution, Slurpuff, is based on a meringue, and is said to help pastry chefs with their work.
2 Appletun
Its unique design makes Appletun one of the best food-themed Pokemon created so far. It evolves from Applin, but is part of a branched evolution. Applin given a Sweet Apple will evolve into Appletun, while Tart Apples make them evolve into Flapple instead. Appletun is more food-like, as it resembles an apple pie, while Flapple wears apple skin as armor.
Interestingly, the two evolutions share the same Gigantamax form, which resembles an overfilled baked apple, with the Pokemon's head sticking out. Appletun's rotund design is extremely cute, and its Pokedex entry from Pokemon Shield even states that its skin is extremely yummy and used to be eaten by children.
1 Tatsugiri (and Dondozo)
One of the most fascinating foody Pokemon in recent memory is Tatsugiri, a Water/Dragon-type from Paldea, and by extension, Dondozo, which has a symbiotic relationship with it.
Tatsugiri resembles sushi on a bed of rice, coming in three forms: Stretchy, Curly, and Droopy. They are likely also meant to resemble koi fish, which are typically associated with dragons, hence the Dragon-typing.
Tatsugiri will jump inside of Dondozo's mouth as a way of attracting prey for both creatures, and this actually serves as the method by which they battle. Tatsugiri has an ability, Commander, which triggers when in a double battle with a Dondozo. It then "controls" the latter Pokemon by significantly increasing its stats and forgoing its ability to make any moves. Instead, the Dondozo will move with enhanced stats. Dondozo can also use a move called "Order Up," (even more of a sushi reference), which will raise one of its stats depending on which form of Tatsugiri it has in its mouth (Droopy = Defense, Curly = Attack, Stretchy = Speed).
As if it weren't enough of a reference to sushi, official art shows that Dondozo's tongue is actually shaped like a sushi board.