It’s been truly amazing to watch how the Pokémon series has been able to evolve over time. The progression of the Nintendo franchise has been gradual, but each new title in the series tries to add something new to the formula and help the games become more expansive without throwing too much at the audience.
In addition to new features, each new Pokémon title also brings with it many more actual Pokémon to obsess over. Generation III introduces the Hoenn region and plenty of unique, new Pokémon. Many of these creatures have become valuable team members, but there are also a bunch that have receded into the background and been forgotten.
10 Barboach
Generation III helps move the Pokémon series forward in a lot of ways, but it marks the first time that a number of the new creature designs begin to show growing pains and feel like they're in need of reinvigoration. Water-Type Pokémon that take their cues from fish and real sea-life are always a mixed bag and each new Generation introduces around five more than is necessary. Barboach is one of the new batch that's easy to never know existed. It's a bland, basic eel-like Pokémon that doesn't bring anything original forward.
9 Skitty
When it comes to pure cuteness, there's no question that Skitty has a lot going for and it's one of the more adorable Pokémon. It's a pink feline Pokémon and if there was nothing else like it then Skitty would easily be one of the most popular Pokémon. However, there are plenty of other feline Pokémon that make a greater impression and in the end Skitty feels more like a rejected take on Eevee. Normal-Type Pokémon can sometimes seem bland and unfortunately doesn’t do enough to break the trend.
8 Illumise
Bug-Type Pokémon really have an awful reputation and it’s easy to just ignore them completely rather than bother with the frequent nuisance during forest areas. Illumise is the Pokémon equivalent of a firefly, but its clever look doesn’t inspire much confidence and it comes across more as a missed opportunity.
Although the Pokémon is related to fellow Generation III Pokémon, Volbeat, it's a Pokémon that doesn't evolve into anything, which is another reason this odd Pokémon has also fallen into obscurity. After all of these subsequent generations nobody has tried to do anything new with the Pokémon.
7 Volbeat
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire tries to do something creative with both Volbeat and Illumise as it explores some ideas on insect etymology that ultimately doesn’t really go anywhere. Volbeat’s look is like the inverse of Illumise even though they’re both supposed to be firefly Pokémon. Volbeat’s style is slightly more catching, but they just feel like alternate designs of the same Pokémon. It’s mildly interesting that both Volbeat and Illumise can spawn from Volbeat eggs, but it’s not enough to make this Pokémon otherwise memorable.
6 Delcatty
Delcatty is the evolved form of Skitty and it doesn’t do anything significant with this opportunity. It remains only a Normal-Type and it doesn’t do anything radical with its appearance. Delcatty is more powerful and memorable than Skitty, but it’s also a Pokémon that doesn’t get a ton of attention because of Skitty’s unpopular nature and that it’s a Pokémon that needs the Moon Stone to evolve. Delcatty has a slightly more distinct look, but it can’t be remembered if it’s never seen in the first place.
5 Huntail
Pokémon sure loves to base its designs on Water-Type Pokemon on eels and the Hoenn region features several Pokémon that go in this direction, all of which make themselves feel even more irrelevant.
Huntail is an especially obtuse member of the family because it's a Pokémon that evolves not only through trading, but only if it's also holding a Deep Sea Tooth. Camperi is a Pokémon that gets a lot of variety out of its different evolved forms, but it's a complicated approach that doesn't really pay off.
4 Masquerain
Masquerain is a Bug- and Flying-Type Pokémon that's introduced in the Hoenn region, but it's hard to believe that it's actually the evolved form of another Pokémon. Masquerain is another take on a butterfly or moth-type of Pokémon and its wings lend itself to camouflage, but perhaps they work too well because it’s easy to picture that Masquerain has just disappeared. The problem here is that Masquerain is no Butterfree or Venomoth and it doesn't do enough to be remembered and the later generations don't attempt to revive its evolutionary line.
3 Gorebyss
Generation III approaches the Pokémon series with a very trial and error approach and there are many ideas that it introduces that just don't work or become too complex in the end. The title comes up with many tighter requirements on how to get certain Pokémon and Gorebyss is a fine example of this. Gorebyss is obtained if a Clamperi gets traded while is holds a Deep Sea Scale. It's a process similar to Huntail, but Gorebyss' look is just so much blander. It's hard to believe that it's supposed to be the final form of a Pokémon.
2 Wynaut
Another trend that really explodes during Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire within the Hoenn region is the wild increase of Baby Pokémon. There are plenty of Baby Pokémon that actually make sense and feel like a proper stage before a previously established Pokémon, but there are also many that feel unnecessary. Wynaut is definitely cute and it's not a Pokémon that's annoying, but it's just a Pokémon that's so overshadowed by its evolved form, Wobbuffet, that it can be forgotten in the process. There's little need for Wynaut when Wobbuffet is around and for that reason one of these Pokémon is drastically more popular than the other.
1 Whiscash
To Whiscash's credit, it's considerably more exciting than its previous form, Barboach, but Whiscash is still a Pokémon that is insignificant in the grander scheme of fish Pokémon. The Water- and Ground-Type Pokémon has a blissfully ignorant demeanor and it's a cute interpretation of a catfish. It's just a Pokémon that doesn't seem necessary and it's more around to help pad out a struggling Pokédex. Fishing is just too laborious of a gesture for some players and Whiscash isn’t the standard Water-Type that fills out trainers’ teams.