The Pokemon fandom, like many other fandoms, is known for having an inherent bias towards certain aspects of the series. One such bias is the overwhelming love and adoration for the Kanto region, featured in the original Pokemon Red & Blue titles.
Despite many fans believing the remakes of the second generation video games, Pokemon Gold & Silver, are the best entries in the series, the Johto region featured in those games isn't talked about in the same reverence as the previously mentioned Kanto. Johto isn't only home to an entertaining journey, but more than a handful of forgotten Pokemon that deserve more love from both fans and the developers at GameFreak and The Pokemon Company.
8 Pineco
Pokemon often catches flack for what are perceived to be lazy or uninspired designs of new monsters with the introduction of each generation. Pineco, a Bug-type Pokemon from the second generation of games, is a perfect example of this issue being brought up as a long-standing problem.
Pineco has been lost to the annals of history, not because it has a poor design, but rather because it lacks any potential. It doesn't evolve from anything, and with pinecones containing seeds, it's sad that this thing hasn't been given the opportunity to flourish and grow into something someone will love beyond its final form Forretress.
7 Sunflora
Now, Sunflora is the final form of Sunkern, a Pokemon notorious for having the worst base stats in the entirety of the series. That's not a good place to start, but that doesn't mean Sunflora is without value. It tends to sport a rather jolly and jovial expression on its face, which is something everyone should try to surround themselves with.
Sunflora, as its name would suggest, is designed to resemble a sunflower, one of the more beloved flowers on the face of the Earth. That alone should win over people who have deleted it from their memory for seemingly being another forgettable Grass-type Pokemon.
6 Forretress
If one were to describe Forretress to someone they'd likely guess the Pokemon they were talking about was either Shellder or Cloyster from the Kanto region. Sadly, this rotund bagworm is an underutilized and overlooked Bug and Steel dual-type native to the Johto region.
Its base physical defense stat is in the top percentile, with its physical attack falling in the viable range of a dependable offensive unit. It's unclear if The Pokemon Company has forgotten that this Bug/Steel-type exists, but the Pineco evolutionary line is in need of an optics boost via either a new evolution or regional form for Forretress.
5 Shuckle
Fan designs of possible evolutions to forgotten or underutilized Pokemon has been a core part of the community experience. The internet loves to theory craft over what potential evolutions could look like, and Shuckle tends to be involved in those brainstorming sessions.
Some believe that this turtle-like creature should sprout multiple heads and turn into a hydra-like beast, while others feel the Bug and Rock dual-type should lean into the growth of its shell. Either way, it's an entirely irrelevant conversation until GameFreak and The Pokemon Company decide to pay this forgotten Mold Pokemon a visit in the design lab.
4 Lanturn
Pokemon is a series that has many set patterns it sticks to, despite being over two decades old at this point. A pattern often utilized in Pokemon designs is that the first form in an evolutionary line tends to be the cutest, while the final form is meant to be mature and/or intimidating in some capacity.
Lanturn is an Electric and Water dual-type that sadly nails the first part of that pattern but misses the mark in its final form. Chinchou is its base form and happens to be a lovable and adorable lantern fish, whereas upon it hitting level 27 it turns into a nebulous blue blob that registers as an indistinct underwater creature of some sort.
3 Smeargle
A solid concept can go a long way in whether fans become endeared to a Pokemon. In that capacity, Smeargle is world-class as a canine painter that uses its tail as a brush. With a series like Pokemon that's focused on evolution, potential can go a long way for creatures with terrible base stats as they naturally improve upon transforming.
Smeargle happens to be a case of a Pokemon that has horrible base stats and also sees no future growth as it doesn't evolve into anything. Those two things kill any and all desire for trainers.
2 Delibird
It's clear a Pokemon is forgettable when the majority of people mispronounce its name. Commonly people say Delibird's name as if the first half references a place where someone can buy fresh meat and cheeses. The reality is that its name is meant to sound like the word delivered.
This is because this Pokemon has the unique trait of giving others gifts. In battle, this means that Delibird can both damage or heal its opponent simply by throwing a gift-wrapped package at it. Santa Claus and the holiday of Christmas clearly inspired both its design and moveset mechanics, but the popularity of either didn't make the jump as Delibird remains a niche choice among trainers.
1 Politoed
With the inherent Kanto region bias the Pokemon fandom has, it's rather impressive that a Pokemon that evolves from an evolutionary line in that region is simply forgotten about. Most incorrectly think of it as the fourth step in Poliwag's evolution, but the bright green frog is actually a splintered evolution of Poliwhirl.
Trainers that own a Poliwhirl can decide to either give the Pokemon a Water Stone that will morph it into the Water and Fighting dual-type Poliwrath, or trade it holding a Kings Rock and ending up with a Politoed. The process of trading has never been simple within Pokemon so most people opt for a Poliwrath, as a Water Stone is a much more tangible solution.