Water Pokémon are just an absolute joy. With their usual blue color schemes or aquatic tendencies, the water-types tip the scales and stand apart as more than “just some fish.” Since there are so many out there, just a full ocean of options, boiling it down to just a few is a hard feat. But, we just kept swimming up the stream, even if some Pokémon are just designed so weirdly!
Today, we’re going to count down the very best of the best when it comes to our aquatic buddies. Did your favorite Water-type make the cut?
Updated December 4th, 2020 by Linnea Capps: The river of time is constantly flowing, and with it comes the release of entire new Pokemon content. Both Crown Tundra and Isle of Armor updates are now a part of Sword and Shield and with these updates came some major improvements to certain Water-type Pokémon. Inteleon and Blastoise now have Gigantimax forms which give them massive new power to wield on the battlefield. With this giant update to two of the most popular water types of all time, an update to the rankings was in order. With over 140 Water-type Pokemon in existence, it seemed prudent to give this list a Gigantimax form of its own and expand it to 20 Pokémon. Have these Gigantimax forms changed some placements on the list? What other Water-types now have time to shine? Scroll on to find out!
20 Carracosta
A friend of Ferris in the Pokémon anime, Carracosta has never been quite as popular as a particular first-generation turtle pokemon. In 2019 however, a deck featuring Carracosta begun to take top placements at tournaments for the Pokemon TCG. A Carracosta-GX deck also held some prominence in 2020 with several Pokétubers making videos about it. This Water/Rock fossil may not get all the love it deserves but there is proof out there that it’s Sturdy enough to take hits and bring in wins for Pokémon fans.
19 Horsea Line
When looking at underrated Water-types, few are as underappreciated as the wonderful sea horse Pokémon, Horsea. Horsea typically is harder to find than the traditional Water-type, and requires a trade to fully evolve into its final form, Kingdra. However, it’s absolutely worth it to train one up. The adorable little sea horse grows into a majestic Dragon-type, gaining powerful attacks and incredible speed. It’s a fast swimmer, making use of the rain in any of its forms. Its balanced statline always makes it unpredictable as a fighter, making use of both physical and special attacks. If there was ever an aquatic friend to bet on, this horse has unbeatable odds.
18 Binacle Line
In Pokémon X&Y, there are some odd designs, which is expected. Every title has its fair share of oddities, after all. However, it’s hard to really beat Binacle and Barbaracle in the “weird” category. Binacle is a strange, two-headed barnacle Pokémon where each head is an independent soul, like with Doduo. Its evolution, Barbaracle, looks like a hand boss that Nintendo rejected from a Legend of Zelda title. It’s a grumpy looking Pokémon with a weird color pallet, and the fact it can surprise unsuspecting trainers just makes it all the more wonderful. Plus, there are a few strategies with Shell Smash that make Barbaracle a menace in battle. This sea creature may look like some kind of monster, but it really is just a grumpy rock friend.
17 Wishiwashi
Wishiwashi made its way from the islands of the Alolan Region all the way to Galar and it still makes an impact! When Wishiwashi was originally revealed for Pokémon Sun and Moon, fans speculated on if its School Form was an entirely separate evolution or not. It turned out to all come from its unique ability Schooling which not only took the tiny pathetic-looking fish and made it look like an underwater terror but also gave many boons to the Pokémon in battle. Wishiwashi has to be trained to level 20 to use this ability (anyone else reminded of Magikarp?) and it’s entirely worth it to bring this massive swarm of fish along as a Water-type threat on the team.
16 Milotic
In Ruby and Sapphire, GameFreak introduced a new Magikarp-esque Water-type in the form of Feebas. Unlike Magikarp, Feebas was absurdly rare and evolved using cryptic methods. Without a guide, it’s hard to imagine any kid had the patience to figure out how to evolve a Feebas. However, as it turns out, the effort was entirely worth it. Milotic is one of the most elegantly designed Pokémon, considered one of the most beautiful in canon. It’s an incredible defensive Pokémon as well. This sea serpent is more than just looks though, it’s also one of the bulkiest Water-types in the game. It has an incredible movepool and is just lovely in design. Feebas may be trash in a way that Magikarp isn’t, but Milotic is absolutely worth the effort.
15 Jellicent
Pokémon Black and White introduced a whole new region of Pokémon, separate from any other region. While this was certainly a surprise, its designs are also some of the most memorable. This may be memorable like Trubbish, who gets bullied for being literally garbage. Or, it may be memorable for being cool, like Haxorus or Zebstrika. Sitting more in the “weird” memorable category is Jellicent, the Ghost-type jellyfish that’s certainly regal. It has two separate designs based on its gender, and each of them has quirks that make them special. The male version has a large, goofy mustache, while the female version has red lipstick for reasons unknown. They’re certainly a unique Water-type to use in terms of design and typing, making them an excellent selection.
14 Mareanie And Toxapex
There are a lot of Pokémon to look at and say: “That’s a mood right there.” Mareanie is absolutely a mood. This depressed-looking sea urchin enjoys munching on delicious Corsola and being an absolute pain to find in the original Sun and Moon. Its evolution, Toxapex, is hated by competitive battlers for being a disgustingly effective wall, rivaling the likes of the Grass-type Ferrothorn. As a Pokémon, it isn’t one to attack directly, instead letting unsuspecting prey run right into its poisonous embrace. It would absolutely be a terrifying Pokémon to find in the wild, considering the potency of its poisons.
13 Kingler
It has been a long time since Kingler got a bit of love. The last major appearance of a Kingler on the anime was when Ash’s Krabby evolved and that premiered back in December of 1998. Ouch! However, with Pokémon Sword & Shield, Kingler was finally given new life with a fantastic Gigantamax form inspired by Japanese spider crabs. That bubble beard almost makes it look like a mix of a crab and Santa Clause but every Delibird had better be afraid: those giant pincers can put any Pokemon in quite the pinch! Plus any Pokémon on the receiving end of G-Max Foam Burst had better be ready to have their speed cranked down a few notches.
12 Vaporeon
One of the best Eeveelutions is the fish-like Vaporeon. This mermaid grows fins and scales when it evolves into the Water-type Eevee and is one of the more graceful of the evolution options. While it isn’t necessarily the most powerful of Eevee’s options, Vaporeon can clearly hold its own in battle and can learn some pretty devastating moves.
According to the Pokédex in multiple games, its molecules are very similar to actual water, which allows it to melt into water and become invisible. This works for its predatory behavior to find prey. It’s almost like it evolved to be that way.
11 Totodile
During the second generation games, Totodile was one of the starter Pokémon that were available at the beginning of the game. Known for becoming the much more powerful Feraligatr as its final evolution, Totodile is just a cute little crocodile of a Pokémon. In the games, he’s without a doubt one of the more powerful of the three starters.
At level 18, Totodile turns into the middle evolution, Croconaw. But, only a mere 12 levels later is when you get the fierce Feraligatr! It’s one of the quickest starters to evolve and comes packing!
10 Lapras
Fans who have been playing since Pokémon Red and Blue will remember getting a Lapras for the first time from a random employee at Silph Co. Fans of the Pokémon anime have fond memories of seeing Ash ride around on Lapras on his adventures through the Orange Archipelago. Plus the excitement when Lapras Day was announced for Pokemon Go the excitement was palpable — no one would turn down a pink Lock Ness Monster friend!
These days, Lapras is more impressive than ever before with a Gigantamax form. Players wanted Gigantamax Lapras so badly that a code was given out at the Winter 2020 World Hobby Fair as a perk for attending the event. This tanky water-dino has been a staple in competitive Pokémon for years and that will stay the case in the future with this new form.
9 Suicune
Suicune has had a rough life but is just the goodest of bois. According to legend, this pupper and the other two Legendary Beasts (Entei and Raikou) perished in a devastating fire. They were allegedly revived with the magic of the legendary bird Ho-Oh. Since then, they roam the lands.
Anyone that’s gone hunting for any of the Legendary Beasts in the games knows they constantly move and trying to catch them is a real hassle. If you don’t get them to stay put, they will run quickly from battle and you have to do it all over again!
8 Wailord
Do you like big Pokémon? It doesn’t get much bigger than Wailord. This whale of a Pokémon is 47’07” and 877.4 pounds. That makes it among the largest out there and can fill up a stadium by itself. Aside from the size, it’s a pretty powerful option to boot. According to the Pokédex, they travel in pods, meaning that several Wailords hunt prey together. That’s a lot of space and a real sight to behold!
7 Primarina
Many players weren’t impressed with Popplio when it was revealed. Even Bojack Horseman designer Lisa Hanawalt called Popplio a “dopey seal pup” and many fans on Twitter agreed. However, tunes quickly changed when Primarina took the stage. This Fairy/Water mermaid princess is the ultimate glow-up from its original form and it’s not just a looker either — Primarina has the highest base Special Attack and Special Defense stat of any fully-evolved Starter Pokémon! This siren of the sea will be captivating Water-type fans for years to come.
6 Dracovish
Dracovish shouldn’t work. It’s a horror of science and we’re all monsters for making it exist. Taking two separate fossils to the right (mad) scientist merits a brand new Pokémon that clearly never existed, complete with a potentially made-up backstory.
So, in real life, sometimes scientists piece together fossils and think they are supposed to go together. But, in all reality, the bones didn’t actually belong together and likely made new things from them, such as the Brontosaurus or the Triceratops. Dracovish is super similar and Game Freak is just brilliant for parodying this.
5 Squirtle Line
Squirtle, being one of the original starters, is adorable and powerful. Those that chose him to start their adventures in the Kanto region of the original Pokémon Red and Blue had a slightly easier time during the starting areas. This included the first gym in Pewter City, which had Rock-type Pokémon.
Aside from that, the Squirtle Squad has become an iconic part of the Pokémon fandom, with Ash’s own Squirtle donning a rad pair of sunglasses and leading a gang of his kin. Wartortle isn’t too bad, but Blastoise’s awesome back cannons really take the cake as a prime example of weird animal mish-mashing even back from the beginning. Plus no one can look at that new Gigantamax form and not feel shivers of excitement!
4 Sobble Line
Anyone that talks bad about Sobble just needs to stop. This sad, sweet little lizard is super emotional and must be protected at all costs. How can anyone ever talk bad about this baby?
While the first evolution looks like they work in a Hot Topic (complete with emo flip), the final evolution is pretty rad. Inteleon is clearly a take on secret agents like James Bond. With a pistol that just happens to be its fingertip, the Galar Dex has Sobble at #007. Inteleon prefers his berry smoothies shaken, not stirred. Then he turns into his new Gigantamax form and it’s time to 360 No Scope anything in his line of sight!
3 Magikarp And Gyarados
What is the most useless Pokémon ever? If you didn’t say Magikarp, you’re wrong. This little fish is generally known for its infamous Splash attack that does nothing, only learning anything useful right before and after it can become a badass dragon. The 8th generation games Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield introduced some one-off moves called TR’s and Magikarp can now learn two pretty heavy-hitting techniques, Bounce and Hydro Pump. He’s not so useless now, is he? Give the little guy a break and know that even the most useless Pokémon still can have some use and importance!
2 Omanyte
Praise Lord Helix! Okay, this one is a bit of a weird one. But, Omanyte as a whole isn’t too interesting. It’s a fossil Pokémon from Gen 1 and totally is good, but lacks anything really special about it. It’s a fossil from Mt. Moon that you can revive later on in the game.
Enter “Twitch Plays Pokémon”. During their community and chat driven game of the original Pokémon games, they chose the Helix fossil. And thus, Lord Helix became a long-standing popular Pokémon meme that has continued to this day.
1 Marill
Marill is a neat Pokémon because of how it was introduced and originated. In a time when there was only 151 Pokémon, hints of a sequel were on the horizon. When most people originally saw this cute little blue mouse Pokémon, there was no name attached to it. Due to its similarities, it was dubbed Pika-blu (or Pika-blue). When it was finally shown off in the animated short in front of Pokémon: The First Movie, Pikachu’s Vacation, Marill became a mainstay for fans all over.
Fun fact: The original Spaceworld Demo for Pokémon Gold and Silver had Marill as a pink color! It’s no wonder it got an additional Fairy-type later on!
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