There has always been a huge difference between the Pokémon games and anime. The mainline games have their methodical and turn-based combat that’s thoughtful and complex, but the anime has always had a much faster and more action-packed interpretation of the series.
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As a result, tons of Pokémon were spectacular in the games for their stats and abilities, while their counterparts in the anime struggled to be anywhere near as strong and dominant. Here are just a few Pokémon from throughout the series that were incredible to play with, but far less exciting to watch on TV.
10 Excadrill
A Pokémon’s personality might not vary much in the games, but in the anime, it can vary far more significantly. Many Pokémon that the main characters catch have tons more personality, and some are especially difficult to train. This includes Iris’s Excadrill, who had the potential for great power while refusing to leave its drill form for much of the series.
Excadrill does become a powerful battler later on, but this slow start doesn't do it justice as it can be one of the fastest and strongest Pokémon in the entire series. When fighting in a Sandstorm, its abilities can either let it rush through opponents at lightning-speed or bash them harder than any other Ground-type.
9 Muk
Compared to all the disobedient Pokémon in the anime, Ash’s Muk is more active than many of his old teammates. It’s quite powerful and resilient to damage in battle, but beyond that Muk is mostly just a frustrating blob that happens to be quite physically affectionate.
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In the games, Muk’s defense is significantly more noteworthy, as being purely Poison-type gives it more resistances while its offense hardly suffers compared to some tanks. With its move Minimize to make it unsettlingly evasive to attacks, this pile of toxic sludge can sometimes be impossible for many opponents to defeat.
8 Beedrill
Bug-type Pokémon in the anime often have a poor reputation. While the games treat them as being equivalent to other typings, most of them are simply treated as pests that travel in swarms. Some like Ash’s Butterfree might have been exceptions, but most of the early anime gave little respect to their insects.
Few bugs have gotten this treatment as bad as Beedrill, who’s mostly treated as a frightening pest to run from or quickly blast with fire. It’s far from a competitive powerhouse without its Mega Evolution, but in a standard playthrough of Pokémon Red it’s just as functional as Pokémon Blue’s more common Butterfree, and much stronger than the anime treats it.
7 Snorlax
There are few obstacles in the Pokémon series as famous as Snorlax, who’s blocked all sorts of paths in all sorts of routes in the games and causes even more trouble in the anime. This titanic Normal-type might be cute on the surface, but it’s rare for the anime to present it as something more than an eating and sleeping nuisance.
The games solve this problem by having Snorlax be catchable when you get rid of it, and after it’s cleared it makes for an incredibly powerful Pokémon. Its health is hard to match and its movepool is incredibly wide, and with its unique and powerful Gigantamax Form in Pokémon Sword & Shield it’s competitive prowess has only gotten better.
6 Blissey
Blissey and Chansey are some of the most commonly-seen Pokémon in all of the anime. This is because there’s typically one in every Pokémon Center accompanying Nurse Joy, acting as a caretaker and assistant in line of duty. Unfortunately, its talents as a battler are much less commonly seen, and it comes across more like a friend and pet than a typical partner.
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This is a total opposite of the games, where Blissey's family are near-invincible competitive tanks. They have some of the highest health and Special Defense stats in the entire game, and with proper training, they’re able to resist most physical attacks surprisingly well. Between that, and some impressive rare attacks like Stealth Rock and Seismic Toss, it’s much more powerful than the anime treats it.
5 Totodile
Totodile is another Pokémon that’s held back in the anime by its clownish behavior. It’s often a comic relief character as much as it is a battler, and while it helps Ash quite a bit in his mission to take on the Johto League, it doesn’t shine as bright as most of his starter Pokémon.
In the games, Totodile is an much more powerful choice and can make much of Pokémon Gold & Silver a breeze. Its access to Ice and Dark-type attacks set it quite apart from Cyndaquil and Chikorita, who both are primarily limited to their own type’s moves. Totodile might be a pure Water-type, but it does so much more for a team than its peers.
4 Mudkip
Similar to Totodile, Mudkip is not shown often as a battler in the anime, but this time more as a friendly and wholesome companion to Brock. It’s certainly quite powerful, and it’s adorable to see Brock own a Pokémon that's so sweet and friendly, but its talents are greatly overshadowed by May’s Torchic and Ash’s Treecko.
This comes nowhere near the level of strength it has in the games, particularly when it evolves into Swampert. Since it’s only weak to Grass-types, it can carry entire teams single-handedly in playthroughs of Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, and in competitive play it's just as strong as a surprisingly-aggressive tank.
3 Ludicolo
In addition to wholesome and difficult Pokémon, are tons of other species that appear in the anime and games primarily for comic relief. Ludicolo is one of these, and even in the games it can be quite silly. The most famous appearance has to be with Pokémon Colosseum's Miror B., a villainous dancer who wields five of them alongside a Sudowoodo for a silly and surprisingly powerful team.
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That power is significantly lacking in the anime, as Ludicolo is another Pokémon of Brock’s who acts somewhat like a cheerier version of Misty’s Psyduck. It stares blankly, makes loud noises, and much like Mudkip it’s much more of a companion. After its additional terrifying appearance in the Detective Pikachu film, it’s clear that Ludicolo’s lost much of its credibility as a strong signature Pokémon.
2 Wobbuffet
Speaking of comic relief, one other Pokémon that’s been relegated to humor for even longer than Ludicolo. Wobbuffet is most known for its presence with Team Rocket, joining in on their theme song and constantly popping out of its Pokéball to cause the team distress. It sometimes feels less like a real Pokémon because of its identity, and seems much more like a goofy anime prop.
It isn’t significantly stronger in the games, but it’s underrated as a niche Pokémon with an unusual strategy. Its moveset is incredibly limited, but its health is wonderfully high so that it can use deflection moves like Counter and Mirror Coat without fainting in one hit. It’s no competitive fighter, but is much more than Team Rocket’s big blue friend.
1 Geodude
If there was an award for one of the most disappointing Pokémon in the series, it would have to be the circular Rock and Ground-type Geodude. In the games it’s already quite weak, having several common weaknesses and some poor speed. It has some pleasant offensive stats and evolves into the much more powerful Golem, but on its own, it’s quite lackluster.
As poor as it is in the games, it’s undoubtedly worse in the anime thanks to its bizarre loss against Ash in the Pewter City Gym. While Ash’s Pikachu is quite powerful, the fact that this Ground-type managed to be attacked and taken down with an Electric-type attack is exceptionally pathetic. Onix at least needed to be soaked by sprinklers before being vulnerable to lightning, but Geodude manages to be weak in a way that defies the rules of the game.
NEXT: Pokémon: 10 Pokémon Who Were Super Impressive In The Anime (But Pathetic In The Games)
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