If you are a fan of the classic Pokémon games, you know that some of the creatures move faster than others. But which ones are shockingly slow?
This article examines the 20 slowest Pokémon of all time and explains why they rank so low on the speed list. We’ll also discuss tips and tricks for effectively evolving your own team from some of these slowpoke characters.
Contents
20. Cleffa
Cleffa is one of the most notoriously slow Pokémon in the series. It often holds back its trainer’s hopes to reach the top of leaderboards and even sometimes leads to losses in battle.
While it has many other aptitudes, such as being quiet, unobtrusive defensively, having a wide range of attacking moves, and even providing team support with a variety of stat boosts and energy restoration – the fact remains that it simply cannot keep up when it comes to speed.
Although Cleffa can still be used effectively on teams in competitive play, trainers should carefully consider their lineups before using Pokemon that are not fast enough to react quickly in battles.
19. Pinchurin
Pincurchin is an electric-type Pokemon who’s horribly slow. It was introduced in Generation 8 along with other Electric-type Pokemon such as Boltund and Morpeko.
This Pokemon has disproportionately large eyes, a round body and two pincer claws on its head. Its hands and feet sprout out of its round body, and it can even curl up into a ball.
Pinchurin uses electricity stored in its cheeks to send out signals to attract prey when foraging for food. The electric shock generated by its cheeks is also used to protect itself from predators.
Unfortunately, Pinchurin’s speed stat is the lowest of all Electric-type Pokemon, making rivals easy targets during battle. Despite this slow speed, it has evolved over time to be able to store electricity in its fluff which gives Pinchurin the power to fly very quickly.
18. Slowpoke
Slowpoke has been a part of the original Pokémon games since the very beginning, and it’s still a part of the franchise today.
If you are familiar with this water-type Pokémon, then you know Slowpoke is incredibly slow – much slower than its competitors in both land and sea.
Its physical skills can’t save it either, as it suffers from standing still for long periods of time due to its zero-attention span, making it vulnerable to attacks. Yet why is Slowpoke so famous? It is barely able to do anything significant compared to its peers.
The best answer is actually quite simple; this beloved Pokémon just exudes cuteness that captures the soft spot in our hearts, no matter how slow they move.
Furthermore, while you may think Slowpoke lacks useful qualities other Pokémon possess, in actuality they possess some unique abilities like their Future Sight attack, which they use to predict unseen threats ahead while performing less flashy offensives strategies like Yawn or Growl.
17. Gossifleur
Gossifleur is one of the slowest pokemon in the ever-expanding roster. This grass-type pokemon has a unique form, and its round body shape makes it easy to recognize. Despite its small size and cute appearance, Gossifleur will take forever to move as its speed stat is nearly non-existent.
With a base speed of only 18, this gets even worse when factoring in its poor growth rate associated with levels – Gossifleur’s top speed is a minuscule 27.
This makes it nearly impossible for trainers to use against their enemies, such as Gyarados or Charizard. Unless they have access to powerful evolution stones or rare moves like Agility, Gossifleur won’t be doing much to help out during battles.
Fortunately, help can still be found elsewhere thanks to Gossifleur’s impressive defensive stats which are bolstered by abilities like Cotton Down, allowing just enough time for trainers to switch in more useful allies who can wield effective offensive strategies.
16. Pineco
Pineco is one of the Horribly Slowest Pokémon in the game. It takes a lot of patience and training for its users to take advantage of Pineco’s stats and use it effectively during battle. Its typing, Bug-type, has added pros such as immunity from Powder-based attacks along with a sturdy Defense Base Stat.
However, it shares weaknesses such as a slow attack speed and Flight-, Rock-, Fire-, and Psychic-type moves which makes it vulnerable to damage.
To make effective use out of Pineco, one must understand how its typing works in order to switch around to more beneficial matchups while anticipating threats.
Lastly, items such as Leftovers or Mental Herb can be equipped on it to increase survivability when faced with unfavourable matchups.
15. Igglybuff
Igglybuff is often one of the most underestimated Pokemon in the games, but it can be surprisingly effective in training and battles. The Normal/Fairy-type Pokemon has a unique combination of attributes that make it well-suited for certain strategies.
With an impressive amount of Special Defense and good overall bulk, Igglybuff can shrug off strong special attacks while enduring physical blows.
Its ridiculously slow speed works to its benefit, as it allows Igglybuff to outlast its opponents by healing up with Wish and Protect.
Moves like Toxic and Thunder Wave can keep baddies locked down, allowing other pokemon to come in for free damage or strategically set up defences.
Don’t let Igglybuff’s cute appearance fool you – it can take a licking, heal itself back up, and keep on ticking better than most would expect.
14. Cascoon
Cascoon, the amazingly slow Pokemon that debuted in Generation III, is as sluggish as a snail and as menacing looking as a giant caterpillar.
This Pokemon has kept players on their toes during important battles to catch it quickly. Due to being one of the Horribly Slowest Pokemon in the Pokémon universe, Cascoon becomes an increasingly difficult target to catch.
Though not particularly fast at first glance, this Pokemon’s stats allow for it to make up for its lack of speed with high defence stats, which can be used to block incoming attacks from other powerful enemies.
Although Cascoon is known for its cumbersome speed attribute, it still declares itself as one of the most invaluable supporters in any battle situation.
Its hard shell and durable body make it suitable for competing against aggressive opponents and its long duration of staying put makes its strategic positioning unique among other Pokemon types.
13. Foongus
Foongus is one of the notoriously slowest Pokémon in the series. It is a round, mushroom-like creature with two eyes and some white spots. While Foongus may be slow, its pre-evolution, the even slower FoppP controls, can learn moves that make up for Foongus’ lack of speed.
For example, Fopp Controls can learn Spore to put their opponents to sleep, and Clear Smog prevents any stat increases; Stun Spore paralyzes opponents on switch-in, Safeguard prevents any status ailments from being inflicted, and Grassy Terrain boosts Foongus and its ally’s Defense when on the ground.
Despite its obvious disadvantages in speed, Foongus makes for an incredibly unique addition to any team. Its typing offers an abundance of resistances, immunity to Powder moves such as Sleep Powder and Stun Spore and it has excellent synergy with Grass-TYPE teammates due to its power boosting ability.
12. Wooper
Wooper is a Water and Ground-type Pokémon which appeared in the Johto region of the iconic Pokémon series. Over the years, it has been known to be one of the most terribly slow Pokémon in existence due to its low base speed stat of 15.
Out of 649 species of various Pokémon, Wooper ranks as the 392nd slowest creature due to this dismal speed stat. It possesses some other strong attributes, such as a decent defense and special Defense stats, along with a strong move set containing useful attacks such as Earthquake and Curse.
Despite these qualities, Whooper’s slowness makes it an otherwise forgotten Pokémon amongst many fans, trainers and enthusiasts alike; it cannot be relied upon during battles or gyms due to its low-speed prowess and often ends up getting switched out for faster competitors in order to improve one’s chances of winning.
11. Silcoon
Slow and steady always wins in the Pokémon world, and Silcoon knows that very well. This quirky Pokémon is a caterpillar-like creature with a hard shell that’s surprisingly durable. The shell is likely one of the reasons for its slowness because it takes extra effort for it to move from place to place.
Once inside the cocoon, more than three times as much energy goes into increasing the strength of its body than when it was in the wild, thus taking time for it to break out.
With its slow movement pattern, Silcoon does its best to dodge attacks from opponents by blending in with its aerial environment.
On top of this – extraordinarily slow speed – Silcoon also has low HP meaning that it’s not very good at defending itself when attacked.
Despite these quirks, though, Silcoon has been around since Generation III and is still one of the most beloved Pokémon out there.
10. Sandygast
The long-forgotten Sandygast is not just one of the most forgettable Pokémon, it’s also one of the slowest. This Ghost, Ground-type Pokémon doesn’t have a stellar base Speed stat, as 50 makes it one of the slowest in the entire game. It even holds two positions on both Pokèdex lists for worst and second-worst Speed stats.
Despite its slowness, Sandygast has some interesting typing which can make up for its lack of speed. Being a Ghost and Ground type gives it access to moves like Shadow Ball and Earthquake – moves that are brutally powerful against very common types such as Rock, Water and Flying.
While on offence, it won’t be able to use its typing to great effect due to its lack of speed; players should at least consider giving this Dusty Bowl Pokémon a try in their team if they’re looking for a unique way to shut down those pesky Water-types with ease.
9. Roggenrola
Roggenrola is a Rock-type Pokémon that slowly trundles across land and sea. It is one of the horrendously slowest Pokémon in existence. Residing in caves or mounds, this bulging eye-servo creature is based off of a miners’ tool known as ‘candlesticks’.
With a deceptively simple design, Roggenrola’s large stone body hides a sophisticated inner structure with hidden layers and pressurized fluids contained by delicate membranes.
Its Strength move allows it to swiftly bash target opponents but its main draw lies in its incredible physical defense which makes it a valuable ally in combat.
8. Morelull
Morelull is one of the Horribly Slowest Pokémon, and it can be found in several games from the franchise. It is a small Mushroom Pokemon, often seen with two small antennae protruding from its head.
Morelull can generate an energy field known as “illuminate” that lights up any area it chooses. This light provides a perfect environment for sleepy Pokémon to rest peacefully, being noticed easily by predators.
Morelull also has an interesting defence mechanism: its spores can be highly irritable to predators, making them flee in order to protect themselves.
Despite its slow speed, Morelull’s intelligence allows it to choose between using either Illuminate or its irritating spores according to the situation at hand.
7. Bonsly
Bonsly may be one of the slowest Pokémon in the world, but this rock type is still a formidable opponent. Its defensive sides and sardonic nature make it instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever been in battle with this fighter. It also has impressive evasion skills making it hard to hit, while its Rock Throw move can dish out Serious Damage.
Despite its unimpressive speed, Bonsly can pack a punch when leveraged right. By tucking its head and legs into its body, Bonsly generates energy which allows them to unleash powerful attacks like Double Edge that strike opponents like a ton of bricks.
In addition, because of their small size and low mobility, they are very difficult to find and catch. As such, those brave enough to acquire one should consider themselves lucky.
6. Stakataka
Stakataka is one of the slowest Pokémon you can find. It has an average speed of only 31, making it almost completely dysfunctional in battles.
Not only does this mean that it’s incredibly vulnerable to fast attacks, but Stakataka is also often the victim of Priority Moves – those moves that go first regardless of Speed stats.
Sadly, Stakataka doesn’t even have enough agility to outpace them and can’t rely on its own speed stat if it wants to survive.
As a Rock/Steel type, however, it’s well-defended against many physical attacks, and can take a great deal of punishment before going down – while your opponents try fruitlessly to outpace you or damage you with status effects.
Its rock-solid resistances make it one of the toughest Pokémon in terms of sheer durability, and its intimidating size makes for quite the sight on the battlefield.
5. Ferroseed
Ferroseed is one of the most terribly slow Pokemon out there, competing for the title with some truly sluggish pokemon such as Shuckle and Magcargo.
Ferroseed is a peculiar grass/steel-type pokemon that can be found in various locations within the Unova region. It evolves into ferrothorn when exposed to a certain type of stone.
Its body is covered with steel spikes, and its round shape makes it look like an acorn, giving it the nickname ‘Iron Acorn Pokémon’.
Despite its agonizingly low-speed stats, Ferroseed has great defensive stats and access to numerous helpful move combinations due to its dual type lends itself well towards a defensive style of play.
This makes it especially useful when forming walls or setting up stealth rocks on your team. While it might not have the high HP stat of many wall types, its advanced defensive typing more than makes up for this lack in other areas.
4. Munchlax
Munchlax, the Horribly Slowest Pokémon, is known to be very lazy and always carries a snack along. Its speciality is that it will fall asleep wherever it decides to drop, no matter the environment.
This laziness also reflects on its impressive Defense stat-Munchlax has an “overgrown appetite”, which leads to an astonishingly low speed.
To counteract this, Munchlax must take advantage of its high attack power and defensive moves such as Double-Edge and Self-Destruct.
With the help of Support Moves like Curse or Yawn, it can prove quite useful in battle. Since Munchlax learns damaging Work Up attacks quite early in its development it can become powerful despite its slow nature.
3. Pyukumuku
Pyukumuku is undoubtedly one of the slowest Pokémon out there. With a base Speed stat of 5 out of 120 and no available moves to increase its speed, Pyukumuku falls behind most other competitive battlers in this area.
Despite its Slow Start, however, Pyukumuku does have some redeeming qualities that make it still worth considering in certain situations. It has some great defensive stats and access to the move Counter, which makes it a formidable wall if used strategically.
In addition to its useful offensive capabilities with moves like Aqua Jet and Clear Smog, Pyukumuku can also provide invaluable support with abilities like Unaware and Innards Out, which can turn battles completely against the opponent’s favor.
2. Trapinch
Trapinch is one of the slowest Pokemon that has been recognized by many and loved by trainers worldwide. As compared to other Pokemon, Trapinch can be considered one of the worst when it comes to speed.
A Trapinch is a Ground-type Pokemon with a large, orange pincher on its head which proves to be very useful for the purpose of digging deep in the sand. Its wings are hidden underneath the dirt, strictly limiting its ability to fly or even float in mid-air.
With its slow speed, it makes up for its lack of power as it can attack with an impressive 40-strength, making this little bug quite a formidable opponent in battle. Furthermore, Trapinch is known to have an excellent jumping capability which helps it avoid obstacles easily and swiftly.
Even though this Pokemon lacks any evolutionary chain yet, hope remains as far as positive changes arrive through onward game updates and new installments.
1. Shuckle
One of the horribly slowest Pokémon ever introduced is Shuckle, a Bug and Rock-type Pokémon from generation 2. It’s almost immobile due to its sluggish speed.
However, many players are drawn by this little shield bug for its powerful abilities in unique defences that make it one of the hardest pokemon to defeat.
Its base stats are Defense 230, Special Defense 230 and HP 20 so these tanky stats combined with proper movesets can help it tank against strong attackers like Aegislash and Hydreigon just like a real life shield.
An interesting fact about Shuckle is that despite being overwhelmingly weak in attacking power moves, with the right combinations of Berries, it can take down even highly offensive threats with ease.
S huckle’s ability to turn Berry gifts into higher-power berries also gives it an amazing feat. This unassuming Pokemon proves that sometimes slow and steady wins the race.
Conclusion
From the original Kanto pokemon starters to those newly introduced in Sword and Shield, the diverse set of creatures that inhabit the games are vast in number.
Of these, some known species can be undeniably slow. Whether due to awkward movement or frankly low stats, we have all encountered a pokemon at one point who simply cannot keep up with our team.
In this article, we have gone through 20 of the absolute slowest pokemon of all times, discussing why they fail to reach even moderate speeds of movement and in some cases compensate for it with unique type matchups and moves. Being aware of these horrible speedsters (or lack thereof) can definitely help us in our Poke-ventures.
To sum it up, although some pokemon may be slower than others, all play an integral part in the specific team each trainer chooses and having that knowledge on hand is far more valuable than pure speed alone.
