“Look at me now!” – every Pokemon on this list.
Every Pokemon trainer has their favorites. Some Pokemon have always stood atop the competitive ladder with towering stats, game-breaking abilities, or movepools deeper than the Abyssal Ruins.
Others, however, spent years in obscurity. They were benched, boxed, and mocked—the victims of poor stat distribution, uninspiring abilities, or just bad timing.
But as the games evolved, so did these underdogs. Through generations of buffs, reworks, and mechanic shifts, some forgotten faces got the glow-up they desperately needed. Here’s our list of Pokemon that went from “why bother” to “watch out.”
Once a Puffball, Now a Nightmare – The Clefairy Line’s Fairytale Reinvention
Cleffa, Clefairy, and Clefable were once just squishy Normal-types with sparkly animations and little competitive merit. Then came Generation VI, when Fairy-types floated into the scene and the Clefairy line got a new identity buff.
Fairy-typing gave them resistance to common threats like Dark and Fighting and gave them full immunity to Dragon-type moves, a huge deal in a meta once dominated by dragon Pokemon like Salamence, Garchomp, and Dragonite.
Combined with Magic Guard and Unaware abilities, plus incredible synergy with defensive and support roles, Clefable became a staple in competitive play. Who knew pink could be so petrifying?
Think Before You Hit – Wobbuffet and the Mind Games of Shadow Tag
At first glance, Wobbuffet seems like a joke. A goofy design, no offensive moves, and a passive playstyle. But Game Freak flipped the script in Gen III by giving it the Shadow Tag ability, trapping opposing Pokemon in battle.
Suddenly, switching out was not an option. Wobbuffet forced mind games with its Counter and Mirror Coat arsenal, punishing attackers for even daring to move.
Its unpredictability and stall potential turned it from a punching bag into a psychological weapon. Sometimes, doing nothing is terrifying, especially when you can’t leave.
Scythe Hands Reloaded – Scizor’s Technician-Powered Revolution
Scizor already had the cool factor as a red, steel-plated evolution of Scyther. But it wasn’t until Gen IV introduced the Technician ability that Scizor became truly deadly.
Technician boosts the power of weaker moves, and Scizor got exactly what it needed: Bullet Punch. A priority move with STAB and Technician boost? That’s a recipe for Poke-mayhem.
Combine that with solid typing, impressive Attack, and a Mega Evolution later on, and you’ve got one of the most reliable offensive buffs in multiple generations. Scizor doesn’t just slice, it blitzes.
From Bug Bin to Buffed Beast – Venomoth Dances Into Relevance
Let’s be honest. Early-gen Venomoth was just another forgettable Bug-Poison type you boxed. But competitive Pokemon is full of surprises, and Venomoth’s rise from mediocrity is one of them.
The Quiver Dance move gave it the setup it always needed, boosting Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed all in one go. Add the Tinted Lens ability, which lets it hit even resisted targets harder, and suddenly, Venomoth was bypassing type matchups and sweeping unsuspecting teams.
From cocoon to chaos, this moth spreads its buffed wings.
The Floating Phantom – Gengar Gains Levitate and Loses Its Weakness
Gengar was already a fan favorite Pokemon, creepy, mischievous, and extremely fast. But in Gen III, it got Levitate, an ability that removed its Ground-type weakness.
For a Poison-type like Gengar, that was a huge deal. With Ghost and Poison STAB moves, high Special Attack, and a new immunity, Gengar could switch into threats and deliver devastating blows.
Even after later losing Levitate, the ghostly menace retained its competitive edge with other powerful tools. Still, that original Levitate buff turned it from a glass cannon into a floating horror.
Quagsire the Wallbreaker… Sorta – The Power of Unaware
Quagsire has always looked derpy, but its strength lies in its ability to ignore yours. With the ability Unaware, it completely nullifies stat boosts from other Pokemon.
Swords Dance? Dragon Dance? Calm Mind? Quagsire doesn’t care. It just keeps Scalding, Recovering, and Yawning like nothing happened.
This mudfish found a niche as a perfect counter in a meta dominated by setup sweepers. Its stats may be humble, but its disruptive presence is anything but. Its buff made it go from derpy to deadly with one passive ability.
King of the Comeback – Nidoking’s Sheer Force Renaissance
Nidoking looked cool but was let down by a scattered move pool and average stats. Then Gen V introduced the Sheer Force ability, and everything changed.
Sheer Force boosts moves that have secondary effects at the cost of removing those effects. But Nidoking didn’t mind. With access to a ridiculous number of special Pokemon moves like Earth Power, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt, and Flamethrower, all boosted by Sheer Force and Life Orb without the recoil, it became a one-mon army.
The king returned, buffed up, and he wasn’t messing around.
“Ice Cold Revenge” – Sneasel Climbs the Meta Mountain
Back in Gen II, Sneasel had one of the worst stat-type matchups in history. High Attack, but all Dark and Ice moves were Special. Ouch.
But Gen IV fixed everything with the Physical-Special split, allowing Sneasel to finally use its claws the way nature intended. Then came Ice Shard, a priority Ice move, and Weavile, Sneasel’s evolution.
Now with blazing Speed, great Attack, and STAB priority, Sneasel wasn’t just viable, it was a threat. From snowball to avalanche, this Pokemon finally lived up to its look.
Pelipper Brings the Storm – Drizzle-Toting Wingman of Doom
Once a running joke due to its clumsy design and shallow move pool, Pelipper received divine intervention in the form of Drizzle.
When the rain starts, everything changes. Hurricane becomes 100% accurate, Water-type moves get boosted, and Swift Swim sweepers like Barraskewda and Kingdra come out to play.
Pelipper's buff became the cornerstone of rain teams, providing momentum with U-turn, hazard support with Defog, and offense with Scald or Surf. One simple buff turned it from a seagull to a storm-bringing Pokémon.
Copycat God – Ditto’s Imposter Revelation
Poor Ditto. For generations, it had one trick: Transform. That trick took a whole turn and left Ditto vulnerable. Then a buff came in the form of Imposter. Now, Ditto instantly transforms into the opposing Pokemon upon switch-in. No wasted turn. It copies stats (excluding HP), abilities, and moves.
Suddenly, it became a counter to nearly every setup sweeper. Dragonite? Ditto. Garchomp? Ditto. Zacian? Ditto. It infiltrates enemy lines and uses their strength against them. Who knew the goop had game?
The Final Evolution – Where Buffs Rewrite Destiny
The Pokemon franchise is a living world, constantly changing with new mechanics, typings, and abilities. For some Pokemon, these changes meant redemption.
From meta joke to meta staple, they broke free of their chains and demanded respect. It’s a reminder that in the world of Pokemon, no one is forever weak. Sometimes, all it takes is one good buff to change everything. So next time you box a Pokemon for being “bad,” remember: they might just be one patch away from greatness.
Because in this game, everyone loves a good comeback story.