Mid-stage Pokemon called “awkward and ugly” by dismayed players

As a Pokemon fan, you’re almost certain to have a favorite fully-evolved Pokemon, and likely a few first-stage ‘mons, too. Pokemon can be adorable in their early stages, and seeing them evolve into their final form can be a lot of fun.

Mid-stage Pokemon, however, are often forgotten about by the community. Jokingly referred to as the awkward teenager stage by many, second-stage evolutions often have a quirky and disjointed charm to them – especially in the earlier generations.

This topic popped up in a fan discussion online, where one Pokemon player asked the community to share which critter had the worst “teenager” phase. The Pokemon players in the replies did not fail to deliver, with some popular evolution chains getting slammed in the process.

Out of all the Pokemon mentioned in this thread, one of the most popular was the Sobble evolution chain. One fan joked, “Inteleon. Its previous form looks like it sings Good Charlotte songs with no shame.”

Others were inclined to agree that Drizzile felt odd and awkward with one saying, “I INSTANTLY thought of Drizzile too. It’s not even an awful Pokemon, it’s just so out of place between two that fit together pretty well.”

Combusken got a fair amount of heat in the thread too, with the original poster saying it reminded them of a “moody 12-year-old.” Others agreed that Combusken was one of the worst picks, but one player pointed out why this choice is harsher than it might seem at first.

They lamented, “Noooooo you can’t do him like this he’s literally made to be ugly cause little kids would abandon their adorable faire won chicks when they started growing up,” referencing the design inspiration behind Torchic and Combusken.

Other popular picks included Marshtomp, Carkoal, and Pupitar. A common complaint seemed to be that some middle-stage evolutions felt pointless or out of place, while others seemed to hone in on ‘mons like Pawmo that seemed too similar to their other forms.

Evolution is always going to be a hot topic in the Pokemon community, especially with Pokemon Legends Z-A on the horizon. To prepare for the upcoming game, make sure to check out our guide to every confirmed Pokemon so far and the argument for Mega Tera ‘mons.