Novelty Pokémon

A novelty Pokémon, also referred to as a gimmick Pokémon, is a term for a Pokémon that usually possesses at least one of the following characteristics:

Does not evolve into or from another Pokémon
Has a movepool limited to very few moves
Has a unique Ability
Has below-average base stats
Was made to introduce a game mechanic
Has another unique feature.

These Pokémon are often hard to come by, and may be simply given to the player once per game.

Although nearly all Pokémon can be used in a battle effectively, some novelty Pokémon appear to be more added to flesh out the Pokémon world than to be actually used or as fodder for potential evolutions later. Many of these Pokémon became viable participants in Pokémon Contests after they were introduced in Generation III, and some fans believe that the introduction of contests was to give players a reason to use these Pokémon.

List of novelty Pokémon

Pokémon		Reason
132	Ditto	Ditto only has one move—Transform—which lets it copy the appearance, types, moves, and stats (excluding HP) of its opponents. Before Generation V and the arrival of its new Hidden Ability Imposter, Ditto was not very useful in battle, but was invaluable in breeding.
151	Mew	Mew has the unique Ability to learn every TM, HM and move tutor move (except those exclusive to a particular Pokémon or group of Pokémon, such as Draco Meteor and Secret Sword), and as such, Mew has the largest movepool of all Pokémon. Mew was also the first Pokémon to be available exclusively by an event, and the only one in Generation I.
172	Spiky-eared Pichu	While Pichu are not considered to be novelty Pokémon, the Spiky-eared variant found only in HeartGold and SoulSilver can be considered to be a novelty form. Spiky-eared Pichu cannot evolve, cannot be traded to any other game, and as its base stats are the same as regular Pichu, it is nearly useless in battle. However, it does have different Pokéathlon stats. Spiky-eared Pichu is considered to be a marketing tool, used to promote the Pokémon movie Arceus and the Jewel of Life, in which a Spiky-eared Pichu appears as one of the main characters. Spiky-eared Pichu is also the second form difference not to be carried over into later games in the main series (the first being Shadow Lugia from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness), as it cannot be transferred to Generation V games.
201	Unown	Unown’s main purpose in the games is to be collected, a sidequest that consists of finding its 28 forms. Capable of learning only one move, it is nearly useless in battle and contests.
202	Wobbuffet	Wobbuffet has very high HP, but is only capable of learning four moves, and a further three from its pre-evolution Wynaut. Also along with Wynaut it was the only Pokémon with the Shadow Tag Ability prior to Generation V.
213	Shuckle	Shuckle has very high Defense and Special Defense, making it extremely tough. But it has very low HP, Attack and Special Attack, and it is tied with Munchlax for the lowest Speed of any Pokémon. However, it was capable of creating Berry Juice and eventually valuable Rare Candies in Generation II if it held a Berry.
225	Delibird	Delibird is capable of naturally learning only a single move and is the only Pokémon who can learn it naturally. Unlike Unown, it can learn other moves via TMs and breeding, but it is largely still considered a novelty Pokémon because of its low stats.
235	Smeargle	Smeargle learns only one move repeatedly, but this move has the ability to permanently duplicate the moves of other Pokémon. Its stats and rarity may look dismal, but with the capability to learn every move, it is very useful in breeding egg moves to Pokémon, as well as using Baton Pass well.
236	Tyrogue	Tyrogue is a novelty Pokémon due to the fact that it is the only Pokémon to link two previously unrelated Pokémon into an evolution family. It is also the only Pokémon that evolves based on its stats.
311 312	Plusle and Minun	Plusle and Minun were created to showcase the double battle addition to the series in Generation III. As such, they are difficult to use separately, owing to few other Pokémon possessing the ability to power them up. Like Marill, Pachirisu, and Emolga, they are considered to be a marketing tool, created to use the popularity of Pikachu (which they highly resemble) to promote Generation III.
292	Shedinja	Shedinja is protected from most attacks due to Wonder Guard, but it is also the only Pokémon to have 1 HP. In addition, it has a unique evolution method.
327	Spinda	Spinda’s main gimmick is the variable designs on its body, in a bit of an expansion of the Unown concept. However, because it has extremely low stats, and is of the ever-common Template:Type2, it is not considered to be very useful in battle.
351	Castform	Castform has a unique Ability to change form and type depending on the weather. It was also the only Pokémon to learn Weather Ball until Generation IV.
352	Kecleon	Kecleon has a unique Ability that causes it to change types whenever it is hit by an attack; however, this Ability makes it notoriously difficult to use in battles, as it can be taken advantage of for super-effective hits every time.
370	Luvdisc	Luvdisc are known to be weak and have a poor moveset, but can be caught holding Heart Scales, which can be used to teach old moves.
386	Deoxys	Deoxys is capable of changing between four different forms. Deoxys was also the first Pokémon whose base stats and move compatibility differed between forms. Deoxys's forms can be changed at will in Generation IV and onwards, however, they were game-specific in Generation III, with Deoxys being the only Pokémon with this distinction.
412 413	Burmy and Wormadam	Burmy, Wormadam, and their various cloaks are considered just to be an example of both the new location based evolutions and the gender based evolutions, as well as the items that can be received by collecting all three forms.
412	Cherrim	Cherrim has two forms which change during intense sunlight, the Overcast Form and the Sunny Form. Cherrim also has a unique Ability.
422 423	Shellos and Gastrodon	Shellos and Gastrodon each have two different forms, West Sea and East Sea, which vary depending on what side of Sinnoh they are found.
441	Chatot	Chatot is relatively weak compared to others of its type, and it also has a low catch rate, but it can use Chatter to repeat back messages recorded on the DS microphone.
442	Spiritomb	Spiritomb was used to showcase the Sinnoh Underground from Generation IV, and is considered a novelty due to the unique way it is captured, by taking the Odd Keystone to the Hallowed Tower, and then talking to people in the Underground 32 times, then returning to the tower to battle a wild Spiritomb. It is also the second Pokémon with no weaknesses, after Sableye.
479	Rotom	Rotom is capable of changing between six different forms. Until Generation V, all forms of Rotom were Electric/Ghost-type. Rotom is one of only three Pokémon to undergo a type change, and the only one to have one of its types removed, though this does not apply to Rotom's normal form.
489 490	Phione and Manaphy	Phione can only be obtained by breeding the event Pokémon Manaphy, with Manaphy being the only legendary Pokémon capable of breeding. Although Manaphy produces Phione eggs when bred with Ditto, Phione cannot evolve into Manaphy. Phione's stats are also inferior to Manaphy’s.
493	Arceus	Arceus has a unique Ability that enables it to change its Forme and type depending on the Plate it is holding. Arceus also has the highest base stat total of all known Pokémon.
550	Basculin	Basculin is the only Pokémon that has four different abilities. It also has two different forms, with the rarity of each form differing between Pokémon Black and White.
555	Darmanitan	Darmanitan found in the Desert Resort, have a unique Ability which enables it to change between two different forms, its Standard Mode and its Zen Mode. However, Regular Darmanitan do not have this Ability.
585 586	Deerling and Sawsbuck	Deerling and Sawsbuck each have four different forms that vary depending on the current in-game season, and their various forms are considered to just showcase the addition of seasons to the series.
587	Emolga	Emolga, like Marill, Plusle, Minun and Pachirisu, is considered to be a marketing tool, created to use the popularity of Pikachu (which it highly resembles) to promote Generation V.
648	Meloetta	Meloetta is the only Pokémon that can learn Relic Song, a move which allows Meloetta to switch between its two Formes, its Aria Forme and its Pirouette Forme.
649	Genesect	Genesect can change the color of the light on its Photon Blaster and the type of its signature move Techno Blast, depending on the Drive it is holding.

List of Pokémon formerly considered to be novelty Pokémon

Pokémon		Reason
063	Abra	Abra was a novelty Pokémon in the first generation as it and its evolutions were the only Pokémon capable of learning Teleport by level-up, and it was the only move Abra could learn by level-up, which made capturing wild Abra incredibly difficult.
083	Farfetch'd	Farfetch'd was a novelty Pokémon in the first generation due to the fact that it could only be acquired by an in-game trade, though it could be caught in the wild in Pokémon Yellow. After Generation I, Farfetch'd simply has common typing and dismal stats (none being over 65). In Generation II, Farfetch'd was also given its own unique novelty item, the Stick.
108	Lickitung	Lickitung was a novelty Pokémon in the first generation due to the fact that it could only be acquired by an in-game trade, though it could be caught in the wild in Pokémon Yellow.
122	Mr. Mime	Mr. Mime was a novelty Pokémon in the first generation due to the fact that it could only be acquired by an in-game trade, and was unobtainable any other way, other than by trading from Generation II.
124	Jynx	Jynx was a novelty Pokémon in the first generation due to the fact that it could only be acquired by an in-game trade, and was unobtainable any other way, other than trading from Generation II. Jynx is also the only Pokémon to undergo a major redesign, due to the alleged controversy surrounding it in the US. It remains the only Pokémon which can learn Lovely Kiss by level-up.
133	Eevee	Eevee was a novelty Pokémon in the first generation as it was used to showcase an evolution method, the evolutionary stones. Eevee was also the only Pokémon to have a branched evolution. After Generation I, Eevee has been relegated to simply having the most evolutions.
175	Togepi	Togepi was a novelty Pokémon in Generation II due to the fact that only one could be obtained, from Professor Elm's assistant, and was used to showcase the addition of Pokémon eggs and breeding.
183	Marill	Marill, like Plusle, Minun, Pachirisu and Emolga, is considered to have been a marketing tool, created to use the popularity of Pikachu (which it highly resembles) to promote Generation II.
302	Sableye	Sableye was the only Pokémon with no weaknesses until Spiritomb was introduced in Generation IV, though it is still the only Pokémon to have the bizarre, but unique, Ability: Stall.
349	Feebas	Feebas was a novelty Pokémon prior to Generation V due to the fact that Feebas could only evolve into Milotic when its Beauty condition was high. In Generation V, Feebas can now also evolve by trading it while holding the Prism Scale, though it remains the only Pokémon to have been able to evolve based on contest condition.
417	Pachirisu	Pachirisu has very low offensive stats and none of its abilities have any effect in battle; like Marill, Plusle, Minun and Emolga, it is considered to have been a marketing tool, created to use the popularity of Pikachu (which it highly resembles) to promote Generation IV.
449 450	Hippopotas and Hippowdon	Hippopotas and Hippowdon had the most visible gender differences in Generation IV, and were considered to just be an example of the new gender differences.