The Best Poison Pokémon of All Time Ranked

The Loyal Three statues in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask

The Poison type in the Pokémon series feels like one of the odd ones out in a way. It has such utility in its ability to give other Pokémon the poison status ailment, which takes away health every turn. But so many of them feel weaker than they should due to their secondary typing or moves. 

Fortunately, the best Poison Pokémon of all time list below showcases the most vital parts of this particular typing. The best Poison Pokémon below still have their issues but make up for them in terms of Pokémon design, moves, stats, popularity, secondary typing, and more. 

1. Eternatus

Eternatus in Pokemon Sword and Shield anime
Image Credit: Netflix After School.

The Poison Dragon legendary Pokémon from Gen 8 captures the idea of a villainous legendary well. It has this alien space design, which includes some of the most detail out of any Pokémon ever created. Pair this with its exceptional stats and place in the story, and no other Poison Pokémon comes close to its grandness.

2. Bulbasaur

Bulbasaur Pokemon
Image Credit: Nintendo.

Bulbasaur and its evolutions kicked off the series right as the first and only starters to feature the Poison secondary typing. This makes them one of the strongest Poison Pokémon in the series, and Bulbasaur itself has the best, most nostalgic design out of the bunch. 

3. Poipole

Poipole from Pokemon
Image Credit: Pokémon

Poipole and its evolution Naganadel remain the best Ultra Beasts from Gen 7. It starts out as this somehow adorable little alien venomous Pokémon, which turns into a fearsome but stylish dragon. It has one of the best designs and flexibility out of any Pokémon in this typing. 

4. Salazzle

Salazzle from Pokemon
Image Credit: Nintendo.

The first Fire and Poison Pokémon came out in Gen 7 with Salazzle. It also featured the controversial but fun idea of only the female Salandit evolving into Salazzle. It has the most magnificent design for any Pokémon on this list, with its almost theatrical style. 

5. Nihilego

Nihilego from Pokemon
Image Credit: Pokémon

Nihilego stands out as one of the finest Ultra Beasts from Gen 7. Its weird angelic jellyfish design works well and matches great with the Poison typing. The Rock secondary typing doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but it feels flexible in battle. Plus, bonus points for its major story event with Lusamine in Gen 7. 

6. Croagunk

Croagunk on a background of Sinnoh
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

The Poison and Fighting-type combination feels like one of the better options on this list. Croagunk first introduced this back in Gen 4 with its hilarious frog-inspired design. It elevated further when it appeared as one of Brock's companions in the anime series. 

7. Vileplume

Vileplume Pokemonbest Poison Pokémon
Image Credit: Nintendo.

Vileplume feels like the prime example of how to take a basic Poison Pokémon and evolve it well over the course of the three stages. It starts out as the adorable Oddish, goes through its awkward phase as Gloom, and comes out looking great as Vileplume. It also fits the classic Grass and Poison type combo well. 

8. Dragalge

Dragalge on a Kalos background
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

The series received its first-ever Poison Dragon Pokémon in Gen 6 with the arrival of Dragalge. The design feels quite bizarre and unique with its combination of algae from the ocean but in a dragon form. It somehow works well and feels like one of the better Pokémon from Gen 6. 

9. Fezandipiti

Fezandipiti in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask
Image Credit: Nintendo UK

Fezandipiti stands out as the best of the Loyal Three legendary trio from Gen 9. The Poison and Fairy type combo works quite well together, and it has some solid stats. But the most substantial part of this Pokémon comes from its elegant but mocking bird design. 

10. Seviper

Seviper on a Hoenn background
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

Seviper took the idea of a venomous snake like Ekans and Arbok from Gen 1 and one-upped them. It has a much more menacing design with its viper inspiration and brilliant color scheme. It still could use another evolution or a Mega form, but it works well on its own. 

11. Paldean Wooper

Pokémon Scarlet Violet Paldean Wooper
Image Credit Nintendo Game Freak

Wooper already dominated the series as one of the most adorable Pokémon of all time, but it gained even more personality in Gen 9 with the Paldean form. Its mix of Poison and Ground feels unique enough, plus its more muddy design, which gives it a nice charm. 

12. Grafaiai

Grafaiai in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
Image Credit: The Official Pokemon Youtube Channel

The long-awaited arrival of the weird Normal and Poison-type combination finally happened in Gen 9. Grafaiai takes the real-life Aye-Aye animal and slaps a graffiti-like vibe to it. It feels like one of the riskier Pokémon, which turned out well. 

13. Iron Moth

Iron Moth
Image Credit: Nintendo.

The Paradox future form of Volcarona keeps the Fire typing but adds Poison instead of Bug. This makes for a strange type combination that works well for the legendary-like Gen 9 Pokémon. Its striking futuristic moth design fares better than its past counterpart. 

14. Glimmora

Glimmora from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

Glimmora has the odd type combination of Rock and Poison, which feels unique and somewhat powerful. The Gen 9 Pokémon’s main asset comes from its exceptional beauty. It looks like a gorgeous blooming flower, which hides some dangerous potential, making it one of the best poison Pokémon.

15. Trubbish

Trubbish on a Unova background
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

If players ignore the memes about Trubbish as the literal trash Pokémon in the series, they’ll find one of the most endearing designs in the series. It has such a surprising juxtaposition as a cute and charming bag of garbage. 

16. Crobat

Crobat on a Johto background
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

Crobat, by and large, fixed most of the issues with the odd and underwhelming Zubat line. The third stage arrived in Gen 2 and provided the evolutionary line with an intriguing purple vampire bat, which completes it in the strongest way possible. 

17. Arbok

Arbok on a Kanto background
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

Arbok showed the idea of a standard poisonous snake in Gen 1 and captured the Poison idea better than most other Pokémon at the time. Its mascot-like nature for the typing goes further when players consider the many different patterns it has available for the face on its belly. 

18. Overqwil

Overqwil on a Hisui backgroundbest poison Pokémon
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

Overqwil fixed many of the issues with Qwilfish, one of the weakest and most forgettable Pokémon of all time. This new Gen 8 evolution for Qwilfish has Dark typing as its secondary and some solid utility, even if its design remains one of the worst of its generation. 

19. Okidogi

Okidogi in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask
Image Credit: Nintendo UK

Okidogi works well as the middle member of the Loyal Three and the second-most successful of the bunch. The Poison and Fighting-type combo works well, and its design has a nice mix of sarcasm and a lovable canine companion. 

20. Roserade

Roserade in the Pokemon anime
Image Credit: The Official Pokemon YouTube Channel

Roserade feels like the second attempt to catch the popularity and success of the Vileplume line but for Gens 3 and 4. In the end, it doesn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor Pokémon, but it has a fascinating design mix of roses and a Zorro-like character, making it one of the best poison Pokémon.

21. Drapion

Drapion
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

Drapion goes way too hard in its attempt to be a scary Poison Pokémon. This matches well, at least, with its other typing in Dark, which feels unique for this group. This makes it one of the more underrated best poison Pokémon on this list. 

22. Galarian Weezing

Galarian Weezing on a Galar map
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

Koffing and Weezing might trace their origins back all the way to the first games in the series, but they feel lackluster in every way. Galarian Weezing fixes much of that with its odd but intriguing design and solid Poison and Fairy-type combo. 

23. Beedrill

Beedrill on a Kanto map
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

Beedrill arrived in Gen 1 as the other trio of Bug Pokémon for the first set of games. It went down a different path than its counterpart, taking the Poison secondary typing due to its bee sting inspiration. Its design falters some, except for the Mega Evolution, but remains nostalgic for many players. 

24. Scolipede

Scolipede
Image Credit: Pokemon.com

The Bug and Poison type combo feels like one of the most classic for this type. It makes sense with all of the various poisonous bugs in the world, including Scolipede’s inspiration from the centipede. It has a striking and almost menacing design, which helps it. 

25. Munkidori

Munkidori from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask
Image Credit: Nintendo UK

The Psychic and Poison member of the Loyal Three from Gen 9 has the most disappointing design of the bunch. If players look past this, though, they’ll find one of the most powerful legendary Pokémon on this list with its solid moves and stats. 

Author: Cody Perez

Bio:

Copywriter, experienced editor, website creator, PR associate, consultant

  • Expertise: Gaming, Pokémon, movies, TV shows, PR, and creative writing
  • Education: BS in Business Economics (specializing in Business Management), minor in Japanese from Tokyo International University
  • Helped lead or create websites, such as GameRevolution, VGR, RPGInformer, MangaInsider, FandomPost, POKUniverse, and more.
  • Helped launch various indie video games, tech startups, and consulted for YouTube Shorts
  • Writer in the entertainment industry since starting in high school in 2011

Experience: Cody Perez started his career as a journalist and creative writer in the tech and gaming spaces in 2011 while in the middle of high school. Since then, he has produced thousands of high-quality, researched articles for some of the largest entertainment websites in the world, including IGN, Destructoid, Siliconera, Digital Trends, DotEsports, and many more. He also was the lead editor at GameRevolution, growing the site to reach its consistent, historical peak of 8 million MUV the entire time he worked there. Cody also helped launch various successful sites, such as VGR (2 million MUV in a year), POKUniverse, and RPGInformer.

Cody brings together his passion for tech and gaming to his work life, so he can enjoy his hobbies nearly 24/7. He has now taken his expertise and experience with subjects like gaming and Pokémon to Wealth of Geeks, where he is often found creating new lists and reviews, or editing older content to bring it up to the company standard.