Between Celebi’s time travel, Blastoise’s unstoppable water cannons, and Ditto’s ability to transform its DNA to match other ‘mons, it’s tough to find something to dislike about them. That is, until Game Freak finds a way to add aromas to our gameplay. It’s easy to ignore the reality of being best friends with creatures that spend more time fighting, frolicking, and feeding than they do on basic hygiene when you can’t physically smell them. But let’s take a look at some of the stinkier Pokémon you’d least like to be trapped in an elevator with.
10. Sirfetch’d
What do you get when you mix a try-hard, always-getting-gains Fighting-type with the distinct smell of onions? A bird with a very distinctive (and disgusting) odor. Sirfetch’d may not look it, but under that noble facade is the particular scent that I can only imagine this duck Pokémon carries with it like a trusty companion on its travels. While certainly not the stinkiest Pokémon in the Dex, Sirfetch’d still deserves his dues when it comes to interesting aromas. Eau de Farfetch’d: The oniony smell of B.O. with a bonus undernote of the oniony smell of onions.
9. Machop/Machamp
Okay, this one might seem a little surprising, but hear me out… Machamp is a rugged, buff Fighting-type who clearly spends more time working out its muscles than it thinks about personal hygiene. The Pokedex entry in Pokémon Moon helps paint a picture of just how dedicated to “arm day” Machop is: So, from that alone, we can reach three truths: Plus with four arms, that means Machamp has two extra armpits: double armpits, double stench. Eau de Machop: A nose-tingling sensation reminiscent of a football locker room with a broken A.C. deep in the humid swamps of Florida
8. Tangrowth
While one would think that Plant-types would smell like lovely fresh-cut grass, Tangrowth’s hunting habits would ensure that taking a whiff of this Pokémon would be a rather unpleasant experience. Tangrowth’s tendrils aren’t just a fashion statement. It uses them as tentacles to trap its prey, dragging unsuspecting Pokémon into the inky darkness hiding in the overgrowth. That means bits of food are sure to get stuck, getting smellier as the weather warms up, and Tangrowth’s vines go into maximum overdrive. Eau de Tangrowth: Opening up the compost bin after last week’s batch of forgotten leftovers and lawn clippings
7. Piloswine
Piloswine is another case, like Furret, where the Pokedex doesn’t explicitly state its scent. But we can certainly make some inferences based on the facts we’re given. Namely: That pokedex quote, coupled with the fact that Piloswine’s obscured vision causes him to charge over and over, certainly working up quite a sweat in the process, would create quite a foul odor. It would only get worse from there should you ever take the Swine Pokémon out of its icy home and into the sun, where aromas tend to amplify in the heat. Eau de Piloswine: The trashcan at a Texas dog groomer’s after Husky shaving day
6. Furret
While no official Pokedex entries discuss Furret’s scent, it’s a well-known fact that ferrets have a particular musk that can quickly fill a room. If we assume that this Pokémon is based on its slinky & smelly real-life counterpart, it would undoubtedly be manageable to tackle the tang at standard ferret size. Unfortunately for Furret fanatics, the Pokémon has a massive frame, standing 5’11 and weighing 75 pounds. The average ferret is 15 inches long and tops out at 4.5 pounds. Furret’s 16x larger body means 16x larger scent glands, excreting 16x the musty scent of pet rodents. Eau de Furret: The inside of a rabbit cage litter box baked at 350 degrees in a damp oven
5. Muk
Ah, there’s nothing quite like a giant pile of sludge to awaken the nose with a bouquet of foul odors. Muk is a living, breathing biohazard. Complete with the ability to totally decimate all plant life it comes into contact with, and causes severe illness in Trainers. This Pokémon sustains itself on trash, waste, and toxins, adding them into the gumbo of ghastly goo that makes up Muk’s amorphous body. The scent is so terrible that Muk has lost its own sense of smell, yet continues to assault others with its reek. In the Ruby Pokedex, the Professors pull no punches, stating: Eau de Muk: Similar to jumping into a dumpster outside of a daycare center for babies living with lactose intolerance
4. Garbodor
Have you ever heard the saying, “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck?” We could make a similar quip about our putrid pal Garbodor: “If it looks like a pile of rotting garbage and stinks like a pile of rotting garbage, it’s probably a pile of rotting garbage.” Everything about the Trash Heap Pokémon signifies that you’re about to get smacked with some severe stench if you get too close. His entire body looks like a lumpy, disintegrating trash bag that’s been split open, revealing a monster made up of last night’s enchiladas and apple cores you found under your bed. Garbodor’s whole fighting style involves consuming garbage to fuel his horrendous breath, which is smelly enough to yield as a weapon, according to the Pokedex entry from Omega Ruby: Even its name (which is a portmanteau of “garbage” and “odor”) clearly indicates that with this Pokémon, what you see is what you get. Eau de Garbodor: Milk that sat in a cereal bowl under your bed, so now you’re not sure if it’s still considered a liquid or some yet unknown gelatinous state of matter that one can only describe as “absolutely, positively foul.”
3. Weezing
Weezing is the ultimate industrial stinkbomb, constantly emitting toxic gas from the jutting growths that grow around its body. While poisons aren’t particularly known for their stench, Weezings prefer a rather unique habitat that certainly doesn’t make it smell like fresh-baked bread or a lovely candle: To quote its entry from Pokémon Omega Ruby: Eau de Weezing: Driving past a factory that produces dog food from the gristle of chickens, with a rich, smokey finish that settles deep in your nose and just won’t go away.
2. Skuntank
Skuntank is easily the most unsurprising entry on this list. The Skunk Pokémon is modeled after one of the world’s top-ranked acrid animals, resembling it closely in both appearance and pungency. Skuntank’s ability, Stench, has a chance to cause its opponent to flinch – which means that it smells so horrendous, other Pokémon recoil in disgust. Perhaps worst of all, there’s no amount of bathing and perfume that could make Skuntank smell any better. According to the Galarian Pokedex: So down to its very core, Skuntank was born to be noxious. Eau de Skuntank: Sliced onions served piping hot on a bed of soggy lettuce, rotten egg, and just a hint of burnt rubber.
1. Gloom
Gloom may look like it’s always asleep. But in reality, it’s constantly cooking up a wretched, eye-watering scent that it emits from the flower on top of its head and the drool dribbling down its chin. While Gloom’s stench is so powerful that it can cause memory loss and fainting in humans up to a mile away, this Pokémon and its prey find the putrescent aroma quite pleasant: From the Pokémon Sapphire ‘dex entry: That’s the same as someone loving the smell of their own armpit sweat so much that they sweat more out of excitement about their own B.O. Yikes. Eau de Gloom: The sweet, sickly rotting meat smell of the Corpse Flower after it’s been turned into sugar syrup for a coffee shop.
