All Fish Pokemon (Plus Our Top 5 Fishy Picks)

This post was last updated on September 1, 2023

The world of Pokémon is full of all sorts of amazing and mystifying creatures, from the dragons that soar through the skies to the fish pokemon that swim deep within the seas. While not all fish pokémon are necessarily the coolest, there are certainly a lot of them nowadays, and we’re here to cover them all.

What is a Fish?

We have a bit of a dilemma on our hands. Fish in the Pokémon universe and fish in the real world don’t necessarily fit into the same biological constraints. If we’re going to be talking about fish pokemon, we need to know what that really means, and, spoiler alert, there isn’t a clear answer to that.

The easiest option is to go with things that would likely be considered fish in our world. This excludes things like jellyfish, shellfish, and starfish since none of those are actually fish. It also excludes whales and dolphins, so Kyogre, Wailmer, and Finizen are right out of the running. 

This method just runs us into ‘the Remoraid dilemma’. Remoraid, a fish, evolves into Octillery, an octopus. There are a few other pokémon lines where one animal evolves into a completely different animal so we’re just going to be covering the fishy friends in those evolutionary lines.

The Top Five Best Fish Pokémon

5. Relicanth

Starting off our top five is a pokémon from the dark depths of the ocean, Relicanth. Likely known by many for its role in the Hoenn region as a means to solve the Regi-trio puzzles, Relicanth is a really interesting pokemon, even if it doesn’t get too much love nowadays.

This rocky fish is given the title ‘Longevity Pokémon’ which is incredibly apt for a creature who is modeled after the real-life coelacanth, a prehistoric fish that was once thought to have gone extinct 66 million years ago but is actually doing just fine and living off the coast of South America. (A subtle nod to Mew? Probably not.)

Relicanth being a water/rock pokemon is a really fun decision for a bottom feeder that is supposed to blend in with the rocky (or sandy?) ocean floor. This hardy fish has adapted to survive in the deepest depths and we absolutely love it.

4. Wishiwashi

Actual fish are some of the strangest and most interesting creatures in the real world. A lot of the complaints we see for fish pokemon is that they lack that stunning biodiversity that should only be accentuated in a fantasy universe. So, a unique and interesting fish pokémon like Wishiwashi easily makes it into our top five.

Wishiwashi, the small fry pokémon, was introduced in generation VII, in the archipelago region of Alola. In an area with so much water, it’s really exciting to see something as inspired as Wishiwashi. For those of you who don’t know, this unassuming little pokemon has two forms, Solo Form and School Form.

In its School Form, Wishiwashi becomes a nightmarish creature composed of hundreds of smaller fish, mimicking how some actual fish join together in schools to scare off predators. Wishiwashi is easily one of the coolest examples of a real life phenomenon making it into the Pokémon universe.

3. Dondozo/Tatsugiri

Coming in at third place is – oh wait a minute… there are two pokémon here.

That’s right! We’ve included two fish pokemon here, for a very important reason. Dondozo and Tatsugiri are exciting examples of symbiosis in the pokemon world. Tatsugiri, the mimicry pokémon, hides within the mouth of a Dondozo, the big catfish pokémon, and both benefit greatly.

This is really just an exciting combat gimmick (and a good idea from the pokémon company), but it’s a relationship that really exists between several different types of fish species, and it’s impressive to see it pulled off so well from in lore, gameplay, and even combat.

2. Sharpedo

Listen, Sharpedo is a shark. Everyone knows that if you want a menacing sea creature, you turn to the shark (or maybe an angler fish). Our top five could’ve included just about any pokemon with a persuasive argument listed underneath them, but why kid ourselves when there is a shark pokemon?

Ken Sugimori believed that pokemon should be a careful mix of cute and cool. It goes a bit deeper than this, but we like to think of the idea that a pokemon should look intimidating while also looking like it could be your ally.

Sharpedo does this perfectly, even if its half-a-shark design is a bit goofy. Obviously, this pokemon has received enough love to make it a fan favorite, it even got its own mega evolution. We love this angry little shark and we hope you do too.

1. Magikarp

The most feared pokemon in all the underwater world is surely the great, the powerful, the mighty Magikarp. Well, not really, but the OG fish pokémon Magikarp is definitely a name that lives in infamy.

Sure, it’s almost entirely useless, but it’s been in every single mainline game so far, and almost every spinoff as well. Heck, Magikarp even has its own spinoff game: Magikarp Jump.

Magikarp isn’t just comic relief though. It has one of the most interesting inspirations out of all the original pocket monsters in Pokémon Red and Blue. Based on Chinese mythology, a carp that could swim upstream and leap through the dragon gate would transform into a powerful dragon.

Spoiler alert for anyone who’s showing up late, Magikarp does manage to conquer whatever test is thrown at it, because if you evolve it you’ll end up with the awesomely powerful sea dragon Gyarados (technically not a dragon but who’s counting).

Such an inspiring story centered around the ‘little fish that could’ is more than enough to secure this classic pokémon the number one spot in our list of the best fish pokémon.

All Fish Pokemon

With our five top contenders out of the way, let’s cover all of the other pocket monsters that fill the seas and lakes of the pokemon world. We’ll be going through these fish pokemon in Pokedex order just to make things easy

Horsea

Horsea is known as the dragon pokemon, a name that, in Generation I, meant little to nothing. Of course, now we know this adorable little sea horse goes on to evolve into an actual dragon. Since the only other pokémon to be given this category are actual dragon-type pokémon, this certainly must’ve been a planned decision.

Perhaps the most well-known Horsea is the one that belonged to Misty in the original series when it helped fight off a giant beast of a Tentacruel.

Seadra

Originally the final form of Horsea, Seadra is actually quite an interesting pokémon that could’ve gone in a few ways. Its poison point ability turns it into quite an impressive defender and makes it a genuinely competitive pokemon. More importantly, it’s the only non-poison-type pokémon to ever receive the ability.

Who knows, maybe there’s a poison-type regional form in store for us and the Pokemon Company is just sitting on this fun little nugget of information.

Goldeen

Goldeen is often criticized for being nothing more than a fish, but that’s not true. It’s a fish pokemon with a horn on its head, and that’s got to count for something.

Generation I isn’t known for its 151 amazing pokemon designs. It’s known for introducing us to the concept of pokemon, and, yeah, a goldfish with pink lips was a part of the original package.

Seaking

Seaking certainly doesn’t feel like it’s the king of the sea, but it’s at least somewhat of an improvement on golden. The only truly interesting thing about this fishy pokémon is that it apparently uses its horn to burrow into underwater boulders and create cavernous nests as a living space for its family.

Chinchou

The first fish pokemon of Generation II, Chinchou is modeled after an angler fish. Out of all the creatures in the entire underwater world, angler fish are definitely one of the most terrifying real-life animals, and yet, we managed to get one of the cutest fish pokemon there is.

Chinchou gave us one of the first really interesting type combinations, pairing water with the electric type, a type it’s weak against, to eliminate weakness. This electric fish set such an exciting precedence, and we thank it for charging a way for those to come.

Lanturn

Chinchou had the cuteness locked down, so it certainly would’ve been nice to see the evolution go in a much more cool or even creepy direction. Alas, we got Lanturn.

This fish pokémon is built on such a great concept, but unfortunately, it has the curse of being made in one of the least competitive generations. Its stats are garbage in normal battle conditions and its design feels decidedly like a middle stage.

Who knows, maybe that’s all the Pokémon Company needs to hear to give this the terrifying third stage it deserves.

Qwilfish

Qwilfish would’ve suffered from the same problems that the Chinchou line does, and it did for some time. Granted, this barbed puffer fish pokémon nailed a fearsome aesthetic, but it failed to live up to its intimidating glare until it received some Hisuian attention.

A dark/poison-type pokémon is nothing special, but giving Qwilfish a Hisuian regional form was the perfect setup for the evolution that the balloon pokémon definitely deserved.

Remoraid

Remoraid, as we’ve discussed a bit already, is a fish. And yet it goes on to have an octopus as its evolved form. Questions like how and why probably come to mind and, while we can’t really answer them, we do have some insight that might help ease you a bit.

The concept art for Remoraid, the jet pokemon, wasn’t just a fish with a bulbous back end. In fact, it was modeled after a revolver, something that would’ve made localization in America a bit difficult. However strange it was, it did give this evolutionary line some credence since Octillery’s original design very closely resembled a tank.

Would that have been a cool pokemon concept? Whose to say? Now we just have a strange little ‘jet pokémon’ that apparently grows several tentacles when it hits level 25.

Mantine

Mantine is a water-type pokémon that, while really cool, fails to live up to its real-life inspiration. It’s so incredibly weak and not even its somewhat decent special defense stats can save it from its position as a forgettable fish.

Like many of the Gen II pokémon, all we can do is wait around and see if this one day gets an evolved form.

Kingdra

Kingdra is one of the strongest pokemon in Johto. In fact, it’s in the top 10 when listed by base stats and in an outstanding 3rd place if we don’t count legendaries. This half sea dragon half sea horse is such a cool idea that was well executed from day one.

Evolving your lousy Seadra into this awesome water pokémon just takes trading it while it holds a dragon scale, something that actually made this a bit of a commodity back before wireless trading was a thing. Still, after you put in that work, you got the first dragon and water type pokémon with an amazing base stat total of 540.

Carvanha

Carvanha is, honestly, a bit scarier than its evolution, but it’s also a lot more annoying, especially in Generation III when it was introduced. This little Zubat of the sea was nearly impossible to avoid and incredibly menacing, an impressive feat for a fish pokemon with little to no value.

Of course, Carvanha isn’t the end of the line. This evil little piranha becomes the only shark in all of Pokémon (Garchomp doesn’t count, sorry). For that, we can excuse its heinous war crimes just this once.

Barboach

A barbed loach is exactly as exciting as you’d think it would be. Barboach is neither cute nor cool, at least in our professional opinion. That’s okay though because we’re going to quickly brush past it and move on to…

Whiscash

Whiscash! What can we say, there’s a soft spot for the Hoenn region here. Whiscash may just be a catfish, but it has a great design, surprisingly all-around solid stats, and a W on its head that suggests it just might be a superhero.

While Whiscash may be forgettable to some, we’ll never forget that (in the anime at least) they are canonically so stubborn they can just opt out of being caught in a Master Ball. How’s that for the top of the food chain?

Feebas

Were Feebas released today, we have to imagine it would be some sort of regional form of Magikarp. Its ugly and mostly useless design seems to have a lot of similarities with the G.O.A.T. of the seas, and it even has an impressive glow-up into something that’s actually worth being on your team.

Milotic

Originally only obtainable if you could level up a Feebas with a high enough Beautiful condition, Milotic is now a pokemon you can get so long as you can trade Feebas with a Prism Scale.

You might think Milotic exists just to be a beautiful pokémon and you’d probably be right. However, this serpentine fish pokémon has all around solid stats and a hidden ability (Cute Charm) that makes it actually competitive. It’s the classic two-in-one deal that good pokemon designs include. What’s not to love?

Huntail

Okay, before we go into Huntail, we need a quick note about something you might think is missing. Clamperl is based on a clam, and as such, is decidedly not a fish pokémon. Its evolutions make it to this list, but unfortunately, the cute little pearl doesn’t meet our requirements.

Huntail, on the other hand, is certainly a fish. This nightmarish creature spends its time swimming around in the deep sea, waiting for oblivious prey to wander into its mouth. It’s fitting that it evolves from Clamperl while holding the Deep Sea Tooth.

Gorebyss

Gorebyss is not the last fancy pink fish pokémon you’ll see on this list, and it also might not be the weirdest. Fortunately, unlike a certain Valentine’s themed pokemon, Gorebyss has some basis in the real world.

This weird little pokémon with an unnecessary clamshell bra is based on a long-nosed chimaera, a quite vicious fish that spends its time waiting around coral reefs waiting to catch oblivious prey, much like Clamperl’s other evolution.

Luvdisc

It’s a fish. It’s a heart. It’s a Luvdisc. Moving on.

Finneon

Finneon is beautiful neon pokémon but it isn’t exactly special. Much like Goldeen, it’s just a fish with a cute design. Sure, its caudal fins look like butterfly wings, but that doesn’t tie into any fun lore, battle mechanic, or anything that would make this an actually memorable pokémon.

Lumineon

Finneon’s butterfly fins are pretty noticeable. Lumineon’s, on the other hand, are a lot harder to pick out. Besides, it’s called Lumineon! A pokemon that’s name is just a mix between luminous and neon should be bright, and should maybe even have something to do with light.

Game Freak could’ve done a lot better with this one, but it’s okay. This is a fish pokémon and that’s about it.

Mantyke

We are really torn on Mantyke. Baby pokémon are a strange phenomenon since they really just add cuteness to the game. In some cases, like Munchlax, you get a completely different personality. In others, like Mantyke, you just get a smaller, cuter pokémon with no notable differences.

That being said, Mantyke has a really fun way to evolve into Mantine. Since the final stage has a Remoraid attached to it, you have to evolve it while there is a Remoraid in the party. This sort of unique evolution is just enough to justify this pokémon’s existence.

Basculin

Basculin isn’t that special, but it does at least have a few variants, making it at least an interesting pokemon from a biological standpoint. Considering this game franchise is built on discovering and catching unique pokemon, we think that’s enough to make this hostile pokémon worthwhile.

Alomomola

Alomomola, on the other hand, is a complete disappointment. It’s a pink pokemon shaped like a heart. It’s categorized as the caring pokémon. And yet, it’s not an evolution of Luvdisc! It’s not even remotely related in some way!

Sure it doesn’t have the worst stats or anything, but we’re shocked this made it through a design team without anyone saying “hey, let’s connect this to the other pokémon with almost the exact same design.”

Tynamo

Tynamo is based on an electric eel, and you know what, that’s actually a fish. To be clear: starfish – not a fish; eel – a fish. The more you know.

This pokémon has a great design for a first stage pokémon, it fits the inspiration it was designed after, and it’s even the first three-staged fish pokemon to be introduced in one single game.

Eelektrik

Eelektrik is kind of scary, but that’s okay. After all, it’s based on an electric eel. That being said, it’s the middle stage of a three-stage evolutionary line, so we don’t have much more to say about it.

Eelektross

Eelektross is one of the coolest fish pokemon. It was definitely a strong contender for our top five best fish pokémon, but seeing as it isn’t immediately recognizable as a fish, we decided to just gush about it here.

This is one of the few fish pokemon to not get the water typing, and that’s actually totally okay. What’s more, is that it is an electric type pokémon with the levitate ability. Magnemite is a clear example of magnetism helping this typing out, but it’s cool to see it come up in another pokemon you wouldn’t think of.

Beyond that, Eelektross has an incredibly intimidating design that fits its inspiration really well. There’s just so much to love about this pokémon. You know what, we’re giving it the honorary 6th best fish pokémon title.

Stunfisk

Of course, if you want to talk about non-water-type fish pokemon, Stunfisk is a great example. Both of its regional versions provide excellent examples of pokemon that sit in wait for their prey, and they even play into a false pokeball gimmick that we absolutely love.

Skrelp

Another sea horse pokémon might’ve felt a bit derivative, but Skrelp and Dragalge actually pull things off incredibly well. Camouflaging in your natural habitat is incredibly important in the wild, especially if you’re not the biggest fish in the sea.

Skrelp is basically just one big defense mechanism. It’s a poisonous pokémon that hangs out around coral reefs and looks like a pile of kelp. Well done Game Freak.

Dragalge

Dragalge does exactly what an evolved form should do. It takes all of the well-planned design elements of its pre-evolution and accentuates them to make something that is equal parts beautiful and terrifying.

And you know what else, against all odds this pokémon drops its water typing to become a dragon type. It’s just *chef’s kiss*.

Bruxish

Oh boy, Bruxish. We’re probably not alone in thinking this pokémon is ugly. However, we have to give credit where credit is due. A lot of fish are ugly and if there’s one thing we’ve been arguing for, it’s an accurate representation of the animals on which pokémon are based.

Arrokuda

Apparently, Arrokuda can only swim in a straight line. This begs the question: how has Arrokuda survived? Silly Pokedex entries aside, Arrokuda is a pokémon that’s just fine. It largely exists to give Cramorant something to eat, and that’s fine with us.

Barraskewda

There are probably some die-hard fans of Barraskewda out there, but we haven’t met any. As far as evolutions go, it is decidedly mediocre, both in design and in stats.

Overqwil

Overqwil was an awesome way to give some love to a largely forgotten pokemon. It may have one of the most obnoxious evolution methods in all of the pokémon, but who cares, we love this giant mine of a pufferfish.

Basculegion

Basculegion is a weird pokémon. We absolutely loved Legends Arceus and we only realized in our research for this article that it gained the ghost typing when it evolves through its convoluted evolution. For now, we’ll say it’s fun and strange. Maybe we’ll have more opinions on this noble fish in a few years.

Veluza

Vaultin Veluza! How the heck is this not a steal-type pokémon? This armored fish is apparently psychic type, even though nothing (other than the purple spikes?) in its design point to it. Oh well, at least it gave us a fun phrase to say for a few weeks when Scarlet and Violet came out.

Chi-yu

The final pokémon in our list is Chi-Yu, a legendary dark/fire type fish pokemon labeled ‘the ruinous pokemon’. Digest that for a bit. Okay, technically, Chi-Yu is just a few curved jade beads that made a fish-shaped fire, but it’s still a fish for our purposes.

This is definitely a weird last fish for us to cover, but we look forward to learning more about it in the Paldean-focused anime.

Final Thoughts

Pokémon are a mixed bag. Sometimes we get incredible designs like Rayquaza and sometimes we get disappointing weirdos like Trubbish. The same concept carries through when we talk about fish pokémon but, luckily, there are plenty of fish in the sea, so there’s something for everyone to love.