Ah, snake Pokémon. Here at Pocket Tactics, we’ve got a special affinity for the slithering and sneaky reptiles of the Pokémon world. So, we thought we’d put a guide together detailing our favorite snakes from across all nine generations of games, with classics like Ekans and Arbok, to later arrivals like Serperior and Sandaconda. Did your favorite make the list? There’s only one way to find out. Let’s get into it.
For more Pokelists outside of snake Pokémon, check out our picks for our favorite monkey Pokémon, dog Pokémon, cat Pokémon, fish Pokémon, and cutest Pokémon. Or, if you need some tips for your next adventure, revise your battle knowledge with our fairy Pokémon weakness, rock Pokémon weakness, fire Pokémon weakness, grass Pokémon weakness, and water Pokémon weakness guides.
Here are the best snake Pokémon:
Ekans / Arbok
The original slithering and hissing snake Pokémon are Ekans and Arbok. While Arbok isn’t exactly the most powerful Pokémon to take on your quest to defeat the gym leaders and elite four, we have a soft spot in our hearts for one in particular – Jessie’s Arbok. For the first few series of the anime, the pair are inseparable, and something about their relationship just makes me feel a bit bad for Ekans. The thing really can’t catch a break.
There’s not much we can say about Ekans that you probably don’t already know. Yes, its name is snake backwards and it’s based on the rattlesnake. Outside of that, you’re probably sick of the sight of the thing if you’ve battled Team Rocket as many times as I have. Still, it’s the original snake Pokémon, so it has to be on our list.
Onix / Steelix
Onix is an absolute classic snake Pokémon, and one that even passing fans of the series might recognize as one of Brock’s long-time party members from the anime. It’s a simple design, but as we’ve learned with some of the more questionable designs of recent years, sometimes simple works.
Of course, we can’t mention Onix without Steelix, the souped-up steel snake from the second generation. Sure, many of us missed out on getting Steelix back in the GBA days through a lack of someone to trade with, but these days, it’s easy to get your hands on this cave-dwelling monolith. It doesn’t seem as easy in the anime though, with Brock sticking it out with his Onix. He must not have found a metal coat yet.
Seviper
Of all the snake Pokémon, none are as similar to their real-world equivalent as Seviper. It has the fangs, it has the beady eyes, and yes, it has the poisonous tail. Seviper’s battles with its natural enemy, Zangoose, are the stuff of legend in Hoenn, and given the vicious nature of both, we’re not really surprised.
The only thing that could make Seviper better is evolution, as we’d love to see an even bigger and meaner snake. We’d even take a regional form, anything that brings this reptile back into the limelight.
Silicobra / Sandaconda
Move over Onix, ground snakes are the cool new thing. Sandaconda is the only snake Pokémon on this list with a gigantamax form, with the slithering thing growing massive in size and turning into a sort of upside-down pyramid of destruction. It’s not the best thing in battle – one water type can turn over poor Sandaconda in seconds – but for visuals alone, we love this sandy snake.
Silicobra is a bit like Ekans in that there isn’t a whole bunch to say about it, but it’s a snake, nonetheless. It’s also one of the many Pokémon that the anime animators and game developers can’t seem to agree on, with the in-game version smaller than a Pikachu, while the version Ash meets is almost as tall as him. What’s the deal, Silicobra?
Dunsparce / Dudunsparce
I’m sorry to have to do this to you, but yes, Dunsparce, potentially the most boring Pokémon of all time, is a snake Pokémon. This gen two normal-type might only be a stubby little snake, but it’s a snake nonetheless. What can I say about Dunsparce? Well, not much. It’s no good in battle and not much to look at. Still, there is one interesting factoid about this monster in that it’s one of the few to escape from Ash. To this day, he still hasn’t caught one.
Dudunsparce is much more interesting, with whole Pokémon streaming sessions made up of hunts for the fabled three-segment form. You see, when Dunsparce evolves, there’s a one-in-a-hundred chance of it growing larger than normal into the three-segment Dudunsparce, so having one in your team is something to show off about. Who ever thought they could make Dunsparce cool?
Snivy / Servine / Serperior
It’s not a snake in the grass, but a grass snake. The only snake Pokémon starter line – ok, Snivy has legs, but the latter two are fine – offers up a majestic fully-formed snake in Serperior, with its long leafy body trailing behind its trainer. It’s not as competitively viable as some of the other grass starters, but it makes up for that in sheer beauty. I mean, look at the thing. It’s right up there with Milotic in the stunners of the Pokémon world category.
Snivy, well, we love Snivy. Just take a look at our picks for the best starter Pokémon to find out why. Servine is beautiful too, but as with any middle evolution, we hardly get enough time to appreciate it before it blooms into Serperior. Still, we love all three of these snakes in the grass, and so does Ash Ketchum, and that is all that matters.
Milotic
Milotic is the most beautiful snake Pokémon, with the designers at Game Freak clearly using mermaids as an influence when coming up with the third-gen water type. It’s also a bit of a beast in battle, with sky-high special defense combined with solid HP and special attack stats to make for something you don’t want to run into in a pinch.
Anyone who grew up playing Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, as I did, knows all too well how hard it once was to add Milotic to your Pokédex. First, you had to find a Feebas, which was difficult enough in itself, then it was a case of boosting its beauty level until you hit that sweet spot, at which point it would finally evolve after leveling it up. Having a Milotic was a point of pride back then, and even though it’s a bit easier to come by now, it’s still a regular fixture of my in-game Pokémon Scarlet and Violet party.
Rayquaza
We had to leave the best for last, didn’t we? Yes, in our opinion, Rayquaza is a snake. It’s a pretty mighty snake as well, famous for its appearances in the third generation Pokémon games as the only creature powerful enough to end the feud between Groudon and Kyogre, saving Hoenn in the process.
However, keeping the earth safe from terrestrial threats isn’t Rayquaza’s only job, with the dragon of the sky also fending off meteorites, and most famously, fellow legendary Pokémon Deoxys. That battle could have ended differently if Deoxys arrived on earth equipped with Ice Beam, due to Rayquaza’s 4x ice weakness, but fortunately, the serpent knocked the shape-shifting alien back out of the ozone layer with a mighty Hyper Beam.
There you have it, our picks for the best snake Pokémon. While you’re here, why not slither into a new game with some freebies with our AFK Arena codes and Honkai Star Rail codes guides? Or, if you’re looking for something more casual, check out our free Monopoly Go dice and Coin Master free spins guides.