20 Best Snake Pokémon Of All Time (Ranked)

Pokémon are a very diverse and interesting lot that comes in all shapes and sizes. They’re mostly animal-like, but over the course of the franchise’s evolution, we’ve seen object-shaped Pokémon, amorphous Pokémon, even humanoid Pokémon. In this article, we are going to focus one such resemblance, as we’re going to give you a list of the best snake(-like) Pokémon in the whole franchise.

Since there aren’t actually 20 snake Pokémon, we have decided to fill the list with snake- and serpent-like Pokémon, which means that we’re also going to have different Dragon-type Pokémon and other Pokémon who could pass for a snake in one situation or another. They are going to be ranked not based on their powers, but on how awesome they are. We’re going to tell you about each of them as we introduce them.

Best Snake Pokémon

The list is going to contain a total of 20 Pokémon. They’re going to be ranked from 20th to 1st place, based on how awesome and relevant they are for the franchise as a whole.

20. Snivy

Generation: V
Types: Grass

Snivy is a slender-looking bipedal reptilian Pokémon. Its body is predominantly green with a cream-colored belly. A yellow stripe crosses its back and its full length tail, reminiscent of the yellow markings around its large brown eyes, as well as the two sheets of the same color that come out of its shoulders and are curved backwards.

He has three fingers on each arm, but no toes on his feet. It has a large three-pointed leaf at the end of the tail. This tail is able to photosynthesize, which allows Snivy to acquire more speed. However, it collapses when Snivy loses energy. This Pokémon is generally calm and collected.

19. Dunsparce

Generation: II
Types: Normal

Dunsparce is not very picky about its habitat. It lives in the Johto and Kanto regions mainly in dark caves and under stones. In Unova and Kalos, on the other hand, they prefer to stay in the tall grass that grows near rivers and ponds. This Pokémon always builds its nests very complex and underground, using the drill on its tail as a digging tool.

Despite its wings, this Pokémon can barely fly, so it seeks shelter in caves and in the grass. Dunsparce is very shy and flees as soon as it is discovered. This fact also explains why Dunsparce appears so rarely in the games.

18. Zygarde 50% Forme

Generation: VI
Types: Dragon / Ground

Zygarde is the keeper of the balance of the Pokémon world and has a sense of duty to its highly developed ecosystem. Its power is not the least, but this form contains only 50% of the Cells of Zygarde. This means that half of its total power is still scattered around the world, waiting to be gathered. This shape is based on the letter Z.

It looks like a large green and black snake with compound eyes resembling those of insects. It has a ruff formed by five black branches and tentacles on the sides of its body and at the end of its tail. Its scales, eyes and ruff are formed of hexagons similar to alveoli. It is inspired by Jörmungand, a snake son of Loki.

17. Giratina (Origin Forme)

Generation: IV
Types: Ghost / Dragon

In his Origin form, the one he maintains in the Distortion World, Giratina moves in the air with a serpentine body. His cervical adornment points backwards and bars his face like mandibles. It has three pairs of tendrils ending in a red stinger as its wings.

Its legs are reduced to five pairs of symmetrical golden spines starting from the red rings of its body, themselves bordered by black rings. Two points are located at the base of the neck, four at the chest and the last four on the tail.

16. Eternatus

Generation: VIII
Types: Poison / Dragon

Eternatus looks like a gigantic purple skeletal dragon tinged with red. The main part of its long, slender body resembles a spine, and it has four rickety legs ending in claws made up of filiform appendages connected together perpendicularly.

His chest reveals his rib cage, which houses a luminous pink core in constant absorption of energy in order to feed Eternatus. Its core can also project the accumulated energy in the form of beams, especially when it launches its signature Canon Dynamax attack.

15. Steelix

Generation: II
Types: Steel / Ground

Steelix looks like an iron snake with a big head compared to the rest of the body with a smiling dentition and two small canines on each side going up to the top, two bumps above the head and two on the sides and a sort of rather flat chin with a gap between two small bumps. Her eyes have wicked-looking white sclera with a small red iris surrounded by black.

The body is a row of eight pieces of metal where the second, fourth and sixth have two small kinds of growths on the sides that are quite long at the top and smaller and smaller on the way down. This row ends with a metal point. His body is gray and limbless.

14. Gorebyss

Generation: III
Types: Water

Gorebyss’ habitat extends across the bottom of southern, warm seas. Its body is adapted to the enormous water pressure at great depths. The South Sea Pokémon is considered to be very graceful due to its bright color and its elegant, beautiful swimming style, but it has a cruel side.

It rams its thin mouth into the body of a victim and sucks out the body fluids, which are filtered in his mouth. It lets the lifeless remains sink to the bottom, where they are eaten by other deep-sea Pokémon. Seaweed on the seabed is also on his menu.

13. Huntail

Generation: III
Types: Water

Huntail’s habitat extends across the bottom of southern, warm seas. It lives at very great depths, into which no sunlight can penetrate. It moves in a serpentine motion, but it is not a particularly skilled swimmer. When it hunts, it attracts prey with the help of its fish-shaped tail, which also emits light via the eye-like spots, which in turn hopes for prey.

Huntail, the deep-sea Pokémon, then simply swallows it whole as soon as it is within range. Huntail remained unknown to humans for a long time due to its secluded habitat. According to tradition, it is therefore an ominous omen when Huntail appears on the surface near beaches.

12. Dratini

Generation: I
Types: Dragon

Dratini is a serpentine Pokémon with a blue body and a white belly. He has a white trifold fin on either side of his head and a white bead on his forehead. He has a big round white nose and large purple eyes. Dratini keeps growing for a long time, and some reach a height of almost two meters. As they grow, their skin sheds regularly. When the Dratini suffers a dear loss, they will hide behind waterfalls. They live in colonies underwater. For a long time, people believed that the existence of the Dratini was a myth.

11. Dragonair

Generation: I
Types: Dragon

Dragonair is a long, limbless dragon, resembling a sea serpent. His head and back are blue, while his belly is white. It has two small blue spheres at the end of the tail, we find a third at the level of its throat. It has a small white horn on its forehead, as well as two short wings for ears. Although this is never shown directly in video games, Dragonair is able to spread his wings in order to use them to fly in the sky.

10. Milotic

Generation: III
Types: Water

Milotic is a long, aquatic, snake-like Pokémon with a body, which is predominantly cream in color. He has large red eyes with a long pinkish antenna over each of his eyes. It has long fins above its eyes that look like hair, and get bigger and bigger. They extend up to half of its body, and are longer in females than in males. At the top of its relatively small head is a straight spine.

He has three slits on the back of his neck, probably his gills. Her lower body is covered with a hexagonal pattern, blue and pink, surrounded by black. Its tail consists of four blue and pink fins. The fins of its tail overlap slightly, which is reminiscent of a fan. Milotic scales are said to change color depending on the point of view.

9. Gyarados

Generation: I
Types: Water / Flying

Gyarados is inspired by the sea serpent and the oriental dragon. His evolutionary family also comes from a Chinese legend which says that if a carp manages to ascend a waterfall nicknamed the Dragon Gate, it turns into a dragon. This legend has for moral that it is necessary to redouble efforts to achieve its objectives despite the obstacles, like Magikarp, who must level up despite his mediocre abilities to become a powerful Gyarados.

The Gyarados Flight type is perhaps a reference to koi nobori, carp-shaped windsocks raised during Kodomo no hi, literally “children’s day” in Japan, but also Inkanyamba, a giant winged eel that creates storms when angry, just like Gyarados.

8. Sandaconda

Generation: VIII
Types: Ground

Sandaconda is a Pokemon that resembles a long, cream-colored snake with a body coiled in a spiral with brown and black patterns reminiscent of cracked earth. He has a large dark brown pocket around his neck with the same patterns as the rest of his body. He has green eyes with brown lids and red circles as well as a muzzle with two prominent nostrils and two fangs.

Sandaconda is inspired by the anaconda, although it is also reminiscent of other snakes like the horned rattlesnake. It is also inspired by a double barreled shotgun. Sandaconda’s neck pouch has grown larger as it evolves to protect its head from attack, and it can store up to 100kg of sand in it all at once.

This pocket is very elastic and thick, so much so that the mandibles of a Durant cannot pierce it. He can expel the sand contained in this pocket with incredible power thanks to his body which he strategically coils to give strength to his throws.

The sand he expels is sometimes filled with fine gravel that can cause lacerations on his opponents. Although he can be strong and confident, his cowardice resurfaces when he runs out of sand. It is Durant’s natural predator.

7. Serperior

Generation: V
Types: Grass

Serperior looks like a snake with a dark green back and a light green belly. It has a huge V-neck on the outside dark green and on the inside yellow. The point of this V forms an upturned fleur-de-lis. The points of this collar curl slightly on themselves. The top of its head and neck are light green while the bottom of its head and throat are white.

It has large, slender eyes with red irises and a long, pointed muzzle and a mouth with two teeth on the lower jaw. Two long growths behind its head form like large erect ears. He always keeps his head up, which gives him a superior or haughty aspect.

6. Ekans

Generation: I
Types: Poison

Ekans is known as one of the greatest predators of all domestic bird-type Pokémon. It meanders silently through the grass and is constantly looking for their eggs to eat them up. It is found particularly frequently in the Kanto and Johto regions, but sometimes also in Kalos and Alola. When devouring eggs or larger prey, it hangs its jaw to devour them in one piece.

For example, if an egg gets stuck in his throat, it will briefly lose consciousness. Ekans can sense the presence of prey with his tongue. It’s too heavy to crawl after a long foray. That’s why it then rolls up and rests. Ekans generally coils in a spiral when resting. From this position, it can react instantly to threats from all directions by lifting its head.

It also likes to wrap branches when it sleeps. When it is born, it has no poison, which makes its bites harmless. As the age increases, the Ekans becomes longer and longer.

5. Silicobra

Generation: VIII
Types: Ground

Silicobra is a Pokémon that looks like a small snake. Its body is a white tan with a few darker markings. He has oval green eyes with black pupils surrounded by brown markings that resemble sand and a prominent brow bone. With his pouting mouth, he looks like he’s constantly frowning. He also has two large nostrils. It has a dark yellow pocket with brown markings around the neck.

Silicobra is inspired by a cobra. He uses the pocket on his neck to store sand, which can accumulate up to eight kilograms. He scoops up sand from the front and is able to expel it from his nostrils, an ability he uses to blind opponents and take advantage of it to hide in the ground.

4. Onix

Generation: I
Types: Rock / Ground

Onix are quite widespread and, with the exception of Alola, are native to all other regions in different numbers of individuals. Still, this Pokémon isn’t all that common and can only be encountered occasionally in the wild. There it can be observed mainly in large cave systems.

It appears less frequently in more open places such as the Sevault Canyon. This can be explained by the fact that Onix’s natural habitat is underground, and this Pokémon mainly lives in its long, self-dug tunnels. These tunnels usually end in caves or merge into cave systems.

3. Seviper

Generation: III
Types: Poison

He strongly resembles a snake. It has 2 large red fangs that protrude from its mouth. It also has some sort of yellow-gold “plates” that adorn its dark blue body. Its sharp tail is covered in red on one side. He uses it when he uses the Poison Tail attack. A purple “S” (slightly wedge-shaped) is marked under his head.

The rivalry between Zangoose and Seviper is taken from the real world where the mongoose is able to fight snakes and is immune to their venom, making Zangoose Seviper’s natural enemy. In addition in the islands of Okinawa, there is a tourist attraction which consists in making fight in front of spectators and in a closed space a mongoose and a local poisonous snake, the habu.

Note that in double battles or in hordes of Pokémon where the player opposes one or more Seviper and a Wild Zangoose, the two rivals attack each other instead of targeting the opponent’s Pokémon.

2. Arbok

Generation: I
Types: Poison

Arbok is a snake-like Pokémon with purple scales all over its body. He has a large hood under his head, which features a pattern that resembles an angry face, the latter changing depending on its surroundings (it is stated in Pokémon Yellow that six different patterns are listed).

This pattern usually contains red and yellow spots that form the eyes surrounded by black, a black stripe that looks like a mouth, and a black V-shaped stripe above the face. Arbok is able to crush his opponents by wrapping his body around them and squeezing them very hard. It can even flatten barrels of oil.

When it encounters an enemy, it lifts its head, frightens it with the pattern of its hood, and makes noises with its tongue. Any part of Arbok’s body that is cut off, other than the head, is said to grow back within a matter of weeks. He is also able to feel the vibrations, as shown in the cartoon. Arbok is able to spend long periods underwater and survive in aquatic environments.

Arbok is territorial. It attacks enemies with its long hooks filled with deadly poison. Vengeful by nature, he will never abandon a prey or an enemy until he wins, no matter how long it takes. He lives in plains and savannas. In the wild, it hunts smaller Pokémon, which it immobilizes with its body before finishing them off with its venom and eating them.

1. Rayquaza

Generation: III
Types: Dragon / Flying

Rayquaza has a very long green snake-shaped body. It has small, red-edged wings along its body and at the end of the tail. It has three claws on each hand. On the top of its head are two large horns and two smaller ones on the underside.

Rayquaza has a very wide mouth, with two visible fangs and a few sharp teeth on the inside. A yellow pattern made up of yellow rings adorns his body, resembling that of Kyogre and Groudon as well as his eye with yellow iris, similar to that of the other two legendary cities.