From fan theories, to nightmarish Pokedex entries and even some of the inherent creepiness, the Pokémon universe can be a scary place. What better to get us into the Halloween spirit than with a list of the 30 scariest things about Pokémon!

• 1. Lavender Town

   

Lavender town has always held a reputation for being spooky. Maybe it’s because of the fact that it’s the only place where we see Pokémon graves or perhaps it’s because of the music which was rumored (read: not true) to have caused children to go mad in Japan. Sounds like the perfect way to start off our list, and as a plus, you can listen to some of the creepiest video game music while reading on!

2. Bug Types in General

Considering that Galvantula is 2 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 31.5 pounds, this is terrifying. Pretty much any bug type Pokémon is terrifying when you really think about their sizes and abilities! Let’s just be happy there isn’t a roach type Pokémon!

• 3. Hypno/Drowzee

• 

Devouring dreams doesn’t seem to scary as most of us forget our dreams anyway, but it is said that these Pokémon kidnap children and it’s unknown what they do with them!

4. Drifloon

Drifloon has been known to try and steal children who mistake it for a balloon. Due to its light weight, it can be easily resisted and often ends up the one being pulled around by the child! Still, why is it trying to steal children in the first place?

5. Legendary Pokemon 

While most Pokémon trainers see legendary Pokémon as coveted partners, there’s something unsettling about the fact that they can all pretty much destroy the world! Primal Kyogre and Groudon could cause irreversible destruction and Yveltal literally absorbs all life into itself if it dies.Makes you think twice about the fact that you use these Pokémon to battle like it was nothing!

6. Evil Team Leaders

One thing that is often overlooked is the number of purely evil people in the world of Pokémon. It seems like every grown man has an agenda to end the world by using one of the legendary Pokémon mentioned above! If they all teamed up, the world would be in some serious trouble! In fact, in Orre, that’s exactly what happened, and it became a criminal wasteland!

• 7. Gligar

• 

Don’t let it’s cute tongue fool you, Gligar is the Pokémon equivalent of a facehugger, and facehuggers are terrifying! It flies towards the face of its opponent, latches on and stings them over and over again.

• 8. Phantump

• 

Phantump are the souls of dead children turned into Pokémon. Let that sink in for a minute…

• 9. Yamask

• 

If Phantump weren’t enough, Yamask is the soul of a dead human that carries around a mask said to look like it’s former self. They are known to look at the mask and cry.

10. Cofagrigus

Taking things even one step further, Cofagrigus, the evolved form of yamask,  turns humans into mummies.

11. Death and Life in the Pokémon World

In Pokémon, the fact that Pokémon and humans die is no secret, but there are some weird, and scary, things that happen after we die. For example, human souls can become Pokémon. Does that mean they are trapped as a Pokémon or just reincarnated? Then, there’s the fact that life seems to work in weird ways, for example inanimate objects can suddenly become alive and sentient (more on this later). Lastly, souls can be harvested by Pokémon as a fuel (more on this later as well!).

12. Cubone

Cubone is probably one of the saddest stories in Pokémon. It wears its mother’s skull as a mask and cries at her memory. In itself it’s not scary, but the fact that every Cubone’s mother must have died is!

• 13. Duskull

• 

Duskull enjoys listening to children cry, and (surprise) steals them away when they misbehave. Why is it that so many Pokémon take children?

14. Pokémon Radio Unkown Broadcast

 

If you listen to this at night, you’ll get goosebumps, guaranteed. It’s just as scary as the Lavender Town music (if not worse), but lesser known.

• 15. Jellicent

• 
• Ships that sail into water filled with jellicent are said to go missing and never appear again. What did the Jellicent do with the crew? (Cue dramatic music, or, if you’re still listening, unown radio broadcasts)
  

  16. Banette

  

  Banette is a discarded child’s doll who has come back to life filled with hatred and haunting it’s previous owner because of it. It’s like a twisted version of Toy Story.

• 17. Grimer/Muk

• 
• These Pokémon are so toxic they instantly kill all the plants they touch and can cause sickness in humans/animals.

• 18. Kadabra

• 
• One morning, a child woke up as a Kadabra. I suppose it’s no worse than being kidnapped by a Pokémon… Unless that’s why Pokémon kidnap children! To turn them into Abra/Kadabra!
  

  19. Lampent

  

  This is probably the scariest Pokémon. Not because it’s powers, but because it waits around hospitals to consume the souls of Pokémon and humans and use them to fuel it’s flame. They can sense when you’re close to death and will appear shortly before. Don’t want to see one of these any time soon!

  20. Honedge

  

  Honedge will use its blue sash to permanently attach itself to anyone who attempts to use it as a sword and will then drain their life force.

  21. Haunter

  

  It is said that if you see a Haunter you should run. They will try to lure you into the dark only to lick your life force away.

• 22. Mismagius

• 
• Some say Mismagius was responsible for Lavender Town’s music. The sound of it’s cries cause those to hear it to be tortured by headaches and hallucinations. Both of these points are scary enough alone, but to combine them together – things have been taken too far!
  

  23. Cacturne

  Let’s just take a Pokémon Sapphire’s Pokedex entry:“If a traveler is going through a desert in the thick of night, Cacturne will follow in a ragtag group. The Pokémon are biding their time, waiting for the traveler to tire and become incapable of moving.” That’s ominous and creepy.

  24. Dusclops

  

  Dusclops is a walking black hole. Seriously: its body is completely hollow – but it will absorb anything into its body if it opens its mouth, never to be released again!

• 25. Shedinja

  

• The empty husk of a Ninjask that suddenly appears in an empty Pokeball. Here’s what Ruby’s Pokedex entry has to say about it: “Shedinja’s hard body doesn’t move – not even a twitch. In fact, its body appears to be merely a hollow shell. It is believed that this Pokémon will steal the spirit of anyone peering into its hollow body from its back.” Yeah, stealing spirits when you look into its hollow body, but wait. What are we looking at every time we fight with it as trainers!26. Parasect

  

  An insect that’s been infested and mind controlled by the parasitic mushroom since birth. It’s essentially the Cordyceps Brain Infection from the Last of Us. Yikes!

  27. Frosslass

  

  Frosslass is the evil, Japanese version of Frozen. Based on the Yuki-onna, a hovering woman clothed in a white kimono who leads you away from shelter or blows down your door so you die from exposure to the cold. Creepy.

  28. Sabeleye

  

• Sabeleye is based on the “Hopkinsville Goblin Case”, a strange case in Kentucky in which a family was attacked by aliens/goblins. Above is the description they gave of their attackers. In reality, they were probably intoxicated and attacked by local, aggressive owls, but still a creepy design and backstory!

• 29. Whiscash

  

  Whiscash is based on Japanese folklore in which one giant catfish causes all major and devastating earthquakes in Japan. The Pokedex entries prove this point too! “ If a foe approaches it, it thrashes about and triggers a massive earthquake.”

  30. Mawile

  

  Based off of a very eerie story in which a farmer was happy about his new wife who never ate (which was great because he saved money), only to find out that she had a mouth on the back of her head and that her hair would turn to tendrils eating his grains as she slept. I think we can all see the reference!
  

  31. Gorebyss

  

  In the Pokedex entry for Pokemon Sapphire and Emerald, Gorebyss is described as feeding by inserting its thin mouth into the prey’s body and draining the prey of its body fluids. All this while the prey is still living!

  Once it’s done feeding, the light pink body of a Gorebyss becomes more vivid, which may explain the Pokemon’s “elegance and beauty while swimming”. This entry slipped under the radar in part because entries in other games don’t include this haunting bit of info.

  It’s possible the Pokemon company deemed Gorebyss just too frightening, or perhaps, based on the fact that Gore is in the Pokemon’s name, maybe other researchers just haven’t uncovered the scary truth about these Pokemon.

  32. Yveltal

  

  Yveltal, when killed, sucks the entire universe into a cocoon, ending life as we know it. It’s basically a giant ticking time bomb, which once activated turns into a black hole that sucks into it everything you love about the Pokemon universe. Humans, Pokemon, Plants, All life, the planet itself, everything. Gone.

  So next time you accidentally faint it, be glad your game doesn’t implode. Because according to the Pokedex, the entire world should come to an end.

  33. Gothita and Gotharita

  

  Gothita’s first form is said to “resemble a baby that stares at something only it can see”. In other words, Gothita sees dead people. But, it gets worse! Far far worse. After Gothita turns into gothorita, it only gets more haunting.

  Gotharitas spend their nights stealing people away using hypnosis, and the kicker? Nobody seems to know why! Online, some speculate that it may be an offering to whatever it is that only the gothita or Gotharitas see.
  

  And – if you thought it ended there, you’re wrong. It actually gets even crazier! Once evolved to Gothitelle your Pokemon will be able to see the future. Which isn’t specifically scary, until you realize that it’s almost always using the abilities to see the death of their trainer.

  34. Drampa

  

  Now at first, you may think Drampa is actually an awesome pokemon. Afterall, the first Pokedex entry informs us that moms don’t need to worry about their children when a Drampa is around because it’s great with kids and will protect them from harm.

  But, it seems like Drampas can be just a bit too protective as if a child is bullied, Drampa will “find the bully’s house and burn it to the ground.” (Ultra Sun)

  35. Bewear

  

  At first, you may not think much of the cute looking Bewear, but it’s name is warning you for a reason. Bewear routinely hug their trainers to death according to a Pokedex entry. Yup, this Pokemon will just up and crush your spine.

  36. Palossand

  

  While these may look like regular sand castles, they are anything but. Palossand will hex passerbys forcing them under their control and making them add sand to build the Palossand bigger and thus more strong.

  Not only that, but underneath each Palossand is the bones of “those who’s vitality it has drained.” yeeesh.

  The end?

  We’ve only skimmed the surface on all the scary creatures, stories and conspiracy theories in Pokémon. Much like our own world, Pokémon is filled with awe-inspiring, cute and definitely scary things. So whether you’re looking to get goosebumps or you want to dress up a cute creature to win a contest, Pokémon has it all. This is why so many have come to love the series.