Top 10 Creepiest Pokémon

When most people think of Pokémon, they usually think it’s just a kids’ game. I mean, we have all these cute little colorful critters to befriend, and then you have friendly battles with other kids with your pocket monster buddies. The more famous Pokémon are often just these kinds of Pokémon. You’ve got Pikachu, Eevee, all the adorable starter Pokémon, Jigglypuff, Mew…

Some Pokémon, of course, look a bit scarier. There’s various dragons, like Garchomp or Dialga, that look like they might actually startle you if you saw them in real life. There’s human-sized insects and other mildly unsettling design choices. But overall, it’s still a pretty friendly game. There’s nothing really scary there, right? It’s all perfectly suitable for kids.

…And then you go read the Pokédex entries for some of the perfectly nice-looking, unimposing Pokémon you’ve collected during your fantastic, happy travels, and suddenly the world isn’t such a friendly place anymore. And this isn’t just about Ghost-type Pokémon, or even just about Dark-types. There are some seriously creepy Pokémon out there, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Here is my pick of the top ten creepiest ones.

#10 Shedinja

Shedinja is… Indeed, what is Shedinja? For all intents and purposes, it’s the discarded skin of a Nincada that evolves into a Ninjask. The original Pokémon has gone on its merry way, and only the empty, hollow shell has been left behind. And yet, somehow, this empty shell is alive. It can battle other Pokémon, it can glide through the air, but it can only be hurt by a very limited range of moves because it’s such a ghostly presence. We know it never moves – “not even a twitch”, says the Pokédex entry from Ruby – and it doesn’t make a sound. So, what does make it tick?

Answer: it’s searching for a soul. Its entire purpose in life is to find a new soul and be alive again. The hole in its back – the hole from which the Ninjask emerged – is pitch black, and if you look into it, Shedinja will steal your soul.

Not creeped out yet? Well, think of it like this: where does the trainer of a Pokémon stand during a normal battle? Behind the Pokémon, right? Right. So, there you have it. Your player character probably no longer has a soul. It explains why they’re always so quiet, though.

 

#9 Yamask

Yamask’s Pokédex entry from Black goes like this: “Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry.” So, we know that Yamask is actually a human spirit – a real, actual in-game human – who has died at some point. From the entry in White, we learn that they also have all their memories intact. So, what we have here is a dead human spirit, so desperately clinging on to their past lives that they carry a mask of their own face, reminisce about when they were still alive, and cry.

If that’s not unsettling enough, Yamask also evolves into Cofagrigus. Cofagrigus, in turn, is known to “swallow those who get too close and turn them into mummies” (Black). So, at some point in evolving, they turn spiteful, and start killing other people, as if to say “if I can’t be alive, then nobody should get to be alive”. Uh, okay then. That’s pretty creepy.

 

#8 Cacturne

For number eight, we’re no longer looking at ghosts, but a Grass/Dark cactus creature. Cacturne looks pretty tough, kind of like a cross between a jack-o-lantern, a cactus, and a thug. But that’s not exactly why it made it onto this list. Here’s what Sapphire’s Pokédex has to say about Cacturne: “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.”

Uh, okay. So they’re not just thugs, per se – they’re scavenging thugs, who wait for you to be defenseless before they attack you and eat your face. And they won’t do it alone, either – no, they’ll stalk you in a ragtag group, always hovering at the edge of your vision, until you finally collapse from exhaustion. Well, they’re certainly a friendly and hospitable bunch.

But here’s the kicker. The Pokédex from Emerald tells us that Cacturne actually has sand for blood. Or, to be more precise: “its blood transformed into the same substances as sand” after spending hundreds of years in the desert. The desert flows through their veins. Cacturne are the desert. And the desert will screw you up if you’re stupid enough to wander into it.

 

#7 Luxray

This is one of those where you might see the name of the Pokémon and go “hey, wait a minute. Luxray are lions. Lions aren’t creepy, they’re just totally awesome!” And, I agree. Luxray are totally awesome. A Luxray is a person-sized electric lion with a cool design and even better attacks. But, take a look at the Pokédex entry from Diamond: “It has eyes which can see through anything. It spots and captures prey hiding behind objects.”

So, what we have here is a case of a large, capable carnivore that has X-ray vision. That’s… That’s a bit unsettling. In general, there’s a reason why we prefer lions and such to live in places that aren’t close to any people, because they’re scary enough as it is. Giving them the ability to see through things would make them a bit of an overkill. And then you take a look at the Pearl Pokédex entry, and it’s like straight out of a horror movie: “When its eyes gleam gold, it can spot hiding prey–even those taking shelter behind a wall.”

When it’s eyes gleam, you cannot hide. There’s nowhere it won’t find you. It can see through everything. And it will find you.

 

#6 Banette

We’re back to ghosts, and here we have one that has a reasonably creepy design. It’s got profoundly evil-looking eyes – I mean, look at that shape, that just ain’t normal – and a friggin zipper for a mouth. But, well, it’s a Ghost-type, and ghosts are supposed to look sort of creepy. That’s not really enough to get Banette on this list. What makes it creepy enough, then?

Well, we can start with the fact it’s a forgotten doll that came to life. That’s fairly creepy in and of itself, to be honest. But it doesn’t end there, nope. To add a notch of horror to this Pokémon, they curse people “by sticking pins into its own body” (Ruby). The Sapphire entry also tells us they cannot open their mouths, because that would make all their cursed energy escape and kill them. And then you get to the Emerald entry, and find this: “they are said to live in garbage dumps and wander about in search of the children that threw them away.”

This doll, comprised of hatred and grudge, came to life to find the child that discarded it. It wanders about in search of that child, and should it ever find that child… Well, we don’t really want to know what would happen. But that’s some serious nightmare fuel right there, especially if you consider the fact they attack by poking at themselves with needles. Now, in the light of all this, consider all the toys that you’ve thrown out and then forgotten about… Because I can bet there are quite a few.

Someone could make a very successful horror movie out of that concept.

 

#5 Froslass

Froslass is based on the Japanese legend of Yuki-Onna, a beautiful woman that leads people astray in snowstorms to kill them. So, essentially, this Pokémon is based on a creepy ghost story. This already gives it a creepiness rating of at least five, but that’s pretty standard with Ghost-types. They have to try a bit harder to end up on a list like this, out of hundreds of Pokémon. And Froslass, well… Froslass definitely tries.

I could point your attention to the fact her arms are actually attached to her head instead of her body. I could point to her coy, sort of cutely deceiving expression that makes you think she’s probably harmless and won’t lead you to an untimely and icy death. I could point to the fact her breath is -51 °C (-60 °F), making her body colder than death itself. I could point to the Diamond Pokédex entry, telling us her body is actually hollow. But instead, I’ll point you to a line that is found in several Pokédex entries for her, originally in Platinum: “It is said to then secretly display its prey.”

Froslass freezes her prey with her Way Too Cold breath, and then displays her kills like trophies. Somewhere out there, out in the mountains of Sinnoh, there are caves full of Pokémon and people frozen to death, displayed for the amusement and gloating purposes of Froslass. And that’s why Froslass are creepy.

 

#4 Cubone / Marowak

Wait, what? Cubone? But Cubones are adorable and heartbreaking! Surely everyone knows by now that the skull they wear is not actually their own skull, but the skull of the Cubone’s deceased mother. Almost all Pokédex entries for Cubone mention how the poor little Pokémon misses its mother. Ruby and Sapphire tell us that the “stains on the skull the Pokémon wears are made by the tears it sheds”, and various entries mention the mournful sounds these sad Pokémon make. So, all in all, it sounds like it’s mostly sad, and not really all that creepy.

But think about it for a moment. Every single Cubone in existence lost its mother in some violent and sad manner. That can’t be a coincidence. We don’t really know what happens – Pokédex entries usually try not to be very gory – so we have no idea how these mothers die. Is the process of laying a Cubone egg so difficult it kills the mother? Does the mother kill herself upon the hatching of her young, just to give it her skull? Or does the newly hatched baby kill the mother? Even if you put all that aside, there’s still the fact the baby Cubone invariably goes and retrieves the skull from its mother. I don’t even want to speculate how or why that happens.

We do know that the species has a strange fixation of bones, though. Even when they get over the death of their mothers, grow tough, and evolve into Marowak, they retain their strange habits. The Gold Pokédex tells us they communicate by hitting rocks with bones. The Silver Pokédex tells us that a Marowak “collects bones from an unknown place” and hints at some kind of Marowak graveyard somewhere in the world (what are they, some kind of death cult?). And FireRed gives us this gem: “Its temperament turned ferocious when it began using bones.”

Cubone and Marowak go from cute and heartbreaking to profoundly unsettling in record time. They grow from a sad, lonely little creature that just wanted some kind of memento of its mother into a ferocious warrior that will use the bones of its ancestors to mess you up. So, whatever happens in the process of giving birth to new Cubones, it really works.

 

#3 Elgyem / Beheeyem

Elgyem is one of those reasonably adorable Pokémon. It’s got a big head and large, roundish eyes. It’s also small, and small equals cute, right? But, again, looking at the Pokédex for this little Pokémon will turn the cuteness on its head. The Black Pokédex tells us that “it uses its strong psychic power to squeeze its opponent’s brain, causing unendurable headaches.” I, uh, okay. Well, that’s pretty unsettling. The Pokédex from BW2 also knows that they are strongly connected to a UFO crash site from 50 years ago – which is when they were first discovered. Their name is also basically a direct reference to LGM – Little Green Men – a popular term for extraterrestials.

Okay, so what we’re dealing with here is a species of alien Pokémon that has the power to squeeze our brain. That’s a bit unsettling, but it’s not too profoundly creepy. But then little Elgyem does what Pokémon do and evolves into Beheeyem, and now we’re getting into the territory of seriously creepy. The White Pokédex tells us that Beehyem use their psychic powers to “control an opponent’s brain and tamper with its memories”. Not only do they cause headaches, but they actually mess with their victim’s memories and control their brains. There’s no mention as to whether this applies to people, too, but, well, it’s creepy enough as is.

The final straw? “Apparently, it communicates by flashing its three fingers, but those patterns haven’t been decoded.” (BW2) They have a secret language. All this time, they could be communicating about a plan to take over the world – or about their plan to cover up the fact they already have.

 

#2 Drowzee / Hypno

Drowzee’s specialty is putting Pokémon and, apparently, especially people to sleep and then eating their dreams. This is how they survive, and how they keep themselves in good health. The Gold Pokédex tells us that if you think you had a good dream, but you can’t remember that dream, it’s probably because a Drowzee ate it. Silver tells us they remember every dream they eat. So, they eat the inmost secrets of your mind and remember them forever. Well… We can probably deal with that, right? Even considering the fact they eat these dreams through your nose (R/S) – you can tell if one is eating your dreams if your nose gets itchy in the night – and that they prefer children’s dreams because they are “much tastier” (Silver)- well, okay, that’s getting a bit creepy for my taste. Not cool, Drowzee. Stay away from my dreams, you creep!

But wait! It gets worse. Drowzee, as we all undoubtedly know, evolves into Hypno. And Hypno has an entire chapter of its own in the Book of Pokémon You Should Never Mess With. For starters, there’s several Pokédex entries that tell you to not look at it, because if you make eye contact with a Hypno, it will put you to sleep. Why is this a bad thing? Well, for instance, it will feast on humans’ dreams (Gold) when given the chance, which doesn’t sound like it would be pleasant. And then FireRed tells us this: “There once was an incident in which it took away a child it hypnotized.” There’s no mention as to what happened to this child. Was the child ever seen again? Was the child made into a tasty dream factory? Was the child eaten? Was this an isolated incident?

 

 Hypno as it appears on official merchandise. “Officially creepy”, anyone?

Whatever the case, you should probably keep your distance from these guys.

 

#1 Parasect

This is probably where a number of you are going to say something like “Parasect?! Seriously? Look at the adorable little thing! Do you have something against bugs or what?” (And many of the rest of you will go “Ha! I knew it!”, I wager.) The answer is no, I don’t have anything against bugs. I like bugs. And this is why Parasect is the number one creepiest Pokémon on my list.

Parasect is only a bug in name. In reality, it’s the mushroom. Yes, the mushroom is the main part of this Pokémon. Let’s look at some Pokédex entries, here. “A host-parasite pair in which the parasite mushroom has taken over the host bug. Prefers damp places.” (R/B) “The bug host is drained of energy by the mushrooms on its back. They appear to do all the thinking.” (Yellow) The bug has been reduced into a mindless drone, a jointed skeleton for the parasitic mushroom to use as a chauffeur and a general energy slave. The bug can make no choices now. The mushrooms do all the thinking. All the bug does is get energy for the mushroom that will inevitably drain it all from the poor creature.

And what happens when there’s nothing left to the bug, when there’s nothing more the mushroom can take from it? The Crystal ‘Dex gives us the answer as such: “When nothing’s left to extract from the bug, the mushrooms on its back leave spores on the bug’s egg.” So, This is how Paras are born. The mushrooms on their parents backs make them reproduce and then promptly infest the eggs with their spores. This bug species never stood a chance. They’re doomed to eternal servitude to a parasitic mushroom that will kill them. Parasect knows this. Paras still has a gleam to its eyes, it still has hopes and dreams and a personality. Parasect doesn’t. Its eyes are dead.

“Kill me.”

There’s nothing left to its life now but endless horror and the knowledge its progeny is doomed to the same fate.

The ultimate creepiest part about this, though, is that this mushroom is real. The fungus on Parasect’s back is based on Ophiocordyceps sinensis, a fungus that parasitizes larvae of ghost moths. A larva infected with the parasitic mushroom will begin to act strangely as the growth affects its tiny little brain. And, then, as explained by Wikipedia: “the fungus germinates in the living larva, kills and mummifies it, and then the stalk-like fruiting body emerges from the corpse”.

I, uh, er. I’m not necessarily a fan of larvae per se, but this is just too cruel. The fun part is that this larvae-torturing fungus is used as an aphrodisiac in Chinese medicine. It’s also used as a cure to various things, but even if it made people impervious to all disease, not even that could counteract the several levels of horror that emanate from this fungus.

But you can also think of it like this. You make this happen to your Pokémon. You are the one who lovingly trains a little Paras, gaining it levels until it evolves. You are the one who rejoices when this happens. And all that time, the little bug fights for its life, tries to battle the growing mushroom, resist the mind control that gets stronger with every experience point the fungus sucks out of the insect… And the mushroom, if it could, would laugh a mean, evil, maniacal laugh.

That is why Parasect is the number one creepiest Pokémon.

 

Well, that is, the number one creepiest Pokémon on my list. There were many Pokémon that I could have included here, but that ended up not making the cut. For example, Sharpedo and its ship-splitting teeth almost made it, as did Ninetales with its 1000-year curse, or a whole bunch of Ghost-types – almost any of them would have qualified for this list, to be honest. But this is the final ranking as I see it. Your personal list might be slightly different, because things like creepiness are always a matter of opinion.

Pokédex entries have many interesting bits of information that you might completely overlook as you play through the games. Many awesome, surprising, and, in this particular case, creepy facts are hidden in the tiny little text blurbs the in-game Pokédexes hold. I invite you to go explore them yourself and come up with your own list of creepiness – if you dare.

Because when you know these things… Well, you’ll never look at these guys quite same way again, will you?

 

Written by An-chan

Editing, suggestions, and general help by bobandbill, Richard Fightmaster, Slayr231, Bay Alexison, and Latios