Pokemon has certainly gotten creepier in the past few years. Or has it always been a little creepy. There’s an untold darker side of Pokemon that we just didn’t get as kids; but now that we’re grown up, let’s take a look back. In honor of Halloween, here’s a list of the Top 13 Most Disturbing, Creepy, and otherwise Unnerving Pokemon to ever come into existence. Some might surprise you. Others will make perfect sense.

 13. The Death Of Everything – Yveltal

Legendary Pokemon have always elicited a sense of wonder and awe; but Pokemon X/Y brought us a Legendary Pokemon that is to be feared and avoided at all costs – Yveltal. This Dark/Flying type is pretty awesome looking and has the stats to back it up; but if this creature actually existed, you’d want to stay as far away from it as possible. But would it really help?

“When its life comes to an end, it absorbs the life energy of every living thing and turns into a cocoon once more.” – Pokedex Entry For Pokemon Y

In case the Pokedex entry didn’t spell it out for you, the story of Pokemon Y sure did when it revealed that Yveltal had the power to drain the life out of everything around it in order so that it might be reborn. Team Flare planned to use this Pokemon to do just that, commit mass genocide. Whereas it’s not this Pokemon’s intent to kill all these creatures and is rather a force of nature, it is still incredibly unsettling that a creature this powerful would reside in a world where cute creatures battle for fun. So challenge it at your own risk, because if you happen to defeat it in battle, it might just suck the life out of you and the nearby town to revive itself.

12. The Uninvited – Shedinja:

If there is one thing Pokemon has done amazingly, it’s making bugs adorably badass. By discarding their cocoon forms – Metapod and Kakuna – Caterpie and Weedle are able to finish their evolutionary journey into the beautiful Buterfree and badass Beedrill. Though what would you do if one of these discarded insect shells crawled inside one of your Pokeballs without you even knowing/wanting it to. Well this is exactly what happens when Nincada evolve into Ninjask; because if you have a spare Pokeball lying around, Shedinja is born . . . or is 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.” – Pokedex Entry From Pokemon Ruby

Now I know what you’re thinking: “my Pokemon evolved into two Pokemon at once! WIN!” Well if something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Shedinja is literally the hollow shell left behind from evolution; and even though it can learn various attacks, it’s still only a shell – with 1 HP. According to its entry in Pokemon Sapphire, “it doesn’t even breathe”. Is this thing even alive? Well whatever you do, don’t look too closely at it. If you try looking into the hole on its back – left behind by the emerging Ninjask -, it’s rumored that Shedinja will steal your spirit. Wonderful, especially considering we’re forced to look at its back when using it in battle . . .

11. It Happened One Morning – Kadabra:

“It happened one morning – a boy with extrasensory powers awoke in bed transformed into Kadabra.” – Pokedex Entry For Pokemon FireRed

Kadabra was always just a powerful Psychic type Pokemon; but once Pokemon Emerald and FireRed came out – the Gen 1 remake – this Pokemon became more sinister than powerful. This occurrence of a boy turning into a Kadabra was never referenced again, nor is it specified if this was a one time thing or a general occurrence. Are Abras just soulless shells that evolve only once a child’s body and soul has been absorbed? Is that why it sleeps over 18 hours a day and has such a stellar intellect as it evolves?

Well that’s one possibility. The other can be discerned through revisiting the anime. When Sabrina uses it, she appears to be controlling this Pokemon through her own Psychic powers and lends her powers to force it to evolve on command. This would explain why it is a Pokemon primarily wielded by Psychics and can evolve despite always teleporting from battles. Though if your Psychic powers aren’t up to par, you might just lose yourself in your Pokemon. Train at your own risk!

10. Death or Enslavement – Honedge to Aegislash:

 Pokemon X/Y introduced us to a few incredibly powerful and interesting Pokemon. We’ve already met Yveltal; but now we meet the Sword Pokemon Honedge. If you’re unlucky enough to grab its hilt, it will wrap its sash around your arm – making escape impossible – and drain the life out of you “completely”. Though it’s its final form Aegislash that is truly a nightmare to those not deemed worthy.

“Generations of kings were attended by these Pokémon, which used their spectral power to manipulate and control people and Pokémon.” – Pokedex Entry From Pokemon X

If you’re a trainer worthy of being King, this Pokemon shall serve you till the end of your reign. Though if you are anyone else, you will be manipulated and controlled to serve your king unwaveringly. Talk about abuse of power. But if a life of servitude doesn’t suit you, you can always grab its hilt and have the life drained from your body. After all, Aegislash now has two arms with which to hold on and drain you – just like its youngest form Honedge.

9. The Walking Dead – Parasect:

Because it’s not a Halloween countdown without Zombies, I give you Parasect. Remember good old Paras, the mushroom Pokemon? So cute and full of life. That is until he evolves into Parasect. At first it looks like a regular plant evolution where the plant on its back just grows in size and color; but then you read its Pokedex entry and things go south.

 “A host-parasite pair in which the parasite mushroom has taken over the host bug. Prefers damp places.” – Pokedex Entry From Pokemon Red/Blue

Unlike Slowbro where both the Slowpoke and Shellder benefit, Paras gets nothing from this relationship except pain and extinction. Paras isn’t the cute amalgum of Bug and Plant; but is actually based off of the various parasitic funguses that are able to take over insects. In short, Parasect is a zombie. What used to be Paras no longer remains and the entire creature is the fungus. This explains why upon evolving it’s eyes become blank and the once cute eyes of Paras are gone.

To make Paras evolve is to condemn it. It’s ironic that in the Pokemon episode “Clefairy and the Moon Stone”, we were told that the lights Team Rocket put up in the cave were making the Pokemon confused and some Paras were seen removing the mushrooms from their back. In the long run that would have saved them; because otherwise their life cycle would have been to evolve, get taken over and then lay a bunch of Paras eggs each already sprinkled with more parasitic mold spores.

8. The Candle Of Mercy – Lampent:

Lampent is certainly not one of my favorite Pokemon by any means. In my opinion, Pokemon that look like household items are a cry for help from the Pokemon design team. That being said, Lampent I can actually somewhat get behind. It’s the evolved form of Litwick, a ghost candle that glows brighter by literally burning people’s life force instead of an actual wick. Lampent is the logical evolution.

“The spirits it absorbs fuel its baleful fire. It hangs around hospitals waiting for people to pass on.” – Pokedex Entry From Pokemon X

The look of this evolved form could actually be evolutionarily explained to serve a purpose. By resembling a lamp, it could make itself closer to its fuel source, people. Though unlike Litwick, Lampent doesn’t burn life force, but rather people’s souls once they’ve passed on, which is why it hangs out around hospitals. Come to think of it though, I’ve never seen a hospital for PEOPLE in Pokemon. . . . or graveyards for that matter. That’s strange.

7. The Cruel Beauty – Gorebyss:

As you’re probably starting to realize, there’s a lot of messed up things with Pokemon; but our next one was perhaps so messed up that it seems even the creators had to change things. Meet Gorebyss, and whereas it might seem like the Beauty of the seas, it’s actually incredibly cruel. Don’t believe me, just read it’s original Pokedex entry.

“Although Gorebyss is the very picture of elegance and beauty while swimming, it is also cruel. When it spots prey, this Pokémon inserts its thin mouth into the prey’s body and drains the prey of its body fluids… Its light pink body color turns vivid when it finishes feeding.” – Pokedex Entry for Pokemon Sapphire & Emerald.

A lot of Pokemon have this thing with ‘draining body fluids’; but none really drain it from the victim while still living. The curious thing about this Pokemon is that in all later versions its Pokedex entry was changed to say it’s long mouth is actually used to feed on seaweed between rocks and that it turns a vivid color “for some reason”. So from turning bright by impaling and draining its victims of bodily fluids to a harmless sea Pokemon that turns vivid colors “for some reason”. Either the Pokemon creators realized that this description is too much for this beautiful Pokemon, or Hoenn – the land of Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald – is the only region in the Pokemon world that knows the horrifying truth about this Pokemon.

6. Child Snatchers – Driftloon, Et All:

What is it with Pokemon and bad thing happening to children? The sheer number of Pokemon that have something to do with either kidnapping, hunting or attacking children – naughty or otherwise completely innocent – is ridiculous. Duskull, Hypno, it’s hard to know where to start. Though for now I’m going to focus on one in particular, Driftloon.

“It tugs on the hands of children to steal them away. However, it gets pulled around instead.” – Pokedex Entry From Pokemon Pearl

It’s as if they took the painful childhood memory of letting go of the balloon you just got and seeing it float away; and decided to show the nightmarish alternative – you float away with your balloon. Now sure, most Driftloons end up being harmlessly tugged around; but if even a few get stolen that’s too many. Again, I don’t know why the Pokemon world has so many child-obsessed Pokemon. You’d think the people in the Pokemon world would spend more time trying to stop these abductions and less time writing about them.

5. The Not So Good Samaritan – Cacturne:

Despite its mythical and powerful nature, the Legendary Pokemon Articuno has been known to aid travelers who have become lost in the snowy mountains and guide them to safety. Cacturne is the complete opposite of this idea.

“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.” – Pokedex Entry From Pokemon Sapphire

Excuse me? First off, when has ‘being followed by a ragtag group of onlookers’ ever been a good thing? Also, “biding their time, waiting for the traveler to … become incapable of moving”. . . Do we even want to know what happens after this? Cacturne deserves its own Season of Law & Order: SVU.

Then again, maybe this is one big misunderstanding. Perhaps this is just a VERY poorly written Pokedex entry and the Cacturne are merely there to carry you to safety. Though even then, I’d imagine getting carried by a crowd of needle-skinned humanoids is pretty excruciating.

4. The Sociopath – Gourgeist:

Its name being an amalgam of gourd – another Halloween plant – and geist (‘spirit’), Gourgeist is of course a Ghost type Pumpkin Pokemon. Though how could something so adorably cute and happy be ranked at #4? Well, it’s why Gourgeist is smiling that makes it so ridiculously disturbing.

“It enwraps its prey in its hairlike arms. It sings joyfully as it observes the suffering of its prey.” – Pokedex Entry From Pokemon Y

Wait…. WHAT?!?!?! If you looked up Sociopath Pokemon, you’d find a picture of Gourgeist. For all intents and purposes, this Pokemon is The Joker (Batman villain) of the Pokemon world. Though instead of laughing in your face while it strangles the life out of you, it sings joyfully.

3. Toy Story Gone Wrong – Banette:

Remember Toy Story, the children’s film where a child’s toys come to life to have adventures and inevitably find their way home to their loving owner who refuses to throw them away? Now imagine that Andy did throw his toys away and what followed was a vengeful toy come to life who’s sole purpose was to hunt down his owner. Well if you can do all that, then you’ve just summed up Banette.

“A doll that became a Pokémon over its grudge from being junked. It seeks the child that disowned it.” – Pokedex Entry From Pokemon X

As if being the “Marrionette” Ghost Doll Pokemon wasn’t enough, Banette is a discarded toy who’s hatred for its owner is so great, it’s actually come to life and become infused with dark cursed energy. The “dark cursed energy” in question is probably it’s pre-evolved form Shuppet – that’s right another puppet – who’s whole purpose is to find and feed off of dark emotions. So when one finds a discarded toy filled with hatred, it’s all too happy to make this its new home, unleash all the darkness it’s absorbed, and evolve.

As for what happens when it finds its long lost owner, perhaps it’s better not to ask. Banette isn’t afraid to “stick pins into its own body” in order to lay powerful curses upon whomever it detests – and as a Pokemon born of pure hatred, that’s might be most people – so you can imagine what happens to the source of its hatred. From its creation to its voodoo habits, Banette earns it’s spot at #3 – and makes us want to apologize to any toys we’ve might have wronged.

2. The Existential Nightmare – Yamask:

The biggest change to occur to Pokemon has definitely been the relationship between humans and Pokemon; and none symbolize that more than Yamask. Anyone who is familiar with this Pokemon knows where this is going; but if not, let’s take a look at it’s Pokedex Entry for Pokemon Black.

“Each of them carries a mask that used to be its face when it was human. Sometimes they look at it and cry.”

WHAT THE HELL POKEMON! Basically, Yamask is a human that has been reborn as a Pokemon with all of his or her memories still intact. To make matters worse, each carries around a mask to constantly remind it of the humanity it left behind. There is no rest for this weary human soul as now all it can do is avoid trainers, battle for its life and look upon the life it once had. You could make a Philosophy class on this Pokmeon; and it would probably be the most depressing class of your life.

Things only get worse once it evolves. Yamask evolves into the vicious Cofagrigus, which seems to embody all the hopelessness and rage that this continuing human soul seems to endure. Cofagrigus is a coffin-like Pokemon that actually swallows anyone who gets close enough to them, drains them of their life energy and curses them into becoming mummies. Misery loves company; and Yamask has so much misery that its entire purpose once it evolves is to create more undead to surround itself with.

1. No Intro Needed – Cubone:

You knew this was coming, didn’t you. Even if you haven’t played Pokemon since the original Red & Blue versions for GameBoy, you know about the Lonely Pokemon, Cubone. Initially Cubone was only tied to the events of Lavender Town, where Team Rocket killed it’s mother Marowak, thus resulting in the Pokemon Tower becoming haunted. Beyond that it was simply the mysterious lonely Pokemon who “never removes its skull helmet”, leaving no one to know what its actual face looked like. It wasn’t until the following version Yellow where Cubone’s simple Lavender Town story became the blueprint for ALL Cubones.

“Wears the skull of its deceased mother. Its cries echo inside the skull and come out as a sad melody.”

Since Yellow, Cubone has become synonymous with wearing the skull of its dead mother and crying throughout the night in its loneliness. So much so that the constant crying even stains its skull helmet. Now as if this story wasn’t heartbreaking enough as it was, there is also an extremely creepy thing to be said about it WEARING its dead mother’s skull. I’m curious what Freud would have to say about this Pokemon. Though there is actually a much more sinister idea at work here.

This is the description of ALL Cubones. It’s no longer just this one Cubone from Lavender Town; but all Cubones have lost their mother and cry in constant remorse. HOW? This is a species level matricide we’re talking about here. Do Cubone mom’s die as soon as they give birth? Doubtful since the Cubone would have to know of it’s mother to an extent. There is one theory that Cubone is actually the baby in a Kangaskhan’s pouch that matures differently due to the loss of its mother – an article for another time.

Regardless of how Cubone’s come to be, there is some sort of species-wide mass killing going on in order to create more and more Cubones who can wear their now deceased mothers skulls. It’s no wonder it evolves into a savage Marowak – a Pokemon that not only still wears the same skull of its mother; but also now uses a makeshift Bone Club to viciously attack anything around it. Where’d it get that makeshift Bone Club you ask? Take one wild guess . . .

So there you have it, the Top 13 Creepiest/Scariest Pokemon. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it! Happy Halloween everyone!