Pokémon was released to the public in 1996 in Japan, and 1998 in America. It became a giant phenomenon and would become one of the biggest video game franchises of all time. It's hard to come across someone who doesn't know about Pokémon. It has card games, video games... even mobile apps! Pokémon are a lot like animals: some are cute, others downright terrifying.

At Pokémon's core, it's about catching and training Pokémon to battle other trainers. The stories in the game usually revolve around a Pokémon Trainer, who ends up becoming a hero by helping to stop a criminal group of some kind before moving onto becoming the Pokémon League Champion. However, the Pokémon themselves are very much more than meets the eye. Each time you catch a Pokémon in any of the games, a short description about them appears in what's called a Pokédex. These descriptions can be outright adorable, such as Delibird sharing food and always looking for more food to share. On the contrary, some are outright terrifying, and involve killing and sucking the life out of those who come across it.

There's quite a few Pokémon that fall onto the extremes of both, and in this list we'll be covering Pokémon that are outright miserable. This will be determined by looking through the Pokédex of various games from Red and Blue version, all the way to Sun and Moon.

15 Deino

Deino is a dark and dragon type Pokémon who was released in the fifth generation of Pokémon games. It's a small, quadrupedal Pokémon with fur covering its eyes. This is more harmful than it sounds, and they are actually blind. According to the Pokédex in White and Omega Ruby, they have to tackle and bite at its surroundings to determine where it is and learn of its surroundings. Not only that, it mentions that Deino's body is also covered in wounds. The Pokémon has to constantly injure itself just to be able to live. To add onto that, in Black and White 2, the Pokédex states that it eats anything that moves. All in all, Deino hurts itself every day, and will eat whatever it can find moving.

14 Absol

Absol is a pure dark-type Pokémon introduced in the third generation of Pokémon. It's covered in a nice white coat with a horn that resembles a sickle sticking out of its head. On top of that, it has a razor sharp tail that looks like a scythe. It looks like a dog, almost, so you'd think it's maybe cute and loved? No, in fact it's quite the opposite. It is actually a hated Pokémon. In Ruby, it states that whenever it appeared to people, disaster would strike shortly after and it became widely known as the "Disaster Pokémon." In Sun, the Pokédex mentions this as a rumor, and Absols were driven to the mountains because of it. In Moon, it explains that Absol is trying to warn the people about the upcoming doom. It wants to help, but is thought to be the Pokémon that causes problems.

13 Whismur

Whismur is a normal type Pokémon that was created for generation three of Pokémon. It's a light purple and has a small, spherical shape. It looks like it has a nervous demeanor, and it does! According to Ruby, Whismur is usually quiet, but when it cries it reaches ear-splitting volumes. However, according to Sapphire, Whismur gets startled by its own crying and begin to cry even more. Emerald also adds on that it can continue crying without ever taking a breath. It will continue crying until it's too tired to cry any more and fall asleep. A Pokémon that is easily scared and scared of itself. A vicious cycle of crying, crying harder because of said crying, and falling asleep to do it again another day.

12 Cubone

Cubone is one of the original 151 Pokémon introduced in the first generation. Its called the "Lonely Pokémon." It's a small, bipedal, and brown Pokémon that carries a bone and wears a skull on its head. While it looks rather cute, the backstory is anything but. In Pokémon Yellow, it explains that the skull it wears is actually the skull of its dead mother. In Stadium, it adds that no one has ever seen the face underneath the mask and that it will cry into the night mournfully. In Emerald, it also mentions that a Cubone sees a resemblance to its mother in a full moon and will cry at it. It states that the stains on the mask it wears are from its own tears.

11 Slugma

Slugma is a fire type Pokémon that came into the series during the second generation of Pokémon. It resembles simply a slug made of fire with big yellow eyes. It's hard to deny that for being basically just fire, Slugma is rather adorable. Despite this, Slugma isn't exactly one who lives a fun life. In Gold as well as in Stadium 2, the Pokédex states that Slugma never sleeps as if it did its body would cool down and harden. In Ruby, the Pokédex mentions when this happens, Slugma's body becomes brittle and chunks fall off, causing it to decrease it size. Eventually it'll get too small to exist. So, in order to avoid that, Slugma can't be out of the heat (ever) and must continuously move in order to simply stay alive.

10 Mimikyu

Mimikyu is a ghost and fairy type Pokémon introduced in the latest generation, seven. It resembles a Pokémon disguised as a Pikachu with poorly drawn on eyes and cheeks. In Sun, it states no one knows what is underneath the cloth, as the only person who saw it died from horror and shock. However, that was never the intention of Mimikyu. As a matter of fact, in Moon the Pokédex explains that Mimikyu is a lonely Pokémon who conceals itself to be closer to both people and Pokémon. It merely wants to be close to others, but can never be seen in its true form. When in its "broken form," the Pokédex writes that "after all the effort of going through disguising itself, its neck was broken" and adds that while its unharmed, it still feels sad.

9 Banette

Banette is a ghost type Pokémon that came into the world of Pokémon during generation three. It's a plushie that came to life as a Pokémon and as such resembles just that. It was thrown out and thanks to pure hatred, came to life again as a Pokémon. In Ruby, Banette sticks itself with pins in order to generate power for powerful curses. Not only that, the Pokédex entries in many of the other games mention that Banette actively seeks out the child that threw it out. So in summary, Banette used to be a stuffed animal that a child threw away, who holds a grudge against that child, and that turned him into a Pokémon. He stabs himself to be able to perform curses and its entire existence is fueled by revenge.

8 Diglett

Diglett is a pure ground type Pokémon who was a part of the initial generation. It simply resembles a "whack-a-mole" like creature that burrows through the ground. The bottom part of a Diglett has never been seen, though one of the Mystery Dungeon games states that Digletts do, in fact, have feet. However, though it's unclear whether or not Digletts want to stay in the ground, it's clear that they have to. According to HeartGold, the skin of a Diglett is incredibly thin. Due to this, Digletts' blood will heat up and cause it to become weak. Digletts are forced to live underground, or in places without much (or any) sunlight, such as caves. They are unable to stay up in the outside world for long periods of time in order to survive.

7 Yamask

Yamask is a ghost-type Pokémon that was created for the fifth generation of Pokémon. It has two long arms with a curved tail that holds a mask, and it's one of the few directly miserable Pokémon. According to Pokémon lore, all Yamask were, at a time, human. The mask that a Yamask is known for is actually a mask that resembles what it looked like when it was human. The White Pokédex shows that these Pokémon were spirits in graves that rose. It also adds that all Yamask keep their memories from when they were still human. Things only get darker when looking at the Black Pokédex entry. It confirms they long for when they were human, and that Yamask will sometimes look down at the mask and begin to cry.

6 Spoink

Spoink is a psychic Pokémon that was introduced in generation three. It has the appearance of a gray pig with a spring for a tail and a pearl on its head. It's hard to deny the cuteness of the Pokémon; however, its existence is one of pain. According to the Ruby Pokédex, the bouncing it does causes a shock that makes it heart pump. It adds on that if it stops bouncing that its heart will stop. This means that it can never stop bouncing, Emerald's Pokédex confirms that it indeed does that. In case players thought that it could potentially live without its heart beat, FireRed and LeafGreen both straight up says that it will die if it ever stops bouncing. It is one of the few Pokédex entires that mention a Pokémon death.

5 Phantump

Phantump is a ghost and grass-type Pokémon from the sixth generation of Pokémon. It takes on the appearance of a black ghost with a tree stump over its head. Phantump is another example of a human turning into a Pokémon after death... only this time, it's children. The Pokémon Y entry to the Pokédex states that according to old tales, Phantump are stumps that were possessed by children who got lost in the forest. In Pokémon X, the Pokédex simply says they're created when a spirit possesses a tree stump. By putting two and two together, it can be deduced that the entry in Y is true. So, Phantump was once a child who died and was forced to become a Pokémon that is trained and used in battles.

4 Zweilous

Zweilous is a dragon and dark type Pokémon from generation five, and actually an evolution from another Pokémon on the list, Deino, meaning this poor guy has to be miserable for two stages of its life. It is very much like its previous evolution, but now it's stuck sporting two heads. While this sounds cool in theory, for Zweilous it's a nightmare. The Pokédex entry in any game it's appeared in mentions that the two heads do not get along. It will eat everything in an area and move to the next. In Black and White 2, it adds on that whoever eats more is the leader of the body. It has to suck being stuck to someone you hate, and having to overeat just so you can control the body you have.

3 Shuppet

Shuppet is a ghost type Pokémon that was added during the third generation of games. It is the base form of another Pokémon on this list, Banette. It takes on the look of a mere puppet with a horn underneath it. The very life force of Shuppet is one driven by negative emotions. In Emerald, it states that it seeks negative emotions deep at night. It'll roam cities trying to find people with grudges they hold. This means that Shuppet's only driving purpose is to feed on emotions of hatred, such as jealousy and vindictiveness. The Pokémon is filled with these emotions and it's all it really knows. An empty puppet filled only by negativity. It's a painfully depressing existence for the poor puppet Pokémon.

2 Tauros

Tauros is a normal-type Pokémon that was introduced during generation one. It simply resembles a bull with three tails. Much like its real life counterpart, these Pokémon can be very aggressive. In the Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum Pokédex it confirms that it's famous for its violent and angry nature. It also mentions when it sees a foe that it'll make a charge at them. To add onto this, the Yellow Pokédex claims that it's a rowdy Pokémon with tons of energy. It uses this to charge, but will continue to charge into it hits something. This means that Tauros will constantly run into things and not be able to stop. It's a cycle it put itself into. It's filled with anger and constantly rams into things just to stop its charging.

1 Kadabra

Kadabra is a psychic Pokémon from the original generation of games. It's a bipedal creature that carries a spoon. The Pokédex entries in many of the games mention that it has great psychic powers and emits waves that'll distort electronic devices and cause headaches. However, this is not why it's miserable. For that, we have to look at Emerald's Pokédex entry. In the Pokédex, it states that a boy with psychic powers was suddenly turned into a Kadabra when he was helping with research on extrasensory powers. In FireRed, it directly says that a boy with extrasensory powers simply woke up as a Kadabra one day. It's a terrifying thought, and one that one actual boy went through: suddenly turning into a Pokémon with no rhyme or reason, and having to live your life as a powerful psychic Pokémon.