When it comes to strange video games, there are a whole myriad of titles that come to mind. The survival horror genre is an obvious candidate, and it’s one that has been really burning it up of late. The latest Resident Evil actually tried to bring a lot of horror-based tension back to the series. Indie titles have been big hits too.

In short, then, this is where you go if you want creepy. You turn to the Outlasts, the Dead Spaces, the 2 Darks, and Resident Evils of the world. Conversely, you don’t turn to "kids shows and games" for scares. These things are just common sense. You don’t turn to Kirby, and you don’t turn to Pokémon.

If you’re not so familiar with the Pokémon franchise, you can be excused for thinking it’s ‘just for kids.’ After all, that toontastic presentation and the general RPG lite trappings don’t really scream hardcore at first glance. Don’t be fooled though. As is the case with a lot of Disney movies, there’s alarming content and creepiness lurking beneath the surface. Here are some great examples of strange, scary lore and creepy fan theories.

20 The True Horror Of Vanillite, Vanillish, And Vanilluxe

Via: Amino Apps

Vanillite and its evolution family have been a bit controversial since they were released. The so-called genwunners, who believe that Pokémon designs have been going steadily downhill since the original 151, tend to rally around you and your kind. As Trubbish and Garbodor are just literal sacks of rubbish, so Vanillite, Vanillish, and Vanilluxe are just sentient ice creams with faces. They’re not big on creativity, you might say.

Some believe, however, that this ‘mon is not the innocuous ice cream it appears to be. Those faces are just decoys, intended to look innocent and conceal the true body of the Pokémon (which is the darker blue, icy bit beneath).

The truth of the whole thing is unclear, but it's a very interesting concept. We have seen similar designs with Pokemon like Wobuffet.

19 Trade Evolutions Are Triggered By Separation Anxiety?

pokemon sword shield trade screen
pokemon sword shield trade screen

Well, so say some Pokéscientists.

Trade evolutions are a curious thing. They’re one of those game elements that you just have to leave your cynical logic at the door for, and just accept. How does Arnold Schwarzenegger mow down that entire private army, without reloading his guns once? Because it’s a movie, that’s why. Why would there even be Pokémon evolutions that can only be triggered by trading them? To push the whole trading thing, not because it makes a lick of sense from a lore perspective.

As such, it's easy to accept the whole separation anxiety thing as the reason behind this. Pokémon don’t want to be traded, they want to stay with you, so they change to a more powerful form you might prefer. There are some frightening implications there.

18 A Rare NPC Might Chew On You In Lavender Town

Pokemon Red & Blue Lavender Town

For as much as Pokémon is a deceptively dark series, there are certain things that just won’t fly. You’re hardly going to have super-realistic battles, with limbs flying around and Mortal Kombat-style fatalities, are you?

That’s going to be a firm no, in the interests of the age rating. According to one Creepypasta, though, there was a deeply disturbing encounter in Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower, which was removed from the game. In place of the Marowak boss, we’re told, the original intent was for the player to encounter a mysterious, zombified NPC called Buried Alive. The model was a rotten human, which would consume the player if victorious in battle. Check the story out here.

17 Psychic Type Weaknesses Are Based On The Deepest, Most Primal Human Fears

Nintendo Pokemon Mewtwo Psychic Energy Attack
Pokemon Mewtwo Psychic Energy Attack

When it comes to the interaction between Pokémon types, we’re looking at a real mixed bag here. On the one hand, certain things make perfect sense. Of course, Fire Pokémon are weak to the Water-type. Ice? Ice doesn’t like Fire. It's easy to make the connection between certain types and weaknesses from a visual and natural standpoint.

All of this is logic we can get on board with. But what’s the deal with Psychic? Well, the type’s three weaknesses are Dark, Bug and Ghost, which are supposedly references to three of the most primal human fears: the dark, bugs, and demise.

16 Supposedly, Psychic Types Were Once Human?

Kadabra Laughing Through Psychic Powers And Unable To Battle

“It is rumored that a boy with psychic abilities suddenly transformed into Kadabra while he was assisting research into extrasensory powers,” reports Pokémon Emerald’s dex. FireRed puts it even more bluntly: “It happened one morning - a boy with extrasensory powers awoke in bed transformed into Kadabra.”

Throughout the series’ often-bizarre and disturbing Pokédex entries, there aren’t many references to this sort of thing. A couple of isolated incidents, which are all the more shocking when we do come across them. How did this mysterious boy suddenly transform into a Kadabra one morning? What was going on with Bill when you first meet him, when the guy’s somehow spliced his DNA with that of a Pokémon? What is this special relationship with humans and Pokémon?

15 In Sinnoh Folklore, Humans And Pokémon Were Once One And The Same

Ash petting a Genesect with Pikachu in the Pokemon anime.

The Pokémon world is, for all intents and purposes, a really strange place. Where are the regular animals? Did most of the adults in this world perish in the war that Lt. Surge mentions prior to his gym battle? Why are we sending our ten-year-olds on huge, ridiculous treks around the whole region, with only a Bulbasaur for company?

As is the case with a lot of RPGs, there are a myriad of small details available about the universe at large, that will pass you by if you aren’t diligent with hunting down and talking to NPCs. The Sinnoh region, in particular, has quite the historic bent in certain places, with folklore that suggests people and Pokémon were once indistinguishable from each other. If we’re talking a certain Japanese translation literally, there was even a marriage between the two.

14 The Pokémon Series Holds The Guinness World Record For Most Seizures Caused

14- Guinness Seizure Record
Via: i.ytimg.com

Have you ever read the Guinness Book of Records? There’s some pretty darn whacked-out stuff in there. Some of these records are actually something to be proud of. An accomplishment, a sales milestone, some exceptional feat or other. The world’s official largest collection of Super Mario memorabilia? Darn right you’re proud of that.

On the other side of the coin, we have this. ‘Most Photosensitive Epileptic Seizures Caused By A TV Show’ was awarded to Pokémon for that notorious Porygon episode, which aired in Japan in December 1997. We don’t think that this is one to be super proud of.

13 That One Safari Zone Warden

An alternately styled Ash in Pokémon The Power Of Us

At the end of a long, tedious, Pythagoras-theory-filled school day, Pokémon was our jam. In the 90s and early 2000s, it was all Pokémon, all the time; the video game, the trading card game and, of course, the TV show.

Like a lot of children’s TV, Ash’s adventures were relatively harmless for the most part. They did have their moments, though. One particularly controversial moment arose in episode 35, in which a Safari Zone warden threatened Ash and his friends with a revolver. Guns in the show, naturally, didn’t go down too well, and this was soon removed.

12 There’s A Mysterious, Creepy Man On Top Of Cinnabar’s Gym

With Pokémon Red and Blue being the first in the series and all, it’s packed full of shonky moments that the developers probably didn’t intend and deeply regret. All sorts of weirdness is available, like the glitch that allows you to encounter a wild Mew, and the iconic Missingno glitch on the beach of Cinnabar Island.

Speaking of Cinnabar, there’s another odd occurrence you can set in motion. By performing a certain string of events in a specific order, you can sequence break and arrive at this point at the ‘wrong’ time. If you don’t have the key to the gym and all of the usual intricacies, a mysterious man will spawn on the roof of the building. What’s he there for? What’s he doing? What does he want?

11 Doduo Uses Its Legs To Fly?

Pokemon is rife with all kinds of strange abilities and skills. There are a ton of intelligent designs found throughout the series but there are also a handful of Pokemon that are capable of doing things that, at least visually, they shouldn't be able to do.

Major props to Doduo for defying all odds here. This freakish ostrich thing had long harboured dreams of flight, and wasn’t going to let its lack of functioning wings hold it back. Check out its majestic, terrifying Fly animation from Pokémon Stadium.

10 Xatu and Gothitelle Have Seen Your Demise

As Forrest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates.” Like the metaphorical box, you can never be quite sure what you’re going to get. If you don’t have that handy-dandy little card that shows you what each one is, you could get something beautiful and toffee-filled, or you could wind up with the awful coffee-flavored one.

You never know which Pokémon you’re going to be, either. You could be a Lilipup, and enjoy a happy life with owners who feed you all their leftover ham. Or, you could be born a Xatu, and spend your life under the horrendous, soul-crushing pressure of seeing all of the past and all of the present. Happening simultaneously. Right in front of your eyes. Forever.

9 People Keep Darumaka’s Waste In Their Clothes

darumaka

There are some places in the world that are just plain cold or see their temperatures drop dramatically when winter hits. It can be difficult at times to keep yourself warmed up, even in layers, especially if you find yourself spending a ton of time outside. Thankfully, there are items in the modern age that can be inserted into clothing and liners to help warm us up.

In the Pokémon world, they used a similar technique to warm their clothes. Similar, if a little primitive. According to Pokémon White’s Pokédex, “Darumaka's droppings are hot, so people used to put them in their clothes to keep themselves warm.”

8 N Is, Supposedly, A Zoroark

As video game villains go, the Pokémon franchise has some real doozies. The iconic stroking-his-Persian-in-his-office-chair-like-Goldfinger Team Rocket boss, Giovanni, for instance. The slick-haired gym leader with the penchant for Horn Drill is a classic villain.

It’s not all so black and white in this universe, though. N, the "antagonist" of Black, White, Black 2, and White 2, wasn’t such an all-round bad dude. His objective was to liberate Pokémon from their trainers, and create a world where people and ‘mon would be happy. So pro-Pokémon was his agenda,  that many fans are convinced that Natural Harmonia Gropius (yep, that’s his full name) is actually a Zoroark disguised as a human.

7 You Can Casually Drop The Almighty Creator Of All In A Battle...

Whichever entry in the series you’re playing, there’s sure to be a little legendary hunting involved. From Red and Blue’s bird trio and climactic encounter with Mewtwo, through the beasts/dogs, the Swords of Justice and beyond, legends are a big deal. Often, they’re a crucial plot point, such as Kyogre and Groudon. Just as often, they’ll be moving around the world map, and a humongous pain to capture.

Once you have them, though, they’re a force to be reckoned with. If you hit the Battle Spot, particularly free battles, you’ll be inundated with players using full teams of these powerhouses just because. The ultimate legendary, story-wise, is Arceus, revered as the creator of the Pokémon world. Now that’s a trump card for a preteen trainer if ever there’s been one.

6 …Or Just Dump It In The PC

Arceus Using Judgment, Pokemon Anime

There are stories of people catching legendary Pokémon in regular Poké Balls, and you can’t tell us that they couldn’t have busted their way out of one of those with zero effort. If Snorlax’s big body is too much for a regular ball, then these legendary beasts sure are.

If there’s something they probably would draw the line at, however, it would most likely be imprisonment in the PC. This, as all Pokémon players know, is the purgatory where the forgotten ‘mon you don’t care about go to live. Like the Nintendogs that you haven’t fed since 2005.

5 And The Same Goes For A Being From A Distorted World

Giratina Pokemon Anime

As we’ve seen, then, the most formidable being in all of the Pokéverse is yours to catch and command like it’s a Ratatta. Granted, there’s a lot of debate over which Pokémon is the most ‘powerful,’ but objectively, surely the creator wins out? That’s a bit of a minefield to step into, though, with heavy discussion all around.

It’s odd to think of these sorts of things, anyway. The Pokédex has a reputation for being a little… overzealous with its creature descriptions, so it’s funny that you can have Poké-God and his Poké-counterpart there just chilling in your box. Giratina, Yveltal, all of those dark-side powerhouses just hanging around in the PC box, checking their phones, streaming the latest episode of Game of Thrones and whatever else people do while they’re just waiting around.

4 The Master Ball Does Not Guarantee A Capture

Pokemon Master ball

If you happen across a shiny Geodude, and the little hot-head uses Explosion before you can catch it, you’ll wish you hadn’t already used that Master Ball.

Fact is, though, in generation III and IV, it can fail to catch a wild Pokémon. “In order to catch a Pokemon, the game performs four separate checks. In any situation where you ought to have a 100% catch rate, there’s actually a 1/65536 chance that this check will fail. This gives the master ball a 99.994% success rate,” as this thread points out.

Fortunately, this effect was a glitch, and it was removed from Pokémon Black and White onwards.

3 There Are Over Four Billion Unique Spinda Patterns

The Pokémon series does have a penchant for dropping different ‘versions’ of ‘mon. There are Mega formes, Primal formes and shiny forms. You’ve got Darmanitan’s Zen Mode, Aegislash’s Blade and Shield formes, Alola formed, and three alternate Rockruff evolutions.

There are many more besides, of course, but even this wasn’t enough for Game Freak. Their ultimate YOLO moment in this regard was Spinda. The innocuous dizzy little bear ‘mon has unique markings, which are randomly generated when you encounter it. Like human fingerprints, no two are quite the same, and there are known to be over four billion slightly different patterns.

2 Gengar Is A Deceased Clefable?

Ash's Gengar entering a battle with a smile on its face from the Pokemon anime

This one’s been doing the rounds for a super long time now. This is the original Pokemon creepypasta. It could well be the original creepypasta in general, come to think of it.

As the OG Pokéfans will remember, back in the day, Gastly and its evolutions were the only Ghost-type Pokémon. If we’re totally frank and honest with ourselves about it, they’re still some of the coolest ghosts around. Gengar is also, as many have been pointing out for twenty-plus years now, super similar in design to Clefable.

Those ears. Those hands. Those feet. The fact that there are several Pokémon graveyards in the course of the series, and they’re frequented by Gastly and Haunter. There must be something to all of these creeptacular coincidences.

1 Koffing And Weezing Are The Result Of Failed Team Rocket Experiments?

Koffing in Roxie's Gym in the Pokemon Anime

Speaking of Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar, here’s something a little more obscure and slightly bizarre. We’ve seen in the past that Team Rocket like a bit of Pokémon experimentation, supposedly fiddling around with the biology of a Kabutops to create the mythical Genesect. But what else have they done?

According to yet more Pokémon theorizing, Koffing and Weezing were created by accident, during Rocket’s attempts to manufacture their own Ghost-type to combat Mewtwo. I guess there could be something to this, as Gastly is a ball of gas and Poison types like Grimer emit toxic gases.

Let’s not forget, too, that both Koffing and Weezing look incredibly "manufactured." It's hard to imagine nature doing that.