Pokémon is a fun franchise, spanning across film, TV, gaming, and manga, and it has lept through numerous generations, entertaining kids from the 90s all the way through to the kids of the 2010s and now, the kids of the 2020s.
It's safe to say that it is a family-friendly franchise which is a given considering that it's one of Nintendo's flagship properties, if not their most iconic, wedged right alongside Zelda and Mario.
However, when it all began with Red & Blue, or Red & Green, there was an eerie location within the games, one that created internet rumor, myth and legend. That place was Lavender Town; within this article, we will be covering eight things that you may not have known about one of the darkest areas of the series.
8 There Were Rumors That The Music Caused Suicide
Lavender Town is infamous due to its creepy music and unsettling atmosphere, from the somber designs to the darker tone, with dead Pokémon, an eerie score and a much more morbid story.
The rumor, dubbed Lavender Town Syndrome, spawned from its iconic background music. Internet legend had it that children were being coerced into killing themselves due to the high frequencies that only they could hear. This wasn't true, but it has added a whole new layer of horror to the retro town with its chilling 8-bit score.
7 Lavender Town Is A Graveyard
As mentioned prior, Lavender Town is notoriously dark, especially considering the happier, cheerier and kid-friendly atmosphere that everywhere else in the game had. A huge part of this was the emphasis on Pokémon fainting and not dying, but Lavender Town threw all of that to the wayside, as the entire town was a graveyard.
The Pokémon Tower is home to ghosts and mourning trainers, with a battle even breaking out as someone declares that they are lusting for blood - it's a stark contrast to the rest of the game, which despite the comparisons to cockfighting and claims of animal cruelty, paints itself in an upbeat manner.
6 Your Opponent's Raticate Died
Pokémon's structure and formula haven't changed too drastically since its inception, with the occasional exception. You, a young child, leave your home town to catch 'em all and become the very best, but you have a rival, who comes from the same town.
In Gen 1, your rival has a Raticate, but this Pokémon is 'lost' by the time they reach Lavender Town, where they are found in the tower, graving the death of one of the members of their roster. It is heavily implied and theorized that, in your last encounter, you caused the death of their Raticate.
5 Cubone Wears The Skull Of Its Mother
They may have made a joke about Cubone in Detective Pikachu, but the reality of this Pokémon is morbid, upsetting and tragic to the core. They wear the skull of their dead mother on their head and it is a key part of Lavender Town's story.
There is actually a theory that Cubones are orphaned Kangaskhan, as the two appear remarkably similar in appearance, and that would mean that not every single member of this Pokémon species wears the skull of its mother, which is a nicer thought, although this theory has not been confirmed in any official capacity.
4 Pikachu Gets Scared In The Pokémon Tower In Yellow
If you visit the Pokémon Tower in Yellow, in which you have a Pikachu that refuses to stay in its ball, then you'll find that your Pokémon pal is a little unsettled by the atmosphere, much as many kids were when they first stumbled into the morbid graveyard, Game Freak's own Ravenholm.
If you speak to Pikachu, you'll get a visual representation of his emotions at the time, and Pikachu has a distinct sad face, indicating that they are frightened, upset or worried. It's hard to blame the little yellow Pokémon, given that they are surrounded by ghosts, zombies and dead Pokémon.
3 In October, The Lavender Town Theme Was Played In Pokémon Go
The hit mobile game, Pokémon Go, which encouraged players to delve outside in search of them all, rather than being cooped up in a cozy bed with a hot chocolate on a Nintendo DS, Switch or Gameboy, celebrated Halloween by bringing back the eerie score behind the infamous Lavender Town.
I'm sure that if you stumbled around at night down some dark alleyways with the old 8-bit tune in your ears as you hunted for ghost types, you'd be scared to your core, so this was both a smart and somewhat evil move on Nintendo's part, although it is a fantastic way to celebrate a holiday dedicated to horror.
2 The Music Was Changed To Remove High Frequencies
Lavender Town's music spawned creepypasta, urban legend, and internet myth, with rumors circulating that the high-pitched frequencies were causing children to kill themselves, as only they could hear these noises, as they have much more sensitive hearing.
As such, Game Freak and Nintendo opted to alter the music, reducing these higher frequencies, although that's not to say that the legends were true, as it is likely that these higher frequencies caused headaches or irritations, but it's a bit of a leap to go from a migraine to outright brainwashing that leads into self-harm.
1 In Gold/Silver, The Cemetry Was Replaced With A Radio Tower
Lavender Town began as a creepy and morbid graveyard that seemed to be stuck in its ghostly ways, with little hope for redemption or growth - it was a sad sight, and one that not many wanted to return to on their adventures, instead nope-ing out of there as soon as they possibly could.
However, Lavender Town's story isn't all tragedy, as revealed in Gold & Silver, where the town has pulled itself back from its eerie downfall and begun a new, fresh and revived life. This is because the Pokémon Tower was replaced with a radio tower, bringing commerce to the area, boosting their economy.
It's a much happier sight in this generation, and this was likely Nintendo trying to make Lavender Town less notorious for its creep factor which is evident in that, ever since Gen 1, the Pokémon graveyard has been massively toned down in its creepy overtones, all the way through from FireRed to Let's Go.