The world of Pokemon is a vast and sprawling one. There are so many different kinds of Pokemon and a lot of them have their own special stories. Some Pokemon have surprisingly intense histories, weirdly heart wrenching qualities or just have super cool abilities. So let’s take a look at some of the most unique and interesting Pokemon out there. Do you have any Pokemon you think should make the list? Tell us in the comments!
Lampent
Litwick and its evolved forms, Lampent and Chandelure, are among the creepiest Pokemon has to offer. Litwick is a cute looking candle that uses people’s light force to fuel its flame. But things get worse when it evolves into Lampent. Lampent finds people who are about to die and steals their souls from their body. It apparently lurks outside hospitals waiting for prey on the brink of death. It’s also been known to trick people into going into the spirit world, which is basically killing them. However, the final evolution, Chandelure, has an even worse fate in mind for its victims. It absorbs the spirits of people and uses it as fuel, leaving only a body behind. It’s not said what the body left behind is like- are they dead, or a soulless shell?
This may be the fate worse than death of the Pokemon world either way. Because if Chandelure gets you, you’re not only basically dead, but you’re never seeing the afterlife. Your spirit is up in flames and that’s it for you.
Cubone
Cubone’s one of those Pokemon with a truly heartbreaking backstory- and a little bit of creepiness thrown it. Cubone’s mother died at birth, so it wears her skull, hiding its true face. What’s worse is it is the designated “lonely Pokemon” and “its cries echo inside the skull and come out as a sad melody”. The Pokedex also makes sure to inform us that “the stains on the skull the Pokemon wears are made from the tears it sheds”. You just hurt for that poor little Pokemon- and also wonder what it means that all Cubones seem to have a dead mom. Do their mothers just always drop dead after they’re born? Is that a species trait?
If Cubone evolves into Marowak, its said to have “overcome its sadness at the loss of its mother and grown tough”, so it’s not hopeless for this depressed little thing. On the other hand, the description also calls Marowak “vicious” which implies it may have simply channeled its grief unhealthily into anger. Also there’s apparently a specific “Marowak graveyard” where it gets bones, so that’s unsettling.
Banette
Banette is another disturbing one with interesting origins- it's described as a plush doll that was thrown away. The sheer hatred it felt towards the children who abandoned it made it come to life and now it seeks to find them. It also jams pins into itself in order generate energy for its curses. Banette’s terrible quest for vengeance could make a great horror movie on its own.
Yamask
Yamask is another pokemon that combines disturbing and intriguing- the descriptions says that each of these Pokemon carries a mask that was its face when it was human (it doesn’t look like this mask is literally made of skin, but who knows) and it will look at this face sometimes and cry. Apparently, this Pokemon did indeed come from dead people, and Yamask somewhat remembers when it was alive. So in the Pokemon world, if you die you can become a depressed, creepy Pokemon. It’s hard not to wonder why specifically certain spirits become Pokemon and what the story is behind every Yamask you encounter.
The fact it can evolve into a coffin Pokemon (Confragrius) that swallows people whole and turns them into mummies only raises more questions (though it does indicate it was Pokemon world's equivalent of ancient Egyptians that turned into these things).
Mewtwo
Mewtwo is one of the more popular Pokemon for good reason- it’s got a story full of drama. The Pokemon is a result of “horrific gene splicing experiments” done on a Mew. It escaped, murdering its creators in the process. The genetic engineering it endured made it a compassionless, heartless killing machine who supposedly only cares about winning- but in the Pokemon anime, it eventually had a change of heart, becoming altruistic and even caring for its fellow clones. Mewtwo is definitely one of the more complex Pokemon out there.
Mimikyu
Mimikyu may have just been announced for the upcoming Pokemon: Sun and Moon, but its touching character description has already captured the hearts of the fandom. The poor little thing just wants to be loved by people, so it wears a tattered Pikachu costume in an attempt to be beloved like Pikachu. It’ll even sicken if you take off its costume. Mimikyu need not fear, because it already won the love of the fandom all on its own, as the multitude of fanart focused on it proves.
Duskull
It’s creepy enough that Duskull is described as a creature that “loves the crying of children” and is said to spirit bad children away. But what I find interesting is that it can evolve into a much more benevolent being, Dusknoir, which guides lost spirits home. This implies Duskull undergoes sort of a character arc, where it goes from a being who torments humans to one that helps them. Maybe it was hanging out with its trainer that inspired it to leave its hatred for children behind.
Arceus and the Creation Trio
The reason so many dead people turn into Pokemon is likely because GOD is literally a Pokemon. There was nothing but a blank void until Arceus emerged from an egg and created the universe. At the same time Arceus created the universe, it also created the trio of Dialga, Palkia and Giratana, who all control their own dimensions. Dialga is in charge of time, Palkia controls space and Giratina might be the most fascinating of all- it controls antimatter and a “distortion world” where time doesn’t flow at all and space is unstable.
Ditto
Ditto is a shapeless blob that has the ability to transform into any Pokemon it fights. This also means that it can breed with any Pokemon too. There’s an idea around fandom that Ditto may have been a result of an attempt to clone Mew. Obviously, it was a failure and Mewtwo was the successful attempt. Considering all the weird experimentation going on behind the scenes in the Pokemon world, it’s certainly plausible.
Kadabra
Kadabra, a psychic cat thing with a spoon, has a truly chilling description- “it happened one day- a boy with extrasensory powers awoke in bed transformed into a Kadabra”. That means the Pokemon you’re capturing in a little ball is actually a human being. What’s more, one description mentions this boy was assisting with some sort of scientific research, which caused his transformation.
This means he’s yet another victim of the horrific experimentation that runs rampant in the Pokemon world. There’s a story there, and it isn’t a pretty one. Kadabra certainly doesn’t seem to be happy about his lot in life (who would be?) as only trainers with “strong psyches” can own him, otherwise he gives them bad headaches. When it’s nearby, an “eerie shadow appears on TV screens” that brings “bad luck”. It sure sounds like Kadabra is trying to curse the people who callously keep him as a pet.
Drowzee
Drowzee is a Pokemon that eats children’s dreams. It can actually eat anyone’s dreams, but has a fixation on children because their dreams are “much tastier” for some reason. That’s…more than a little unsettling. One description says that those who sleep by a Drowzee can see the dreams its eaten, granting you access to a wealth of private information.
Phantump
Phantump is another haunting Pokemon with a very specific backstory. These Pokemon are dead tree stumps possessed by children who dies while lost in the forest, according to old myth. So yeah, a dead child who somehow starved to death or otherwise got killed in a forest is your Pokemon. Have fun!
Unown
As you’d expect from the name, Unowns are shrouded in mystery. These Pokemon are shaped like ancients hieroglyphs that, you guessed it, have an “unknown” meaning.
Another thing that’s unknown is whether this Pokemon or language itself came first, meaning in the Pokemon world humans could have just been imitating this thing when they invented writing. Also, when there are two or more of them, an “odd power” is supposed to emerge- the anime says what happens is that Unown will warp reality to conform to the wishes of whoever’s controlling them.
These Pokemon can also sense the feelings of other creatures as part of their psychic abilities. There are 28 different types of Unown and they actually live in another dimension and are very hesititant to enter our world.
Aegislash
Aegislash is not just any old sword Pokemon- it’s a sword that serves only kings. So the word is that whover the sword recognizes as worthy is destined to be king. That means that when wielding this Pokemon you, the player, have become royalty. However, it sounds like the royalty Aegislash attends to are typically a little drunk with power- Aegislash is said to “use its spectral power to manipulate and control people and Pokemon”. That’s…one way to rule.