Pokédex entries on Pokémon’s twisted behavior. However, seeing such things animated adds a different layer of horror to all the things that Pokémon and humans alike are capable of.
One of the longest-running anime of all time, Pokémon has had plenty of room to showcase the scariest elements of its colorful world. Often, the greatest threats to the show’s heroes come from nature, usually in the form of aggressive or even malicious Pokémon. But the worst villains of the show are almost always human, motivated by greed and no small amount of sadism.
10 Spearow Attack - I Choose You!
Getting electrocuted by Pikachu on first meeting his future best friend is far from the worst thing to happen to Ash as he begins his Pokémon journey. At the beginning of his journey, Ash is an inexperienced and impatient Pokémon trainer, which doesn’t help his attempts to catch Pokémon or to endear a disdainful Pikachu to him. His frustration peaks when he throws a rock at a Spearow instead of a Pokéball.
Pikachu getting hurt when the entire flock of Spearow attack and their desperate attempt to flee are portrayed as much direr than even a rough battle. Ash isn’t prepared for such an onslaught, jumping into the water to try and deter the flock like a real-life kid might do when chased by angry animals. Even Pikachu is horrified by how badly its new Trainer is hurt trying to protect it.
9 Sabrina - Pokémon: Indigo League
Despite being a bit too old to qualify as one of the creepiest kids in anime, Sabrina ticks off several of the same boxes. Inexplicable psychic powers? Check. Team of creepy Ghost and Psychic type Pokémon? Check. Bad habit of tormenting other people just because she can? Oh, check and a half.
Both in “Abra and the Psychic Showdown” and “Haunter Versus Kadabra,” Sabrina is a threat that Ash and company couldn’t have prepared for. Forcing her Pokémon to evolve is the least of her powers: she also enjoys turning other people, up to and including her own mother, into dolls and holding them prisoner. It’s the only way she can think of to ease her own loneliness, careless of the mental and physical damage she does to them.
8 Malamar Mind Control - Pokémon: XY
Normally Pokémon peaceful can be made dangerous by a human villain’s mind-control technology — a surprisingly common occurrence throughout the anime and games! But Malamar in the episode “A Conspiracy To Conquer!” turns this concept on its head, brainwashing humans and building machines with the aim of remaking the world into an environment fit only for Malamar.
Such megalomania in Pokémon is very rare, and Malamar lives up to its reputation as the Overturning Pokémon. Anyone who looks into its lights falls under its control, even hurting their loved ones if Malamar commands it, and the only way to avoid being brainwashed is by hurting yourself. Worse, Malamar isn’t the only Pokémon who behaves this way: it returns in “Facing the Grand Design!” with two more evil Malamar to back it up.
7 Gary Fights Mewtwo - The Battle Of The Badge
Surprisingly, Ash never once faces Team Rocket’s leader, Giovanni, in a head-on battle. Instead, it’s his rival Gary Oak who is brought in to show off Giovanni’s strength, making Gary the only champion in the Pokémon games who does not achieve that rank in the anime. Of course, to be fair to Gary, it’s hardly a fair fight.
The scene is set not unlike a horror movie. The gym is dark and empty as Gary enters, unable to even see the Gym Leader he’s challenging. He does well until Giovanni busts out his ace in the hole, a Pokémon that the Pokédex has zero data on; Mewtwo! Restrained in armor that gives Giovanni total control over it, Mewtwo beats Gary and his entourage so badly with its Psychic powers that Ash finds them all unconscious on the floor, mumbling about “evil Pokémon.”
6 Nihilego Attacks Lillie - A Masked Warning!
Unlike in the games, the anime’s Lillie has a paralyzing fear of touching Pokémon. Worse, she has no memory of how she got this phobia in the first place. It’s a mystery for both her and the audience until her brother Gladion shows up to explain: she was attacked by the Ultra Beast Nihilego as a child.
Like the dangerous jellyfish it’s designed after, Nihilego isn’t overtly malicious, but its potent venom wreaks havoc on the bodies of anyone unlucky enough to bump into it. Had it not been for Silvally saving her, Lillie might have met the same fate as her mother Lusamine. Nihilego amplifies the darkest sides of the humans it latches onto, turning them into twisted shells of their former selves.
5 Tree of Beginning - Pokémon: Lucario And The Mystery of Mew
In one of the best Pokémon movies, Ash and company meet a troubled Lucario determined to protect their kingdom. After gaining Lucario’s trust, it accompanies them to the Tree of Beginning to rescue a missing Pikachu. But the massive, mystical Tree is much more alive than any of them bargained for.
Not only is the Tree guarded by the powerful Regi group, but it also has a powerful immune system. When unleashed, its antibodies devour every human and Pokémon inside as if they were viruses, too numerous and too fast to escape. The only reason that isn’t the end of them is literal divine intervention: Mew uses its power to bring them back and shut down the Tree, but nearly at the cost of its own life, forcing Lucario to sacrifice itself, in turn, to set everything right.
4 The Ghost Of Maiden’s Peak - The Ghost Of Maiden’s Peak
When the gang attends the coastal town’s Summer Festival, they run afoul of the local ghost, with nearly fatal consequences. The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak lost her true love at sea years ago, and now curses young men to her in death to replace him. She hypnotizes Brock and James, forcing them to follow her to an unknown but no doubt grisly fate.
Even more frightening than the boys’ sudden mindless states are their friends’ increasingly frantic attempts to both stop them and fend the implacable ghost off, to no avail until they’re saved by the sun. Though the “ghost” turns out to be a disguised Gastly, there is a real ghost of Maiden’s Peak that it was trying to help. Who knows how many youths without friends to save them were spirited away for her sake and then discarded?
3 Litwick Mansion - Scare At The Litwick Mansion!
This Black and White episode has a classic horror movie setup. Ash and company get lost in the forest during a torrential storm and rush into a nearby mansion for shelter overnight. Exploring the place, they at first think it’s abandoned, but soon discover that they are very much not alone.
Team Rocket believes they’ve made friends with the mansion’s resident Litwick, but the Candle Pokémon soon reveal that they’re on their own side, not any other humans or Pokémon. Not only do they menace their terrified visitors with thrown furniture and dropped chandeliers, but their ultimate goal is to kill them by siphoning out their life energy. They can’t be fought off or befriended: the gang only manages to stop them by sealing them away in the Ghost World.
2 Pokémon Hunters - Recurring
Outside of the roving criminal teams in each region, the greatest threats to the Pokémon world are Pokémon Hunters. These poachers target rare Pokémon with weapons that turn them to a stonelike state, to sell them to the highest bidders. It's confirmed in the episode “Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu!” that these Pokémon are awake and aware, just unable to move, in this state: Riolu is still able to use its Aura Connection to Ash.
The Hunter J is particularly vicious, made even more threatening for her being a recurring character. She is fully willing to kill not only the heroes, but her own minions and Pokémon, in her ruthless pursuit of the biggest paydays. She’s not the only Pokémon villain to never be redeemed, but she is among the only ones to actually be killed on-screen when her ship explodes, the wreckage sinking into a lake below.
1 Ash Dies - Pokémon: The First Movie
Even when stakes are high, anime aimed at children like Pokémon will rarely go so far as to actually kill its heroes, for any length of time. Pokémon will and does on a few occasions, but this first instance in the series’ 1998 film debut was both shocking and dark. Mewtwo’s powers were already proven by the movie’s explosive opening to be deadly, but the combination of its powers with Mew’s is even worse.
Appalled by the original and cloned Pokémon fighting to the death, Ash rushes into the arena in a desperate attempt to stop them. Getting caught in the crossfire between Mewtwo and Mew’s psychic blasts shockingly doesn’t blow him to bits, but turns him to stone. Until the Pokémon manage to revive him, his body is sprawled on the ground with a stunned expression frozen on his face. His friends on the sidelines are horrified: for all they know, they’ve just seen Ash killed right in front of them.
While Pokémon is generally a lighthearted series, any fans who's watched even a little bit of the series can recall more than a few spine-chilling moments. Pokémon's darkest moments prove that the series can tackle any genre with outstanding success.
