The Dark Side of the PokéMoon
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Art by in the hills.
Introduction
For the most part, the Pokémon franchise is primarily a fun romp through vast regions, catching colorful creatures of all sizes and making them your friends. However, occasionally, Pokémon gets awfully dark. Some of it is subtle and not outright stated in normal gameplay. Sometimes Game Freak makes it a point to show how dark and scary a world filled with monsters capable of destroying cities can be, and that's truly one of the most interesting things about the Pokémon franchise.
Location
Lavender Town
When thinking about creepy Pokémon locations, what is the first to come to mind? For most players, Generation 1's Lavender Town is a top contender. There are plenty of canon and non-canon theories and speculation haunting this town. Of course, this is the first time in the Pokémon franchise where the character has to come to terms with the fact that, yes, their precious Pokémon are capable of dying. This is shown pretty blatantly when you encounter the strange ghost at the top of the tower that your Pokémon are initially too terrified to attack. Once you receive the Silph Scope, it is revealed that this ghost is actually the spirit of a dead Marowak, killed by Team Rocket. If that doesn't fuel you enough to want to stop their nefarious plans, what will? Of course, on top of all that, there is the massively recognized fan theory that Blue's Raticate actually died in a rival fight with you. The fact that Blue is in Lavender Town with his Raticate never being seen again after is quite a harrowing set of facts.
Distortion World
Arguably the most memorable part of Generation 4 is the Distortion World. It's filled with twists and turns and puzzles galore. It's not hard to get lost, and without the help of the three pixie Pokémon, the player character might have never returned. And what a better finisher to the dungeon than the potential devil Pokémon itself? Giratina on its own is quite the terrifying Pokémon. While there are theories about its true nature, the fact remains that it was banished to this dark world because of its violence. Whether or not it's changed for the better, being trapped in a dimension like this one would surely take a toll on its conscious. And on top of that, Giratina has one of the most heart-stopping (literally! There's a heart monitor flatline in the song) themes in Pokémon, perfectly accompanying its dark figure stalking you throughout the realm and its monstrous figure falling onto the battle screen with no floor, something unique to it.
Lake of Rage
Everyone remembers the terrifying red Gyarados, likely the first shiny Pokémon many players have caught. However, its backstory is quite the tragic one. Seeing Magikarp as a useless Pokémon, Team Rocket used strange radio broadcasts to force them to evolve against their will, causing them immense pain. The shiny Gyarados you encounter is the prime member of that experiment. The legacy of the red Gyarados would later be shown on a T.V. show in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, stating that the creature has eluded researchers and Trainers. It's unknown how close the timelines were between then and Gold and Silver, but it's presumed that the Gyarados had been suffering a long time. Thankfully, it calms down upon its capture, hopefully freeing it from a life of pain. Take good care of it!
Characters
One of the most important aspects of an RPG are the characters, and characters in the Pokémon universe are often overlooked. A lot of them are simply happy-go-lucky rivals, Gym Leaders who only appear once, or side characters who are simply tutorials for your adventure. This is why characters with such dark stories often stand out, even less present ones, such as Darkrai cursing the child in Canalave City to an eternal nightmare.
Lysandre
Lysandre is often considered a mediocre Pokémon villain, and I am one to agree. Right from the start, it's pretty obvious he's the bad guy, and a lot of things about him don't make sense (like, what are those little drone robots he has that just randomly appear?). However, there's no denying his plans are pretty damn dark. His original plan consists of using an ultimate weapon to eliminate all life on Earth other than Team Flare, simply because he sees them as inferior. Don't forget, he also imprisoned the seemingly immortal AZ, just to get information out of him. Depending on the game you play after you defeat him and stop his plans, he either wishes to eliminate everyone in the building, or force immortality on everyone present using the remaining power left in the weapon. In the end, however, he just ends up nuking himself as the players are able to escape. However, is he technically alive in the rubble in Pokémon X if the ultimate weapon worked and granted him immortality? The world may never know.
N and Ghetsis
N is a fan-favorite character with a horribly dark backstory, which is one of the reasons that makes him so popular. From a young age, he was abandoned and raised by Pokémon in the wild. Ghetsis took advantage of this and kept him isolated from humans while only letting him meet Pokémon that have been abused. N was shaped into Team Plasma's model leader. Even after all of that, N was still a fairly light-hearted character. He certainly wasn't the evil that Ghetsis was, as he didn't hate the protagonist and truly cared for Pokémon. Speaking of that, Ghetsis is one of the few antagonists in the franchise that are, frankly, just pure evil. He has no hesitation in attacking the player character, a child, and even outright hurting Lillie in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. He likely would have killed them, given the chance. A popular fan theory is that he lost his eye abusing his Hydreigon, as it is the only NPC Pokémon in the whole franchise to be hardcoded with minimum friendship values. On top of that, his Hydreigon had super effective moves against N's entire team, further proving that Ghetsis was prepared to backstab N should the plan go awry. And at the end of it all, when offered compassion from N after being defeated in Black and White 2, he flat out has a mental breakdown, losing his heart and motive, and is stated to be no longer mentally capable of anything further. Talk about a piece of work, but a truly intimating character nonetheless.
Gladion and Lillie
Gladion and Lillie are the poster children of Sun and Moon. Both have quite compelling stories and personalities. Lillie is a sweet girl whose mother is forcing her into an outfit that heavily resembles a strange creature called Nihilego, an Ultra Beast from another universe who her mother is obsessing over. She's also harboring a rare Pokémon called Cosmog, putting her in danger. On the other hand, Gladion is an outlier from society who ran away from the Aether Paradise after realizing his mother was going insane. Gladion even has a Pokémon known for its aggressive and untamable personality, Type: Null, which he stole from the foundation. Thankfully, these stories have happy endings, as Gladion is able to calm Type: Null and show it love, and Lillie is able to become her own person away from her mother's gaze. Their mother even regains a bit of her sanity in the original Sun and Moon after Nihilego releases her from its mind poison, finally calling her daughter beautiful. This moment is sadly taken away in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and a lot of Lusamine's dark story is removed in the process. A personal shame, since seeing a character as unhinged as her was quite the change of pace and led to a moment that was actually quite heartfelt, as the children are able to potentially forgive her and help her get over her insanity.
Lt. Surge
Lt. Surge is an interesting case. At first glance, there doesn't appear to be anything strange about him. However, further digging will reveal that he was once a soldier in some unknown war, and Electric-type Pokémon were able to save his life. This left him a bit scarred, which is why there are so many traps in his Gym. While that's basically it in terms of his personal story, this part of his life opens up a whole avenue of theories for the franchise as a whole. Does this explain why you never happen to see your father figure, with few exceptions? Is there a massive war going on in the Pokémon universe that we simply don't know about? Are Pokémon used in wars, and potentially killed? How powerful would Legendary Pokémon be in these scenarios? This can lead to so many ends for the writers at Game Freak, and perhaps we might hear more about it someday.
Pokédex
Almost every Pokémon player knows Cubone's tragic backstory (It wears its mother's skull on its head. Tragic!) However, there are many, many more depressing Pokédex entries buried in all the mess. The short tidbits lying around in such an innocent-looking index makes you wonder who might have had a bad day at Game Freak.
Spoink bounces around on its tail. The shock of its bouncing makes its heart pump. As a result, this Pokémon cannot afford to stop bouncing - if it stops, its heart will stop. - POKÉMON RUBY
Quite a scary concept. Imagine having to move around every second of the day, or you simply die. Spoink has such an adorable appearance and an even cuter personality in the spinoff game Pokémon Explorers of Sky, so it's quite depressing to know its life is always on the line. Evolve this as soon as possible!
Said to lure away young children and carry them off to the afterlife. Some whisper that Drifloon are formed of reincarnated human souls, but these rumors are as yet unconfirmed. - LEGENDS: ARCEUS
It's unnerving enough to think that Drifloon is potentially a resurrected spirit, but the fact that it freely kidnaps children and kills them makes this cute Pokémon truly devious. Could the spirits of the young children be revived into a Drifloon, too?
According to old tales, these Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest. - POKÉMON Y
Pokémon seems to enjoy stories of children wandering off into trouble, huh? Phantump is another Pokémon with a deceptively cute appearance. It follows these creepy lore entries into its evolution, which is said to be able to control trees and trap people in the forest forever. Creepy! Watch your steps, and don't tread over strange roots.
This Pokémon has the habit of hugging its companions. Many Trainers have left this world after their spines were squashed by its hug. - POKÉMON MOON
Bewear is one of the aforementioned "dark humor" types of Pokédex entries. While a cute entry with good intentions to start, it quickly becomes gruesome as you realize Bewear has a habit of snapping a Trainer's spine by accident while trying to show its affection. Makes you worry for Team Rocket...
MEGAS
Its red claws and the tips of its tail are melting from high internal temperatures that are painful to Houndoom itself. - POKÉMON ULTRA SUN
One of my personal favorite Pokémon, Mega Houndoom is the start of some truly creepy Mega Pokémon entries. Houndoom's lore entry states that the pain from its flames will never leave the victim, does this happen to its Mega forme? While XY was all about the love between a Trainer and Pokémon fueling Mega Evolution, Sun and Moon take quite the dark turn. Perhaps this is what Trainers outside of Kalos notice when they Mega Evolve their partners?
Mega Evolution fuels its brutality, and it may even turn on the Trainer who raised it. It's been dubbed "the blood-soaked crescent." - POKÉMON MOON
If this doesn't make you reconsider your choice for a Mega partner, I don't know what will! Mega Salamence is likely the most terrifying of all the Mega Evolution entries. No matter how strong a Pokémon is for your team, it won't mean nothing if it won't obey you, let alone kill you!
Due to the colossal power poured into it, this Pokémon's back split right open. Its destructive instincts are the only thing keeping it moving. - POKÉMON ULTRA SUN
Imagine, that because of a Trainer's love for you, your back breaks open, causing you such immense pain that the only thing that fuels you is the need to inflict pain on others. That's Mega Tyranitar. Tyranitar alone is already an imposing figure, but strap on the fact that its pain is so strong that it can't see what's in front of it and only wants to destroy? Yikes.
Final Thoughts
So, what do you get when you mix these creatures with a few ambitious authors at Game Freak? You get a glimpse into the truly horrifying side of Pokémon. Plenty of people want a darker Pokémon franchise, and hopefully Game Freak can provide someday. The dark themes underlying the simply and fun gameplay are truly appreciated and serve to build a much deeper world.
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