The world of Pokémon is a weird and wonderful place. Eight generations have introduced fans to so many new species of Pokémon, from the cute and cuddly to the large and powerful — all the way to the darkest and most evil. More often than not, Pokémon that are classed as evil are either Ghost or Dark due to the usual characteristics of those types.
While Pokédex entries for these Pokémon are usually simplified in the anime, in the games, they often go into more detail. With the descriptions usually changing in each new installment, trainers can learn a lot about each Pokémon from all this accumulated information. Now and then, these Pokédex entries highlight disturbing and dark intentions, often changing perceptions of that Pokémon in an instant.
Updated on Feb. 20th, 2022 by Claris Lam: This article has five more entries to further complete the list. There are many intimidating and seemingly-evil Pokémon that exist, especially with new generations of Pokémon both ordinary and Legendary. Emerging and new Pokédex entries also provide further information about their darker natures.
15 Tyranitar: "Tyranitar Has A Heavily Armored Body That Can Withstand Powerful Attacks. It Can Also Crush A Mountain With One Hand"
According to Gold's Pokédex entry, Tyranitar crushes mountains to build a nest. It also wanders the mountains looking for new opponents. Its "insolent nature," according to SoulSilver's entry, means it cares little for others. Diamond and Pearl's entries note that Tyranitar's rage can destroy mountains and rivers.
The damage is so bad that new maps need to be redrawn. Tyranitar can do lethal damage to any passerby who unluckily encounters it alone. UltraMoon's entry notes that Tyranitar is more ferocious when influenced by Mega Evolution.
14 Houndoom: "If You Are Burned By The Flames It Shoots From Its Mouth, The Pain Will Never Go Away"
Houndoom is a Dark and Fire-type Pokémon and the evolved form of Houndour. Although its pre-evolution, Houndour, is a cute Pokémon, Houndoom is just as scary as its name implies. If Houndoom burns anyone with its flames, the pain of those burns never go away. Its howling also causes anyone hearing it to shudder in fear.
Houndoom is intimidating and also quite harmful if encountered alone. According to Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald's entries, a pack of Houndoom will choose its leader by fighting each other. Only the last one standing will take charge.
13 Carvanha: "Many Boats Have Been Attacked And Sunk By This Pokémon"
Carvanha is a Water and Dark-type Pokémon. The name and appearance of this Pokémon remind many of real-life piranhas, and its Pokédex entries confirm the resemblance. Carvanha is often noted to have strongly-developed jaws and sharply-pointed fangs. Sapphire's entry noted that Carvanha would "swarm and tear" at anyone invading its territory.
Moon's entry is even more frightening. If it smells the faintest trace of blood, many Carvanha will attack whoever they smell en masse. Ultra Moon also noted that they fought with Basculin, another Water-type Pokémon, to get their food.
12 Litwick: "While Shining A Light And Pretending To Be A Guide, It Leeches Off The Life Force Of Any Who Follow It"
Litwick may seem cute and harmless enough, even offering help and guidance to travelers by lighting the way, but as revealed in its Pokédex entries, this is a ruse to disguise its true intentions.
Whether it's a person or a Pokémon, Litwick will proceed to absorb their life force. The entries also state that Litwick's flame starts lighting up properly when the life absorption process is underway, which unsuspecting travelers may not necessarily be aware of. Its evolved form, Lampent, is more deliberate about its methods of obtaining life force, as it just waits for people to die in places like hospitals.
11 Gorebyss: "When It Spots Prey, This Pokémon Inserts Its Thin Mouth Into The Prey's Body And Drains The Prey Of Its Body Fluids"
Gorebyss' elegant appearance is deceiving, and players might think it's harmless without reading its Pokédex entries. Its beauty is often praised; however, a few entries also note its darker side of draining victims of their bodily fluids. Emerald's entry states that Gorebyss drinks its prey's body fluids "through its thin, tubular mouth."
Ultra Moon's entry made the description even worse. It mentions Gorebyss' body-fluid-draining abilities, much like Emerald. But it also notes that the leftover corpse "sinks to the seafloor, where it becomes food for other Pokémon."
10 Cacturne: "Packs Of Them Follow Travelers Through The Desert Until The Travelers Can No Longer Move"
Cacturne is a Dark-type and Grass-type Pokémon, and several Pokédex submissions reflect its dark nature. From all the entries, the general description is that Cacturne travel in groups at night. They seek to take advantage of travelers exhausted and dehydrated from walking through the desert during the day.
Cacturne is often known as the Scarecrow Pokémon, but this behavior makes it seem more like a thug. The fact that it takes advantage of weary travelers is a despicable concept. However, it fits perfectly alongside other Dark-types.
9 Palossand: "Buried Beneath The Castle Are Masses Of Dried-Up Bones From Those Whose Vitality It Has Drained"
Palossand's first appeared in Generation VII. Its Pokédex entries are both intriguing and somewhat disturbing. The Ground/Ghost Pokémon resembles a sandcastle in appearance. However, the Pokédex entries state that this is a mere disguise. The real terror is hidden under the sand.
It eats small Pokémon, siphons away their life force while they're still alive, and then sits on a pile of the bones. This was disconcerting to many, especially for a Pokémon introduced during Sun & Moon, which is mostly lighthearted and fun. One Pokédex entry even dubs Palossand, "The Beach Nightmare."
8 Duskull: "If It Finds Bad Children Who Won't Listen To Their Parents, It Will Spirit Them Away - Or So It's Said"
The first of its evolutionary line, Duskull has some of the evilest Pokédex entries, which date back to its introduction in Generation III. They all add up to describe a devious Ghost-type that loves crying children and thrives on startling and upsetting them, even reportedly taking the especially naughty kids away.
Dusclops and Dusknoir are also threatening in their own right. Although they possess vile traits, their entries imply that they don't understand the harm they're doing – Dusknoir especially. Duskull enjoying tears and essentially abducting children proves its evil intentions.
7 Banette: "It's A Stuffed Toy That Was Thrown Away And Became Possessed, Ever Searching For The One Who Threw It Away So It Can Exact Its Revenge"
The evolved form of the Generation III Pokémon Shuppet, Banette is another example of a Ghost-type whose many Pokédex entries come together to make a chilling backstory.
According to the Pokédex entries, Banette was once a stuffed toy or plush doll. It became possessed by immense dark power – fueled by hatred – after it was abandoned by its owner. This hatred ignites its sense of revenge as it searches for the child that threw it away.
6 Gourgeist: "Large Gourgeist Put On The Guise Of Adults, Taking The Hands Of Children To Lead Them To The Afterlife"
What starts with Gourgeist cursing anyone who hears its eerie songs as per its Generation VI Pokédex, later entries become much more sinister. The descriptions combine to make one terrifying and evil Pokémon.
In its Generation VIII Pokédex entries, all four of its varying sizes have different despicable tastes and habits. Small Gourgeists pretend to be children to trick adults and take them to the afterlife, while larger varieties lead children to the afterlife by doing the reverse. The super-sized Gourgeists aren't picky about who they take; they're just inherently evil.
5 Froslass: "It's Said That On Nights Of Terrible Blizzards, It Comes Down To Human Settlements. If You Hear It Knocking At Your Door, Do Not Open It!"
Despite being a dual-type Ghost/Ice Pokémon, trainers would be forgiven for not finding anything amiss with Froslass or its purpose at first glance. However, its Pokédex entries escalate from being about a woman being reborn as a Froslass after getting lost on an icy mountain, to the soul of a woman freezing handsome hikers and feeding on their souls.
Its Pokédex descriptions in Sun & Moon go so far as to say that Froslass will display its frozen victims as decorations in its chilly den. These entry descriptions should change perceptions of Froslass somewhat.
4 Haunter: "By Licking, It Saps The Victim's Life. It Causes Shaking That Won't Stop Until The Victim's Demise"
As Haunter is the pre-evolution form of Gengar, its main behaviors and characteristics are similar. They mainly lurk in the shadows to launch surprise attacks on unsuspecting prey. However, Haunter's Pokédex entries also focus on its gaseous tongue and how it uses it to steal a victim's life force.
It builds on the malicious intent that Gastly shows, but Haunter's Pokédex descriptions focus more on what it can do to its prey, whereas Gastly's introduction focuses on the fact it's made of gas and souls.
3 Gengar: "Even Your Home Isn't Safe. Gengar Will Lurk In Whatever Dark Corner Of A Room It Can Find And Wait For Its Chance To Catch Its Prey"
Because Gengar is one of the original Ghost-types from Generation I, it's had a lot of different Pokédex entry descriptions over the years. Most of them are sinister and befitting of a spooky Ghost-type. However, the Pokédex entry from Sun ends with a warning, "There is no escaping it. Give up," which is rather worrying.
The general premise is that Gengar will wait for its prey out of sight in the shadows, cooling its surroundings and casting curses on its victims.
2 Eternatus: "Infinite Amounts Of Energy Pour From This Pokémon's Enlarged Core, Warping The Surrounding Space-Time"
Eternatus is one of the most powerful Legendary Pokémon, but it's also one of the most dangerous to exist so far. Its entry from Shield states that it was inside a meteorite that fell 20,000 years ago. Sword also notes that the core on its chest can absorb energy from the Galar region's lands.
During Sword & Shield, Leon failed to capture Eternatus since the Pokémon was just too powerful. It didn't help that Eternatus was known as "The Darkest Day" destined to destroy all of Galar. It could only be defeated with Zacian and Zamazenta's help.
1 Yveltal: "When Its Life Comes To An End, It Absorbs The Life Energy Of Every Living Thing And Turns Into A Cocoon Once More"
Yveltal and Xerneas are the two mascot Legendary Pokémon in X & Y. While Xerneas is a Fairy-type and is said to be able to share everlasting life, Yveltal is the polar opposite, capable of sucking the life force from anything and everything before retreating into a cocoon to rest.
The Pokédex entry for Y specifying "the life force of every living thing" is a much more dangerous and destructive description than simply saying "the life force of other Pokémon." Its description and evil temperament are befitting of its Dark typing.