Warning: This post contains references to suicide.
Creepypasta is a rabbit hole forum full of scary stories and amateur horror fiction, home to Slender Man, Smile Dog, and the notorious Russian Sleep Experiment. These make terrifying reads, raw enough to rob sleep from you, and the dark-suited, long-armed child snatcher was popular enough to inspire video games and a (sadly below par) 2018 movie. The inception of Creepypastas first appeared on 4chan around 2007 and quickly built a following of readers and anonymous writers who dared to contribute, but this phenomenon also carved a portion of unsettling tales and urban legends within the Pokemon franchise that elevated gameplay and the lore dramatically.
Pokemon Red and Bluewas released in 1996 on the Game Boy Color, and in retrospect, the RPG’s Creepypasta history certainly colored the once pure, 8-bit adventure. Fans will be all too familiar with the infantile, linear town-hopping blueprint that serves as the foundation for a majority ofPokemongames. This formula is, without doubt, a winning recipe, determined by the success of the series' video game catalog, but for teenage and adult fans, this repetitive premise can become stale - not to mention the now unwatchable anime series that follows the same mind-numbing plot every episode. Luckily, Creepypasta was on hand to drag the airy-fairy nature of Kanto and Pokemon’s Generation 1 down into the depths of disturbia.
A Deep Dive Into Pokemon’s Most Terrifying Creature
Oh, sure, it may look cute on the outside …
Pokemon Dark Version Is A Horror Fan’s Dream
Choose your starter, catch wild pocket monsters, defeat gym leaders, and become the very best trainer in the region. It’s a vanilla endeavor, and the chiptune themes add to its charm, but I yearned for something darker within this micro world as I got older, and Creepypasta answered those prayers. Alongside the various tips and hidden details surfacing within the Pokemon Red and Blue player pool - including talking to Bill 1000 times to make a Marill appear behind his house and using the Nintendo DS mic to wake up sleeping Pokemon with your voice - several Creepypastas and urban legends focused on the franchise’s lore, and these myths had a habit of burrowing into your brain and changing the way you viewed the idyllic, PG-rated Kanto region.
For starters, one Creepypasta proposed the idea that Ash Ketchum’s trials were all happening in his head. The story,Ash’s Coma, leans into the popular twist trend suggesting the keen trainer fell into a coma after being struck by lightning early on in the anime series. The journey of Ash, Misty, and Brock is therefore theorized to be medicated dreams, and the youngster is living vicariously through them to keep his goal of becoming the best trainer alive. This idea is fueled by the anime’s alleged change of pace and tone after Ash’s accident, which adds some credence to the idea. This Creepypasta also flips your entire perspective of the boy’s saga on its head, injecting a much-needed dose of realism to ground the material.
…several Creepypastas and urban legends focused on the franchise’s lore, and these myths had a habit of burrowing into your brain and changing the way you viewed the idyllic, PG-rated Kanto region.
Another Creepypasta targets the eerie anomaly that is Ditto.White Dittooffers a dark origin for the mirroring, Normal-type Pokemon, claiming these pink splodges are actually failed Mew clones. This theory is backed by Dittos appearing where Mews were allegedly experimented on, both Pokemon sharing the same color and stats, and both carrying the ‘transform’ ability as a primary move. The idea that Dittos are failed Mew clones is twisted but intriguing. Being the most sought-after mythical Pokemon in Generation 1, alongside the artificial Mewtwo, it would make sense that the villains of Kanto would attempt to clone this powerful, psychic creature for their own gain, and the Dittos are sadly made out to be discarded failures birthed from an immoral agenda.
What If: Pokémon Made A Horror Game?
With all the spooky stories they have, it’s a wonder why they haven’t done it yet.
Lavender Town Still Haunts A Generation
The best and most renowned Pokemon Creepypasta on record is confidentlyLavender Town Syndrome. This unnerving tale regarded Japan’s initial release of Pokemon Green and contained the original version of the Lavender Town chiptune theme. The legend details how the high-pitched tones, binaural beats, and atonal discord caused headaches and erratic behavior in hundreds of Japanese children, and it eventually drove them to commit suicide. The harrowing myth states these deaths forcedNintendoto recall the original copies andGame Freakhad to alter the theme for the Western release of Red and Blue. Regardless of the speculative amendment of Lavender Town’s tune, this theme remains one of the creepiest video game tracks to exist and adds toCubone’s heartbreaking loss.
…as both a Pokemon fan and a lover of horror, these Creepypastas added several layers of mystery, curiosity, and a darker tone to make gameplay more emotive for me.
Understandably, the bright and cozy nature of the Pokemon franchise is a wonderful place for escapism, and gamers often turn to these sugarcoated titles to silence the real world for a while. Therefore, the last thing they want to be reminded of is tragedy, injustice, and death. However, as both a Pokemon fan and a lover of horror, these Creepypastas added several layers of mystery, curiosity, and a darker tone to make gameplay more emotive for me. Later legends likeLost Silver- describing a secondhand, haunted Game Boy Color cartridge forPokemon Silverfeaturing a party of five Unowns left by the previous owner that encouraged the current player to “LEAVE” - went on to harness the same depth of intrigue and unsettle future fans. There’s a sinister side to every story, and Pokemon’s darker alternative unlocked my morbid appreciation.
The Unsolved Mystery Of Pokemon X And Y’s Lumiose City Ghost
The Lumiose City Ghost is a great mystery that deserves to live on as such.
