Pokémon is based on fictional creatures who engage in battle at their trainer’s command. At face value, the Pokémon world is a lively, cheerful place that we think we know all too well. After closer inspection, it’s evident that there are some disturbing things about Pokémon we can’t overlook.
This section attempts to uncover the dark side of the Pokémon world and reveal its bizarreness. We want to think it’s a picture-perfect place, but that might not be true. We love the Pokémon anime, games, and other media, yet you may have a different view of it after reading this listicle. These are 10 unsettling facts about the Pokémon world.
10 Adults Try To Steal From Kids!
Except for the Professors, the adults of the Pokémon world almost always have bad intentions. Team Rocket is out to steal Pokémon from children. Although they have the money and resources to build sophisticated Pokémon-stealing devices, Jesse and James give us the impression that they are poor. Something about teenagers following children to steal their Pokémon is unsettling. Were they pressed into service? Who’s pulling the strings? Especially considering these Pokémon aren’t rare in the wild, it seems like some sort of organized malice. Jesse and James decided to live a life of crime, which shows that crime doesn’t pay.
9 Humans Eat Pokémon
It’s a disturbing thought, but not a single animal has been seen in the Pokémon series. When Pokémon trainers are eating meat, what are they eating? The lack of an explanation can only bring us to the conclusion that humans eat Pokémon.
It is already confirmed that Slowpoke Tails are a delicacy in the Pokémon world. Slowpoke Tails first appeared in the second generation of the Pokémon games (Gold and Silver). In Pokémon X and Y, Slowpoke Tails can be purchased from the Restaurant Le Yeah as a dish. Some of these animals are clearly sentient! What’s happening here?
8 Trainers Trap Their Pokémon In Tiny Balls
Confining Pokémon to the limited space of a Poké Ball should be a crime. Instead, it is common for trainers to catch Pokémon using these intricate devices. Once a Pokémon is captured, it has no choice but to obey its trainer, unless it’s a very high level.
Imagine sitting in a Poké Ball for hours and hours. Even more disturbing is that somewhere, a Pokémon sits in a PC box and can sit there for months or maybe years! Catching Pokémon could spell the end of their lives in the Pokémon world.
7 Pokémon Can Weigh Over 2,000 lbs (2 Tons)
In a tie with Cosmoem, Celesteela is the heaviest Pokémon in existence. Resembling a space shuttle made out of bamboo shoots, it’s no wonder why this legendary Pokémon weighs more than 2 tons. This weight is a conservative number considering that ordinary spaceships weigh approximately 165,000 lbs when they don’t have fuel.
Some Pokémon are gigantic creatures that occupy the Pokémon world. Giant Pokémon are not uncommon in the Pokémon series. They can cause destruction and wreak havoc, but most are friendly and want to please their masters.
6 Cubone Wears Its Dead Mother’s Skull
There is another unsettling thing to discuss that is related to the Pokémon world. Did you know that every Cubone wears the skull of their dead mother? It never removes the skull, and apparently, nobody has ever seen the face of a Cubone.
According to Cubone’s Pokémon Yellow Pokédex entry, “Wears the skull of its deceased mother. Its cries echo inside the skull and come out as a sad melody.” Cubone isn’t a Ghost-type Pokémon, but it is one of the most haunting Pokémon in existence.
5 Kids Explore The World Without Parents
Kids in the Pokémon world come and go as they please. Kids usually start their journey as a Pokémon trainer when they turn ten years old (11 in the Alolan region). This means that the majority of kids are running rampant throughout the Pokémon world, even with all its dangers.
We love the idea of an anime where kids get the independence they wouldn’t have in the real world. It takes kids into a world that’s quite different from their own. Still, it’s hard to ignore that kids are separated from their parents at the young age of 10.
4 Muk Consumes Garbage To Live
Both Muk and Grimer consume garbage to survive. This glob of sludge is not a pile of toxic waste but is a living Pokémon. It usually lives in biohazardous areas, and it will cause the death of any plants it touches. For these reasons, it might not be the ideal Pokémon for a trainer. Who wants to stand next to this smelly pile of goop?
Despite its revolting smell, Muk may be one of the most helpful Pokémon in the Pokémon world. It consumes any waste from humans or Pokémon. It brings cleanliness to the world, but rarely receives the appreciation it deserves.
3 Azurill Can Change Genders After Evolving
When Azurill evolves into a Marill, it can change gender. One out of three Azurill can change from a male into a female. Azurill is the only Pokémon in the world who is known to change genders when it evolves. That is unless you count Shedinja, who loses its gender entirely after evolving from a Nincada. The process to evolve Nincada is a multi-step process, adding the strangeness of its evolution.
2 Pokémon Can Devolve
The only known Pokémon to devolve is Slowbro. Although it’s not possible in the Pokémon games, it has been inferred from Pokédex entries that Slowbro can devolve into a Slowpoke. This precedent makes it possible for future Pokémon to devolve.
According to Slowbro’s Pokémon Yellow Pokédex entry, “Lives lazily by the sea. If the Shellder on its tail comes off, it becomes a Slowpoke again.” Although its tail looks nothing like a Shellder, the two Pokémon are connected by evolution and devolution.
1 Pokémon Turn On Their Trainers
Further driving home the point that kids shouldn’t wander the Pokémon world, Pokémon turn on their trainers! Ash rescued Charmander from the rain and cold, saving Charmander’s life. Charizard, the evolved form of Charmander, repays Ash by burning him with scorching flames. This is not the first example of a Pokémon attacking humans. We’ve seen it happen to Team Rocket countless times. The Pokémon world is a dangerous and unsettling place.
NEXT: Pokémon: Every Galar Starter Pokémon Evolution, Ranked
