To celebrate spooky season, the Nintendo Switch era of ghost-types, and the hype around upcoming Pokémon Legends: Z-A on Switch, we’re ranking the 7 scariest Pokémon of all time. Every pick is backed by real Pokédex entries from the games, so yes — The Pokémon Company actually wrote this stuff.
Use this list to:
– Build a Halloween-themed team in your next playthrough
– Creep out your friends with Pokédex trivia
– Or just grab some haunted Pokémon gear for your shelf
Let’s get cursed.
The Seven Scariest Pokémon, According to Spawning Point
1: Gengar
Pokédex number: #094
First appeared: Pokémon Red & Blue
Type: Ghost / Poison
Why Gengar is terrifying: Gengar is the original ghost Pokémon and still one of the creepiest. Modern Pokédex entries say: “To steal the life of its target, it slips into the prey’s shadow and silently waits for an opportunity.”
It’s said to hide in people’s shadows at night, drain their body heat, and cause a sudden chill. If you ever feel the temperature drop for no reason, it might be because a Gengar is literally right behind you.
There’s also long-running fan horror that Gengar is basically a dead human or a corrupted version of a trainer. Not explicitly canon, but the “human-shaped shadow that laughs while you die” vibe is strong.
Bring home your own Gengar (minus the soul-draining)!
2: Drifloon
Pokédex number: #425
First appeared: Pokémon Diamond & Pearl
Type: Ghost / Flying
Why Drifloon is terrifying: On the surface, Drifloon just looks like a cute purple balloon with stringy arms. Kids in the games literally want to play with it.
Then you read the Pokédex: “It is whispered that any child who mistakes Drifloon for a balloon and holds on to it could wind up missing.”
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, you’re sent to stop a child from following one. Parents in the game are worried their kids are getting too friendly with Drifloon — and no one is nearly panicked enough about the whole ghost-balloon-abducts-children situation.
Yes, canonically: Drifloon tries to carry children away. Happy Halloween!
3: Froslass
Pokédex number: #478
First appeared: Pokémon Diamond & Pearl
Type: Ice / Ghost
Why Froslass is terrifying: Elegant floating spirit. Delicate kimono sleeves. Blank mask face. Then the Pokédex just says:
“When it finds humans or Pokémon it likes, it freezes them and takes them to its chilly den, where they become decorations.” She’s also described as the vengeful spirit of a woman who died on a snowy mountain. Some entries suggest she prefers the souls of men. So yes: beautiful snow ghost who kidnaps you, flash-freezes you, and displays you like décor.
4: Yamask
Pokédex number: #562
First appeared: Pokémon Black & White
Type: Ghost (Unovan form)
Why Yamask is terrifying: Yamask might secretly be the darkest concept in the entire series. Its lore is basically: this was a human. Now it’s not. The Pokédex explains: “It wanders through ruins by night, carrying a mask that’s said to have been the face it had when it was still human.”
“Sometimes it looks at the mask and cries.”
That implies your friendly Ghost-type partner is literally grieving its own death. Trainers catch them anyway. Nobody calls a priest.
Galarian Yamask swaps the mask for a cursed clay tablet and becomes more of an archaeological haunting tied to old ruins.
5: Litwick
Pokédex number: #607
First appeared: Pokémon Black & White
Type: Ghost / Fire
Why Litwick is terrifying: Litwick is literally a haunted candle. Cute. Round. Slightly melty. Very giftable. And then you learn what it does. “This Pokémon takes lost children by the hand to guide them to the spirit world.”
“The younger the life this Pokémon absorbs, the brighter and eerier the flame on its head burns.”
So it pretends to “guide” you… while draining your life force as fuel.
In some games, NPCs just have Litwick sitting in a room like a candle while it quietly siphons souls. Totally normal.
6: Phantump
Pokédex number: #708
First appeared: Pokémon X & Y
Type: Ghost / Grass
Why Phantump is terrifying: Phantump looks like a tiny haunted tree stump with big sad eyes. Adorable. Until you read literally any Pokédex entry. “These Pokémon are stumps possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest.”
“Their cries sound like eerie screams.”
The usual Phantump story goes: a child gets lost in the woods and doesn’t make it out. Their spirit fuses with a stump and becomes a Ghost/Grass Pokémon. Trainers then catch it and use it in battle.
There’s also the unspoken horror: what if you find a Phantump and realise it used to be someone you knew?
7: Annihilape
Pokédex number: #979
First appeared: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Type: Fighting / Ghost
Why Annihilape is terrifying: Primeape used to just be an angry monkey. Now it canonically gets so angry it transcends death. The Pokédex in Scarlet/Violet says: “When its anger rose beyond a critical point, this Pokémon gained power that is unfettered by the limits of its physical body.”
Plain English: Primeape got so furious it basically rage-died, came back as a Ghost-type, and just kept swinging. You evolve Primeape into Annihilape by repeatedly using the Ghost-type move Rage Fist and levelling up. It’s literally anger that outlived the body.
Catch it, evolve it, display it!!
Honourable Mentions
Other creepy Pokémon worth mentioning:
– Banette: A possessed doll driven by pure revenge against the child who threw it away.
– Mimikyu: A lonely ghost that will curse you if you look under its costume.
– Dusclops: Said to swallow anything into a black hole inside its body.
FAQ
Which Pokémon has the scariest Pokédex entry?
You could argue it’s Phantump or Yamask. Phantump is literally described as the spirit of a dead child possessing a tree stump. Yamask carries the mask of its former human face and sometimes cries about being alive once. That’s not kid-friendly ghost story energy. That’s trauma.
Is Drifloon really confirmed to kidnap children?
Yes. Multiple Pokédex entries warn that children who grab a Drifloon “could wind up missing,” and in-game quests literally make you intervene.
Pick up Pokémon Legends: Arceus on Nintendo Switch
Is Annihilape actually dead?
More or less. The official description says its rage pushed it past the limit of its physical body, and now it’s Fighting/Ghost. That implies it died from anger and came back because it was still mad.
Pick Up Pokémon Scarlet/Violet on Nintendo Switch
Which scary Pokémon should I use on a Halloween team?
For a thematic “haunted team”:
– Gengar (Ghost/Poison)
– Froslass (Ice/Ghost)
– Litwick line → Chandelure (Ghost/Fire)
– Annihilape (Fighting/Ghost)
That gives you Ghost pressure, Fighting coverage, and special attackers.
Play Pokemon on the Nintendo Switch OLED console
Those are our picks for the seven scariest Pokémon ever created. Whether you’re into tragic ghosts, haunted objects, or pure rage that broke reality, Pokémon lore goes way darker than most people remember.
Which one do you think is the creepiest — Gengar, Phantump, or the candle that quietly drains your soul?
Build your own spooky team in Pokémon Scarlet / Pokémon Violet on Nintendo Switch
