Top Ten: Scariest Pokémon

Hallowe’en arrives early at the Dojo as we count down some of the Gastl’iest Pokémon!

By Joseph Nelson. Posted 08/22/2012 14:30 Comment on this     ShareThis

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3. Duskull, Dusclops and Dusknoir

Duskull, Dusclops and Dusknoir artwork

Yes, it’s another set of Ghost Pokémon, but I can tell you now that it won’t be a Ghost Pokémon taking the top spot. Even though this is a Top Ten, I feel the need to include these three as one as Duskull looks like death. Literally. It wears a Grim Reaper-style cloak, and wears a skull as a mask. What sets it aside from a cheap Hallowe’en costume, though, is that glowing orb… inside it. This orb is present within all its evolutions, so it could be assumed that this glowing red ball is actually the Pokémon itself, especially considering it needs a cloak to evolve into its final form.

Duskull’s behaviour, though, is particularly nasty. It can glide through walls, much like the next entry on this list, and stalks its prey relentlessly. Cautionary tales usually involve a Duskull coming after children who misbehave and taking them away, but Dex entries also tell us that it loves the sound of children crying, sometimes scaring them deliberately just to hear them scream, regardless of whether they’ve been bad or not.

Dusclops, on the other hand, has evolved into a sort of black hole-like creature, sucking anything into its hollow body. But where does it go? The Dex tells us that nothing ever comes out. Its red orb/eye seems to be a portal of some kind that aids its absorption of matter (and people presumably).

Dusknoir, however, seems to be a much…kinder(?) evolution. Whereas its predecessors seemed to steal human souls wantonly, Dusknoir has a greater purpose. We are told that that antenna on its head is actually capable of receiving radio waves from the Ghost World, which carry transmissions telling it to bring it souls. That seems evil, and implies that somewhere in this ghost world is someone that is commanding all the Ghost Pokémon, but closer inspection of Dusknoir’s other Dex entries suggest something much more. It gathers lost spirits, and takes them home. This implies that, if anything, it serves as an emissary between this world and the next, helping guide spirits who have become lost on their way to the afterlife. This is rather odd, as Ghost Pokémon tend to prey on human souls specifically, and this is the only entry that seems to suggest they do so for a reason other than simple predation. Dusknoir is, in essence, the Angel of Death, guiding the deceased home to the afterlife, where they can finally rest in peace, and that’s quite nice, really.

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