The 15 Most Evil Pokemon & Why the Worst of Them Were Wronged First

Most Pokemon are cute and cuddly. Some of them are cute and cuddly and still downright evil. One looks like a purple balloon you would buy a child at a fair, and it drags children away to the afterlife.

Here are the 15 most evil Pokemon:

The 15 Most Evil Pokemon

#15

Gorebyss

Gorebyss inserts its thin mouth into its prey's body and sucks the bodily fluids out of it. The leftover meat sinks to the seafloor, where it becomes food for other Pokemon. It swims with great elegance and beauty, and it is also cruel.

Gorebyss may have been based on the snipe eel. It also resembles a pipefish and an oarfish, and its shell might be the remains of its previous form, Clamperl. It is the South Sea Pokemon, 1.8 m long and 22.6 kg. It is the mildest case here, because it wastes nothing and every leftover feeds another Pokemon.

#14

Ninetales

Ninetales is very smart and very vengeful. Grabbing one of its many tails can result in a 1000-year curse, and it casts a sinister light from its bright red eyes to gain total control over its foe's mind.

Ninetales is based on a fox, and it may be based on the kitsune of Japanese legend, which are said to have many tails and extremely long lifespans. It is the Fox Pokemon, 1.1 m tall and 19.9 kg, and it is said to live for a thousand years. (Nine tails, and we would still keep our hands in our pockets.)

#13

Wo-Chien

Wo-Chien is the grudge of a person punished for writing the king's evil deeds upon wooden tablets, and it has clad itself in dead leaves to become a Pokemon. It drains the life-force from vegetation, causing nearby forests to instantly wither and fields to turn barren.

Wo-Chien may be modeled after the decollate snail, a predatory land snail native to the Mediterranean. Its shell is constructed from slips, narrow strips of bamboo or wood used as writing media in China before paper. It is the Ruinous Pokemon, a legendary Pokemon, 1.5 m tall and 74.2 kg.

#12

Ceruledge

Ceruledge cuts its enemies to pieces without mercy. It evolved from an old set of armor steeped in grudges, and its blades burn with the lingering resentment of a sword wielder who fell before accomplishing their goal.

Ceruledge may be based on a possessed suit of armor. Its design could also draw on the poem El Cantar de mio Cid, whose Spanish knight is said to have won his most important battle after death, which would explain Ceruledge's Ghost typing. It is the Fire Blades Pokemon, 1.6 m tall and 62 kg. (A grudge that comes with a sword is a hard thing to return to the shop.)

#11

Lampent

Lampent lurks in cities, pretending to be a lamp. Once it finds someone whose death is near, it trails them, and it hangs around hospitals waiting for people to pass on. The spirits it absorbs fuel its baleful fire.

Lampent is based on an oil street lamp and the hitodama, the will-o'-the-wisps of Japanese folklore. Its lampshade resembles a witch hat. It is the Lamp Pokemon, 0.6 m tall and 13 kg.

#10

Mimikyu

Mimikyu has an old rag that has killed people who looked under it. A scientist who peeked under it in the name of research died of a mysterious disease, and a scholar who saw what was under it was overwhelmed by terror and died from the shock.

Mimikyu's disguise is based on Pikachu. The execution is similar to a ghost portrayed using bedsheets as a type of costume, often with a face drawn or cut out. Its actual appearance under the rag is unknown. It is the Disguise Pokemon, 0.2 m tall and 0.7 kg.

Spiritomb

Spiritomb lays curses by thinking wicked thoughts. It was born out of five score and eight malevolent spirits, which adds up to 108, and it was bound to a fissure in an odd keystone as punishment for misdeeds 500 years ago.

Spiritomb may be based on a Jibakurei, a spirit bound to a single place, or on a Deildegast, a Norwegian folklore spirit that is forced to haul around a boundary stone as punishment for moving one while it was alive. It is the Forbidden Pokemon. It weighs 108 kg, the same number as the spirits it was born from, and stands 1 m tall.

Honedge

Honedge drains people's lives away with its old cloth. Its soul once belonged to a person who was killed a long time ago by the sword that makes up its body.

Honedge is based on a fully sentient, possessed magical sword. In Japanese legends, an object left behind or forgotten by its owner can become a tsukumogami, and swords and umbrellas were the ones most commonly said to attack humans. It is the Sword Pokemon, 0.8 m tall and 2 kg.

Haunter

Haunter is a frightful, malevolent spirit. Victims of its lick shake without stopping until they die, and they wither to death day by day.

Haunter is based on a ghost. Its evolutionary line appears to depict a ghost crossing from the afterlife into the living world, with Haunter representing one that has partially broken through. Its lick may come from the Dila, a Philippine spirit that licked the life energy of sick people until they died. It is the Gas Pokemon, 1.6 m tall and 0.1 kg.

Banette

Banette is a stuffed toy that was thrown away and became possessed. It is ever searching for the one who threw it away so it can exact its revenge. Resentment at being cast off made it spring into being.

Banette is based on the idea of a haunted doll, and its habit of sticking itself with pins is a reference to the popular concept of a voodoo doll. It is the Marionette Pokemon, 1.1 m tall and 12.5 kg. (We keep our old toys where we can see them.)

Phantump

Phantump cries out with a voice like a human child's to lure adults deep into the forest, getting them lost among the trees. It is a stump possessed by the spirits of children who died while lost in the forest.

Phantump is probably based on the stump of a kodama, the spirits of trees that sometimes inhabit old-aged trees. It is also similar to other tree and nature spirits, such as dryads. It is the Stump Pokemon, 0.4 m tall and 7 kg.

Drifloon

Drifloon grabs the hands of small children and drags them away to the afterlife. It dislikes heavy children, and it lures away the young ones and carries them off.

Drifloon is based on a balloon. The yellow shape around its mouth resembles a puncture bandage, and its heart-shaped feet resemble the weights on the strings of helium balloons. It is the Balloon Pokemon, 0.4 m tall and 1.2 kg. (We would not trust a balloon with a mouth.)

Gengar

Gengar takes the lives of other humans to create a traveling companion, because it was once human itself. It possesses potential victims' shadows to steal away their lives, and if your shadow begins to laugh, you must take hold of a protective charm posthaste. (Advice we would ignore until the shadow laughed.)

Gengar is based on a ghost. Its evolutionary line appears to depict a ghost crossing from the afterlife into the living world, with Gengar representing one that successfully broke through. It is the Shadow Pokemon, 1.5 m tall and 40.5 kg.

Froslass

Froslass places deathly curses on misbehaving men, and the food it most relishes is the souls of men. It is inhabited by the soul of a woman who died bearing a grudge in the snowy mountains. After she met her end on a snowy mountain, her regrets lingered on, and from them this Pokemon was born.

Froslass is most likely based on Yuki-onna, a female ice-spirit of Japanese folklore. Its body shape also resembles a kokeshi doll. It is the Snow Land Pokemon, 1.3 m tall and 26.6 kg.

Palossand

Palossand is known as the Beach Nightmare. It pulls its prey down into the sand by controlling the sand itself, and then it sucks out their souls. Possessed people controlled by it transformed its sand mound into a castle, and as it evolved, its power to curse grew ever stronger.

Palossand is based on a sand castle. Its Ghost type is likely a reference to haunted castles, a common trope in horror stories, and the way it captures its prey is similar to popular media depictions of quicksand. It is the Sand Castle Pokemon, 1.3 m tall and 250 kg.

The Worst Ones Were Wronged First

Banette is a toy that was thrown away. Froslass is a woman who died in the snow bearing a grudge, Phantump is a child who got lost in a forest, and Honedge's soul belonged to a person killed by the sword it now is. Ceruledge is armor steeped in grudges and Wo-Chien is a grudge in dead leaves. These Pokemon were wronged first and turned dangerous after.

Houndoom looks the part of a devil, with horns and a pointed tail that copy common drawings of it, yet people a long time ago only thought it was the grim reaper and feared it. Palossand has no horns at all, and it sucks out souls.

Most Evil Pokemon FAQ

What is the most evil Pokemon?

Palossand. It pulls its prey down into the sand and sucks out their souls.

Which of the 15 has the highest base stat total?

Wo-Chien, at 570. Ceruledge follows at 525.

Are most of the 15 Ghost types?

Yes. 12 of the 15 are Ghost types.

Is Wo-Chien a legendary Pokemon?

Yes. Wo-Chien is a legendary Pokemon.