The 15 Halloween Pokemon & What Makes Them Spooky

Most Pokemon would not scare a child. Some of them belong in a haunted house.

Some of the designs come from real scares, such as a haunted doll and a ghost made from a bedsheet.

Here are the 15 best Pokemon for Halloween:

Halloween Pokemon

#15

Giratina

Giratina and its Distortion World are personifications of antimatter, according to Junichi Masuda and Takeshi Kawachimaru. In its Altered Forme it resembles a European dragon or a sauropod, its wings may be based on a bat's, and its body and pose look like those of a sphinx moth caterpillar.

One Hisuian verse tells of a powerful light creating a deep shadow, and the writer imagines that the deep shadow is Giratina. It is a legendary Pokemon, a group the games flag separately from regular ones, 4.5 m tall and 750 kg.

#14

Sableye

Sableye may be based on the Hopkinsville Goblin, a creature from an alleged alien encounter in Kentucky that was described as having shining eyes, small legs, clawed arms and swaying hips. Sableye imitates that sway in the 3D Pokemon games.

Sableye feeds on gemstone crystals, and its eyes sparkle with the glitter of jewels in darkness. It is the Darkness Pokemon, 0.5 m tall and 11 kg. The gems on its body may refer to the games it debuted in.

#13

Mew

Mew's earliest design in Red and Green resembled a vertebrate embryo, with a large head and a small body. It has a short muzzle and large hind feet, which are common in cats, and its large hind legs and long skinny tail are vaguely like those of a jerboa.

Its short, fine, delicate hair can be seen when it is viewed through a microscope. It is a mythical Pokemon, 0.4 m tall and 4 kg.

#12

Parasect

Parasect carries a mushroom that appears to control its actions. It resembles a cicada nymph, and it may also be based on an umbrella crab with a mushroom for a carapace. The concept could come from ants that are infected with mushroom spores, which take control of the host ant's brain and sprout from its head or back. The fungus on Parasect is identified as tochukaso, a real fungus that replaces the host tissue and can affect its behavior.

Mushroom-lacking specimens lie unmoving in the forest, which lends credence to the hypothesis that the large mushroom controls Parasect's actions. It is 1 m tall and 29.5 kg.

#11

Arceus

Arceus is based on a creator deity. Its creation myths and the shape of its torso evoke an egg, and its look draws on Classical Greece through its name and its rows of columns.

Hisuian mythology states that Arceus is the creator of all things. Its ability, Multitype, changes its type and form to match whichever Plate it holds. It is a mythical Pokemon, 3.2 m tall and 320 kg.

#10

Ditto

Ditto could be based on a blob or modeling clay, and it strongly resembles an amoeba, a single-celled organism with no definite shape. That may also explain why Ditto cannot be bred, since single-celled organisms reproduce differently from plants and animals with many cells.

When it meets another Ditto, it moves faster than normal to duplicate that opponent exactly. It is the Transform Pokemon, 0.3 m tall and 4 kg.

Mimikyu

Mimikyu wears a disguise based on Pikachu, with a crudely drawn face that looks like a child's crayon drawing. The disguise resembles a ghost made from a bedsheet, the classic Halloween costume, and in the games it exists because Pikachu merchandise got so popular 20 years earlier.

A scientist once peeked under its old rag in the name of research and died of a mysterious disease. It is the Disguise Pokemon, 0.2 m tall and 0.7 kg.

Darkrai

Darkrai is the personification of nightmares, and it resembles folklore creatures such as the mare and other night hags. Its appearance is a ghostly shadow, probably inspired by descriptions of the bogeyman as a dark and formless figure.

On a moonless night every inhabitant of a village suffered nightmares, and the villagers attested that Darkrai appeared before them in those dreams. Its ability is Bad Dreams. It is a mythical Pokemon, 1.5 m tall and 50.5 kg.

Spiritomb

Spiritomb lays curses by thinking wicked thoughts, and it was born out of the assembly of five score and eight malevolent spirits, which is 108. It may be based on a Jibakurei, a spirit bound to a single place, or on a Deildegast, a Norwegian spirit forced to haul a boundary stone around as punishment for moving one while alive. The number 108 may come from a New Year's Eve tradition in Japan in which a bell is rung 108 times to chase away 108 temptations.

It weighs 108 kg and stands 1 m tall. It is the Forbidden Pokemon.

Banette

Banette is based on a haunted doll, and its Pokedex backstory of an ordinary doll coming to life is similar to the tsukumogami, an idea rooted in Shinto animism. Its habit of sticking itself with pins is a reference to voodoo dolls, and its loosely hanging arms are a common sign of Japanese ghosts.

Resentment at being cast off made it spring into being, and treating it well will satisfy it, so it may become a stuffed toy again. It is the Marionette Pokemon, 1.1 m tall and 12.5 kg.

Mr. Mime

Mr. Mime is based on a mime artist who pretends to be trapped in an invisible box, and its bright body also recalls a clown and a court jester. Its jerky animations make it look like a jointed puppet or doll, which connects it to the tsukumogami, objects that come to life when spirits possess them.

Its behavior reminds one of pantomime, and it creates invisible walls with a force from its fingertips. It stands 1.3 m tall and weighs 54.5 kg.

Jynx

Jynx may be based on a Nordic or Viking woman, possibly Hel, the goddess of the underworld. Its purple coloring may come from the purple skin discoloration that frostbite causes, which suits an Ice type found in very cold places.

It is the Human Shape Pokemon, 1.4 m tall and 40.6 kg. Galar Jynx often have beautiful and delicate voices, and it has traits of a female opera singer, with Pokemon Snap and its Generation III sprites showing it singing.

Gengar

Gengar is based on a ghost, and its evolution line shows a ghost crossing from the afterlife into the living world. Mega Gengar and Gigantamax Gengar can create portals to other dimensions and to the afterlife.

Gengar possesses potential victims' shadows to steal their lives, and if your shadow begins to laugh, you should grab a protective charm. It is the Shadow Pokemon, a Ghost and Poison type, 1.5 m tall and 40.5 kg.

Hypno

Hypno tries to put you to sleep with its pendulum. It may be based on a tapir, a hypnotist and the baku, the dream-eating spirit of Japanese mythology. It also looks like a proboscis monkey, and parts of its behavior resemble fairies, goblins, bogeymen and other supernatural beings in European folklore.

If you meet a Hypno, avoid eye contact. It is the Hypnosis Pokemon, 1.6 m tall and 75.6 kg. Hypno also has a creepypasta, a scary story passed around the internet.

Pikachu

Pikachu is a popular Halloween costume. It was named without much thought by its designer, Nishida, and Satoshi Tajiri, the head of Game Freak, chose a mouse as its base animal, though it was not originally meant to be one. It stores electricity in its cheek sacs and roasts tough berries with an electric shock before eating them.

It is the Mouse Pokemon, evolves from Pichu, stands 0.4 m tall and weighs 6 kg.

Only Six Are Ghost Types

Only 6 of the 15 are Ghost types. The other nine include Mr. Mime and two more humanlike Psychic types, Hypno and Jynx.

The Ghost types here are built from things people own, such as the doll behind Banette and the costume behind Mimikyu.

Halloween Pokemon FAQ

What is the best Pokemon for Halloween?

Pikachu is the best Pokemon for Halloween, because it is a popular costume.

Which of the 15 is the strongest?

Arceus, with a base stat total of 720. Giratina is next with 680.

Is Hypno a Ghost type?

No. Hypno is a Psychic type.