It’s no secret these days that the world of Pokémon can be a lot more horrifying than Nintendo would like you to believe. Whether it’s Driftloons kidnapping children or Ninetails cursing the descendants of their foes, Pokémon can be pretty terrifying when they want to be. As such, it should be no surprise that many Pokémon were based on old ghost stories from all over the world – but mostly Japan.
We’ve picked out some of the strangest and most disturbing stories that Game Freak turned into a beloved monster. If you’re looking for more Pokémon origin stories, then check out our recent rundown of Pokémon you didn’t know were based on real animals.
[mm-video type=video id=01gjqtdd6j0eyeqbhbya playlist_id=none player_id=01gp1x90emjt3n6txc image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gjqtdd6j0eyeqbhbya/01gjqtdd6j0eyeqbhbya-6ce2fea58518176af3623d0e54e21f71.jpg]