Our scary, spooky Halloween-themed Pokemon squad

While our list of the creepiest and most unsettling Pokédex entries from Pokémon Sword and Shield is perfect for getting into the Halloween spirit, we figured, why stop there?

Since I’ve already built my own Christmas-themed Pokémon team it only makes sense to celebrate the season of tricks, treats, and jump scares with a scary, spooky Halloween-themed Pokémon squad.

Gourgeist

Jack-o’-lanterns are pretty much the de facto icon of Halloween, so it only makes sense that the first pick for our Halloween-themed Pokémon squad is none other than Gourgeist, the Pumpkin Pokémon.

True to its Halloween aesthetic and Ghost/Grass type-combination, Gourgeist’s behavior is just as creepy as its design. Those flowing tendrils attached to its slender, brown “stem” (which is actually its head) are its arms. According to the Pokédex entry from Alpha Sapphire, Gourgeist “enwraps its prey in its hairlike arms and sings joyfully as it observes the suffering of its prey.”

Talk about sadistic. Now I can’t unsee the image of a Gourgeist gleefully serenading its victims, like some gourd-shaped monster-mashup of Sweeney Todd, the Irish vampire from Sinners and a Venus Flytrap as it slowly squeezes a poor Jigglypuff into oblivion.

Mismagius

Witches are Halloween icons too, and Mismagius, a purple, ghostly Pokémon with a witch’s hat nails the look.

Much like Gourgeist, Mismagius likes to sing and its singing has crazy repercussions. According to the Pokémon X Pokédex, Mismagius’ singing is more like chanting, and it’s a toss-up whether that singing will be good or bad for those who hear it.

> “It chants incantations. While they usually torment targets, some chants bring happiness.”

Apparently, people in the Pokemon universe really like those enigmatic odds, because according to the Pokemon Moon PokeDex, “Mismagius have been known to cast spells to make people fall in love, so some people search for this Pokémon as if their life depended on it.”

And honestly, that makes sense; their lives really do depend on it, as Mismagius either bewitches someone into falling for the person who found it or that person is cursed for life. Fair trade, right?

And now I can’t help but imagine some alternate universe in the Pokemon anime where Brock owned a Mismagius instead of an Onix and used it to prevent the 697 times he was rejected by women throughout the show’s 15 seasons.

But I digress. Mismagius has the perfect look and vibe for a Halloween-themed Pokemon squad and it’s easy to see why.

Crobat

Bats are another Halloween staple, and since I’m still mentally scarred from battling endless waves of Zubats in Mt. Moon back in Pokémon Gen 1, it only feels right to include Zubat’s final evolution, Crobat, as the scariest bat Pokémon around.

With a base Speed of 130, Crobat is blisteringly fast and the perfect lead for our Halloween-themed Pokémon squad. Naturally, it uses that speed to indulge in its favorite pastime: drinking blood.

According to the Pokémon Ultra Sun Pokédex, “Its fangs are so sharp, if it bites you in the dark and sucks your blood, you won’t notice any pain or even realize you’ve been bitten.”

Fast, silent, fanged and a total nightmare to run into in a cave, Crobat is basically the Nosferatu of the Pokémon world and a perfect fit for this Halloween-themed Pokemon squad.

Cubone

While Cubone might be one of the most adorable and iconic designs in all of Pokemon, it also carries one of the most morbid, unsettling PokeDex entries in the game as well.

Namely, it’s wearing the skull of its dead mother.

Its main weapon, used for attacks like Bone Club and Bonemerang appears to be a long femur bone and… we don’t want to think about where that one came from.

Houndoom

Speaking of spooky, scary skeletons, I’d be remiss not to include one of our favorite Pokémon – Houndoom, a bone-plated, devil-horned demon dog that looks like it clambered straight out of the Pokémon underworld.

I went over this already in my previously mentioned “Most disturbing PokeDex entries of all time” article, but Houndoom doesn’t just look intimidating. It has equally terrifying powers. According to the Pokédex, anyone burned by the flames from Houndoom’s mouth experiences pain that “never goes away,” a perfect addition to any Halloween-themed Pokémon squad, and surely the kind of friend you’d want around after someone egged your house, TP’d your yard, or smashed your pumpkins.

Haunter

I’ve already covered jack-o’-lanterns, witches, and bats so next up for my Halloween-themed Pokemon squad is the classic ghost.

The moment someone mentions Ghost-type Pokemon, Gengar immediately floats to mind. But despite my fondness for its sly, Cheshire Cat grin it’s Gengar’s second-stage evolution, Haunter, that I prefer for this Halloween-themed Pokemon squad as it more accurately nails the look of a classic Halloween ghost.

With its disembodied, clawed hands, jagged, floating form, and toothless, crooked grin, Haunter just looks more haunting and ethereal than Gengar’s pudgier, Clefable-doppelgänger appearance. There’s an eerie charm in how Haunter drifts through the air, like a mischievous spirit waiting to strike.

And that’s not all. For those familiar with the Pokemon anime or the games’ PokeDex entries, Haunter’s most chilling trait is actually its Gene Simmons–like tongue, a gaseous appendage it uses to lick unsuspecting victims and drain their life force. According to the Pokémon Sword Pokédex, “If licked, its victim starts shaking constantly until death eventually comes.”

Slimer, eat your heart out.

Mimikyu

I know our Halloween-themed Pokémon squad already has six members, but Mimikyu has to be included. After all, what truly embodies Halloween once you’ve covered ghosts, bats, witches, and demons?

Costumes.

And that’s exactly what Mimikyu is: a Ghost/Fairy-type Pokémon hiding beneath a raggedy Pikachu disguise.

As I explained in my Creepiest and Most Unsettling Pokédex Entries from Pokémon Sword and Shield article, no one actually knows what Mimikyu looks like under that costume.

For starters, no one has seen what Mimikyu really looks like beneath its crayon-scrawled exterior. No one has seen it and lived to tell the tale — not even the scholar who tried to study it for educational research. According to the Pokémon Sun Pokédex entry:

“Its actual appearance is unknown. A scholar who saw what was under its rag was overwhelmed by terror and died from the shock.”

Mysterious, able to kill by its incomprehensibly terrifying Lovecraftian-horror looks alone and a Halloween costume wearer at heart, Mimikyu is the perfect finishing touch to any spooky Pokémon squad.

Do you agree with this list for a spooky Halloween-themed Pokémon squad? Which haunting and eerie Pokémon from the games would you have included instead?

Sources:

Mismagius art: Fydraws

Crobat art: Haychel

Haunter art: David Szilagyi