Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 1,86 (click to see context) from:
%%
%% Spoiler markup cannot be placed on Nightmare Fuel subpages since it defeats the page's purpose.
%%
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pokemon_mimikyu.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[YouDoNotWantToKnow Don't ask what it's saying]]. [[SchmuckBait And don't you dare peek under its costume]]. [[NearDeathExperience Not if you value your life]].]]
----
* Beedrill in general. They are three feet tall and attack in swarms if provoked just like real-life bees.
* The [[FeatheredFiend Spearow flock]] that went after Ash and Pikachu not once, but ''twice''.
** In the first time (the very first episode of the series), Ash meets a Spearow after mistaking it for a Pidgey and throwing a rock at it (Ash had been frustrated because he wasn't able to catch a Pidgey and Pikachu wasn't cooperating). The Spearow responded by attacking him and Pikachu before calling its family for reinforcements. Said family appeared to consist of ''[[ZergRush every single Spearow in the vicinity]]''. The psychotic birds proceeded to [[SuperPersistentPredator hunt Ash and Pikachu relentlessly throughout the route, with KILLING both of them apparently being their top priority above all else]]. Eventually, Ash is [[HeroicSacrifice more than willing to let them do whatever it is they plan on doing to him for Pikachu's safety]] and they aren't beaten until Pikachu shocks them with an attack so powerful it more or less drains the life out of him.
** The second time (in the episode with Pidgeotto's evolution), it turns out that while Ash was absent, the Spearow he hit with the rock evolved into a [[GiantFlyer much larger]] Fearow. And not only did it remember who Ash is, but its seething hatred for him appears to have gotten ''worse'', as it tries to kill him on sight. And it's still the alpha of its massive flock, not to mention having evidently bullied a mixed flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto ([[TheWorfEffect the latter normally fiercely territorial themselves]]) into submission. Think of it all from Ash's point of view--chased by a huge, vicious, predatory bird with sharp talons, a Swiss army knife for a beak, [[ZergRush the coordination to hunt in a massive flock]], and ''[[ItsPersonal the intelligence required to hold a grudge]]''.
* When Ash is challenged by the bug-catching samurai. He gets one look at the trainer's Pinsir and imagines it snapping his Metapod in half.
* Lt. Surge. Before Ash and co. even meet him, they're greeted by a carnage of brutally defeated Pokémon that tried to fight his Raichu, so much so that the city's Pokémon center was overflowing by the time they visited it. Compared to many other leaders, Surge was positively ''ruthless''.
** Not to mention what his Raichu can do when it's at full power. Its Thunderbolt was capable of '''tearing the gym to shreds'''.
* ''Sabrina.'' Just ''everything'' about her can be a bit disturbing for younger viewers of the ''Pokémon'' anime. As an EmotionlessGirl with PsychicPowers, Sabrina and her Pokémon all have red GlowingEyesOfDoom for whatever reason (likely to emphasize on her own powers), she even has a [[LivingToy doll of herself]] (and her mother), "plays" with Ash and his friends in a manner which almost feels like something from a ''Film/ChildsPlay'' movie, and when she finally gets her emotions back, her little doll mysteriously fades away. Elaborating on that, the anime shows that she was born with psychic abilities and as Sabrina grew up, she grew more obsessed about developing her psychic powers for malicious purposes, which slowly caused her emotions to be bottled up. Eventually, they settled into a separate personality and manifested itself as a doll of her younger self. Despite Sabrina being a cold, callous woman who was driven mad by her own power, that doll held her former personality, it being a young girl who just wanted to have fun. As shown in the episode of her debut, she did have fragments of her younger self which were overshadowed by her thirst for power, as she had some very destructive fun in shrinking Ash and his friends down to the size of dolls and putting them on a toy box, and she even had some uncontrollable laughter while doing so. It was only when that the Haunter had some fun with her that [[SplitPersonalityMerge both personalities fully merged together]] back into one being, and the doll has finally found its true owner; Sabrina... It no longer needed to be around without her younger personality, so it vanished!
** This also isn't getting onto both episodes that she made her major appearances in. Episode 22, "Abra and the Psychic Showdown" as it was called in the dub, has Ash trying to battle Sabrina, but he ends up forfeiting and, accepting Sabrina's request of being her "friend", has Ash, Brock and Misty get transported into a miniature toy box version of a town and has her seemingly attempting to torture them (although it's really her idea of fun, it being a combination of her mad power and her younger self), and they would have likely ended out [[FateWorseThanDeath stuck in this fate]] if Ash and company weren't saved as a psychic man they met earlier as he teleports them out. He warns them that Sabrina was a dangerous opponent and they needed a ghost type Pokemon to battle her... not before [[MoodWhiplash he humiliates Ash]] [[InvoluntaryDance by making him dance]] with his pants down.
** The latter, episode 24, called "Haunter versus Kadabra" in the English dub, is ripe full of this; Ash technically "loses" his re-match against Sabrina because his Pokemon refused to battle her Kadabra and his Haunter wasn't anywhere to be found, so he had to forfeit and flee yet again while both Brock and Misty stayed behind, who both get shrank down yet again and actually ''become'' dolls. They also meet her mother, who actually has been ''turned into a doll, and she says was stuck as one'' '''''[[AndIMustScream for years]]''''', while Ash encounters the same psychic man from before, who turns out to be Sabrina's father, and Ash only manages to win the second re-match by his Haunter giving her the ability to emote, which also gets rid of Sabrina's doll. If Ash hadn't ever got that Haunter or if it didn't decide to visit Sabrina during it... well, not only would Ash have to walk a lonely road for the rest of Kanto (assuming he still got the Marsh Badge, which is unlikely since he didn't beat her), Sabrina would have stayed forever emotionless with her mother, alongside Brock and Misty being [[AndIMustScream stuck as dolls]] [[FateWorseThanDeath for who knows how long]].
* When Ash and his friends are stuck on the capsized and upside-down St. Anne, Ash suggests that they dive down to reach the deck. Brock warns him it's too dangerous, and it takes an ImagineSpot for Ash to realize he has a point. Said spot has Ash underwater and finding a locked door, followed by a realistic depiction of him drowning.
* Gyarados and its ultimate attack, Dragon Rage[[note]]this was before the animators decided to depict Dragon Rage as a BreathWeapon[[/note]], which results in Ash and friends being sucked up into a giant waterspout and nearly drowned.
* The first battle with Blaine. Ash tries to do the obvious and sends Squirtle out against his Ninetales, but it turns out that Blaine's fire Pokemon are MUCH stronger than any water Pokemon. But this is nothing compared to Blaine's Magmar, who instead of coming out of a Pokeball, emerges from a wave of lava. Magmar's body heat is so intense it scorches the gym's floor and Pikachu's electric attacks are nullified by emanating heatwaves. The episode ends with Pikachu backed up against the edge of the gym, suspended over a lava pit, right in the path of Magmar's Fire Blast attack...
* The final gym leader of Kanto: [[BigBad Giovanni]]. The fact the BigBad [[VillainWithGoodPublicity occupies a respected position as gym leader]] is bad enough, especially with him being the strongest one in Kanto. Then in the anime this is the period he has [[OlympusMons Mewtwo]] at his orders... Let's just say that Ash was lucky that Gary stole his chance to meet him in person.
** Every single Giovanni appearance (outside the occasional ImagineSpot, courtesy of Meowth) shows him as being a ManipulativeBastard who will go to any length to amass power for himself. Anime!Giovanni has met Ash exactly twice, and neither time was anything other than lethal hostility (once during ''Mewtwo Returns'' which Giovanni no longer remembers, and once during the ''Black & White'' anime series).
** During that second encounter, one of the scariest moments in the anime happens. The power of the Reveal Glass that Giovanni had been using to control the Kami Trio's Therian Formes is accidentally absorbed by him rather than being channeled through Meloetta. Giovanni goes [[BrainwashedAndCrazy absolutely insane]], with red eyes and a mark on his forehead, and declares that he now [[OmnicidalManiac wants to destroy everything,]] commanding the Kami Trio to do so. Team Rocket saves the day by tackling him and releasing the power from him, snapping him out of his possession, but if they had not, there would be ''no way'' of freeing the Kami Trio from their mind-control, and they would carry on using their weather-altering powers to destroy the world.
** It doesn't help that every close-up shot of a possessed Meloetta's face during the episode is a rather... [[NightmareFace chilling expression]]. And for most of those shots, it's ''screaming'' as its [[UhOhEyes eyes keep changing colors]]. And with how high and ''agonizing'' its screams get, no wonder Ridley keeps crumpling up in anguish, and his explanation can't be more accurate.
-->'''Ridley:''' Meloetta's... suffering...
* The episode ''Electric Soldier Porygon'' had Nurse Joy (unintentionally) wanted to kill Ash and co. by putting in a Vaccine antivirus. She thought they were a computer virus! And the vaccine can't distinguish humans from viruses.
* Despite being a Tearjerker episode, Pikachu's Goodbye has a brief moment where the herd of Pikachu [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVJNdfQxog&feature=youtu.be&t=10m24s scream out in the background]] when they get captured by Team Rocket. It sounds creepy as hell.
* In the episode [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/EP086 "Pikachu Re-Volts",]] Pikachu has a brief FaceHeelTurn, complete with [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes]] and overall creepy faces.
** In another example, in "Team Plasma's Pokémon Power Plot," Pikachu has [[RedEyesTakeWarning brainwashed red eyes again,]] but these are much creepier. It's almost like they're not even there. Just two soulless red cavities in the face. [[http://www.filb.de/content/anime/bw2/028/404.jpg See for yourself.]]
** Then, in "Battling The Enemy Within" in the Battle Frontier saga. Ash gets possessed by an ancient evil king. Complete with mascara effects to better show the DemonicPossession.
* It's played for laughs, but Jessie's SlasherSmile+LaughingMad combo when plotting revenge against a freshly caught swarm of Scyther for [[DisproportionateRetribution ruining her hair]] in "Tracey Gets Bugged". It actually manages to [[HorrifyingTheHorror terrify said Scythers]].
* When Pokémon Hunter J tried to capture the Lake Trio, remains of J's vessel are almost assuredly stuck at the bottom of the lake, and while the crew would have died quickly, her Pokémon's Pokéballs may have survived intact. Surrounded by rubble. At the bottom of the lake. For a long time.
** It was a well deserved fate, given the fact that Hunter J was a heartless mercenary who doesn't care how much misery and destruction she causes in order to turn a profit on the black market. As a matter of fact, working for J is a bad occupation since she doesn't care what happens to them. Getting in her way can be much worse; she's not above causing grievous harm to both humans and Pokémon that try to fight her and will even ''murder'' anyone that really manages to get on her nerves. This is evidenced by the facts that J had detached a container pod (that Ash and his friends had managed to sneak into) from her ship while it was airborne, had her Drapion try to ''crush'' Ash to death, and tried to burn down a whole forest around Ash and his friends.
*** Just the fact that a ''BLACK MARKET'', let alone a "Pokémon trafficking" business, exists in the Pokémon world is solid evidence to the fact that there's a lot more serious problems in the world than just Team Rocket...Hell, since Team Rocket is heavily implied at times to be in the Pokémon black market business, they probably are a part of those problems.
* Speaking of Team Rocket, remember [[Anime/PokemonMewtwoReturns Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns]]? There’s a scene where Domino, one of Team Rocket’s elite agents, gets questioned about the veracity of her being part of the Pokémon Institute by Calix when she revealed her true colors. Domino confirmed she indeed was in the Pokémon Institute, and also outright confirmed through words that Team Rocket '''[[ParanoiaFuel has agents everywhere]]'''.
* One episode revolves around an evil ghost girl who hypnotizes unsuspecting people and tries to lure them into the Spirit World. First, she tries to lure Conway into going off of a cliff. Then she scares the daylights out of Meowth. Finally, she appears at the entrance to the Spirit World itself and tries to pull in Ash, Angie, Pikachu, and Shinx, and the only thing that saves them is Professor Rowan's arrival. And when Dusknoir defeats her with a Psychic attack, she screams horrifically as she gets blasted into shadow and dissolves. Imagine if she had succeeded in her plans — would you want to be one of their parents on the other end of the phone, being told your child is never going to come home?
* Every time Ash's Chimchar's Blaze ability triggers. The other times similar abilities (or even Blaze itself, in the case of May's Blaziken) in the vein of Blaze from the games (the "boosts power of moves in a pinch" abilities) get shown, the Pokémon usually just receives a power boost. Not so much with [[UnstoppableRage this one]]. Every time, [[RedEyesTakeWarning its eyes turn red]], its pupils shrink, and its fire goes out of control as it goes absolutely ''berserk'' and starts screeching and attacking like mad. The first time it happens is after Paul's Ursaring beats Chimchar down in a battle against Ash - Chimchar proceeds to effortlessly knock out Ursaring, and it takes Ash [[CooldownHug desperately hugging it to calm it down]], and not without both barely missing him with a Flame Wheel and biting down on him while he holds it before it simmers down.
** Thankfully, after evolving into Infernape, it finally learns to control its power, resulting in the [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome fights against both Volkner's Luxray and Paul's Electivire]]. However, it ''still'' manages to be incredibly frightening - In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIPS7dyjmBo former example]], the first time the ability shows as an Infernape, its eyes turn [[GlowingEyesOfDoom ''completely'' red, pupils included]], fire erupts from its head. and it wildly launches a Flamethrower after the effects kick in, and it promptly turns around to give Ash a [[DeathGlare downright ''terrifying'' look]]. It then slowly trudges towards him like a zombie - It's only when it gives a grin and nod in response to Ash's instructions that it becomes clear Infernape's still in control, but the [[SlasherSmile way it grins]] and the entirety of how it acts up until then is still incredibly frightening. The fact Pikachu's cheeks spark before Ash tells him it's okay, making it clear it was ''more'' than prepared to fight a berserk Infernape, isn't hard to blame him for.
* Just when the anime starts calming down on scary stuff, Ash and his friends (as well as Team Rocket eventually) find themselves in the Litwick Mansion. While the Pokedex entries state that Litwick, the little candle Pokémon, leeches off a human's life force, the Litwick in the episode actually try doing that to Team Rocket. Not only, Team Rocket's energy is drained slowly, over the course of the episode. Thus we see them become more and more lethargic as time goes on only to end up looking like zombies eventually.
** It gets even ''worse'' at the climax, when the Litwick open a portal to a ghost dimension and try to ''[[DraggedOffToHell suck everyone in]]''. Eventually, Jessie loses her grip and goes flying into the portal. Ash saves her, but the look of '''absolute horror''' on her face when she's getting pulled in is just bone-chilling. And her line just before slipping.... ''ugh.''
-->'''Jessie:''' ''(whimpers) "I-It's over..."''
** And if that wasn't bad enough, immediately after, Cilan gets hit by a Litwick's shadow-ball and is sent flying towards the very same portal. Luckily, he was rescued by James, but still...
* The Malamar from XY's 19th episode. Its capable of hypnotizing people and Pokémon [[MindManipulation into doing its bidding]]. The thought of being mind controlled is horrifying enough, but being mind controlled into committing horrible actions like attacking innocent people and turning [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Pokémon against their trainers]] in the name of world domination is just terrifying. This Malamar was even working on a secret weapon to help in dominating the world. But this weapon is [[http://serebii.net/anime/pictures/xy/822ps11.shtml just as horrifying]] as Malamar itself!
** The weapon itself doesn't even resemble anything man-made either, as it looks more like MeatMoss or something organic. No explanation is given to its function as it's quickly destroyed as soon as it's been discovered.
** It's back in Episode 54, with two new Malamar as lackeys. It turns out that its world domination scheme would change the environment of the ''entire planet'' into something only suitable for Malamar and Inkay, and they very nearly ''succeed''. The Malamar are even so "kind" as to show what their new world would look like - It's nothing but a swirling mess of orange and green. To top it all off, the Malamar escape with their device, claiming they'll be back again.
*** If you think about it, just the fact that [[WhiteAndGreyMorality Pokemon that are]] [[AvertedTrope as evil as the human antagonists actually exist.]] Almost every antagonistic Pokemon we've seen is either acting in self-defense or, in Mewtwo's case, [[WellIntentionedExtremist trying to create a world that all Pokemon can live in peace.]] None of these Malamar have that excuse- they're just as bad as [[TheSociopath Ghetsis]] or [[OmnicidalManiac Lysandre]].
* From early Best Wishes, there was Tepig’s introduction episode. Like a couple other fire starters, Ash ends up taking in an abandoned and abused Tepig. Unlike with them however, we actually see the effects of the previous trainer’s abuse, with the poor piggy having gotten rather thin from malnourishment, and having his mouth tied shut by the abuser. It’s particularly horrific since tying the mouth shut is a common practice by real life animal abusers, usually to make them starve.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jeLJMmdtSg Korrina's Mega Lucario is terrifying]] when it goes nuts. Especially how more brutally he beats down Pikachu than normal and [[RedEyesTakeWarning his red eyes.]]
* The [[SuddenDownerEnding ending scenes]] of "Defending the Homeland" is this in spades: Ash's Goodra gets sniped and is critically wounded while Pikachu, Dedenne and Wooper get captured by Florges' forces. It doesn't help that before the credits, all we hear is Team Rocket ''laughing maniacally in the background.''
* Although not quite as horrifying as Mimikyu, the screaming Bewear from Sun & Moon's second episode is certainly unsettling. It makes a generic friendly noise and waves at Ash. Ash goes closer. It waves more and its call rises in pitch. Ash goes closer. It screams shrilly and smashes a tree. Then it charges after a now-fleeing Ash, smashing trees and [[HellIsThatNoise shrieking as it goes.]]
** It's very fond of Team Rocket but it clearly doesn't know its own strength: after Jessie gives it a bag of doughnuts it hugs her so hard her eyes become bloodshot and her tongue is [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bewear_hug.jpg sticking out.]] Keep in mind that, in the ''Pokemon Moon'' Pokédex, it is canon that Bewear are known for [[AndCallHimGeorge accidentally killing their trainers by crushing them with bear hugs]].
* Mimikyu in the games was almost instantly adored by the fandom for their desire to just be popular like Pikachu, in addition to being adorable. The anime, apparently deciding to contrast itself, adds a Mimikyu that is outright ''psychotic''. Team Rocket's first encounter with the Alolan Pokémon nearly '''kills Meowth''' (admittedly, Meowth didn't know any better when he lifted the costume). When Ash and Pikachu happen by, it viciously attacks Pikachu, and Meowth reveals that Mimikyu absolutely ''hates'' Pikachu, and in fact draws its strength from said hate. And instead of imitating Pikachu's cry, it just makes a disturbing choking/grinding sound. It only joins Team Rocket because it wants a shot at Pikachu and they have the same goal.
** When Mimikyu "kills" Meowth, he goes through the proverbial [[GoIntoTheLight "light at the end of the tunnel"]] and ends up in what appears to be [[{{Heaven}} a beautiful flowery field]] with [[MsFanservice Glaceon, Gardevoir, and Lopunny]] skipping around... only for the vision to fade into a [[{{Hell}} nightmarish darkness]] with the heavenly vision projected by [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar]], overall implying Meowth will go to {{Hell}} when he dies.[[note]]This is muddled when the experience happens again later and it's just the Heavenly vision that happens, so maybe it's just a matter of what Meowth is doing at the time, since he wasn't up to anything evil on the second occasion.[[/note]] And just in case you thought the anime might not take the Pokédex entry on its true form seriously, Rotom relates it verbatim, so Meowth really could have died.
*** In the English dub, Meowth refers to the pit as "a really bad place", with Jessie then asking "Do you mean..." before Meowth cuts her off, with a comment about how he doesn't want to go back there, "whatever you want to call it". They might not have mentioned Hell, but it's definitely what they were implying.
** Still unconvinced? Meowth outright refuses to translate what it's saying because it scares him. Consider that for a moment. Mimikyu is so creepy that Meowth, not exactly a paragon of virtue himself, is terrified by the little ghost. Jessie's Wobbuffet also seems unusually expressive whenever the ghost hisses.
* The Salandit in the eight episode of the Sun & Moon anime that leaps at Lillie and very nearly devours her Pokémon egg.
** Speaking of episode 8, said episode reveals that Lillie used to be just fine touching Pokémon, even holding a Lillipup in a family photo. But after returning from her mom's manor, ''something'' happened that made her afraid to touch them ever again. Lillie doesn't even remember the incident herself. Considering how insane her mother is in the games' canon, one has to wonder: [[FridgeHorror what happened during that time?]]
*** This is TruthInTelevision, as trauma victims often have trouble recalling what happened to them.
*** Slightly mitigated when we find out that the Lusamine in the anime is a far different character than the one in the games. Doesn't make what happens later any better, however.
** In episode 47, we finally learn why Lillie is scared of Pokemon. In a flashback, she was attacked by a [[EldritchAbomination Nihilego]] when she was younger. For even more Nightmare Fuel, remember [[MindRape what it's]] [[TheSymbiote capable of]] and remember that [[FridgeHorror Lillie could have ended up on the receiving end of all that]].
** This is further compounded in episode 49, where the accident is not only confirmed, but it also adds the detail that Faba was responsible for unleashing Nihilego from Ultra Space; and is deliberately trying to keep Lillie from recovering her memory.
* Episode 12 of ''Sun and Moon'' has Mimikyu removing its rag to take a dip, leaving the rag floating in the water. Later, it turns towards the camera, revealing that the water caused the ink on its costume's "face" to run, with [[NightmareFace hideous results]]. Complete with ScareChord, no less.
** While Mareanie affectionately [[FaceHugger attacking James]] is mostly PlayedForLaughs, there is one unsettling moment where it latches onto James's diving helmet and breaks the visor with its spikes. ''Underwater''.
* While the show has plenty of fall scares, episode 14 of ''Sun and Moon'' has Lillie slow motion fall off a ledge ''head first''. Just before Ash and Rowlet save her and Snowy with Leafage, it is made morbidly apparent she was mere inches away from having her skull smash on the pavement below.
* ''Sun and Moon'' has been playing with grotesque reaction shots since the Mimikyu bathing scene, but it all comes to three terrifying heads in episode 16 where we get treated to [[http://www.filb.de/content/anime/sm/016/616.jpg this shot]] of Team Rocket reacting to Litten's betrayal.
* Episode 22 is a good showing of Palossand in a kid friendly show. The episode revolves around a Palossand going on a rampage and growing giant, swallowing Ash and Litten in the process. It then proceeds to drain Litten and Rotomdex ([[ItMakesSenseInContext who got stuck in Palossand's head as a replacement shovel]]) of their life energy which is evidently painful. By the end of the episode Palossand has grown large enough to overshadow Professor Kukui's house and eat it whole for no particular reason.
* Totem Raticate. The thing sounds like a nightmare, relentlessly chases anyone who gets near it, and in the Pokeproblem ending ''follows Team Rocket back to their base to get them''. It's a good thing Team Rocket has a guard Bewear to get it to leave them alone.
** On the subject of Totems, the Totem Wishiwashi is the stuff of nightmares for anyone with a phobia of deep water. When it first jumps out of the water, Ash can only look at it in complete horror while the onlooking fisherman ''screams'' (the latter is PlayedForLaughs, but still). Its voice is a demonic snarling version of the smaller Wishiwashi's adorable cry. There's a brief scene where Ash and Pikachu are knocked into the water, and the first thing they see is the shadowy silhouette of the giant Totem closing in on them.
* Type: Null's first appearance: The thing sounds like it is in constant pain and agony just from breathing with a hint of VaderBreath.
* A lot of times in the anime, Pokemon suffer from PowerIncontinence and become out of control due to the overwhelming nature of one of their abilities. Ash's Infernape as a Chimchar and Monferno (from its Blaze ability), Korrina's Lucario (from its Mega Evolution) and Ash's Lycanroc become outright feral, threatening to attack anything in sight. The animation shots in most of these cases are particularly chilling as well.
* Nihilego capturing Lillie. It appears only for a few seconds in a flashback, but is framed in such a way (and shown through a dark brown filter) that it really etches into the memory.
** The incident in question is not only confirmed two episodes later, but when Lillie starts to recover them Faba intends to use his Hypno to erase the incident from her memory entirely just to save his reputation, and the sight of it trying to use its powers on her and Ash is quite unsettling.
* The episode afterwards doesn't let up after MoodWhiplash kicks in -- it ends with Lillie screaming for her mom after Nihilego abducts Lusamine.
** While Lillie's fear of Pokemon is gone, coming face to face with Nihilego again sends her into a brief FreakOut.
** Just '''Nihilego'''. Not only is it super-powerful and bizarre in its movements, but it makes these absolutely unsettling sounds that almost sound like a [[CreepyChild giggling child]]. Anyone who thought the ''Sun & Moon'' series' LighterAndSofter tone meant it would avoid portraying how frightening the Ultra Beasts can be were sorely mistaken.
** Motherbeast Lusamine is even worse than in the games, and that's saying a lot. At least in ''Sun & Moon'' for the [=3DS=] it was clear that Lusamine was the one in control while she was fused with Nihilego up until you defeat her in battle, but in the anime it's difficult to tell where Lusamine ends and Nihilego begins. And unlike in the games, the Motherbeast ''fights back'' with the symbiosis jacking up Nihilego's moves to ridiculous levels, being capable of morphing the whole landscape and creating an entire ''sea'' of poison. Also unlike in the games, we get to see what happens if someone tries to separate Nihilego from its host ''before'' incapacitating it: it ''overtakes Lusamine completely'' and gains total control. It took Ash and Pikachu hitting it with a Z-Move just to get it to let her go, and it just ''flies away'' afterward as if nothing happened.
** Lusamine mentally regressing into an outright PsychopathicWomanchild when possessed by Nihilego, throwing a tantrum when the heroes try to rescue her and thus take her away from her precious Ultra Beast, yelling things like "Stay away! I hate you!" It's both tragic and terrifying to witness.
* Buzzwole's debut shows it attacking a Snorlax, doing so by literally [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1338442-buzzwole sticking its proboscis into Snorlax and draining it of its fluids]]. The Snorlax ''deflates'' as a result. It is basically BodyHorror incarnate and very similar to [[Anime/DragonBallZ Imperfect Cell]] killing a man. Thankfully, the Snorlax quickly recovers thanks to a potion from Lillie and plenty of berries from Lana, but ''still''.
* Sun and Moon episodes 100 and 101 feature Guzzlord, and its made out to be a horrifying being: In an alternate version of Hau'oli City, it just showed up without warning and ''started devouring'' all of Alola, leaving almost nothing but ''a vast desert wasteland'' (it somehow drank the ocean!). No other Pokémon has been seen causing this sort of destruction. It's even more monstrous than the Nihilego. Worst of all is its cry, which sounds like '''[[HellIsThatNoise anguished screaming]]'''.
* Imagine this. You walk into the Pokemon gym of a major city. You find seven people lying unconscious inside. You don't know who or what caused this, or if whoever/whatever it was is still inside and could possibly harm you. You can't tell just by looking if any of these people are breathing or have a pulse. (If it matters, one of them is someone you intensely dislike, but would not have actually wished any harm.) And you are not trained or skilled in first aid (beyond, say, applying a bandage), so you have no idea how to check for breathing/a pulse, much less perform CPR. [[note]] Fortunately, CPR turns out ''not'' to be necessary, but at this point you don't know that. [[/note]] You don't have a cell phone to call for help, and Arceus knows where the nearest PayPhone is. OhCrap indeed...
** Oh, hell, imagine the situation leading up to that point! You've been up against your share of gym leaders and other trainers, and you've never actually lost before. You effortlessly take out the gym leader's first couple of Pokemon, and you figure that the badge is as good as yours. Then, this gym leader sends out a ''new'' Pokemon. You've never seen the likes of it before, and it's covered with glowing armor, ostensibly to make it even stronger. In fact, it's so new, your Pokedex doesn't have ''any'' information on it. And it's dark, so you really can't get a good look at it. So you send your strongest Pokemon after it, only to have it use a ''very'' powerful psychic attack and It's Super Effective! Not only is this [[BreakTheHaughty your first loss]], this Pokemon then does something it is, by law and by custom, ''most definitely not'': it harms you and your cheerleaders. (Pokemon aren't supposed to attack trainers, nor are their trainers supposed to ''allow'' it, much less ''order'' it. Even their opponents' trainers.) One can't help but wonder if this was at least ''part'' of the reason that [[spoiler: Gary eventually decided to leave Pokemon training ''for good'' and become a Pokemon researcher like his grandfather.]]
* Episode 115 of Sun & Moon introduces Guzma, and he's even more of a threat than Lusamine. During his battle with Ash, Guzma showed no emotion as Golisopod nearly dominates Pikachu.
** He's even worse in episode 134, to the point where Golisopod to nearly tried to '''murder''' Lana's Primarina! He started the battle by cancelling Primarina's Sparkling Aria with Throat Chop, leaving behind a rather detailed bruise as Primarina starts choking in a realistic manor. He ''knew'' that Fairy types are weak to Poison type moves, so he ordered Golisopod to keep using Poison Jab on her throughout the fight. Even when she was ''limping away'' Guzma showed no remorse.
** Even worse is how ''none'' of the judges found any reason to object to Guzma's tactics, meaning that the borderline torture-tactic Golispod put Primarina through, is perfectly ''legal'' according to the League's rules.
** His SlasherSmile towards the end of episode 128. FULL STOP.
* Episode 45 of Journeys has Meowth going berserk and attacking the rest of Team Rocket after he Gigantamaxed for the first time. If it wasn't for Jessie and James reminding him of Giovanni's orders, Meowth could have killed them.
----
%% Spoiler markup cannot be placed on Nightmare Fuel subpages since it defeats the page's purpose.
%%
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pokemon_mimikyu.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[YouDoNotWantToKnow Don't ask what it's saying]]. [[SchmuckBait And don't you dare peek under its costume]]. [[NearDeathExperience Not if you value your life]].]]
----
* Beedrill in general. They are three feet tall and attack in swarms if provoked just like real-life bees.
* The [[FeatheredFiend Spearow flock]] that went after Ash and Pikachu not once, but ''twice''.
** In the first time (the very first episode of the series), Ash meets a Spearow after mistaking it for a Pidgey and throwing a rock at it (Ash had been frustrated because he wasn't able to catch a Pidgey and Pikachu wasn't cooperating). The Spearow responded by attacking him and Pikachu before calling its family for reinforcements. Said family appeared to consist of ''[[ZergRush every single Spearow in the vicinity]]''. The psychotic birds proceeded to [[SuperPersistentPredator hunt Ash and Pikachu relentlessly throughout the route, with KILLING both of them apparently being their top priority above all else]]. Eventually, Ash is [[HeroicSacrifice more than willing to let them do whatever it is they plan on doing to him for Pikachu's safety]] and they aren't beaten until Pikachu shocks them with an attack so powerful it more or less drains the life out of him.
** The second time (in the episode with Pidgeotto's evolution), it turns out that while Ash was absent, the Spearow he hit with the rock evolved into a [[GiantFlyer much larger]] Fearow. And not only did it remember who Ash is, but its seething hatred for him appears to have gotten ''worse'', as it tries to kill him on sight. And it's still the alpha of its massive flock, not to mention having evidently bullied a mixed flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto ([[TheWorfEffect the latter normally fiercely territorial themselves]]) into submission. Think of it all from Ash's point of view--chased by a huge, vicious, predatory bird with sharp talons, a Swiss army knife for a beak, [[ZergRush the coordination to hunt in a massive flock]], and ''[[ItsPersonal the intelligence required to hold a grudge]]''.
* When Ash is challenged by the bug-catching samurai. He gets one look at the trainer's Pinsir and imagines it snapping his Metapod in half.
* Lt. Surge. Before Ash and co. even meet him, they're greeted by a carnage of brutally defeated Pokémon that tried to fight his Raichu, so much so that the city's Pokémon center was overflowing by the time they visited it. Compared to many other leaders, Surge was positively ''ruthless''.
** Not to mention what his Raichu can do when it's at full power. Its Thunderbolt was capable of '''tearing the gym to shreds'''.
* ''Sabrina.'' Just ''everything'' about her can be a bit disturbing for younger viewers of the ''Pokémon'' anime. As an EmotionlessGirl with PsychicPowers, Sabrina and her Pokémon all have red GlowingEyesOfDoom for whatever reason (likely to emphasize on her own powers), she even has a [[LivingToy doll of herself]] (and her mother), "plays" with Ash and his friends in a manner which almost feels like something from a ''Film/ChildsPlay'' movie, and when she finally gets her emotions back, her little doll mysteriously fades away. Elaborating on that, the anime shows that she was born with psychic abilities and as Sabrina grew up, she grew more obsessed about developing her psychic powers for malicious purposes, which slowly caused her emotions to be bottled up. Eventually, they settled into a separate personality and manifested itself as a doll of her younger self. Despite Sabrina being a cold, callous woman who was driven mad by her own power, that doll held her former personality, it being a young girl who just wanted to have fun. As shown in the episode of her debut, she did have fragments of her younger self which were overshadowed by her thirst for power, as she had some very destructive fun in shrinking Ash and his friends down to the size of dolls and putting them on a toy box, and she even had some uncontrollable laughter while doing so. It was only when that the Haunter had some fun with her that [[SplitPersonalityMerge both personalities fully merged together]] back into one being, and the doll has finally found its true owner; Sabrina... It no longer needed to be around without her younger personality, so it vanished!
** This also isn't getting onto both episodes that she made her major appearances in. Episode 22, "Abra and the Psychic Showdown" as it was called in the dub, has Ash trying to battle Sabrina, but he ends up forfeiting and, accepting Sabrina's request of being her "friend", has Ash, Brock and Misty get transported into a miniature toy box version of a town and has her seemingly attempting to torture them (although it's really her idea of fun, it being a combination of her mad power and her younger self), and they would have likely ended out [[FateWorseThanDeath stuck in this fate]] if Ash and company weren't saved as a psychic man they met earlier as he teleports them out. He warns them that Sabrina was a dangerous opponent and they needed a ghost type Pokemon to battle her... not before [[MoodWhiplash he humiliates Ash]] [[InvoluntaryDance by making him dance]] with his pants down.
** The latter, episode 24, called "Haunter versus Kadabra" in the English dub, is ripe full of this; Ash technically "loses" his re-match against Sabrina because his Pokemon refused to battle her Kadabra and his Haunter wasn't anywhere to be found, so he had to forfeit and flee yet again while both Brock and Misty stayed behind, who both get shrank down yet again and actually ''become'' dolls. They also meet her mother, who actually has been ''turned into a doll, and she says was stuck as one'' '''''[[AndIMustScream for years]]''''', while Ash encounters the same psychic man from before, who turns out to be Sabrina's father, and Ash only manages to win the second re-match by his Haunter giving her the ability to emote, which also gets rid of Sabrina's doll. If Ash hadn't ever got that Haunter or if it didn't decide to visit Sabrina during it... well, not only would Ash have to walk a lonely road for the rest of Kanto (assuming he still got the Marsh Badge, which is unlikely since he didn't beat her), Sabrina would have stayed forever emotionless with her mother, alongside Brock and Misty being [[AndIMustScream stuck as dolls]] [[FateWorseThanDeath for who knows how long]].
* When Ash and his friends are stuck on the capsized and upside-down St. Anne, Ash suggests that they dive down to reach the deck. Brock warns him it's too dangerous, and it takes an ImagineSpot for Ash to realize he has a point. Said spot has Ash underwater and finding a locked door, followed by a realistic depiction of him drowning.
* Gyarados and its ultimate attack, Dragon Rage[[note]]this was before the animators decided to depict Dragon Rage as a BreathWeapon[[/note]], which results in Ash and friends being sucked up into a giant waterspout and nearly drowned.
* The first battle with Blaine. Ash tries to do the obvious and sends Squirtle out against his Ninetales, but it turns out that Blaine's fire Pokemon are MUCH stronger than any water Pokemon. But this is nothing compared to Blaine's Magmar, who instead of coming out of a Pokeball, emerges from a wave of lava. Magmar's body heat is so intense it scorches the gym's floor and Pikachu's electric attacks are nullified by emanating heatwaves. The episode ends with Pikachu backed up against the edge of the gym, suspended over a lava pit, right in the path of Magmar's Fire Blast attack...
* The final gym leader of Kanto: [[BigBad Giovanni]]. The fact the BigBad [[VillainWithGoodPublicity occupies a respected position as gym leader]] is bad enough, especially with him being the strongest one in Kanto. Then in the anime this is the period he has [[OlympusMons Mewtwo]] at his orders... Let's just say that Ash was lucky that Gary stole his chance to meet him in person.
** Every single Giovanni appearance (outside the occasional ImagineSpot, courtesy of Meowth) shows him as being a ManipulativeBastard who will go to any length to amass power for himself. Anime!Giovanni has met Ash exactly twice, and neither time was anything other than lethal hostility (once during ''Mewtwo Returns'' which Giovanni no longer remembers, and once during the ''Black & White'' anime series).
** During that second encounter, one of the scariest moments in the anime happens. The power of the Reveal Glass that Giovanni had been using to control the Kami Trio's Therian Formes is accidentally absorbed by him rather than being channeled through Meloetta. Giovanni goes [[BrainwashedAndCrazy absolutely insane]], with red eyes and a mark on his forehead, and declares that he now [[OmnicidalManiac wants to destroy everything,]] commanding the Kami Trio to do so. Team Rocket saves the day by tackling him and releasing the power from him, snapping him out of his possession, but if they had not, there would be ''no way'' of freeing the Kami Trio from their mind-control, and they would carry on using their weather-altering powers to destroy the world.
** It doesn't help that every close-up shot of a possessed Meloetta's face during the episode is a rather... [[NightmareFace chilling expression]]. And for most of those shots, it's ''screaming'' as its [[UhOhEyes eyes keep changing colors]]. And with how high and ''agonizing'' its screams get, no wonder Ridley keeps crumpling up in anguish, and his explanation can't be more accurate.
-->'''Ridley:''' Meloetta's... suffering...
* The episode ''Electric Soldier Porygon'' had Nurse Joy (unintentionally) wanted to kill Ash and co. by putting in a Vaccine antivirus. She thought they were a computer virus! And the vaccine can't distinguish humans from viruses.
* Despite being a Tearjerker episode, Pikachu's Goodbye has a brief moment where the herd of Pikachu [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVJNdfQxog&feature=youtu.be&t=10m24s scream out in the background]] when they get captured by Team Rocket. It sounds creepy as hell.
* In the episode [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/EP086 "Pikachu Re-Volts",]] Pikachu has a brief FaceHeelTurn, complete with [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes]] and overall creepy faces.
** In another example, in "Team Plasma's Pokémon Power Plot," Pikachu has [[RedEyesTakeWarning brainwashed red eyes again,]] but these are much creepier. It's almost like they're not even there. Just two soulless red cavities in the face. [[http://www.filb.de/content/anime/bw2/028/404.jpg See for yourself.]]
** Then, in "Battling The Enemy Within" in the Battle Frontier saga. Ash gets possessed by an ancient evil king. Complete with mascara effects to better show the DemonicPossession.
* It's played for laughs, but Jessie's SlasherSmile+LaughingMad combo when plotting revenge against a freshly caught swarm of Scyther for [[DisproportionateRetribution ruining her hair]] in "Tracey Gets Bugged". It actually manages to [[HorrifyingTheHorror terrify said Scythers]].
* When Pokémon Hunter J tried to capture the Lake Trio, remains of J's vessel are almost assuredly stuck at the bottom of the lake, and while the crew would have died quickly, her Pokémon's Pokéballs may have survived intact. Surrounded by rubble. At the bottom of the lake. For a long time.
** It was a well deserved fate, given the fact that Hunter J was a heartless mercenary who doesn't care how much misery and destruction she causes in order to turn a profit on the black market. As a matter of fact, working for J is a bad occupation since she doesn't care what happens to them. Getting in her way can be much worse; she's not above causing grievous harm to both humans and Pokémon that try to fight her and will even ''murder'' anyone that really manages to get on her nerves. This is evidenced by the facts that J had detached a container pod (that Ash and his friends had managed to sneak into) from her ship while it was airborne, had her Drapion try to ''crush'' Ash to death, and tried to burn down a whole forest around Ash and his friends.
*** Just the fact that a ''BLACK MARKET'', let alone a "Pokémon trafficking" business, exists in the Pokémon world is solid evidence to the fact that there's a lot more serious problems in the world than just Team Rocket...Hell, since Team Rocket is heavily implied at times to be in the Pokémon black market business, they probably are a part of those problems.
* Speaking of Team Rocket, remember [[Anime/PokemonMewtwoReturns Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns]]? There’s a scene where Domino, one of Team Rocket’s elite agents, gets questioned about the veracity of her being part of the Pokémon Institute by Calix when she revealed her true colors. Domino confirmed she indeed was in the Pokémon Institute, and also outright confirmed through words that Team Rocket '''[[ParanoiaFuel has agents everywhere]]'''.
* One episode revolves around an evil ghost girl who hypnotizes unsuspecting people and tries to lure them into the Spirit World. First, she tries to lure Conway into going off of a cliff. Then she scares the daylights out of Meowth. Finally, she appears at the entrance to the Spirit World itself and tries to pull in Ash, Angie, Pikachu, and Shinx, and the only thing that saves them is Professor Rowan's arrival. And when Dusknoir defeats her with a Psychic attack, she screams horrifically as she gets blasted into shadow and dissolves. Imagine if she had succeeded in her plans — would you want to be one of their parents on the other end of the phone, being told your child is never going to come home?
* Every time Ash's Chimchar's Blaze ability triggers. The other times similar abilities (or even Blaze itself, in the case of May's Blaziken) in the vein of Blaze from the games (the "boosts power of moves in a pinch" abilities) get shown, the Pokémon usually just receives a power boost. Not so much with [[UnstoppableRage this one]]. Every time, [[RedEyesTakeWarning its eyes turn red]], its pupils shrink, and its fire goes out of control as it goes absolutely ''berserk'' and starts screeching and attacking like mad. The first time it happens is after Paul's Ursaring beats Chimchar down in a battle against Ash - Chimchar proceeds to effortlessly knock out Ursaring, and it takes Ash [[CooldownHug desperately hugging it to calm it down]], and not without both barely missing him with a Flame Wheel and biting down on him while he holds it before it simmers down.
** Thankfully, after evolving into Infernape, it finally learns to control its power, resulting in the [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome fights against both Volkner's Luxray and Paul's Electivire]]. However, it ''still'' manages to be incredibly frightening - In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIPS7dyjmBo former example]], the first time the ability shows as an Infernape, its eyes turn [[GlowingEyesOfDoom ''completely'' red, pupils included]], fire erupts from its head. and it wildly launches a Flamethrower after the effects kick in, and it promptly turns around to give Ash a [[DeathGlare downright ''terrifying'' look]]. It then slowly trudges towards him like a zombie - It's only when it gives a grin and nod in response to Ash's instructions that it becomes clear Infernape's still in control, but the [[SlasherSmile way it grins]] and the entirety of how it acts up until then is still incredibly frightening. The fact Pikachu's cheeks spark before Ash tells him it's okay, making it clear it was ''more'' than prepared to fight a berserk Infernape, isn't hard to blame him for.
* Just when the anime starts calming down on scary stuff, Ash and his friends (as well as Team Rocket eventually) find themselves in the Litwick Mansion. While the Pokedex entries state that Litwick, the little candle Pokémon, leeches off a human's life force, the Litwick in the episode actually try doing that to Team Rocket. Not only, Team Rocket's energy is drained slowly, over the course of the episode. Thus we see them become more and more lethargic as time goes on only to end up looking like zombies eventually.
** It gets even ''worse'' at the climax, when the Litwick open a portal to a ghost dimension and try to ''[[DraggedOffToHell suck everyone in]]''. Eventually, Jessie loses her grip and goes flying into the portal. Ash saves her, but the look of '''absolute horror''' on her face when she's getting pulled in is just bone-chilling. And her line just before slipping.... ''ugh.''
-->'''Jessie:''' ''(whimpers) "I-It's over..."''
** And if that wasn't bad enough, immediately after, Cilan gets hit by a Litwick's shadow-ball and is sent flying towards the very same portal. Luckily, he was rescued by James, but still...
* The Malamar from XY's 19th episode. Its capable of hypnotizing people and Pokémon [[MindManipulation into doing its bidding]]. The thought of being mind controlled is horrifying enough, but being mind controlled into committing horrible actions like attacking innocent people and turning [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Pokémon against their trainers]] in the name of world domination is just terrifying. This Malamar was even working on a secret weapon to help in dominating the world. But this weapon is [[http://serebii.net/anime/pictures/xy/822ps11.shtml just as horrifying]] as Malamar itself!
** The weapon itself doesn't even resemble anything man-made either, as it looks more like MeatMoss or something organic. No explanation is given to its function as it's quickly destroyed as soon as it's been discovered.
** It's back in Episode 54, with two new Malamar as lackeys. It turns out that its world domination scheme would change the environment of the ''entire planet'' into something only suitable for Malamar and Inkay, and they very nearly ''succeed''. The Malamar are even so "kind" as to show what their new world would look like - It's nothing but a swirling mess of orange and green. To top it all off, the Malamar escape with their device, claiming they'll be back again.
*** If you think about it, just the fact that [[WhiteAndGreyMorality Pokemon that are]] [[AvertedTrope as evil as the human antagonists actually exist.]] Almost every antagonistic Pokemon we've seen is either acting in self-defense or, in Mewtwo's case, [[WellIntentionedExtremist trying to create a world that all Pokemon can live in peace.]] None of these Malamar have that excuse- they're just as bad as [[TheSociopath Ghetsis]] or [[OmnicidalManiac Lysandre]].
* From early Best Wishes, there was Tepig’s introduction episode. Like a couple other fire starters, Ash ends up taking in an abandoned and abused Tepig. Unlike with them however, we actually see the effects of the previous trainer’s abuse, with the poor piggy having gotten rather thin from malnourishment, and having his mouth tied shut by the abuser. It’s particularly horrific since tying the mouth shut is a common practice by real life animal abusers, usually to make them starve.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jeLJMmdtSg Korrina's Mega Lucario is terrifying]] when it goes nuts. Especially how more brutally he beats down Pikachu than normal and [[RedEyesTakeWarning his red eyes.]]
* The [[SuddenDownerEnding ending scenes]] of "Defending the Homeland" is this in spades: Ash's Goodra gets sniped and is critically wounded while Pikachu, Dedenne and Wooper get captured by Florges' forces. It doesn't help that before the credits, all we hear is Team Rocket ''laughing maniacally in the background.''
* Although not quite as horrifying as Mimikyu, the screaming Bewear from Sun & Moon's second episode is certainly unsettling. It makes a generic friendly noise and waves at Ash. Ash goes closer. It waves more and its call rises in pitch. Ash goes closer. It screams shrilly and smashes a tree. Then it charges after a now-fleeing Ash, smashing trees and [[HellIsThatNoise shrieking as it goes.]]
** It's very fond of Team Rocket but it clearly doesn't know its own strength: after Jessie gives it a bag of doughnuts it hugs her so hard her eyes become bloodshot and her tongue is [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bewear_hug.jpg sticking out.]] Keep in mind that, in the ''Pokemon Moon'' Pokédex, it is canon that Bewear are known for [[AndCallHimGeorge accidentally killing their trainers by crushing them with bear hugs]].
* Mimikyu in the games was almost instantly adored by the fandom for their desire to just be popular like Pikachu, in addition to being adorable. The anime, apparently deciding to contrast itself, adds a Mimikyu that is outright ''psychotic''. Team Rocket's first encounter with the Alolan Pokémon nearly '''kills Meowth''' (admittedly, Meowth didn't know any better when he lifted the costume). When Ash and Pikachu happen by, it viciously attacks Pikachu, and Meowth reveals that Mimikyu absolutely ''hates'' Pikachu, and in fact draws its strength from said hate. And instead of imitating Pikachu's cry, it just makes a disturbing choking/grinding sound. It only joins Team Rocket because it wants a shot at Pikachu and they have the same goal.
** When Mimikyu "kills" Meowth, he goes through the proverbial [[GoIntoTheLight "light at the end of the tunnel"]] and ends up in what appears to be [[{{Heaven}} a beautiful flowery field]] with [[MsFanservice Glaceon, Gardevoir, and Lopunny]] skipping around... only for the vision to fade into a [[{{Hell}} nightmarish darkness]] with the heavenly vision projected by [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar]], overall implying Meowth will go to {{Hell}} when he dies.[[note]]This is muddled when the experience happens again later and it's just the Heavenly vision that happens, so maybe it's just a matter of what Meowth is doing at the time, since he wasn't up to anything evil on the second occasion.[[/note]] And just in case you thought the anime might not take the Pokédex entry on its true form seriously, Rotom relates it verbatim, so Meowth really could have died.
*** In the English dub, Meowth refers to the pit as "a really bad place", with Jessie then asking "Do you mean..." before Meowth cuts her off, with a comment about how he doesn't want to go back there, "whatever you want to call it". They might not have mentioned Hell, but it's definitely what they were implying.
** Still unconvinced? Meowth outright refuses to translate what it's saying because it scares him. Consider that for a moment. Mimikyu is so creepy that Meowth, not exactly a paragon of virtue himself, is terrified by the little ghost. Jessie's Wobbuffet also seems unusually expressive whenever the ghost hisses.
* The Salandit in the eight episode of the Sun & Moon anime that leaps at Lillie and very nearly devours her Pokémon egg.
** Speaking of episode 8, said episode reveals that Lillie used to be just fine touching Pokémon, even holding a Lillipup in a family photo. But after returning from her mom's manor, ''something'' happened that made her afraid to touch them ever again. Lillie doesn't even remember the incident herself. Considering how insane her mother is in the games' canon, one has to wonder: [[FridgeHorror what happened during that time?]]
*** This is TruthInTelevision, as trauma victims often have trouble recalling what happened to them.
*** Slightly mitigated when we find out that the Lusamine in the anime is a far different character than the one in the games. Doesn't make what happens later any better, however.
** In episode 47, we finally learn why Lillie is scared of Pokemon. In a flashback, she was attacked by a [[EldritchAbomination Nihilego]] when she was younger. For even more Nightmare Fuel, remember [[MindRape what it's]] [[TheSymbiote capable of]] and remember that [[FridgeHorror Lillie could have ended up on the receiving end of all that]].
** This is further compounded in episode 49, where the accident is not only confirmed, but it also adds the detail that Faba was responsible for unleashing Nihilego from Ultra Space; and is deliberately trying to keep Lillie from recovering her memory.
* Episode 12 of ''Sun and Moon'' has Mimikyu removing its rag to take a dip, leaving the rag floating in the water. Later, it turns towards the camera, revealing that the water caused the ink on its costume's "face" to run, with [[NightmareFace hideous results]]. Complete with ScareChord, no less.
** While Mareanie affectionately [[FaceHugger attacking James]] is mostly PlayedForLaughs, there is one unsettling moment where it latches onto James's diving helmet and breaks the visor with its spikes. ''Underwater''.
* While the show has plenty of fall scares, episode 14 of ''Sun and Moon'' has Lillie slow motion fall off a ledge ''head first''. Just before Ash and Rowlet save her and Snowy with Leafage, it is made morbidly apparent she was mere inches away from having her skull smash on the pavement below.
* ''Sun and Moon'' has been playing with grotesque reaction shots since the Mimikyu bathing scene, but it all comes to three terrifying heads in episode 16 where we get treated to [[http://www.filb.de/content/anime/sm/016/616.jpg this shot]] of Team Rocket reacting to Litten's betrayal.
* Episode 22 is a good showing of Palossand in a kid friendly show. The episode revolves around a Palossand going on a rampage and growing giant, swallowing Ash and Litten in the process. It then proceeds to drain Litten and Rotomdex ([[ItMakesSenseInContext who got stuck in Palossand's head as a replacement shovel]]) of their life energy which is evidently painful. By the end of the episode Palossand has grown large enough to overshadow Professor Kukui's house and eat it whole for no particular reason.
* Totem Raticate. The thing sounds like a nightmare, relentlessly chases anyone who gets near it, and in the Pokeproblem ending ''follows Team Rocket back to their base to get them''. It's a good thing Team Rocket has a guard Bewear to get it to leave them alone.
** On the subject of Totems, the Totem Wishiwashi is the stuff of nightmares for anyone with a phobia of deep water. When it first jumps out of the water, Ash can only look at it in complete horror while the onlooking fisherman ''screams'' (the latter is PlayedForLaughs, but still). Its voice is a demonic snarling version of the smaller Wishiwashi's adorable cry. There's a brief scene where Ash and Pikachu are knocked into the water, and the first thing they see is the shadowy silhouette of the giant Totem closing in on them.
* Type: Null's first appearance: The thing sounds like it is in constant pain and agony just from breathing with a hint of VaderBreath.
* A lot of times in the anime, Pokemon suffer from PowerIncontinence and become out of control due to the overwhelming nature of one of their abilities. Ash's Infernape as a Chimchar and Monferno (from its Blaze ability), Korrina's Lucario (from its Mega Evolution) and Ash's Lycanroc become outright feral, threatening to attack anything in sight. The animation shots in most of these cases are particularly chilling as well.
* Nihilego capturing Lillie. It appears only for a few seconds in a flashback, but is framed in such a way (and shown through a dark brown filter) that it really etches into the memory.
** The incident in question is not only confirmed two episodes later, but when Lillie starts to recover them Faba intends to use his Hypno to erase the incident from her memory entirely just to save his reputation, and the sight of it trying to use its powers on her and Ash is quite unsettling.
* The episode afterwards doesn't let up after MoodWhiplash kicks in -- it ends with Lillie screaming for her mom after Nihilego abducts Lusamine.
** While Lillie's fear of Pokemon is gone, coming face to face with Nihilego again sends her into a brief FreakOut.
** Just '''Nihilego'''. Not only is it super-powerful and bizarre in its movements, but it makes these absolutely unsettling sounds that almost sound like a [[CreepyChild giggling child]]. Anyone who thought the ''Sun & Moon'' series' LighterAndSofter tone meant it would avoid portraying how frightening the Ultra Beasts can be were sorely mistaken.
** Motherbeast Lusamine is even worse than in the games, and that's saying a lot. At least in ''Sun & Moon'' for the [=3DS=] it was clear that Lusamine was the one in control while she was fused with Nihilego up until you defeat her in battle, but in the anime it's difficult to tell where Lusamine ends and Nihilego begins. And unlike in the games, the Motherbeast ''fights back'' with the symbiosis jacking up Nihilego's moves to ridiculous levels, being capable of morphing the whole landscape and creating an entire ''sea'' of poison. Also unlike in the games, we get to see what happens if someone tries to separate Nihilego from its host ''before'' incapacitating it: it ''overtakes Lusamine completely'' and gains total control. It took Ash and Pikachu hitting it with a Z-Move just to get it to let her go, and it just ''flies away'' afterward as if nothing happened.
** Lusamine mentally regressing into an outright PsychopathicWomanchild when possessed by Nihilego, throwing a tantrum when the heroes try to rescue her and thus take her away from her precious Ultra Beast, yelling things like "Stay away! I hate you!" It's both tragic and terrifying to witness.
* Buzzwole's debut shows it attacking a Snorlax, doing so by literally [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1338442-buzzwole sticking its proboscis into Snorlax and draining it of its fluids]]. The Snorlax ''deflates'' as a result. It is basically BodyHorror incarnate and very similar to [[Anime/DragonBallZ Imperfect Cell]] killing a man. Thankfully, the Snorlax quickly recovers thanks to a potion from Lillie and plenty of berries from Lana, but ''still''.
* Sun and Moon episodes 100 and 101 feature Guzzlord, and its made out to be a horrifying being: In an alternate version of Hau'oli City, it just showed up without warning and ''started devouring'' all of Alola, leaving almost nothing but ''a vast desert wasteland'' (it somehow drank the ocean!). No other Pokémon has been seen causing this sort of destruction. It's even more monstrous than the Nihilego. Worst of all is its cry, which sounds like '''[[HellIsThatNoise anguished screaming]]'''.
* Imagine this. You walk into the Pokemon gym of a major city. You find seven people lying unconscious inside. You don't know who or what caused this, or if whoever/whatever it was is still inside and could possibly harm you. You can't tell just by looking if any of these people are breathing or have a pulse. (If it matters, one of them is someone you intensely dislike, but would not have actually wished any harm.) And you are not trained or skilled in first aid (beyond, say, applying a bandage), so you have no idea how to check for breathing/a pulse, much less perform CPR. [[note]] Fortunately, CPR turns out ''not'' to be necessary, but at this point you don't know that. [[/note]] You don't have a cell phone to call for help, and Arceus knows where the nearest PayPhone is. OhCrap indeed...
** Oh, hell, imagine the situation leading up to that point! You've been up against your share of gym leaders and other trainers, and you've never actually lost before. You effortlessly take out the gym leader's first couple of Pokemon, and you figure that the badge is as good as yours. Then, this gym leader sends out a ''new'' Pokemon. You've never seen the likes of it before, and it's covered with glowing armor, ostensibly to make it even stronger. In fact, it's so new, your Pokedex doesn't have ''any'' information on it. And it's dark, so you really can't get a good look at it. So you send your strongest Pokemon after it, only to have it use a ''very'' powerful psychic attack and It's Super Effective! Not only is this [[BreakTheHaughty your first loss]], this Pokemon then does something it is, by law and by custom, ''most definitely not'': it harms you and your cheerleaders. (Pokemon aren't supposed to attack trainers, nor are their trainers supposed to ''allow'' it, much less ''order'' it. Even their opponents' trainers.) One can't help but wonder if this was at least ''part'' of the reason that [[spoiler: Gary eventually decided to leave Pokemon training ''for good'' and become a Pokemon researcher like his grandfather.]]
* Episode 115 of Sun & Moon introduces Guzma, and he's even more of a threat than Lusamine. During his battle with Ash, Guzma showed no emotion as Golisopod nearly dominates Pikachu.
** He's even worse in episode 134, to the point where Golisopod to nearly tried to '''murder''' Lana's Primarina! He started the battle by cancelling Primarina's Sparkling Aria with Throat Chop, leaving behind a rather detailed bruise as Primarina starts choking in a realistic manor. He ''knew'' that Fairy types are weak to Poison type moves, so he ordered Golisopod to keep using Poison Jab on her throughout the fight. Even when she was ''limping away'' Guzma showed no remorse.
** Even worse is how ''none'' of the judges found any reason to object to Guzma's tactics, meaning that the borderline torture-tactic Golispod put Primarina through, is perfectly ''legal'' according to the League's rules.
** His SlasherSmile towards the end of episode 128. FULL STOP.
* Episode 45 of Journeys has Meowth going berserk and attacking the rest of Team Rocket after he Gigantamaxed for the first time. If it wasn't for Jessie and James reminding him of Giovanni's orders, Meowth could have killed them.
----
to:
%% Spoiler markup cannot be placed on Nightmare Fuel subpages since it defeats the page's purpose.
%%
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pokemon_mimikyu.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[YouDoNotWantToKnow Don't ask what it's saying]]. [[SchmuckBait And don't you dare peek under its costume]]. [[NearDeathExperience Not if you value your life]].]]
----
* Beedrill in general. They are three feet tall and attack in swarms if provoked just like real-life bees.
* The [[FeatheredFiend Spearow flock]] that went after Ash and Pikachu not once, but ''twice''.
** In the first time (the very first episode of the series), Ash meets a Spearow after mistaking it for a Pidgey and throwing a rock at it (Ash had been frustrated because he wasn't able to catch a Pidgey and Pikachu wasn't cooperating). The Spearow responded by attacking him and Pikachu before calling its family for reinforcements. Said family appeared to consist of ''[[ZergRush every single Spearow in the vicinity]]''. The psychotic birds proceeded to [[SuperPersistentPredator hunt Ash and Pikachu relentlessly throughout the route, with KILLING both of them apparently being their top priority above all else]]. Eventually, Ash is [[HeroicSacrifice more than willing to let them do whatever it is they plan on doing to him for Pikachu's safety]] and they aren't beaten until Pikachu shocks them with an attack so powerful it more or less drains the life out of him.
** The second time (in the episode with Pidgeotto's evolution), it turns out that while Ash was absent, the Spearow he hit with the rock evolved into a [[GiantFlyer much larger]] Fearow. And not only did it remember who Ash is, but its seething hatred for him appears to have gotten ''worse'', as it tries to kill him on sight. And it's still the alpha of its massive flock, not to mention having evidently bullied a mixed flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto ([[TheWorfEffect the latter normally fiercely territorial themselves]]) into submission. Think of it all from Ash's point of view--chased by a huge, vicious, predatory bird with sharp talons, a Swiss army knife for a beak, [[ZergRush the coordination to hunt in a massive flock]], and ''[[ItsPersonal the intelligence required to hold a grudge]]''.
* When Ash is challenged by the bug-catching samurai. He gets one look at the trainer's Pinsir and imagines it snapping his Metapod in half.
* Lt. Surge. Before Ash and co. even meet him, they're greeted by a carnage of brutally defeated Pokémon that tried to fight his Raichu, so much so that the city's Pokémon center was overflowing by the time they visited it. Compared to many other leaders, Surge was positively ''ruthless''.
** Not to mention what his Raichu can do when it's at full power. Its Thunderbolt was capable of '''tearing the gym to shreds'''.
* ''Sabrina.'' Just ''everything'' about her can be a bit disturbing for younger viewers of the ''Pokémon'' anime. As an EmotionlessGirl with PsychicPowers, Sabrina and her Pokémon all have red GlowingEyesOfDoom for whatever reason (likely to emphasize on her own powers), she even has a [[LivingToy doll of herself]] (and her mother), "plays" with Ash and his friends in a manner which almost feels like something from a ''Film/ChildsPlay'' movie, and when she finally gets her emotions back, her little doll mysteriously fades away. Elaborating on that, the anime shows that she was born with psychic abilities and as Sabrina grew up, she grew more obsessed about developing her psychic powers for malicious purposes, which slowly caused her emotions to be bottled up. Eventually, they settled into a separate personality and manifested itself as a doll of her younger self. Despite Sabrina being a cold, callous woman who was driven mad by her own power, that doll held her former personality, it being a young girl who just wanted to have fun. As shown in the episode of her debut, she did have fragments of her younger self which were overshadowed by her thirst for power, as she had some very destructive fun in shrinking Ash and his friends down to the size of dolls and putting them on a toy box, and she even had some uncontrollable laughter while doing so. It was only when that the Haunter had some fun with her that [[SplitPersonalityMerge both personalities fully merged together]] back into one being, and the doll has finally found its true owner; Sabrina... It no longer needed to be around without her younger personality, so it vanished!
** This also isn't getting onto both episodes that she made her major appearances in. Episode 22, "Abra and the Psychic Showdown" as it was called in the dub, has Ash trying to battle Sabrina, but he ends up forfeiting and, accepting Sabrina's request of being her "friend", has Ash, Brock and Misty get transported into a miniature toy box version of a town and has her seemingly attempting to torture them (although it's really her idea of fun, it being a combination of her mad power and her younger self), and they would have likely ended out [[FateWorseThanDeath stuck in this fate]] if Ash and company weren't saved as a psychic man they met earlier as he teleports them out. He warns them that Sabrina was a dangerous opponent and they needed a ghost type Pokemon to battle her... not before [[MoodWhiplash he humiliates Ash]] [[InvoluntaryDance by making him dance]] with his pants down.
** The latter, episode 24, called "Haunter versus Kadabra" in the English dub, is ripe full of this; Ash technically "loses" his re-match against Sabrina because his Pokemon refused to battle her Kadabra and his Haunter wasn't anywhere to be found, so he had to forfeit and flee yet again while both Brock and Misty stayed behind, who both get shrank down yet again and actually ''become'' dolls. They also meet her mother, who actually has been ''turned into a doll, and she says was stuck as one'' '''''[[AndIMustScream for years]]''''', while Ash encounters the same psychic man from before, who turns out to be Sabrina's father, and Ash only manages to win the second re-match by his Haunter giving her the ability to emote, which also gets rid of Sabrina's doll. If Ash hadn't ever got that Haunter or if it didn't decide to visit Sabrina during it... well, not only would Ash have to walk a lonely road for the rest of Kanto (assuming he still got the Marsh Badge, which is unlikely since he didn't beat her), Sabrina would have stayed forever emotionless with her mother, alongside Brock and Misty being [[AndIMustScream stuck as dolls]] [[FateWorseThanDeath for who knows how long]].
* When Ash and his friends are stuck on the capsized and upside-down St. Anne, Ash suggests that they dive down to reach the deck. Brock warns him it's too dangerous, and it takes an ImagineSpot for Ash to realize he has a point. Said spot has Ash underwater and finding a locked door, followed by a realistic depiction of him drowning.
* Gyarados and its ultimate attack, Dragon Rage[[note]]this was before the animators decided to depict Dragon Rage as a BreathWeapon[[/note]], which results in Ash and friends being sucked up into a giant waterspout and nearly drowned.
* The first battle with Blaine. Ash tries to do the obvious and sends Squirtle out against his Ninetales, but it turns out that Blaine's fire Pokemon are MUCH stronger than any water Pokemon. But this is nothing compared to Blaine's Magmar, who instead of coming out of a Pokeball, emerges from a wave of lava. Magmar's body heat is so intense it scorches the gym's floor and Pikachu's electric attacks are nullified by emanating heatwaves. The episode ends with Pikachu backed up against the edge of the gym, suspended over a lava pit, right in the path of Magmar's Fire Blast attack...
* The final gym leader of Kanto: [[BigBad Giovanni]]. The fact the BigBad [[VillainWithGoodPublicity occupies a respected position as gym leader]] is bad enough, especially with him being the strongest one in Kanto. Then in the anime this is the period he has [[OlympusMons Mewtwo]] at his orders... Let's just say that Ash was lucky that Gary stole his chance to meet him in person.
** Every single Giovanni appearance (outside the occasional ImagineSpot, courtesy of Meowth) shows him as being a ManipulativeBastard who will go to any length to amass power for himself. Anime!Giovanni has met Ash exactly twice, and neither time was anything other than lethal hostility (once during ''Mewtwo Returns'' which Giovanni no longer remembers, and once during the ''Black & White'' anime series).
** During that second encounter, one of the scariest moments in the anime happens. The power of the Reveal Glass that Giovanni had been using to control the Kami Trio's Therian Formes is accidentally absorbed by him rather than being channeled through Meloetta. Giovanni goes [[BrainwashedAndCrazy absolutely insane]], with red eyes and a mark on his forehead, and declares that he now [[OmnicidalManiac wants to destroy everything,]] commanding the Kami Trio to do so. Team Rocket saves the day by tackling him and releasing the power from him, snapping him out of his possession, but if they had not, there would be ''no way'' of freeing the Kami Trio from their mind-control, and they would carry on using their weather-altering powers to destroy the world.
** It doesn't help that every close-up shot of a possessed Meloetta's face during the episode is a rather... [[NightmareFace chilling expression]]. And for most of those shots, it's ''screaming'' as its [[UhOhEyes eyes keep changing colors]]. And with how high and ''agonizing'' its screams get, no wonder Ridley keeps crumpling up in anguish, and his explanation can't be more accurate.
-->'''Ridley:''' Meloetta's... suffering...
* The episode ''Electric Soldier Porygon'' had Nurse Joy (unintentionally) wanted to kill Ash and co. by putting in a Vaccine antivirus. She thought they were a computer virus! And the vaccine can't distinguish humans from viruses.
* Despite being a Tearjerker episode, Pikachu's Goodbye has a brief moment where the herd of Pikachu [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNVJNdfQxog&feature=youtu.be&t=10m24s scream out in the background]] when they get captured by Team Rocket. It sounds creepy as hell.
* In the episode [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/EP086 "Pikachu Re-Volts",]] Pikachu has a brief FaceHeelTurn, complete with [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes]] and overall creepy faces.
** In another example, in "Team Plasma's Pokémon Power Plot," Pikachu has [[RedEyesTakeWarning brainwashed red eyes again,]] but these are much creepier. It's almost like they're not even there. Just two soulless red cavities in the face. [[http://www.filb.de/content/anime/bw2/028/404.jpg See for yourself.]]
** Then, in "Battling The Enemy Within" in the Battle Frontier saga. Ash gets possessed by an ancient evil king. Complete with mascara effects to better show the DemonicPossession.
* It's played for laughs, but Jessie's SlasherSmile+LaughingMad combo when plotting revenge against a freshly caught swarm of Scyther for [[DisproportionateRetribution ruining her hair]] in "Tracey Gets Bugged". It actually manages to [[HorrifyingTheHorror terrify said Scythers]].
* When Pokémon Hunter J tried to capture the Lake Trio, remains of J's vessel are almost assuredly stuck at the bottom of the lake, and while the crew would have died quickly, her Pokémon's Pokéballs may have survived intact. Surrounded by rubble. At the bottom of the lake. For a long time.
** It was a well deserved fate, given the fact that Hunter J was a heartless mercenary who doesn't care how much misery and destruction she causes in order to turn a profit on the black market. As a matter of fact, working for J is a bad occupation since she doesn't care what happens to them. Getting in her way can be much worse; she's not above causing grievous harm to both humans and Pokémon that try to fight her and will even ''murder'' anyone that really manages to get on her nerves. This is evidenced by the facts that J had detached a container pod (that Ash and his friends had managed to sneak into) from her ship while it was airborne, had her Drapion try to ''crush'' Ash to death, and tried to burn down a whole forest around Ash and his friends.
*** Just the fact that a ''BLACK MARKET'', let alone a "Pokémon trafficking" business, exists in the Pokémon world is solid evidence to the fact that there's a lot more serious problems in the world than just Team Rocket...Hell, since Team Rocket is heavily implied at times to be in the Pokémon black market business, they probably are a part of those problems.
* Speaking of Team Rocket, remember [[Anime/PokemonMewtwoReturns Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns]]? There’s a scene where Domino, one of Team Rocket’s elite agents, gets questioned about the veracity of her being part of the Pokémon Institute by Calix when she revealed her true colors. Domino confirmed she indeed was in the Pokémon Institute, and also outright confirmed through words that Team Rocket '''[[ParanoiaFuel has agents everywhere]]'''.
* One episode revolves around an evil ghost girl who hypnotizes unsuspecting people and tries to lure them into the Spirit World. First, she tries to lure Conway into going off of a cliff. Then she scares the daylights out of Meowth. Finally, she appears at the entrance to the Spirit World itself and tries to pull in Ash, Angie, Pikachu, and Shinx, and the only thing that saves them is Professor Rowan's arrival. And when Dusknoir defeats her with a Psychic attack, she screams horrifically as she gets blasted into shadow and dissolves. Imagine if she had succeeded in her plans — would you want to be one of their parents on the other end of the phone, being told your child is never going to come home?
* Every time Ash's Chimchar's Blaze ability triggers. The other times similar abilities (or even Blaze itself, in the case of May's Blaziken) in the vein of Blaze from the games (the "boosts power of moves in a pinch" abilities) get shown, the Pokémon usually just receives a power boost. Not so much with [[UnstoppableRage this one]]. Every time, [[RedEyesTakeWarning its eyes turn red]], its pupils shrink, and its fire goes out of control as it goes absolutely ''berserk'' and starts screeching and attacking like mad. The first time it happens is after Paul's Ursaring beats Chimchar down in a battle against Ash - Chimchar proceeds to effortlessly knock out Ursaring, and it takes Ash [[CooldownHug desperately hugging it to calm it down]], and not without both barely missing him with a Flame Wheel and biting down on him while he holds it before it simmers down.
** Thankfully, after evolving into Infernape, it finally learns to control its power, resulting in the [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome fights against both Volkner's Luxray and Paul's Electivire]]. However, it ''still'' manages to be incredibly frightening - In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIPS7dyjmBo former example]], the first time the ability shows as an Infernape, its eyes turn [[GlowingEyesOfDoom ''completely'' red, pupils included]], fire erupts from its head. and it wildly launches a Flamethrower after the effects kick in, and it promptly turns around to give Ash a [[DeathGlare downright ''terrifying'' look]]. It then slowly trudges towards him like a zombie - It's only when it gives a grin and nod in response to Ash's instructions that it becomes clear Infernape's still in control, but the [[SlasherSmile way it grins]] and the entirety of how it acts up until then is still incredibly frightening. The fact Pikachu's cheeks spark before Ash tells him it's okay, making it clear it was ''more'' than prepared to fight a berserk Infernape, isn't hard to blame him for.
* Just when the anime starts calming down on scary stuff, Ash and his friends (as well as Team Rocket eventually) find themselves in the Litwick Mansion. While the Pokedex entries state that Litwick, the little candle Pokémon, leeches off a human's life force, the Litwick in the episode actually try doing that to Team Rocket. Not only, Team Rocket's energy is drained slowly, over the course of the episode. Thus we see them become more and more lethargic as time goes on only to end up looking like zombies eventually.
** It gets even ''worse'' at the climax, when the Litwick open a portal to a ghost dimension and try to ''[[DraggedOffToHell suck everyone in]]''. Eventually, Jessie loses her grip and goes flying into the portal. Ash saves her, but the look of '''absolute horror''' on her face when she's getting pulled in is just bone-chilling. And her line just before slipping.... ''ugh.''
-->'''Jessie:''' ''(whimpers) "I-It's over..."''
** And if that wasn't bad enough, immediately after, Cilan gets hit by a Litwick's shadow-ball and is sent flying towards the very same portal. Luckily, he was rescued by James, but still...
* The Malamar from XY's 19th episode. Its capable of hypnotizing people and Pokémon [[MindManipulation into doing its bidding]]. The thought of being mind controlled is horrifying enough, but being mind controlled into committing horrible actions like attacking innocent people and turning [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Pokémon against their trainers]] in the name of world domination is just terrifying. This Malamar was even working on a secret weapon to help in dominating the world. But this weapon is [[http://serebii.net/anime/pictures/xy/822ps11.shtml just as horrifying]] as Malamar itself!
** The weapon itself doesn't even resemble anything man-made either, as it looks more like MeatMoss or something organic. No explanation is given to its function as it's quickly destroyed as soon as it's been discovered.
** It's back in Episode 54, with two new Malamar as lackeys. It turns out that its world domination scheme would change the environment of the ''entire planet'' into something only suitable for Malamar and Inkay, and they very nearly ''succeed''. The Malamar are even so "kind" as to show what their new world would look like - It's nothing but a swirling mess of orange and green. To top it all off, the Malamar escape with their device, claiming they'll be back again.
*** If you think about it, just the fact that [[WhiteAndGreyMorality Pokemon that are]] [[AvertedTrope as evil as the human antagonists actually exist.]] Almost every antagonistic Pokemon we've seen is either acting in self-defense or, in Mewtwo's case, [[WellIntentionedExtremist trying to create a world that all Pokemon can live in peace.]] None of these Malamar have that excuse- they're just as bad as [[TheSociopath Ghetsis]] or [[OmnicidalManiac Lysandre]].
* From early Best Wishes, there was Tepig’s introduction episode. Like a couple other fire starters, Ash ends up taking in an abandoned and abused Tepig. Unlike with them however, we actually see the effects of the previous trainer’s abuse, with the poor piggy having gotten rather thin from malnourishment, and having his mouth tied shut by the abuser. It’s particularly horrific since tying the mouth shut is a common practice by real life animal abusers, usually to make them starve.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jeLJMmdtSg Korrina's Mega Lucario is terrifying]] when it goes nuts. Especially how more brutally he beats down Pikachu than normal and [[RedEyesTakeWarning his red eyes.]]
* The [[SuddenDownerEnding ending scenes]] of "Defending the Homeland" is this in spades: Ash's Goodra gets sniped and is critically wounded while Pikachu, Dedenne and Wooper get captured by Florges' forces. It doesn't help that before the credits, all we hear is Team Rocket ''laughing maniacally in the background.''
* Although not quite as horrifying as Mimikyu, the screaming Bewear from Sun & Moon's second episode is certainly unsettling. It makes a generic friendly noise and waves at Ash. Ash goes closer. It waves more and its call rises in pitch. Ash goes closer. It screams shrilly and smashes a tree. Then it charges after a now-fleeing Ash, smashing trees and [[HellIsThatNoise shrieking as it goes.]]
** It's very fond of Team Rocket but it clearly doesn't know its own strength: after Jessie gives it a bag of doughnuts it hugs her so hard her eyes become bloodshot and her tongue is [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bewear_hug.jpg sticking out.]] Keep in mind that, in the ''Pokemon Moon'' Pokédex, it is canon that Bewear are known for [[AndCallHimGeorge accidentally killing their trainers by crushing them with bear hugs]].
* Mimikyu in the games was almost instantly adored by the fandom for their desire to just be popular like Pikachu, in addition to being adorable. The anime, apparently deciding to contrast itself, adds a Mimikyu that is outright ''psychotic''. Team Rocket's first encounter with the Alolan Pokémon nearly '''kills Meowth''' (admittedly, Meowth didn't know any better when he lifted the costume). When Ash and Pikachu happen by, it viciously attacks Pikachu, and Meowth reveals that Mimikyu absolutely ''hates'' Pikachu, and in fact draws its strength from said hate. And instead of imitating Pikachu's cry, it just makes a disturbing choking/grinding sound. It only joins Team Rocket because it wants a shot at Pikachu and they have the same goal.
** When Mimikyu "kills" Meowth, he goes through the proverbial [[GoIntoTheLight "light at the end of the tunnel"]] and ends up in what appears to be [[{{Heaven}} a beautiful flowery field]] with [[MsFanservice Glaceon, Gardevoir, and Lopunny]] skipping around... only for the vision to fade into a [[{{Hell}} nightmarish darkness]] with the heavenly vision projected by [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar]], overall implying Meowth will go to {{Hell}} when he dies.[[note]]This is muddled when the experience happens again later and it's just the Heavenly vision that happens, so maybe it's just a matter of what Meowth is doing at the time, since he wasn't up to anything evil on the second occasion.[[/note]] And just in case you thought the anime might not take the Pokédex entry on its true form seriously, Rotom relates it verbatim, so Meowth really could have died.
*** In the English dub, Meowth refers to the pit as "a really bad place", with Jessie then asking "Do you mean..." before Meowth cuts her off, with a comment about how he doesn't want to go back there, "whatever you want to call it". They might not have mentioned Hell, but it's definitely what they were implying.
** Still unconvinced? Meowth outright refuses to translate what it's saying because it scares him. Consider that for a moment. Mimikyu is so creepy that Meowth, not exactly a paragon of virtue himself, is terrified by the little ghost. Jessie's Wobbuffet also seems unusually expressive whenever the ghost hisses.
* The Salandit in the eight episode of the Sun & Moon anime that leaps at Lillie and very nearly devours her Pokémon egg.
** Speaking of episode 8, said episode reveals that Lillie used to be just fine touching Pokémon, even holding a Lillipup in a family photo. But after returning from her mom's manor, ''something'' happened that made her afraid to touch them ever again. Lillie doesn't even remember the incident herself. Considering how insane her mother is in the games' canon, one has to wonder: [[FridgeHorror what happened during that time?]]
*** This is TruthInTelevision, as trauma victims often have trouble recalling what happened to them.
*** Slightly mitigated when we find out that the Lusamine in the anime is a far different character than the one in the games. Doesn't make what happens later any better, however.
** In episode 47, we finally learn why Lillie is scared of Pokemon. In a flashback, she was attacked by a [[EldritchAbomination Nihilego]] when she was younger. For even more Nightmare Fuel, remember [[MindRape what it's]] [[TheSymbiote capable of]] and remember that [[FridgeHorror Lillie could have ended up on the receiving end of all that]].
** This is further compounded in episode 49, where the accident is not only confirmed, but it also adds the detail that Faba was responsible for unleashing Nihilego from Ultra Space; and is deliberately trying to keep Lillie from recovering her memory.
* Episode 12 of ''Sun and Moon'' has Mimikyu removing its rag to take a dip, leaving the rag floating in the water. Later, it turns towards the camera, revealing that the water caused the ink on its costume's "face" to run, with [[NightmareFace hideous results]]. Complete with ScareChord, no less.
** While Mareanie affectionately [[FaceHugger attacking James]] is mostly PlayedForLaughs, there is one unsettling moment where it latches onto James's diving helmet and breaks the visor with its spikes. ''Underwater''.
* While the show has plenty of fall scares, episode 14 of ''Sun and Moon'' has Lillie slow motion fall off a ledge ''head first''. Just before Ash and Rowlet save her and Snowy with Leafage, it is made morbidly apparent she was mere inches away from having her skull smash on the pavement below.
* ''Sun and Moon'' has been playing with grotesque reaction shots since the Mimikyu bathing scene, but it all comes to three terrifying heads in episode 16 where we get treated to [[http://www.filb.de/content/anime/sm/016/616.jpg this shot]] of Team Rocket reacting to Litten's betrayal.
* Episode 22 is a good showing of Palossand in a kid friendly show. The episode revolves around a Palossand going on a rampage and growing giant, swallowing Ash and Litten in the process. It then proceeds to drain Litten and Rotomdex ([[ItMakesSenseInContext who got stuck in Palossand's head as a replacement shovel]]) of their life energy which is evidently painful. By the end of the episode Palossand has grown large enough to overshadow Professor Kukui's house and eat it whole for no particular reason.
* Totem Raticate. The thing sounds like a nightmare, relentlessly chases anyone who gets near it, and in the Pokeproblem ending ''follows Team Rocket back to their base to get them''. It's a good thing Team Rocket has a guard Bewear to get it to leave them alone.
** On the subject of Totems, the Totem Wishiwashi is the stuff of nightmares for anyone with a phobia of deep water. When it first jumps out of the water, Ash can only look at it in complete horror while the onlooking fisherman ''screams'' (the latter is PlayedForLaughs, but still). Its voice is a demonic snarling version of the smaller Wishiwashi's adorable cry. There's a brief scene where Ash and Pikachu are knocked into the water, and the first thing they see is the shadowy silhouette of the giant Totem closing in on them.
* Type: Null's first appearance: The thing sounds like it is in constant pain and agony just from breathing with a hint of VaderBreath.
* A lot of times in the anime, Pokemon suffer from PowerIncontinence and become out of control due to the overwhelming nature of one of their abilities. Ash's Infernape as a Chimchar and Monferno (from its Blaze ability), Korrina's Lucario (from its Mega Evolution) and Ash's Lycanroc become outright feral, threatening to attack anything in sight. The animation shots in most of these cases are particularly chilling as well.
* Nihilego capturing Lillie. It appears only for a few seconds in a flashback, but is framed in such a way (and shown through a dark brown filter) that it really etches into the memory.
** The incident in question is not only confirmed two episodes later, but when Lillie starts to recover them Faba intends to use his Hypno to erase the incident from her memory entirely just to save his reputation, and the sight of it trying to use its powers on her and Ash is quite unsettling.
* The episode afterwards doesn't let up after MoodWhiplash kicks in -- it ends with Lillie screaming for her mom after Nihilego abducts Lusamine.
** While Lillie's fear of Pokemon is gone, coming face to face with Nihilego again sends her into a brief FreakOut.
** Just '''Nihilego'''. Not only is it super-powerful and bizarre in its movements, but it makes these absolutely unsettling sounds that almost sound like a [[CreepyChild giggling child]]. Anyone who thought the ''Sun & Moon'' series' LighterAndSofter tone meant it would avoid portraying how frightening the Ultra Beasts can be were sorely mistaken.
** Motherbeast Lusamine is even worse than in the games, and that's saying a lot. At least in ''Sun & Moon'' for the [=3DS=] it was clear that Lusamine was the one in control while she was fused with Nihilego up until you defeat her in battle, but in the anime it's difficult to tell where Lusamine ends and Nihilego begins. And unlike in the games, the Motherbeast ''fights back'' with the symbiosis jacking up Nihilego's moves to ridiculous levels, being capable of morphing the whole landscape and creating an entire ''sea'' of poison. Also unlike in the games, we get to see what happens if someone tries to separate Nihilego from its host ''before'' incapacitating it: it ''overtakes Lusamine completely'' and gains total control. It took Ash and Pikachu hitting it with a Z-Move just to get it to let her go, and it just ''flies away'' afterward as if nothing happened.
** Lusamine mentally regressing into an outright PsychopathicWomanchild when possessed by Nihilego, throwing a tantrum when the heroes try to rescue her and thus take her away from her precious Ultra Beast, yelling things like "Stay away! I hate you!" It's both tragic and terrifying to witness.
* Buzzwole's debut shows it attacking a Snorlax, doing so by literally [[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1338442-buzzwole sticking its proboscis into Snorlax and draining it of its fluids]]. The Snorlax ''deflates'' as a result. It is basically BodyHorror incarnate and very similar to [[Anime/DragonBallZ Imperfect Cell]] killing a man. Thankfully, the Snorlax quickly recovers thanks to a potion from Lillie and plenty of berries from Lana, but ''still''.
* Sun and Moon episodes 100 and 101 feature Guzzlord, and its made out to be a horrifying being: In an alternate version of Hau'oli City, it just showed up without warning and ''started devouring'' all of Alola, leaving almost nothing but ''a vast desert wasteland'' (it somehow drank the ocean!). No other Pokémon has been seen causing this sort of destruction. It's even more monstrous than the Nihilego. Worst of all is its cry, which sounds like '''[[HellIsThatNoise anguished screaming]]'''.
* Imagine this. You walk into the Pokemon gym of a major city. You find seven people lying unconscious inside. You don't know who or what caused this, or if whoever/whatever it was is still inside and could possibly harm you. You can't tell just by looking if any of these people are breathing or have a pulse. (If it matters, one of them is someone you intensely dislike, but would not have actually wished any harm.) And you are not trained or skilled in first aid (beyond, say, applying a bandage), so you have no idea how to check for breathing/a pulse, much less perform CPR. [[note]] Fortunately, CPR turns out ''not'' to be necessary, but at this point you don't know that. [[/note]] You don't have a cell phone to call for help, and Arceus knows where the nearest PayPhone is. OhCrap indeed...
** Oh, hell, imagine the situation leading up to that point! You've been up against your share of gym leaders and other trainers, and you've never actually lost before. You effortlessly take out the gym leader's first couple of Pokemon, and you figure that the badge is as good as yours. Then, this gym leader sends out a ''new'' Pokemon. You've never seen the likes of it before, and it's covered with glowing armor, ostensibly to make it even stronger. In fact, it's so new, your Pokedex doesn't have ''any'' information on it. And it's dark, so you really can't get a good look at it. So you send your strongest Pokemon after it, only to have it use a ''very'' powerful psychic attack and It's Super Effective! Not only is this [[BreakTheHaughty your first loss]], this Pokemon then does something it is, by law and by custom, ''most definitely not'': it harms you and your cheerleaders. (Pokemon aren't supposed to attack trainers, nor are their trainers supposed to ''allow'' it, much less ''order'' it. Even their opponents' trainers.) One can't help but wonder if this was at least ''part'' of the reason that [[spoiler: Gary eventually decided to leave Pokemon training ''for good'' and become a Pokemon researcher like his grandfather.]]
* Episode 115 of Sun & Moon introduces Guzma, and he's even more of a threat than Lusamine. During his battle with Ash, Guzma showed no emotion as Golisopod nearly dominates Pikachu.
** He's even worse in episode 134, to the point where Golisopod to nearly tried to '''murder''' Lana's Primarina! He started the battle by cancelling Primarina's Sparkling Aria with Throat Chop, leaving behind a rather detailed bruise as Primarina starts choking in a realistic manor. He ''knew'' that Fairy types are weak to Poison type moves, so he ordered Golisopod to keep using Poison Jab on her throughout the fight. Even when she was ''limping away'' Guzma showed no remorse.
** Even worse is how ''none'' of the judges found any reason to object to Guzma's tactics, meaning that the borderline torture-tactic Golispod put Primarina through, is perfectly ''legal'' according to the League's rules.
** His SlasherSmile towards the end of episode 128. FULL STOP.
* Episode 45 of Journeys has Meowth going berserk and attacking the rest of Team Rocket after he Gigantamaxed for the first time. If it wasn't for Jessie and James reminding him of Giovanni's orders, Meowth could have killed them.
----
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
**His SlasherSmile towards the end of episode 128. FULL STOP.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Spelling
Changed line(s) 19 (click to see context) from:
* The first battle with Blaine. Ash tries to do the obvious and sends Squirtle out against his Ninetails, but it turns out that Blaine's fire Pokemon are MUCH stronger than any water Pokemon. But this is nothing compared to Blaine's Magmar, who instead of coming out of a Pokeball, emerges from a wave of lava. Magmar's body heat is so intense it scorches the gym's floor and Pikachu's electric attacks are nullified by emanating heatwaves. The episode ends with Pikachu backed up against the edge of the gym, suspended over a lava pit, right in the path of Magmar's Fire Blast attack...
to:
* The first battle with Blaine. Ash tries to do the obvious and sends Squirtle out against his Ninetails, Ninetales, but it turns out that Blaine's fire Pokemon are MUCH stronger than any water Pokemon. But this is nothing compared to Blaine's Magmar, who instead of coming out of a Pokeball, emerges from a wave of lava. Magmar's body heat is so intense it scorches the gym's floor and Pikachu's electric attacks are nullified by emanating heatwaves. The episode ends with Pikachu backed up against the edge of the gym, suspended over a lava pit, right in the path of Magmar's Fire Blast attack...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Wording for clarity
Changed line(s) 21 (click to see context) from:
** Every single Giovanni appearance (outside Team Rocket's ImagineSpot's) shows him as being a ManipulativeBastard who will go to any length to amass power for himself. Anime!Giovanni has met Ash exactly twice, and neither time was anything other than lethal hostility (once during ''Mewtwo Returns'' which Giovanni no longer remembers, and once during the ''Black & White'' anime series).
to:
** Every single Giovanni appearance (outside Team Rocket's ImagineSpot's) the occasional ImagineSpot, courtesy of Meowth) shows him as being a ManipulativeBastard who will go to any length to amass power for himself. Anime!Giovanni has met Ash exactly twice, and neither time was anything other than lethal hostility (once during ''Mewtwo Returns'' which Giovanni no longer remembers, and once during the ''Black & White'' anime series).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 84 (click to see context) from:
* Episode 45 of Journeys has Meowth going berserk and attacking the rest of Team Rocket after he Gigantamaxed for the first time. If it wasn't for Jesse and James reminding him of Giovanni's orders, Meowth could have killed them.
to:
* Episode 45 of Journeys has Meowth going berserk and attacking the rest of Team Rocket after he Gigantamaxed for the first time. If it wasn't for Jesse Jessie and James reminding him of Giovanni's orders, Meowth could have killed them.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
* Speaking of Team Rocket, remember [[Anime/PokemonMewtwoReturns Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns]]? There’s a scene where Domino, one of Team Rocket’s elite agents, gets questioned about the veracity of her being part of the Pokémon Institute by Calix when she revealed her true colors. Domino confirmed she indeed was in the Pokémon Institute, and also implied that Team Rocket '''[[ParanoiaFuel has agents everywhere]]'''.
to:
* Speaking of Team Rocket, remember [[Anime/PokemonMewtwoReturns Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns]]? There’s a scene where Domino, one of Team Rocket’s elite agents, gets questioned about the veracity of her being part of the Pokémon Institute by Calix when she revealed her true colors. Domino confirmed she indeed was in the Pokémon Institute, and also implied outright confirmed through words that Team Rocket '''[[ParanoiaFuel has agents everywhere]]'''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* Episode 45 of Journeys has Meowth going berserk and attacking the rest of Team Rocket after he Gigantamaxed for the first time. If it wasn't for Jesse and James reminding him of Giovanni's orders, Meowth could have killed them.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 23 (click to see context) from:
** It doesn't help that every close-up shot of a possessed Meloetta's face during the episode is a rather chilling expression. And for most of those shots, it's ''screaming'' as its [[UhOhEyes eyes keep changing colors]]. And with how high and ''agonizing'' its screams get, no wonder Ridley keeps crumpling up in anguish, and his explanation can't be more accurate.
to:
** It doesn't help that every close-up shot of a possessed Meloetta's face during the episode is a rather rather... [[NightmareFace chilling expression.expression]]. And for most of those shots, it's ''screaming'' as its [[UhOhEyes eyes keep changing colors]]. And with how high and ''agonizing'' its screams get, no wonder Ridley keeps crumpling up in anguish, and his explanation can't be more accurate.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 24,25 (click to see context) from:
-->'''Ridley:''' Meloetta's
... suffering...
... suffering...
to:
-->'''Ridley:''' Meloetta's
...Meloetta's... suffering...
...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** It doesn't help that every close-up shot of a possessed Meloetta's face during the episode is a rather chilling expression. And for most of those shots, it's ''screaming'' as its [[UhOhEyes eyes keep changing colors]]. And with how high and ''agonizing'' its screams get, no wonder Ridley keeps crumpling up in anguish, and his explanation can't be more accurate.
-->'''Ridley:''' Meloetta's
... suffering...
-->'''Ridley:''' Meloetta's
... suffering...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 29 (click to see context) :
-->'''[[WebVideo/SuedesPokemonJourney Suede:]]''' Holy ''crap'', those Scyther are gonna wake up with their ''wings pulled off!''
