History NightmareFuel / PokemonDetectivePikachu

** It gets worse, Ditto is shown to be ''extremely'' intelligent (thanks in part to how extensively she's been altered genetically), moreso than any other Pokémon in the movie except Pikachu and Mewtwo - even capable of communicating via human language (through text), something Pokémon are ''explicitly'' stated to not understand throughout the film, and tries to ''murder'' Tim at the end. Unlike normal Ditto, she's also able to mimic Pokémon and people that ''aren't'' physically present, and her Ms. Norman form isn't seen anywhere else except her, meaning it's entirely possible she's not mimicking anyone and has simply ''made up'' that form (which also raises the question of what other forms could she take if she doesn't ''have'' to mimic).
** And finally, [[UncertainDoom she's never seen again]] after her ShapeshifterSwanSong (though likely only because she fainted).

*** The effects team [[WordOfGod stated]] they used sphynx cat kittens as reference for Mewtwo's skin texture, then tried to blend that with the smooth "youthful" look it has in the anime. The result? [[HumanoidAbomination Eldritch]] [[AnimalisticAbomination horror]].

-->'''[[WebOriginal/DoubleToasted Korey Colman]]:''' Fuck pokéballs, he needs to be ''shot!'' That has rabies. They need to put that down.

* The horde of Aipom got into Tim's office, especially the one that screams, attacks the camera and looks like it wants to tear Tim's throat out with its teeth. Which are ''all'' incisors.

* The scene in the climax, where Howard-as-Mewtwo is merging humans with random Pokémon. While this might not seem that scary, considering how awesome Pokémon can be, and [[VillainHasAPoint Howard does have a point]] that Pokémon are superior to humans in certain ways. One has to remember that these people ''were forced into Pokémon bodies against their will''. Not to mention that Pokémon come in all shapes and sizes, imagine how traumatizing it must be to be trapped in a four-legged stance, to be smaller than a human hand, heck, even being enlarged in size can be perceived as BalefulPolymorph.

** There's also the matter of what happens to the Pokémon in this scenario. Pokémon are much closer to human intelligence than a real life animal when they aren't explicitly of human intelligence in the case of Psychic types like Mewtwo. They're so intelligent that Howard mentions the R gas is necessary because it shuts off the Pokémon's higher thought processes to make room for a human mind. Howard's plan might be be scary for humans but it's utterly nightmarish for Pokémon, who are living through an animal version of ''Film/GetOut2017''.

* The Pokémon retain their cartoonish proportions while going for a more realistic texture, in order to make them look more like real-life creatures and less like cartoon characters. This strategy achieves... [[UncannyValley mixed results]]; some Pokémon look fine (with many praising how adorable Detective Pikachu's fluffier design is), while others look much less so. Some examples of the latter group:

** Mr. Mime, which already unnerves a lot of people, falls so deep into the UncannyValley that it's downright horrifying. It's not helpful that those blue things on either side of its head are rendered to resemble "fleshy protrusions" rather than EinsteinHair as most interpretations. It should be noted however that this ''is'' accurate to the series lore. (Granted, this being [[MemeticMolester Mr. Mime]], the whole effect might be ''intentional'', but even so, it's disturbing.)

*** Compared to the expressive eyes of Pikachu or the other eyes that have detail on them, Pokémon with highly stylized eyes look even ''worse''. Ludicolo's eyes look like googly-eyes. This varies between {{Narm}} and UncannyValley when they suddenly ''move''. What's more, Ludicolo has a visibly lazy eye. In the common reaction image, it looks like it's begging for death.

*** On top of that, Emolga's teeth are never shown. While it's very unlikely to see a squirrel's open mouth in real life, [[https://www.unilad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/emolga.jpg Emolga's mouth is plainly open and expressive]], revealing ''absolutely no teeth'' at all. UncannyValley to the max.

** The Charizard has nothing on freaking ''[[https://nintendosoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/pokemon-detective-pikachu-gyarados-mar252019.jpg Gyarados]]'', every bit the terrifying sea monster spoken of in the Dex entries. Even ''Charizard'' ends up [[OhCrap cowering]] before Gyarados' Surf attack.[[note]]And it has every right to be cowering, considering the type disadvantage.[[/note]]

* The horde of Aipom got into Tim's office,especially the one that screams, attacks the camera and looks like it wants to tear Tim's throat out with its teeth. Which are ''all'' incisors.

** Machamp looks almost like SpecialEffectFailure. While Machamp and its family are supposed to have skin, the textures seem to be synthetic, meaning that it looks like one took a model from an [=PS1=]-early [=PS2=]-era Full Motion Video and placed it into the movie willie nilly. It looks ''heavily'' out of place.

** Given Ditto's [[AnythingThatMoves status in the fandom]], it's not pretty far off to imagine that the pokemon-obsessed Howard did... ''[[BestialityIsDepraved things]]'' with his.

*** The effects team stated they used sphynx cat kittens as reference for Mewtwo's skin texture, then tried to blend that with the smooth "youthful" look it has in the anime. The result? [[HumanoidAbomination Eldritch]] [[AnimalisticAbomination horror]].

** Not to mention that the people of this world know what rabies is. Rabid animals in our world are dangerous and terrifying enough, so can you imagine a rabid creature capable of devastating elemental attacks, psychic powers,etc? That is a far more terrifying thought.

** That said, Howard-Mewtwo is terrifying in itself, not only for the fact he's controlling the Pokémon like a puppet, but also that he's more than willing to abuse his power for his own benefit (starting with trying to dispose of Tim), even if he believes that his intentions are benevolent. The fact that Mewtwo is one of the most toughest Pokémon around contributes a lot to why he was dead set on using him. Best shown in the climax when Pikachu slams him with a Volt Tackle and all it does is briefly stun and knock Howard-Mewtwo into a building; he swiftly recovers and was on the verge of killing Pikachu right there, if not for the fact that it allowed enough of a distraction for Tim to remove the neutral device from Howard's main body and separate his consciousness from Mewtwo.

** We even get to see the ''reactions'' of at least two of the people trapped in this state--first we have Yoshida, looking genuinely confused and terrified when he finds himself in Snubbull's body and Lucy letting out a panicked "Psyduck!?" after merging with...well, Psyduck.

* Tim's terror when he's dangling out the window is palpable. Ditto has just blown him out a window and he's barely holding on by his fingertips. Ditto could finish him off in seconds but instead chooses to sadistically toy with him by turning into a [[CallBack Cubone]] and very slowly breaking his grip one...by...one...

** Given Ditto's [[AnythingThatMoves status in the fandom]], it's not pretty far off to imagine that the pokemon-obsessed Howard did...''[[BestialityIsDepraved things]]'' with his.

* The Pokémon retain their cartoonish proportions while going for a more realistic texture, in order to make them look more like real-life creatures and less like cartoon characters. This strategy achieves...[[UncannyValley mixed results]]; some Pokémon look fine (with many praising how adorable Detective Pikachu's fluffier design is), while others look much less so. Some examples of the latter group:

** Emolga's head is ''way'' too big for its body. coupled with its lack of visible joints, it looks almost ''taxidermied''.

** The Charizard has nothing on freaking ''[[https://nintendosoup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/pokemon-detective-pikachu-gyarados-mar252019.jpg Gyarados]]'', every bit the terrifying sea monster spoken of in the Dex entries. Even ''Charizard'' ends up [[OhCrap cowering]] before Gyarados's Surf attack.[[note]]And it has every right to be cowering, considering the type disadvantage.[[/note]]

* Tim's terror when he's dangling out the window is palpable. Ditto has just blown him out a window and he's barely holding on by his fingertips. Ditto could finish him off in seconds but instead chooses to sadistically toy with him by take on a creepy, grinning aspect while breaking his fingers one... by... one.

* The substance known as "R" in general, a experiment GoneHorriblyWrong and somehow manages to find its way on the streets.
** We get our first taste of it when Tim finds a vial in Harry's office and unwittingly opens it. He opens a window to let it clear out and some of it spreads to some nearby Apiom, leading them to briefly attack Tim and Pikachu.

** Given Ditto's [[AnythingThatMoves status in the fandom]], it's not pretty far off to imagine that the pokemon-obsessed Howard did... [[BestialityIsDepraved ''things'']] with his.

** Given Ditto's [[AnythingThatMoves status in the fandom]], it's not pretty far off to imagine that the pokemon-obsessed Howard did... [[BestialityIsDepraved 'things']] with his.