Nightmare Fuel / Pokémon Music

Every game or show worth its salt has music with that proper feeling: Pokémon has plenty of Awesome Music, but sadly part of that awesomeness is devoted to convey fear.

• The Lavender Town music in the original Pokémon Red and Blue was really creepy, with its unnerving, very high-pitched notes. It got toned down and sounded almost touching in some of the later games, but it didn't stop fan remixes from cranking the scary aspect up.
  • Heck, even doing something as simple as playing the song in reverse somehow makes it more menacing.
  • Lavender Tower's music, both in the original and the remake is very ominous and ghostly as well.
  • Add a Pokémon Creepypasta with the Lavender music... good luck sleeping tonight...
• Pokémon Mansion's theme is an unsettling piece, especially when you learn what went on in the place...
• Years after the release of Red and Blue, an incomplete, unused track has been found in the game's coding. Although it was meant to be an upbeat song that played while trading Pokémon, as heard in the 2020 source code leak, the track in the game is damaged and almost seems like it could rival the Lavender Town theme in terms of creepiness. Listen to it in this video.
• The ear-piercingly loud beginning of the Dragon's Den music in Pokémon Gold and Silver undoubtedly freaked many kids out.
• The music played during the fight with Arceus in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, while ultimately unused, is a mess of thunderous MIDI-timpani and dissonant, loosely timed strings. Fitting the situation, as Arceus is the Pokémon equivalent of God. The music ended up being used in HeartGold/SoulSilver in an event involving Arceus creating an egg containing either Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina for the player. Within this context the song becomes even worse, considering the sheer Mind Screw of the event, which involves strange geometric shapes and backgrounds made of actual photographs of the real world.
  • It's chilling if you run with the interpretation that the reason the track sounds confrontational unlike anything else in the game is because the game is angry at you, because you weren't supposed to know that this event even exists.
  • It’s even more dissonant and intense in Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl.
    • Arceus's new battle theme for Pokémon Legends: Arceus is quite the sound to behold. It starts off the same way as its original theme, but as the battle progresses, the song grows increasingly faster in tempo, to the point where it starts sounding like it's glitching out, which really encapsulates just how incomprehensible the God of the Pokémon world truly is.
  • Arceus has a different theme in Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs. It's just as eerie and appropriate for battling God, but in a different way. It sounds like depressing, melancholic church music, and several commenters aptly describe it as a theme song for an apocalypse. Instead of riling you up for battle, this theme is telling you, "you have already lost and there's nothing at all you can do about it."
    • On the subject of Arceus, there's also the music that plays in the Hall of Origin, which seems designed specifically to creep players out, given the place's ridiculous height. It's a remix of the already creepy title screen music with screechy noises added... which creepily makes sense, given who you're about to fight...
• The music from the Silph Co. building in the original Pokémon games, which has been taken over by Team Rocket.
• The music in the background of the Ruins of Alph in Pokémon HeartGold And SoulSilver. A cold music box-like tune that gets more and more intense as it goes on.
  • Let's not forget about the unsettling tune that plays when you play the radio inside the Ruins, at least in the original Gold, Silver, and Crystal. While the version used in the remakes sounds less creepy thanks to using softer instruments, the original is a good deal screechier, and as a result is a good deal worse.
• Team Rocket's evolution signal at Lake of Rage. A level of cacophony that wouldn't sound out of place in a Beatles song.
• The original games had a lot of creepy music. The Lavender Town theme is just the first of many examples, such as Viridian Forest, the Celadon Rocket Hideout, the Mahogany Rocket Hideout, Pokémon Mansion, Pokémon Tower, Dark Cave, Ilex Forest...
  • Lets face it, there is no freaking way to make a theme of Diglett Cave/Mt. Moon any less creepy. A melody so haunting and foreboding. As the remakes came (the most recent being Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee/Pikachu and they failed at making it calmer), making the theme more disturbing. G/S/C thought it was a good idea to have a slower take. HeartGold and SoulSilver still have a theme that arguably is the most unsettling. The Gen 1 original gem still takes the cake from even Lavender Town.
  • In HeartGold and SoulSilver, most of the scarier themes have been toned down (except for the aforementioned Diglett Cave Music, it got much worse). However, the GB Sounds item will change the music back to its original 8-bit form, restoring the creepiness.
• The music that plays when meeting the legendary birds in Platinum (Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres) is made unexpectedly disturbing by the fact they're roaming Pokémon in that game, and as such, they can appear anytime.
• In Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the music that plays when battling the Regis gives an ominous sense of ancient ominousness.
  • Similarly, Kyogre/Groudon/Rayquaza battle music, best described as "just as scary as the Raikou-Suicune-Entei battle theme's first notes, only with bells and with the scariness lasting throughout the whole song."
• Giratina's battle music. It's like it's saying, "you're in my world now".
  • Speaking of Giratina, the music used for the Distortion World really does capture the very separate-from-reality type of feel that the Distortion World (or "Torn World" in Japanese) is supposed to have. Switching from Spear Pillar's dramatic and somewhat triumphant theme to... this once you arrive in the Distortion World really hammers it in - It feels like reality stops here. That said, as creepy as the song is, it's also... eerily beautiful. Tranquil, even.
• The Crystal legendary beast BGM. This song would be okay for the scripted event battle against Suicune, but not against against the roaming (read: randomly-appearing) Raikou and Entei.
• The drought section in Pokémon Ruby, when Maxie disturbs Groudon and the sun's rays are magnified to a dangerous level. All the music that plays in outdoor areas (including the happy, upbeat surfing and bike riding sounds) is replaced with a morbid and minimalistic track. Coupled with the pulsating bright lighting, the effect is unpleasant.
  • In Sapphire, during that part the world begins to continually rain. In Sootopolis, everyone is inside their houses cowering, which makes sense as Sootopolis is pretty much a giant secluded basin about going to flood and drowning everyone in it. At the moment where Archie goes "My God, What Have I Done?", the music that starts is one of the scariest things in any video game.
  • Emerald combines the best of both worlds because both teams wake up their mascots simultaneously: it goes back and forth between pulsing heat rays and flooding.
  • Think the two songs aren't creepy? Give the versions composed for the remakes, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, a go. The fact that they made Drought and Heavy Rainfall even creepier is almost as creepy as the songs themselves.
• Mt. Pyre's indoor theme, as expected from Hoenn's "Pokémon Tower equivalent".
  • This creepy theme is also used for the inside of Shoal Cave (north of Mossdeep City) causing the otherwise not-scary-in-the-slightest cave to take on a decidedly creepy atmosphere.
• Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs has an in-universe example; there was a song that was banned for being too scary for kids, talking about black clouds and lightning. Bonus points for the book containing it being found in a haunted mansion.
• This ominous unused track from Pokémon Yellow, most likely meant to play when the player encounters Giovanni.
• The music used in the Old Chateau (among other places) in the Diamond and Pearl games is downright creepy: it has everything - including the mandatory piano - to fit the Haunted Mansion it plays in.
• Considering how cute the Lake trio from Diamond and Pearl are, their battle theme is surprisingly creepy.
• Deoxys's theme. Bong, bong, bong.
• The music that plays during a battle with an Event Pokémon (like Victini) in Pokémon Black and White. It sounds okay at first, but after a while, it starts getting increasingly - and subtly - deranged.
• The final battle music in Black and White with Ghetsis. Creepy pounding timpani drums, striking, chilling chords, and Ominous Latin Chanting.
  • Somewhat lessened when you all you can hear is the choir chanting: Den-nis... DEN-NIS!
    • That sound you hear in the song is technically Ghetsis' name. His name comes from that chord you hear: "G-cis".
• Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 let us revisit Team Plasma's castle which is located under Victory Road and almost completely in ruins. Of course, this also includes N's room, and while this has always been something to send shivers down the spines of several players, we are now greeted by this wonderful remix of N's music box version theme. The key is off, you can clearly hear the music box not running smoothly anymore, and all in all, it fits to a room that is as devastated as the rest of the castle, complete with no lights, N's toys scattered everywhere. Brrr...
• The music that plays after Opelucid City is frozen by Team Plasma in Black 2 and White 2. To make this music seem even more depressing/disturbing is by imagining how many innocent people had probably died from that.
• The Strange House. Not only does the furniture move as you traverse the building, the music that plays during it makes things very uncomfortable. It does not help when you learn about the vanishing girl on Marvelous Bridge from Black and White at the end of the maze.
  • Word to the wise, never go through the Strange House on max volume when you're home alone at night.
• The rather overlooked Galactic Hideout depths theme is extremely creepy. The sheer eeriness of the scene where it plays really doesn't help....
• Dark Skies from Pokémon X and Y is a spine-chilling tune. It doesn't help that the two times you hear it are when you visit the ominously red-walled, red-lit Café Lysandre after discovering Team Flare's secret base there, and in the utterly ravaged Geosenge Town after Lysandre deploys the ultimate weapon.
• Pokémon Sun and Moon debutes with a solemn, yet intimidating song in the form of Po Town, the dilapidated hideout for Team Skull, which is walled off from the rest of Ula'ula Island.
• Sun and Moon also gives us the music that plays while inside the Abandoned Thrifty Megamart during the trial. It's distorted, often studdering, moving between audio channels and messing with the left and right speaker sound balance just to let you know just how wrong this place is.
• The music that plays in the scene before Lusamine fuses with Nihilego and attacks you and Lillie, is absolutely terrifying, even by the standards of most Knights of Cerebus, beautifully illustrating just how far gone she is.
• The music that plays inside Aether Paradise's secret labs is incredibly creepy, sounding very disturbing and with an ominous bellow playing in the background. It also gives off vibes of the Galactic Hideout depths theme, which is fitting, considering both are played in the secret labs of the respective teams.
• The Secret Side of Aether Paradise is probably the creepiest track in the entire franchise and is pretty much the musical personification of Paranoia Fuel in the Pokémon universe. The stark contrast to the original serene track that plays on your first visit to Aether Paradise makes it worse. Once this thing starts, you'll spend the entire time wondering just what horrifying things await you in this place. You should definitely play through this part at night with no lights on. Have fun.
• Haina Desert's theme is very unsettling when compared to past deserts, with the eerie ringing that plays throughout. It doesn't help that its name means "Cruel Desert" in Hawaiian.
• The song that plays when you're in the Ultra Ruin where Guzzlord resides can be classified as possibly the most unnerving soundtrack in the whole franchise. It's simply indescribable and doesn't fit the situation at all. Just... what? Here’s the kicker: it’s actually Hau’oli City’s music reversed, with a bit of static tossed in. It’s implied that a disaster struck the power plant at the alternate Hau’oli City, causing everyone to flee and leaving only Guzzlord behind.
• The music that plays during the Trainers' School night event is very simple, but also sounds like it came out of a horror movie. For what turns out to be a pretty light-hearted event, it's surprisingly dark.
• A teacher, a office worker, an actor or reporter (from both Sun and Moon and Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon) gets brainwashed by a Gengar in this music video. At the end of the video, the Gengar was later caught by the NPC.
• In Sword and Shield, the music that plays when Eternatus first Eternamaxes, but before Zacian and Zamazenta apperar to fight it. It's pure alien-techno, making it feel that Eternatus is so powerful, it corrupted the soundtrack.

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