Top 10 Scariest Pokemon in Gen 1 | Celebrating Pokemon's 30th Anniversary

Ryan Does: On this episode of Deconstructing Horror, we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Pokemon with one of our top 10 horrors list. And I have a very special guest for this episode. It was really, really difficult to try and lock him down because he's got such a crazy hectic schedule. But I was able to get one of my favorite people, one of the biggest Pokemon fans I know, Logan Doze, is joining me to do this very special Top 10 Horrors of Pokemon. So this sit down buddy. This is my son Logan. And this was the list that he and I put together together. We did this together. So what you wanna tell people what which Pokemon we're gonna be ranking? we are gonna be ranking the top ten scariest gen 1 Pokemon, the classics. So Those of you that have listened to a few different episodes, you know that when a brand new guest is on, we ask them why or how they were first introduced to the thing we're talking about. So Logan, how were you first introduced to Pokemon? It's probably Pokemon cards, I would say. Who introduced you to Pokemon? you. So yes. And Pokemon Shield. And Pokemon Shield. Yeah, so we've probably played what, three or four Pokemon games together? we've played Leaf Green on Switch. And I've only played Scarlet. Okay. So we go back a few years, like about nine years. so That's how old I am. I'll be zero. What's kind of fun is when Pokemon came out, I was Logan's age. So When it came to the States, I saw the show, I saw the movie, I saw the cards, and I was obsessed. And this guy also, 'cause he was raised right, he is also obsessed with Pokemon. So we thought we would give you a top ten horrors list for Pokemon Gen One. And if this goes well, we might do gen two, we might do gen three, four, five, six, four, five, six. How many are there now? next year there's gonna be ten. Yikes, that's a lot. but we are gonna be taking our We consider the ten scariest Pokemon from Gen 1. That's it. We could also do Megas and Gigantamaxes. He's just like myself, he's got endless amounts of ideas. So we're gonna start with number ten. We're gonna do ten through two, and then we'll give you our honorable mentions, and then we'll unveil what is our number one scariest Pokemon in general. So buddy you wanna tell them the first Pokemon, number ten on our list? Number ten is Muck. So what are you what is horrifying or scary about Muck? I he's just a big blob. So for me, as someone who's digging deeper and deeper into horror, he is just a giant blob and he actually reminds me of the blob from the fifties and also the remake that Steve McQueen did. or the the re the original was Steve McQueen and then the remake they did later on. In I believe the 80s. Muck kind of gives that like blob ooze creature vibe, and he just looks gross. He looks like something you wouldn't want to step in. It's like the Goosebumps book called The Blob That Ate Ate Everyone. Okay. A little bit of R.L. Stein. I like that. See? He's he's got good parents. okay, what's number nine? Tentacruel is our ninth scariest Pokemon. in Gen One. What is scary about Tentacruel? that episode one he turned in basically into a Kraken. Turns the the episode of the original anime series where he turns into like a giant before they even had Mega Evolutions. He turns into like a kaiju. He is like basically the first Mega Evolution. That'll probably be the picture that we do for the graphic for Tentacruel. But Tentacruel is kind of one of those I would say he's kind of like a Lovecraftian Cosmic horror kaiju style creature. When we did our top ten horrors of Lord of the Rings, we talked about the Watcher in the Water. And Tentacruel is kinda like the Watcher in the Water. so so Tentacruel lands at number nine. Logan, who is number eight on our list? Ghastly. Okay. If you're a Gen 1 Pokemon fan and you're old, like I am, the ghost Pokemon all have to be on this. And since there's only three of them in Gen 1, Gasly lands at number eight. What's scary about gas? he's a head. Just a floating, smoking head. It's like the other half of the headless horseman. It's like the other half. The other half? If the headless horseman was just the the he the the horseman, the the horse head. Yeah. And it it just has like the gas coming out. Right. It's it's hard to think. What I love about Gasly is that his design is so simple and he's got that permanent smile on him. The permanent smile, super creepy. Who is number seven on our list? Q Bone. C can you say a little louder? Cubone. Okay, what's scary about Q Bone? it I thought that it was a Charmander that lost its mom and it weared its skull and Took one of its leg bones and used it as a weapon. So I agree with my colleague here. The scariest thing about Cubone is Cubone's backstory. The wearing of the skull of its mother. So maybe maybe Cubone isn't scary in and of himself. It's it's more the backstory, yeah. The backstory makes him A tragic character and that tragedy can be sad when something sad happens, it can be scary. Yeah. So who's next on our list? Who's after Cubone? Kabuto. Kabuto is what number six? We've got Kabuto at number six. Now, I am not overly knowledgeable about fossil Pokemon, but luckily I have an archaeologist in my family, specifically a Pokemon archaeologist. So what is what is Cabuto and why do you find him Scary. he is a kind of like a a invertebrate kind of thing. Like a bug. Yeah. He's a rock. He's got those glowing red eyes. Yeah, and it's just like but the scariest thing about him is like you've never seen his underside. I'm like, that's pretty suspicious. Feels inappropriate to look at Pokemon's underside. Yeah, it's like it's like what's underneath. Dickle. So well and obviously when it becomes Kabutops. It's not that scary. Not that scary. I find Kaboo Tops a little scary because of the giant knives he has for hands. It's kind of like Scyther, but better. Scyther, but like with a skinnier body. But Kabuto lands at number six. Who's number five, Lovely? Mewtwo. Okay. This I I have to I have to stand on my soapbox for this one. Mewtwo is scary because I was nine When I saw the original Pokemon movie where Mewtwo legitimately ends a few people. Like he he takes out a bunch of humans, he goes full like Frankenstein's monster and beats up and takes out all of Giovanni's Team Rocket people. Mewtwo was such a different type of Pokemon after watching all the Saturday morning cartoons. Mewtwo in the movie just hits different. So Mewtwo was he landed at number five. Yeah. Mewtwo lands at number five. I'll be honest, everybody. I had him much higher because I remember as a kid seeing Mewtwo in the theater for the first time. And it was yeah, it just hit different. So who's number four? It is Hypno. Number four is Hypno. A psychic to psychic back to back. So what but what is scary about Hypno and like the powers that you know he has? I am scared of him hypnotizing me and then he just tells me to smack my head against the wall. So Hypno is kind of he's scary because of what he could make you do. Yeah. I I think with Mewtwo he can control like objects and makes make objects fly off and like he has the the psychic telekinesis powers. Hypno Being someone who can hypnotize you to do anything and you wouldn't really even know what you're doing. That is also pretty scary. What about number three, Logan? number th I have one more thing to say about Hitmo. It is it's designed gross. It is a very simple but kind of weird design. And like when I first saw the nose on the It kinda looks like a thick goblin. It also reminds me of a taper, because that's what's based on. Okay. It's based off a taper. Who's number three? Haunter. Haunter. The other ghosts are gonna be showing up really, really quickly. So Haunter, here's what I find scary about Haunter, is in the episode where Ash catches him, Haunter is kind of like the Joker in that he has a really sick sense of humor and he loves scaring people. Like there's nothing I remember seeing that. There's nothing Haunter loves more. Then scooping other people. Yeah. What do you find scary about Hunter? he doesn't have any arms. He has hands. Yeah, but no arms on like just flip it off and clip that joint up. It is kind of interesting that as Ghastly evolves, he really it's just a journey from his hands to his shoulders. because when we get to someone else on this list, you'll find that the the arms that are apparently the scariest part about Hunter. they are filled in. So I have another thing. About Haunter. what town was he in in the episode? Was it Saffron City? Ooh, that's a good question. It's been a minute since I've rewatched, but because it's the thirtieth anniversary we should probably rewatch. The Indigo League. Yes. Or Pokemon Canto. Or maybe Is that what it's called on Netflix? No, it's the Indigo League. So Logan Before we get to number one, we have to tell them who number two is on our list. It is Gyarados. It's literally called the Trocious Pokemon. That's what it's called? Yeah, that's like its category. The Trocious Pokemon. I always found Gyarados a little bit spooky because he has that permanent, like wide toothy bite kind of face. He has it like a a grimace on it. And he he looks kinda like a like a Chinese dragon. So I think his design is really cool, but if I if I came face to face with a Gyarados in a dark alley somewhere. you would run. No. I'm not I'm not sticking around for that. well while Magikarp is stupid, he he literally looks like a But he looks like he's dumb. Okay, yeah, they didn't they didn't do Magikarp any favors with the voice they gave him. Cool, cool, cool. But Gyarados it's the very opposite. Very opposite. It is of those evolutions where he goes from being kind of a joke to being really, really awesome. there's a few Pokemon throughout Pokemon where it's like, this this like look like in my opinion, Weedle goes from looking kind of weird, but then Beedrill looks so cool. It's also from Rots to Gallade. that's another good example. What a Or Rot to Gardevoir. So before we do number one, can you read off the our like honorable mentions that we had? Amastar Amastar Golbat Golbat Victory Bell Victory Bell Eredacto Beadrill Beedrill Mr. Mine And Mr Mont. And parasect. Parasect. So here's here's the here's the question that I've been asking about the honorable mentions, Logan. Which one of these honorable mentions do you think deserves to be in the top ten the most? I think it's Parasect. Wha why would Parasect? I just think like hmm mushroom? Mario Island. put it on a crab and boom you got a Pokemon. And it like infects it and I'm like, ugh Yeah, there is this like and I didn't do I didn't do enough research for this specific Pokemon, but I have heard that Parasect is somewhat of a zombie in the way that it operates with the fungus that it creates. So I Parasect is a good choice. Mine is always Mr. Mime. I would have put Mr. Mime in the top ten easy because I know he's like a joke character in the Gen 1 cartoons. Because it's Ash's dad. It's Ash's dad. Stepdad. But also, I just don't trust I don't trust Mayhem. He's like. I just I can't trust a mime. And them in the Gen 3 games, the normal type gym leader is technically Ash's dad. And he has a slack king, and he's like the fourth gym leader. Destructing horror cannot confirm. That what he said was true because again, I did not do research on that specific thing. So, Logan, tell everybody who our number one most horrifying Pokemon of Gen 1 is. It's obvious, it's Gengar. Yeah, it is. So Gengar is like I feel like on early versions of Pokemon, Gengar is like one of the scariest. Yeah, he's like and his moveset is so like nightmare based, you he has dream eater. Shadow ball and things that ha like he has to attack you when you're asleep or you're paralyzed and teleport with He has an incredibly kind of s if if you met a being or a creature with his moveset in real life, that would be terrifying. also I was so sad to figure out until Jen 8's show, Ash got a gang on I'm like you didn't know Josh had a gang or Josh. you didn't know that Dash had a Gengar? He did in number eight, I know that. Okay. And but he didn't have one till number I'm like, What? It's the only other Pokemon that's not a starter that has a Gigantamax and a Mega. Someone did plenty of research on their specific thing, which was when can Pokemon get bigger and how much can I know about that thing? so buddy, what is any other like final thoughts? We got through our top ten, we mentioned some honorable mentions. What is like your final impression of our top ten horrors of Pokemon Gen 1? I think I think Vini sequel. Your takeaway is that we should do this for Gen 2? Yeah. So, honestly my takeaway is that so many of the designs of these creatures and these Pokemon characters have aged so well in thirty years. as I have deteriorated as a person, Pokemon just keep getting better. So as I get older, Pokemon get better and Or they get worse. The thirtieth ann the thirtieth anniversary Is something I didn't see coming, but I'm really glad that Logan and I noticed that it was like, Pokemon is kind of celebrating a special special occasion. I'm ready for the 50th one when they make Gen 11. my gosh. so thank you for checking out top ten horrors of Pokemon Gen 1. If you agree or disagreed with our list, put your comment in the comment section. We would love to know what you think is the scariest, most horrifying. Pokemon in Gen One. We have some really fantastic episodes of the list ready for you, ready to go in the upcoming weeks, and we hope you check those out. And that you find some way to celebrate Pokemon uh's thirtieth anniversary. So like playing the original games or playing the remakes or anything. Like we've been playing through Leaf Green right now in a in a way to celebrate. So just remember that no matter what's going on in your life and no matter how Wars are persisting, so can you. See y'all!