Any Pokémon fanatic could probably tell you that a Pokémon’s nature 🐲isn’t inherently evil, but is nurtured by the trainers themselves. Henceforth, if a Pokémon’s master is evil, so will be that particular pocket monster. Despite that ♋being the rule of thumb for the Pokémon universe, it’s hard to imagine that some of these critters could be evil to begin with.
Ranging from the ferocious to the “let me pick you up and squeeze you” adorable, some of the most popular Pokémon are so cute, they couldn’t possibly have a mean bone in their body. Right? Strangely enough, a lot of the Pokémon lore is hidden within the depths of the Pokédex and some of these creatures that you think of as the cutest are actually some of the most twisted creatures to exist in the world of Pokémon. A lot o⛦f your favorites have a dark side that's been there all along, that you would have noticed had you taken the time to look a bit into their backstory. Here are fifteen Pokémon whose cute exteriors cover up the evil that’s hidden within.
15 Meowth
Probably the first Pokémon that comes to mind when thinking of a Pokémon who is cute but actually evil is Meowth. Meowth as a species aren’t actually evil per se, but there’s no denying that Meowth is a staple in the Pokémon universe as the first real villain Pokémon, mainly because of him being one of the lead members of the Team Rocket gang in the anime series as well as one of the only cute Pokémon to actually be used by Team Rocket in Pokémon Yellow. Even though he’s part of a team that is composed of mostly bumbling idiots, he still follows the ideals of Team Rocket, scheming to 🐽steal other people’s Pokémon so their syndicate can rise in power. Meowth from the anime gets a few extra bonus points since he is probably the most intelligent of the trio out of him, Jesse, and James.
14 Cubone
Poor Cubone. Super adorable, yet it holds one of the most tragic backstories out of any of the existing 800-plus Pokémon. It’s hard not to be sympathetic for Cubones as all of them wear the skull of their deceased mother, sort of as a helmet, covering up its actual face. Its tears stain the sides of the skull and Cubone is found frequently crying as it thinks of its dead mother, specifically when it sees her likeness in a full moon. Even tღhough Cubone’s backstory seems tragic, there’s a part of it that has always come off as a little unnerving. It’s not so much that Cubone wears the skull of its dead mother as a fashion accessory, but it’s how it even got access to her skull to begin with. The only natural, yet disturbing, explanation is that Cubone dismembered its mother’s body and tore her skull away from the flesh so that it could wear it. I know some animals do things that would be deemed questionable in human nature, but Cubone takes it to the next level.
13 Drowzee
It is probably debatable as to whether or not Drow💟zee is actually considered a cute Pokémon. Regardless, I’ve always found something adorable about its chubby look and sleepy demeanor. It’s cute in the way that a sloth is. You know they’re kind of ugly, but in a super cute way. What makes Drowzee such a great asset to this list is that it is known for feeding on people’s dreams. No harm comes to anyone whose dreams get eaten, yet there is something kind of cruel about stealing someone’s dreams while they sleep. It should be noted that it only steals the good dreams as nightmares make it sick and that it also prefers the dreams of children as their dreams tend to be more jovial in nature. So keeping a Drowzee in the house means that your nights will be absent of any pleasant dreams and you’ll most likely only be remembering the bad ones. To make this whole scenario a little more unsettling, it steals the dreams by hovering over you in your sleep and taking them through your nostrils. Gross.
12 Drifloon
Be prepared to see quite a few ghost-type Pokémon on this list, as most of them 🌠tend to have the most disturbing backstories. Drifloon looks innocent enough with its beady eyes a🐲nd its purple balloon-like exterior, yet there is something terrifying about this silly Pokémon. It kidnaps children, or tries to at least. Though it is mostly told through lore in the Pokémon universe, it is said that if a child were to grab on to its hands, resembling strings hanging from a balloon, that the child would end up missing. Despite Drifloon’s evil intentions, it still tends to be tugged around by children who end up grabbing on to it due to its small frame and weight. Your intentions might be cruel, Drifloon, but you’re probably too small and cute to pull anything off that evil.
11 Mawile
Mawile is an interesting Pokémon as it has the benefit of looking adorable and ferocious at the same time. Though many people probably focus initially on Mawile’s innocent looking face, it is hard to really ignore the set of giant horns extending from its head, especially since they are used as a giant jawline to chomp on its enemies with. What makes Mawile evil is that it knows of its cute exterior. It uses it to charm its prey and take their guard down. Once the enemy has lowered their guard, it quickly spins around and crushes its opponent with its horned jaw. Oh, and it is strong enough to chew through iron beams. These are the kind of creatures that you’re warned about 💞before camping in the wild.
10 Litwick
Litwick is probably the cutest Pokémon in the ghost type family. Even though it obviously isn’t meant to pack the punch of its evolved forms Lampent and Chandelure, it is one of the many, many Pokémon I had difficulty evolving simply because I thought it was so cute in its initial form. So what makes this Pokémon particularly e🥃vil? It turns out that the flameꦿ on its wick is actually emitting a light that absorbs the life energy of people or other Pokémon. Its evolutions only make this Pokémon more ruthless as Lampent arrives near people on the brink of death while Chandelure simply attacks a spirit and leaves the body behind. Though Litwick’s evil starts off in the minor leagues, it literally becomes a parasite devouring spirits to keep its flame alive. This is one candle that I would not recommend burning on your nightstand.
9 Sneasel
Surprisingl💧y, a lot of dark type Pokémon didn’t make the cut, which is odd since one might consider dark type Pokémon to be inherently evil by 🥂nature. Unlike their ghost type counterparts, which rely mostly on creepy backstories that would seem more common in a horror film, dark types tend to be more sly and cunning while creeping in the shadows. Sneasel isn’t particularly the most evil of the Pokémon on this list, but it makes up for it by being naturally vicious and sneaky. This Pokémon’s cruelty keeps it in the rankings as it tries to drive wild Pidgies from their nests… another cute, but definitely not evil species of Pokémon. While a Pidgey is gone from its nest, the Sneasel snatches the Pidgey’s eggs and consumes them. Sneasel definitely isn’t the most evil as it does this as a means of survival, but sometimes there is just nothing crueler than nature itself.
8 Phantump
What is it about pre-evolved forms of ghost Pokémon that are so gosh darned adorable? Phantump is no exception and like many other ghost type Pokémon in the series, it has some of the most interesting and creepy lore in the series. Phantumps start as a normal tree stump in the woods, yet they don’t actually become a living Pokemon (or should I say undead Pokémon?) until a deceased child’s spirit inhabits the tree stump, possessing it and becoming Phantump. These are children who got lost and passed away in the woods, so Phantump is basically a combination of a tree killed from being chopped down and a child who passed away in the forest. 🌊Its true evil comes from what it grows up to be in its evolved form, Trevena🦩nt. Obviously bitter about being chopped down into nothing more of a stump, it's grown a heavy grudge against people over the years and will devour anyone who tries to harm the forest it resides in.
7 Purrloin
Yes, there are two cats on this list, and yes, I am more of a dog person. Despite that, Purrloin has a perfectly good reason for making this list. Unlike Meowth, who made this list mainly because of his role in the Pokemon anime series, Purrloin makes it on to this list due to its inherent nature as a species. Though Purrloin comes across as the typical adorable household cat, a look into those eyes shows that it is mischievous by default. Though far from the most evil of the cutest Pokémon, it makes the list due to its constant thievery as it steals items simply for entertainment. Much like Mawile, it uses its cute looks as a ruse to trick the victim, thus easily being forgiven. It’s like if your pet cat knocked over an expensive glass of wine at the dinner table for attention. You’d be furious, but how long are you going to stay mad at an adorable🦋 cat? Evil.
6 Bewear
Bewear was really tough to put on tꦚhis list. One, he’s one of the few fully evolved Pokémon that I could even consider putting on this list, but secondly, it is debatable if its actions are truly evil as they kind of stem from it loving its trainer. Though not as cute as its pre-evolved form, Stufful, is still maintains the cute, pink te🦹ddy bear features as its predecessor and it looks anything but harmful. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case as Bewear is no longer a little cub, but a full grown bear, capable of massive power and strength. The truth is, Bewear is actually quite loving, making him an odd choice for this list. So loving, in fact, that it often times tries to hug its trainer, but with such “unbear-able” strength that it ends up breaking the trainer’s spine, sending him or her to the afterlife. Bewear, you are adorable, but I just don’t think I’m the right trainer for you.