Pokémon are often depicted as cute and cuddly, but one Reddit user has transformed the lovable monsters into the stuff of nightmares.
A post by shadknight20 features nine classic Pokémon as horrific monstrosities: For example, Lickitung has glowing red eyes and is licking a human skeleton, Weezing's two heads feature vicious fangs, Mr. Mime is poised to devour a sleeping child, Parasect has dozens of eyes and a spider-like mouth and Magikarp lies in a pool of blood with a dismembered arm. Other fans have been quick to praise the work, describing it as disturbing, nightmare fuel and super effective. Many agree that Lickitung and Mr. Mime are the most terrifying of the batch.
The post isn't the first from shadknight20 to reconceptualize iconic pop culture properties with a horrific edge. For starters, they have other posts of horror Pokémon, which include depictions of Hypo, Rapidash, Diglett, Ivysaur and Victreebel. They have also created images of Star Wars' Boba Fett trying to escape the Sarlac and No-Face devouring the workers of Spirited Away's bathhouse.
Creepy or haunting fan art is a popular trend in various fandoms, even beyond the Pokémon franchise. Recent examples include a heart-wrenching Bioshock image of a Little Sister looking at the decimated remains of a Big Daddy, a somber depiction of one of Breath of the Wild's more emotional moments and Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange in the dark tone of Disney+'s What If...? animated series.
Created by Satoshi Tajiri with the help of Ken Sugimori, the first Pokémon games launched in Japan in 1996 for the Game Boy. Since then, the franchise has produced an immense wealth of video games, anime and manga series, movies and other merchandise, and it has produced a massive following of passionate fans.
Pokémon fans have more to be excited about than just creepy new fan art, as there have been several large developments across the multimedia franchise. For example, music sensation Ed Sheeran is collaborating with Pokémon Go and Converse is releasing a new line of Pokémon-themed shoes and apparel later this year. Moreover, YouTuber Werster recently set a new any% speedrun record for Pokémon Shining Pearl, completing the game in 29 minutes and 46 seconds.
The most recent games in the Pokémon franchise, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, are playable on the Nintendo Switch and many of the anime series and films are available to stream on Netflix. Furthermore, prints of shadknight20's horror designs are available on their Etsy.
Source: Reddit
