The Creepiest Things We Found In Pokemon Sword And Shield

When it comes to long-running, beloved franchises, few can rival Pokemon's power. From its infectiously cute designs to the nostalgic gameplay loop, the series has cultivated a worldwide fan base that rallies around a yellow mouse with red cheeks. Despite some controversy before launch, Sword and Shield — the newest Pokemon games — sold more than six million copies worldwide during release weekend.

Even with the global love for the series, you can't deny Game Freak created some straight-up creepy things for its flagship franchise. From the Lavender Town Syndrome controversy to disturbing Pokedex entries, you'll find a lot of uncomfortable elements beneath the cute and flashy flair. Generation 8 is no exception, as Pokemon Sword and Shield introduces some wild yet terrifying experiences. Of course, it's all in good fun; the games have an E rating after all. If you read between the lines, though, you may find some aspects of this generation hard to stomach. Here are the creepiest things we found in Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Gengar has never been the friendliest looking Pokemon; yet, it's become one of the most recognizable creatures in the franchise, often ranking high in various popularity polls. Fortunately, it survived the Dexit cut when Sword and Shield launched. It even got the royal treatment, earning its own unique Gigantamax form in which it transforms into a larger-than-life version of itself, gaining all sorts of stat boosts and a unique special attack. Oh, and it looks absolutely terrifying.

Gengar's most frightening quality has always been its big mouth, and making it even bigger doesn't make it any better. In Gigantamax form, it looks like a huge tunnel you could fall into, never to emerge again. Its Pokedex entry doubles down on that fear, alluding that its mouth leads straight to the afterlife: "If you stand in front of its mouth, you'll hear your loved ones' voices calling out to you." Next time you use Gengar in a competitive battle, try not to think about your loved ones.

With every new generation of Pokemon, you get to see some of the creative ideas that Game Freak has concocted in its labs. One interesting new addition to the Sword and Shield roster comes in the form of Applin and its two evolutions: Flapple and Appletun. Applin looks a lot like an apple, as you'd expect; however, it isn't actually an apple. The real Applin is a dragon that lives inside of the fruit, hiding from predators. When it evolves into Flapple, it emerges from its shell, using the husk of the fruit as wings and a tail. Conversely, Appletun takes on a form reminiscent of apple pie.

Some might call this a clever design. Others might see it as a constant reminder that apples can have unwelcome guests inside of them, like worms (or wyrms in this case). This isn't the first food inspired Pokemon design, but people rarely enjoy reminders of possible parasite in their fruit. Be wary next time you bite into an apple; you might find a little dragon inside.

If you fear snakes, you probably won't find yourself using Silicobra or Sandaconda often, if at all, in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Silicobra, as you'd expect, looks a lot like a cobra, and its evolution resembles a coiled snake with a bloated neck, if that even makes sense. Beyond their reptile-like designs, their Pokedex entries make our sinuses hurt.

Sandaconda loves to eat sand, and it stores that sand in its pouch, hence the bloated nature of its design. The first evolution can only hold up to 17 pounds, while the evolved form can keep more than 220 pounds of sand in its pouch. Consuming something as fine and granulated as sand doesn't sound appealing, but Sandaconda does some heinous things with this sand. To attack its foes, it spews the sand at a high speed through its nose. It's uncomfortable to think about, as it sounds both messy and painful.

Meet Sizzlipede and its evolution, Centiskorch. This fire-bug Pokemon looks a lot like a centipede, hence its name, and it might already skeeve you out if you fear creepy crawlies. The little circles on its stomach generate a ton of heat thanks to the flammable gas in its body. When it's on the hunt, this two-foot tall centipede wraps itself around its prey. Then, it heats up the pads on its stomach, cooking the unfortunate creature. Once the "food" reaches well-done temperatures, Sizzlipede gets to eat.

Clearly, Game Freak pulled no punches when it came to designing savage Pokemon in Sword and Shield. Sizzlipede evolves into Centiskorch, a bigger, meaner version of its previous self. This creature sits at nearly 10 feet tall, which gives it a lot of surface area to wrap around whatever it wants to cook and eat. It can get as hot as 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit, too, so it'll cook anything faster than you can blink. If that's not enough to make you uncomfortable, just remember Centiskorch also has a Gigantamax form, where it grows even bigger and stronger.

Impidimp looks like a Pokemon with an attitude problem. It's got a mean streak, as it thrives off the frustration and negative energy of others. It evolves into Morgrem, which has hair sharp enough to hurt enemies. Things get creepy in the Pokemon's final evolution: Grimmsnarl.

The bulky imp might be one of the most muscular creatures in Sword and Shield, and its pointy ears and nose double down on the intimidation factor. If you take a closer look at its "muscles," though, you'll realize that it's actually just a bunch of its hair. This abomination has hair that acts like muscle fibers, meaning it can unfurl them and whip them around like tentacles. When the hair bunches up around its limbs, Grimmsnarl becomes even stronger than Machamp, which can historically move mountains with one arm. The thought of using hair like muscle fibers is an unsettling one. Its Gigantamax form means even more hair, which it can allegedly use to drill through the earth. We'll stick with Machamp, thanks.

Everyone intrinsically recognizes the human form. The shape marks a core part of the human identity, and when something is a little off about it, it's easy to notice. So, when you stroll into your first gym and see Ball Guy, you know you're in for a wild ride. He looks like an average guy from shoulders to toes. His head, however, is perfectly round, just like a Pokeball. 

Ball Guy's discomfiting silhouette presents a recurring challenge in Pokemon Sword and Shield, as he shows up throughout your journey. Every time you see him, he hands you a few Pokeballs, but don't let his niceness fool you. This is a man who willingly wears a ball-shaped mascot head, complete with unblinking eyes and a tuft of what is, presumably, hair, not to mention his paper-white skin. In some ways, Ball Guy shares a few similarities with Brutus Buckeye, the equally unsettling college mascot of Ohio State. Long story short, an anthropomorphic body doesn't pair well with an incredibly unnatural head.