Pokémon: 10 Darkest Movies In The Franchise, Ranked

The Pokémon films celebrate the bonds between trainers and their teams – and make room for a little nightmare fuel, too.

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In many of the Pokémon movies, Ash and his companions encounter rare or even Legendary Pokémon that have a huge impact on their adventures. From Lucario emerging from a hero’s staff in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew to stopping Mewtwo from destroying the world in Pokémon: The First Movie, there’s no doubt that Ash and his friends often end up in earth-shaking situations.

However, these cinematic adventures are often quite dangerous and can include some very dark moments throughout the protagonists’ journeys. From temporary and permanent deaths to straight-up kidnapping, it’s no wonder that some of these movies provide literal nightmare fuel for kids and adults watching them alike.

10 Ash Temporarily Turned To Stone In The First Movie

The First Movie is iconic for many reasons: the introduction of Mewtwo, the fight between the clone Pokémon and the original Pokémon, and of course Mew and Mewtwo’s climactic showdown. However, another memorable scene is when Ash temporarily dies.

When he runs in the way of Mew and Mewtwo’s attacks, begging them to stop, the young trainer gets caught in the crossfire. This results in Ash collapsing entirely and turning to stone. Pikachu tries to shock him into waking up, but after several failed attempts, it seems that all is lost. Thankfully, Ash got better after the tears of the Pokémon brought him back to life, but it’s still a fairly traumatic moment for some fans watching the movie.

9 Lucario Sacrifices His Own Life In Lucario And The Mystery Of Mew

Lucario and the Mystery of Mew wasn’t as dark as other films in the series in terms of world destruction-related incidents, but it dealt with heavy themes centering around Lucario’s perceived abandonment. After being sealed in Sir Aaron’s staff for years, Lucario finally emerges to find out that Aaron is now hailed as a hero and Ash has a similar aura to Sir Aaron himself, which doesn’t help Lucario trust the currently-living humans.

Lucario later ends up sacrificing its own life to save the Tree of Beginning, just like its partner did years ago. It’s a lot for Lucario to emotionally process throughout the movie, and it was a lot for audiences to process as well.

8 Team Rocket Took Mewtwo Prisoner Again In Mewtwo Returns

Mewtwo Returns is a shorter film compared to others in the franchise, focusing on Mewtwo and the clones after the events of the first movie. They found sanctuary in a new isolated area in the mountains, but Team Rocket, led by Giovanni, ends up invading the area and taking the clone Pokémon, as well as the mountains’ native Pokémon, prisoner. Giovanni even traps Mewtwo in a painful electric prison throughout his time in captivity and threatens the safety of the other Pokémon to ensure that Mewtwo won’t fight back.

Thankfully, Ash and his friends manage to stop Team Rocket’s plans and heal Mewtwo of his grave injuries thanks to the mountain’s own healing waters. Mewtwo, in turn, makes sure to wipe Team Rocket of all their memories of him and the clone Pokémon, excluding Jessie, James, and Meowth since they helped Ash and his friends, so they won’t think of capturing Mewtwo or the clones ever again.

7 Delia Ketchum Was Kidnapped In Spell Of The Unown

Ash isn’t the only person who suffers through the perilous events of the movies. Delia, his own mother, gets kidnapped by Entei in Spell of the Unown to become a little girl’s replacement mother figure. Even worse is that Entei isn’t actually real himself; he’s just an illusion created out of Molly’s desire for a father figure in her life. This, coupled with all the scary hordes of Unown roaming the main setting of the entire movie, spooked a lot of fans.

6 A Whole Town Almost Vanished From Existence In The Rise Of Darkrai

In The Rise of Darkrai, Alamos Town is almost completely decimated when it’s caught up in Palkia and Dialga’s combat. Additionally, the nightmares that Darkrai showed the townspeople during the first half of the movie, meant to be warnings of the town’s impending destruction, unnerved characters in-universe and viewers alike.

If not for Ash and Dawn’s efforts to save Alamos Town in the film’s climax, it would no longer exist. If that wasn’t enough, Darkrai dies in the movie trying to stall Dialga and Palkia’s attacks, though it’s implied that he came back to life after the town was saved, relieving some fans.

5 Latios Dies Defending A Town From A Deadly Tidal Wave In Pokémon Heroes

In Pokémon Heroes, the antagonists Annie and Oakley end up activating the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare. This floods the town and also creates a giant tidal wave that threatens to destroy Alto Mare entirely. A defense mechanism ironically nearly destroying what it’s meant to protect scared many fans watching the movie.

In the end, Latios ends up sacrificing his own life to save the town from that same tidal wave, and unlike Ash’s temporary death in the first movie, this death is permanent. Latias no longer has Latios by her side, and if Alto Mare is ever threatened again, Latias will likely have to sacrifice her own life and leave the town with nothing to protect it.

4 Jirachi Was Used To Summon A Nightmarish Groudon In Wish Maker

In Wish Maker, Jirachi was eventually kidnapped by Butler and used to summon a nightmarish fake Groudon. This faux Legendary turns the surrounding area into a wasteland while literally absorbing all living creatures, both humans and Pokémon. This includes Ash’s companions, and even Butler’s love interest Dianne, much to his horror.

The protagonists and Jirachi managed to stop the fake Groudon before it could cause some serious harm, saving anyone trapped and absorbed earlier, but it’s still fairly scary to watch overall.

3 Arceus Nearly Drowned In Melted Silver In Arceus And The Jewel Of Life

In Arceus and the Jewel of Life, instead of Pokémon trying to destroy the world, it’s humans who try to destroy the Pokémon. The antagonist of the film schemes to preserve his homeland by making his own forces attack the best Legendary Pokémon in the movies and trap it in melted silver, essentially trying to drown the poor Pokémon alive.

This action would have made Ash and his companions, who come from the future, cease to exist if it succeeded, and the fact that a Legendary Pokémon was nearly destroyed in such a brutal way shocked and horrified viewers. Thankfully, Ash and the others managed to save Arceus in time, but it was an extremely close call.

2 Traveling Between Worlds In Giratina And The Sky Warrior Freaked Out Some Fans

There are many instances in Giratina and the Sky Warrior where Ash and his friends find themselves traveling between their own world and a much scarier-looking alternate world. The contrasts between these two worlds are so startling that it got a bit scary to watch.

Some worried that Ash and his friends would end up stuck in the alternate dimension with no chance of returning, and even though Shaymin is fairly defensive, its frail appearance paired with all the terrifying situations it got into alarmed anxious audiences.

1 Detective Pikachu’s Body-Switching And Mind-Controlling Antics Scared Many Fans

Detective Pikachu’s its gorgeous designs and tight storyline didn’t stop some fans from freaking out at the antagonist taking over Mewtwo’s mind and body at the most dire point of the movie’s climax. It’s bad enough when the antagonist takes over Mewtwo’s mind, but forcing other humans to take over their own Pokémon’s bodies generates a lot of nightmare fuel.

Additionally, Ditto pretending to be a human and threatening the protagonist’s life was incredibly frightening to watch in action, despite how awesome some fans thought it was at the time. Thankfully, Pikachu and the protagonist Tim managed to stop the antagonist’s efforts and helped everyone turn back to normal.

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