Pokemon Scarlet and Violet might be coming very soon, but Halloween is coming even sooner. So Nintendo wants to get us shaking in our hiking boots again, with some creepy goings-on in the Paldea region. Yesterday we were treated to someone being afraid of a Gengar, and today the situation is getting worse. I think she’s dead.
It looks like this is a new type of ghost to add to the pantheon of creatures that will be introduced next month. It’s called Greavard, the Ghost Dog Pokémon, and even the official Twitter feed says it will “slowly and unintentionally absorb the life force of those around it.”
This isn’t the first time Nintendo and Game Freak have hinted that people’s lives are in mortal danger at the hands of Pokemon. Last year we were treated to a trailer for Pokemon: Arceus, in which a Hisuan Zorua apparently killed a man. This year, ahead of Scarlet and Violet, we have a new Pokemon that seems to drain a woman’s life force just for playing with it. This is amazing. We want this game.
As teased yesterday, we knew someone was out in the darkness of the Paldeans, looking for ghost types. He then sees a cheeky Gengar, screams and drops the camera. Maybe dead?
Maybe not. Seemingly recovered, today’s video sees the same person now filming at night, trying to retrace his steps to their previous encounter. She explains that she’s “here on behalf of the Orange Academy Ghost-type Pokémon Club,” looking to see if she can prove the existence of these ethereal beasts.
Screenshot: Nintendo / YouTube
First shout, it’s “just” a Mimikyu, which I frankly think is a much scarier thing to exist in the Pokemon world than anything to come. The adorable monstrosity.
Screenshot: Nintendo / YouTube
The second shout is for this rascal, Gengar, who came out from behind a tree and flicked his tongue at him.
But a third cry never comes. No. Because this mysterious creature does not kill from terror, but from a darkly cruel deception: it looks very cute.
Apparently a cross between an Old English Sheepdog puppy and a Litwick, the cute-faced little dog just wants to play! With a purple candle on top of its head, it even lights up in its own way as it chases a stick in the dark. And persecutions. And persecutions. And chaaaassseessss
And then it looks like you’re dead. And so it goes on.
Here you can see the creature with a much more familiar vibe:
In the meantime, we’re officially giving our Kotaku seal of approval to these spoopfest-themed videos, which involve an entirely different version of Pokemon where kids don’t need to be introduced. Clearly, there is a contingent within Game Freak that would like to make a more adult-oriented game, releasing it in video form. Lest we forget about those J-horror shorts that popped up in August for Pokémon Go:
Come on Game Freak, just dooooo iiiiiiit. DOOOOO IIIIIIIIIT