This Scarlet And Violet Pokémon Ability Is The Stuff Of Nightmares
The "Pokémon" franchise has always had a creepy side, especially when it comes to Ghost- and Psychic-types. While most of the IP tends to be more cheery and upbeat, fans might remember a few darker details about the Wonderful World of Pokémon, like the presence of the actual ghosts of dead Pokémon in Gen 1 or that the Psychic gym leader Sabrina once shrunk Ash, Brock, and Misty down to the size of dolls so that she could play with them in her doll house in the anime. This aspect has always stood out in the "Pokémon" universe, but new details have come out about a Pokémon in "Scarlet" and "Violet" that takes Game Freak's inclination towards the macabre to a whole new level.
Gothitelle, an unsettlingly humanoid pocket monster, debuted in Gen 5. The final evolution of Gothita, it evolves from Gothorita at level 41. As you might guess of a Pokémon with the word 'goth' in its name, Gothitelle has an all black body in the shape of a dress with white cuffs on the sleeves and white bows running down the front. A Psychic-Type, it also goes by the title "the Astral Body Pokémon." While not a new Pokémon, Gothitelle's Pokédex entries in Gen 9 have revealed the truly unsettling nature of one of this creature's nightmarish abilities.
Early Pokédex entries hinted at Gothitelle's power
Gothitelle didn't start out all that scary when it first turned up in "Pokémon X and Y." The official Pokémon website as well as earlier descriptions of it from Gens 5 and 6 stated that Gothitelle could view "starry skies thousands of light-years away" and even "predict the future from the placement and movement of the stars." That sounds mystical but vague, like the entries for most Psychic-type Pokémon. It suggests a certain amount of power, but nothing too scary (except for maybe the fact that they can also see how many years a trainer has left to live).
The entries got darker as they went on, however. Gothitelle's Pokédex description in "Pokémon Shield" is particularly morbid. It states that "A criminal who was shown his fate by a Gothitelle went missing that same day and was never seen again." It doesn't go into detail about what happened to this criminal, instead leaving it up to the reader to ponder the outcome. Did this individual simply run away, haunted by the visions granted to them by Gothitelle? Or did they meet a more sinister end? This almost feels like a campfire story that someone tells right before the camp counselor jumps out of the bushes and yells "boo!" It's also a rare example of Game Freak suggesting that a Pokémon might cause a human to come to harm.
The situation only got worse in Gen 9.
Visions of the end of time
Much like the rest of the series, "Pokémon Scarlet and Violet" boast a number of creepy details. Most involve the games' numerous glitches causing eerie phenomena, but at least one haunting addition was intentional. Gothitelle's Gen 9 Pokédex entries differ, but both offer nightmarish implications.
The "Pokémon Scarlet" Pokédex claims, "Gothitelle unleashes psychic energy and shows opponents dreams of the universe's end. These dreams are apparently ethereal and beautiful." While the description seems to be trying to soften the blow by calling the dreams "beautiful," it comes with an astounding dose of psychological horror. Reddit user quinn_thomas shared a screenshot of this entry with the caption "My level 12 Pidgey looking up at me after a Gothitelle showed it the heat death of the universe" set over a photo of actor Willem Dafoe staring up at the sky in terror.
Meanwhile, "Pokémon Violet" states, "It gazes at the stars to predict the future. It acts somewhat detached because it has seen the end of all existence." This implies that Gothitelle bears similar qualities to a Lovecraftian entity, burdened by knowledge that humanity couldn't possibly comprehend. So, be sure to give it lots of berries and treats if you catch one. The last thing you want is to make the dark god angry.