The time has come once again to lock all the doors, close all the windows, and to cower in the corner in fear as grotesque monstrosities come towards you. That’s right, my articles are back.
Now usually I love seasonal celebrations, but on this occasion I’m a bit of a grumpy old sod. By that I mean I don’t enjoy or celebrate Halloween like most people do. To me it’s just an excuse for kids to bully old people for sweets, or money by scaring the living daylights out of them. However, the horror theme does provide Ghost and Dark Pokémon a chance to show off their awesomeness. Over the years we have seen plenty of inspired designs make it into the series. Plenty of them have deep meaningful backgrounds such as Yamask, and Cofagrigus which Mechanos covered a few days ago. Every generation we get some new takes on ghost and monster like creatures which span from centuries of myths, and legends from around the globe. We’ve had a doppelganger, a gas spirit, a possessed doll, and a werewolf just to name a few. So with all these great ideas how does Gamefreak top this? What myths, legends, or horror themed objects can they use to create a new menace for us to capture? Here are a few thoughts:[spoiler]
Pumpkin:
This traditional Halloween fruit is something I’ve seen a lot of Fakémon based on when scrolling through deviantArt. The menacing grin usually carved into it is a fantastic look. The myth which says the pumpkin is used to ward off demons gives it a great background story too. I think mixing this with a scarecrow could make for one awesomely terrifying creature. With scarecrows also being used for protective means, it would make for a great combination. It could be a glowing red pumpkin head on top of a scarecrow body. It could possibly look similar to Cacturne. Typing could be any two of Ghost, Dark, Grass, and Fire if you consider the flame lit head and the haystack body. This is just one idea for the pumpkin, but if you were to look on the web you’ll find plenty of other inspiring ideas. How would you approach this theme?
Jack in the Box:
This is a brilliant example of what innocently started out as a prank toy, but has now become a common horror icon. The tension you get when you wind up the box and you have no idea when the object inside is going to pop out is incredibly unnerving. Usually it’s some sort of frightening looking jester/clown which just adds to the scare after the initial jump. My primary thought was of an evil clown. Although we already have clown like Pokémon (Mr. Mime and Mime Jr.) neither of them were based on terror, but after reading about Cofagrigus (again courtesy of Mechanos) the jack in the box idea suddenly occurred. The sarcophagus is pretty much just a fancy box with a Pharaoh usually inside. If you added a spring mechanic and a wind up key, then it would kind of be similar to a jack in the box, just with bodily remains flying out at you instead. The solid state of this box gives this Ghost type high defenses which makes it rather unique compared to the rest of the spiritual monsters. The jack in the box idea could work in the same way, with it having high defenses. However, to put a twist on it, I was thinking of a second ‘form’ where it’s in its ‘popped up’ stance. Instead of having high defenses, it could have high attacks instead. As for typing perhaps the box could be steel so we get a ghost/steel combo? What are your thoughts on this?
Zombie/Mind Control/Possession:
Now some of you may roll your eyes and sigh in apathy due to the saturation of zombies in the games industry these days. Some of you may even know that there already is a ‘zombie’ Pokémon – named Parasect. However I feel that the idea is still largely unexplored within the series. Now because the games are rated E for everyone, we can’t expect a new pocket monster to look all mangled with its brains hanging out etc. But a zombie doesn’t have to be a half rotten corpse; you could have a skeleton or a being which does not have self control. The game could do with something which is scary and has a great story behind it; something more obvious than the aforementioned Parasect. I haven’t got a particular design in mind for this one, but another idea is some sort of possession. We already have Banette to fill that role, however, because he’s an object he doesn’t have any past life which makes him interesting (other than being a plush doll). Having a creature or person being possessed would make things far more chilling. Knowing they used to lead a normal life before being taken over by an evil entity is what horror is all about. For example the iconic creepy little girl from Bioshock is quite eerie what with her glowing eyes which seemingly stare into your soul.
[/spoiler]So there you have it, my ghostly concepts. What are your thoughts on not only my ideas, but the ghost and horror genre as a whole? What designs and themes do you have, and want implemented into the series?
P.S. Sorry I have been absent for a while, college work has kept me very busy. I was never truly gone though; I just haven’t had the time to contribute to the site directly (however I’m always active in staff discussions). Anyhow enough of my excuses, see you next time.
<Sammydodger>