Pokemon Shows Why Gengar is Scarier Than You Realize

Pokemon’s newest anime series has brought Ash back to the Kanto region, and while he and new protagonist Go have been exploring other regions in the franchise on an episode by episode basis, they are always sure to return to their home base in Kanto. This has opened up this latest series to far more appearances from the original 151 Pokemon, and this has also given the anime new opportunities to show off a much different side of this original batch than before. But not all of those sides are friendly.

While Gengar has popped up at various points in the anime franchise, one of the most memorable stints of the fan-favorite Ghost type was during the original series where Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar each pal around with a ghostly Ash Ketchum and goof off for a bit. It made Gengar far more adorable than his scary type would have you believe, but that’s all changed with the new series.

The latest episode of the anime series has an angry Gengar attack Professor Sakuragi’s lab, and was throwing Shadow Balls at both Ash and Go left and right. Unfortunately, while Gengar was chased away towards the end of the episode thanks to the teamwork between Koharu and Yamper — this particular Gengar can be seen plotting its revenge in a frightening way as the episode came to a close.

Rather than ghostly mischief, this Gengar makes its appearance by attacking Sakuragi’s lab assistant before hiding itself throughout the lab. Noting that Gengar can transport itself between dimensions, Gengar’s hidden form could only be located by noticeable drops in temperature. Go couldn’t catch it with a Poke Ball much like every other Pokemon he’s seen thus far, and Ash and Pikachu couldn’t do any damage to it either.

Gengar was larger, intimidating, and powerful, and it’s looking like the anime is setting things up for a future Gengar return as neither Ash or Go is able to take it down completely. This random Ghost Pokemon attack was a surprise, certainly, and might be an indication of something scary down the line as its shadow lingers over Professor Sakuragi’s lab.

Do you think Gengar is coming back for its revenge someday? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter! Pokemon: The Series, is now airing new episodes weekly in Japan, but unfortunately is still not officially licensed for an English language release as of this writing. There’s also a brand new film on the way to Japan this Summer, Pokemon the Movie: Coco.