13 Pokemon Sidekicks Everybody Needs To Survive Horror Movie Season

As the Autumnal leaves grace our boots and crunch amongst our footsteps, the nights get darker and welcome in the most strangest of guests to our movie nights. From classic stereotypes and slasher movie tropes to the grip of possession and weird phantoms of our nightmares, horror movie season is awash with all of our favourite monsters. And with All Hallows Eve – or Halloween as many prefer – quickly approaches, we must feed our bellies with gruesome sweets and blindly call out, “Trick or Treat” as is tradition.

So, should you find yourself with nothing to do on the spookiest of all evenings, biding your time until Pokemon Sun and Moon hits on November 18 in the US and November 23 in the UK, perhaps we can tempt you to surrender all will and grab a pew as we cycle through 13 of the classic horror movies through American, British and Japanese culture. But here’s the twist – as there always must be – this time you’ll have 13 Pokémon sidekicks to help you defeat those big, bad and grotesque monsters…

1. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
   Preferred Sidekick: Drowzee
   How to survive: Use Dream Eater
   

One. Two. Freddy’s coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, grab your Poké Ball. Seven, eight, better stay awake. Nine, ten, he’s back again.

Should you succumb to the night terrors and awaken Freddy Kreuger in Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, make sure to have a Drowzee waiting in the wings – or in this instance, at the edge of your bed. His Dream Eater ability can knock you back to your senses with Freddy’s grisly visage gobbled up and left as little more than a dog’s dinner. Make sure to visit the Pokémon Centre afterwards though, we imagine eating this particular nightmare would cause terrible indigestion.

2. The Grudge (2004)
Preferred Sidekick: Chandelure
How to survive: Burn the spirit with flames

It’s widely said that when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage, a curse is set upon the place they found their death. In Takashi Shimizu’s The Grudge, Kayako Saeki’s ghostly spirit just can’t get enough of luxury Egyptian cotton bed sheets. It’s probably not the wisest of options to hide a Chandelure under your linen, but its flames are meant to work wonders on spirits, burning them on contact. It would at least dispel the shudder-worthy croaking from Kayako – though we’d advise a fire extinguisher should be present too. Claiming on your house insurance might not be applicable with otherworldly… things.

3. Saw (2004)
   Preferred Sidekick: Misdreavus
   How to survive: Play the game
   
   

The mysterious Jigsaw has an unhealthy obsession for placing people in terrifying situations, but he never intends to actually kill anyone in cold blood, unless it’s part of a chain of events that can’t be stopped – in his own mind. As a Pokemon trainer, you’re naturally one of the people who are supposed to survive this – we think – so let’s play the game in James Wan’s Saw. With the cute and floating Misdreavus by your side, you can bet that pearl necklace he or she will play Jigsaw’s game and win. The sobbing cry is just one of Misdreavus’ trademark moves; some say it’s enough to make a grown man wail in sorrow, plucking at Jigsaw’s heartstrings. No game over for you.

4. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
   Preferred Sidekick: Scizor
   How to survive: Isn’t it obvious?
   

Somehow Rick and his crew have survived almost 7 seasons of The Walking Dead, but George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is the original Herschel’s farm in Western Pennsylvania. If we’ve learnt anything from Zombie activity over the years, we know to get up close and personal with a sharp weapon to the brain. It’s fortunate we’ve got a Scizor kicking around in a Poke Ball, itching to break free to hack and slash its way through the night crew. Not only is Scizor’s steel body great in a pinch, but he or she could gut any zombie, keeping you a survivor rather than a biter.

5. Carrie (1976)
   Preferred Sidekick: Espeon
   How to survive: Kinesis
   
   

Carrie’s blood has boiled. And we’re not just talking about the pig’s blood, or when she gets her period. She’s never been so alive with psychic powers bubbling through her body. But Carrie isn’t a monster; she’s just a little girl blossoming into womanhood in a very dramatic fashion. So what better way to keep her kinesis powers in check than to whip out our feline friend, Espeon. Known as the protector, loyal to its owner and can predict its foes moves, there’s no better Pokemon you could have on your survival team for Brian De Palma’s Carrie. And who knows, maybe our prom queen might think twice about burning down a house with an Espeon inside.

6. Psycho (1960)
   Preferred Sidekick: Mr. Mime
   How to survive: Act the Mother
   
   

Manipulating the mother complex is still a foreign topic, it gives many the heebie-jeebies. But that’s exactly what you need to do in order to survive Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. If Norman Bates’ obsession with stuffed animals wasn’t enough to knock the creepy factor into the big leagues, he’s also got a penchant for slipping his polished knife into women that shower. Your best chance is to place a Mr. Mime behind the curtain. Sure, he maybe wouldn’t look the part with that fetching Krusty-the-Klown hairstyle but he would save your life. As a master of pantomime, he’d crack out his greatest moves as Marion and give Norman exactly what he wants. But when the curtain is drawn, the mother is all Norman sees. Sadly, Mr. Mime may play the sacrificial lamb here in order to ensure your own life. Sorry about that…

7. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
   Preferred Sidekick: Xerneas
   How to survive: Be the Princess
   
   

Ofelia’s lived a harsh life. Not only is her mother getting worse from illness, but her step father is a born warrior and misogynist, preferring to spill blood over a conversation than coffee. In the middle of a Spanish war, Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth is a crude affair, yet Ofelia finds herself on the cusp of martyrdom when she befriends a fawn. Though her fate may be sealed either way, bringing along the legendary Xerneas that can share eternal life is your best chance of survival. And of course, every Princess needs a fairy friend.

8. Halloween (1978)
   Preferred Sidekick: Scolipede
   How to survive: Unleash the poison
   
   

One of the classic slasher horror movies of the 20th century, John Carpenter’s Halloween began with a little boy named Michael Myers, in a clown costume, standing over his sister with a knife. Skip merrily on fifteen years later and Mr. Myers has escaped the sanatorium and is sporting a white moulded face mask and a sharp, shiny metal object in his hands. Surviving the masked man’s attacks are a cinch with Scolipede at your side; simply let him or her clasp the escaped psychopath around the neck and let the poison do the rest. Bye bye, Michael Myers.

9. The Exorcist (1973)
   Preferred Sidekick: Houndoom
   How to survive: Bring the Grim Reaper
   
   

Some movie-goers in the early ’70s believed William Friedkin’s The Exorcist was the devil incarnate, physically throwing up in cinema aisles at its gruesome spectacle. But others just saw it as Hollywood’s commercial success. Surviving Regan’s possession is a head-turner, but one that can quite easily be done should you have a Houndoom in your training ranks. Long ago, people imagined a Houndoom’s cry was a sign for its master – the Grim Reaper – to collect a haunted soul. For those under possession, the Grim Reaper can sever the tie from spirit and its host body, leaving the life intact. Perhaps if you find yourself in a room with Regan, take Houndoom and its goosebump-giving howl with you.

10. Scream (1996)
    Preferred Sidekick: Gengar
    How to survive: Paralyse with fear
    
    

The postmodern killer strikes for the first time in Wes Craven’s original Scream. None of it is cool and calculated, rather it’s spontaneous and vindictive killing at best, with a lot of ketchup-smeared guts on the porch. But should you find yourself running a mile in Sidney Prescott’s shoes, you’ll want a Gengar bringing up the rear. Paralyse that killer with fear through Gengar’s weirdly engaging distraction techniques and you’ll never have to encounter that killer again. That is, until a copycat one appears in Scream 2, 3, and 4…

11. The Woman in Black (2012)
    Preferred Sidekick: Yamask
    How to survive: Reunite the family
    
    

Set within a quaint English village, a curse hovers over young children. Like lambs to the slaughter they are picked off one by one, falling or drowning to their deaths. In James Watkins’ The Woman in Black, Eel Marsh House is haunted by a tormented soul, gripped by evil. Solving the mystery as Sherlock Holmes might, you’ll need to bring a Yamask to survive this ghost story. Known as the Pokemon that arose from the spirits of people in graves, this Yamask bears the same memories of the Woman in Black’s son. Trade Yamask back to his mother in return for your life and a lifted curse. Maybe there are happy endings in horror movies after all.

12. Insidious (2010)
    Preferred Sidekick: Blissey
    How to survive: Use the power of love
    
    

Without bringing Huey Lewis and the News to our horror film fest, James Wan’s Insidious requires more than just the power of love, it requires some very skilled healing. Twelve-year-old Dalton is locked inside a powerful coma when he travels to the Further. His ability to astral project gives him access to other dangerous, wandering spirits and unfortunately finds himself prevented from entering back into life. But with a Blissey and its Lucky Egg in tow, eating just a small part before bed every night means astral projection is sweeter. No coma for Dalton, just lots of protein.

13. The Ring (2002)
    Preferred Sidekick: Ditto
    How to survive: Use Transform
    
    

Who knew that brushing your hair over your face in such a way could cause absolute terror? In Gore Verbinski’s The Ring, the video of Samara emerging from the well is part of a well known curse. *Spoiler* Every single person who watches it will be killed; until they make a copy of the tape. Instead of meeting your rather untimely death, have a Ditto to hand and use it to transform itself into a video tape. It may be an utterly ridiculous notion, but this way we can actually fool the dead. But shush! Keep it a secret and no one will ever know…

Let us know if there any other sidekicks you’d prefer to use when coming up against a horror movie. And no, we don’t believe there’s a popcorn Pokemon just yet. But hey, at least we have an ice-cream one.

Featured Artwork Image // Junji Ito