The Pokemon brand has expanded far beyond the mainline games and even the trading card game as Pokemon merchandise is available in many different forms. Between the continued fanfare over the franchise and with the Pokemon brand reaching its 25th anniversary, it is hardly surprising that bootleggers would take advantage. Fake Pokemon memorabilia is as old as the franchise itself, dating back to the initial boom in popularity with Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue for the Game Boy. While the knockoff figurines themselves are never all that pristine, a recent find by a Redditor takes Pokemon knockoffs to a whole new level of creepy.
Redditor Kaworuscott posted an image of the bootleg Pokemon figures in the Gaming subreddit that would better fit within the "Cursed Images" subreddit. Kaworuscott shared an image of "Ugly Pokemon," as described by the pricing label that sits below the figures. For 20 pounds, which is equivalent to $27.63 at the time of writing, a single horrifying interpretation of famous Pokemon could add fear to one's desk.
The image shows off four bootlegs of the most popular Pokemon in horrifying contortions. Each Pokemon is given pronounced and oversized human-like teeth with some uncomfortable expressions due to half open eyes. The Pokemon in the image are all generation one favorites with Squirtle, Charmander, Gengar, and franchise mascot Pikachu all getting a strange repackaging. Where Kaworuscott found these abominations is unknown, as is the company that brought them to life, but these figurines are another example of the prevalent problem of Pokemon bootlegs.
Off to the right, Pokemon fans may notice a Charizard wing just sticking into frame. The greatest mystery of the image might just be what the "Ugly" Charizard turned out to be when compared to the other four figures. Considering Charizard's popularity around the world, Kaworuscott may have done fans a favor by hiding Charmander's final evolution from sight.
One of these "Ugly Pokemon Figures" happens to be a Squirtle wearing sunglasses and seemingly reading a "Pokemon" book. Besides being the best looking figure of the bunch, which is not saying much, it does at least have some sense in playing to a famous Squirtle design. "Sunglasses Squirtle" is a popular form of the original Water starter, due to its appearance in the Pokemon anime. It was such a popular design that it even made a comeback in Pokemon Go as part of the Squirtle Community Day.
So as far as bootleg Pokemon go, these figurines are in that weird mix of decent quality mashed with disturbing intent. It's hard to say who the intended audience for these figurines are, but with a price over $25, they must really want some nightmares.