Having been one of only three ghost-type Pokemon during the franchise's breakout generation, Gengar has remained close to the hearts of plenty of trainers ever since. Between an effectively simple design and a mischievous personality, there's plenty to like about the purple specter. Considering Gengar was present in the DS originals, there's no sign of that popularity waning anytime soon, with the release of the Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes on the horizon.
What some trainers might not be fully aware of though, is the prevailing internet theory that suggests there's a much darker origin to Gengar than its famous grin reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat. While it might not appear at first on paper that the ghost-type Pokemon has a lot in common with the pixie-like Clefable, theorists are adamant that the pair's fates are tragically intertwined.
Clefable's Sentient Shadow
Since the earliest days of the Pokemon franchise, fans have picked up on the striking physical similarities that exist between Gengar and Clefable. From a design perspective, the two creatures share almost identical bodies, arms, legs, and ears, with their respective tails and hair being the only real aspects of their silhouettes that sets them apart. Considering the creation index of the original 151 Pokemon places the pre-evolved Clefairy within close proximity to Gengar, it can be speculated that both evolutionary lines were designed in parallel to one another at the same time.
With the rise of the notorious website known as Creepypasta, one theory that's remained popular offers a dark potential reason for this from an in-universe lore perspective. Having been attributed with the species classification of the 'shadow' Pokemon, it's theorized that the two look so similar because Gengar is specifically Clefable's shadow. Numerous Pokedex entries have supported this assertion as far back as Pokemon Red and Blue, with it being known within the Pokemon world that the ghost type likes to feed on the life force of unsuspecting victims whilst in shadow form. Themes like the moon, shyness, and a fondness for mountainous regions, have all featured prominently in the entries of both species as well.
The prevalence of equally compelling theories that point to Gengar's pre-evolved forms being the reanimated versions of Cloyster and Voltorb, based on similar reasoning, could be viewed as evidence that weakens the theory. With there being no rhyme or reason behind how Pokemon evolution works, and the creatures involved being ghosts capable of possession, theoretically, anything is still possible. If being constantly haunted one way or another from the shadows wasn't a horrible enough situation in itself for Clefable, a more recent addition to the theory has also suggested that there's an even darker layer of tragedy to the pair's shared origins.
Clefable's Tragic Demise
As the Pokemon franchise has continued to evolve, it's become something of a tradition for ghost types to have dark reasons for having come into being within the in-game universe. While the series' welcoming aesthetic makes it easy to forget, ghosts by definition are linked inseparably with tragedy. Creatures like Phantump which are said to be the souls of children who perished in a forest, or Banette which are described as vengeful discarded toys, have therefore captivated fans for years with their thoughtful lore. For a long time, Gengar remained unique from this phenomenon, due to the fact that there was no Pokedex entry that gave the species a tragic origin or linked it to Clefable.
While the arrival of the 6th generation games didn't strictly change this, the introduction of the fairy type within Pokemon X and Y added a potential explanation for this whilst once again connecting the two creatures. That's because, during the rebalancing of those games, the once pure normal-type Clefable became exclusively fairy type. Up until this point, fans had theorized that the inability of the two Pokemon to hit each other with STAB moves, due to their once mutual ghost-normal immunity, was indicative of a shared familial past. With the shift in this dynamic, however, Gengar's dual poison typing has been thrown into the spotlight more prominently instead.
Some fans now speculate that the super effective weakness to poison types that Clefable gained in the transition, could be indicative that Gengar are the spirits of the fairy Pokemon that died at the hands of these moves. Retaining their overall shape in the afterlife whilst being corrupted by the poisonous toxin that provided their ultimate downfall. While no official connection between the two has ever been confirmed by Game Freak, the assertion in Pokemon Moon that Gengar are instead lonely humans could be a sign that the studio is keen for fans to bury the dark theory behind the two popular creatures.
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl release on November 19, 2021 for the Nintendo Switch.