Having started life with just 151 creatures, Nintendo's hugely successful Pokemon series now boasts almost one thousand. Among their ranks are some truly terrifying Pokemon, both in terms of their appearance and the horrifying lore that surrounds them. Not all Pokemon are as dangerous as they first appear though, with the majority proving to be all bark and no bite when push actually comes to shove.

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Given that many Pokemon are capable of expelling thousands of volts of electricity or setting things ablaze with only their breath or tails, it makes sense that people would be cautious when around wild Pokemon. Some, however, seem to have an innate bond with humans, while others lack the power to do any real harm despite what their intimidating appearances might otherwise suggest.

10 Mr. Mime

Pokemon Mr Mime

There's something inherently creepy about mimes, and Mr. Mime manages to capture this to a tee. Anyone suffering from metamfiezomaiophobia would likely run a mile just at the sight of the gen 1 Pokemon, though if they took some time to get to know one, they'd soon realize that, unlike with real mimes, there's really nothing to be afraid of.

In the anime, Ash's Mr. Mime is shown to be an excellent companion, often helping his mother around the house. Its Pokedex entries also describe it as a master of pantomime, suggesting that it could also be a great source of entertainment whenever the TV or WiFi router is on the blink.

9 Dragonite

Dragons are often painted in a negative light and as something that humanity should fear. In theory, the idea of a giant orange sea dragon is pretty terrifying, though, in reality, Dragonite is anything but. Granted, it is an incredibly powerful Pokemon with the potential to dish out some serious damage, but that's not really its style.

In both its Pokedex entries and Super Smash Bros. trophy descriptions, Dragonite is described as being the guardian of the sea. There are many accounts of them rescuing drowning humans who have fallen overboard, but this kindness doesn't just extend to humanity. It's also been known to save Pokemon in need too, as evidenced by Lance's Dragonite coming to the aid of a group of Electrode in Pokemon Generations.

8 Arcanine

Marley's fire type pokemon in the tv show.

Arcanine is one of the most majestic looking of the gen 1 Pokemon and actually has some fairly decent stats too. Despite this, however, it's difficult to be too intimidated by the dog-like fire-type after learning of its strong bond with humans. Granted, it may not quite measure up to the title of man's best friend, but it's really not too far off.

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Many of Arcanine's Pokedex entries talk about the long-standing bond between the Pokemon and humans, with its Ultra Sun entry even suggesting that an Arcanine once shared a pet-like relationship with a legendary general. Other Pokemon should certainly fear it, but most humans tend only to admire and cherish it.

7 Kakuna

Though small, Kakuna is actually quite an intimidating-looking Pokemon; particularly when it comes to its eyes. Knowing that at any moment it could evolve into a giant spiky hornet with the power to poison people makes it all the more terrifying, but, in its second stage form, at least, Kakuna poses very little threat to humans or other Pokemon.

Its pitiful learnset makes it relatively harmless in the first three generations of the series, with Harden and Poison Sting the only offensive moves in its locker. It does gain access to Bug Bite in future generations, but, given the Pokemon's small size and the fact that the move isn't poisonous, this is pretty unlikely to do too much damage to a human either.

6 Luxray

When it comes to intimidating Pokemon, few cast fear into the hearts and minds of players quite as effectively as Luxray. A big part of this comes down to the Pokemon's gleaming yellow eyes, which are said to be able to see through objects to scout ahead for danger and hunt prey. Given its relatively poor stats and learnset though, it's unlikely to be hunting humans anytime soon.

When equipped with a Choice Scarf, it does become a little more viable, but its lack of decent moves seriously hampers its ability in battle. On top of all that, Luxray can actually be quite friendly around humans, as evidenced in New Pokemon Snap when one rushes in to save the player from a rampaging Tyrantrum.

5 Wailord

Wailord Pokemon

Another Pokemon that plays a fairly prominent role in New Pokemon Snap is the monstrous Wailord, which, at 47 feet long, is the second-largest Pokemon in the series. This alone is enough to make the Pokemon rather terrifying, though, like the Blue Whale on which the Pokemon is based, it has very little interest in harming humans.

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Wailord are shown to be incredibly friendly with humans and other  Pokemon, often allowing them to ride on its back. It can pose a danger to fish-like Pokemon like Magikarp and Wishiwashi, not to mention anybody who is foolish enough to get in its way while it's hunting. When admired from a distance, however, they show no ill-intent towards humans.

4 Feebas

Pokemon Feebas

With its huge eyes and pale brown skin, Feebas looks a little like one of those terrifying fish that gets dredged up from the ocean floor from time to time. At two feet tall, it's pretty big for a fish too, though it poses very little threat to humans or other Pokemon due to its atrocious base stats and terrible innate learnset.

With its attack and special attack stats sitting at 15 and 10 respectively, any attempt by the fish-like Pokemon to cause damage is barely going to leave a mark. On top of that, considering the only attack-based move that it can learn in the wild is Tackle, unsuspecting swimmers have very little to worry about from the feeble Feebas.

3 Snorlax

The sleeping giant Snorlax can barely muster the energy to sit up most of the time, let alone fight. Even in the rare instances when it does stay awake long enough to participate in battles though, it's never once shown any ill intent towards humans. In fact, according to Serena's Pokedex in the anime, Snorlax have even been known to allow small children to play on their bellies while they nap.

Given the Pokemon's size and weight and its love of dozing, there is a very real risk of being crushed by a Snorlax as it sleeps. This should be entirely obvious to anybody with a pair of eyes though, so all but the kind of people who require "Caution: Hot" warnings on the side of coffee cups should be safe from being flattened.

2 Lugia

Pokemon Lugia

As well as being ridiculously large and looking incredibly mean, Lugia's status as a Legendary Pokemon and the master of the three Legendary Birds makes it rather terrifying on paper. It has some pretty impressive stats too, ranking among the most powerful legendaries in the series. Thankfully, it poses very little threat to humanity.

As evidenced in the anime and movies, Lugia is incredibly friendly towards humans, even allowing Ash and Pikachu to ride on its back at times. When converted into a Shadow Pokemon by Cipher, they can become pretty dangerous, though this is true of pretty much any Pokemon in the franchise and is not representative of Lugia's true nature.

1 Persian

Persian just looks like a Pokemon that's up to no good. Its red eyes and sly expression, together with its connection to the leader of Team Rocket, Giovani, make it seem like an incredibly sinister Pokemon. Its stats, on the other hand, paint a picture of an underwhelming cat-like Pokemon that is all meow and no scratch.

Though its FireRed and LeafGreen Pokedex entries paint it as a fickle and mean Pokemon with a propensity for biting, it's an incredibly weak Pokemon with nothing going for it but its speed. It likely couldn't do much harm to a human even if it wanted to, nor would it fare much better against all but the weakest of Pokemon due to its normal typing and lackluster learnset.

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