Pokemon are supposed to be cute, right? That’s why they’re been turned into products of various forms, including eye-catching shoes, a Nintendo 3DS LL (so popular that they sold out in one day) and even eye make-up designs.

Well, some Pokemon drawings that most certainly do not fit the conventional definition of cute have been attracting attention on the internet recently.

The illustrations are the work of tumblr user hatboy and yes, the pokemon are supposed to look slightly creepy, as these are “Tim Burton Inspired Pokemon Re-Designs“, according to the explanation provided on hatboy’s blog.

So, this is what pokemon may look like if the famed producer of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” were to design them:

What do you think? These look nothing like the cute Pokemans we’re used to being shown, but they do look like they have tons of personality.

I personally think Charizard looks pretty awesome – you definitely wouldn’t want to mess with him. Japanese internet users seem to think these re-designed Pokemon successfully capture the Tim Burton style and look quite cool, maybe even cooler than the original versions. Other users have also commented that they would love to see games or books based on these sinister looking pokemon alter-egos. Hatboy’s Pokemon may not be the stuff of children’s fantasies (nightmares, if anything), but judging from the response on the internet, they certainly seem to have done a good job of stirring people’s imaginations.

If you like the drawings, you can see more of them on hatboy’s tumblr site. Have fun checking out a whole new dark world of pokemon!

Source: hatboy tumblr site
Ajajashita blog site (Japanese)

▼For your amusement, here’s just another unique Pokemon illustration, done Ukio-e style. See more like this here.