I always thought that Dark-types invoked fear in others and hence why they are good against Psychics; because they're too frightened to mentally concentrate. Although I'm not sure if that makes them "evil" or not.
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I always thought that Dark-types invoked fear in others and hence why they are good against Psychics; because they're too frightened to mentally concentrate. Although I'm not sure if that makes them "evil" or not.
I don't see them as evil. They draw their power from the night and the moon (hence the appellation "Dark type").
Yeah they're scary but they could be heroic or evil.
Yes, they are. That's why their name is literally "evil type" in Japanese. I think Darkrai best embodies this, because although it is seen as evil for his power to give people horrible nightmare comas, it's a power it can't really control (at least, in game), which is really the most fundamental aspect of evil--misunderstanding.
Nope, they can't be evil on their own. Remember that everyting is usually up to the trainer.
According to the anime.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gengarzilla
Nah, I don't think so. They're ment to be a bit spine chilling though (I think). Not evil though.
Some of them definitely are, but not all. "Dark" isn't exactly "evil", more like "shadowy". Misunderstood, I suppose.
@Gengarzilla; Dark types can't be evil on their own? I call BS.
Some Pokedex examples of why Dark types ARE evil.
Hydreigon: "The heads on their arms do not have brains. They use all three heads to consume and destroy everything."
Sneasel: "It is extremely vicious and will not stop attacking until its foe is incapable of moving."
Darkrai: "Folklore has it that on moonless nights, this Pokémon will make people see horrific nightmares."
Even if Darkrai only uses Nightmares to protect itself, that's still something many people would consider "evil" if it happened to them.
But they're just considered evil by their victim, it may just be their behavior
/Dark type trainer will defend her favorite type
I still maintain my stance that Dark types aren't evil, simply misunderstood. Maybe Crawdaunt just wants its privacy? Or Sneasel beats things up because that way there's no chance of them attacking back (a real-world trait, I believe)? Darkrai and Umbreon use nightmares/fear to keep people and other Pokemon away. It's a simple self-defense tactic. And Hydreigon was intended to be a cyborg tank that went insane and began to rampage all over the place. That's insanity, not evil intentions. Mightyena travel in packs, making them like hyenas. Hyenas just have a crazy laugh, nothing more. Shiftry just makes things fall asleep, to keep them from getting to their young. Not evil, simply misunderstood.
Wanting privacy is not a good reason to kick other Pokemon out of their home :lol:
Just because Hydreigon is "insane" doesn't make it any less evil, honestly.
It doesn't say Sneasel's attacker, it says foe. Sounds to me like Sneasel picks fights and beats them to death because it wants to.
Tyranitars tear down entire mountains just to build its home. And again, knocking Pokemon out of their home.
You can justify their actions all you want. Still doesn't make them not evil
It depends on the species, and the individual Pokémon. Some species are obviously evil, like Spiritomb, whereas some are pragmatic evil, like Honckrow, Murkrow, Cacturne and so on. Some factions are simply neutral, like Houndoom, Shifrty-line Darkrai and Umbreon, whereas some factions like Absol are downright heroic. Whereas some parts are simply vicious carnivores, like Krookodile-line and Hydreigon-line and so forth, some are just ill-tempered, like Cradaunt and Drapion. Some are just mischeavious, like Sableye. They can all be considered evil in a broad term, as they all use underhanded tactics(like Sucker Punch, Faint Attack); vicous tactics(Beat Up, Pursuit), pragmatic or selfish evil(Thief, ability Pickpocket) or some tactics that literally uses evil emotions(Dark Pulse which is powered up by evil thoughts, and it's anthithesis Nasty Plot which powers up Pokémon with filling it's head with such thoughts in the first place. Payback and Punishment can also count, as it is revenge, the most worthless of all causes). They all carry very broad evil tendencies(except Absol, Darkrai, Houndoom and Umbreon), a good chunck of them are overconfident(hence why most of them get Moxie), a large chunck of them consumes more than they need(Sharpedo-line, Hydreigon-line), most of them care about their individual or family gain, rather than needs of others(various territorial ones), some of them have very, very strict pecking order(Bisharp-line, Zoroark-line, Weavile-line), and even the mischeavous ones, like Sableye, despite not meaning major harm, does whatever it does to cause annoyance, which is of course evil, but in a very minor sense. Even the more neutral parts aren't exactly heroic; Umbreon and Houndoom are also vicious carnivores who use unsavory tactics, and they stay loyal to their owners regardless of their moral stance; Shiftry specifically uses it's wicked appearance to protect its' terriority and it's underlings, which it finds above its' own survival; Darkrai eats dreams which he turns into nightmares whether he likes it or not; and Absol have tendency go knights templar especially if the situation is very important.
But ultimately, yes, they are supposed to be evil. Just generally in a petty, temperamental, misunderstood(and/or misunderstanding) or pragmatic way.
I think the first requirement for "evil" is acting with intelligence. A creature that is only following its nature isn't evil, no matter how intelligent it is in general. So a Darkrai that wanders at random and happens to cause nightmares isn't evil, but one that actively searches for humans is. Crawdaunt is territorial, not evil. I think the only Pokemon that is always evil, with no exceptions, is Spiritomb.
I see the logic here: you can't be evil without the proper mental faculties to make a moral judgement. In short, you have to choose to do evil thing, and know you're making morally corrupt choices, to be evil.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mand"alor te Siit
The problem is that evil people are evil by nature. Sure, they may know they're choosing evil choices, but that doesn't mean they have free will per se - what they choose is predetermined by their warped cognitions. Likewise, our choices to be good people are predetermined by our better upbringings and life experiences. Morality isn't a choice, it's a sign of our psychological well-being. Evil people are really just mentally ill, in their own way, and to various degrees.
So you can't really choose to be evil or not, the judgement is based on your behaviour. And many Dark-type Pokémon naturally behave in an evil way (see the post by @Trainer Yusuf ; above).
I think Dark types are supposed to be basically dirty fighters. Instead of fighting gracefully, they'll sucker punch or resort to thievery to gain an advantage in battle.