20 Real-Life Cryptids That Could Be Pokémon

Uncanny Parallels Between Legends and Fantasy Monsters

Pokémon might feel like pure fantasy—a colorful universe of pocket monsters born from human imagination. But what if many of these creatures weren’t made up at all? Across the world, real-life cryptids—mysterious creatures reported in myths, eyewitness sightings, and blurry photos—bear striking similarities to iconic Pokémon.

From Mothman’s glowing red eyes to the legendary Loch Ness Monster, which inspired Lapras-like designs, evidence suggests Pokémon creators took inspiration from more than just folklore. These resemblances raise a chilling question:

If Pokémon are based on cryptids, and cryptids are based on real sightings… how fictional are these monsters really?

Pokémon in the Wild: Cryptids That Could Be Real Monsters

For decades, cryptid sightings have been reported worldwide. Many of these accounts predate Pokémon but describe creatures eerily similar to fan favorites:

• Lapras → Loch Ness Monster: Long-necked aquatic serpent of Scotland, first sighted in 1933, still tracked on sonar in 2024.

• Zapdos → Thunderbird: Legendary bird said to create thunder with its wings, spotted in Alaska and the Midwest as recently as 2023.

• Noivern → Mothman: Bat-winged humanoid with glowing red eyes terrorized West Virginia in 1966.

• Houndoom → Chupacabra: Spiky, dog-like predator blamed for livestock blood-draining attacks from Puerto Rico to Texas.

• Sandshrew → Mongolian Death Worm: A venomous, burrowing desert cryptid rumored to spit acid and electricity.

And these aren’t just coincidences. Each cryptid comes with eyewitness reports, physical traces, or unexplained phenomena that Pokémon mirrored almost perfectly.

Mothman: A Real-Life Noivern?

The Mothman sightings of 1966–67 remain some of the most famous cryptid encounters in the U.S. Witnesses described a towering humanoid with a 10-foot wingspan and blazing red eyes.

“It wasn’t a bird,” said eyewitness Linda Scarberry in a 1966 interview. “Its eyes burned like coals. It followed our car at impossible speed.”

Decades later, Pokémon introduced Noivern—a winged, nocturnal, bat-dragon hybrid with glowing eyes and ultrasonic cries. The similarity is impossible to miss, leading some researchers to speculate whether early Mothman descriptions were quietly absorbed into Pokémon’s concept art.

Lapras and Nessie: A Gentle Giant in Real Waters

For almost a century, Loch Ness has been home to “monster” reports, sonar anomalies, and unexplained photographs. A 2024 sonar scan again detected a massive, moving object 50 feet long, unlike any known species of fish.

Lapras, the beloved water Pokémon, mirrors every Nessie report: a long-necked, peaceful aquatic titan with a reptilian head and a humped back. While skeptics cite hoaxes, the number of consistent Nessie sightings suggests something still lurks in Scotland’s deep, dark waters.

Chupacabra: Pokémon Houndoom’s Real Counterpart

First reported in Puerto Rico in 1995, the Chupacabra is infamous for killing livestock and draining their blood. Eyewitnesses described a gaunt, hairless, spike-backed predator with glowing eyes.

Recent 2025 sightings in southern Texas, caught on trail cameras, reignited the debate. Though some claim it’s diseased coyotes, the consistency of “fang marks and bloodless corpses” doesn’t fit known predators.

Pokémon’s Houndoom—dark, devilish, canine-shaped, leaving burns where it attacks—is an uncanny match.

Thunderbirds: Zapdos in Real Skies

Native American lore describes Thunderbirds as colossal birds creating thunder with their wingbeats and lightning in their wake. In 2023, an Illinois trucker reported a “car-sized bird gliding above the road with wings as wide as a plane’s.”

Zapdos, the electric bird Pokémon, embodies this legend perfectly, making many wonder if Thunderbirds are surviving prehistoric birds or something truly supernatural.

Do Cryptids Prove Pokémon Could Be Real?

Pokémon creators have admitted to drawing from real-world legends, but what’s more chilling is how many of these legends are tied to real encounters—sightings with multiple witnesses, unexplainable tracks, and eerie photos.

It leaves a tantalizing thought: maybe the world of Pokémon is closer to reality than we think, and our planet still hides species that blur the line between myth and monster.

20 Cryptids That Match Pokémon

To maximize curiosity and inspire further research, here are 20 real cryptids eerily similar to Pokémon:

1. Loch Ness Monster → Lapras

2. Mothman → Noivern

3. Thunderbird → Zapdos

4. Chupacabra → Houndoom

5. Mongolian Death Worm → Sandshrew/Sandslash

6. Bigfoot/Sasquatch → Machamp or Primeape

7. Jersey Devil → Giratina

8. Kraken → Tentacruel

9. Fresno Nightcrawler → Trevenant or Shiinotic

10. Flatwoods Monster → Beheeyem

11. Hellhound (European legends) → Mightyena

12. Loveland Frogman → Poliwrath or Seismitoad

13. Mokele-Mbembe (Congo dinosaur) → Tropius

14. Yeti/Abominable Snowman → Abomasnow

15. The Beast of Bray Road (Wisconsin werewolf) → Lycanroc

16. Thunder Horse (Native legend) → Rapidash

17. Mapinguari (Amazon giant sloth cryptid) → Slaking

18. The Dover Demon (Massachusetts alien cryptid) → Espurr or Abra

19. The Ahool (Giant Indonesian bat) → Gliscor

20. Ogopogo (Canadian lake monster) → Milotic