get ready for a long and rambling post, that i definitely spent a needless amount of time thinking about! inspired by this post post #262034 i’ve decides to comb through bulbapedia to look for mind control pokemon, mostly just wanting to categorize for the sake of it! though i also hope with this artist who are tired of using hypno could maybe look at other pokemon for hypnotic inspiration! some of these i’d love to see more of!

i do have some criteria for what i think “counts” as a mind control pokemon, counts in quotes because 1. i kind of think if you’re creative enough almost all pokemon have some sort mind manipulation ability! and 2. just because i don’t think a pokemon meets the standards of being a mind control pokemon doesn’t mean any depiction of said pokemon having mind control abilities is invalid! i’d love for anyone else’s opinions on this subject matter especially if you’re a pokemon maniac!

what i think constitutes a mind control pokemon is pretty simple! is hypnosis/mind control/brainwashing integral to the pokemons identity? does it’s design, abilities, pokédex entry incorporate themes of hypnosis/mind control/brainwashing? are they a hypnosis pokemon or do they just so happen to learn hypnosis? though learning hypnosis definitely would help their chances! i’ll also throw in some honorable mentions as well, they might not meet my standards but do also show hypnotic abilities, so they should at least be mentioned. i’ll be going through this list region by region!

with kanto we have to start off with hypno obviously! hypno really doesn’t need to be talked about! it’s THE hypnosis pokemon, there’s a reason it gets used all the time in hypnosis fetish art! instead i’ll be talking about the psychic type in general as it’s a bit of an outlier in this discussion. there will be more psychic types on this list but i think one could argue the whole type are able to count as mind control pokemon! this is why i made my criteria, i see artist depictions of just any psychic type being able to mind control anyone and there’s no problem with that! i think that it’s true that most psychic types can probably telepathically control others emma frost style! however i think there’s a difference between a pokemon like hypno and mewtwo! hypno is defined by its pendulum and its hypnosis abilities! mewtwo can control minds but it’s not a central part of its identity! likewise i wouldn’t put exeggcute or lunatone here either despite having shown manipulating abilities! i would love to hear what someone else has to say about this! once again there really isn’t any wrong way to depict hypnosis in pokemon and really the more hypnosis pokemon the better! just sort of categorizing for the sake of it! rant over now on with the list!

next we have jynx of all pokemon lol! now i’m going to paraphrase a lot of dex entries to be brief but for jynx i’ll post two of its dex entries as it’s something that i have been thinking for awhile after i first read it. this one comes from red “It seductively wiggles its hips as it walks. It can cause people to dance in unison with it.” this entry is expanded upon in its ruby entry, “Jynx walks rhythmically, swaying and shaking its hips as if it were dancing. Its motions are so bouncingly alluring, people seeing it are compelled to shake their hips without giving any thought to what they are doing.” i was just speechless reading this, i’m now sort of remembering that huge leak from awhile back and how unsurprising it really is, it really has always been on purpose lol! anyway this concept is pretty fun and i would be shocked that jynx isn’t more popular on the hub if it weren’t so ugly? very rude i know but jynx is most known for being very unfortunately designed. it’s not the most appealing choice for a mind control pokemon but being fair that hasn’t stopped hypno!

next in kanto is ninetales! it has multiple dex entries that states it’s hypnotic powers alongside many other supernatural attributes! it’s ruby entry states “it uses a sinister light from its red eyes to gain total control over others.” and its ultra moon entry states “the flames it spews from its mouth hypnotizes its prey, then it attacks.” this suggests a more angler fish like style of hunting rather than the complete control shown in its ruby entry. ninetales is a great hypnosis pokemon and one i thought would be more popular on the hub! being based off a kitsune it really only is natural for ninetales to have such abilities, it has more than that as well! honestly it has some of the craziest dex entries i’ve read, definitely worth going through yourself!

next in kanto briefly want to mention the poliwag line as they do have a big spiral on there stomach and they even learn hypnosis! this one i’m on the fence about! the spiral i’m sure represents how tadpoles in real life have spiral organ that’s you can see through its stomach! really more of an honorable mention though poliwhirls dex entry says that “staring at its spiral stomach can cause drowsiness.”

now this next kanto pokemon is one some might not entirely agree with, that being paras and parasect! i think they count as mind control pokemon, just not in the way other mind control pokemon are viewed! paras and parasect are based on some mushrooms that have developed a way to control insects around! parasect is essentially a zombie, insert last of us reference here! i think it counts despite not displaying the ability to control others, it’s dex entries don’t mention anything else being controlled other than itself! still though i know how mushrooms are used on the hub and i can see more use of it on the hub!

i will lastly address tentacool and tentacruel. there is one episode of the anime where an abnormally large tentacruel uses a tentacool to control meowth. this is the only time this ever happens, this is a really fun idea and another weird entry to use as an induction pokemon. i however feel like i doesn’t meet my certain criteria! it is not entirely unfounded however! some dex entries state that it uses ultrasonic rays and that it’s red spots will glow brightly before attacking! it’s not entirely disqualified but it’s not my first choice for hypnosis pokemon.

onto johto! this region has maybe one of the strangest hypnosis pokemon, that being stantler! it’s dex entry states that “it’s antlers can distort reality” and “those who stare at its antlers will lose control of their senses and be unable to stand.” one of the most unique of methods of induction. now there are only three stantler posts on this site and one of them is a scene from the anime! if you’re looking for an underrated mind control pokemon stantler is one to look at! this would also include its new evolution wyrdeer as a mind control pokemon as well, even more so than stantler thanks to its psychic typing, but i’ll get back to wyrdeer later!

i want to mention both split evolutions slowking and politoed. slowking i’ll touch more on later, as of now though, it’s human level intelligence probably means it has standard telepathic mind control abilities like any other psychic type. now i’m including politoed as an extension to the poliwag line as it does have a spiral pattern as well, though not as pronounced. it does have a dex entry that states “it’s seen as the leader and that when it croaks other poliwhirl obey.” much like the rest of its line i’m adding this as an honorable mention, i don’t feel like it counts towards being a proper mind control pokemon. though hypnotic croaking is maybe something to consider!

last honorable johto mention would be lanturn and chinchou! both use lights to attract prey and this could also work for mesmerizing abilities! i think i’m on the fence about this one, so i’ll only keep it as an honorable mention! i think pretty lights could count but it is more used in a predatory manner than overt hypnosis!

now hoenn has at least a good amount of hypnosis pokemon! number one is grumpig while design wise i don’t think it’s doing anything to communicate mind control, it’s in game descriptions are doing a lot of work for it! it’s dex entry reads that “it uses the black pearls on its head to gain total control of others.” and “it uses odd dance steps to gain control of others.” its pokemon category is even “the manipulator pokemon” lol! looks like it and jynx beat pecharunt to punch in hypnotic dances! like stantler it doesn’t have a lot of art here, shame too i could see a lot of opportunity with hypnotic dancing, much like with jynx!

next in hoenn we have spinda! i think you could maybe argue against spinda as a mind control pokemon but i’m going to count it for now! with its spiral patterns and its dex entry much like grumpigs states that “it’s movements can cause confusion in its opponents!” i think it’s a good example of accidental hypnosis, it’s definitely not trying to overtly control anyone and it’s closer to confusion than it is complete control. still it’s a form of mind manipulation that is both apart of its design and stated in game, so i’m counting it!

next would be dusclops! if has a pretty fun dex entry, “it hypnotizes its foes by waving its hands in in strange movements and by using its single red eye. the hypnotized foe is made to do as dusclops commands.” pretty straight forward honestly! it’s not very popular on the hub but it’s simple induction method makes for easy material to work with!

next is a fun one with milotic, this ones another honorable mention though. it’s control come from its beauty, multiple dex entries state how it’s beauty calms all those around it. it’s the idea that it is so beautiful that one can’t help but be compelled towards it! it’s not the most evidence for a mind control pokemon but i felt like it was worth mentioning!

lastly in hoenn we have the lati twins! latios and latias! this one is where more input would be appreciated! i’m on the fence of counting these two! it really could go either way for me! the dex states that they are both powerful illusionist and that they have a human like intelligence. i think illusions count as altered perception for me! now there’s nothing in their design that points to mind control and it’s only like a good couple of dex entries that state their illusion abilities. still though i felt like it was worth mentioning them! let me know if you think they count! (thinking about it more i think they count! later on this list i count zoroark, so these two get a pass from me! i just didn’t feel like rewriting all this lol! although zoroarks illusions are apart of its identity, i don’t think anything really changes if you take that away from the lati twins. i’ll count them for now as my hands are getting tired!)

now onto the sinnoh region! this one’s a little hard to talk about as the region doesn’t really have a good mind control pokemon candidate. none that are it’s own at least! i think here’s where i feel others opinions will help, so feel free to weigh in! i’ll go through these quickly, i’ll start off with wyrdeer, being the evolution of stantler it clearly has even stronger hypnosis powers having gained the psychic typing. now onto dusknoir another cross gen evolution whose previous evolution has hypnotic abilities! sinnoh really liked doing this! lastly i want i want to at least mention mismagius, it has a dex entry that states “it’s chants can cause headaches and hallucinations.” and another that reads, “rarely it’s cries are imbued with happiness giving power.” now i might be misreading this one but i sounds like i can sort of force someone to experience happiness? even if this interpretation is correct i still don’t feel like it’s enough for it to be more than just an honorable mention on this list.

next i think the lake trio are decent candidate for mind control pokemon. uxie is the being of knowledge, mesprit is the being of emotion and azelf is the being of willpower. i would argue that each of them have a mastery over their respective attribute and that they are able to control said attribute! azelf could control someone’s will and mesprit could control someone’s emotion! uxie is a little weird though, it could control someone’s knowledge? i think it counts but i wouldn’t know how to define how it control others?

honorable sinnoh mentions, darkrai and shaymin. darkrai is able to manipulate someone’s dreams, it’s a small bit of manipulation that i feel counts just a bit. maybe not enough for me give it a complete pass but worth mentioning. shaymin is said to use its sweet scents to soothe others. i think this counts as manipulation, however nothing about it really screams mind control pokemon, most grass types have this sort of ability too. i don’t think i’d give shaymin a pass as it doesn’t do anything special compared to others on this list.

another sinnoh/hisui honorable mention here is enamorous! now it has nothing that i could find on bulbapedia to suggest it has any sort of manipulating abilities! but it’s theming around love makes me sort of think it’s able to control and force loving emotions onto others! now admittedly this is just what i think based off the vibes this pokemon gives me! it’s only here cause i think it could be here! that being said it will only stay on the honorable mentions list for now, maybe future dex entries will give it more to make the list proper!

last honorable mention will go to lumineon! only adding lumineon because of lanturn. i really wouldn’t count it as a mind control pokemon for the same reason i didn’t consider lanturn. i think it is a pokemon that has mesmerizing abilities but it’s dex entry states that it’s mostly to lure prey! still thought it could use a little bit of a shout out, it’s not a pokemon people think about in general so i thought it wouldn’t hurt to mention it!

next up is unova and it’s pretty good set of pokemon here! number one is obviously beheeyem, i’m glad it’s been getting more recognition as a mind control pokemon. most dex entries talk about manipulating both mind and memory! pretty clean and simple! it also has not one but two demonstrations of its hypnotic powers in the anime. it was able to control a whole town in one of the black and white episodes! there is also of course the incredible scene where liko is hypnotized, that scene gives liko a really fun brainwashed eye pattern that is unique to beheeyem as well so that’s really fun!

next in unova we have chandelure! this one i feel isn’t lost on people, or people on this site at least! it’s dex entry states that “by waving its flames around it can put others under a hypnotic trance.” it also has a sort of gravitating presence, pretty lights and all, like lure is in its name lol! it has a small amount of post on this site, still though i feel like it’s pretty underutilized!

next is zoroark, it is able to alter perception with illusions! pretty cut and dry, it’s not overt mind control but i think it counts! it’s a gimmick that is displayed in both the games and anime, it’s clearly integral to the pokemon! it has a pretty sizable though different presence on this site! would love to see it use its illusion for some fun altered perception stuff!

next is meloetta! it’s dex entry says that “it’s special vocalization methods can control the feelings of those who hear it!” and in its pirouette form it “captivates others with its enchanting dance steps!” two different and pretty fun methods of induction! also nice to have another femdom pokemon on this list! there aren’t too many post with meloetta on this site but there are some that utilize it’s hypnotic audio abilities!

next is yamask and this one’s maybe debatable! in the anime there is an episode where yamask is able to posses anyone who wears its mask! this i think only happens in the anime, none of its dex entries states that it is able to do this! the mask is an integral part of yamask and with it is able to control others, so i feel like it counts! i might be treating the games too much like sacred text but i think an argument can be made against it!

next in unova is the muuna and musharna line! they are said to be related to hypno, that and their psychic typing make them both contenders for being a hypnosis pokemon! it has good amount of lost on the hub that better demonstrate its hypnotic abilities.

last in unova there is swoobat! now this is more of an honorable mention as there is only one example of its manipulation abilities, that being it’s dex entry! much like jynx i’m just gonna post the whole thing here cause i was also a little shocked by its wording. “Anyone who comes into contact with the ultrasonic waves emitted by a courting male experiences a positive mood shift.” which huh?!??! i was so shocked seeing this lmao! it’s a pretty small example that i could see being argued against so it’s only an honorable mention!

onto kalos now starting with malamar and it’s mega! malamar is another that really doesn’t need much explaining! i will add to it that of all the pokemon on this list it is noted that malamar is the most powerful mind control pokemon, even before gaining a mega evolution! its dex entry from x says “it wields the most compelling hypnotic powers of any pokemon, and forces others to do whatever it wants.” pretty fun, again i think we’re all familiar with malamar, it’s a great hypnosis pokemon and i love seeing it whenever it’s used!

next in kalos is aegislash and it’s line. this one is a pretty mind control pokemon and a cool pokémon in general! it’s x dex entry states that “using its spectral powers it manipulates and controls people and pokemon.” and further more in its shield dex entry, “it once used its powers to force others to build a kingdom to its liking.” going back to its previous evolution, honedge also demonstrates manipulating abilities when it posses shauna in the manga! pretty safe to assume that doublade also has these powers as well!

kalos was pretty quick, but i have two honorable mentions! first spirtzee has a dex entry that reads “it emits a scent that enraptures those who smell it.” pretty standard hypnotic aroma stuff, definitely not standing out on this list. next is pumpkaboo who is a lot like dusclops! it’s dex entry says that “it uses the light from the holes in its pumpkin to control people and pokemon.” again nothing special but a more overt than spritzee!

now with alola there are a good amount of hypnosis pokemon options, maybe the most mind control pokemon on this list depending on who you count and don’t count! first is nihilego, pretty iconic at this point! might not need to explain much, definitely in the top five of mind control pokemon! its fairly popular on the hub so i think i’ll just end this section by saying it’s always given me metroid vibes lol!

next alolan pokemon is a pretty big one with salazzle! the ultimate femdom pokemon! another one that’s pretty well known but i’ll go into further detail! it uses pheromones to captivate male salandits. the pheromones are mostly said to be used on salandits however it’s scarlet dex entry states “it uses its poison gas and alluring movements to captive its opponents, turning them into its loyal servants.” this does not exclusively state male salandit are the ones being controlled, kinda makes me think some devs looked at fan art of salazzle and decided it should be canon.

next pokemon in alola is a special one as it’s the first starter pokemon on this list! it’s primarina, it’s kind of like milotic using its beauty to entrance others but there is more! to start it has an alluring voice that it used to compel others! in its shield dex entry it states, “Its singing and the dancing of its balloons will mesmerize the audience.” aside from its dex entry primarina is based on mermaids and sirens, who are known for luring sailors with their enchanting singing. for me this more than enough to count it as a proper mind control pokemon.

next we have sandygast and palossand, definitely some weird ones! my favorite of its dex entries comes from shield it reads, “Sandygast mainly inhabits beaches. It takes control of anyone who puts their hand into its mouth, forcing them to make its body bigger.” really love this little guy and palossand as well! really love how overt it is in describing someone under its command, being used to collect sand to grow its body. some pretty fun imagery too, wish it used on the hub more often, however it is tough to compete with AWMBH and their palossand piece! which, i feel, is still years later the best piece of palossand hypno fetish art!

next alolan pokemon is shiinotic, another mushroom pokemon! it’s dex entry reads, “People confused by its strange lights can never find their way home again.” and another reads, “It emits flickering spores that cause drowsiness.” like malamar it uses its lights to captivate people, but the more obvious comparison would be with parasect! some dex entries even mention that shiinotic and parasect compete for territory! it also being mushroom allows to be used in the standard way mushrooms are used in hypno fetish art! also pretty obvious point it’s name is derived from ‘hypnotic!’ really only the second most overt hypnosis pokemon, just under hypno!

next we have another ultra beast with pheramosa! it like milotic uses its beauty to captivate others, but the biology section of bulbapedia also states that, “But its most distinctive features may in fact be its beauty and its powerful pheromones. Most any creature that squares off against Pheromosa becomes confused, as if struck by the beast’s beauty, and loses the will to fight.” in a very similar fashion to salazzle. i think it counts for me, though i could see pheramosa being more of an honorable mention for other people.

now i think that does it for most of the definitive hypnosis pokemon in alola, but i do have a good amount of honorable mentions! i’ll start with oricorio, each of its forms state that it’s dancing affects people in one way or another. it’s baile style entry reads, “Its passionate dance moves cause its enemies to combust in both body and mind.” and, “It wins the hearts of its enemies with its passionate dancing.” baile style is definitely the least convincing of its four forms but it is still affecting someone, even if they end up burnt to crisp afterwards! next pom pom styles dex entry reads, “Its bright, cheerful dance melts the hearts of its enemies.” pretty simple but it is, once again, causing someone to unconsciously experience pleasant emotions! next we have pa’u style, it’s entry reads, “Its enemies' hearts melt at the sight of its gently swaying hips.” and “It relaxes its opponents with its elegant dancing.” i’m sure you’re understanding their inclusion by now! though pa’u style is definitely helped by having the psychic type! lastly we have sensu style, this one’s entry reads, “Its elegant, attractive dance will send the minds and hearts of its enemies to another world.” once again going restate they all in someway affect someone to experience a usually pleasant emotion! for me it’s a fifty/fifty on whether they count on this list, while they’re only on this honorable mentions list, one could argue for them to be on the list proper!

next i’d like to mention ultra beasts xurkitree and blacephalon! these two are rivals in creating the most light! in the anime there is a moment where we see them competing in a light show against one another! now these guys are absolutely not on the list, the only thing that even includes them on the honorable mentions is that, you could portray them using their lights to hypnotize someone! i will note they do both learn hypnosis in their natural learnset but that’s about it!

next in alola we have ninetales! again! here i’m just assuming it has the same sort of manipulating abilities as kantonian ninetales! this is why it’s in the honorable mentions, i don’t think there is anything to suggest alolan ninetales has any sort of mind control abilities other than it being related to kantonian ninetales! heres where more judgement would be helpful!

last honorable alolan mention is one that i would have loved to be on the actual list, but i couldn’t find any reasonable evidence for it! it being oranguru! i will make my case here but i don’t think it’ll be more than an honorable mention. now oranguru is a pokemon that is as smart or smarter than humans! it has a signature move ‘instruct’ that, in gameplay, directs the targeted pokemon to use the move it used last a second time. basically moving twice in one turn. that is its function but what is happening is that the pokemon is essentially obeying oranguru’s command to move again, it is most likely not unconsciously. there is nothing to suggest that oranguru is taking any sort of control over another pokemon to force them to use another move! but i do think that you could use it in that sort of manner, or at least depict it in that way! would love to see oranguru use instruct on a trainer to force them to obey!

moving on to the galar region, with maybe the least amount of mind control pokemon. though most of them i feel are pretty good! starting off with the best one we have orbeetle! one of the best but also most underrated pokemon on this list! would love to see it used more! by itself it said to have pretty strong psychic powers but when it’s in gigantamax form is when it’s mind control abilities are most pronounce! it’s dex entry reads, “If it were to utilize every last bit of its power, it could control the minds of every living being in its vicinity.” i’d imagine it can control a limited amount of people in its regular form, and when it gigantamaxes it could probably control everyone in a stadium! it gives off mad scientist vibes, i always sort of reminds me of brain from pinky and the brain! i could definitely see it having a beheeyem style resurgence! someone on the anime team just needs to use it for a mind control scene!

next we have galarian slowking! this one’s a bit strange, it’s a bit similar to parasect as in, it’s a mind control pokemon but it is the one being mind control, this time by the shellder on its head! it’s dex entry reads, “A combination of toxins and the shock of evolving has increased Shellder's intelligence to the point that Shellder now controls Slowking.” though unlike parasect i feel like the shellder has more conscious control over it’s hosts! having gained control over one being i don’t see why it would stop wanting to control even more! it would most certainly have the power to do so, with slowkings psychic powers! this also sort of happens in the anime! both ash and goh are taking over by the shellder on slowkings head, ash gets mind controlled by the galarian slowkings shellder and goh is taken over by the johtonian variant! also i want to mention a piece by hypnolion that basically uses the same idea, although i think that piece predates the anime episode, it uses klara being controlled by the shellder. really fun stuff that i’d love to see it used more!

next i have to mention calyrex! i think of it closer to mewtwo as in it can control minds but it isn’t really defined by those abilities. still though it was a really prominent moment in the crowned tundra dlc and it really couldn’t hurt including it here on this list. i do want to shoutout mahou monsters calyrex piece, where professor sonia is being used as glastrier, probably the best piece of calyrex on the hub! not that there’s much competition to begin with though.

ok last region/regions are paldea and kitakami! we’ll obviously start with pecharunt! my personal favorite of all the pokemon on this list, it really needs no introduction, it is top three on this list next to hypno and malamar!

branching off of pecharunt however are two members of its loyal three, munkidori and fezandipiti! being an extension of pecharunt i feel like they might be able to have some
mochi related powers, but they still have tricks of their own! munkidori’s dex entry reads, “Munkidori keeps itself somewhere safe while it toys with its foes, using psychokinesis to induce intense dizziness.” it being a psychic type also really helps! it’s not complete mind control but i think its still capable of even stronger manipulative abilities that we have yet to see! now onto fezandipiti, it’s yet another pokemon who uses its beauty to mesmerize others! it even uses pheromones like pheramosa! it’s dex entry reads, “Fezandipiti beats its glossy wings to scatter pheromones that captivate people and Pokémon.” pretty standard stuff for each of them, it’s their relationship with pecharunt that really keep them from being on the honorable mentions list! another point however, they are both being used by pecharunt! we can now include okidogi as well, the three of them also count as ‘being mind controlled pokemon!’

next we have gimmighoul! a really fun option for hypnosis pokemon! it’s not stated in the dex entries and i forget where it’s originally stated, but it’s biology page on bulbapedia states, “When Chest Form Gimmighoul senses an approaching person or Pokémon, it uses ghost energy to control its target and force them to collect coins for its chest.” and also, “Its control has notable persistence; one old tale tells of a Gimmighoul who manipulated a young girl to gather 999 coins to fill its chest.” it’s pretty similar to sandygast in this way, control others to further fuel its own body! we even get to see this in the anime, with gen nines favorite sub carmine!

next is an unexpected choice, that being oinkolonge! i’ll first show it’s dex entry, which reads, “It entrances female Pokémon with the sweet, alluring scent that wafts from all over its body.” it is essentially a maledom version of salazzle! now i’m not sure if everyone will agree with this choice but i feel if salazzle counts, so does oinkolonge! other than that, there isn’t really much more to say! the normal type in a nutshell!

next we have our first, or second, honorable mention with espartha! the only evidence i found, besides it’s psychic typing, is in it’s dex entry. “It immobilizes opponents by bathing them in psychic power from its large eyes.” sounds a lot like it’s just sort of hypnotizing someone to me, but there’s probably a difference. anyway it’s not enough for me to place it any higher than here for now, but i wouldn’t be surprised if that changed!

lastly i want to mention the paldean starter trio! all of them have the potential to be used as mind control pokemon! first the most overt, quaquaval, it’s dex entry reads, “Dancing in ways that evoke far-away places, this Pokémon mesmerizes all that see it.” more hypnotic dancing, nothing we haven’t seen before! next we have skeledirge, a little weaker than quaquaval but still able to manipulate people! it’s bulbapedia biology section states, “Opponents hearing its singing will feel warm and fulfilled inside, losing their will to battle.” i’d compare it to primarina, although it is clearly not on the same level! still though a good candidate for hypnotic audio! and finally the weakest of the three here, in terms of mind control, meowscarada! my case form meowscarada is that it’s a magician! it uses illusion to misdirect the audience, and if i counted zoroark than meowscarada should at least get an honorable mention! also, being a magician, it could also know a bit of stage hypnosis! i’ll let you be the judge of that!

again i’ll reiterate that this is mostly just for the sake of categorizing. i’m not trying to say that only these pokemon should be used in artwork, or that any pokemon outside this list don’t count! these pokemon here are just the ones i found to be more overt with their hypnosis/mind control/brainwashing abilities. i again think if you’re creative enough all pokemon could have some mind control abilities! there probably pokemon on here that shouldn’t be, and there pokemon that aren’t here that should be! would love to see who you think should and should not be on this list, and if you have indeed read through all of this thanks for reading!

Two additions to consider:

- Sylveon- "This Pokémon uses its ribbonlike feelers to send a soothing aura into its opponents, erasing their hostility."

- Gothorita- "They use hypnosis to control people and Pokémon. Tales of Gothorita leading people astray are told in every corner."

A very fine list this is. In regards to how Uxie would control others through knowledge, multiple of its Dex entries talk about how it can wipe memories, so one could think of a manner of control similar to the one provided by neuralizers, erasing memories and leaving the target open to having the blanks filled at minimun, if not an overall more precise form of memory manipulation.

Additionally I second the previous comment regarding Gothorita in particular given than out of 7 different Pokédex entries it has, 4 talk about hypnotizing and spiriting away people at night. Oddly consistent trait for that evolutionary stage only.

Also wanted to share a surprising user of hypnosis I stumble upon looking around for other noteworthy Pokémon after reading this thread as a "sub-honorable mention" of sorts.

Glameow... yeah apparently aside from been able to learn the move Hypnosis, it has 1 Pokédex entry saying that its glare can put foes on a mild hypnotic state??? Very random and certainly not an overall "Mind control Pokémon" but still wanted to share that.

Apparently Haunter has been shown to be able to control pokemon it touches with its hands in the series, though of course Bulbapedia doesn't actually mention which episode that was in.

man i feel real dumb for forgetting about gothorita and sylveon, somehow completely just passed though two over.

and yeah wow glameow is one i just never gave any thought too! very surprising! honestly props for finding that!

not sure where to look for that haunter episode you’re talking about but i hope we find it! you also reminded me of a weird episode of the anime! episode 142 of the diamond and pearl series, ‘where no togepi has gone before!’ in which a particularly mischievous uses a myriad of moves, one of them being attract! it uses attract to control some of the gangs pokemon! another one to add to the honorable mentions!

it learning hypnosis has also given me an idea for an alternative list, one that’s already on bulbapedia, and that’s just sorting through the pokemon who can learn hypnosis! pretty cut and dry, this probably adds a lot more pokemon too! i didn’t do this however as 1. it’s kinda boring! too easy of a list and goes against the criteria i set. (not that it’s gospel or anything, but if anyone should follow what i say it should be me!) and 2. it excludes a lot of different methods of manipulation, pokemon like salazzle and primarina probably wouldn’t be on that list! still though it’s pretty worth mentioning!