Although a Litwick's flame burns through the life force of living things, Lampent are considered even more terrifying, for they use the spirits of the dead as fuel. A few individuals in human history have been reputed to keep Lampent as pets and read by their indigo light; these were without exception warlords and dictators who presided over massive amounts of state-sponsored murder. These tales are not typically found credible, and are thought to be the product of subjects trying to comprehend their rulers' bloodthirsty nature and rival polities seeking to further demonize an already demonic ruler.
Yet some tyrants – although far fewer than these rumors suggest - have indeed taken advantage of the Lampent's terrifying potential to punish dissidents, for even men willing to die a martyr's or revolutionary's death often prove unwilling if their reward is not heaven, but an incinerated spirit that barely outlasts the body. Most, however, shy away from the Lampent, despite the obvious benefits in preventing revolution and their lack of moral scruples, for Lampent devour the spirits of the dead indiscriminately; even a young tyrant is always at risk of death, if only through assassination.
Yet even the most vicious regimes fall, and this is typically not long after their citizens learn the truth about Lampent and spirits. For although Lampent do use spirits as fuel, in a sense, spirits are not destroyed nearly as easily as firewood or corpses – the only thing Lampent truly burn is the part which lets them transfer easily to the afterlife. Lampent are the primary cause of ghost pokemon, and although a ghost's existence is a sad one, it is far preferable to oblivion – or indeed, in some truly vicious regimes, preferable to the world of the living.
