Ghost (type)

The Ghost-type (Japanese: ゴーストタイプ Ghost type) is one of the seventeen elemental types. Notable specialists in the Ghost-type include Agatha of the Kanto Elite Four, Morty of Ecruteak City, Phoebe of the Hoenn Elite Four, and Fantina of Hearthome City.

Statistical averages

The literal ghost seen in Pokémon Tower

Battle properties

Generation I

Ghost-type moves:

• Are super effective against: Ghost
• Are not very effective against: None (Dark and Steel weren't introduced until Generation II)
• Have no effect against: Normal, Psychic

Ghost-type Pokémon:

• Resist: Bug, Poison
• Are weak to: Ghost
• Have immunity to: Fighting, Normal

Generation II-onward

Ghost-type moves:

• Are super effective against: Ghost, Psychic
• Are not very effective against: Dark, Steel
• Have no effect against: Normal

Ghost-type Pokémon:

• Resist: Bug, Poison
• Are weak to: Dark, Ghost
• Have immunity to: Fighting, Normal

Characteristics

The Ghost-type is one of the smallest elemental types in the game, with few additions in each new Pokémon game. They are also unique in the fact that they have a type-specific attack called Curse, which, other than being the only ???-type move, works differently for Ghost-types than it does for other Pokémon.

Ghost Pokémon are used mainly to inflict status effects, like confusion or paralysis. Most Ghost-type moves cause some sort of effect or a status ailment. They are a good type to use in Pokémon battling, because of their possession of all-around good attacks, such as Hypnosis and Shadow Ball.

It is interesting to note that the weaknesses of the Ghost-type are covered by the resistances of the Dark-type, and vice-versa, so their combination, seen in the Pokémon Sableye and Spiritomb, has no weaknesses at all. What is to be remembered is that this does not make for a perfect Pokémon. There is also always the possibility for the immunities of the Ghost- and Dark-types to be removed via certain moves, such as Odor Sleuth, as well, making for a weakness.

In total, there are 18 Pokémon with the Ghost-type.

Pokémon

Pure Ghost-type Pokémon

#		Name
200		Misdreavus
353		Shuppet
354		Banette
355		Duskull
356		Dusclops
429		Mismagius
477		Dusknoir

Half Ghost-type Pokémon

Primary Ghost-type Pokémon

#		Name	Type 1	Type 2
092		Gastly	Ghost	Poison
093		Haunter	Ghost	Poison
094		Gengar	Ghost	Poison
425		Drifloon	Ghost	Flying
426		Drifblim	Ghost	Flying
442		Spiritomb	Ghost	Dark
487		Giratina	Ghost	Dragon

Secondary Ghost-type Pokémon

#		Name	Type 1	Type 2
292		Shedinja	Bug	Ghost
302		Sableye	Dark	Ghost
478		Froslass	Ice	Ghost
479		Rotom	Electric	Ghost

Moves

Damage-dealing moves

Name	Category	Contest	Power	Accuracy	PP	Target	Notes
Astonish			30	100%	15	One foe	Has a 30% chance of making the target flinch.
Lick			20	100%	30	One foe	Has a 30% chance of paralyzing the opponent.
Night Shade			Varies	100%	15	One foe	Inflicts damage matching the user's level.
Ominous Wind			60	100%	5	One foe	Has a 10% chance of raising all the user's stats by one level.
Shadow Ball			80	100%	15	One foe	Has a 10% chance of lowering the target's Special Defense.
Shadow Claw			70	100%	15	One foe	Has a high critical hit ratio.
Shadow Force			120	100%	5	One foe	The user disappears on the first turn, strikes on the second turn. Hits through Protect.
Shadow Punch			60	—	20	One foe	Never Misses.
Shadow Sneak			40	100%	30	One foe	Always attacks first.

Non-damaging moves

Name	Category	Contest	Power	Accuracy	PP	Target	Notes
Confuse Ray			—	100%	10	One foe	Confuses the foe.
Destiny Bond			—	—	5	User	If the user faints, the foe that landed the knockout hit also faints.
Grudge			—	—	5	User	Fully depletes the PP of the foe's move that knocked the user out.
Nightmare			—	100%	15	One foe	Reduces sleeping foe's health by 1/4 every turn until it awakens.
Spite			—	100%	10	One foe	Reduces up to 4PP the move last used by the foe.

Trivia

• Pure Ghost-type species were not introduced until Generation II.
• In Generation I, Ghost-type moves didn't have any effect on Psychic-type Pokémon. This contradicts both official type charts published by Nintendo for their Red/Blue/Yellow strategy guides as well as the anime where it was said that Ghost-types are the best type to fight Psychic-type Pokémon. It is the only elemental type to go from 0× effectiveness to 2× effectiveness on another type between generations.
• There are no Ghost-type moves that have an accuracy lower than 100, as all of them have a 100% accuracy or are status moves.
• Ghost-type Pokémon are the only single-type Pokémon that can have more than one immunity.
• The Ghost-type is one of the two types that are weak to their own moves, together with the Dragon-type. Coincidentally, Giratina is a combination of both types.
• All Ghost-type Pokémon which have a second type that is weak to Ground-type attacks have the Levitate ability, so there is no Ghost-type Pokémon that is weak to Ground-type attacks.
• Ghost and Dark are the only two types that are super-effective against the same types: Psychic and Ghost.
• Ghost is the least abundant type among Pokémon, with only 18 Ghost-type Pokémon.

In other languages

• French: Spectre
• German: Geist
• Italian: Spettro
• Spanish: Fantasma
• Korean: 고스트 ghost
• Hebrew: רוח ru'ah