Poltchageist (Pokémon)

For Pokémon GO information on this species, see the game's section.
← #1011: Dipplin	Pokémon	#1013: Sinistcha →

Poltchageist Matcha Pokémon チャデス Chadeath #1012 Poltchageist Counterfeit Form Artisan Form Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Type Grass Ghost Unknown Unknown Counterfeit Form Unknown Unknown Artisan Form Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown
Abilities Hospitality Cacophony Counterfeit Form Cacophony Artisan Form Heatproof Hidden Ability Cacophony Hidden Ability Cacophony Counterfeit Form Cacophony Artisan Form
Gender ratio Gender unknown	Catch rate 120 (24.9%)
Breeding Egg Groups Mineral and Amorphous Hatch time 20 cycles
Height 0'04" 0.1 m Poltchageist 0'0" 0 m Counterfeit Form 0'0" 0 m Artisan Form 0'0" 0 m {{{form4}}}	Weight 2.4 lbs. 1.1 kg Poltchageist 0 lbs. 0 kg Counterfeit Form 0 lbs. 0 kg Artisan Form 0 lbs. 0 kg {{{form4}}}
Mega Stone [[|]] [[|]]
Base experience yield Unknown Gen. IV Unknown IV 62	Leveling rate Medium Fast
EV yield Total: 1 Poltchageist 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 1 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed Counterfeit Form 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed Artisan Form 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed 0 HP 0 Atk 0 Def 0 Sp.Atk 0 Sp.Def 0 Speed
Shape	Footprint Counterfeit Form
Pokédex color   Green	Base friendship 50
External Links On Smogon Pokédex Artwork on Bulbagarden Archives

Poltchageist (Japanese: チャデス Chadeath) is a dual-type Grass/Ghost Pokémon introduced during Generation IX, in The Teal Mask expansion.

It evolves into Sinistcha when exposed to an Unremarkable Teacup or a Masterpiece Teacup, depending on Poltchageist's form.

• Counterfeit Form (if it lacks a stamp of authenticity) requires an Unremarkable Teacup to evolve into Unremarkable Form Sinistcha.
• Artisan Form (if it has a stamp of authenticity) requires a Masterpiece Teacup to evolve into Masterpiece Form Sinistcha.

It is ecologically similar to Sinistea; however, the two are separate species.

Biology

The swirl pattern on Poltchageist's body.

Poltchageist is a Pokémon made of matcha tea powder that inhabits a tea caddy; specifically a 茶入 chaire, a kind used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. The tea caddy is primarily black and white, with a white lid, a sealed crack near the top, and a painted pattern resembling a face. Poltchageist is always seen carrying a 茶杓 chashaku, the tea scoop used to transfer tea powder into the tea bowl in the aforementioned tea ceremony.

Poltchageist heavily resembles Sinistea, although they are not biologically related. On top of its matcha body, just below its lid, is a yellow swirl pattern similar to the one found on Sinistea. On Sinistea, this swirl pattern serves as its weak spot and will cause it to become dizzy if stirred; however, this is not the case for Poltchageist.^[1]

According to an old tale, Poltchageist was born from the regrets of an old tea master, who was so obsessed with perfecting the art of the tea ceremony that he drove away everyone around him.^[2] Poltchageist is more active at night than during the day, prowling around towns and their outskirts. By day, Poltchageist dwells in cool, dark places — usually in old houses, which is its favorite.^[1]

Poltchageist tends to scatter its matcha powder on people and food. If someone touches or ingests the powder, they will notice their skin apparently glowing for a brief moment, before they fall unconscious as their life force is sapped away by the powder for Poltchageist to use as energy.^[1] It is capable of draining energy in this way from many people at once.^[2] Another behavior exhibited by Poltchageist is its strong tendency to repair broken objects and seal cracks by filling them in with its matcha powder.^[1][2]

Poltchageist and its evolved form, Sinistcha, are the only known Pokémon that can have Hospitality as an Ability.

Forms

Poltchageist has two separate forms: Counterfeit Form and Artisan Form. Telling either of these forms apart requires careful inspection; an Artisan Form Poltchageist bears a stamp of authenticity on the base of its caddy, while a Counterfeit Form Poltchageist lacks it.

Counterfeit Form

Artisan Form

Evolution

Poltchageist evolves into Sinistcha.

Unevolved Poltchageist  Grass  Ghost

→

First evolution Sinistcha  Grass  Ghost

Game data

Pokédex entries

Poltchageist in the Kitakami Pokédex

Game locations

In side games

Held items

Stats

Base stats

Type effectiveness

Learnset

By leveling up

By TM

Generation IX Other generations: None

TM   Move   Type   Cat.   Pwr.   Acc.   PP  TM007 TM007 Protect Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM029 TM029 Hex Ghost Special 06565 100}}100% 10 TM033 TM033 Magical Leaf Grass Special 06060 00—}}—% 20 TM042 TM042 Night Shade Ghost Special 0000— 100}}100% 15 TM047 TM047 Endure Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM062 TM062 Foul Play Dark Physical 09595 100}}100% 15 TM070 TM070 Sleep Talk Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM074 TM074 Reflect Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 20 TM085 TM085 Rest Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 5 TM092 TM092 Imprison Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM103 TM103 Substitute Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM104 TM104 Iron Defense Steel Status 0000— 00—}}—% 15 TM111 TM111 Giga Drain Grass Special 07575 100}}100% 10 TM114 TM114 Shadow Ball Ghost Special 08080 100}}100% 15 TM119 TM119 Energy Ball Grass Special 09090 100}}100% 10 TM129 TM129 Calm Mind Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 20 TM137 TM137 Grassy Terrain Grass Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM140 TM140 Nasty Plot Dark Status 0000— 00—}}—% 20 TM151 TM151 Phantom Force Ghost Physical 09090 100}}100% 10 TM159 TM159 Leaf Storm Grass Special 130130 090}}90% 5 TM161 TM161 Trick Room Psychic Status 0000— 00—}}—% 5 TM168 TM168 Solar Beam Grass Special 120120 100}}100% 10 TM171 TM171 Tera Blast Normal Special 08080 100}}100% 10 TM177 TM177 Spite Ghost Status 0000— 100}}100% 10 TM188 TM188 Scald Water Special 08080 100}}100% 15 TM191 TM191 Uproar Normal Special 09090 100}}100% 10 TM198 TM198 Poltergeist Ghost Physical 110110 090}}90% 5 TM202 TM202 Pain Split Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 20 TM203 TM203 Psych Up Normal Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10 TM224 TM224 Curse Ghost Status 0000— 00—}}—% 10

Bold indicates a move that gets STAB when used by Poltchageist Italic indicates a move that gets STAB only when used by an evolution or an alternate form of Poltchageist

By breeding

Special moves

Side game data

Form data

Poltchageist has two separate forms: Counterfeit Form and Artisan Form. Its form determines the form of Sinistcha it evolves into and cannot be changed.

The Artisan Form is rarer and has a stamp of authenticity hidden on the underside of its base. The only functional difference between the two forms is the Evolution item used by Poltchageist to evolve into Sinistcha: Counterfeit Form Poltchageist requires an Unremarkable Teacup to evolve into Unremarkable Form Sinistcha, while Artisan Form Poltchageist requires a Masterpiece Teacup to evolve into Masterpiece Form Sinistcha.

Artisan Form Poltchageist does not obey typical form inheritance rules when breeding, and therefore cannot produce Eggs that contain Artisan Form Poltchageist. All Poltchageist that hatch from Eggs will always be Counterfeit Form, regardless of the parent's form.

Counterfeit Form Poltchageist

Artisan Form Poltchageist

Evolution data

Counterfeit Form

Unevolved Poltchageist Counterfeit Form  Grass  Ghost

Unremarkable Teacup →

First evolution Sinistcha Unremarkable Form  Grass  Ghost

Artisan Form

Unevolved Poltchageist Artisan Form  Grass  Ghost

Masterpiece Teacup →

First evolution Sinistcha Masterpiece Form  Grass  Ghost

Sprites

This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation IX.
Cross-Generation HOME

For other sprites and images, please see Poltchageist images on the Bulbagarden Archives.

In the TCG

Main article: Poltchageist (TCG)

Trivia

The Haunting Tale of Poltchageist poster

• Poltchageist was first teased during the 2023 World Championships, where attendees were given a tea ceremony set with the date of the reveal trailer's release included. Additional teasers included the official Pokémon website featuring a background decorated with matcha powder, and a Kitakami poster advertising the in-universe theatrical performance shown in the trailer.
• Despite being a counterpart of Sinistea,^[1] Poltchageist's name resembles that of Sinistea's evolution, Polteageist. The reverse is also true with Poltchageist's evolution, Sinistcha. They are the only ecologically similar Pokémon with this distinction.
• Poltchageist and Sinistea have similar evolution methods, as they both require being exposed to a specific item to evolve into a specific form of their evolved counterparts.
• The Poltchageist and Sinistea families are the only ecologically similar Pokémon that share a type and the only ones to share Egg Groups with each other.
  • Additionally, Poltchageist and its evolution are the only ecologically similar Pokémon to have multiple forms.
• Poltchageist is tied with Basculegion and Slither Wing for the greatest number of unique characters in its English name, with 11 (including spaces).
• Poltchageist is the shortest Grass-type Pokémon, and is tied with Sinistea and Roaming Form Gimmighoul as the shortest Ghost-type Pokémon.

Origin

Poltchageist appears to be based on matcha, which is green tea that has been specially grown, processed, and finely ground into powder. It may also be based on a tsukumogami, being an inanimate household object come to life — in this case, equipment used in a Japanese tea ceremony. The three dots above Poltchageist's left eye resemble the Japanese map symbol for tea plantations.

Poltchageist's overall design resembles Sinistea, having similar eyes and spiral-like markings within its tea.^[1] This may be a reference to convergent evolution or parallel evolution, which can lead to separate organisms independently developing similar or identical characteristics and body plans.

Additionally, due to the way it repairs broken objects, Poltchageist is also based on the process of 金継ぎ kintsugi,^[3] in which cracked and broken pottery is mended using lacquer mixed with a metallic powder, usually gold.

Poltchageist's forms may be based on stoneware forgeries. One historical way to combat stoneware forgeries was to create a stamp of authenticity on products, hence the stamp under Artisan Form Poltchageist. It may also be a reference to the difference between unremarkable household objects and rare variants of them which are seen as antiques or masterpieces. Another origin for Poltchageist's forms may be the different grades of matcha, or matcha imitations.

Poltchageist may also be based on the Sandman, a mythical being which uses sand to make humans fall asleep, although in this case, it uses matcha powder instead.

Name origin

Poltchageist may be a combination of poltergeist and 抹茶 matcha, following the same naming pattern as Polteageist.

Chadeath may be a combination of 抹茶 matcha, death, and ポットデス Potdeath (Polteageist), as well as a pun on 茶です cha desu ("It's tea").

In other languages

Language Title Meaning Japanese チャデス Chadeath From 抹茶 matcha, death, and 茶です cha desu French Poltchageist Same as English name Spanish Poltchageist Same as English name German Mortcha From mors or mort and 抹茶 matcha Italian Poltchageist Same as English name Korean 차데스 Chadeseu Transcription of Japanese name Mandarin Chinese 斯魔茶 Sīmóchá From 斯 sī, 魔 mó, 茶 chá, and 是抹茶 shì mǒchá Cantonese Chinese 斯魔茶 Sīmōchàh From 斯 sī, 魔 mō, 茶 chàh, and 是抹茶 sih mutchàh

More languages

Counterfeit Form

Language Title Japanese マガイモノのすがた Imitation Form Chinese Cantonese 冒牌貨的樣子 Mouhpàaihfo-dīk Yeuhngjí Mandarin 冒牌貨的樣子 / 冒牌货的样子 Màopáihuò-de Yàngzi French Forme Imitation German Imitationsform Italian Forma Taroccata Korean 가짜배기의 모습 Gajjabaegiui moseub Spanish Forma Fraudulenta

Artisan Form

Language Title Japanese タカイモノのすがた Priceless Form Chinese Cantonese 高檔貨的樣子 Gōudong Fo-dīk Yeuhngjí Mandarin 高檔貨的樣子 / 高档货的样子 Gāodàng Huò-de Yàngzi French Forme Onéreuse German Kostbarkeitsform Italian Forma Pregiata Korean 알짜배기의 모습 Aljjabaegiui moseub Spanish Forma Opulenta

Related articles

• Ecologically similar Pokémon
• List of Pokémon with form differences

References

External links

Ecologically similar Pokémon

See also:
Regional forms (Alolan • Galarian • Hisuian • Paldean)

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Pokémon

#1013: Sinistcha →

This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon as a species.