In Generation I only 3 Pokémon had the Ghost-type. These 3 Pokémon were also part of the same evolutionary chain (Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar)!
Since then, however, the Ghost type has grown in number and popularity in future games.
Many Gym Leaders and Elite Four members have used them, such as Morty, Shauntal, Agatha, and Acerola.
The Ghost-type has a lot of quirks which can make it tricky to deal with.
For example, it is weak against itself, and it can’t hit Normal-types, while Normal-types also can’t hit it.
Keep on reading to make sure these Ghost-type Pokémon don’t leave you spooked!
Ghost Type Pokémon Weaknesses & Strengths Chart
| Weakness | Strong Against |
|---|---|
| Ghost, Dark | Psychic, Ghost |
Ghost-Type Pokémon Weaknesses
Ghost-type Pokémon are weak against Dark-type moves and also their own typing of Ghost. These moves do double damage to them.
The Dark type also resists Ghost-type moves, making it a reliable choice for beating Ghost Pokemon.
Normal-type Pokémon are completely immune to Ghost-type attacks, but they can’t inflict damage in return!
Ghost-Type Pokémon Strengths and Resistances
Ghost-type Pokémon are good against Psychic and Ghost types, being able to deal double damage to them.
They can also resist moves from Bug and Poison-type Pokémon, taking half damage from them.
Ghost-types are also completely immune to Fighting and Normal-type moves.
If you use one of these types against them, you’ll do no damage to them at all!
Pokémon Good Against Ghost Types
There are plenty of Pokémon that can be good against Ghost-type Pokemon that either can exploit their weaknesses or resist their moves.
5 of the best Ghost-type counters are:
1. Bisharp
Bisharp is a great choice to use against Ghost-type Pokémon, as it has great typing (Steel/Dark) to resist their moves.
As a bit of Trivia, back in Generation V when it was released, it was the only Pokémon able to have double resistance to Ghost-type moves!
Nowadays, it only has singular resistance as Steel now takes normal damage, but this is still great to have.
With a great Attack stat that can be easily boosted using Swords Dance, it can dispatch Ghost-types handily.
By using Sucker Punch, it can attack first for super effective damage if the opponent is using an attacking move. This helps to make up for its lower Speed.
2. Sableye
Sableye is a Ghost/Dark type. This means it takes normal damage from Ghost-type moves thanks to the Dark typing.
At one point, before Generation VI introduced the Fairy-type, Sableye was the only Pokémon to have no weaknesses at all, thanks to its typing!
One of the key points about Sableye that makes it super useful is its ability, Prankster. This gives priority to non-attacking moves.
Using this, Sableye can easily act first and weaken its opponents with stat drops and status effects.
3. Gengar
It might seem odd that we have included Gengar here, as being Ghost/Poison type, it is weak to Ghost-type moves. However, bear with us as there is a good reason why!
You may remember one of the types that Ghosts are weak to is themselves.
Thanks to Gengar’s great Speed and Special Attack stats, it can turn the tides on its opponents, hitting them hard and fast.
Gengar can also use Dark-type moves such as Dark Pulse for super-effective damage.
4. Umbreon
Umbreon is a Dark-type, making it super-effective against Ghost-type Pokémon.
It also has one of the top Special Defense stats in the game, making it great at taking hits.
Its ability Synchronize means that any Pokémon that gives it a status effect will get the same status back.
This often makes opponents wary about burning or poisoning it!
Umbreon can also recover HP for itself and allies using the Wish move.
The move Foul Play, also helps it against physically attacking Pokémon as it scales in power with the opponent’s Attack stat.
5. Obstagoon
Obstagoon is Normal/Dark-type. This means that due to its Normal typing, Ghost-type moves won’t hit it at all!
The Dark-type allows it to deal super-effective damage and hit hard.
It can also use status effects to its advantage with the ability Guts, which increases its Attack stat if it is affected by one.
With great all-around stats, Obstagoon is a great Pokémon to build how you would like them.
| Pokémon | Type | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Bisharp | Dark/Steel | Swords Dance Sucker Punch Iron Head Stealth Rock |
| Sableye | Ghost/Dark | Recover Knock Off Will-o-Wisp Taunt |
| Gengar | Ghost/Poison | Nasty Plot Shadow Ball Dark Pulse Focus Blast |
| Umbreon | Dark | Foul Play Wish Protect Toxic |
| Obstagoon | Dark/Normal | Parting Shot Throat Chop Facade Knock Off |
| Zoroark | Dark | Nasty Plot Dark Pulse U-Turn Flamethrower |
| Crawdaunt | Water/Dark | Swords Dance Crabhammer Knock Off Aqua Jet |
| Tyranitar | Rock/Dark | Crunch Stone Edge Rock Polish Superpower |
| Runerigus | Ghost/Ground | Stealth Rock Poltergeist Earthquake Body Press |
| Mimikyu | Ghost/Fairy | Swords Dance Shadow Sneak Play Rough Substitute |
| Sharpedo | Water/Dark | Crunch Protect Flip Turn Waterfall |
| Aegislash | Ghost/Steel | Swords Dance Shadow Sneak Iron Head Shadow Claw |
| Hydreigon | Dark/Dragon | Draco Meteor Dark Pulse U-Turn Flamethrower |
| Grimmsnarl | Dark/Fairy | Bulk Up Spirit Break Darkest Lariat Thunder Wave |
| Mandibuzz | Dark/Flying | Foul Play Knock Off Roost U-Turn |
Attacks Super Effective Against Ghost-Type Pokémon
Ghost and Dark-type attacks will be your moves of choice to defeat Ghost-type Pokémon quickly and easily.
It’s always key to remember that you don’t need a Pokémon that has Ghost or Dark typing to use a super effective move. Lots of different Pokémon can learn them and help you out in a pinch.
Here is a list of some of the top 10 moves to look out for.
- Shadow Ball (Ghost)
- Poltergeist (Ghost)
- Shadow Sneak ( Ghost)
- Hex (Ghost)
- Shadow Claw (Ghost)
- Sucker Punch (Dark)
- Knock Off (Dark)
- Darkest Lariat (Dark)
- Dark Pulse (Dark)
- Snarl (Dark)
Tips on Defeating Ghost-Type Pokémon
Ghost-type Pokémon as we have said previously, are immune to Normal and Fighting-type attacks. However, this is not always the case!
If a Normal or Fighting-type Pokémon has the ability Scrappy, it can hit Ghost-type Pokémon!
Even if you don’t have Scrappy as an ability, often switching to a Normal-type Pokémon can disrupt your opponent. This is because if they use a Ghost-type move it will do nothing to you!
Remember most Normal-types have some sort of Dark-type move at their disposal to then hit back with!
The Dark-type move Knock Off is very popular, especially among competitive trainers.
This move gets rid of the held item of the opposing Pokémon. Not only that, but if it removes the item, it also does double the damage!
Due to the fact that Ghost-types are also weak to Dark-type moves, this makes it all the more useful for a Pokémon to know.
For every other type, if they use the move Curse, it will lower their Speed in order to raise Attack and Defense. However, if a Ghost-type uses it, something more interesting happens!
The Ghost-type will lose half its HP but will curse the opposing Pokémon. This curse will make it lose ¼ of its HP at the end of every turn!
To get around this, switch out your Pokémon to remove the curse.
Ghost-types are also the only type of Pokémon to have access to the ability Cursed Body.
If a Pokémon with this ability is hit by a damaging move, it has a 30% chance to disable that attack! This means you won’t be able to use that move again for 4 turns.
The remedy for this, though, is exactly the same as for Curse. Simply switch your Pokémon out to get rid of the effect.
We hope that after reading this guide, you no longer feel scared of Ghost-type Pokémon.
In fact, we hope that they are more scared of you with your newfound know-how!
Are there any other types you are worried about facing? Let us and your fellow trainers know in the comments.