Pokémon Top 5: My Favourite Ghost Types

Welcome again Island Guests!  We have discussed Pokémon 15 Types so far.  Three more to go!  The Ghost type is not super effective against the poison type I discussed last time..which had determined my order until now ! But it IS super effective against itself! One of the fan favourite types that is kind of frail. While definitely one of my favourites when it comes to Pokédex Entries this type is my absolute favourite. When it comes to actually favouring a type it’s actually quite mid tier for me!  I did this list once.. but my answers have changed a bit with how much I learned!

Rules and Honourable Mentions

As always to keep this list diverse I will not allow Pokémon that were on prior lists. I am not sure any ghosts made it on my lists normally due to how prominent the typing is. So there aren’t that many conflicting issues. However under the same rule I only add one entry per evolutionary line in! Since Gen VIII made evolution harder to cancel if I do not like a final evolution, I will mark down the previous forms. Even if it’s not a Gen VIII Pokémon it seems fairer that way. Pumpkaboo and Phantump are for me forms I really like, but both their final evolutions feel a bit meh! With Trevenant being okay but Gourgeist not feeling fully evolved for me. I can’t shake the “is this it?” feeling. It’s fine.. but it really feels like a mid evolution to me! So Pumkaboo takes this honourable mention. Had there been a form above Gourgeist it would have made the list.

Another rule is that ghost types have to feel like ghost types. Decidueye for example doesn’t feel like a ghost type to me and simply gets the type because it’s based on an extinct Owl. However I talked about him enough so he doesnt get the honourable mention on this rule. That goes to Dhelmise. While I very much get why it’s a ghost.. and it’s possessed seaweed around an anchor..and it fit’s the ghost ship theme.. I feel like it should be a Steel Grass type. Dhelmise gets the ability Metal Worker which effectively gives it a steel typing in the form of adding Same Type Attack bonus to his attacks but I feel that should have been swapped out for Possessed..which would give Ghost STAB as a result. In the end I do just see a seaweed covered anchor. I love it but it’s the ghost part that is implied rather than the steel bit. 

Temporary forms also do not count! So Mega’s do not count. This for me excludes Mega Banette. Which designwise is one of my favourite mega’s. I like Banette fine enough in it’s normal form but it’s mega is something I found really amazing. One of the best designed Megas and a Pokémon that could really use one.  Banette is somewhere like my seventeenth favourite ghost type or so but it’s mega might have made it a contender. Unfortunately..we judge pokémon for how they are for the majority of their journey, without any special items or so! So it falls short! The backstory about Banette being a discarded plushie swearing on revenge though! One of my all time favourites.

Ghost Type #5 Mimikyu

I thought Mimiky would be higher on this list. It is cute, has a great backstory, is fleshed out in the anime a lot and truly is a fan favourite! I love Mimikyu as well..but I do not like putting it on my team all that much! It’s design is top notch and I appreciate it a lot more than Pikachu itself..but it’s a physical ghost and fairy type. Which does make it rather unique but also a bit trickier to use.  To effectively use Mimikyu you have to sacrifice one moveslot to use Sword Dance. One for Shadow Claw and probably one for Play Rough ..because fairy types do not get a lot of physical moves either.  That means Mimikyu is one of the most rigid and less versatile ghost types with  three moves more or less being set. It managed to fight off Marshadow from the fifth place though, who is arguably the better physical ghost type due to its move Spectral Thief, by sheer love! There is so much fun stuff about Mimikyu including his Z-move! Let’s Snuggle Forever. The story of this Pokémon wanting love.. despite it cursing people to death if they see it’s true form.. is just heartwarming and wins me over every time.  Even though I do not always want to run it on my team.. I can not stop from helping to want to adopt one! It is high on my list of Pokémon Plushies I want to get and it’s song is one of my more played Pokémon tracks!

As for his Pokédex entries! I am so familiar with his lore that I do not even need to look these facts up anymore.  No one has ever seen Mimikyu’s true shape….well at least no one who did lived to tell the tale. However, looking at the true Mimikyu gets cursed ..which if you get a good view of the thing usually means you die. This made Mimikyu sad as he also wanted to be among people! So it created a disguise it could wear.  It noticed that humans really liked Pikachu so it based it’s design on that! So it could be loved as well.  For those of you unfamiliar. The Pikachu-like head is completely empty ..the actual eyes are on its body!  If it’s costume ever breaks Mimikyu gets extremely down and won’t stop working on repairing it’s costume, no matter how long it takes. It shall not rest until it’s costume is complete yet again. Mimikyu is a bit scared of sunlight, probably because it might think it’s costume doesn’t pass as much or who knows what is underneath that disguise it might be allergic to sunlight. Mimikyu can get jealous of Pikachu if it really gets lonely! Yet all in all it’s a crafty little who knows,  with a heart that wants to be loved and a disguise that wants to be hugged.

Like I said before, Mimikyu in battle is kind of boring to use. His Ability disguise  allows it to take one free hit per battle , without taking damage. (Excluding Hazards and status) Mimikyu’s strong ability however is countered with a lackluster stat pool. It’s physical attack is only 90, which is not bad but no where near the ballpark of others. Since it’s most targetable weakness is ghost it does really benefit from his high special defence and his decent speed. I ran Leech Life as a final move on mine since Gen VII really improved that move , giving it 80 base power instead of 20. With his high defences it can get a fair bit of recovery of types Leech Life is super effective against. It doesn’t offer much covery though as it overlaps a lot with both it’s fairy typing against dark and ghost typing against psychic. Woodhammer is an option to make it more diverse.. but that last slot really depends on what kind of teams you are facing.. you can not swap the other moves out at all so that one changes depending on what you face. I always give it it’s Z-crystal as a held item because I want to use Let’s Snuggle forever! Cause you know! It’s cute!

Ghost Type #4 Polteageist

My Polteageist Earl Grave was one of my favourite Pokémon during my Pokémon Sword and Shield run! I bet the nickname has been passed around a lot so it’s not very original but I did not want to go South African/Dutch with Dooibos  and it was a male and I felt Deadjeeling felt a bit more feminine.  Still I never thought tea would make such a good Pokémon. When I say good I mean that for a while it was amongst the top 10 most powerful Pokémon in Galar. I haven’t kept up with it so I am not sure if it got a bit nerfed but I know this Pokémon without any imposed limitations can kick ass and take names. It’s design like a pot of tea also is quite unique and I really prefer pure ghost types a lot!  With only two weaknesses, one that it always has covered, it just works for me!  Also it’s dead it loses some of those other aspects. I never got why Gengar got the poison type! This is just ghostly black tea haunting a cup! Sure you could add the water or grass type to it.. but it would only end up with more weaknesses.  So they did well with this one!

What many people did not know is that Polteageist comes in two forms and this has to do with a lore thing. Polteageists are formed if you leave a bit of black tea in a teapot and another ghost usually another polteageists comes to visit it in the night!  If it does it will move into the tea and possess it after it leaves the beverage a new ghost is formed.  Ever after they roam around. Usually they originate from fake chinaware but once every now and again it is an official antique teapot they possess. Which is also mentioned in the Pokédex. But this is actually a feature in the game! If you manage to tilt the camera below your Polteageist, you can see a blue stamp of a prime brand if you have the anique form. If there is nothing it is called the Phoney form. If you use a cracked pot evolution item to evolve it .. your Pokémon is a fake antique..however if you used a Chipped Pot.. it is the real deal!  There are no stat differences here.. and it’s just tea possessing tea but I love how much detail went in such a seemingly throw away pokedex line. When it trusts its trainer it allows them to sample some of their tea. However if it is angered it will shoot some bad tea in your mouth that will cause severe chills. No gruesome stories for this one it seems!

Polteageist has a Special Attack stat of 136. Which means it is more offensive than nearly all other pokémon I listed before. No more than 5 pokémon of the 75 I mentioned before are more powerful than this tea!  Yet that is not all! Polteageist gets the excellent combination of  Shell Smash, a move that changes all your stats .. dropping your defensive stats for offensive stats and speeds, as well as Stored Power.. a move that deals damage equal to the number of stat boosts you have gotten. It’s ability weak armor raises its speed when it’s hit by a physical attack and equipped with a white herb or a focus sash; this combination can wreck teams if they do not have a proper special wall.  (A wall is a pokémon whose main purpose is to take damage and shift momentum in your favour)  It also gets moves like Willow Whips to lower physical damage, it gets Shadow Ball the most powerful Ghost special move and it gets Giga Drain which with 136 special attack can offer you some very reliable recovery. This Pokémon needs to be taken out because with just two goes of Shell Smash it can nearly one-shot an entire team…as long as the opponent doesn’t have a dark type or priority moves. Truely a scary ghost!

Ghost Type # 3 Gengar

While I do not understand why it has the poison type, and that typing often is more a nuisance as a boon, I do love the original ghost pokémon.  That is right both in generation one and two there was only 1 ghost pokemon line for each. Gengar is a classic and for good reasons. His design is haunting, the idea of incorporating him with shadows pays off, and the way he reflects Clefable in a way has led to many interesting theories. He is still one of the better designed ghost Pokémon for me. Both his Giganta Max and Mega evolution are amazing in their own rights. I particularly like the Mega! Even if its forbidden to use because of how amazingly powerful it is! It fits in Gengars Pokedex lore! So love that one! There is something intimidating about Gengar. It seems the most insane and chaotic of the ghost pokémon and Haunter and Gengar are arguably the first pokémon that killed Ash. Haunter at least ripped out his soul long before Mewtwo and Mew ever turned him to stone! Gengar was also the first trade evolution I ever managed to obtain so he was something very special to me!  Later becoming one of my staples in Pokémon Stadium! I also had a Gengar toy which looks awesome and translucent!  So with this many memories he was sure to be on this list and I am fairly sure that no one really thinks this is a bad ghost type Pokémon!

Pokédexwise this pokémon used to be moderately innocent. His earliest entries seem to focus on that shiver you feel down your spine when you’re scared or anxious! They explain it is Gengar stealing heat from its surroundings. It can hide in your shadow or mimic to be your shadow and if  your shadow ever overtakes you on a full moon or when you are passing by streetlights it is actually the ghost running and having fun. As soon as early as Pokémon Silver though it already mentioned that it preys on lives to steal.  Hiding in the shadows to do so. It becomes quickly clear that this stealing of heat is more a stealing of life force. He also likes to curse you without reason.. just to have a laugh. Yet Gengar is at his darkest .. in Pokémon Sun and Moon. Sun’s ingame pokédex entry states: Should You ever feel yourself attacked by a sudden chill it’s the sign of an approaching Gengar. There is no escaping it. Just give up! Which… is quite dark!  Moon then explains that it was once a human himself and now he is looking for a traveling companion which he achieves by taking the lives of other humans hoping the dead turn into other Gengar. If you ever think .. well I will just not leave the house then.. Ultra Moon states.  Not even your house is safe… all Gengar needs is a Dark corner to wait for a chance to catch its prey!… Darn Game Freak.. that would have given Kid Pinkie sooo much nightmares!

Gengar got infamy in the competitive scene when Mega Gengar was released. In its Mega form it’s base special attack became 170. The most Powerful special attack ever. So promptly Mega Gengar was cast into the Ubers Categorie.. where it rests with all the overpowered legendaries. Since that is not possible in Gen VIII I will discuss his non mega evolving set from the Under-used tier! Here he works as a special sweeper with 130 special attacks.  Ev’s go into special attack and speed and it is equipped with Focus Blast, Shadow Ball , Sludge Wave and Substitute. The idea is to keep a substitute up and bombard your enemies from behind cover.  Since virtually all sound based moves, except for bug Buzz, which Gengar resists,  are normal type moves he works great behind a sub. These moves offer a wide variety and deal a lot of damage against fairly common archetypes. Myself I oftenly swap out Focus Blast for Thunderbolt since I oftenly lack proper covery against flying types and the paralysis chance is neat as well. The Focus blast slot once more is the most swappable slot.. though substitute can also be replaced if you face off against a trick room team!   Gengar has a few options and lots of types covered.  

Ghost Type Number # 2 Mismagius

Mismagius to me is mostly an improvement of Gengar.. but more femine. It has a bit more defence, for a bit less offensence, It lacks the pesky psychic type and ground type weaknesses the number three has and it has a hat! While Gengar feels more scary. Mismagius feels more ghostly! It also has a bit of a scholarly quality! A mage! …well duh! Oddly that mage like quality isn’t on to many pokemon. Alakazam is more a mentalist like Uri Geller, Gardevoir is more of a Bride or something. While we had plenty of warriors , there are not that many real mages. So as a D&D Player I am happy! It is also something I really would like to cosplay as a Gijninka version.. which is basically the pokémon interpreted as a human. I just love this design that much!  The colours are more vibrant than on Gengar, it has a  better shiny form then Gengar (it becomes greenish yellow, where Gengar slightly hue shifts to barely noticeable less saturated). I really like how it differs from the other ghosts as well. 

Most Ghosts have insanely dark Pokédex entries. Like people dying from looking at them, them praying on human lives just to have a playmate to stuff like “this ghost is a child that got lost in the woods and starved to death’  , this ghost carries its former human face with it and sometimes looks at it and cries tears of blood (yes that’s a  real in game thing). Mismagius though is a half and half. It is a chanting/spellcasting pokémon befitting its name.  While it certainly can cause trouble with it’s chants, such as intense migraines and visions of absolute terror , Mismagius can also induce Happiness in people with some of it’s chants. The Pokémon is feared for it’s wrath and the curses that it places but it on a whim also bestows positivity upon humans. For example , besides the happiness, Mismagius is known to be able to cast love spells. It can make two people fall deeply in love with another. This means some people desperately seek it’s aid. I like how it once again is a bit of a counterpart to Gengar’s doom and gloom.. and with him most of the other pokémon. It makes Mismagius much more of a balanced Pokémon, a creature you could actually see people use as a pokémon.

Mismagius is a Pokémon in the Never Used Tier. It’s offensive stat of 105 makes it an average  but solid sweeper. This rating is mostly based on how dominant Inciniroar was a presence in the Metagame though.  In Sword and Shield it would most likely be more successful due to a much lesser presence of Dark types. It is best on a team with Webs, Hazards and possibly Sleep. As it is dependent on Nasty Plot to get properly set up! It having Nasty Plot though means that IF you can set it up.. it gets powerful FAST. People really used to run it with Power Gem but that is a rather specific counter.  Due to how Dynamax fighting moves offer one of the best stat buffs, Dazzling Gleam might be a better shout. Protect and Taunt are good support moves to run on it and if you can run it on a team that keeps you in the driver’s seat when it comes to momentum this pokémon is great. As it doesn’t require a trade but just a Dusk-Stone to evolve this Pokémon is also a lot more viable to use on gameplay stuff. Let’s be honest if you are playing an older game who is going to reliably trade a Gengar to you?! You already need a friend with a game! So while it’s not the BETTER pokémon I think it is the better pick.

My Favourite Ghost Type: Chandelure

A lamp.. My favourite ghost type is a lamp! Back in the early days of my blog I bumped him down a little as recently I had used a Gengar again and to be safer with my audience! However since then it has climbed in my list again. Somehow this always climbs back to the top! I love purple flames! The whole dark fire thing is one of the tropes I like the most! I loved it in Underhero, I loved in Pokémon, I love anything that has a canonical purple black flame! It is my main in Pokken.. not that I play Pokken a lot but as far as it goes..it’s my main. I just want to own one and swing on its arms.  I also want to hug it ..as long as it doesn’t burn me!  The Pokémon also has a great Gijinka which I love very much.. but that might be a topic I cover on it’s own.  There is just so much to love! The  black frame.. the bluish intended glass, those endless yellow eyes and the dancing purple flames together create a stunningly designed pokémon. I absolutely adore the design and it is one of the very few Pokémon that uses a jet(ish) black in it’s design so well. Zekrom is a thing but other than that most pokémon are more a dark blue than a black.. yet here it works so incredibly well! This makes it more unique in my opinion. Of course Jynx used to be jet black but we like to forget about that one and even if we considered it.. it’s not much competition. This Pokémon perfectly fits it’s ghost fire typing for me and it works very well in my shadowy mansion with a big haunted library ..old tea pots and seemingly moving plushie collection!

While it’s  pokédex entry  is nowhere near as scary as both its earlier evolutionary stages.. which are a candle that mesmerises you by looking at it’s flame.. but also drains you off life force as you do.. or a smaller lamp that if it burns you , you will experience that pain forever from then on out. Chandelure still is a bit of a creeper. It is said to live in ancient dilapidated mansions. It hypnotises those who visit it with it’s swinging arms. Then it burns your soul from your body. Leaving around a soulless husk of a corpse. While a part of your spirit fades a part of it is doomed to wander this world forever, never finding rest. Being a generation V pokémon it has only seen pokédex entries in Unova, Kalos and Galar. Unfortunately missing out on those sweet sun and moon dex entries. However Shield does have a bit of a zinger as well!  It mentions that those who have their homes illuminated by Chandelure will not get light in abundance. In place of lights, there will be lots and lots of funerals. At least it hypnotises you before it kills you! So that is better as just giving into your fear like is the case with Gengar! I much rather be murdered by a Chandelure!  So of course it is higher on this list.

Chandelure is commonly used as a Under-Used Tier Stall breaker. That means this is the Pokémon you set in if your opponent is bunkering down. It gets the ability Infiltrator which allows it to negate substitutes which can come in handy against some Pokémon! Yet you normally do not even have to run it to be effective. Just by being one of it’s possible abilities means  they can not risk staying in against it if they are weak against its unique typing. Fire and Ghost is great against a great many Meta popular types so it should get the most powerful but reliable moves for those.  Shadowball and Flamethrower. Yes Fire Blast is more powerful but the general consensus in the gaming community is that due to its accuracy Flamethrower reliably deals more damage. However Fire Blast should be taken if the enemy has some very big special walls, such as Aggron! While it is super effective against it. Aggron also can use super effective moves against it.  This means Chandelure is a bit more versatile but also more tricky than say Gengar. Like most Chandelure is best if it can set up. It’s set up move of choice is Calm Mind. With it’s 145 base special attack it  can already pack a wallop but with just One Calm Mind already..it becomes a massive treat leaving you in control of the fight.

Chandelure is everything I want in a Pokémon. It is more versatile to use, it is a bit trickier to use due to how frail it is but it is also something that really can boost your team rather than just be a stand alone thing. It’s slightly more than just a cannon. Combine that with one of the best ghostly designs and its ability to literally leave it’s mark upon one’s soul and it is not hard to see why this one is my bright and shiny light on top of the Ghost Pokémon list.

So what is your favourite Ghost Type? Do you prefer any of the legendaries maybe? What is your favourite ghost pokédex entry?! Do you use the ghost types often? Let me know and let’s talk Pokémon! Next week..we shall cover our penultimate type! The Dragon-Type! Feel free to let me know your favourites on that one in advance! Now I still feel a bit under the weather so Pinkie is heading back to bed.. or next time she might actually be a ghost herself.