winstein's Blogs

It's time for the next roundup, a review of Generation 3's Ghosts! The 3rd Generation introduced more new Ghost Pokemon than the then current ghosts, as if Ghosts were beginning to be part of Pokemon universe. I believe that even though Gastly's family can appear in Hoenn (which I mentioned previously), they were left out to allow these new spirits to shine where Ghosts were supposed to be sparse. Also, of note: this generation is beginning to introduce grounded Ghosts, as most of the new ghosts are not of the levitating variety, which is stereotypical for ghosts in cartoons. Although not the first one to do so, it's a nice trend-breaker at that time.

Shedinja



Shedinja is a strange Ghost. Unlike the other Pokemon this generation, Shedinja's existence isn't immediately known, because it can only be obtained through a strange method of evolution. Basically you need to evolve a Nincada while having a free slot in the party and a free Pokeball, which rewards the player with an extra Pokemon Shedinja, who is basically a hollow shell left by Ninjask (the evolution) to evolve into Nincada, which is a reflection of a cicada's life cycle. This shell is also incapable of body movement like other animals. Instead, the Pokemon is a floating shell with a halo over the shell. That shell must be deader than dead, I tell you.

Shedinja is also strange because it only has 1HP, no matter what its level is. However, while this makes Shedinja seem frail, it comes with the greatest ability that it needs: Wonder Guard. With it, Shedinja is immune to 12 types, which are the types it isn't weak to, giving it decent survivability. Another interesting thing about Shedinja is that any move that Ninjask has at the time of evolution, Shedinja gets.

The method of obtaining Shedinja presents an element of surprise to the player, because the Pokemon isn't immediately known. If the player somehow manage to get Shedinja, they're in for a nice surprise on a new Pokemon, because, as we all know: the more the merrier! Remember to keep your common Pokeballs in place, so that Shedinja will be put into one in reserve, otherwise you will waste the evolution. You have been warned! This only applies from the 4th Generation of games onward, by the way.

In terms of Competitive Battling, Shedinja is a risky Pokemon to possess. On the one hand, it can stop certain opponents because they lack a move to hit it. On the other hand, it is susceptible to entry hazards, which spell "death" to the hollow shell. This is the reason that competitive teams needed either an attack that can hit Shedinja super effectively, a Burn or Poisoning move, or entry hazards so that they wouldn't be stopped by Shedinja. To the user of Shedinja, they need a move that will rid of entry hazards to get this bug to switch in without the penalty of instant death. It is interesting that Shedinja learns Mimic through a Move Tutor as well. This move has some interesting possibilities: one could use it to copy Camouflage, Conversion or Mirror Type, giving the bug a new set of immunities after use. Or, one could also copy Endeavour, which would always make the opponents' HP drop to 1! The latter is actually shown as a battle strategy in Pokemon XD, meaning that Genius Sonority themselves were aware of this.

It is interesting to note that Shedinja's ability is a target for hackers, because putting this ability on a Ghost/Dark Pokemon can give them immunity to any direct damage. Another interesting thing is that if Shedinja manages to get hold of Sturdy, Shedinja just wouldn't die from any attack!

8 wisps out of 10!

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Sableye



If you play Sapphire and Emerald, Sableye is one of the first Ghosts the player meets, being located near the 2nd Gym. What makes Sableye special is that due to his/her typing, he/she has no weakness, making him/her the first Pokemon to brag that honour. Sableye does have the look of a Hopkinsville Goblin. The advantage of Sableye's typing could come in handy for the next Gym, since the Gym was a Fighting-type. However, the trainers were smart and carried Foresight, so that had to be noted, because when Foresight had been applied to Sableye, that pitiful Pokemon becomes very susceptible to Fighting attacks.

Unlike many other ghosts, Sableye is completely grounded as far as I know, meaning that he/she cannot float like the other Ghosts do, but those that doesn't have Levitate as the ability will still be able to be hurt by Earthquake and Spikes anyway. But the point is: Sableye is the first genuine grounded Ghost. Sableye is also the only one that is in the Humanshape group, meaning that he/she is incompatible with the other Ghost-types in breeding.

Competitive-wise, Sableye doesn't have anything special despite that nice typing, because most of his/her stats are quite low. The 4th Generation didn't do much with him/her aside new additions like Recover and Power Gem (which is nice because it matches his/her diet), but the 5th Generation made a radical change: he/she gets Mischievous Heart as a Dream World ability. This is a great ability, because it meant that he/she moves first if he/she use a non-damaging move, which is no doubt useful as Ghosts are known to learn useful status moves, like Confuse Ray, Will-O-Wisp and Mean Look. As it is, Sableye will be another Ghost with a niche, thanks to the geniuses at GameFreak!

7 wisps out of 10!

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Shuppet and Banette




Next up on the list are Shuppet and Banette. The origins of these species are up, so I won't delve much into it. You can read about them here, if you haven't already. Basically these Pokemon are said to be discarded toys by those who doesn't want them, and are the toys with negative energy, seeking revenge to those that ditched them. New to HeartGold and SoulSilver, however, is the fact that a Banette doll is in the room of Copycat, so that makes them happy I guess, or it could be an "unpossessed" doll. Still, it's a nice touch.

It's interesting to note that while Shuppet is seen to levitate, the actual Pokemon itself doesn't have the ability Levitate, which is the beginning of the time when Ghost Pokemon are seen as levitators but cannot avoid Earthquake themselves, not counting the previous ones mentioned, as they either earned an ability to be immune to Ground or are grounded (in the case of Sableye). Another thing that is new that Shuppet and Banette does is to start introducing Ghost-types that are based on real life objects. Unlike previous Ghost-types, who are spirit-like in appearance, these Pokemon are the first to resemble a real life object, which is no doubt useful for camouflage and frightening purposes.

Back in Generation 3, it was still a good time to be a Ghost-type Pokemon, especially one that's immune to Sleep, because of the immunities. In fact Banette was still a niche, thanks to having Knock Off to get rid of any item the opponent might have. One of the things that Shuppet and Banette was able to do back in those days (talking about Generation 4) was to use Trick, when it wasn't a Move Tutor, meaning the strategy was exclusive to them and a few others. Platinum removed their exclusivity, leaving them with Trick Room duties, which is helpful for him/her because of Insomnia. One also couldn't ignore their respectful Attack and decent Special Attack, and their decent offensive movepool. However, as of now, they do not have a niche role to differentiate themselves. Poor Banette...Generation 5 did give him/her Cursed Body, which is a nice ability that disables an attack, which is useful for their survival.

Shuppet and Banette are both counterparts with Duskull and Dusclops, these are some of the reasons:
- Both of them are Ghost-types, in the Fast Experience Group and part of the Indeterminate Egg Group.
- In Mount Pyre and its nearby area, Shuppet is more commonly found in Sapphire, and Duskull is rarer. In Ruby, it's vice versa.
- In the Sky Pillar, Banette is only found in Sapphire, while Dusclops is only found in Ruby.
- Banette's family is more offensive, while Dusclops's is more defensive.

However, it's quite sad that the actual Pokemon is abandoned as well. Dusclops has an evolution next generation, but Banette doesn't, leaving him/her to wish for one in Generation 6. Let's see what the future has in store for Banette. It could be possible that he/she could be better and have a niche. Who knows? The future might be brighter for them, both flavour-wise and competitive-wise. If Sableye can be improved, I believe Banette can, too.

7 wisps out of 10! Extra point for such an awesome origin, and another as a pity point.

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Duskull and Dusclops




With a skull mask, a cloak body and one glowing eye, Duskull looks like a Grim Reaper. Dusclops, his/her evolution, looks more like a mummy and cyclops than his/her "grim reaper" pre-evolution. As such, these Pokemon are the first ones to personify death, which is appropriate for a Ghost type, as ghosts are said to be "dead", after all.

Duskull is the only member in his/her family to Levitate, meaning that he/she cannot be affected by Ground attacks or nuisances. However, Dusclops lack this ability, instead having a pair of feet. Although Dusclops' next evolution doesn't have feet, they still can be hit by Spikes, which is a real oddity, but one that players learn to live with. After all, inconsistency has always been a very interesting topic in Pokemon everytime.

Unlike any Ghosts mentioned so far, this evolution line is biased in defence, possessing low attack power, yet high defences (although low HP). This was also very useful for him/her, because that meant that he/she wouldn't faint anytime soon. Perhaps his/her popularity in competitive battling at that time was not only that, but also spin blocking. Spin Blocking is the act of preventing the use of Rapid Spin, which would get rid of entry hazards, which would help wear down the opponent. If they are in need of an attack, they can always use Seismic Toss or Night Shade for consistent damage. Dusclops was blessed to be one of the few Pokemon to obtain an evolution in the 4th Generation, but he/she will be discussed when the time comes. This was an advantage, because in the 5th Generation, the Pre-evolution Stone grants Dusclops a great Defensive boost, making him/her a viable Pokemon alongside Dusknoir. This allowed Dusclops to be a better user of Trick Room, and thanks to Pain Split, Dusclops can recover as well. Again, Dusclops didn't have much offense, so had to rely of the aforementioned attacking moves as a result. Oh, and Pressure is a great ability for PP-stalling purposes.

All in all, Duskull and Dusclops are great Ghost-Pokemon, as their death personification is a very great fit for a Ghost-type, along with their walling and stalling capabilities.

10 wisps out of 10!

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With that done, I would call it a day for this one. The next generation introduces more Ghost-types, so you can expect the next entry to take longer to complete because of that. Somehow, I feel that the content is not as beefy as the last one, but that's just me. Still, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I had writing them.

Thanks for reading.