Haunter

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Haunter
Original Name	鬼斯通
Alias(es)	Gastly (pre-evolution)
Species/Race	Ghost/Poison-type Pokémon
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Blake and the Ghost-Taming Clan household
Occupation/Role	Blake’s primary battle partner; household companion and Dreepy’s caretaker
Status	Active
First Appearance	As Gastly, then evolves into Haunter 1 14

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Gastly	3	Delayed evolution voluntarily to consolidate his strength; already unusually large and trained under Blake’s father’s Gengar.
Haunter	14	Evolved after helping Blake defeat and capture Dhelmise. Immediately gained hands and began enthusiastically testing them.

Background / History

Before evolving, Haunter was Blake’s Gastly and had been raised by him since childhood. He came from generations of careful family breeding, was larger than an ordinary Gastly, and possessed exceptional intelligence and inherited moves. He also trained under Blake’s father’s Gengar because he wanted to become Blake’s strongest support. 3 14

Gastly deliberately remained in his base form to strengthen his foundation. His first major battle against Dhelmise at Rat Reef pushed him to evolve after he used a layered status-condition strategy to help secure the capture. 14

As Haunter, he helped Dhelmise adapt to Blake’s home, discovered the movement of the long-dormant Dreepy Egg, and became an affectionate older companion to the newly hatched Dreepy. 16 17 18

Haunter was trained by Trevenant, Sableye, and Chandelure. Of the three, he is closest to Sableye, with whom he shared a history of pranks and secretly taking Ghost Gems for snacks. 37

Appearance

Haunter is a floating Ghost-type Pokémon with a triangular head, fangs, claws, and detached hands acquired through evolution. His body can disperse into mist or alter its shape. 14 28 39

• Floats rather than walking. 28
• Has prominent fangs and claws when attempting to look intimidating. 28
• Became fascinated with hand-based gestures and activities immediately after evolving. 14 19
• Can form lightbulbs, produce afterimages, and reshape his gaseous body for expressive effects. 17 39

Personality

Haunter is mischievous, theatrical, and highly social. He enjoys pranks, frightening others, showing off magic tricks, and provoking opponents during battles. His need for attention can overwhelm more timid Pokémon, as Blake prevents him from approaching Spiritomb while she is distressed. 5 46 47

Despite his antics, Haunter is deeply loyal to Blake and considerate of other Pokémon’s wishes. He supported Blake’s decision not to force Dhelmise into joining them, became gentle around the sleeping Dreepy, and regularly watches over Dreepy’s training. 14 18 36 39

He is proud of his strength and becomes offended when Blake dismisses him as merely playful. 46

Abilities & Skills

Gaseous Physiology

Haunter inherited exceptional control over his gaseous body, having been able to fully gasify himself since birth—a rare capability even among Gastly.

• Can disperse completely into mist to evade physical attacks, including Dhelmise’s Thief. 14
• Passes through solid objects, allowing him to retrieve items from inside a sealed safe. 15
• His full-body gasification greatly strengthens the effectiveness of his Haze. 14
• Has limited physical striking power; Steven correctly identifies that he is not trained for direct physical combat. 48

Shadow Movement and Deception

Haunter uses shadows, decoys, and intangibility to misdirect stronger opponents.

• Entered Charmeleon’s shadow to land Toxic under Blake’s coded “Plan A” command. 28
• Uses Phantom Force to disappear from danger and reposition unseen. 47 48
• Uses Substitute to absorb attacks, create distance, and conceal his actual location. 28 48
• Used a Substitute-and-Phantom Force feint to redirect a three-way clash onto Gible rather than confronting Metang directly. 48

Status-Condition Strategy

Haunter’s principal battle style is attrition: stacking debilitating conditions before striking with amplified Ghost-type attacks.

• Haze — Removes opponents’ stat boosts and conceals the battlefield; used to repeatedly erase Chewtle’s Shell Smash boosts. 5
• Toxic and Will-O-Wisp — Poisons and burns targets simultaneously; the combination weakened Dhelmise and Charmeleon over time. 14 28
• Confuse Ray, Hypnosis, and Curse — Disorients, incapacitates, or continuously weakens opponents. Curse costs Haunter substantial stamina. 14 28 29
• Mean Look — Prevented Charmeleon from switching out after its status conditions accumulated. 28
• Hex — His primary finishing move; its power rises sharply against afflicted targets and defeated Dhelmise. 14

Psychic and Support Techniques

• Has mastered Psychic, an uncommon accomplishment for a Gastly-line Pokémon due to their usually limited psychic power. 3
• Used Hypnosis outside battle to help Blake sleep before the Sinnoh expedition. 39
• Has struggled to learn Energy Ball, despite mastering other moves quickly. 39

Communication and Caretaking

Haunter can communicate effectively with other Ghost-type Pokémon and acts as Blake’s assistant when handling them.

• Helped determine that the Spell Tag’s energy was not harming the newborn Dreepy. 18
• Alerted Blake when Dreepy’s Egg first began moving and assisted with the hatching. 17
• Watches over Dreepy because the younger Pokémon frequently tries to avoid training or cause trouble. 36 39

Notable Item Interactions

• Retrieved the unusually powerful Spell Tag from Dhelmise’s safe by passing through its walls. 15
• Found the enormous diamond that had absorbed Ghost-type energy from the Spell Tag. 15
• Shared Ghost Gems with Sableye during their reunion. 37
• Dramatically presented a piece of Charcoal to Leon’s Charizard, triggering a surge of Fire-type power. 31

Relationships

• Blake — Trainer and closest companion. Their coordination is built on years together, with Haunter often acting without needing detailed commands. 3 14 28
• Dhelmise — First welcomed Dhelmise to Blake’s home and gave him a tour; the two became household companions after Dhelmise joined the team. 15 16
• Dreepy — Protective older companion and caretaker. Haunter was delighted by Dreepy’s hatching and later supervises its training. 17 18 39
• Sableye — Former teacher and prank partner. Haunter is especially close to him and once helped steal Ghost Gems for snacks. 37
• Trevenant — Former teacher who is stern and protective of Blake; Haunter respects him but finds his fixation on ancient dramas amusing. 37
• Chandelure — Former teacher who is socially withdrawn; Haunter enthusiastically greets him despite Chandelure’s reserved nature. 35 37
• Charizard — Faced Charmeleon in Leon’s battle, stopped his Hex when evolution began, then later gave Charizard Charcoal as a gift. 29 31
• Spiritomb — Wanted to perform for her, but Blake stopped him because Spiritomb’s social anxiety made interaction inappropriate. 46

Story Role / Major Arcs

Early Hulbury Battles

As Gastly, he assists at Blake’s souvenir shop, pranks Lulina, and defeats Chewtle through Haze, Toxic, speed, and evasive tactics. 2 5

Rat Reef Incident

Haunter accompanies Blake into the wrecked ship, helps ambush Dhelmise, and evolves after the battle. He then retrieves the Spell Tag and diamond from the captain’s safe. 13 14 15

Expanding Blake’s Household

He guides Dhelmise through Blake’s home, assists with preparing Dhelmise’s aquarium, notices the Dreepy Egg awakening, and becomes excited to gain new companions. 16 17 18

Battle Against Leon

Haunter battles Leon’s Charmeleon with Toxic, Substitute, Confuse Ray, Curse, Mean Look, Hypnosis, and Hex. The accumulated pressure forces Charmeleon to evolve into Charizard, after which Haunter and Blake redirect Hex to avoid harming him during evolution. 28 29

Sinnoh Expedition

During the expedition, Haunter serves as Dreepy’s caretaker and joins Blake in meeting Steven and Cynthia. He later enters a three-way free-for-all against Gible and Metang, relying on Haze, Will-O-Wisp, Substitute, Phantom Force, and Shadow Ball rather than direct force. 36 43 47 48

Trivia

• Haunter’s appetite increased sharply after evolving; he can consume several times Blake’s usual meal amount without visibly growing. 24
• He enjoys holding plates and licking them clean, a novelty made possible by gaining hands. 19
• He imitates Blake’s dramatic behavior, including theatrically presenting Charcoal to Charizard. 31
• Haunter is unusually intelligent even for the Gengar line, to the point that Steven finds his behavior notably appraising and exceptional. 41