In Ruby & Sapphire, Haunter isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Gengar to unlock its full potential. At 405 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.

What is Haunter weak to?

In Ruby & Sapphire, watch for Rhydon (Ground), Alakazam (Psychic), and Misdreavus (Ghost) when using Haunter. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Dark-type attackers are also a problem.

How do you evolve Haunter?

In Ruby & Sapphire, Gastly evolves into Haunter at level 25. Haunter evolves into Gengar by trading. Haunter is a middle-stage evolution in the Gastly line.

What is the best ability for Haunter?

In Ruby & Sapphire, Run Levitate on Haunter. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche.

What role does Haunter play in battle?

In Ruby & Sapphire, Haunter fills the pivot role. It's a physical attacker with base 50 Attack. Base 95 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. And it's fragile, can't afford to take many hits.

Haunter - Weakness, Evolution, Moveset, EVs & Stats

Physical

Pivot

CTier

95Speed · Above Avg

Stats & Training

Haunter's built around special offense. Sp. Atk leads the charge, HP pays for it. Moderately hard to find, worth 2 Sp. Atk EVs. Follows a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve.

Base Stats

Above

HP45

Attack50

Defense45

Sp. Atk115

Sp. Def55

Speed95

Total405

Details

Catch Rate

Challenging90 / 255

Growth Rate

Medium Slow1.06M XP

Height1.6 m

Weight0.1 kg

Base XP142

Abilities

LevitateTop Pick

Evades ground moves.

Levitate grants Ground immunity

EV Yield

HPAtkDefSpA+2SpDSpe

Special Attack training target

Pokedex Entries

HAUNTER is a dangerous POKéMON. If one beckons you while floating in darkness, you must never approach it. This POKéMON will try to lick you with its tongue and steal your life away.

Haunter Weakness

Ground, Psychic, Ghost, and Dark moves hit Haunter for super-effective damage. The upside? Normal and Fighting-type moves can't touch it at all. Levitate grants an additional Ground immunity, reshaping the matchup chart. Haunter leans toward special offense (base 115 Sp.Atk) instead of trying to wall anything.

Haunter Weakness and Resistance Chart
Damage	Types
2x (Weak)	Ground, Psychic, Ghost, Dark
0.5x (Resist)	Grass
0.25x (Resist)	Poison, Bug
0x (Immune)	Normal, Fighting

Type ChartGood

4Weak

3Resist

3Immune

Score+3

Gen III Type Chart

Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move

4xCritical

None

2xWeak

Ground Psychic Ghost Dark

½xResist

Grass

¼xResist

Poison Bug

0xImmune

Normal Fighting Ground

STAB (3)

Psychic Ghost Grass

How to Beat Haunter in Ruby & Sapphire (Best Counters)

In Ruby & Sapphire, Starmie can KO Haunter with Surf (85-100%). Claydol threatens a KO with Earthquake (187-221%). Houndoom's Crunch also KOs at 162-191%.

Starmie WaterPsychic	A
Recommended Build AbilityNatural Cure ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves Rapid Spin Ice Beam Thunderbolt SurfSTAB Damage vs Haunter Ice Beam 57-67% Thunderbolt 57-67% Surf 85-100%KO View Starmie builds →
Claydol GroundPsychic	A
Recommended Build AbilityLevitate ItemLeftovers NatureAdamant Moves Rapid Spin EarthquakeSTAB Explosion PsychicSTAB Damage vs Haunter Earthquake 2x 187-221%KO Psychic 2x 95-112%KO View Claydol builds →
Houndoom DarkFire	B
Recommended Build AbilityFlashfire ItemLeftovers NatureTimid Moves PursuitSTAB Fire Blast CrunchSTAB Will O Wisp Damage vs Haunter Pursuit 2x 81-96% Fire Blast 111-131%KO Crunch 2x 162-191%KO View Houndoom builds →
Dusclops Ghost	B
Recommended Build AbilityPressure ItemLeftovers NatureCalm Moves Will O Wisp Pain Split Shadow Ball RestRecovery Damage vs Haunter Shadow Ball 2x 95-112%KO View Dusclops builds →

Ruby & Sapphire Evolution

Haunter is partway through a three-stage line between Gastly and Gengar. The chain involves a trade, so it's not a straightforward grind. So far, Sp.Def got the biggest boost (+20 from Gastly). The final form adds another 95 stats on top. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

3 Forms

#092Gastly

Level 25

#093Haunter

Trade

#094Gengar

Stat Comparison 3 Stages

Gastly

GhostPoison

Haunter

GhostPoison

Gengar

GhostPoison

45+15

60+15

ATK

50+15

65+15

DEF

45+15

60+15

SP.ATK

100

115+15

130+15

SP.DEF

55+20

75+20

SPE

95+15

110+15

BST

310C-Tier

405C-Tier+95

500A-Tier+95

ROLE

Attacker

Cannon

Sweeper

TYPE

Special

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Haunter to get Gastly eggs easily using 22 partners from the Indeterminate egg group. Notable egg moves include Astonish, Explosion, Grudge and 4 more.

Egg Groups

Indeterminate

Gender

♂50.0%♀50.0%

Hatch Time

20 cycles·5,140 steps

Quick~5 min with Flame Body

Egg Moves

7moves

Breed With (best first)

Ruby & Sapphire Haunter Best Moveset

Timid nature gives Haunter the fast special lean it needs to trade hits effectively. Leftovers adds passive recovery each turn, max Sp. Atk and Speed EVs split the difference, and Electric coverage punishes anything trying to wall it.

Best Build

Experimental

Special Attacker

Ability

Levitate

Item

LeftoversSUSTAIN

Best Nature for Haunter

Timid+SPE

Haunter best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed

EVs

SpA

SpD

Spe

Special Attacker Moveset

Destiny BondSTAB
Mean Look
ThunderboltCoverage
SubstituteUtility

Recommended Teammates

GengarGood

SuicuneDecent

Moves

Without breeding, Haunter misses out on Astonish and Explosion. That's 7 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball, with Psychic and Normal coverage and more rounding things out.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1

Hypnosis

C—6020Psychic

Lv 1

Lick

D2010030Ghost

Lv 1

Spite

——10010Ghost

Lv 8

Spite

——10010Ghost

Lv 13

Mean Look

A——5Normal

Lv 16

Curse

C——10Ghost

Lv 21

Night Shade

D—10015Ghost

Lv 25

Shadow Punch

—60—20Ghost

Lv 31

Confuse Ray

B—10010Ghost

Lv 39

Dream Eater

—10010015Psychic

Lv 48

Destiny Bond

A——5Ghost

TM Moves

TM45

Attract

——10015Normal

TM32

Double Team

———15Normal

TM42

Facade

D7010020Normal

TM21

Frustration

——10020Normal

TM19

Giga Drain

B751005Grass

TM10

Hidden Power

—6010015Normal

TM17

Protect+4

C——10Normal

TM29

Psychic

C9010010Psychic

TM18

Rain Dance

C——5Water

TM44

Rest

C——10Psychic

TM27

Return

D—10020Normal

TM43

Secret Power

—7010020Normal

TM30

Shadow Ball

B8010015Ghost

TM48

Skill Swap

———10Psychic

TM36

Sludge Bomb

B9010010Poison

TM49

Snatch+4

———10Dark

TM11

Sunny Day

C——5Fire

TM12

Taunt

C—10020Dark

TM46

Thief

D6010025Dark

TM24

Thunderbolt

A9510015Electric

TM41

Torment

D—10015Dark

TM06

Toxic

B—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg

Astonish

—3010015Ghost

Egg

Explosion

B2501005Normal

Egg

Grudge

D——5Ghost

Egg

Haze

D——30Ice

Egg

Perish Song

B——5Normal

Egg

Psywave

——8015Psychic

Egg

Will-O-Wisp

C—7515Fire

Tutor Moves

Haunter can't learn any Tutor moves

How to Get Haunter in Ruby & Sapphire

No wild encounters for Haunter in Ruby & Sapphire. Bring Gastly over from Red, Yellow, or FireRed, then level through the stages. Each step in the chain is laid out below.

How to Obtain Haunter in Ruby & Sapphire

Step 1Obtain Gastly
Catch in the wild in:
FireRedWalking · Pokémon Tower
Then trade to Ruby & Sapphire to continue the evolution chain.
Also found in:
Red Yellow Gold Crystal
Train until Level 25
Step 2Haunter ✓

Haunter Guide

In Ruby & Sapphire, Haunter isn't fully evolved, so it's not built for competitive play. You'll want to evolve it into Gengar to unlock its full potential. At 405 BST, it's a stepping stone rather than a team anchor.
In Ruby & Sapphire, watch for Rhydon (Ground), Alakazam (Psychic), and Misdreavus (Ghost) when using Haunter. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Dark-type attackers are also a problem.
In Ruby & Sapphire, Gastly evolves into Haunter at level 25. Haunter evolves into Gengar by trading. Haunter is a middle-stage evolution in the Gastly line.
In Ruby & Sapphire, Run Levitate on Haunter. It's the ability that defines how you build around it and the main reason it holds a competitive niche.
In Ruby & Sapphire, Haunter fills the pivot role. It's a physical attacker with base 50 Attack. Base 95 Speed is workable. Faster than some, slower than many. And it's fragile, can't afford to take many hits.

Game Availability

Haunter has been part of the series since Red & Blue, appearing in 22 titles across all 10 generations. As a Gen 1 original, it's one of the most consistently available Pokemon in the franchise.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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