Depending on how you look at it, Gastly can be one of the cutest (or scariest) Pokémon in the franchise. As with every other Pokémon out there sporting a spooky concept, there are countless theories about the little guy and his evolutions that will have you shaking in your boots.
For those uninformed (of which there probably aren’t many because you are reading this article, after all), Gastly is a dual-type Ghost/Poison Pokémon belonging to the first generation of Pokémon.
He is depicted as a black sphere, although lore-wise he has no form. His body is 95% poisonous gas, the remaining 5% supposedly being the souls of its victims.
Gastly’s special ability is Levitate, which gives him immunity to all Ground-type moves. It can learn any Ghost and Poison-type moves. He is generally not considered a very remarkable Pokémon, but he can do damage when in the right hands.
While some Pokémon fans may be well versed in the ways of the Gastly, others are still scouring the internet for FAQs searching for answers to questions such as when does Gastly evolve and how is he so cute. Well, not as cute as Munchlax, but still…
Luckily, we’ll answer all these questions in one place and hold a fun Gastly FAQ. Keep reading to find out more about this adorable little Pokémon!
What does Gastly evolve into?
Gastly evolves into a Haunter.
In terms of abilities, Haunter sports much the same kit as Haunter. He also has the Levitate ability and can learn most, if not all Ghost and Poison-type moves.
The main difference between Gastly and Haunter, other than the power levels and stats, is their appearance. While Gastly is mostly formless, you can kind of make out Haunter’s form including the round head and spiked on either side. Haunter even has two hands, although they are disembodied.
One might argue Haunter is just a cuter version of Gastly.
When does Gastly Evolve? At what level?
Gastly evolves at level 25 upon the use of a Rare Candy, a seemingly precious resource that helps Pokémon gain levels.
Gastly is fairly slow to level, though notably quicker than Pokémon such as Growlithe and Magikarp, for example.
The good thing about Gastly, though, is that his leveling and evolution method is rather simple. All you need to do is fight other Pokémon for a while until you can give him the Rare Candy and evolve the Pokémon into a Haunter.
Can you evolve Gastly at a later level?
It’s possible to evolve your Gastly at a later level and it’s even possible to stop it from evolving completely.
This requires you to possess the Everstone. This item is pretty self-explanatory, it prevents the holder from evolving. Giving it to any Pokémon in the game will prevent them from evolving.
If you want to evolve Gastly past level 25, you’ll have to take the Everstone off its hands. After that, you need to level your Gastly up one more time for it to evolve into a Haunter.
Which stone evolves Gastly?
There is no way to evolve Gastly with a stone, luckily. He simply doesn’t need it.
All you have to do is help your Gastly gain experience and fight his way through to level 25 to be able to level up.
This makes Gastly one of the easiest Pokémon to handle and evolve while simultaneously being a pretty solid choice to keep on your team.
Which evolution comes after Haunter? At what level?
If you’re looking to evolve your Haunter further, you’re going to be looking at a Gengar on your team.
You don’t need a specific level to evolve Haunter into Gengar. All it requires is trading the Pokémon for another player’s Pokémon. Essentially, you need a few friends to help you out with evolving Haunter into Gengar.
However, Pokémon Legends: Arceus introduces a new way to evolve a Haunter into a Gengar. It involves the Linking Cord item, and it can only evolve a few lucky Pokémon. Haunter is among that small number, along with Kadabra, Machoke, and Graveler. The item is consumed upon use, so it can only evolve one Pokémon.
The Linking Cord is an endearing nod to the first three generations, where players required Game Link Cables to trade Pokémon between two Nintendo devices.
What does Gengar evolve into? When?
While Gengar is generally considered to be the final evolution, some games take it a step further by introducing Gengar’s Mega Evolution, Mega Gengar.
You can evolve Gengar into a Mega Gengar using the Gengarite, the Mega Stone that enables this process. However, just having the Gengar hold the Gengarite isn’t enough to help him evolve into a Mega Gengar. You also need to use the Key Stone, an item that lets Pokémon Mega Evolve in battle. This evolution is temporary and Gengar will revert back to his original form after the battle.
A Gengar can also temporarily evolve into Gigantamax Gengar through Dynamaxing in battle once you select that option. Essentially, Gigantamaxing is just a special variant of Dynamaxing.
What does Gigantamax Gengar do?
Other than becoming bigger than Gengar and getting a unique form of his own, Gigantamax Gengar also gets a special move to use in battle.
Gigantamax Gengar’s special move is G-Max Terror. When used, it inflicts damage to the enemy Pokémon and prevents the targets from switching out.
It’s a pretty strong move that can range from 90-140 power depending on the move it is based on. This also affects the category of move it can become, which is either special or physical.
What does mega Gengar do?
Similar to Gigantamax Gengar, Mega Gengar also has a special ability available in battle. It’s called the Shadow Tag, and it prevents opponents from fleeing the battle or switching out of it.
However, this move doesn’t seem to deal any damage on its own.
Shiny Mega Gengar
This form of Mega Gengar was available in Pokémon GO during the Crackling Voltage event. Taking place from January 27th, 2023 to February 5th, 2023, players were able to obtain Shiny Mega Gengar during a raid.
However, you could only find out if the Mega Gengar you defeated is a Shiny after the fact.
Should you evolve Gastly, in the first place?
The answer to this comes down to personal preference and individual play style.
If Gastly fits in well with your team and is a better choice than most other Pokémon you have by the time he hits level 25, there’s no reason not to evolve him.
However, there are several other Pokémon that can easily outclass Gastly’s evolutions, Haunter and Gengar, so your attention may be better spent focusing on those Pokémon.
