The best Ghost-type Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Woah, what’s that behind you? Look out!

We’re kidding. There’s nothing you need to look out for, other than the Ghost-type Pokémon that you’ll find in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, They’re spooky, they’re mean, they’re out for vengeance, and are probably some of the best picks to put onto your team right now.

Some Ghost-type Pokémon were created better than the rest, however, which is why we are going to talk about the 10 best Ghost types in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, based on their design, lore, and competitive viability.

The 10 best Ghost-type Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

10) Brambleghast

A fairly simple design that’s quite classically spooky, this possessed piece of tumbleweed gets the approval in our books.

Brambleghast is not only a neat design, it is also quite under-explored in competitive Pokémon at the moment. With its signature ability Wind Rider, it can essentially get a free Choice Band boost without the item’s drawback when Tailwind begins. Couple this with an actual Choice Band, and Brambleghast can suddenly turn into a viable sweeper. Who would’ve thought.

9) Houndstone

Probably the best undead boy around, Houndstone is a pure Ghost-type Pokémon that has a unique blend of characteristics.

Houndstone is the first Ghost-type Pokémon to get the ability Sand Rush, letting it double its Speed in the Sandstorm weather condition and enables what is probably its best moveset—a supportive set along with its signature move Final Respects.

It can use moves like Snarl and Will-O-Wisp for speedy disruption in the early-game while you can bring it back out on the battlefield after its teammates have fainted to let it sweep with Last Respects, a 50 base power move that gains an additional 50 BP for each of its fainted allies. Pretty spooky.

8) Gengar

It’s always nice to see Pokémon that were introduced way back in Gen I still relevant eight generations later and not consumed by the forces of power creep. Gengar makes for a solid supportive ‘mon in Scarlet and Violet, and has already won a tournament too.

With various supportive options such as Taunt, Icy Wind, Disable, Encore, Will-O-Wisp, and Perish Song, coupled with its impressive Speed stat, Gengar can support its teammates or cripple the opponent before they can move.

Gengar also can support its slower teammates or counter an opponent’s Tailwind with Trick Room, giving it versatile speed control options.

7) Spiritomb

Spiritomb has always been recognized by the pros to have potential, but is just missing one key component to make it truly viable. With its slow speed, good typing, and solid bulk, it could’ve been a great supportive Trick Room user in previous generations. Well, in Gen IX, Spiritomb finally gets access to this game-changing move. 

With Trick Room in its arsenal, Spiritomb can finally support its slow teammates with speed control and further disable its opponents with moves like Snarl, Will-O-Wisp, and Pain Split. With only one weakness in Fairy—that can be remedied with Terrastalization—Spiritomb should be incredibly tough to take out from the game.

6) Ceruledge

While it is up for debate whether Ceruledge or its counterpart Armarouge is better in terms of competitive usage, this badass undead flaming dude with blades for hands is undoubtedly the cooler design and concept, hands down.

Even though its Fire/Ghost typing gives it a couple of weaknesses that it would rather not have, it also gives Ceruledge useful resistances and fantastic immunities to Fighting and Normal in particular, which means that it can’t be affected by the move Fake Out, which is very popular in competitive Pokémon.

Its signature move Bitter Blade is also the strongest healing move in the games, which is a big plus for Ceruledge.

5) Skeledirge

Ah, at least one starter that isn’t bipedal. We’re sure that itself merits Skeledirge’s place on this list, at least according to Pokémon fans. But Skeledirge is here for other reasons.

While Skeldirge’s defensive typing isn’t the best, it does give it two immunities, one of which makes it immune to Fake Out. That, like every other ‘mon on this list, gives it increased viability in competitive VGC, something that its starter counterparts do not have the privilege of.

Furthermore, Skeledirge gets an amazing signature move in Torch Song, a decently powerful Fire-type move that raises its Special Attack by one stage every time it’s used. You can either run an offensive set on Skeledirge and aim to sweep with it using Torch Song, or rely on a defensive set with Slack Off for recovery and Torch Song to slowly snowball your damage.

Skeledirge’s Hidden Ability Unaware also lets it have a favorable matchup into all of the stat boosting strategies in the metagame right now, cementing this undead singing crocodile as a powerful pick in the metagame at the moment.

4) Annihilape

After nine whole generations, Primeape finally gets an evolution, and what a beast of a Pokémon we have before us.

Gaining the secondary typing in Ghost, Annihilape now conveniently avoids Fake Outs from its opponents while gaining amazing immunities and resistances. With its phenomenal HP stat, its most obvious set includes the Choice Scarf item and the move Final Gambit, letting it outspeed and knock out almost everything in the metagame in a single hit.

But its sleeper moveset which includes Annihilape’s signature move Rage Fist is also a solid option, letting it use Bulk Up to effectively tank hits while powering up Rage Fist to unfathomable heights and healing up with Drain Punch when necessary.

3) Dragapult

Probably one of the best Ghost-types in the history of the Pokémon franchise, Dragapult returns to be a top-tier threat in Scarlet and Violet.

This Dragon/Ghost dual-type is blindingly fast and is probably moving before anything else on the field. You can’t even disrupt it by using Fake Out since its Ghost typing makes it immune to Normal moves.

It is also really tough to discern what set a Dragapult is running at any given time, since it can very easily run a Physical or a Special set given its great mixed offensive stats. If it faces an unfavorable matchup, it can simply U-Turn out and get a more appropriate teammate on the battlefield.

Dragapult can also support its teammates with Will-O-Wisp and dual screens among other neat options. You just have to watch out for Dragapult’s poor bulk, which is pretty justified given how amazing this ‘mon is otherwise.

2) Flutter Mane

The only Paradox Pokémon on this list, Flutter Mane is what Misdreavus always wanted to be.

This Ghost/Fairy dual-type possesses the ability Protosynthesis, boosting one of its stats under the Sun weather condition or when it consumes the held item Booster Energy. This means that you can increase this ‘mon’s offenses to the next level or make it the quickest thing on the field. Combined with Fairy Terrastalization and the spread Fairy move Dazzling Gleam, Flutter Mane can pick up double knockout after knockout before you can realize what happened.

It also receives access to great supportive options in Will-O-Wisp to disable Physical attackers, Icy Wind for Speed control, Helping Hand to boost its partner, and even Trick Room to support its slower teammates.

Flutter Mane is currently not legal in season one of ranked doubles battles in Scarlet and Violet, as are the rest of the Paradox Pokémon, which is for the best, since we’d rather keep the balance of the metagame intact if we can.

1) Gholdengo

The best thing about this Pokémon is that he’s based on the surfer dude archetype, which is evident in his idle pose and groovy hairstyle. Everything else about this ‘mon depends on which side of the field you’re on. By that we mean that you want Gholdengo to be on your side of the field, for sure.

This stack of gold coins is undoubtedly one of the strongest forces in the Scarlet and Violet metagame, if not the strongest. Its bulk and Speed are just decent, but that is only to try and balance the rest of Gholdengo’s overpowering components.

With a dominating Special Attack stat, Gholdengo can fire off strong Make It Rains, its signature Steel move with 120 base power that hits both opponent on the field, while lowering its user’s Special Attack stat by one stage. Couple this with the Steel Tera type and an offensive item like Choice Specs and you can wipe out the opponent’s side of the field with the scattering of a few coins.

Gholdengo’s Steel/Ghost typing is also incredibly solid, giving itself a very comfortable defensive position being immune and resistant to a variety of common and threatening types in the metagame. It’s also not affected by Fake Out, which is one of the best utility moves in any doubles game.

Top it off with one of the most broken abilities in the game in Good as Gold which makes Gholdengo immune to every single status move in the game, and you’ve got a ‘mon that you should be very, very afraid of. This undoubtedly places Gholdengo on the No. 1 spot on our list.