Not to mention he’s also one of the original ghost Pokémon so he’s pretty well known. But really, how much do you know about Haunter? I’d argue there’s a lot we don’t know about this ghostly creature. Check out some of these interesting factoids! Apart from its evolution Gengar and its devolution Gastly, these three are the only ones to possess this unique combination of double types. Haunter is a Generation I Pokémon meaning that it was one of the original Pokémon designed for the game. Its popularity has surpassed it being a crowd favorite because of its unique design, and it has appeared in many games since the first launch. And back in the original games, there really were not many ghosts at all… in fact, this guy (and his evolutionary line) were pretty much it! I don’t know about you but the last part definitely scared the heck out of me. In fact, if a Pokémon or a human happens to come too close to a Haunter, it will stalk that thing like prey and make it come closer. Once close enough it will then proceed to lick its victim causing the victim to have convulsions until they freeze or pass away. Dark stuff. In episode 24 of the anime Haunter startles Team Rocket members, Jessie, James and Meowth, with a silly face causing them to fall out of a window and hang on to each other for dear life. As Meowth is holding on to James, James to Jessie, and Jessie holding on to the edge of the ledge, Haunter appears again making silly faces attempting to distract Jessie and make her laugh so she can’t hold on. Needless to say, Haunter was successful and Team Rocket’s plans were foiled again. In the same episode of the anime, Sabrina calls Haunter “cute” showing her fondness for it. It then responds by affectionately giving her a lick, which in turn paralyzes Sabrina – which then changes her mind, for good reason. In the Pokémon Blue and Red beta, it was referred to as Spectre. Haunter’s first appearance as The Black Fog in the manga was frightening indeed. It was an ancient being who went around killing people and devouring their souls. I told you this stuff gets dark. Haunter’s species type is actually a gas. I don’t know about you but I rarely confuse a ball of gas with a ghost! In Philippine mythology there is said to be a being called Dila – which literally translates to tongue – and this apparition can pass through solid objects just like a ghost and then licks its victims to death. Sound familiar? Haunter and Gengar draw similarities based on the Cheshire Cat. In Germany, Haunter’s name is Alpollo. This is a combination of the German word for nightmare and the NASA Apollo project. If you’ve been following the series Haunter has had four different cries. Generation I, II, III and VI all have different battle cries. They do appear in every Pokémon game with trade, naturally. However, you won’t be able to catch one in Pokémon Black and White, Pokémon Ruby, and Pokémon Sapphire. Haunter is actually tied with Flabébé, Cosmog, Kartana and Gastly, coming in at only about a hundred grams. An iPhone X on the other hand weighs 174 grams. In Episode 95, a Haunter took control of a Meowth to speak Ash and his friends. It appears in the live-action movie Detective Pikachu (2019). Haunters evolve from Gastly starting at level 25 but in order to get them to their final form – Gengar – they have to be traded. However, here’s another fact: Gengar is said to be Alakazam’s counterpart because of numerous similarities. One of them is the fact that Kadabra also has to be traded to evolve into Alakazam. If you think Pikachu is loyal, a Haunter and a Gastly once guarded their master’s trophy for three hundred years. As mentioned earlier, Gastly, Haunter and its evolution Gengar are the only Pokémon that are poison types as well as ghost types. Even if you’re technically supposed to be a frightful “ghost” the reason Haunter resides in really dark places such as caves and graveyards is because they are scared of the light. Haunter is both the singular and collective form of its name. So if you hear someone saying, “I caught a bunch of Haunters” you now know to become a true fan and correct them saying “Haunter” is also the plural form. In episode 420 a group of ghost-type Pokémon along with Haunter are annoyed because Psychic Pokémon were partying nearby causing noise. I’m going out on a limb here since there is a fan theory circulating that if you were to put Haunter’s eyes on a Pokéball would you would get Voltorb. The story behind this is as follows: A Haunter wanted a Pokéball so it got trapped in one, so it decided to be one with the Pokéball and that is why Voltorb’s explode because Haunter is trying to get out. Sound pretty strange? There are a lot more of these theories out there. The Platinum Pokédex entry says that Haunter’s touch can leave you shuddering endlessly. This creature even lurks in the shadows waiting to tap your shoulder with its pointer finger… yikes! Well, this is pretty obvious from the get-go since it levitates. But still pretty interesting to think about! Haunter is one the only Pokémon that can slip through walls and in many Pokédex entries there are hints that Haunter may be an inter-dimensional entity. Spooky stuff…
