Their designs are unique, their builds are even moreso, and nowhere is this truer than in the Hoenn games. Gen 3 introduced some of the coolest Ghost families, and ORAS only improved on them. So if you want recommendations for your team then here’s my ranking of the best Ghost-types in the Hoenn games.
3. Mega Sableye
First things first: Sableye is only available in Alpha Sapphire, Sapphire, and Emerald. So if you’re playing Ruby or Omega Ruby you’ll have to trade one in, or you’ll unfortunately miss out here. Sableye is a well-rounded Pokémon that’s very different depending on what generation of games you’re playing. If you’re playing the remakes, you get the extra defensive boost that comes with its new mega evolution. In Gen 3, you’ll have to go without that – but you get the benefit of Sableye having no type weaknesses. In Gen 6, Sableye is weak to Fairy-type attacks: a weakness that it doesn’t have any moves to cover for until the post-game. And since we can’t cover for its weaknesses, we’ll instead focus on building a move set that’ll let Sableye deal with as many types of Pokémon as possible. At level 29, Sableye will learn Shadow Claw, a Ghost-type move that will act as its main STAB damage. We can follow that up by teaching it Confuse Ray at level 31, and Toxic from TM06 found in Fiery Path. Finally, Sableye can learn Zen Headbutt at level 34. This is a great Psychic-type move that’ll help you deal with any Poison or Fighting Pokémon. How to catch: Sableye can be caught in the wild as early as Granite Cave. It also appears in the Cave of Origin, Victory Road, and Sky Pillar. In ORAS can find Sableye’s mega stone near the entrance to the Cave of Origin. Head across the bridge to the right, and then run south to find it in the overworld.
2. Dusclops
Dusclops is a great defensive-based Ghost-type that’s perfect for filling a support role in your team. That’s right: Dusclops, not Dusknoir. Dusknoir isn’t actually available in ORAS until after the credits roll. And since it was introduced in Gen 4, it isn’t available in RSE at all. Luckily Dusclops is just as good of a support Pokémon as its evolution. It works best as a Toxic staller, meaning this build will aim to poison the opposing Pokémon, and then survive as long as it takes to see your foe’s health bar whittle down from the poison. The central move for this strategy is (of course) Toxic, which Dusclops can learn via TM06. Before Duskull evolves into Dusclops, you can teach it Confuse Ray at level 17 to help with stalling. Or if you’re up against a Steel or Poison-type Pokémon, halving the enemy’s attack by burning them is a good way to get around their immunity to poisoning. Will-O-Wisp is learned at level 33, and while it’s not quite as good as Toxic, it will aid Dusclops’ stalling in a pinch. Once the status effects have been set up, use Shadow Punch to deal some STAB damage and speed up the process of whittling down the foe’s HP. Held Item Tip: If you’re playing ORAS, you can take advantage of Dusclops’ status as an unevolved Pokémon by equipping it with some Eviolite. Eviolite increases a Pokémon’s defensive stats by 50% if it isn’t fully evolved. So equip Dusclops with it to have its base stats rise to an absurd 195 each. 195 is an insanely high number for one defensive stat, let alone both of them. With Eviolite equipped, Dusclops becomes just about the hardest wall in the game. You can find the Eviolite on Route 123 by talking to the Fisherman located by the fishing shop. Answer ‘Magikarp’ to his question and he’ll give you the Eviolite. How to catch: Catch a Duskull on Mt. Pyre and raise it to level 37 to evolve it into Dusclops.
1. Mega Banette
Once being an underwhelming Pokémon, Banette has had a major glow-up in Gen 6. Mega Banette is a force of nature, with an attack stat that tops most legendaries. So let’s see how we can build this out: Shadow Sneak is a Ghost-type move that’ll act as Shuppet’s primary STAB move until it evolves into Banette. It’s also a priority move, ensuring Banette always moves first. Banette’s speed leaves a lot to be desired, so keep Shadow Sneak around until the end of the game. Shuppet should know Shadow Sneak when you catch it in the wild – but if it doesn’t, talk to the Move Reminder in Fallarbor Town to re-teach it. That said, Banette’s defensive stats are also weak for a Pokémon of its strength. So we can use Will-O-Wisp to burn the enemy, halving their attack in the process. Shuppet will learn Will-O-Wisp at level 16. Once Shuppet evolves into Banette, head to the Fallarbor Town Move Reminder to teach it Phantom Force, a two-turn Ghost-type move that’ll act as Banette’s main STAB move. Shortly after evolving, Banette will then learn Sucker Punch, a Dark-type priority move that’s a bit more situational than Shadow Sneak. Note: Sucker Punch fails if the opponent isn’t readying an offensive move – so be sure not to use Sucker Punch against an opponent that excels in defense or support. How to catch: Catch a Shuppet on Route 121, 123, or Mt. Pyre, then raise it to level 37 to evolve it into Banette. If you’re playing ORAS then you can pick up the Banettite near the summit of Mt. Pyre.
