Ghosts (Japanese:ゆうれいyūrei) are disguisedPokémon and, in one case,the soul of a deceased Pokémon, that roamLavender Town'sPokémon Tower.

In the core series games

In theKanto-based games, before getting aSilph Scope, several unidentified ghosts (in reality,wildGastly,Haunter, orCubone) appear in the Pokémon Tower.

The identity of the ghosts can be revealed with the Silph Scope. Without the Silph Scope, ghosts appear as wild Pokémon in the Pokémon Tower, but cannot be battled. In Generations I and III, whenever theplayer orders amove against an unknown ghost, the player's Pokémon will be too scared to move. Additionally, if the player throws aPoké Ball (including aMaster Ball) at an unidentified ghost, it will simply dodge the ball.

In Generation VII, if the player is touched by a ghost, they are warped back to the first floor of the Pokémon Tower. Furthermore, ghosts home in slowly on the player's location and (unlike even unmasked Ghost-types) can pass through walls while doing so.

In Generation I, the ghosts use the front sprite of the specificMissingNo. with the ghost form.

Marowak

Main article:Marowak (ghost)

Another stronger ghost is revealed to be a motherMarowak, which haunts the tower as a result of her death at the hands ofTeam Rocket. Even with the help of the Silph Scope, the Marowak ghost cannot be caught.

During the course of the game, the player must obtain the Silph Scope and becalm the ghost Marowak by battling it^RBYFRLG/reuniting it with its child, Cubone.^PE

Oddities

The ghosts do not have acry in the Generation I games, whereas they emit the cry of the disguised Pokémon inPokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.

In Generation I:

• ThePokédex still records theseen data of thewild Pokémon even without the Silph Scope.
• If the games are played on aSuper Game Boy (or on aGame Boy Color, in the case of the international releases ofPokémon Yellow), the ghost has the same color palette as that of the Pokémon it is hiding. This means that a ghost can be seen with two different and legitimate color palettes: that of Gastly and Haunter, and that of Cubone and Marowak. If the ghost appears due to aglitch, a third palette is used.
• Players can exploit theghost glitch to make the ghost reveal itself by viewing thestats of any Pokémon in the player'sparty, and then returning to the battle. However, this glitch is only graphical as it is still impossible to battle orcatch a ghost.
• If the player uses aPoké Doll against the ghost Marowak, it will disappear even if the player didn't have the Silph Scope.

Quotes

• When trying to attack a ghost without the Silph Scope

"Get out...... Get out......"^RBYFRLG

"Get out... Begone..."^PE

• Directly before encountering the Marowak ghost

"Be gone... Intruders..."

Gallery

Sprites and models

InGeneration I, the ghost uses the purplepalette when it isGastly orHaunter, and the grey palette when it isCubone orMarowak.

Sprite from Generation I (purple palette)	Sprite from Generation I (grey palette)	Sprite from FireRed and LeafGreen	Model fromLet's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!	Model of Marowak's ghost fromLet's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!	Artwork from the Pokémon Game Sound Library

In animation

Pokémon the Series

InGetting to the Heart of it All!, aBanette created a shadow in the form of the original ghost sprite from theGeneration I games.

Pokémon Origins

A ghost appeared inFile 2: Cubone. It played a similar role to the ghosts in the games, lying dormant in the Pokémon Tower and warning intruders to stay away from Team Rocket, who had taken it over. One resident ofLavender Town noted that she saw the ghost after sneaking pastTeam Rocket Grunts at night, and fled in terror.Blue also ran away upon seeing it.Red attempted to fight it, but his Pokémon's attacks were ineffective against it. When Blue returned to give Red theSilph Scope, Red was able to identify the ghost as the spirit ofMarowak. After Marowak's child,Cubone, came rushing in and embraced its deceased mother, Marowak's spirit departed for the afterlife.

In the manga

Pokémon Zensho

Main article:Marowak (ghost) → Pokémon Zensho

The Marowak ghost appeared inPokémon Zensho.

In the magazines

Pokémon Power

InPokémon Power (issue 2, page 3), it is said that visitors have reported seeing ghosts in the Pokémon Tower these days. This article also makes a reference to the TV showThe X-Files by mentioning that the government has sent special agents Sculder and Mully (based on Mulder and Scully from the show) to investigate the Pokémon Tower.

Merchandise

The Ghost fromGeneration I appears on merchandise from theYonayonaGhost merchandise collection exclusive to thePokémon Center.

Trivia

• TheGhost-typeTera Jewel appears to be based on theGeneration I Ghost sprite.

In other languages

Related articles

• Ghosts in the Pokémon world
• Marowak (ghost)

This game character article is part ofProject CharacterDex, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in thePokémon games.

• Game characters
• Pokémon world
• Red, Blue and Yellow characters
• FireRed and LeafGreen characters
• Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! characters
• Pokémon Origins characters
• Ghosts
• Non-Pokémon creatures