Haunter is a purple, ghost-like Pokémon with a roundish body. Haunter has spikes by the face. It has triangular eyes and a mouth with several sharp, purple teeth. Haunter has a pair of disembodied hands floating in front of it.
Gender differences
None.
Special abilities
Haunter's powers are stronger than a Gastly. With Haunter's newly developed hands, it can now use physical attacks, such as Poison Jab, and the Elemental Punches.
Behavior
Haunter hide in very dark places, where they plot to take the life of the next living thing that comes near. It then silently stalks its victims. It has the ability to float through solid walls, and many people believe that Haunter is from another dimension because of this ability. It has also been known to entertain and prank people.
Haunter live in or near graveyards, and dark, abandoned caves. They can be found primarily at night. Haunter's natural range includes Kanto and Sinnoh.
In Fear Factor Phony, a Haunter was living in an abandoned mine with several other Ghost Pokémon. The Ghost Pokémon were having difficulty with the partying Psychic Pokémon living nearby.
In Electric Tale of Pikachu, Ash encounters a gigantic Haunter called the Black Fog, notorious for using its Dream Eater attack to kill people and Pokémon by stealing their souls. In this interpretation, Sabrina has a vendetta against this Haunter, as her Pokémon were attacked and killed by it when she was eleven, but she falls victim as well in her attempt to protect a team of people trying to hunt it down. With the combined effort of Ash and the team of hunters, the Black Fog managed to be weakened enough for capture, only for it to promptly use Selfdestruct, killing itself right before Ash's Ultra Ball reaches it.
Haunter is a dangerous Pokémon. If one beckons you while floating in darkness, you must never approach it. This Pokémon will try to lick you with its tongue and steal your life away.
If a Haunter beckons you while it is floating in darkness, don't approach it. This Pokémon will try to lick you with its tongue and steal your life away.
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Haunter and its pre-evolution Gastly are the lightest Pokémon in existence.
Haunter and Muk are the only two Pokémon who don't change weight during evolution.
Though both of its "hands" have been shown to be outlined by red or blue (being normal or shiny respectively), in FireRed and LeafGreen, only one "hand" is outlined, and in HeartGold and SoulSilver, neither "hand" is outlined.
Haunter's fingers tend to change the number of digits between games, switching back and forth between three and four fingers.
While it is listed at over five feet long in the games, it is only about three feet long in the anime.
Despite all of them being Poison-types, Haunter, together with its evolutionary family, are not able to learn any Template:Type2 moves by leveling up.
Haunter has a slightly different cry starting in Generation III.
Origin
Haunter is based on the Dila, a spirit that passes through walls then licks certain humans to death according to the Filipino mythology. It appears to be based on a generic sort of cartoonish ghost.
Name origin
Haunter's name origin simply means it is one who haunts, as ghosts are known to do. Its Japanese name is just Ghost.
In other languages
German: Alpollo - Possibly derived from Alptraum (nightmare).
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.
Spell Tag (5%)
For other sprites and images, please see Haunter images on Bulbagarden Archives.
