You are a type specialist in a hostile region. How do you best represent your chosen element?

[CTNC]

Can you believe that we are (checks) 45 rounds in and haven't done the one we're about to do. Crazy. It just feels so basic!

Wait, what? It took until now to do the other type that only had one Evolution chain?!

If I wanted to be lazy, I'd copy/paste Agatha's team, replace one of the Gengar with Marowak, and add in whatever for the last Pokemon. (Probably Ninetales.) Speaking of, my problem with Kanto's supposed Ghost specialist is I didn't realize her specialty wasn't supposed to be Poison. My goal with this team is to not be mistaken as a specialist of a type other than Ghost! There's not enough Ghosts to make people realize this is a Ghost team without being told, but you're got to know how high (or low) to set the bar. :P

I didn't have a theme planned going into this, but I ended up making a lot of movesets that aren't fun to face.



Haunter
-Night Shade
-Confuse Ray
-Hypnosis
-Dream Eater

It usually feels a little bad to use an NFE just to have more Pokemon of the same type, but Haunter's stats are good enough to make me not care about that. Honestly, this moveset is just all of Haunter's Level Up Moves other than Lick. I saw the Level Moves and thought looked like a good moveset, so... Yeah. I'm still going to talk about why I went with this "completely original" moveset though.

Night Shade the signature move of Gastly's Evolution Chain and is (almost always) the most powerful Ghost Attack. Neither of those things say much though because there's no other Ghost Pokemon in Gen 1 and the only other Ghost Attack has 20 Power. Hypnosis + Dream Eater isn't the best strategy against players who can use Awakenings or the Pokeflute until Hypnosis misses, but it's powerful while the player's Pokemon stay asleep and having the NFE Pokemon have a less reliable moveset would make it feel weaker than Gengar. Confuse Ray was thrown in to make players might not be able to attack even after their Pokemon wakes up since this moveset already stops them from attacking and relies on a bit of luck. Speaking of relying on luck...


Golbat
-Confuse Ray
-Toxic
-Double Team
-Wing Attack

This is easily the most well known user of the most well known Ghost move in Gen 1.

The reason Golbat is not known for doing anything else is its movepool is bad enough that it can't really do anything else. I think using confusion is a terrible "strategy" that can easily backfire when it does nothing before wearing off, but its movepool is so bad that I honestly believe is Confuse Ray is one of the best options. If you're stuck with Confuse Ray, you might as well dive farther into the annoying RNG fest with Double Team. Toxic is the best "offense" when you're using Double Team one of Golbat's best "offensive" moves in general. Seriously. 35 Power Wing Attack is only STAB and everything above 60 Power has a drawback like Recoil or wasting a turn. I went with STAB instead of Swift or Mega Drain because of how many Poison types are also Grass or Bug. Double-Edge's 100 Power sounds really nice, but what's the point in using Double Team to avoid getting KOed if you're just going to KO yourself?

Long story short, Golbat's claim to infamy is all it has and it's a really good thing they got an expanded movepool and an Evolution in Gen 2.


Jynx
-Lick
-Psychic
-Ice Punch
-Lovely Kiss

*looks at what Pokemon can learn Lick*
wat


Marowak
-Bonemerang
-Body Slam
-Seismic Toss
-Leer

Marowak can't learn any Ghost moves, but it's found in the same place as Gastly, there's the dead mom lore, and bones are spooky. Having a reason to not use a Ghost move is a nice bonus because Gen 1 Ghost moves suck.

Ground and Normal is only resisted by Aerodactyl and all the other coverage moves are either Special or Submission (Rock Slide can't be leaned until it becomes an Egg Move in Gen 2.) so I didn't see why I should have used any. I had no idea what to do for the last two moves, so I used the move that happens to have the same effect as Night Shade and Leer to lower Defense because Marowak doesn't learn anything that can boost its own stats. Leer could backfire because of the Badge Boost Glitch though...

Side Note: This is the only Pokemon on the team who doesn't have a move that just stops the player from doing anything. Body Slam being able to paralyze makes it so Marowak can still make it so the player is forced to do nothing, but that's not common enough for me to think it should count.


Ninetales
-Confuse Ray
-Flamethrower
-Fire Spin
-Reflect

Between kitsune mythology and the thousand year curse for touching its tails, I wouldn't be shocked if Ninetales would have been Fire/Ghost if it was introduced a few Gens after Gen 1.

Confuse Ray is still bad, but it's still used because it's a Ghost move. Two Fire Moves is redundant, but movepools are pretty small in Gen 1 and the way Wrap and its variants work in Gen 1 makes Fire Spin OP BS. If half the Pokemon know Confuse Ray and half know Sleep moves, might as well keep going with other moves that can also stop the opponent from doing anything. I probably should have gone with Body Slam for the last move, but something about Reflect doubling Defense until switching out (which isn't happening) on a moveset that makes the victim player do nothing is really hard to say no to.

Side Note: The way Ninetales sleeps in Legends: Arceus makes it feel like a trap. It's hard to not want to pet anything that cute and fluffy but good luck not touching its tails.


Gengar
-Night Shade
-Psychic
-Thunderbolt
-Hypnosis

Psychic and Thunderbolt are super Effective against every fully evolved Starter. (and Pikachu is frail enough that it might as well be weak to Psychic.) I'd say Night Shade is STAB if it could get STAB, but it's more like the best Ghost move Gengar has. The last move feels like an obvious choice, but I put way too much thought into it. After Gamechamp3000's video on Pokemon Red/Blue without taking damage, I'm really hesitant to use Hypnosis on the final Pokemon. Turns out you can exploit the Trainer AI by spamming the Pokeflute until Hypnosis misses because the game doesn't chose what to do until after you do your move if your Pokemon is faster, so they'll try to use Hypnosis if you wake your Pokemon up. (That's how she got past the Rival's Exeggutor.) I'm also very hesitant about Toxic because in Gen 1 in changes to normal Poison when you switch AND normal Poison only deals 1/16 instead of 1/8. As much as I'd like another Special Attack, the only other Special Attack options are Thunder and Mega Drain. I went with Hypnosis because it felt like it fir best onto a team where most of the Pokemon can stop the opponent from doing anything,




It's mostly obvious picks, but I'm happy about most of this team. I have serious questions about the part I'm not happy about.

 

[igiveuponaname]

Back From The Dead​

Ghosts are most often the result of something that had died returning to life, often through supernatural means. This team employs a bunch of Pokemon who have experienced death and have since returned to life.


Haunter
- Lick
- Mega Drain
- Toxic
- Explosion

I don't think there needs to be much explanation why a Ghost is on a team about stuff coming back from the dead.


Marowak
- Bonemerang
- Body Slam
- Counter
- Rest

The ghost Marowak is one of the more memorable parts of RBY's story, and so on a team focused around those who have died, Marowak becomes a fitting choice.


Parasect
- Spore
- Swords Dance
- Leech Life
- Hyper Beam

Parasect is essentially a walking corpse, as the large mushroom on its back is what is in control of its body.


Raticate
Level: 16
- Tackle
- Tail Whip
- Quick Attack
- Hyper Fang

Blue's Raticate dying after its battle on the SS Anne is a well-known rumor/theory among Pokemon fans, and this Raticate mirrors that one in every way, same moveset and even the same level.


Kabutops
- Hydro Pump
- Slash
- Swords Dance
- Hyper Beam

Thanks to modern technology, Kabutops has been able to return from the dead after who-knows-how-long as a fossil.


Ninetales
- Fire Blast
- Confuse Ray
- Fire Spin
- Toxic

??? Sure why not

 

[Pikachu315111]

Sleep Daemons
Poison, Paralysis, Burn, and Frozen. Four of the non-volatile Status Conditions a Pokemon can be afflicted with. "Non-volatile" means even after the battle the Pokemon will still have the Status Condition. They often correlate with a few Types: Poison with Poison but also Grass & Bug (though that could be because many Pokemon of those Types are also part Poison), Paralysis with Electric, Burn with Fire, and Frozen with Ice. But then there's the fifth non-volatile Status Condition: Sleep. There really isn't a single Type that claims Sleep as its own. Not only are the most common Sleep causing Moves split between Grass, Normal, and Psychic, but they are learned by Pokemon of all Types. In addition, if a Pokemon learns one of these Moves, it's often implied they perform it via a unique way. Sometimes its presented as a sweet lullaby, serene cry, or pleasant scent... And then there's how these Pokemon do it: the Sleep Daemons.

Haunter (Ghost/Poison. Nightshade, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Confuse Ray)
Hypno (Psychic. Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Metronome, Reflect)
Parasect (Bug/Grass. Spore, Solar Beam, Hyper Beam, Reflect)
Poliwrath (Water/Fighting. Hypnosis, Hydro Pump, Hyper Beam, Fissure)
Jynx (Ice/Psychic. Lovely Kiss, Blizzard, Psychic, Reflect)
Gengar (Ghost/Poison. Nightshade, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Thunder)

Haunting A Good Night Sleep

Haunter & Gengar: The OG Ghost-types, and though really popular even today, I also feel GF didn't quite know what to do with them. What was their battling style (at least in Gen I)? Well, if Agatha is anything to go by, they settled on Sleep, specifically so they can eat your dreams (and thus is why the basis of my RBY Ghost-type team). I'm sure we all know this, but the Gastly family all learn Dream Eater naturally, but not the Drowzee family who have to learn it via TM (those two families and Mew being the only Pokemon to learn Dream Eater via TM, BTW). Well, maybe the reason for this oddity is why the Gastly family has been heavily linked to Sleep.
The simplest answer is natural intention. The Drowzee family eat dreams as some form of sustenance (probably for their psychic powers), so they wouldn't want to wake up their host/victim/prey(?) else end their meal; so they need outside influence to use it as an attack. However the Gastly family need no such sustenance; they're eating your dreams TO hurt you. There's really no solid explanation how they put you alseep aside "they just can" via Hypnosis waves from their eyes. They're the quintessential ghosts given all sorts of supernatural powers which explains the rest of their moveset: Nightshade was their Signature Move in Gen I (and I don't think even GF knew what this Move was supposed to be at the time aside sounding creepy), Confuse Ray is another mental move to disorient, and finally Thunder (which I gave to Gengar to make is both different from Haunter and, since the opponent will be alseep, the lower accuracy won't be as punishing if it misses) because ghosts are said to cause electronic disturbances. Their goal is to haunt you and make your life miserable, at least until you finally succumb to the forever sleep and join them in the fun.
I was tempted to add Gastly onto the team as a suicide lead since its Speed and Special isn't that bad, but the Sleep theme gives me a wider range of Pokemon to pick. The other four Pokemon I picked use more specific methods to put their opponent to sleep, which makes Haunter and Gengar just able to all the more notable to this being a Ghost team.

Hypno: Discussed a bit above, but now let's get into their sleep deal. Based on the Japanese Baku, GF seemingly wanted to ground them to being physical beings (maybe since Baku are based on a real animal, the Tapir), the Drowzee family were made into hypnotists. Well, Hypno more than Drowzee. While someone usually isn't JUST a hypnotist (they're either also a magician, mentalist, or alternative therapist), Hypno is just a hypnotist as that's how it puts its target to sleep. Combined with its psychic powers, Hypno uses it pendulum to draw the attention of its target. with the rhythmic swaying and droning of its voice, it causes a dulling of consciousness until finally they're asleep. And now asleep, or at least in a trance, Hypno proceeds to feed on their dreams. So infamous is Hypno known for doing this they'll kidnap people (notably kids due to their more active imagination) so they can enjoy longer, and potentially multiple, meals. It's given Hypno quite the bad rep, but even in Gen I they have shown a positive side of Hypno where its used by psychologists in the Pokemon world to help with insomnia and sleep therapy. Still, you wouldn't want to run into a wild Hypno, cause while you'll be unharmed (though maybe in a different location) you'll wake up with no memory on what happened, not even a dream when your were out.
With the opponent asleep, I thought it would be fun to see what Hypno can pull out using Metronome (also cause it doesn't get a lot of Move options, and with a high Special stat giving it a Physical Move feels like a waste unless it was Seismic Toss). To provide some guaranteed support, it can also put up a Reflect.
FUN FACT: So remember when I said Hypno couldn't learn Dream Eater without TMs? Well, that's not just for Gen I. The only games the Drowzee family naturally learns Dream Eater are the Let's Go games! To this day it doesn't naturally learn it in a core series game, only though TM or Tutor. it doesn't even get it as an Egg Move (BTW, currently in SV there's no way for the Drowzee family to learn Dream Eater, it needs to be transferred). This has to be intentional on GF's part, thus my explanation I provided in Haunter's & Gengar's bio above. And I think the only reason it naturally learns it in Let's Go is to fill out its movepool (and even then its the last Move they learn).

Parasect: The way Parasect induces sleep may make your skin crawl cause it involves going under your skin! As the name suggests, Spore has Parasect unleash hundreds of thousands of microscopic particles of its fungi which the target gets enveloped and breathes in (let's not think why this for some reason also affects Pokemon that are made of rocks, meta, don't breath, or don't have have soft innards for the spores to latch onto). Once inside the target, let's assume the "best scenario" where the spores are simply a delivery method: they attach onto the inside of your respiratory system, break down into a neurotoxin that gets absorbed and into the bloodstream, and the function of the neurotoxin is to induce sleep.
Eitherway, you're now asleep which gives Parasect plenty of time to charge a Solar Beam, recharge after a Hyper Beam, or set up a Reflect. Unfortunately Parasect is both slow and frail, but with Spore, if it can get at least one out, it'll definitely leave its mark in the battle.

Poliwrath: All hail the Hypno-poli! Jokes aside, the Poliwag's family connection to sleep is a bit odd due to a quirk with certain species of frogs. A few frog species have nearly translucent skin and you're able to see their internal organs, notably their intestines which is curled up in a spiral pattern. That's the inspiration for the Poliwag family, and they took it all the way by also using their swirling stomach to disorient and put their opponents to sleep. It's technically Poliwhirl's dex entries which mention using its spiral to put others to sleep, be it predators to make an escape or human children when employed by a daycare. That makes it the only hypnotizing Pokemon here which does so out of defensive mechanism rather than a predation technique.
But Poliwrath is no slouch giving out the pain. When the opponent is asleep that gives Poliwrath ample opportunity to hit with a powerful STAB but inaccurate Hydro Pump, recharge from a Hyper Beam, or take a risk and try to go for the OHKO with Fissure.

Jynx: Haunter & Gengar use supernatural powers, Hypno uses a pendulum, Parasect its spores, Poliwrath its see-through belly; but out of all of them Jynx has to be the oddest, and to some the most creepiest. Jynx kisses you to sleep, and it's not in a sweet way (that wouldn't be introduced until Gen II and causes Paralysis). Though translated as "Lovely Kiss", its Japanese name is "Demon's Kiss"... I guess they called it Lovely Kiss due to its animation having hearts in it? Well, they'll go on to regret that as when Moves were given descriptions it made it more clear what was intended. First Stadium says the target is actually passing out, possibly implying Jynx is smothering the target with its lips! Gen III onwards just says its kissing the target with a scary face, implying the target is passing out from fright. Anime only ever depicted it as either a plain kiss (with glowing lips) or a kiss-shaped energy projectile. However you want to imagine it, unlike some of the above Pokemon whose method of inflicting sleep could have beneficial use, Jynx's Lovely Kiss is not one of them (maybe they should rename it to "Loathly Kiss").
Once kissed to sleep it's time for Jynx to put the opponent to bed. It has time to try for a powerful STAB but inaccurate Blizzard, just toss it aside with a Psychic, or support the team with a Reflect.

 

[Ironmage]

Ghost-types are traditionally found in either graveyards or abandoned buildings. RGB may have used a graveyard as their main Ghost area, but the Kanto of the day isn't short on abandoned buildings either. Both of the main ones also carried a lot of technological equipment, so I think it makes sense to have the supernatural findings be the likes of flickering lights, electrical interference, and images within TV static.


Gengar
- Confuse Ray
- Psychic
- Substitute
- Thunderbolt
While Gastly is mostly a graveyard dweller in practice, it is occasionally mentioned as living within or near buildings in its dex entries.


Porygon
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Hyper Beam
- Thunder Wave
Porygon was the first mon that came to mind as an honorary Ghost, admittedly based mostly on Porygon-Z. Another interdimensional traveler brings to mind a fun fan theory about why the Gastly line becomes progressively more substantial, and it would frequently become Ghost-type via Z-conversion. At the very least, it would reasonably be found in an abandoned lab that used a lot of computers.


Magneton
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Hyper Beam
- Supersonic
Magneton's Dex entries frequently have it making a mess of nearby technology and causing headaches with its mere presence.


Electrode
- Thunder Wave
- Thunderbolt
- Explosion
- Screech
Another Power Plant mon, often found alongside Magnemite. It being a pokeball mimic also leans into the idea of the area being cursed to kill any who try to loot it.

In general, I feel like there's a divide between Electric types like Magnemite and Voltorb and the more animalistic ones, with this group fitting as pretty ghost-adjacent. Rotom, the main mon of the Old Chateau, is the clearest example, but I also want to bring up the Lost Hotel in XY. It's not a generation facility like the Kanto Power Plant or New Mauville, just a run-down shell of concrete, but it's still home to Magneton and Electrode.


Weezing
- Sludge
- Fire Blast
- Toxic
- Explosion
In addition to matching Gastly in physical composition, Koffing and Weezing are also found at the sites of buildings destroyed by fire: both the Pokemon Mansion and the Burned Tower.


Tentacruel
- Wrap
- Hydro Pump
- Toxic
- Barrier
I almost submitted this with Ninetales, as a supernatural mon also found in the Pokemon Mansion, but it felt a bit out of place to run a mammal next to all these inorganic weirdos, especially with wanting to emphasize that separation within my Electric-types. While still an animal, Tentacool at least fits the shape a little better. There's certainly and argument for referencing the Ghost-type Jellicent, which even managed to sneak into an abandoned building once as Totem Mimikyu's backup, but the other main reason I chose it is that the Abandoned Ship is the only place in Hoenn where Tentacruel can be found evolved in the wild.

 

[Frostbiyt]

WIP
They Only Come Out at Night

I'm not surprised someone else evidently picked up on the potential Dream Eater theme, but I am quite surprised two other people also thought of Parasect.

PS: Is MissingNo. allowed? If so, I could go a very different direction...

 

[QuentinQuonce]

WIP
View attachment 769185View attachment 769186View attachment 769187View attachment 769188View attachment 769189View attachment 769190
I'm not surprised someone else evidently picked up on the potential Dream Eater theme, but I am quite surprised two other people also thought of Parasect.

PS: Is MissingNo. allowed? If so, I could go a very different direction...

Nyeehhhhhhhhh. As a joke pick, sure (that's usually DrPumpkinz's area, so get in there quick if you want to go that route)

 

[BIG ASHLEY]

trainer design: smug-looking person in jodhpurs

pre-battle message: "you won't be able to beat these dead horses, challenger!"

 

[Count Bleck]

So I've been hovering over this thread the last few days, and while I am also still working on a submission, Its kind of funny and a slightly frusterating to see themes getting taken up by others before i could post my own. I'll save the concepts I had in mind to not give away inspiration, But I wonder if this is a common problem, or if Im making too big a fuss over nothing?

 

[WarriorGallade]

The theme I used for this week's prompt will be something that makes little sense. But hey, I found it pretty funny so here it is.

I find alternate universes where the villains won quite fascinating, and USUM Rainbow Rocket did just that. But back on topic, as you might remember from the book A Christmas Carol (great shift tonally, I know), the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, came together to reform Ebenezer Scrooge. So what's to say Kanto's Christmas spirits don't manifest in the form of a type specialist to teach Giovanni the error of his ways if Red isn't around? Each spirit has 2 Pokemon of their own, but all of them combine into a single battle with 6 Pokemon. They aim to show Giovanni the joy of a simple life, without leading Team Rocket.



Ghost of Christmas Past:


- Lick
- Wrap
- Disable
- Screech
First up, Lickitung.
What is a ghost but one who has been forgotten even in its own time? Walk around in Kanto's grass, and you shall not find it. Speak of it, and one says its name. Venture to the Cave of Cerulean, and then only shall you see its visage. Pray tell, is this a Pokemon of Kanto at all, or a long-tongued specter masquerading as one? Yet, science says it must not be capable of using Lick. Clearly, it demonstrates such a skill - do you mean to imply this Pokemon is a ghost?


- Lick
- Confuse Ray
- Hypnosis
- Mimic
Second up, Gengar.
The past was when the arcane and occult held more sway over the average person's mind. While seeming nonsensical, ghosts were a very real possibility to people of the past, and they would be far more fearful of any such occurrences - even if the hauntings themselves were tame by today's standards.




Ghost of Christmas Present:


- Thrash
- Rage
- Bone Club
- Growl
Third up, Marowak.
The sins of the present are no doubt fresh in Giovanni's mind - and the Ghost Marowak from Pokemon Tower seeks to remind him of them. It accepts this opportunity, fuelled by anger over its fallen kin, and joins this team in a quest for revenge.


- Night Shade
- Psywave
- Lick
- Mimic
Fourth up, Haunter.
The present is the time where some possibilities are extinguished, but even more are still open. To evolve, or not to evolve, when one has already evolved? Well, why worry about that - just haunt someone with Haunter and live in the present!





Ghost of Christmas yet to come:


- Lick
- Lovely Kiss
- Metronome
- Reflect
Fifth up, Jynx.
Today's superstar is not exempt from being tomorrow's ghost - nobody is infallible to the passage of time, not even Giovanni himself. In Gen 1, Jynx had so many things - coveted Blizzard STAB, great offensive stats, and the dreaded Lovely Kiss, being a top competitive pick. But as time went on, while it didn't change much, everything around it did. Outside of getting a pre-evo in Smoochum in the next generation, it has received effectively no attention while trying to prove its mettle as things become more and more unwieldy for it, as it fades from the public consciousness, being little more than a ghost today.


- Aurora Beam
- Leer
- Supersonic
- Mimic
Last up, Cloyster.
Gastly? Whatever do you mean? This is clearly a Paradox Pokemon that has absolutely no relation to Gastly...even if they look very similar - it's armored too, and Gastly isn't! What do you mean, they're right next to each other in the Pokedex...? With the Christmas ghosts foresight, they see a Kanto where Rocket controls all, forcing even normal Pokemon to don armaments for survival.

 

[QuentinQuonce]

So I've been hovering over this thread the last few days, and while I am also still working on a submission, Its kind of funny and a slightly frusterating to see themes getting taken up by others before i could post my own. I'll save the concepts I had in mind to not give away inspiration, But I wonder if this is a common problem, or if Im making too big a fuss over nothing?

Depends really. With some rounds there are more obvious ideas that tend to get used by a few people (like in rounds focusing on Electric-types you get a lot of rain teams, or sun teams for Fire rounds) but even within that there's still a lot of potential for variation and how you write it up and present the idea can make all the difference. It's much more interesting to see a slightly wacky team with an interesting rationale written up than a team which makes sense on paper but isn't explained in much depth.

 

[Eeveeto]

Moves: Thunder Wave, Thunderbolt, Toxic, Self-Destruct. Inanimate object that is know for blowing itself up, clearly becomes a Ghost after that. Strategy is already known, uses a status move and when low on HP, explodes.
Moves: Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, Bind. Misterious Mon who has its face hidden and dark... thats because its a Ghost. Uses Status and then Bind.
Moves: Clamp, Blizzard, Bubble Beam, Explosion. Another Mon that obviously has a Gastly inside its shell. Uses STAB moves (especially Clamp) and explodes.
Moves: Lick, Body Slam, Wrap, Earthquake. For some reason it doesn,t learn Lick in RBY, but I don,t care. Very rare Mon in Kanto, almost extinct, literally a Ghost. Paralyzes with Lick or Body Slam, then uses Wrap.
Moves: Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Psywave, Confusion. Evil nocturnal Mon that eats dreams, like a Ghost. Well, thats the strategy it has at battling too.
Moves: Confuse Ray, Night Shade, Thunder, Psychic. Finally, an actual Ghost. Uses Confuse Ray and the most powerful moves to finish everything.

 

[Hugin]

So I've been hovering over this thread the last few days, and while I am also still working on a submission, Its kind of funny and a slightly frusterating to see themes getting taken up by others before i could post my own. I'll save the concepts I had in mind to not give away inspiration, But I wonder if this is a common problem, or if Im making too big a fuss over nothing?

I just refuse to read the thread until I'm 90% of the way to ready to post. It lets me make my team with no influence from others and also I don't have to resort to my 3rd-favorite idea because someone got there first.

 

[DrPumpkinz]

a team of toothy grins

 

[Pikachu315111]

Can you believe that we are (checks) 45 rounds in and haven't done the one we're about to do. Crazy. It just feels so basic! Like butter on bread, or crippling depression and English people.

Wait, what? It took until now to do the other type that only had one Evolution chain?!

If I had to guess, it was because we did GSC Ghost as early as our 4th challenge (won by Ironmage). Being it was GSC, not only did it give us an extra Ghost-type in Misdreavus, it also has the Dark-type which meshed well with themes you'd associate with Ghost-types. Also an additional 100 Pokemon plus introduction of a whole batch of new Ghost-type Moves *coughShadowBallcough* further opened possibilities of a team you could actually consider Ghost-type.

Compared to that, RBY Ghost feels like you're either using Agatha's team as a basis or to avert from (or, in my case, both: Agatha's Haunter & Gengar were also Sleep-focused but I further leaned into that theme while Agatha chose two other "spooky" Pokemon).

Speaking of, my problem with Kanto's supposed Ghost specialist is I didn't realize her specialty wasn't supposed to be Poison. My goal with this team is to not be mistaken as a specialist of a type other than Ghost!

You also wouldn't be blamed if you thought Lorelei was a Water-type trainer (though she did have more Ice-type Moves than Water) and Lance a Flying-type (who thought he was a Normal-type with how much he loves Hyper Beam).

Let's see, no matter what Agatha would be stuck with as many Poison-types as Ghost, so what other two Pokemon could she have used that would have fit her "spooky" theme? Fearow (fearsome name in both Japanese & English, based on a buzzard/vulture, & phobia of birds is common), Raticate (looked fearsome, Super Fang was called "Fang of Wrath" in Japan & fear of mice is common), Persian (while not a black cat it's the closest thing to it in Gen I, you could also say it was ghostly pale color), Marowak (skull head, bone attack, 'nuff said), and I think that's it. Maybe also a Bug like Pinsir?

They Only Come Out at Night

The freaks?

but I am quite surprised two other people also thought of Parasect.

And funny enough for completely different reasons. I guess it's just that kind of Pokemon.

So I've been hovering over this thread the last few days, and while I am also still working on a submission, Its kind of funny and a slightly frusterating to see themes getting taken up by others before i could post my own. I'll save the concepts I had in mind to not give away inspiration, But I wonder if this is a common problem, or if Im making too big a fuss over nothing?

Very common, it's why I started posting my team and "theme" and filled in the rest later. Now you can do a similar theme if you think your idea was different enough, though I've often wondered if during voting these teams split votes between them if one didn't just completely do the theme better than the other(s).

The theme I used for this week's prompt will be something that makes little sense. But hey, I found it pretty funny so here it is.

Note that my theme for the above GSC Ghost was "Glowing" cause GF drew all the Ghost-type Pokemon sprites like they had a glow around them, so I filled the rest of the team with Pokemon that had something on them that glowed.

Compared to that you're within the borders of the Type prompt.

 

[Frostbiyt]

The freaks?

I was actually planning on referencing two other songs in my final post, but maybe I can work in a third.

 

[Hugin]

Everything goes away. Some quick, some slow. When will you join us?

So yeah, creepy child in a hospital gown. Only fights the player if they enter Pokemon Tower with the in-game timer maxed out, then vanishes.

Pretty standard crew. 2 ghosts, 2 fossils, a rodent covered in bones, and the mon that will turn into Gengar when it dies.

Spoiler

Haunter
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Serious Nature
- Confuse Ray
- Hypnosis
- Night Shade
- Substitute

Marowak
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Serious Nature
- Earthquake
- Blizzard
- Fire Blast
- Fissure

Aerodactyl
Ability: No Ability
- Toxic
- Hyper Beam
- Fly
- Double Team

Kabutops
Ability: No Ability
- Swords Dance
- Slash
- Surf
- Hyper Beam

Gengar
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Serious Nature
- Hypnosis
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
- Explosion

Clefable
Ability: No Ability
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Serious Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Blizzard
- Rest
- Hyper Beam

This is mostly about everything having a specific unique way to faint/not faint. Sub Haunter with status+Night Shade, Fissure Marowak, Double Team+Toxic Aerodactyl, SD Kabutops, Explosion Gengar, Rest Clefable.

Harsh conditions. And the number of in-game trainers who claim ghost and then use other types made building something unique rather tough, but I like the mons I ended up with. Clefable and Gengar being related is an obscure bit of fan theory, but I really enjoy it.

 

[Hugin]

PS: Is MissingNo. allowed? If so, I could go a very different direction...

The three best MissingNo. for that are basically unusable for this, sadly. I considered it. Although if you can make them work at all, it would be hilarious.

Have you considered h POKe ?

 

[Magnus0]

This type specialist is a ghost type gym leader that hosts a haunted house at a fair. His entire gym is a scary maze-like mansion you have to traverse to fight him. He uses scary Pokemon with frightening or uncomfortable moves.

Arbok:
- Glare
- Wrap
- Acid
- Screech

It literrally has a face pattern designed to scare you, and if it's appearance isn't enough to spook you, perhaps the combination of glare and gen 1 wrap will do the trick.

Gyarados
- Hydro pump
- Hyper beam
- Dragon rage
- Fire blast

A scary sea monster with frighteningly violent moves. One of the hallway sections in the haunted house would be modelled after Gyarados' body, where you enter through his gaping mouth.

Magneton
- Thunderbolt
- Sonic boom
- Flash
- Reflect

Ever wondered how a bunch of magnets can fly around like a sentient being? It's because it's possessed by a ghost of course! It goes around the haunted house disorienting people with bright flashes and a mirror maze sections using reflect.

Golbat
- Toxic
- Confuse ray
- Wing attack
- Mega drain

It just generally looks nasty, and it has some uncomfortable moves like toxic and mega drain. It's also one of the only Pokemon with an actual ghost type move in confuse ray.

Mr. Mime
- Substitute
- Light screen
- Psychic
- Thunderbolt

Mr. Mime is the closest thing to a creepy clown figure. I imagine he could mime being possessed to scare visitors of the haunted house.

Haunter
- Night shade
- Confuse ray
- Hypnosis
- Dream eater

The only actual ghost type of the team. I went with Haunter instead of Gengar because I think the name Haunter fits so well with the haunted house theme. It also implies that nobody wants to trade with this gym leader, presumably because he's just too scary.

 

[Count Bleck]

Well, here goes nothing. This was a very tough concept to do mechanically since ghost types themselves don't quite have an identity. With only one evolution line and 3 moves total, how can one represent the type with these slim pickings? Well, We're about to find out together. And so, I introduce my trainer, a paranormal investigator, to help find what truly makes a Ghost mon a ghost.

Mr. Mime
-Thunder Wave
-Reflect
-Seismic Toss
-Psychic

A strange clown that is able to create invisible objects? Are you hallucinating, or was that real? Are you paralyzed with fear with his act, or is he even considering you a part of his audience...? To help make the team less corporal, Mime will create a defensive barrier to bulk up the admittedly frail time, while also assisting in 2 very important components of what i could garner from the Ghost type: Status effects that prevent movement and set damage. While Night Shade remains the sole property of Genagr and friends, Seismic Toss allows us to provide the same function, cutting through the outer shell of type advantages and resistance and able to strike at one's heart directly.

Parasect
- Spore
- Sword Dance
- Stun Spore
- Body Slam

A husk of its former self, controlled by a life form neither plant nor animal. The original mind is long gain, now possesed by its host, its purpose to spread and repopulate other victims, quite like a zombie. And so this Parasect aims to spread as much Status as possible, whether it be sleep or paralysis. On turns where the opponent is forced to switch, they risk Parasect either raising its attack more or getting slapped with yet another status move. A form of slow, suffocating decay that brings one closer to death, forcing the opponent to either ward it off off with healing items or take it out fast.

Primeape
- Body Slam
- Seismic Toss
- Hyper Beam
- Rage

A creature consumed by anger, by hate, by rage. So consumed by contempt this pokemon is that it feels like a demon possessed, its negative energy a prime beacon for souls of the other side to try and feed on. It even refuses to let go of its Rage in battle, seemingly try to harness a force its not yet able to....but in the meantime it will also settle for spreading even more paralysis and set damage through Seismic Toss. foes weak enough will be finished off a Hyper Beam, showing off its Recklessness and lack of care for its body, as long as it takes its foes down with him.

Haunter
-Double Team
-Thunderbolt
-Night Shade
-Confuse Ray

Our first true specter....or at least thats what they want you to believe. are Ghost Types true ghosts? Some ghost pokemon can die, others are transformed from humans into something else...Oh, I guess there was that one time it turned Ash into past tense for a little while so....more research is needed. Here we have all the tricks of the ghost type at play: Confusion, paralysis, set damage, status effects... all gimmicks, all gags, all spooky, all in good fun!....for them at least. Double Team I picked over Hypnosis here because while Hypnosis is clearly a strong option, Double Team embodies the hallucination aspect, seeing double, being confused, all while your life is being chipped away bit by bit.

Magneton
-Thunderbolt
-Thunder Wave
-Thunder
-Reflect

Huh? The EMF meter starts to spike....an orb flashes by a screen, clear footage becomes static Surely this is the presence of an electromagnetic spirit! Enter Magneton, our eerie collection of orbs that can help track down other spirits through EMF waves. It also is said it may receive strange signals somewhere in the future....Here in the present, it once again helps spread more paralysis, as well as being a second Reflect setter to set barriers against those on another plane.

Gengar
-Hypnosis
-Mega Drain
-Night Shade
-Confuse Ray
Well we've come along way, but here he is. The bump in the night, the chill at your neck, the flickering shadow himself, Gengar! Most of the other members of the team have a noticeable weakness to Ground types, which makes sense. After all, it is a proper burial that tends to put spirits to rest. But this specter seeks to drain the lives of the living, literally, through Mega Drain, foiling would be Rhydon's once it had been either confused by Confuse Ray or put to sleep by Hypnosis. With Night Shade to once again inflict set damage across every type that isn't normal, it is the star player of the whole team

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Poll's up!

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https://strawpoll.com/LVyK2L75OZ0​

​

You have until September 17th, 9PM GMT to cast your vote!

Numbers to follow shortly, I'm currently on a train. edit: okay, here we are.

Numbers

Gengar - 9

Haunter - 8

Marowak - 5

Parasect - 4

Jynx - 3
Electrode - 3
Golbat - 3
Cloyster - 3
Magneton - 3
Hypno - 3
Ninetales - 3

Lickitung - 2
Mr Mime - 2
Kabutops - 2

Tangela - 1
Pinsir - 1
Arbok - 1
Gyarados - 1
Clefable - 1
Aerodactyl - 1
Raticate - 1
Poliwrath - 1
Weezing - 1
Tentacruel - 1
Lapras - 1
Porygon - 1


Analysis

Wow, Kanto and no starter Pokemon. Unprecedented.

Ah, Haunter tried its best, but it just couldn't catch up to its evolved brethren. Close, but no doughnut, big guy.

What do Kanto's Ghosts embody, exactly? They're gaseous and cruel and tricky, but more than that - they're pranksters; wicked sadists who toy with their prey and torment them. That cruelty feels weirdly redolent of RBY Kanto, which had a grittiness and sardonic brutality to it later regions are somewhat lacking. The Ghosts of Kanto feel truly scary in a way the others don't - so any team which truly embodies the spirit of this round should channel that spiteful energy.

As expected, Marowak proved to be the most common wildcard, though what a spread. Parasect makes a worthy second choice, followed by some expected hangers-on. Jynx, Hypno, Golbat, and Ninetales all lean in to a spooky vibe and possess certain ghostly powers and capabilities. Magneton and Electrode are creepy in their own way, but Electrode's inclusion for its wide, toothy grin certainly works for creepy aesthetics.

Elsewise we had fossils, deadly beasts, and those with associations of darkness and vile wickedness. There's an interesting throughline of Kanto Pokemon with "mysterious innards": Cloyster and Tangela specifically. Both are old favourites of mine, so had I made a team that's probably what I would have used as a starting point.

Stuff I expected to see more (or at all)

Clefable, because it's Gengar but alive.

Weezing, because it's creepy.

Tentacruel, because it's brutal and deadly.

Raticate, because death.

Oh, and Gastly. Maybe just once. Abra's about the only one of the trade-evolution base forms that really feels capable of taking on evolved stuff and standing any sort of chance, though.

[/quote]

 

[igiveuponaname]

i vote for big ashley's six horses

 

[Hugin]

Ghost is an odd type. Dragon is hard because there's a million non-Dragons out there who have some kind of association with the type, and a lot of types are similar. Ghost, meanwhile, is hard because there's nothing out there associated with the type. In-game specialists will run Dark and Poison types, sure, but that's clearly desperation. "Poison" and "Ghost" are about as far conceptually from each other as they can be. This leads to a lot of desperation picks and people reusing their concepts.

For example, no one else ever picks the fossils, which seems like a very odd omission to me. Or maybe I just like Fossil mons conceptually way more than everyone else.

Personally, I came very close to using a couple concepts other people did end up using. The only one I didn't see was that I spent a while clicking through the list of Gen1 Missingno forms for a joke submission. That said, I'm happy with what I ended up with, even if my Ghost teams rarely do well.

 

[Pikachu315111]

For example, no one else ever picks the fossils, which seems like a very odd omission to me.

igiveuponaname did pick Kabutops for a sorta parallel reason of it being a Fossil Pokemon.

The only one I didn't see was that I spent a while clicking through the list of Gen1 Missingno forms for a joke submission.

Felt that would be too meta. Granted that hasn't stopped others before, but with the commonly remembers forms of Missingno being the skeletons of the Fossils a Fossil Team is as close as you were going to get anyway.

"Poison" and "Ghost" are about as far conceptually from each other as they can be.

I can see some overlap. Two things related with death & decay. Common phobias. Curses. Can take forms of vapors. Hallucinations... I think that's about it.

 

[Count Bleck]

Ghost is an odd type. Dragon is hard because there's a million non-Dragons out there who have some kind of association with the type, and a lot of types are similar. Ghost, meanwhile, is hard because there's nothing out there associated with the type. In-game specialists will run Dark and Poison types, sure, but that's clearly desperation. "Poison" and "Ghost" are about as far conceptually from each other as they can be. This leads to a lot of desperation picks and people reusing their concepts.

For example, no one else ever picks the fossils, which seems like a very odd omission to me. Or maybe I just like Fossil mons conceptually way more than everyone else.

Personally, I came very close to using a couple concepts other people did end up using. The only one I didn't see was that I spent a while clicking through the list of Gen1 Missingno forms for a joke submission. That said, I'm happy with what I ended up with, even if my Ghost teams rarely do well.

Ghost type throughout the years are tricksters. They either inflict or do something with status or inconvenience the opponent in odd ways. Confuse ray, Spite, Destiny Bond, Grudge, Curse, Hex...that and more. Thats why i tried to play to the Paralysis angle, if only because Lick is the only ghost attack with an effect to go on, and Night Shade to promote the strangeness of ghost moves

 

[QuentinQuonce]

Voting over - congratulations to Pikachu315111 for winning this round!

Will DM you shortly.