Haunter Report

Haunter (the Gas Pokémon) is an uncommon Ghost/Poison-type Pokémon found among old buildings, forests and cemeteries within the Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, Kalos, Alola, Galar, Hisui, Paldea and Kitakami regions as well as the Unova region on rare occasions. Feared by many for their devious tricks and paralyzing tongues, Haunter are potent spirits that can easily overwhelm lesser opponents with their shadowy powers and impressive special attacks. They might not be able to last very long against direct assaults, but if you dare to get close to these creatures, you'll quickly find out what's it's like to have you soul literally licked right off!

While most Ghost-types are able to take on some sort of substantial physical form in order to sustain themselves in this world, Gastly and Haunter (said by some to have been born as the result of gas emanating from a graveyard being possessed by the grievances of the deceased) prefer to keep their physical form at a minimum in order to amplify the effect of their natural spiritual powers, with Gastly in particular often appearing as nothing more than a strange light when seen hiding inside of an abandoned building. In fact, approximately 95% of Gastly and Haunter is comprised of a barely-visible but faintly sweet-smelling gas; the other 5% is provided by the souls of individuals that have been lethally poisoned by the gas and heavy metal elements that can be easily magnetized to enable flight, thus granting the Gastly family as a whole the Levitate Ability. Since they do not have to sustain much of a physical form, Gastly and Haunter have no trouble slipping through otherwise solid surface by forcing their atoms through the structure; while total molecular disassembly is normally a very difficult if not impossible process, these creatures have more than enough spiritual power to pull it off in spades. Unfortunately, this lack of physical form also makes Gastly and Haunter very weak defensively and gives them little in the way of physical attack strength; their relatively high movement speeds and exceptionally high base Special Attack stat, however, more than compensate for this loss. It is also duly noted that this awkwardly makes Gastly extremely vulnerable to wind-based moves, as the bonds holding together what little physical construct they have are fairly weak and easily broken by sudden movements; in fact, a mild wind alone can completely dissipate a Gastly within about five seconds. Not surprisingly, Gastly never show up outside when there is even a light breeze and will often huddle together in decent-sized groups under the awnings of houses during windstorms.

While Haunter can still use apparitions and their Dream Eater attack to gather spiritual energy, the inability to manipulate their bodies freely like a gas forces them to be more innovative in taking out opponents and/or draining their energy quickly. As a solution, Haunter rely on their potent Lick attack to leach spiritual energy directly from an individual. The tongues of Haunter are actually made from the same toxic gas that comprised their form as Gastly but, because it is now condensed into a semi-physical form, it is far more lethal to the touch. When a suitable victim approaches them, Haunter will either call them over with a friendly gesture in hopes of coaxing them into approaching or, if they feel that their target is too smart for that, will silently wait in darkness and strike when their prey least expects it. If the victim gets within their reach, Haunter will quickly lash out with their gaseous tongues and lick the individual all the way up their torso and onto their face; this ensures that the toxins leach into every single piece of exposed flesh on the torso, thus maximizing its effect. While in the process of licking their prey, Haunter simultaneously leach considerable quantities of spiritual energy through the surface of their tongue, in turn compounding the damage done by the toxins; this will then trigger a massive nerve response within the victim that will cause them to shiver continuously and weaken over the course of a few days until the toxins finally paralyze their nerves completely, killing them. Thankfully, Haunter are not the best at disguising their intentions, so anyone with some common sense and a source of light can easily avoid this sort of cursed fate as long as they pay heed to their mischievous ways and don’t go out at night alone when they are sad and easier for Haunter to track by sensing for their emotional disturbance. Haunter revel in the dark and fear the light greatly, so something as small as a flashlight can easily repel their Lick attacks; as a result of this weakness, Haunter as a whole are slowly going extinct in major cities as a result of the increasing amount of light present within city grounds during the night. It is duly noted, however, that the same paralyzing effect their tongue has can be produced on a smaller scale simply by having a Haunter touch you, so any contact at all is rarely a safe option to choose; this isn't made any easier by the fact that Haunter are also fans of pranks and enjoy tapping on the shoulders of people and Pokémon alike just to laugh at their fright. The only real preparations that can be made against a Haunter attack is to stay away from dark spaces in the daytime and to avoid traveling at all during the night, as Haunter are generally nocturnal and despise sunlight in most cases.

While they might not be the best at taking damage or putting up much of a fight in close quarters, Haunter are vicious creatures that trainers of all types should be careful to avoid, especially in the wild. With a Lick attack guaranteed to give you shivers and a foreboding nature that can make them difficult for most trainers to deal with, it can definitely be said that these sort of spiritual fiends are not for the faint of heart. If you need a strong fighter that can hit hard and fast, though, go ahead and take a chance on these gaseous monsters; just try not to get one that is very affectionate, or your new relationship might not last as long as you had hoped!

Professor Wormwood