Phantump Report

Phantump (the Stump Pokémon) is an uncommon Ghost/Grass-type Pokémon found among grassy meadows and forests within the Kalos, Alola, Galar and Kitakami regions as well as the Hoenn region on rare occasions. Though they might not look like the most imposing of Ghost-type Pokémon, Phantump are interesting little creatures that can bring both fun and sorrow to any place they play at. You might feel inclined to feel sorry for these little sprouts, but don’t worry too much; after all, it’s not like they really had to live very long to reach the state they are currently in!

Phantump, along with Pumpkaboo, are strange creatures in that they are the only known case of wandering spirits possessing plants in order to tether themselves at least partially to the physical world the rest of the living reside in. It is unknown why exactly this is the case, but some speculate that it might have something to do with the way that they originally died. It is said in Kalos legend that Phantump are the spirits of children that got lost in forests and died before finding their way home. In response, they have decided to tether themselves to the place where they passed on by possessing old, rotten stumps and using them as a makeshift body of sorts. Not surprisingly, these creatures are a bit more skittish that the average Ghost-type Pokémon and don’t actually like to scare others outside of the eerie screams their cries resemble, preferring to spend their time playing and making friends with others; unfortunately, their only way of gaining the attention of others from far away is imitating the voice of a child, and while they may only do so in order to make friends with others, more often than not, those that try to follow their voice end up hopelessly lost deep in the forests Phantump occupy. Because of this and the general lack of life forms that really want to get close to them, Phantump have to rely on other forms of sustenance in order to survive (since most Ghost-type have to feed off of emotional or spiritual energy from others to maintain their form). At first, they can usually subsist on the raw spiritual energy floating in the air, but eventually they will move towards forms of photosynthesis, using whatever living tissue is left in the stump they are residing in to gather small amounts of energy in secret. In their current form, these creature are unable to make much use of the Grass-type assignment their stump gives them at first and can only utilize a Leech Seed technique for defense, but as they age, they will gradually begin to use their powers to create more powerful attacks. In the meantime, they are still worth looking around for, though, as it is said in legend that the green leaves that sprout from their heads can be used to make medicine capable of curing any illness after brewing them and boiling down the liquid, though they must be harvested and used quickly, as the leaves wilt almost immediately after being plucked.

Both the members of the Phantump and Pumpkaboo families are completely unique from other Ghost-type Pokémon in that their evolved forms are not actually ghosts at all; as strange and amazing as it may sound, the evolved forms of these Pokémon, Trevenant and Gourgeist, respectively, are actually living creatures that have been reborn through the only truly confirmed cases of reincarnation in the Pokémon world. Under normal circumstances, because both of these families end up depending on photosynthesis for a lot of their energy, it can take many years and sometimes even decades for them to build up enough energy to evolve; due to the unique possession interaction they have with their container, however, when these creatures evolve, they fully incorporate the living container into their forms, becoming living organism as a result. Despite this, however, these creature still retain the power to use and channel spiritual energy, so they retain their normal type assignment. This process can take a great deal of time to happen, but it is noted that the process can be heavily accelerated by exposing them to the energy fields found within trading devices. In evolving and becoming a living creature themselves, both of these species acquire some interesting moves that they normally could never learn. In the case of Trevenant, their rebirth as a living tree-monster enables them to learn the powerful Shadow Claw attack and allows them to make better use of the signature move of the Phantump family, the Forest’s Curse technique, which effectively places a powerful curse on an opponent that adds elemental effects to them that makes them partial Grass-types in terms of the way they deal and receive damage. Overall, Trevenant are fairly powerful beasts and have a habit of showing up unexpectedly in the wild, making them one of the most prolific and dangerous Ghost-type Pokémon that a trainer can find within the dark forests of the Kalos and Hoenn regions.

Though they might not be able to really fight back all that well at first, Phantump are cute beasts that can at the very least give younger trainers the chance to experiment a bit with the Ghost-type in battle. It might take many years or a quick trade to bring out their full potential, but considering what lies ahead of the line, it can be a bit more than worth enduring. Of course, if you really don’t like to be in spooky places like abandoned forests, than you might want to stay clear of these beasts; they might not frighten you now, but you’ll be more than a little scared when the entire forest starts to move in the presence of their fully-reincarnated sentience!

Professor Wormwood