How to Evolve Gastly

To evolve Gastly into Haunter, you simply need to raise it to level 25 through battling or using Exp. Candies. To reach its final form, Gengar, you must trade Haunter to another player, or use a Linking Cord if you are playing the Pokémon Legends games.

Reaching Haunter is a straightforward leveling process. The real hurdle for most players is the final step to Gengar, which varies heavily depending on the game you are playing.

• Stage 1: Gastly to Haunter (Reach Level 25)
• Stage 2: Haunter to Gengar (Link Trade or Linking Cord)

While Gastly gains a significant stat boost upon evolving at level 25, keeping it as a Haunter limits its potential. Securing the final evolution is mandatory for late-game usability.

In Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the traditional trade requirement is completely bypassed. You can complete the entire evolution line solo without needing Nintendo Switch Online.

1. Keep Gastly in your party and battle or use Exp. Candies until it reaches Level 25.
2. Open your satchel and trigger the evolution to Haunter manually.
3. Obtain a Linking Cord from the trading post or by completing specific requests.
4. Use the Linking Cord directly on Haunter from your inventory to evolve it into Gengar.

This solo-friendly mechanic makes the Gastly line much more accessible for standard playthroughs compared to older generations.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet stick to the classic evolution mechanics. Gastly hits Level 25 to become Haunter, but getting Gengar requires a player-to-player trade.

1. Level Gastly to 25 using Exp. Candies or the Let's Go auto-battle feature.
2. Find a trusted friend online or locally to trade your Haunter.
3. Once traded, Haunter evolves into Gengar immediately on the receiving player's screen.
4. Have your friend trade the newly evolved Gengar back to you.

If you lack trading partners, head to the city of Levincia. An NPC near the central plaza will trade you a Haunter for a Pinchurchin. This specific Haunter is not holding an Everstone, meaning it evolves into Gengar immediately upon arriving in your party.

Players often encounter a few specific roadblocks when trying to complete this evolution line. Here is how to fix the most common issues.

• Holding an Everstone: If your Gastly or Haunter is holding an Everstone, the evolution sequence will never trigger. Remove the item from its summary screen before leveling up or trading.
• Pressing B during evolution: Accidentally pressing the B button cancels the leveling evolution sequence for Gastly. Just level it up one more time to try again.
• GTS Trades: Sometimes trading Haunter on the Pokémon HOME GTS does not trigger the evolution. Stick to direct Link Trades within the game itself.

While absent from serious competitive play in modern generations, Gengar remains an exceptional in-game sweeper. It boasts a massive Special Attack stat and blistering Speed, making it perfect for clearing story battles quickly.

Its major flaw is its extreme fragility. If Gengar fails to knock out an opponent in one hit, it will likely faint to any physical counterattack. It operates purely as a glass cannon.

• Pros: Incredible Speed, wide special movepool including Thunderbolt and Sludge Bomb, useful immunities.
• Cons: Paper-thin defenses, requires trading in most games to reach full potential.

Story Playthrough Rating: 8/10. If you can easily evolve Haunter into Gengar, it is a top-tier choice for your adventure. If you are stuck with Haunter, its utility drops significantly by the late game due to poor defensive stats.