Gengar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gengar | |
|---|---|
 National Haunter - Gengar (#94) - Onix Johto Haunter - Gengar (#60) - Unown Sinnoh Haunter - Gengar (#071) - Misdreavus |
|
| Japanese name | Gangar |
| Stage | Stage 2 |
| Evolves from | Haunter |
| Evolves to | None |
| Generation | First |
| Species | Shadow Pokémon |
| Type | Ghost / Poison |
| Height | 4 ft 11 in (1.5 m) |
| Weight | 89.0 lb (40.5 kg) |
| Ability | Levitate |
Gengar (ゲンガー Gengā?, Gangar) are one of the 493 fictional species of Pokémon creatures from the multi-billion-dollar[1] Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. The purpose of Gengar in the games, anime, and manga, as with all other Pokémon, is to battle both wild Pokémon—untamed creatures encountered while the player passes through various environments—and tamed Pokémon owned by Pokémon trainers.[2]
Gengar has an appearance evocative of a ghost or a spirit. It is a bipedal, purple entity with red eyes, big pointy ears, and it always wears an unsettling smile, which, along with stubby hands and legs, makes it look like a gremlin at times. Gengar also possesses a short tail and spikes on its back. Despite its somewhat rough outline, each individual Gengar has a consistent shape. The name is likely derived from "doppelganger. "The name Gengar refers to the species as a whole, as well as individual specimens in the games, anime and manga.
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[edit] Biological characteristics
Gengar often has a rather sinister personality, especially when in the wild. It inhabits remote mountainous locations and urban environments alike, being a dangerous Pokémon to encounter on either case. Fortunately, Gengar is a nocturnal Pokémon, so its attacks are limited in the hours of darkness.
Gengar tends to stalk its prospective prey, which includes human beings, and hide in their shadow. It is said that in this way, it has the opportunity to absorb the vital force/"life" of its victims. Gengar acts like a heat sink while doing this, so that its malevolent presence can be given away by a feeling of cold and a shivering sensation.
Another favorite pastime of Gengar is to mimic the shadows of people. A common prank is to take the shape of one's shadow and run past him, giving him the impression that his shadow has come alive and overtaken him. Gengar especially loves to frighten people that way during the nights of a full moon.
[edit] In the video games
Gengar is not found in the wild. Its previous evolution, Haunter, can be found in all the games listed above (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, FireRed, and LeafGreen). Gengar can only be obtained by trading a Haunter over to another game cart. The availability of Gengar depends on the player's ability to find and trade with another person with a Pokémon game.
In the Nintendo DS games, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, however, Gengar became available in the wild. When the player has inserted Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed, LeafGreen or Emerald into the bottom slot of the Nintendo DS, Gengar can be found as a wild Pokémon in the Forest Mansion.
Gengar has extremely high speed and special attack, but its offense, Hit Points and physical defense are low for a stage two Pokémon. Its Ghost/Poison-type combination, combined with its Levitate ability, grants it immunity to three attack types and resistance to many more. However, its Poison-type makes it vulnurable to Psychic-types, which ironically makes it weak to the one type it is supposed to be strong against.
Gengar's combination of high speed and special attack statistics, paired with its many type immunities and resistances and wide selection of available attacks, makes it a very powerful Pokémon in player-vs.-player competition. These advantages are offset by exceedingly low physical defense, however, so the most common defense against Gengar is simply an effective physical attack to which it is not immune. Overall, Gengar is a decent ghost pokemon in every pokemon game, especially in the new pearl and diamond versions.
[edit] In Pokémon anime
The Pokémon anime series and films are a meta-series of adventures separate from the canon that most of the Pokémon video games follow (with the exception of Pokémon Yellow, a game based on the anime storyline). The anime follows the quest of the main character, Ash Ketchum[3]—an in-training Pokémon Master—as he and May (as well as several other companions[3]) travel around the fictitious world of Pokémon along with their Pokémon partners, Pikachu and Blaziken.[4]
Gengar was first seen in the anime battling a Nidorino at the beginning of the first episode. This was done to mimic the opening sequence of Red Version. It appeared in episode #23 (The Tower of Terror), which it haunted along with its pre-evolved forms Gastly and Haunter, playing pranks on visitors. This Gengar was not nearly as malicous as its Pokedex entry states, only pulling harmless pranks rather then cruel ones. A more hostile and much larger Gengar (known as The Shadow of the Dark Device) appeared in episode #74 (The Ancient Puzzle of Pokémonpolis) as one of the city's mythical protectors. It battled against a giant Alakazam (another of the protectors) until a gargantuan Jigglypuff intervened and put both to sleep.
Gengar has also been used in battle by Drake, the defending champion of the Orange League, by Morty, the Gym Leader of Ecruteak City, and by Agatha, member of the Elite Four and temporary Gym Leader of Viridian City. Ash has battled against all three and prevailed over the first two.
A Gengar is the leader of "Team Meanies" in the half-hour animated special, "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out Of The Gate!". He and his partners Ekans and Medicham go around taking missions and being rude to other teams. This Gengar is something of a bully, although he does have a slight soft side.
[edit] In other media
Gengar is a Stage-2 Psychic-type in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, similar to Alakazam and Gardevoir. It has appeared in the following sets:
- Fossil
- Gym Heroes (as Sabrina's Gengar)
- Gym Challenge (as Sabrina's Gengar)
- Neo Destiny (as Dark Gengar)
- Expedition
- Skyridge
- EX Firered and Leafgreen (as Gengar EX)
- EX Legend Maker
The Fossil Set featured Gengar as a Pokémon used mostly while on the bench. It's Pokémon Power: Curse allowed the user to move damage around. The ability to take ten damage from one Pokémon to another allowed the active pokémon to attack the defending pokémon, while Gengar (on the bench) moved the damage around evenly, if it was a weak defending pokémon, or to gang up on a particularly strong pokémon.
Gengar EX, as with all EX pokémon, is quite a bit stronger than the originals. It has two attacks: Poltergeist and Prize Count. Poltergeist could do endless damage to the defending pokémon, as the damage is based on the number of Trainer Cards in the opponent's hand, the starting amount is forty (if there are no Trainers) and goes up by ten every Trainer. The attack Prize Count could be the more powerful attack between the two, if circumstances were ideal. The base damage of Prize Count is sixty, but is increased to one hundred if you had more Prize Cards than your opponent. Gengar EX has 150HP, has a weakness to both other Psychics and Dark, a resistance to Fighting and Colorless Pokémon and a two colorless energy retreat cost.
[edit] References
- The following games and their instruction manuals: Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue; Pokémon Yellow; Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Stadium 2; Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal; Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald; Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen; Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
- Publications
- Barbo, Maria. The Official Pokémon Handbook. Scholastic Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-439-15404-9.
- Loe, Casey, ed. Pokémon Special Pikachu Edition Official Perfect Guide. Sunnydale, CA: Empire 21 Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-930206-15-1.
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon FireRed & Pokémon LeafGreen Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., August 2004. ISBN 1-930206-50-X
- Mylonas, Eric. Pokémon Pokédex Collector’s Edition: Prima’s Official Pokémon Guide. Prima Games, September 21 2004. ISBN 0-7615-4761-4
- Nintendo Power. Official Nintendo Pokémon Emerald Version Player’s Guide. Nintendo of America Inc., April 2005. ISBN 1-930206-58-5
[edit] External links
- Official Pokémon website
- Bulbapedia (a Pokémon-centric Wiki)’s article about Gengar as a species
- Serebii.net’s 4th Gen Pokédex entry for Gengar
- Pokémon Dungeon Pokédex entry, full of statistics analysis
- PsyPoke - Gengar Pokédex entry and Usage Overview
- WikiKnowledge.net’s entry for Gengar Previously hosted by Wikibooks
