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Dusknoir's body is mostly black, with two almond shaped eye-like markings and a yellow horizontal zigzag line on this Pokémon's torso which can open like a mouth (creating the illusion of a face) and fire powerful attacks. Dusknoir now has fully developed arms. Two yellow bands are near its black wrists and its gray hands are similar to Dusclops's. Dusknoir has a gray, cylinder-shaped head with another yellow band near the top and a single black glaring eye with a yellow iris and a red pupil. The tattered fringes of Dusknoir's lapels converge into a shawl collar on its upper chest. Dusknoir has a ghostly tail rather than feet, reminiscent of a genie, or a stylized 'cartoonish' depiction of a ghost. Dusknoir has a yellow antenna on top of its head in which allows this Pokémon to receive transmissions from the spirit world which tell it to bring people there.
Gender differences
None.
Special abilities
Dusknoir possess the ability to receive radio waves from the spirit world, and can also hold lost spirits in the mouth-like hole in its belly. Dusknoir also has abilities typical of a Ghost Pokémon, but also has vast physical strength and can perform the elemental punches.
Behavior
They receive radio signals from the spirit world that tell it to bring people there. In the anime however, a Dusknoir was seen protecting Ash and Angie from being sucked into a portal to the spirit realm by a demon.
Dusknoir made its debut appearance in Ghoul Daze! where it tried to protect humans from a demonic girl who was trying to send them to the spirit world. However, Dusknoir was often blamed for the trouble that the girl caused.
Dusknoir, the Gripper Pokémon. It receives electrical waves from the spirit world with its antenna and is said to take people to the spirit world as well.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
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Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky: Dusknoir plays a major role in the Grovyle special episode. Returning to the future with Grovyle, Dusknoir awakens in pain from his injuries from the past. Dusknoir tries to avenge himself but can't due to his wounds. At the end of the first dungeon, Sableye appear and, to Dusknoir's surprise, they start attacking him as well. Dusknoir is surprised and is determined to find out the reason behind it. After a bit of hesitation, Grovyle agrees to join Dusknoir on its quest to find Primal Dialga since he had decided to go confront Dialga himself anyway. Once they arrive at Temporal Tower, they find that it is empty. Dusknoir reveals that Primal Dialga must have realized that the past is going to be changed, and is attempting to stop it by freezing the Passage of Time. Primal Dialga has thus gone off to chase down Celebi, and so Grovyle and Dusknoir head off to find and protect Celebi. Sableye state that Dialga has found another henchman to replace Dusknoir, and it is this henchman's command that Dusknoir be eradicated. As the duo carry on with their quest, they begin to develop some sort of bond. They find that Celebi is no longer in the forest where she resides, and after forcing the words out of a Sableye again, they find that it has fled to an ice mountain. There, the two continue exploring the dungeons, and at the end of one, Dusknoir saves Grovyle from a falling ice boulder. Grovyle tended to Dusknoir's wounds, and that night, the two had a deep conversation. Dusknoir could never understand why Grovyle would give up his life to change the past, but Grovyle tells him that a life with a short moment of glory is better than living an empty life, and although he will disappear, at least he would have left his mark in the world and made it a better one. The two resume their journey, and at the end of the Ice Mountain dungeon, they finally find Celebi, but it is being captured by Spiritomb. The ice pillars here give off sparks of electricity, and when Grovyle tries to rescue Celebi, it steps on the point where the electric signals merge, and is trapped by a powerful electric field. At this point, the Sableye appear, and Dusknoir finally reveals that he had been lying to Grovyle all along. There was no new henchman, and he was just putting up a show with the Sableye to trick Grovyle. Dusknoir speaks of his plan to take over the body of Grovyle, so that he can use his identity, return to the past and mess things up again. But before Grovyle is about to go down, it speaks of its trust in Dusknoir, that certain moments in their adventures couldn't have been a total lie, and is sure that Dusknoir did sincerely connect with him at some point. At the last critical moment, Dusknoir saves Groyvle from the electric field, and Spiritomb flees. However, Primal Dialga appears, and starts to attack Dusknoir for betrayal. Effects from the changed past start to take effect, and winds are starting to blow. Dialga leaves to head to the Passage of Time, and Dusknoir teams up with Celebi and Grovyle on this last adventure. Finding Dialga, they defeat him, and everyone begins to glow. Time begins to flow again in the future, and Primal Dialga vanishes. Dusknoir asks Grovyle if he has made his life shine, and Grovyle assures him that he has. With that, Dusknoir feels content and vanishes, along with the others, and time flows once again. Later, Dusknoir finds himself, Grovyle and Celebi still at the Passage of Time, and is surprised that no one vanished. Dialga, now returned to its normal state, remarks that they were revived by a being on an even higher tier than itself, implied to be Arceus, and the characters live peacefully in the future.
Spoilers end here.
Pokédex entries
This Pokémon was unavailable prior to Generation IV.
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Dusknoir cannot have the ability Levitate, despite the fact that it floats, and its first form does.
Dusknoir and Gengar are the only second evolution Template:Type2s. Dusknoir is the only one that is purely Ghost-type. Both evolve from their previous forms by trading.
While Dusknoir's name is pronounced "Dusk-nwar" according to English grammar, Pokémon Battle Revolution mispronounces it as "Dusk-no-are".
As a Duskull, it had no legs, however, it gains some as a Dusclops, but loses them again as a Dusknoir.
Although Dusknoir has no legs, it can learn Mega Kick because its pre-evolution has legs and is therefore able to learn it by move tutor in the Generation III games.
Dusknoir and its pre-evolution have the most base moves of all Pokémon, with 8.
Origin
Dusknoir appears to be a ghostly cyclops. A Japanese one-eyed mountain-dwelling creature named the Yamawarawa may have been the inspiration for this Pokémon.
Name origin
Dusknoir's name is derived from dusk and noir, which is French for black.
Yonoir is a combination of noir and 妖魔 yōma, meaning ghost, or 夜 yo or yoru, meaning night.
In other languages
German: Zwirrfinst - From Zwielicht (twilight), wirr (chaotic), and Finsternis (darkness).
French: Noctunoir - From nocturne (nocturnal) and noir (black).
This Pokémon article is part of Project Pokédex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each Pokémon species, as well as Pokémon groups and forms.