Haunter is a purple Pokémon with a gaseous body. It has a round head flanked by three large, spiked protrusions on either side. It has triangular eyes with small pupils and a mouth with a long, pink tongue. The gases composing its head curve into its mouth to form several pointed teeth. Disembodies hands with three clawed fingers each float in front of its body. Its body tapers into a jagged tail. Its gaseous form makes it one of the lightest Pokémon tying with Gastly, Flabébé, Cosmog, and Kartana. It can also float through walls.
Haunter hides in very dark places, such as caves, and is afraid of light. If a human or a Pokémon comes near Haunter, it will stalk the victim while floating and beckon it to come closer. Once approached it will then lick the victim with its gaseous tongue, inflicting convulsions in the victim that last until death. Despite its predatory nature, it has been known to entertain and prank people in the anime. Additionally, it has even been shown to feel intense loyalty to a deceased Trainer. In the past, Night Shade was its signature move.
In the main series
Major appearances
Haunter debuted in The Tower of Terror. After Ash befriended it, he attempted to use it to battle Sabrina in the hopes of freeing his friends in the process, but Haunter decided to goof off instead. At the end of Haunter Versus Kadabra, Haunter helped Ash succeed in his endeavor and decided to stay with Sabrina afterwards.
Other
A Haunter appeared in A Shipful Of Shivers, where it was guarding the Orange League trophy of its deceased Trainer along with a Gastly.
A group of Haunter appeared in Illusion Confusion!, along with a group of Gengar. They were causing trouble for Ash and his friends while they were wandering through a deep forest, by creating a number of illusions that impeded their progress.
Morty used a Haunter during his Gym battle against Ash in From Ghost to Ghost. Haunter battled Cyndaquil and was able to defeat it with Hypnosis and Lick. It then lost to Noctowl's newly learned Confusion.
Multiple Haunter appeared in Hoenn Alone!, where they attacked Meowth, Pikachu, and groups of Pidgey, Oddish, and Rattata.
In Fear Factor Phony, a Haunter was living in an abandoned mine with several other Ghost Pokémon. The Ghost Pokémon were having difficulty with the partying Psychic Pokémon living nearby.
A Haunter appeared in PK15. It was one of the residents of a spooky house.
A Haunter appeared in Scary Hospitality!, under the ownership of Lon. It was used alongside Lon's Gastly and Gengar to scare visitors of the "Scary House". This included Ash, his friends, and later Team Rocket.
A Haunter appeared in A Haunted House for Everyone!, where it played with Harper and Sarah at the Pokémon School and in the dream a Mismagius created.
Minor appearances
A Haunter appeared in the Japanese credits of Pikachu's Rescue Adventure.
A Haunter appeared in the opening sequence of Destiny Deoxys.
A Coordinator's Haunter appeared in Deceit and Assist.
A Haunter appeared in Ghoul Daze!.
A Haunter appeared in Old Rivals, New Tricks!, under the ownership of a Coordinator competing in the Sandalstraw Contest.
A Haunter appeared alongside a Gastly and Gengar in Loading the Dex!, during a fantasy that Meowth had after an encounter with a Mimikyu. They pretended to be a Lopunny, Glaceon, and Gardevoir.
A Trainer's Haunter appeared in A Shocking Grocery Run!.
A Haunter appeared in I Choose You!.
A Trainer's Haunter appeared in Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence!.
A Haunter appeared in a photo taken by Rotom in Alola, Kanto!.
A Trainer's Haunter appeared in Securing the Future!, where it joined the rest of Alola in showering Necrozma with light so it could return to its true form.
Pokédex entries
Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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EP023
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Haunter
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Ash's Pokédex
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Haunter, a Gaseous Pokémon. No further information.
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Original series entries continue below.
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Episode
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Pokémon
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Source
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Entry
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XY072
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Haunter
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Serena's Pokédex
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Haunter, the Gas Pokémon and the evolved form of Gastly. Haunter can watch opponents by hiding in walls and slips through anything in its way.
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In Pokémon Origins
Red's Haunter appeared in File 3: Giovanni. He used it against Sabrina's Alakazam and won. It evolved into Gengar sometime before File 4: Charizard.
In Pokémon Generations
The illusion of a Haunter appeared in The Old Chateau, tormenting Cheryl and her Chansey.
In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
In The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Ash encounters a giant Haunter called the Black Fog, notorious for using its Dream Eater attack to kill people and Pokémon by stealing their souls. Sabrina has a vendetta against this Haunter, as her Pokémon were attacked and killed by it when she was eleven, but she falls victim as well in her attempt to protect a team of people trying to hunt it down. With the combined effort of Ash and the team of hunters, the Black Fog managed to be weakened enough for capture, only for it to promptly use Selfdestruct, making itself faint right before Ash's Ultra Ball reaches it.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In a flashback in Lapras Lazily, a boy who Blue met near the abandoned Power Plant had a Haunter in his team before it was stolen, with which he later fights Agatha's Gengar to free Blue from a coffin created by a Dream Eater attack. Agatha also had armies of Haunter that she used in her attack on Kanto, which first appeared in said round.
In A Flaaffy Kerfuffle, a Haunter appeared as one of the Pokémon in Professor Oak's fantasy, when he explains that Trainers should only have six Pokémon with them.
Eusine was later seen with a Haunter in The Last Battle VI. It proved to be useful in knocking out the Masked Man's Gastly after the latter wounded Suicune with its Curse.
A Haunter appeared in The Last Battle XIII as one of the Pokémon sent to participate in the fight in Ilex Forest.
Multiple Haunter were used by Team Galactic Grunts in Tackling Tangrowth and Mixing It Up with Machamp.
A Haunter belonging to the Advanced level Grunt appeared in High-tailing It from Haunter.
A Haunter appeared in Deprogramming Porygon-Z, under the ownership of a Rich Boy.
A Haunter appeared in PASM16, where it was seen inside the Thrifty Megamart.
In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
Haunter debuted in Get Rid Of The Ghost Pokémon!! where it was under the ownership of Blue. It evolved into Gengar in the same part.
A Haunter appeared in Which One is the Real Clefairy!? where it was giving the citizens a tour around the area along with Clefairy.
Giovanni was revealed to have a Haunter when it attempted to battle a Squirtle of his.
In the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga
Black owns a Haunter which evolved from a Gastly.
Eusine also has a Haunter in the manga.
- In the Pokémon Red and Blue beta, Haunter's prototype name was "Spectre".
- No other Pokémon have the same type combination as Haunter and its evolutionary relatives.
- Due to its unique type combination, Haunter and its evolutionary relatives are the only Poison-type Pokémon that are weak against Dark-type moves.
- Haunter is the Pokémon with the most cry changes throughout the series, having been changed in generations II, III, and VI.
Origin
Haunter is possibly based on the dila, a spirit that passes through walls then licks certain humans to death according to Filipino mythology. It also appears to be based on a generic sort of cartoonish ghost. Like Gengar, Haunter may also be based on the Cheshire Cat, as it possesses what may be pointed ears, a large, toothy grin, and the ability to vanish at will.
Name origin
Haunter is derived from haunt, as ghosts are known to do. It could also be a corruption of "hunter".
Ghost is literally ghost.