Gengar has been a staple of Pokémon GO since the game launched in July 2016, and it remains one of the strongest non-Legendary Ghost-type attackers you can build. The catch is that Gengar almost never shows up in the wild for most players, so getting one usually means going through its pre-evolutions or chasing raids. There are a handful of reliable paths, and the right one depends on how much candy, patience, and friend list you're working with.
Quick answer: Catch a Gastly, spend 25 candy to evolve it into Haunter, then spend 100 more candy to evolve Haunter into Gengar. Trading the Haunter to another player skips the 100-candy cost entirely.
Evolve Gastly into Gengar (the cheapest path)
The evolution line is the most dependable route because Gastly spawns in the wild, hatches from eggs, and shows up in Ghost-themed research tasks and events year-round. Expect more spawns at night and during Fog or Cloudy weather, which also boosts Gengar's signature moves.
Step 1: Catch enough Gastly to reach 125 candy. Using Pinap or Silver Pinap Berries on each throw doubles your candy per catch, which cuts the grind roughly in half.
Step 2: Evolve one Gastly into Haunter for 25 candy. Pick your highest-IV Gastly, since those stats carry through both evolutions.
Step 3: Evolve that Haunter into Gengar for 100 candy. You'll know it worked when Gengar appears on your Pokémon screen with a fresh Pokédex entry.
Trade a Haunter to skip the 100 candy cost
Haunter is one of several Pokémon that evolve for free after being traded, which saves the full 100 candy on the second evolution. This works with any friendship level, though higher friendship levels sharply reduce the Stardust cost of trading unregistered Pokémon.
The common tactic is to swap Haunters with a friend. You send them yours, they send you theirs, and both of you evolve a traded Haunter into Gengar for zero candy. Lower-IV Haunters are ideal trade fodder because IVs re-roll on trade, which gives you a chance at a better Gengar than you started with.
Lucky Friends trades take this further. When you roll the Lucky Friends status, a single trade guarantees both Pokémon become Lucky, which locks their IV floor at 12/12/12 and halves their power-up costs forever.
| Friendship level | Registered Gengar (Stardust) | Unregistered Gengar (Stardust) |
|---|---|---|
| Good Friends | 100 | 20,000 |
| Great Friends | 100 | 16,000 |
| Ultra Friends | 100 | 1,600 |
| Best Friends | 100 | 800 |
| Forever Friends | 100 | 800 |
Fight Gengar in Tier 3 raids
Gengar is a recurring Tier 3 raid boss with a boss CP of 21,207. A Tier 3 raid is beatable solo by a strong account, but two trainers with the right counters make it safe. Ghost, Dark, Ground, and Psychic-type attackers all hit for super effective damage.
Winning the raid lets you try to catch a Gengar with a catch CP of 1,644, or 2,055 under Fog or Cloudy weather. Raids also give the best shiny odds at roughly 1 in 20, compared to around 1 in 500 from wild encounters.
Earn Gengar from research and event tasks
Gengar regularly appears as a reward encounter in Field Research, Timed Research, Special Research, and GO Pass lines, usually tied to Halloween or Ghost-themed events. Research encounters lock IVs at a minimum of 10/10/10 and fix the CP at 1,233.
Notable ways Gengar has been distributed include The Great Gastly Special Research, the Halloween Part II Timed Research, Animation Week Research, Catch Mastery: Ghost, and Halloween GO Pass lines. Costumed versions (party hat, Mega Banette-style Halloween) can also show up through these tasks, and they still Mega Evolve normally.
Get Mega Gengar from Mega Raids
Mega Gengar is not caught directly. Instead, you earn Mega Energy by winning Mega Raids featuring Mega Gengar, then spend that energy to Mega Evolve a regular Gengar you already own.
| Mega Evolution tier | Mega Energy required |
|---|---|
| First-time Mega Evolution | 200 |
| Base (no Mega Level) | 40 |
| High Mega Level | 20 |
| Max Mega Level | 10 |
Mega Gengar Raids run during select event windows, typically around Halloween and the occasional Mega-themed event. Defeating the Mega Raid boss also grants an encounter with a regular Gengar at 1,644 CP (2,055 weather boosted).
Get Gigantamax Gengar from 6-star Max Battles
Gigantamax Gengar was added during Halloween 2024 and only appears in 6-star Max Battles at Power Spots. These are cooperative fights that require a full team of trained Dynamax-capable Pokémon and, in most cases, a coordinated group.
Winning the Max Battle lets you catch a Gengar, after which you can toggle its Gigantamax form on or off from its summary screen. The next confirmed Gigantamax Gengar window is during Replay: GO Bigger, scheduled for April 25, 2026.
Gengar stats, moves, and best build
Gengar is a glass cannon: 261 ATK, 149 DEF, 155 HP, and a maximum of 3,254 CP at level 50. It's weak to Dark, Ghost, Ground, and Psychic damage, and it resists Fighting, Bug, Normal, Poison, Fairy, and Grass. Its encounters are boosted by Fog (Ghost) and Cloudy (Poison) weather.
For raids and gym attacking, the strongest moveset is the legacy Lick plus Shadow Ball, which hits 14.77 DPS and ranks as one of the best non-Legendary Ghost attackers in the game. If you don't have a Lick Gengar from a past Raid Day, Shadow Claw and Shadow Ball is the best currently available combination and still performs at A-tier.
| Role | Fast move | Charged move |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost attacker (raids) | Lick* or Shadow Claw | Shadow Ball |
| Poison attacker (raids) | Lick* or Shadow Claw | Sludge Bomb |
| Great/Ultra League PvP | Shadow Claw | Shadow Punch* + Shadow Ball |
Moves marked with an asterisk are legacy and only available through Elite TMs or during the specific events where they were distributed. Shadow Punch in particular is important for PvP because its 35-energy cost lets Gengar bait shields efficiently.
Shiny Gengar odds
Shiny Gengar has been catchable since the Special Raid Challenge on November 3, 2018. Shiny rates are significantly higher from raids (around 1 in 20) than from wild Gastly hunting (around 1 in 500), so Ghost-themed events with boosted Gastly spawns or featured Gengar raids are the best windows to hunt. Shadow Gengar's shiny form was released during Memories in Motion on March 3, 2026.
Regular shiny Gengar has a fairly subtle color shift, but Mega Gengar's shiny form turns nearly white, which is one of the more distinctive shiny Megas in the game. Worth noting: evolved Pokémon normally can't show up shiny on the encounter screen, but Gengar is one of the rare exceptions in raids thanks to its Mega release.
If you're starting from zero, the fastest realistic plan is to grind Gastly candy at night or during Fog, evolve one Haunter, and find a friend to swap Haunters with for a free second Gengar. Stack that with any active Ghost-themed research or Mega Raid window, and you'll have a battle-ready Gengar plus a stockpile of Mega Energy without spending Stardust on trades.