Pokemon Legends: Z-A might bring you back to Kalos for some X&Y nostalgia, but if you want to turn back the clocks to Kanto, then Gengar is the perfect Pokemon to add to your team. Catching a Gastly early is one of the smartest decisions you can make toward the start of your playthrough, as you'll have plenty of time to train this powerful Pokemon.
If getting your choice of one of the three Kanto starters wasn't enough, then Gastly is sure to take you back to 1999 with its immense power. Here's how to get a Gengar early in Pokemon Legends: Z-A.
Where To Find Gastly Spawns
Unfortunately, Gengar doesn't appear in the wild the way Pokemon like Hawlucha do (save for a main mission encounter), so you'll first need to catch a Gastly in Wild Zone Four.
Go to the northern section of Lumiose City once you've unlocked the Wild Zones, and this cemetery area will be open to you.
Once you get to the cemetery, you'll notice the area is crawling with level nine and ten Gastly, so take your pick and catch as many as you'd like.
Ideally, you should try to find a Gastly with a Modest nature, which will increase its Special Attack's growth rate while slowing its Attack growth rate. This allows Gengar to maximize its damage with powerful special attacks like Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb.
How To Evolve Haunter Into Gengar
Once you have a Gastly, you have two more steps to go to get your Gengar:
- Train Gastly to level 25 and evolve it into Haunter
- Trade your Haunter with a friend to receive your Gengar
You can ask your friend to delay the evolution so that it evolves for you when traded back, or just let it evolve and receive the Gengar back from your friend.
After you get a friend who wants to trade with you, hit the X button and scroll down to 'Link Play'.
From there, you can choose between trading locally or via an internet connection.
The first option will search for Nearby Players and connect you to your friend if they're next to you, but the Faraway Player option requires a bit more setup.
If you're connecting online, you'll need to set an eight-digit code, then share it with your friend so they can enter the same code and get into a trading lobby with you.
Once you connect with your friend, you can trade your Haunters, which will immediately evolve into Gengar after the trade is complete.
Enjoy your new Gengar and remember to reconfigure its moveset.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 79/100 Critics Rec: 64%
- Released
- October 16, 2025
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak, Creatures Inc.
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- Proprietary
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Pokemon
- Number of Players
- 1-4 players (online)
- Nintendo Switch Release Date
- October 16, 2025
- Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date
- October 16, 2025
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Adventure
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
