How fast can you catch a Ghost type in EVERY Pokemon Game?

It’s that time of year, when ghost type pokemon encounters are at their height!
So today, we will take part in the festivities by seeing how fast you can catch a ghost in every mainline pokemon game!
Happy Halloween everyone!!!!
If you love unique Pokémon challenges as well as uncovering facts about the games you never knew, then you are going to love my channel! I am currently working on the "How fast can you catch X in EVERY Pokémon game" series
where we track down specific pokemon, types, and other interesting groupings in the most optimal way possible.
I use a heavy amount of research and analysis in search of the answer to each episode's question, aiming to tell a fun story of the often tedious but exciting adventures I go through along the way!
Check out all episodes series here: • Catching Challenges!
Thumbnail ~ Lycel: / lycelart
The awesome Ms.Sweethart helped me bounce ideas around as usual!
/ @ms.sweethart
Thanks to / @betabrawler for compiling gen 9 bugs!!!
ALSO I realized I missed showing the names of the gen 5 speedrunner, both are the current records held by / @scoagogo
All non pokemon music can be found in the new Video Music playlist!
Thanks to bulbapedia, speedrun.com, and all the amazing speedrunners for the wealth of available pokemon information!
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:50 Red/Blue/Yellow
6:02 Gold/Silver/Crystal
7:02 Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
9:42 Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
10:58 Black/White and Black 2/White 2
13:12 X/Y
14:52 Sun and Moon
16:05 Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee
21:50 Sword/Shield
25:18 Legends: Arceus
25:59 Scarlet/Violet
27:04 Results

[@theRealSlimGordon]

Honestly surprised by how fast you can get a Ghost pokemon in some of these games. Always thought that they were more "late-game" than others. Anyway, great video as always!

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much as always Gordon, glad you enjoyed! I totally agree, it seems these ghouls may already be too powerful! ;D

[@SantosOverlord]

ice types are rarer and harder to get nowadays weirdly enough

[@toumabyakuya]

@@SantosOverlord Seeing how we are about to enter into Christmas season, then this could easily be his next challenge.

[@SantosOverlord]

@@toumabyakuya it is a good idea

[@youtube-kit9450]

It's probably mostly because in the first 3 gens, they were so super rare. And rarity, because of ice or dragon, tends to be thought of as "late-game". In gen 1, Ghost is mostly associated with the pokémon tower, which usually is done after gym 4 and aside from hat tower, only E4 Agatha uses them. In Johto, aside from the new crystal locations at 5% (which you might not know without a guide), Gastly is *only* found in sprout tower and tin tower, a location accessible way later. And well, Misdreavus is on mt. silver. So here, sprout tower and the crystal locations are super early, otherwise ghost types are near-inaccessible. In Hoenn, if you discount Sableye and the Shedinja evolution, ghosts appear in Mt. Pyre, a location accessed after gym 6. After that, ghost became less of a special typing and thus they got more ubiquitous, but earlier, ghosts indeed tended to be super rare.

[@wrenchell]

I love ghost type so much, I'm so excited for this

[@semaJCh]

LET'S GO! 👻

[@gameworldjt]

Same, my favourite type

[@OrigamiAhsoka]

I absolutely love ghost type Pokémon. Unfortunate that they chose for Agatha to be a ghost type trainer when there were a grand total of 3 ghost Pokémon in that generation, all of which are from the same evolution line too…

[@youtube-kit9450]

They actually chose the 4 types with the fewest pokémon in the game, and gave those types to the Elite four. Hence why Dragon (3 pokémon) is given to Lance, thus he has 3 of the same line. Why Ghost (3 pokémon) is given to Agatha, same situation. Bruno has fighting (yes, 8 is actually the 3rd lowest number of pokémon of a single type in RBY, with thought-to-be-rare types like fire having 12 and electric having 9... Only 2 Hitmons, 3 Machop line, Poliwrath, Mankey and Primeape)... which ofc still makes his two Onix stupid. And Lorelei having Ice (5 pokés), which technically could give a whole team, but since one is legendary, Slowbro's there.

[@semaJCh]

Update: Thanks to @snowyarticuno for catching (lol) that I made a blunder in sword and shield as you can find non-overleved ghosts in the suitably spooky Watchtower Ruins (as well as North Lake Miloch). Apologies for that mistake everyone! I suppose the run counts for the DLC for whatever that amounts to. XD Happy Halloween everyone!!! I had this idea planned ever since we started the pokemon challenges so it was really exciting to finish it. :) I really tried to take what I learned from the previous lost mystery video and apply it to our runs and I would love to know what you all think! Thanks so much for all the support as always and I hope this one adds to your spooky season. 👻

[@magolor152]

Duskull is also an option there too

[@semaJCh]

True! I failed to properly describe the watchtower and updated the comment, thank you!

[@phobiawitch835]

I was gonna mentjon this, AND the fact that Golett shows up there during Sunny weather as well, not just Sandstorms. Meaning you can get a Golett before the first gym (which is how Mono Ghost Nuzlockes become way easier).

[@UrFavoriteArsonist]

Have you tried a how fast you could get a dragon? Cause that one could be neat to see

[@transientreality5879]

Sableye representation, love to see it. Wonderful work as always. ❤️

[@semaJCh]

Thank you as always transient! Agreed, Sableye is great! Aaaaand far better than front facing nincada! 👻

[@YukeWeiss]

We love this series! Gen III was such a riot that Shedinja was on the cards.

[@KitsuneKoinu]

I really like this type of challenge. AFAIK you're the first person to do it (Idk I could be wrong). Also, may I suggest a video on Delibird during Christmas Season? I know it's not in every game but it would fit the season

[@semaJCh]

Thanks a bunch! Delibird certainly sounds like a fun idea ;)

[@BrightofNight]

This was great! My biggest takeaway is that I will now always think about Des-Ort when I arrive at the desert resort in Unova. Thanks for that and happy Halloween

[@semaJCh]

LOL I was worried people would hate me for that one XD Thanks for watching and so glad you enjoyed!!!

[@NovaOscura]

Jumpscare Warning 8:09 11:35 It's a shame how limited ghosts are in the series, but they're loved regardless. Thank you for making this spooky kooky video. If you don't mind my asking, I'm honestly curious if there have been any ideas you've had for vids like this that you've ended up shelving because of Gen 7 (or the others but let's face it there's a common theme with those games)?

[@LambowithaBanjo88]

Happy Halloween!! So glad we got another upload this month! Loved the goosebumps reference 😂

[@justjammal]

The lavender music being played at this time of the year gave me little flashback of the old creepy pasta days. Now I'm extra hyped for that video

[@CrzzyCat]

You know a Halloween video is going to be good when you hear lavender town music ✨

[@MagusKain]

Cliche*

[@theschnozzler]

Cringe

[@labbecedario1579]

I started to love Pokemon' franchise with the arc of Sabrina in the Indigo League serie, so I really love this video too! Congratulations from Italy 😄

[@SiobhanRJ]

I love these videos so much! Thank you for nobly suffering for us (so many hours!), it was very fun to watch. :D

[@semaJCh]

Really appreciate the support, glad you enjoyed! :D It was a fun time despite the suffering! ;D

[@beachratlover]

SPOOKY SEMAJ VIDEO?!?!? Awesome work as always! It's so wild how much effort you put into every single one of your videos... We are but ants beneath your magnifying glass of greatness, unworthy of your attention yet deserving of your punishment. Love the video, can't wait to see what you cook up next!

[@semaJCh]

PLEASE!!! Thank you as always beachrat!!!

[@tuiteyfruity5010]

Dhelmise makes a lot of sense to me. Britain kinda known for ships and its navy.

[@catriamflockentanz]

I've seen such a video already over a year ago but that was a more informal "This is the first Ghost Type you can catch as early as possible" video and this was way more in-depth and yet more entertaining take on the same concept.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks for pointing this out, I missed that! Glad my take on it was still fresh and enjoyable for you. :)

[@TheNewHandleThingIsDumb]

22:05 "my partner" 🥺 aww the amount of times ive been clocked due to saying this over the years haha

[@aidansherry17]

I love this series so much! Excellent work again:)

[@semaJCh]

So glad to hear, thanks a ton for the continued support Aidan!

[@moopsten]

I give this video 10 spoo out of 10 ky, amazing as always!

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much Moop! 👻👻👻

[@jvever4904]

What a spectacularly spooky video fit for the season!

[@Wildspeck]

When I was a kid I had my first game Pokémon y I could not beat it so I would repeatedly reset and replay the story. I would always get the ghost type because there is a battle against Korrina where she only has normal and fighting moves

[@RahidenChan]

Great vid! Maybe Dragon or Ice next?

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much, both of those ideas are totally on the list! ;)

[@allanturmaine5496]

Finally. Someone answering the real questions.

[@hawkfeather6802]

That's enough ghosts to haunt you for the rest of your life! Nice work finding them all!

[@kavaler1471]

semaJ Ch uploaded I gotta drop everything

[@semaJCh]

PLEASE! That's too kind!!!

[@kavaler1471]

@@semaJCh it was worth it too ‼️‼️‼️ another banger video

[@Arvenyte]

I've been playing all pokemon games with ghosts only, so this was really fun to revisit and check. For gen 1 I ended up glitching a gengar encounter with the trainerfly/mew glitch. Funny enough I did it differently per version. For Pokemon Blue I fainted from poison damage in the spot where the last trainer of Viridian Forest sees you, then fought the rival and lost to his Squirtle before going to Viridian Forest and getting my Gengar. For Pokemon Yellow I went to Pewter City, bought a escape rope and rested at the Center there, then did trainer fly on the second to last trainer in Viridian Forest, fought and lost to the Digglet of the trainer in Brock's Gym, healed at the Center, and went back to Viridian Forest to get my Gengar. And yeah, for Gen 3 Sableye is definitely the fastest, unless you're playing Ruby, where you have only Shedinja until Mt. Pyre. Also since you didn't mention it. For Colosseum the one and only you can catch is Misdreavus, rather early on after just 4 battles For XD you need to play the game for quite a bit, since you don't get your first ghost (Duskull) until Cipher takes over the ONBS.

[@Traveller281]

Good job! You have truly saved us all. It is interesting to see the thought process and explore different option, not just the results and as always, you do a good job at that. Although whenever I see these types of videos, I really think black/white vs. black2/white2 should be considered their own games, because they really are completely different. Some follow ups are just remakes with new gimmicks or added things but if red/blue/yellow are considered different from the let's go games, the same logic should apply to 5th generation.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed! That is a great point as well. I think the reason I avoided it here (especially here) is that the final result is so similar that it is a bit anti-climactic in terms of the story telling I aim for! It is a great thing to keep in mind though and could certainly be worth considering in the future or for specific runs (for a fun addition potentially). :)

[@chackbro1]

Ooh glad your partner is a fellow Golett fan

[@standard-carrier-wo-chan]

Another semaJ challenge video let's gooooo I think it would be cool challenge to see how long can you get your first pseudo-legendary in each game.

[@JadeWolfArtist]

As someone who loves the ghost types (mimiku especially), this was so fun to watch and fitting for the season. It was a good video, thank you for making it.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much for the continued support, Jade! Glad you enjoyed!

[@Theoleon324]

You can actually lock onto the Gimmighoul chest and throw your Pokeball at it near the lighthouse (:

[@crickett3536]

I only realized this month just how few ghost types were in Gen 1 and 2. Despite the iconic Lavender Town. I had to look up what Agatha used in her battles because there were so few 😂

[@youtube-kit9450]

Gen 1: Gengar line Gen 2: Only Misdreavus Gen 3: Shedinja, Sableye, Dusclops line, Banette line Yup, 10 ghosts total in 3 gens. That's fewer ghost types actually than e.g. fire types (a type thought to be rather rare) in gen 1 alone. It's so little that despite gen 4 only introducing 8 ghost types (which isn't *that* much), it still nearly doubled the available ghost types because of how few there were.

[@culaeyliew2053]

I was so damn tired and put this on for the perfect snooze. Not to say it’s boring rather it was just extremely calming and interesting. Started on dragon and woke up on this stay balling ❤

[@semaJCh]

Totally appreciate it, thank you so much for the support! 😊

[@codyssmith73]

You never said glitches or exploits weren’t allowed, so… in Gen 1, Yellow is actually the way to go! If you’ve ever pulled off the Mew Glitch, the start of it can be pulled off in Viridian Forest with an Escape Rope on one of three trainers in there. After this, purposefully faint to the Light Year Trainer’s Diglet…. Then walk back into Viridian after blacking out. You’ll get into a battle with a Level 7 Gengar… or if you use Growl on the Diglet 6 times, you can find a Level 1 Gengar that you can then immediately boost to Level 100 if you earn under a certain amount of XP with said Level 1 in a battle.

[@nataliedecicco8761]

Ghosts are cool! We have a handful of really great designs now too!

[@sleepwalking3345]

Wow great production quality!! Surprised you dont have more subs

[@semaJCh]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed! :)

[@waterierStone]

That was a lot more driftloons than i expected

[@Mimiyan_or_Pikapikafan]

Hey there's ghost types you can catch in the wild area. For some reason, while the over world spawns are over the level catching cap, you can actually catch the Pokemon that appear in the "!" tall grass encounters. I looked on serebii and found that Golett and Drifloon are available early on. So going to the DLC areas isnt required, and is actually slower

[@joelsoderholm183]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS❤❤❤ YOUR VIDEOS ARE SO MUCH FUN

[@semaJCh]

So glad you enjoy!!!

[@user-uv2cp1qd1j]

I remember thinking through which games would be easiest for a Ghost type hc monolocke (decided on ultra moon) and being so surprised by how late some of them are. Especially RSE and DPP

[@princeapoopoo5787]

Ghost is my absolute favourite type, so this is definitely a video for me.

[@semaJCh]

So stoked, hope you enjoy!! 👻

[@Julia304]

My favourite ghost type is Dusknoir along with the Sableye. Purely for the role they play in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon! While my love for Pokémon has faded unfortunately, this is still a good video and I enjoyed it.

[@ProjectRedfoot]

I has to hide under my comforter with a MagLite to watch this one! 😱

[@ProjectRedfoot]

It's okay, I brought fresh popcorn and really, *really* old candy! lol

[@golork3267]

Great video as always. Here's hoping for another great in the future. As for a suggestion, it'll be the same one I suggested last pokémon video. How long does it take to get the Pseudo Legendary in EVERY Pokémon Game? Specifically, the PL that appears in each generation. Dragonite in the Gen 1 Games, Tyranitar in the Gen 2 Games, Metagross or Salamence in the Gen 3 games, etc.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks for the for the continued support! This one is certainly higher on my list as I imagine it makes for an interesting comparison, thanks again for the suggestion too. :)

[@golork3267]

@@semaJCh I'm happy to know you've considered my suggestion. Look forward to see how it and others go.

[@geesusrises]

ahhhhh i love it!! a wonderful video as always :softcowboy:

[@semaJCh]

Thank you so much!!! :softcowboy:

[@undeadwolfemilia]

the johnstone bits were perfect

[@semaJCh]

I think you are the first to mention them!;) So glad you enjoyed!!! John is a huge inspiration for sure 😊

[@undeadwolfemilia]

@@semaJCh I started watching him recently and his content is fantastic

[@themonsterunderyourbed.7620]

As someone who is part of the way through a Ghost mono of the entire Pokemon series, this video will be quite helpful for those that i can't hack one in.

[@danielrhenals1533]

this is soothing. asmr touch to it.

[@Dangusthemateballmaster67]

Oh spooky video I so scared I can’t even sleep at night because of this video 😨

[@Grey_Warden_Invasion]

Ghastly seriously only has a 5% encounter rate on that route in Crystal?? I played this game like 20+ times back in the days and to me it often seemed they had more like a 50% encounter rate...

[@zakary96ful]

Would love to have this as a series!

[@AvoytDesign]

Can't wait to for the Fire-type one!

[@slightcurve98]

I like how they said due to an oversight which is a highlight in this run. Blud the whole game is an oversight 😂

[@darkmask5933]

I thought you said EVERY Pokémon game? What happened to Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Pokémon Ranger, Pokémon Go, Pokémon Masters EX, and Pokémon Conquest? >:D I'm just teasing, this was a fun video! ^^

[@VitaEmerald324]

I think it’s astonishing that the Unova sequels are the faster option despite Pokestar Studios

[@bezoticallyyours83]

Never heard of an erratic experience group. :/ That explains why its such a pain to level prior to gen 6

[@MamieBabi]

You can get the ghost faster in the og games. Grab a pokedoll at the shopping center. And it by passes the game corner. You use the pokedoll instead of the silph scope

[@cj_skywalker]

I didn't realize there was a rare candy near Sonia's lab. :)

[@kevandre]

I wonder why Squirtle is the play over Bulbasaur, both grass and water are 4x effective against Brock, and it means you wouldn't need to catch the paras to use cut

[@vongolajames]

Ghosts are the best!!!

[@Romanticoutlaw]

not me, a cripplingly old yellow fan, only just learning that x-accuracy apparently _guarantees_ hits??

[@leeeroyjenkins555]

Idea: how fast can you get a Squirtle on everygame as a starter and not as an starter

[@alcoholicwitharatproblem4211]

I’m fairly certain that galar could have been completed faster with the tower next to motostoke

[@PreciousTheShinyShuppet]

Best misspeak, Aspiration Fieldlands (Obsidian Fieldlands) 25:48

[@semaJCh]

The ghosts made me do it 👻

[@bezoticallyyours83]

I'd say gen 2, 6 and 7, have the nearest ghost encounters with gastly and i think misdreavus

[@adcalzyy9990]

Ghost type = Best type

[@VannyBeumer]

You mentioned the lucky crit on starmie, but zippy zap always crits.

[@goldenhydreigon4727]

I think a neat challenge would be seeing how fast you can get a Psuedo in each game. Mainly for RSE and Unova since it'd be interesting which Psuedo is faster to get between Bagon or Beldum (RSE) and Deino (either BW or B2W2 whichever is faster) or Metang (B2W2)

[@semaJCh]

Certainly on my list, thanks for the suggestion and watching!

[@mattitalks6261]

Gen 1 you can catch a ganger before the first gym it's a glitch but u can do it.

[@MrBjort]

Would make for a short video in some cases but doing this for every type could be fun. (maybe make starters not count)

[@bezoticallyyours83]

Yeah drifloon is caught super early in arceus. Forgot about that

[@JayHawkins-mk7ds]

You Just need a to Pokémon spawn next to the Jimmghoul

[@TheSpecialPsycho]

You missed the important Colosseum & Gale of Darkness though

[@RaynmanPlays]

Other games: "Ghost type is far too powerful for a rookie trainer. You must prove yourself first." Gen II: "You know what Pokemon you should catch? Gastly. Here! Have 20!"

[@rhyswilliams6281]

perfect video

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much!

[@Misimi]

Actually there's an easy trick to get ghost-types quickly that works in every game, you just need the special item "Brick" and some guts.

[@stevesamuals2651]

I hope mismagius and misdrevous are apart of this run

[@snowyarticuno]

For Sword & Shield, wouldn't it have been faster to set it to March 1 or October 1, then go to the Wild Area's Watchtower Ruins? There's a Gastly & Duskull that spawn in Cloudy (March 1) or Rainy (October 1) and it's not blocked off. The only caveat is you have to wait out an ! to pop out of the grass, but while all the visible Pokemon are in the 20s all the Pokemon through the "hidden" method are in our level range.

[@semaJCh]

You are totally right and I am very bummed I confused this in my research! I am unsure where I got things turned around after investigating the first area. It must have been the confusion at being strictly unable to in rolling fields. XD Apologies! I suppose my version accounts for the DLC specifically I guess. XD Thanks again for the feedback, hope you still enjoyed the video!

[@GarlicKing101]

Aren't there a load of ghost types in Sword and Shield in the wild area NW who are on level 10 or so? Would be much faster

[@studiogimli7645]

its a shame ghost monotype is such a pain, you get so little! even having a ghost in your team can take a while as seen here

[@Jamie-st6of]

ghosts at the best pokemon yessssss

[@gimok2k5]

I now expect the same run but for ice type in December.

[@semaJCh]

Hmmmmmmmm.....👻

[@isolated_punk2827]

Ghost types are my favorite type

[@JimXUltima]

Ghost busting

[@julioulloa5403]

Isnt it dreepy easier in violet?

[@Lazu__li]

Munja not being worth is good because it would defeat the point of removing a ghost from nature

[@flumphflumph6021]

You forgot Colosseum and XD Gale of Darkness. Still a good video though.

[@patonosequecosa]

LESSSSSS GOUUUU

[@mjm3091]

10:50 I disagree about usage of game exploit that is time change. That's extra 24h unless you time it perfectly with the midnight. And that already limits this Pokemon to one very specific time period. Would prefer to see how much time it takes to actually get a first proper Ghost type that applies to all days of the week. Especially as Old Chateau is not far from that area.

[@felicityc]

mismagius the goat

[@alanmed1055]

You're super wrong in the Galar section. Just walk up to the watchtower and there you find Gastly, Duskull and I think Drifloon as well

[@ViridianMaridian]

I'd be curious what the times are like for ice types

[@semaJCh]

Same here! ;)

[@AvoytDesign]

You said *EVERY* Pokémon Game! Where's _Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire_ for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance handheld game console???

[@Giga-lemesh]

Spooky

[@NG-gy6iv]

Best type

[@calebbraun9505]

If you take suggestions, how fast can you capture each games box pokemon?

[@semaJCh]

Thanks for the suggestion, I will certainly look into this one!

[@calebbraun9505]

@@semaJCh yellow and the let's go games would be the fastest

[@meilinrivera1]

​@@calebbraun9505LMAO

[@bemybff205]

How quickly can you ghost each Pokémon game 😂

[@luca5621]

How fast can you get a legendary in every Pokemon game?

[@semaJCh]

Love this one! ;)

[@krh5081]

Why not use the pokedoll glitch to skip the ghost in lavender town. Then you save time not having to donthe rocket hideout.