Spiritomb is a Ghost/Dark-type Pokemon that made its debut in the fourth generation of Pokemon. At the time, Spiritomb was the only Pokemon, along with Sableye, to have no Type weaknesses and was difficult to catch as well. By the sixth generation, Spiritomb gained its only Type weakness: Fairy-type. Despite this, trainers looking for a good Ghost or Dark-type Pokemon for their team or to complete the Pokedex in Pokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet should look no further than Spiritomb.
It's highly likely that Pokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet players will run into an NPC/trainer that has a Spiritomb. It won't be until they reach a high-level area in-game that Spiritomb can be caught. By this point in the campaign, players may have already found fan-favorite Greavard or have fully evolved their Fuecoco into Skeledirge. Regardless, players that need to complete the Pokedex should still be on the lookout for Spiritomb in the Paldea Region.
Spiritomb Location
Fortunately, unlike Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl and Legends: Arceus, players won't have to speak to a set amount of NPCs or go searching for wisps. Spiritomb can be caught just like any other wild Pokemon in Scarlet/Violet. There are three locations on Mount Glaseado where Spiritomb likes to roam.
However, the most accessible and easiest place to spot Spiritomb is at the ruins located south of Grusha's Gym. There's a Pokemon Center that players can Fly to (once they've unlocked it), and directly south of that Pokemon Center are a set of ruins (refer to the above image). Unlike skittish Pokemon, Spiritomb won't flee if it spots the player's character, so don't worry about having to chase it down.
Although Spiritomb is part Ghost-type, players can still spot one during the day. Generally, it has a higher chance of appearing at night. Trainers that are still having a difficult time finding Spiritomb can eat or make sandwiches with the Meal Effect: Encounter Power (Ghost) or Encounter Power (Dark) Lv.1.
The Spiritomb on Mount Glaseado will be at level 49. Its Dark-typing means Normal, Fighting, and Psychic-type moves will roll right off of it. In the case players are overleveled, try using weaker moves to whittle its HP down to orange/red. Inflicting status ailments helps as well.
Another alternative is to throw a Quick Ball. A Quick Ball has a 5x catch rate, but only if it's used at the start of the battle. Also, players will want to make sure they have six gym badges. At six badges, wild Pokemon that are up to level 50 will be easier to catch.
More Information About Spiritomb
As mentioned, Spiritomb's Ghost/Dark-type means it has very limited Type-weaknesses. Its best stats are its Defense and Special Defense, with Attack and Special Attack being second best. Spiritomb isn't a speedy Pokemon, so any Nature that gives it a Speed growth may not be worth it. Here are its type effectiveness and its base stat spread:
Strong against | Psychic, Ghost |
|---|---|
Weak against | Fairy |
Resistances | Poison |
Immunities | Psychic, Normal, Fighting |
Stat | Base no. | Total |
|---|---|---|
HP | 50 | |
Attack | 92 | 485 |
Special Attack | 92 | |
Defense | 108 | |
Special Defense | 108 | |
Speed | 35 |
Right away, players can tell that Spiritomb could make for a solid Ghost tank or a great attacker. Most of its moves in its Learnset are all Special Moves, meaning any damage inflicted by these moves (such as Shadow Ball) will be calculated by Spiritomb's Special Attack rather than its Attack.
Spiritomb can also learn different TMs that can give it coverage against other types, such as Icy Wind or Rock Tomb. Spiritomb trainers will want to be wary of its Speed and HP, both of which are hardly impressive. Low Speed means Spiritomb will be moving last against most opponents. To remedy this, players can give their Spiritomb a Carbos vitamin or a Swift Feather, both of which increase its Base Speed.
Thanks to its Attack and Defense stats being relatively good, trainers have some flexibility when making a build for Spiritomb. The following Natures are recommended for Spiritomb:
- Careful (+Sp. Def, - Sp. Atk)
- Calm (+Sp. Def, - Atk)
- Bold (+Def, -Atk)
Generally, a Calm Nature is preferred over a Careful Nature if players want to run a Physical-hitting Spiritomb. This means a Spiritomb that has Moves like Sucker Punch (Dark-type). Sucker Punch is a good move for Spiritomb because it will always let its user attack first, as long as the opponent is attacking the same turn. If the user isn't attacking (ex: it's using a stat-boosting move like Swords Dance), then Sucker Punch will fail. On the downside, since Spiritomb's learnset is mostly built of Special Moves, its Careful Nature can work against it.
Calm Nature is preferred when Spiritomb is using Special moves for offense. This includes moves like Shadow Ball and Dark Ball, both Ghost and Dark-type moves, respectively, that deal 80 damage and have an accuracy of 100%.
Finally, there's Bold Nature, which will increase its base Defense growth at the cost of its Attack. Like Calm Nature, Bold is good if players want to have a moveset mostly built of Special moves (for offense). A growth in Defense means Spiritomb will be able to withstand most Physical damaging attacks, such as Play Rough (Fairy-type).
Natures to avoid are ones that generally lower Defense or Special Defense in favor of Speed (i.e: Sassy and Relaxed). Because Spiritomb is a slow-moving Pokemon, players will want to avoid Speed-increasing Natures at the cost of its other stats. At the same time, they'll want to avoid Natures that decrease Spiritomb's Speed growth simply because Spiritomb will need all the Speed it can get when battling.
Pokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.