Introduced in generation three, with the Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire games, Duskull is a monotype ghost Pokemon. It is the base evolution of Dusknoir and evolves into Dusclops once it reaches the level threshold. Duskull is classified as the “Requiem Pokemon” and has the connotations of the Grim Reaper of the Pokemon universe. This guide will showcase Duskull’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime and other general facts about Duskull.
About Duskull
Duskull is a generation three ghost type Pokemon that is said to spirit away misbehaving children. It made its first appearance in the anime with the Pikachu Short in the episode Camp Pikachu. While Duskull and Dusclops were released in generation three, their final evolution was not released until Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. As such the conditions to evolve Duskull and Dusclops are different. You just need to reach level 37 to evolve into Dusclops, but you will need to trade Dusclops while it is holding a Reaper Cloth item in order to access Dusknoir.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Series: Pikachu Short Camp Pikachu |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire |
| Region | Hoenn |
| Evolution | Base evolution of Dusknoir, evolves into Dusclops |
| 1st Evo level | 37 |
| 2nd Evo level | Evolves into Dusknoir when traded holding a Reaper Cloth |
| Pokedex Entry | Duskull wanders lost among the deep darkness of midnight. There is an oft-told admonishment given to misbehaving children that this Pokémon will spirit away bad children who earn scoldings from their mothers. |
Duskull Base Stats
| HP | 20 |
| ATTACK | 40 |
| DEFENCE | 90 |
| SP. ATTACK | 30 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 90 |
| SPEED | 25 |
| TOTAL | 295 |
Appearance
Duskull is a small ghostly Pokemon that wears a black robe and a mask that looks like a skull. Underneath the mask, a single red orb can be seen that often moves around so it can fill the two eyes of the mask. Many depictions of Duskull show its two arms held behind its back and, like most ghost Pokemon, it has no feet but instead floats about wherever it desires. Duskull is relatively small at only 2 feet and 7 inches, or 0.8 meters, tall.
Behavior
Duskull is a mischievous Pokemon that can go invisible at will and also walk through walls. Folk tales in the Pokemon universe state that Duskull will come to punish misbehaving children. The Pokedex confirms this by stating that “It loves the crying of children. It startles bad kids by passing through walls and making them cry.” Duskull seems to be relentless to achieve this goal as it will only stop chasing its prey once the sun has risen.
Strengths and Weaknesses
As a base evolution, there is not much to fear about Duskull. It is not particularly powerful but has respectable resistances, even for a base evolution. However, it has an abysmal health stat which makes it less effective at holding off attacks. As a monotype ghost Pokemon, it is already immune to normal and fighting moves but it also has access to the ability Levitate which makes it immune to ground types as well. Duskull will take half damage from poison and bug types but it will take 2x damage from ghost and dark type moves.
Best Moveset
Since Duskull is at its base evolution, it will only see success in the LC (Little Cup) brackets of competitive play, where all of its opponents will also be base evolutions. It functions as a supporting Pokemon with Eviolite to help its naturally good resistances as well as running some disabling moves. Consider running Pain Split, Will-O-Wisp, Substitute and Shadow Sneak for a decent moveset. Pain Split will work well with Substitute as the health you lose from Substitute can be used to deal damage with Pain Split, Will-O-Wisp is a powerful status inflicting move, and Shadow Sneak will benefit from priority as well as STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus).
| Pain Split | Will-O-Wisp |
| Substitute | Shadow Sneak |
How to Catch Duskull in Pokemon Go
To obtain a Duskull in Pokemon Go, you have a few options to do so. Duskull can spawn in the wild and ghost type Pokemon will spawn more frequently between the hours of 8 pm and 8 am in your local time. If you happen to be out late at night, you could end up finding more Duskulls. Duskull has also appeared as a tier one raid boss in Pokemon Gyms making it fairly easy to locate. You will need 25 Duskull candies in order to evolve into Dusclops and another 100 candy plus a Sinnoh Stone to evolve into Dusknoir.
Video
Trivia
- Like many other Pokemon, Duskull has a counterpart in Shuppet. Both were introduced in generation three, both are monotype ghost Pokemon, they both evolve at level 37 and they both have the same base stat total.
- The name Duskull is a combination of the words dusk and skull.
- The inspiration for Duskull’s design likely comes from the Hitodama, the Japanese interpretation of what the human soul looks like.
FAQ
How does Duskull Evolve?
It is actually very simple to evolve your Duskull. You will just need to reach level 37 in order to evolve it into Dusclops and there are no special conditions or requirements needed in order to do so. However, to evolve it into Dusknoir, you will need to trade your Dusclops in order to do so.
Is Dusknoir a good Pokemon?
Dusknoir has good resistances along with a decent physical attack stat, unfortunately it cannot really make much use of these good stats due to its awfully low health and speed stat. With a few priority moves along with ways to capitalize off of its high resistances, it's not a bad Pokemon but there are simply better options out there.
What Pokemon is number 355?
Pokemon #355 is Duskull. The Pokedex will number each individual Pokemon and typically have their evolution line in sequential order. Duskull is a little unique as it is near Dusclops, but Dusknoir can be found much further down the line. This is due to the different games that they were released in.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this “Requiem Pokemon”. Duskull is the base evolution of a relatively weak ghost evolution line of Pokemon. While their impact on the competitive scene has not been the biggest, they have some interesting lore attached to them and have functioned as a frightening addition since generation three. Duskull is even considered to be an adaptation of the Grim Reaper, which makes it a fairly unique Pokemon.
