Physical
Attacker
525High
45Very Slow
BTier

Dusknoir's Ghost typing gives it an immunity to Normal and Fighting. Only 2 weaknesses on top of that — it has plenty of safe switch-in opportunities. Works well under Trick Room. Known as the Gripper Pokemon.

Dusknoir's all-in on Defense at the expense of HP. The physical lean is obvious from the bars. Yields 3 Defense and Sp. Def EVs and follows a fast 800K XP curve.

Base Stats
525High
HP45
D
Attack100
B
Defense135
A
Sp. Atk65
C
Sp. Def135
A
Speed45
D
Total525
Low <60
Avg 60-89
High 90-149
Top 150+
EV YieldDefeating Dusknoir yields +1 Def, +2 SpD
HPAtkDef+1SpASpD+2Spe
Details
Catch45Challenging•Fast800,000 XP•2.2m / 7'03"•106.6kg / 235 lbs•236Base XP
Pokedex Entries

The antenna on its head captures radio waves from the world of spirits that command it to take people there.

Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl

Dusknoir Weakness

Excellent

Ghost and Dark-type moves hit Dusknoir for super-effective damage. The upside? Normal and Fighting-type moves can't touch it at all. Dusknoir's overall bulk (45/135/135) lets it take a hit or two from most weaknesses before going down.

4xCriticali
None
2xWeaki
GhostDark
½xResisti
PoisonBug
¼xResisti
None
0xImmunei
NormalFighting
STAB (2)i
PsychicGhost
2Weak
2Resist
2Immune
Scorei+4
SpikesGrounded — up to 25%
Toxic SpikesVulnerable
Abilities
PressureIncreases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one.
FriskHAReveals an opponent's held item upon entering battle.

Dusknoir doesn't evolve through normal leveling. You'll need a trade to get here from Duskull's line. Breed this form to get Duskull eggs (average hatch time). Evolving from Duskull gave Dusknoir the biggest boost in Attack (+60), bringing the total to 525 stats.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Duskull
#355Duskull
37
Level 37
Dusclops
#356Dusclops
Trade + Reaper Cloth
Dusknoir
#477Dusknoir
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Duskull
Ghost
Dusclops
Ghost
Dusknoir
Ghost
HP
20
40+20
45+5
ATK
40
70+30
100+30
DEF
90
130+40
135+5
SP.ATK
30
60+30
65+5
SP.DEF
90
130+40
135+5
SPE
25
25
45+20
BST
295C-Tier
455C-Tier+160
525B-Tier+70
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
Attacker
TYPE
Utility
Physical
Physical
Breeding
Easy

Breed with Dusknoir to get Duskull eggs easily from the Indeterminate egg group. Notable egg moves include Destiny Bond, Grudge, Haze and 3 more.

Egg Groups
Indeterminate
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
25 cycles·6,425 steps
Moderate~6 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
6moves

Bulk and offense in one package. Dusknoir runs Assault Vest for a special bulk boost with no status moves allowed with a Adamant nature, so it survives long enough to threaten with Poltergeist. Max HP and Attack EVs and Ground coverage make it hard to safely switch into.

Best Build

Physical Tank
Ability
Frisk
Item
Assault VestBULK
Nature
Adamant+ATK
EVs

Best Dusknoir Moveset

  • Shadow SneakSTAB
  • PoltergeistSTAB
  • Power Up Punch
  • EarthquakeCoverage

Without breeding, Dusknoir misses out on Destiny Bond and Grudge. That's 6 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Shadow Ball and Hex, with coverage across 9 types rounding things out.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Astonish
3010015Ghost
Lv 1
Bind
158520Normal
Lv 1
Disable
—10020Normal
Lv 1
Fire Punch
7510015Fire
Lv 1
Gravity
——5Psychic
Lv 1
Ice Punch
7510015Ice
Lv 1
Leer
—10030Normal
Lv 1
Shadow Punch
60—20Ghost
Lv 1
Shadow Sneak+1
4010030Ghost
Lv 1
Thunder Punch
7510015Electric
Lv 12
Confuse Ray
—10010Ghost
Lv 16
Night Shade
—10015Ghost
Lv 20
Payback
5010010Dark
Lv 24
Will-O-Wisp
—8515Fire
Lv 28
Mean Look
——5Normal
Lv 32
Hex
6510010Ghost
Lv 36
Curse
——10Ghost
Lv 42
Shadow Ball
8010015Ghost
Lv 48
Future Sight
12010010Psychic
Lv 54
Destiny Bond
——5Ghost

TM Moves

Src
TM45
Attract
—10015Normal
TM14
Blizzard
110705Ice
TM31
Brick Break
7510015Fighting
TM83
Bulldoze
6010020Ground
TM04
Calm Mind
——20Psychic
TM57
Charge Beam
509010Electric
TM79
Dark Pulse
8010015Dark
TM32
Double Team
——15Normal
TM85
Dream Eater
10010015Psychic
TM26
Earthquake
10010010Ground
TM58
Endure+4
——10Normal
TM42
Facade
7010020Normal
TM70
Flash
—10020Normal
TM56
Fling
—10010Dark
TM52
Focus Blast
120705Fighting
TM01
Focus Punch-3
15010020Fighting
TM68
Giga Impact
150905Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
150905Normal
TM13
Ice Beam
9010010Ice
TM66
Payback
5010010Dark
TM17
Protect+4
——10Normal
TM77
Psych Up
——10Normal
TM29
Psychic
9010010Psychic
TM18
Rain Dance
——5Water
TM44
Rest
——10Psychic
TM80
Rock Slide
759010Rock
TM98
Rock Smash
4010015Fighting
TM39
Rock Tomb
609515Rock
TM30
Shadow Ball
8010015Ghost
TM48
Skill Swap
——10Psychic
TM82
Sleep Talk
——10Normal
TM96
Strength
8010015Normal
TM90
Substitute
——10Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
——5Fire
TM87
Swagger
—8515Normal
TM12
Taunt
—10020Dark
TM46
Thief
6010025Dark
TM41
Torment
—10015Dark
TM92
Trick Room-7
——5Psychic
TM61
Will-O-Wisp
—8515Fire

Egg Moves

Src
Egg
Destiny Bond
——5Ghost
Egg
Grudge
——5Ghost
Egg
Haze
——30Ice
Egg
Imprison
——10Psychic
Egg
Memento
—10010Dark
Egg
Pain Split
——20Normal

Tutor Moves

Dusknoir can't learn any Tutor moves

A trade step sits in Dusknoir's 3-stage chain from Duskull. The step cards below map each stage with catch locations and evolution methods. Duskull shows up at decent rates, so the starting catch is the easy part.

Trade Evolution Required — Requires trading with another player

How to Obtain Dusknoir in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

The path to Dusknoir starts with Duskull at Lv. 16-63 via walking and special encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.

  1. Duskull
    Step 1Catch Duskull
    Dazzling Cave
    Shining PearlGrassLv.16-6325%MidCaveUnique encounter
    EASY
    Stargleam Cavern
    Shining PearlGrassLv.16-6325%MidCaveUnique encounter
    EASY
    Dazzling Cave
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.16-6320%MidCaveUnique encounter
    EASY
    Stargleam Cavern
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.16-6320%MidCaveUnique encounter
    EASY
    Route 224
    Shining PearlUsing PokeRadarLv.232%MidRoute
    LEGENDARY
    Route 224
    Brilliant DiamondUsing PokeRadarLv.232%MidRoute
    LEGENDARY
    Dazzling Cave
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Dazzling Cave
    Shining PearlGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Stargleam Cavern
    Shining PearlGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Stargleam Cavern
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
  2. Dusclops
    Step 2Catch or Evolve Dusclops
    Route 224
    Brilliant DiamondUsing PokeRadarLv.52-5420%PostRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Route 224
    Shining PearlUsing PokeRadarLv.52-5420%PostRoute
    CHALLENGING
    Dazzling Cave
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Dazzling Cave
    Shining PearlGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Stargleam Cavern
    Shining PearlGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    Stargleam Cavern
    Brilliant DiamondGrassLv.58-63PostCavePost-game
    or evolve from Duskull (Step 1)
  3. Dusknoir
    Step 3Dusknoir ✓

  • Dusknoir has a 525 base stat total and ranks as B-Tier — a solid choice for the right team. It works best as an attacker. Base 135 Defense is where it shines.

  • Watch for Gengar (Ghost) and Absol (Dark) when using Dusknoir. They all hit it super-effectively with STAB. Only 2 weaknesses means fewer dedicated counters to worry about. Dusknoir has enough bulk to absorb a hit, but don't push the matchup. Pivot to a teammate that resists.

  • Dusclops evolves into Dusknoir while holding a Reaper Cloth. Dusknoir is the final evolution in a 3-stage line starting from Duskull. At 525 BST, it's got solid stats to work with.

  • Pressure increases the PP cost of moves targetting the Pokémon by one — that's the one you want on Dusknoir. Frisk is the hidden ability. Niche, but it has its uses.

  • Dusknoir fills the attacker role. It's a physical attacker with base 100 Attack. Base 45 Speed is low. Priority moves or Trick Room are the way to go. And it's tanky enough to absorb a few hits.

  • Dusknoir appears in 13 games, including Platinum, HeartGold & SoulSilver, and Diamond & Pearl.

Dusknoir has been available in 13 games since Diamond & Pearl, though obtaining it requires a trade evolution. This extra step makes it less common than Pokemon found through standard wild encounters.