Is Dusknoir Good in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Playthrough?
Reaper Cloth trade from Dusclops. More Attack and slightly more HP. The trade-off is losing Eviolite access that makes Dusclops tankier. Dusknoir hits harder, Dusclops tanks better. Both handle Phoebe and Tate and Liza.
Duskull has the type edge here and should clean up Roxanne's team.
Duskull has the type edge here and should clean up Brawly's team.
Duskull trades roughly evenly with Wattson's team.
Duskull trades roughly evenly with Flannery's team.
Norman's Pokemon outpace and outclass Duskull here.
Winona's typing presses Duskull's defenses.
Dusclops has the type edge here and should clean up Tate & Liza's team.
Dusclops has the type edge here and should clean up Wallace's team.
Dusknoir trades roughly evenly with Sidney's team.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Phoebe's team.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Glacia's team.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Drake's team.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Steven's team.
Catch Duskull on Mt. Pyre (walking, Lv 28-31, common).
Your Duskull should hit Level 37 before you reach Tate & Liza, at typical leveling pace.
Most players are ready to trade before reaching Sidney.
How to Get Dusknoir in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
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 solid rates, so the starting catch is the easy part.
How to Obtain Dusknoir in ORAS
The path to Dusknoir starts with Duskull at Lv. 28-31 via walking encounters. 1 catchable stage total, with locations listed for each one below.
Dusknoir Weakness
Ghost and Dark 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.
| Damage | Types |
|---|---|
| 2x (Weak) | Ghost, Dark |
| 0.5x (Resist) | Poison, Bug |
| 0x (Immune) | Normal, Fighting |
What is Dusknoir Weak Against
ExcellentBest Pokemon Against Dusknoir
 Mightyena Dark | C | |
 Sableye DarkGhost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Sableye builds →Shadow Claw 2x44-52% Feint Attack 2x40-48% | ||
 Shedinja BugGhost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Shedinja builds →Shadow Claw 2x52-62% Thief 2x29-35% | ||
 Zorua Dark | C | |
 Nuzleaf GrassDark | D | |
 Zoroark Dark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Zoroark builds →Foul Play 2x74-88% Shadow Claw 2x36-44% | ||
 Krokorok GroundDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Krokorok builds →Crunch 2x51-62% Shadow Claw 2x32-38% | ||
Mightyena Dark | C | |
 Scraggy DarkFighting | C | |
Sableye DarkGhost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Sableye builds →Shadow Claw 2x45-54% Knock Off 2x42-50% | ||
Zoroark Dark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Zoroark builds →Foul Play 2x77-91% Shadow Claw 2x37-44% | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
 Cacturne GrassDark | C | |
Krokorok GroundDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Krokorok builds →Crunch 2x52-62% Shadow Claw 2x30-37% | ||
Mightyena Dark | C | |
 Krookodile GroundDark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Krookodile builds →Foul Play 2x82-96% Shadow Claw 2x40-48% | ||
 Absol Dark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Absol builds →Sucker Punch 2x74-88% Shadow Claw 2x45-53% | ||
Zoroark Dark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Zoroark builds →Foul Play 2x74-88% Shadow Ball 2x47-55% | ||
Cacturne GrassDark | C | |
 Scrafty DarkFighting | C | |
Krookodile GroundDark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Krookodile builds →Foul Play 2x80-95% Shadow Claw 2x40-47% | ||
Absol Dark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Absol builds →Sucker Punch 2x73-86% Shadow Claw 2x44-52% | ||
Zoroark Dark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Zoroark builds →Foul Play 2x73-86% Shadow Ball 2x46-54% | ||
Cacturne GrassDark | C | |
Scrafty DarkFighting | C | |
Krookodile GroundDark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Krookodile builds →Foul Play 2x81-95% Shadow Claw 2x40-47% | ||
 Hydreigon DarkDragon | B | |
Absol Dark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Absol builds →Sucker Punch 2x74-87% Shadow Claw 2x44-52% | ||
Zoroark Dark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Zoroark builds →Foul Play 2x73-85% Shadow Ball 2x46-55% | ||
Cacturne GrassDark | C | |
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Tyranitar's Crunch also KOs at 101-119%.
A | ||
Recommended Build AbilityFlashfire ItemLeftovers NatureCalm Moves View Heatran builds →
| ||
A | ||
Recommended Build AbilityMagic Guard ItemLeftovers NatureBold Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Clefable builds →Moonblast20-24% | ||
 Tyranitar RockDark | A | |
Recommended Build AbilitySand Stream ItemChoice Band NatureRelaxed Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Tyranitar builds →Stone Edge63-74% Pursuit 2x52-61% Crunch 2x101-119%KO | ||
 Gengar GhostPoison | B | |
Recommended Build AbilityLevitate ItemChoice Specs NatureTimid Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Gengar builds →Shadow Ball 2x119-140%KO Sludge Bomb33-39% | ||
Dusknoir Evolutions
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. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed with Dusknoir to get Duskull eggs easily using 49 partners from the Indeterminate egg group. Notable egg moves include Dark Pulse, Destiny Bond, Feint Attack and 7 more.
ORAS Dusknoir Best Moveset
Ghost at 135 Defense and 135 Sp. Def with 100 Attack. AbilityPressure doubles opponent PP use. AbilityFrisk as a hidden ability reveals items. The moveset fires Ghost TermStab at real Attack but competes against Dusclops with Held ItemEviolite who has superior bulk despite lower offense.
Best Build
Dusknoir best EVs are Attack and Defense
Physical Attacker Moveset
- Shadow Sneak
- Will O Wisp
- Toxic
- Protect
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Need something that threatens multiple types? Dusknoir's movepool delivers. Coverage across 10 types plus STAB from Shadow Ball and Hex gives it answers for most defensive cores you'll run into.
How to Read the Moves Table
Tabs
- Level-Up
- Learned by leveling up.
- TM
- Taught by a Technical Machine.
- Egg
- Inherited via breeding.
- Tutor
- NPC tutor (cost: items, BP, money).
- Reminder
- An NPC reteaches any move this Pokemon could have learned by leveling up.
- Transfer
- Carried over from an older game using Pokemon HOME.
- Event
- Given out through Mystery Gift events.
Visual Signals
CAT (Category)
How the move deals damage and which stats it uses.
A small dot on the icon's corner marks the move as contact. That triggers abilities like Static, Flame Body, Rough Skin, or Iron Barbs, plus items like Rocky Helmet and Sticky Barb.
Tier (S to D)
Each move's competitive rank in RankedBoost's system. TM, Egg, and Tutor sort by tier by default (best first). On Level-Up, click the Tier header to do the same.
PWR (Power)
Base damage. Numbers shown in a type color include STAB (base × 1.5). Hover any colored number to see the math.
— means no power (status moves) or variable power.
Sorting & Filter
Click any column header to sort. Level-Up opens with Lv 1 at the top. TM, Egg, and Tutor open with the highest-tier moves at the top.
Search filters by move name or type. The Filter button limits the list to STAB, Physical, Special, or Status moves.
Level-Up Moves
TM Moves
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
It is said to take lost spirits into its pliant body and guide them home.
The antenna on its head captures radio waves from the world of spirits that command it to take people there.
Dusknoir Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Guide
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, Dusknoir has a 525 base stat total and ranks as B-Tier: a solid option in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire for the right team. It works best as an attacker. Shadow Sneak with Leftovers is the standard set.
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, 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.
No. Dusknoir is not catchable in the wild. It only comes from trade-evolving Dusclops. Trade needs a Game Boy Advance link cable and a second GBA running another Gen 3 game (FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald). Trade Dusclops to a friend, then have them trade it back. The 2026 Switch re-release supports the same trade through local wireless on the Pokemon Center 2F Wireless Club, with no cables required. The Reaper Cloth must be held during the trade. Bring one over from a sibling Gen 3 game if needed.
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.
In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, 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.
Game Availability
Dusknoir has been available in 14 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.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DPDebut
Diamond & Pearl - Gen 4Pt
Platinum - Gen 4HGSS
HeartGold & SoulSilver - Gen 5BW
Black & White - Gen 5B2W2
Black 2 & White 2 - Gen 6XY
X & Y - Gen 6ORAS
Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire - Gen 7SM
Sun & Moon - Gen 7USUM
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon - Gen 7LGPE
Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee - Gen 8SwSh
Sword & Shield - Gen 8BDSP
Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl - Gen 8PLA
Legends: Arceus - Gen 9SV
Scarlet & Violet - Gen 9LZA
Legends: Z-A - Gen 10WW
Winds & Waves