Is Dusknoir Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Reaper Cloth trade on Dusclops. Ghost with AbilityPressure. The Gen 4 evolution adds Attack and bulk to the Duskull line. Trade-dependent but worth it.
Dusclops trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Dusclops resists most of Bugsy's coverage and hits back hard.
Dusclops trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Dusclops resists most of Morty's coverage and hits back hard.
Dusclops trades roughly evenly with Chuck's team.
Dusclops trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Dusclops has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Dusclops has the type edge here and should clean up Clair's team.
Dusclops has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Dusclops trades roughly evenly with Misty's team.
Dusclops has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Dusclops has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Dusclops trades roughly evenly with Janine's team.
Dusclops has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Dusclops has the type edge here and should clean up Blaine's team.
Dusclops trades roughly evenly with Blue's team.
Dusclops has the type edge here and should clean up Will's team.
Dusclops trades roughly evenly with Koga's team.
Dusclops trades roughly evenly with Bruno's team.
Dusclops trades roughly evenly with Karen's team.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catch Dusclops
Catch Dusclops in the Safari Zone (walking, Lv 45-46). Requires 35 Forest objects placed in Mountain.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 45)
- LV 45GhostShadow PunchPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- LV 45FireWill-O-WispPower —Accuracy 75%PP 15
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Morty
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
Evolve Dusclops to Dusknoir
Dusclops evolves into Dusknoir when traded. Trade it in the post-game, after you beat Lance.
Recommended Moves
- STARTING (Lv 47)
- LV 47GhostShadow PunchPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM52FightingFocus BlastPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Goldenrod Game Corner
- After Morty
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- After Chuck
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Prize for defeating Chuck
- After Clair
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Victory Road
How to Get Dusknoir in HeartGold & SoulSilver
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 in the wild.
Wild Dusknoir may be holding when caught:
Kasib Berry (5% chance) If held by a Pokemon, it weakens a foe's supereffective Ghost-type attack.Catch Duskull or Dusclops at any of these 1 spot to eventually evolve into Dusknoir.
Encountered via Surfing, tall grass encounters
Badge 8How to Obtain Dusknoir in HGSS
The path to Dusknoir starts with Duskull at Lv. 38-48 via walking and surfing encounters. 2 catchable stages total, with locations listed for each one below.
- Step 2Catch or Evolve Dusclopsor evolve from Duskull (Step 1)
- Step 3Dusknoir ✓
How to Get Shiny Dusknoir in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Dusknoir takes a Reaper Cloth trade, so breed a Duskull Masuda-style at 1 in 1,638 and evolve the line. Compare Shiny Dusknoir odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Dusknoir Calculator
2 MethodsThe best route is Masuda Method, about 1 in 1,639 on each try.
Masuda Method: Breed with a parent from a different-language game. Works on any breedable line.
Full Odds: Walk through grass, surf, or fish. Every encounter is its own independent shiny roll.
How many you have done, or plan to do.
| Chance | Encounters | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 10%lucky few | 173-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 472-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 1,136-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 3,773-- | -- |
Time assumes -- at your pace and does not change your shiny odds.
How is this calculated?
Every encounter has the same shiny chance, the Shiny Odds Per Try shown above. Each one is a separate roll that does not care how many you have already done, so the more you hunt, the higher your overall chance of at least one shiny. The formula below turns your odds and your number of tries into that combined chance.
chance after N tries = 1 − (1 − p)^N, where p = 1 / odds per try
Example at 1 in 8,192 (classic full odds): about 864 encounters for a 10 percent chance, 5,678 for 50 percent, and 18,862 for 90 percent.
The table above flips that around: it shows how many encounters it takes to reach a 10, 25, 50, and 90 percent chance at your current odds. Turning on boosts like the Shiny Charm, sandwiches, or chains improves your odds, so the encounter numbers drop.
These are estimates, not promises. Most games have no pity counter, meaning no guaranteed shiny no matter how many you hunt, so even Very Likely is not guaranteed: some hunters find one early, others go well past that point.
Planning a longer hunt? Set up Dusknoir in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
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 |
- Fairy type does not exist — Dragon has fewer checks
- Physical / Special split now per-move (introduced Gen IV)
What is Dusknoir Weak Against
ExcellentBest Pokemon Against Dusknoir
 Tyranitar RockDark | S | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Tyranitar builds →Crunch 2x76-90% Shadow Claw 2x45-52% | ||
 Absol Dark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Absol builds →Sucker Punch 2x74-88% Shadow Claw 2x43-51% | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
 Honchkrow Dark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Honchkrow builds →Night Slash 2x63-75% Shadow Ball 2x41-49% | ||
 Drapion PoisonDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Drapion builds →Crunch 2x54-64% Shadow Ball 2x27-32% | ||
 Houndoom DarkFire | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Houndoom builds →Dark Pulse 2x65-77% Shadow Ball 2x43-51% | ||
 Weavile DarkIce | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Weavile builds →Night Slash 2x60-71% Shadow Claw 2x40-48% | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Shiftry builds →Dark Pulse 2x54-64% Shadow Ball 2x36-43% | ||
 Mismagius Ghost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Mismagius builds →Shadow Ball 2x62-73% Dark Pulse 2x41-49% | ||
 Banette Ghost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Banette builds →Shadow Claw 2x59-70% Sucker Punch 2x45-52% | ||
 Mightyena Dark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Mightyena builds →Sucker Punch 2x54-64% Shadow Ball 2x27-32% | ||
 Haunter GhostPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Haunter builds →Shadow Ball 2x66-79% Dark Pulse 2x45-52% | ||
 Sableye DarkGhost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Sableye builds →Shadow Claw 2x41-49% Dark Pulse 2x43-51% | ||
Dusclops Ghost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Dusknoir View Dusclops builds →Shadow Ball 2x40-48% Dark Pulse 2x27-32% | ||
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 31 partners from the Amorphous egg group. Notable egg moves include Destiny Bond, Feint Attack, Grudge and 4 more.
HGSS Dusknoir Best Moveset
Physical Ghost at 100 Attack backed by 135 Defense and 135 Sp. Def. The moveset doesn't just block attacks, it fires back. MoveWill-O-Wisp burns physical threats while AbilityPressure doubles PP consumption on every incoming move.
Best Build
Dusknoir best EVs are HP and Attack
Physical Tank Moveset
- Shadow Sneak
- Will O Wisp
- Ice Punch
- Pain Split
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Without breeding, Dusknoir misses out on Destiny Bond and Feint Attack. That's 7 egg moves adding depth that the base kit lacks. STAB comes from Shadow Ball and Shadow Punch, with coverage across 9 types rounding things out.
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
All 31 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
This feared Pokémon is said to travel to worlds unknown. Some even believe that it takes lost spirits along with it.
Dusknoir HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
No. Dusknoir is not catchable in the wild. It only comes from trade-evolving Dusclops. The Reaper Cloth must be held during the trade. Bring one over from a sibling Gen 3 game if needed.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, use Dusknoir as an attacker. Physical side carries the damage. Not the fastest,
For HeartGold & SoulSilver, run Adamant on Dusknoir. +Attack is what matters, and the -Sp. Atk cut doesn't hurt this set. Fits the attacker role.
Game Availability
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.
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 7Let's Go
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
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