Is Duskull Good in Diamond & Pearl Playthrough?
Transfer-only Ghost from Hoenn. AbilityLevitate for Ground immunity. Gen 4 adds the Dusknoir evolution through trade with Reaper Cloth. The new evolution makes this import line genuinely interesting.
Duskull trades roughly evenly with Roark's team.
Duskull trades roughly evenly with Gardenia's team.
Duskull trades roughly evenly with Maylene's team.
Duskull trades roughly evenly with Crasher Wake's team.
Duskull has the type edge here and should clean up Fantina's team.
Byron's typing presses Duskull's defenses.
Duskull trades roughly evenly with Candice's team.
Volkner's team hits Duskull's weaknesses hard.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Aaron's team.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Bertha's team.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Flint's team.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Lucian's team.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Mars's team.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Jupiter's team.
Dusknoir resists most of Saturn's coverage and hits back hard.
Dusknoir has the type edge here and should clean up Cynthia's team.
Catchable
Catch Duskull on Route 224 (Poké Radar, Lv 23, rare).
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM14IceBlizzardPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 5Lake Acuity
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 216
- TM29PsychicPsychicPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Veilstone Game Corner
- After Crasher Wake
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Route 210
- After Candice
- TM85PsychicDream EaterPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Valor Lakefront
- LV 46PsychicFuture SightPower 80Accuracy 90%PP 15
- After Volkner
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Victory Road
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
Evolve Duskull to Dusknoir
Dusclops evolves into Dusknoir when traded. Trade it in the post-game, after you beat Cynthia.
Recommended Moves
- After Gardenia
- TM68NormalGiga ImpactPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Game Corner
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Veilstone Department Store
- TM13IceIce BeamPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 10Route 216
- TM29PsychicPsychicPower 90Accuracy 100%PP 10Veilstone Game Corner
- After Crasher Wake
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Route 210
- After Byron
- TM01FightingFocus PunchPower 150Accuracy 100%PP 20Oreburgh Gate
- TM26GroundEarthquakePower 100Accuracy 100%PP 10Wayward Cave (secret entrance under bike path)
- After Candice
- TM85PsychicDream EaterPower 100Accuracy 100%PP 15Valor Lakefront
- Post-Game
- TM42NormalFacadePower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Survival Area
How to Get Duskull in Diamond & Pearl
Duskull chains rare off the Poke Radar on one postgame route, sitting at level 23. The Radar is the only way the reaper Pokemon shows, so an ordinary walk through that grass turns up nothing.
Wild Duskull may be holding when caught:
Kasib Berry (5% chance) Held: Consumed when struck by a super-effective Ghost-type attack to halve the damage.1 location to catch Duskull
Badge 8Where To Catch Duskull in DP
Duskull is where the line starts, caught through special encounters at Lv. 23. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.
- Step 1Duskull ✓
- Step 2Catch or Evolve into Dusclopsor evolve from Duskull (Step 1)
- Step 3Evolve into DusknoirBREEDINGAvailableLeave a compatible parent at the Pokemon Day Care to receive a Duskull egg.
Bring the right balls: check Duskull catch odds in the Diamond & Pearl Catch Rate Calculator before you throw.
How to Get Shiny Duskull in Diamond & Pearl
Duskull floats through the Route 224 grass, so a PokeRadar chain there lands its shiny. Compare Shiny Duskull odds across every game
Diamond & Pearl Shiny Duskull Calculator
3 MethodsThe best route is PokeRadar Chain at full boosts, about 1 in 200 on each try. Tune it below.
PokeRadar Chain: Chain shaking-grass patches without breaking the combo. The rate peaks at a chain of 40.
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 | 22-- | -- |
| 25%one in four | 58-- | -- |
| 50%coin flip | 139-- | -- |
| 90%very likely | 460-- | -- |
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 Duskull in the Diamond & Pearl Shiny Odds Calculator to compare every method side by side.
Duskull Weakness
Duskull's Ghost typing leaves it vulnerable to Ghost and Dark. It shrugs off Normal and Fighting-type attacks completely. Levitate grants an additional Ground immunity, reshaping the matchup chart.
| 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 Duskull Weak Against
ExcellentBest Pokemon Against Duskull
 Giratina GhostDragon | S | |
Obtain MethodTurnback Cave Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Giratina builds →Shadow Force 2x158-186%KO Dark Pulse 2x71-84% | ||
 Absol Dark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Absol builds →Sucker Punch 2x132-156%KO Shadow Claw 2x78-91% | ||
 Drapion PoisonDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Drapion builds →Crunch 2x98-116%KO Shadow Ball 2x47-56% | ||
 Honchkrow Dark | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Honchkrow builds →Night Slash 2x112-133%KO Shadow Ball 2x74-87% | ||
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Cacturne builds →Sucker Punch 2x120-142%KO | ||
 Weavile DarkIce | B | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Weavile builds →Night Slash 2x109-128%KO Shadow Claw 2x72-85% | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Shiftry builds →Dark Pulse 2x98-116%KO Shadow Ball 2x66-78% | ||
 Skuntank PoisonDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Skuntank builds →Night Slash 2x88-105%KO Shadow Claw 2x59-70% | ||
 Spiritomb GhostDark | C | |
Obtain MethodRoute 209 Interact Encounter Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Spiritomb builds →Sucker Punch 2x98-116%KO Shadow Ball 2x98-116%KO | ||
 Mismagius Ghost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Mismagius builds →Shadow Ball 2x110-130%KO Dark Pulse 2x74-87% | ||
 Banette Ghost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Banette builds →Shadow Claw 2x105-123%KO Sucker Punch 2x80-95% | ||
 Drifblim Ghost | C | |
Obtain MethodEvolve Drifloon (Valley Windworks Interact Encounter) Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Drifblim builds →Shadow Ball 2x98-116%KO Payback 2x38-45% | ||
 Gengar GhostPoison | A | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Gengar builds →Shadow Ball 2x132-156%KO Dark Pulse 2x88-104%KO | ||
 Sableye DarkGhost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Duskull View Sableye builds →Shadow Claw 2x74-88% Dark Pulse 2x74-88% | ||
Duskull Evolutions
Three stages ahead. Duskull grows into Dusclops, then pushes on to Dusknoir. Check the evolution methods below. For breeding, average hatch time with a decent partner pool via one egg group. The evolved forms gain up to 230 total stats over Duskull. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Duskull easily with 31 breeding partners from the Amorphous egg group. Pass egg moves like Destiny Bond, Feint Attack, Grudge and 4 more to offspring.
DP Duskull Best Moveset
90 in both Defense and Sp. Def show promise, and AbilityLevitate blocks Ground attacks. But 20 HP ruins the bulk entirely, and the moveset has nothing offensive. Evolve to Dusclops, then Dusknoir.
Best Build
Duskull best EVs are Defense and Sp. Def
Wall Moveset
- Pain Split
- Night Shade
- Curse
- Will O Wisp
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
You'll want to breed for Destiny Bond and Feint Attack on Duskull. These egg moves aren't just nice to have. Combined with STAB from Shadow Ball and Ominous Wind, they expand what Duskull can actually threaten in practice.
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
35 of 38 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Transfer Moves
Base Stats
It doggedly pursues its prey wherever it goes. However, the chase is abandoned at sunrise.
Duskull Diamond & Pearl Guide
Yes. Wild Duskull in Diamond & Pearl can hold Kasib Berry (5%). Use Thief (TM46) or Covet to swipe the held item without affecting your catch chance. Quickest way to farm rare items like Kasib Berry.
In Diamond & Pearl, Duskull has 295 BST and evolves into Dusclops. Compare the two forms before you give either one a team slot.
Yes. Duskull is a post-game Pokemon. You need to defeat the Elite Four and enter the Hall of Fame first. Duskull becomes available after the main story is complete in Diamond & Pearl.
Game Availability
Available in 16 titles since its debut in Ruby & Sapphire, Duskull spans 7 generations of Pokemon games. It's accessible through catching or hatching as a base form in most mainline games.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GS
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RSDebut
Ruby & Sapphire - Gen 3E
Emerald - Gen 3FRLG
FireRed & LeafGreen - Gen 4DP
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
Explore
Where to go next after Duskull.
Keep playing · Diamond & PearlDiamond & Pearl Tier ListThe best Pokemon ranked tier by tierSee Diamond & Pearl Tier List