Is Misdreavus Good in HeartGold & SoulSilver Playthrough?
Cliff Cave encounter near Cianwood. Ghost-type with AbilityLevitate for Ground immunity. HGSS gives Misdreavus a Gen 4 evolution into Mismagius through Dusk Stone. Strong special Attack and Speed. Handles Bruno's Fighting-types at the Elite Four through Ghost immunity to Fighting.
Misdreavus trades roughly evenly with Falkner's team.
Misdreavus has the type edge here and should clean up Bugsy's team.
Misdreavus trades roughly evenly with Whitney's team.
Misdreavus has the type edge here and should clean up Morty's team.
Misdreavus has the type edge here and should clean up Chuck's team.
Mismagius trades roughly evenly with Jasmine's team.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Pryce's team.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Clair's team.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Brock's team.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Misty's team.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Lt. Surge's team.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Erika's team.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Janine's team.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Sabrina's team.
Mismagius trades roughly evenly with Blaine's team.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Blue's team.
Mismagius resists most of Will's coverage and hits back hard.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Koga's team.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Bruno's team.
Mismagius trades roughly evenly with Karen's team.
Mismagius has the type edge here and should clean up Lance's team.
Catchable
Catch Misdreavus in Cliff Cave (walking, Lv 20, rare).
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- TUTORNormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Ilex Forest
- LV 23PsychicPsybeamPower 65Accuracy 100%PP 20
- After Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- LV 37GhostShadow BallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15
- After Clair
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
- LV 50RockPower GemPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20
Evolve Misdreavus to Mismagius
Misdreavus evolves into Mismagius with a Dusk Stone. Post-Game: You can pick up the Dusk Stone in Cerulean Cave. Requires Rock Climb.
Recommended Moves
- After Bugsy
- TM15NormalHyper BeamPower 150Accuracy 90%PP 5Goldenrod Department Store
- TM25ElectricThunderPower 120Accuracy 70%PP 10Goldenrod Department Store
- TM24ElectricThunderboltPower 95Accuracy 100%PP 15Goldenrod Game Corner
- TUTORNormalHeadbuttPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 15Ilex Forest
- After Morty
- TM30GhostShadow BallPower 120Accuracy 100%PP 15Prize for defeating Morty
- After Jasmine
- TM43NormalSecret PowerPower 70Accuracy 100%PP 20Lake of Rage
- After Clair
- TM79DarkDark PulsePower 80Accuracy 100%PP 15Sold by the TM clerk on 3F of the Celadon Department Store
- TM40FlyingAerial AcePower 60Accuracy 100%PP 20Mt. Mortar
How to Get Misdreavus in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Misdreavus is a nighttime ghost, rare in the cliff caves but common to uncommon up on Mt. Silver and around the Safari Zone after dark. It never appears by day, so save your hunting for the night.
3 locations to catch Misdreavus
Encountered via tall grass encounters
Badge 6
Badge 7
Badge 8Where To Catch Misdreavus in HGSS
Misdreavus is the chain's first catch. You'll find walking encounters from Lv. 15-48 across 16 total spots in the chain.
- Step 2Evolve into Mismagius
To plan your throws, open the HeartGold & SoulSilver catch rate calculator with Misdreavus preloaded.
How to Get Shiny Misdreavus in HeartGold & SoulSilver
Misdreavus haunts the Cliff Cave and Mt. Silver at night, but breeding it Masuda-style is the quicker path to a shiny. Compare Shiny Misdreavus odds across every game
HeartGold & SoulSilver Shiny Misdreavus 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.
For time estimates and charm math, open the HeartGold & SoulSilver shiny odds calculator with Misdreavus already selected.
Misdreavus Weakness
Misdreavus is weak to Ghost and Dark. On the flip side, it's immune to Normal and Fighting-type moves entirely. Levitate grants an additional Ground immunity, reshaping the matchup chart. Misdreavus's special bulk (base 85 Sp.Def) helps absorb special-type weaknesses, though physical moves exploit the lower Defense.
| 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 Misdreavus Weak Against
ExcellentBest Pokemon Against Misdreavus
 Cacturne GrassDark | B | |
Available Move Moves
Damage vs Misdreavus View Cacturne builds →Sucker Punch 2x113-134%KO | ||
 Absol Dark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Misdreavus View Absol builds →Bite 2x96-113%KO Shadow Claw 2x74-88% | ||
 Shiftry GrassDark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Misdreavus View Shiftry builds →Feint Attack 2x77-91% Shadow Ball 2x48-57% | ||
 Haunter GhostPoison | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Misdreavus View Haunter builds →Shadow Ball 2x88-104%KO Sucker Punch 2x40-48% | ||
 Murkrow Dark | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Misdreavus View Murkrow builds →Feint Attack 2x68-80% Shadow Ball 2x46-54% | ||
 Dusclops Ghost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Misdreavus View Dusclops builds →Shadow Ball 2x52-62% Payback 2x33-39% | ||
 Shedinja BugGhost | C | |
Available Moves Moves
Damage vs Misdreavus View Shedinja builds →Shadow Claw 2x81-96% Thief 2x31-38% | ||
Misdreavus Evolutions
To get Mismagius from Misdreavus, you need an evolution item. The evolution method matters here. Evolving adds up to 60 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.
How to Evolve
Breeding
Breed Misdreavus easily with 31 breeding partners from the Amorphous egg group. Pass egg moves like Curse, Destiny Bond, Imprison and 8 more to offspring.
HGSS Misdreavus Best Moveset
85 Sp. Atk and 85 Speed with AbilityLevitate blocking Ground entirely. Fires special Ghost attacks at decent speed and has three immunities (Normal, Fighting, Ground). 60 HP and 60 Defense are thin. Mismagius is the upgrade.
Best Build
Misdreavus best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed
Special Setup Sweeper Moveset
- Shadow Ball
- Calm Mind
- Memento
- Curse
Recommended Teammates
Moves List
Breeding opens up real options for Misdreavus. Curse and Destiny Bond can be bred onto it, and they're worth the effort. The rest of the kit covers basics through Shadow Ball and Ominous Wind and coverage across 7 types.
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 25 TMs are obtainable before the Elite Four
Egg Moves
Tutor Moves
Base Stats
It likes playing mischievous tricks, such as screaming and wailing to startle people at night.
It loves to bite and yank people’s hair from behind without warning, just to see their shocked reactions.
Misdreavus HeartGold & SoulSilver Guide
- How do I catch Misdreavus in the HeartGold & SoulSilver Safari Zone?
See the Locations section above for where to find Misdreavus in HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Safari rules: You can only use Safari Balls. No battling. Two tactical items shift the catch/flee trade-off:
- Throw bait to keep Misdreavus from fleeing (flee rate cut to 1/4) but it becomes harder to catch (catch factor halved).
- Throw a rock to make Misdreavus easier to catch (catch factor doubled) but it flees twice as often.
- Each effect lasts 2-6 random turns; throwing one cancels the other.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, for a casual playthrough, Misdreavus works as a placeholder. Ghost coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Mismagius. That's where the stats start mattering.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Misdreavus plays as a balanced. Speed is middling, so pick your spots carefully. Set up with Curse when you get a free turn.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Modest is the go-to nature for Misdreavus. That's +Sp. Atk / -Attack. Pair it with 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe EVs. Fits the balanced role.
In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Misdreavus pairs best with Magcargo, Jumpluff, and Hitmonchan. Magcargo has Good synergy and covers what Misdreavus can't handle on its own.
Game Availability
Since Gold & Silver, Misdreavus has been in 17 games. Requiring an item-based evolution to obtain means it's consistently available but requires more effort than simply catching it in the wild.
Click a game to view version-specific details
- Gen 1RB
Red & Blue - Gen 1Y
Yellow - Gen 2GSDebut
Gold & Silver - Gen 2C
Crystal - Gen 3RS
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
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