Mixed
Balanced
DTier
51Speed · Slow

Pumpkaboo Best Moveset

Building toward Gourgeist's 122 Defense. 66 Attack fires Ghost and Grass TermStab at 51 Speed cooldowns with moderate force. 49/70/55 defenses lean physical. The moveset previews the defensive identity that Gourgeist takes to a functional level.

SABCDEFEEEX & Y / ORASVIXY/ORASPEAKSun & Moon / USUMVIISM/USUMSword & Shield / BDSPVIIISS/BDSPCURRENT
★Gen VI — X & Y / ORASE

Pumpkaboo saw minimal competitive use in Gen VI (X & Y / ORAS). This was Pumpkaboo's competitive peak. Its most popular set ran pickup with Eviolite, favoring a Careful nature.

Fairy type added to the gameMega Evolution became available

Best Moves

SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
Lv 20
Leech Seed
Grass—POPULARSTAB
TM22
Solar Beam
Grass120POPULARSTAB
TM53
Energy Ball
Grass90POPULARSTAB
Lv 36
Shadow Ball
Ghost80POPULARSTAB
Pumpkaboo X & Y MovesPumpkaboo ORAS Moves

Best Build

Experimental
Wall
Ability
Pickup
Item
EvioliteBULK
Best Nature for Pumpkaboo
Careful+SPD

Pumpkaboo best EVs are Sp. Def and HP

EVs

Wall Moveset

  • Leech SeedSTAB
  • Solar BeamSTAB
  • Energy BallSTAB
  • Shadow BallSTAB
→Gen VII — Sun & Moon / USUME

Pumpkaboo saw minimal competitive use in Gen VII (Sun & Moon / USUM). Pumpkaboo maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Frisk with Eviolite, favoring a Modest nature.

Z-Moves became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
TM61
Will-O-Wisp
Fire—COMMONUtility
Lv 26
Bullet Seed
Grass25COMMONSTAB
Lv 36
Shadow Ball
Ghost80COMMONSTAB
Lv 30
Shadow Sneak
Ghost40RARESTAB
TM35
Flamethrower
Fire90RARECoverage
Lv 40
Trick-or-Treat
Ghost—RARESTAB
Lv 20
Leech Seed
Grass—RARESTAB
Tutor
Giga Drain
Grass75RARESTAB
Pumpkaboo Sun & Moon MovesPumpkaboo Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Moves
Experimental
Special Attacker
Ability
Frisk
Item
EvioliteBULK
Best Nature for Pumpkaboo
Modest+SPA
EVs

Special Attacker Moveset

  • Will O Wisp
  • Bullet SeedSTAB
  • Shadow BallSTAB
  • Shadow SneakSTAB
→Gen VIII — Sword & Shield / BDSPE

Pumpkaboo saw minimal competitive use in Gen VIII (Sword & Shield / BDSP). Pumpkaboo maintained its position from the previous generation. Its most popular set ran Insomnia with Focus Sash, favoring a Relaxed nature.

Gigantamax became availableDynamax became available
SRCMOVETYPECATPWRPOPROLE
TM70
Trick Room
Psychic—POPULARUtility
Egg
Destiny Bond
Ghost—POPULARSTAB
TM25
Protect
Normal—POPULARPriority
Lv 4
Shadow Sneak
Ghost40POPULARSTAB
Pumpkaboo Sword & Shield MovesPumpkaboo BDSP Moves
Experimental
Bulky Support
Ability
Insomnia
Item
Focus SashSURVIVAL
Best Nature for Pumpkaboo
Relaxed+DEF
EVs

Bulky Support Moveset

  • Trick Room
  • Destiny BondSTAB
  • ProtectFAST +4
  • Shadow SneakSTAB

Recommended Teammates

Kommo-o
Kommo-oExcellent
Melmetal
MelmetalExcellent
Necrozma
NecrozmaExcellent

Pumpkaboo Weakness

Type-wise, Pumpkaboo takes extra damage from Fire, Ice, Flying, Ghost, and Dark. Normal and Fighting moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. The Ghost/Grass typing picks up 4 resistances to work with.

Pumpkaboo Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Fire, Ice, Flying, Ghost, Dark
0.5x (Resist)Water, Electric, Grass, Ground
0x (Immune)Normal, Fighting

What is Pumpkaboo Weak Against

Avg
5Weak
4Resist
2Immune
Score0
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
FireIceFlyingGhostDark
½xResist
WaterElectricGrassGround
¼xResist
None
0xImmune
NormalFighting

What is Pumpkaboo Strong Against

5Strong
0Resisted
0Immune
Score+5
2xStrong
WaterGroundPsychicRockGhost
½xResisted
None
0xImmune
None

Best Pokemon Against Pumpkaboo

Dragapult can KO Pumpkaboo with Shadow Ball (117-138%). Kyurem's Draco Meteor hits Pumpkaboo for 76-90%. Charizard's Flamethrower also KOs at 139-164%.

Evolution

To get Gourgeist from Pumpkaboo, you need a trade. The evolution method matters here. Evolving adds up to 159 stat points total. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

2 Forms
Pumpkaboo
#710Pumpkaboo
Trade
Gourgeist
#711Gourgeist
Stat Comparison 2 Stages
Pumpkaboo
GhostGrass
Gourgeist
GhostGrass
HP
49
65+16
ATK
66
90+24
DEF
70
122+52
SP.ATK
44
58+14
SP.DEF
55
75+20
SPE
51
84+33
BST
335D-Tier
494C-Tier+159
ROLE
Balanced
Balanced
TYPE
Physical
Physical

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed Pumpkaboo easily with 63 breeding partners from the Indeterminate egg group.

Egg Groups
Amorphous
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Breed With (best first)
gardevoirgalladegastrodonstunfisktrevenantshellosphantumpcofagriguskirliacastformraltsyamask
12 of 63·

How to Get Pumpkaboo

All 6 games

The chain to Pumpkaboo requires a trade evolution through a trade. Catch Pumpkaboo in the wild and level through the stages, but line up the trade first. The rest of the chain runs on levels alone.

Where To Catch Pumpkaboo in LZA

To get Pumpkaboo, start by catching Pumpkaboo through walking encounters at Lv. 42-64. The chain covers 2 catchable stages before reaching the final form.

  1. Pumpkaboo
    Step 1Pumpkaboo ✓
    Wild Zone 15
    Lv.42-43Overworld
    Legends: Z-A
  2. Gourgeist
    Step 2Catch or Evolve into Gourgeist
    Wild Zone 15
    Lv.52-53Overworld
    Legends: Z-A
    Wild Zone 20
    Lv.63-64Overworld
    Legends: Z-A
    or evolve from Pumpkaboo (Step 1)

Base Stats

Nothing fancy in Pumpkaboo's spread. It leans physical with Defense out front. And you'll get 1 Defense EV per KO for it. Follows a medium-fast 1M XP curve.

Base Stats
Avg
HP49
D
Attack66
C
Defense70
C
Sp. Atk44
D
Sp. Def55
D
Speed51
D
Total335
Details
Catch Rate
Moderate120 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Fast1M XP
Height0.4 m
1'04"Tiny
Weight5.0 kg
11.0 lbsFeather
Base XP67
Low Yield
Abilities
Pickup
Picks up other Pokémon's used and Flung held items. May also pick up an item after battle.
Frisk
Reveals an opponent's held item upon entering battle.
InsomniaHidden Ability
Prevents sleep.
EV Yield
HPAtkDef+1SpASpDSpe
Defense training source
Pokedex Entry

Supersized Pumpkaboo are very partial to the spirits of people who were of similarly superior proportions.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A

Pumpkaboo Guide

  • Pumpkaboo evolves into Gourgeist via trade. Trade needs a Game Boy Advance link cable and a second GBA running another Gen 3 game (FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald). Trade Pumpkaboo 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.

  • For a casual playthrough, Pumpkaboo works as a placeholder. Ghost/Grass coverage is useful early. The real payoff is Gourgeist. That's where the stats start mattering.

Game Availability

Since X & Y, Pumpkaboo has been obtainable in 6 games. A Generation 6 debut means a shorter history, but Pumpkaboo has appeared steadily across every generation since.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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