Weak to (2x damage):
Resistant to (½x damage):
Immune to (0x damage):
Generation VI · #0711 — Pumpkin Pokémon
Gourgeist, the Pumpkin Pokémon, is a Ghost/Grass-type introduced in Generation VI that embodies the eerie spirit of autumn celebrations twisted into something far more sinister. Known officially as the average form or medium variety, this Gourgeist stands at 0.9 meters tall and weighs 12.5 kilograms, striking a balance between its smaller and larger counterparts. As National Pokédex entry #711, Gourgeist represents one of the most thematically cohesive Ghost-type Pokémon, blending the whimsical nature of harvest season with genuinely unsettling folklore. It evolves from Pumpkaboo through trade, inheriting all the mystical properties of its pre-evolution while gaining enhanced form and presence. With a base stat total of 494, Gourgeist demonstrates respectable defensive capabilities, making it a viable choice for both casual and competitive players seeking a strategically interesting Ghost-type partner.
0.9m
12.5kg
Pumpkin Pokémon
Male 50% / Female 50%
brown
blob
Picks up other Pokémon's used and Flung held items. May also pick up an item after battle.
Reveals an opponent's held item upon entering battle.
Prevents sleep.
The average-form Gourgeist presents a distinctive silhouette: a dark brown, gourd-like body resembling a jack-o'-lantern with a glowing yellow-orange face carved into its front surface. Two triangular eyes and a characteristic grinning mouth form the carved expression, with a small triangular nose above the mouth creating an unmistakably jack-o'-lantern appearance. Protruding from the top of the pumpkin body is a slender brown-orange head featuring bright yellow eyes and a small mouth, crowned with a crescent-shaped tuft that resembles a pumpkin's stem. Most striking are the long, light pink hair-like tendrils that frame its face, functioning as arm-like appendages that Gourgeist uses to ensnare and manipulate its environment. The average form strikes a visual balance between the more diminutive small variety and the impressively large variants, with the capability to fully retract its upper body into the pumpkin housing, creating the appearance of a traditional carved jack-o'-lantern as documented in animated encounters.
Gourgeist exhibits a perfectly balanced gender ratio of 50% male to 50% female, allowing trainers equal opportunity to breed either variant without preference complications. When breeding two compatible Gourgeist or breeding with a Ditto, offspring emerge belonging to the Amorphous egg group, a classification shared with other gelatinous, blob-like, and spectral Pokémon species. The species has a base friendship value of 70, indicating moderate willingness to bond with trainers who treat them with reasonable care and respect. The relatively high base friendship suggests Gourgeist responds well to positive reinforcement and regular interaction, developing genuine affection despite their sinister reputation. With an egg hatch counter of 20 cycles, roughly equivalent to 4,884 to 5,140 steps, breeding Gourgeist produces offspring at a moderate pace that makes family-based training strategies accessible without excessive time investment. The medium growth rate positions Gourgeist alongside many mainstream Pokémon, reaching level 100 at the same pace as popular species, making it an efficient choice for trainers seeking balanced development timelines.
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Gourgeist evolves from Pumpkaboo exclusively through trade, a mechanic that emphasizes the connection and bonding between trainers and their Pokémon during the handoff process. This evolution is size-dependent, meaning a traded Pumpkaboo's final form depends on the size variety of the original Pumpkaboo before evolution occurs. The average-form Gourgeist results from trading an average-form Pumpkaboo, with the evolution process enhancing several key statistics while maintaining the Ghost/Grass typing. Upon evolution, the average Gourgeist's attack increases from Pumpkaboo's base 85 to a solid 90, while defense remains formidable at 122. The speed stat increases from 84 to maintain decent offensive pressure. Unlike many Generation VI Pokémon, Gourgeist received no Mega Evolution form, remaining in its single evolved state throughout subsequent generations. However, the introduction of the size variety system ensures that every Gourgeist variant remains balanced and functionally distinct, with the average form representing the most widely distributed version encountered in the wild.
Location data not available for this Pokémon in the database.
According to Pokédex lore, Gourgeist exhibits deeply unsettling nocturnal behavior patterns centered around lunar cycles. Most notably, on the night of a new moon, these Pokémon wander town streets in groups, their eerie voices raised in a haunting song that carries a terrible curse to any human unfortunate enough to hear it. The Pokédex entry from Sword notes that these creatures emit eerie cries during the dead of night, described as the wails of suffering spirits trapped in the afterlife, suggesting Gourgeist serves as a conduit between worlds. More disturbingly, Shield's entry reveals that on new-moon nights, Gourgeist will knock at doors, and anyone answering faces being swept away to the afterlife itself. Beyond these chilling nocturnal habits, Gourgeist displays predatory behavior in its natural state, ensnaring prey within its hair-like tendrils and observing their suffering with apparent joy, suggesting a cruel intelligence beneath its harvest-season exterior. The average form, neither too small nor overwhelmingly large, likely occupies temperate forested areas and human settlements during autumn months.
Singing in eerie voices, they wander town streets on the night of the new moon. Anyone who hears their song is cursed.
It enwraps its prey in its hairlike arms. It sings joyfully as it observes the suffering of its prey.
Singing in eerie voices, they wander town streets on the night of the new moon. Anyone who hears their song is cursed.
It enwraps its prey in its hairlike arms. It sings joyfully as it observes the suffering of its prey.
Eerie cries emanate from its body in the dead of night. The sounds are said to be the wails of spirits who are suffering in the afterlife.
In the darkness of a new-moon night, Gourgeist will come knocking. Whoever answers the door will be swept off to the afterlife.
The name Gourgeist derives from a fusion of 'gourd' and 'poltergeist,' perfectly encapsulating the Pokémon's dual nature as both a harvest-season vegetable and a malevolent supernatural entity. The Japanese name Pumpjin similarly combines 'pumpkin' with 'jin,' the latter referencing the yokai or spirit concept central to Japanese folklore. The design itself draws heavily from jack-o'-lantern traditions, the carved pumpkins of Halloween celebrations, transforming this innocent festive icon into something genuinely threatening. The pale pink hair-like tendrils are particularly inspired by the wispy, ethereal appearance of ghosts in Western media, while the retractable upper body mechanism pays homage to the hollow nature of actual carved pumpkins. The crescent-shaped stem atop its head grounds the design in authentic pumpkin morphology, while the glowing yellow-orange carved face immediately triggers recognition of the classic jack-o'-lantern aesthetic. This thoughtful layering of design elements creates a Pokémon that feels authentically rooted in both harvest traditions and ghost mythology across multiple cultural contexts.
Gourgeist-average can learn 77 moves:
Move | Type | Cat. | Power | Acc. | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ally switch | psychic | Status | — | — | 15 |
| astonish | ghost | Physical | 30 | 100 | 15 |
| attract | normal | Status | — | 100 | 15 |
| brutal swing | dark | Physical | 60 | 100 | 20 |
| bullet seed | grass | Physical | 25 | 100 | 30 |
| charge beam | electric | Special | 50 | 90 | 10 |
| confide | normal | Status | — | — | 20 |
| confuse ray | ghost | Status | — | 100 | 10 |
| dark pulse | dark | Special | 80 | 100 | 15 |
| double team | normal | Status | — | — | 15 |
| dream eater | psychic | Special | 100 | 100 | 15 |
| endure | normal | Status | — | — | 10 |
| energy ball | grass | Special | 90 | 100 | 10 |
| explosion | normal | Physical | 250 | 100 | 5 |
| facade | normal | Physical | 70 | 100 | 20 |
| fire blast | fire | Special | 110 | 85 | 5 |
| flame charge | fire | Physical | 50 | 100 | 20 |
| flamethrower | fire | Special | 90 | 100 | 15 |
| flash | normal | Status | — | 100 | 20 |
| focus blast | fighting | Special | 120 | 70 | 5 |
| foul play | dark | Physical | 95 | 100 | 15 |
| frustration | normal | Physical | — | 100 | 20 |
| giga drain | grass | Special | 75 | 100 | 10 |
| giga impact | normal | Physical | 150 | 90 | 5 |
| grass knot | grass | Special | — | 100 | 20 |
| grassy glide | grass | Physical | 55 | 100 | 20 |
| gyro ball | steel | Physical | — | 100 | 5 |
| hex | ghost | Special | 65 | 100 | 10 |
| hidden power | normal | Special | 60 | 100 | 15 |
| hyper beam | normal | Special | 150 | 90 | 5 |
| imprison | psychic | Status | — | — | 10 |
| incinerate | fire | Special | 60 | 100 | 15 |
| leech seed | grass | Status | — | 90 | 10 |
| light screen | psychic | Status | — | — | 30 |
| magic coat | psychic | Status | — | — | 15 |
| moonblast | fairy | Special | 95 | 100 | 15 |
| mystical fire | fire | Special | 75 | 100 | 10 |
| nasty plot | dark | Status | — | — | 20 |
| nature power | normal | Status | — | — | 20 |
| pain split | normal | Status | — | — | 20 |
| phantom force | ghost | Physical | 90 | 100 | 10 |
| poltergeist | ghost | Physical | 110 | 90 | 5 |
| power whip | grass | Physical | 120 | 85 | 10 |
| protect | normal | Status | — | — | 10 |
| psychic | psychic | Special | 90 | 100 | 10 |
| razor leaf | grass | Physical | 55 | 95 | 25 |
| rest | psychic | Status | — | — | 5 |
| return | normal | Physical | — | 100 | 20 |
| rock slide | rock | Physical | 75 | 90 | 10 |
| rock smash | fighting | Physical | 40 | 100 | 15 |
| role play | psychic | Status | — | — | 10 |
| round | normal | Special | 60 | 100 | 15 |
| safeguard | normal | Status | — | — | 25 |
| scary face | normal | Status | — | 100 | 10 |
| secret power | normal | Physical | 70 | 100 | 20 |
| seed bomb | grass | Physical | 80 | 100 | 15 |
| shadow ball | ghost | Special | 80 | 100 | 15 |
| shadow sneak | ghost | Physical | 40 | 100 | 30 |
| skill swap | psychic | Status | — | — | 10 |
| skitter smack | bug | Physical | 70 | 90 | 10 |
| sleep talk | normal | Status | — | — | 10 |
| sludge bomb | poison | Special | 90 | 100 | 10 |
| snore | normal | Special | 50 | 100 | 15 |
| solar beam | grass | Special | 120 | 100 | 10 |
| spite | ghost | Status | — | 100 | 10 |
| substitute | normal | Status | — | — | 10 |
| sunny day | fire | Status | — | — | 5 |
| swagger | normal | Status | — | 85 | 15 |
| synthesis | grass | Status | — | — | 5 |
| telekinesis | psychic | Status | — | — | 15 |
| thief | dark | Physical | 60 | 100 | 25 |
| toxic | poison | Status | — | 90 | 10 |
| trick | psychic | Status | — | 100 | 10 |
| trick room | psychic | Status | — | — | 5 |
| trick or treat | ghost | Status | — | 100 | 20 |
| will o wisp | fire | Status | — | 85 | 15 |
| worry seed | grass | Status | — | 100 | 10 |
In competitive battling, the average-form Gourgeist occupies a specialized defensive niche thanks to its exceptional base defense stat of 122, the highest among its size varieties. This impressive defensive profile is paired with reasonable 65 HP and 75 special defense, creating a bulky physical wall capable of withstanding significant punishment from non-super-effective attacks. The 90 attack stat, while not exceptional, provides sufficient offensive presence to avoid becoming completely passive, particularly with access to powerful Ghost and Grass-type moves. The average form's speed of 84 offers a moderate middle ground, faster than the large and jumbo variants but slower than the hyperactive small variety, allowing it to function as a pivot option rather than a speed-dependent sweeper. Competitively viable ability options include Pickup for post-battle item acquisition, Frisk for scouting opponent held items during entry, or the hidden ability Insomnia to completely prevent sleep status effects—a particularly useful defensive trait against Spore and similar moves. Its Ghost/Grass typing grants immunity to Normal-type and Fighting-type attacks while offering useful resistances to Water, Electric, and Grass types, though notable weaknesses to Fire, Flying, Ghost, and Dark-type moves demand careful team construction and switching discipline.
Gourgeist-average is a ghost and grass type Pokemon.
Gourgeist-average evolved from pumpkaboo-average.
Gourgeist-average is weak to flying, ghost, fire, ice and dark type moves.
While Gourgeist has not achieved the mainstream recognition of iconic Ghost-types like Gengar or Misdreavus, it maintains a devoted fan following due to its thematic resonance with autumn festivities and genuine supernatural horror undertones. The Pokémon appears prominently in the animated series as Jessie's signature Pokémon, serving as a key member of her competitive team and receiving substantial character development across multiple episodes. This prominent anime representation has significantly elevated Gourgeist's visibility within the Pokémon community, introducing countless viewers to its unsettling backstory and eerie behavior patterns. In trading card games, Gourgeist has received numerous illustrative treatments that emphasize its dual nature as both harvest symbol and ghostly entity, creating visually striking cards that appeal to both competitive players and collectors. The species has become particularly popular in fan communities during October and Halloween season, when its dark aesthetic and pumpkin-based design align perfectly with seasonal celebration themes. Online communities frequently feature Gourgeist in themed team builds and Halloween-specific content, cementing its position as a culturally significant representative of autumn-themed Pokémon despite its relative rarity compared to other Ghost-types.
In Pokémon X and Y, the average-form Gourgeist can be encountered in the Mountain Kalos region with National Pokédex number 711 and local number 0064, becoming available relatively late in the main campaign after obtaining the necessary progression markers. The average form appears most commonly in wild encounters compared to its size variants, making it the most frequently encountered Gourgeist variety for casual players moving through the campaign. When Sword and Shield introduced these Pokémon with updated local Pokédex numbering (0192), the average form remained the primary wild encounter variant, spawning in various grass patches and overworld locations throughout the Galar region. More recently, Pokémon Legends: Z-A assigned local number 0205 to Gourgeist, confirming its continued availability in modern generations despite not receiving any evolutionary enhancements or form alterations. Trainers seeking the average form specifically should note that evolution through trade from Pumpkaboo guarantees the proper size variety, whereas wild Gourgeist encounters may yield any of the four size variants with varying rarity. Completion of the National Pokédex requires obtaining at least one Gourgeist, and the average form's relative abundance in standard encounters makes it more accessible than hunting for the rarer large or jumbo varieties.