How to Get Gengar in Pokemon Go: Evolution Guide

How to Get Gengar in Pokémon Go: The Complete 2026 Guide

The fastest way to get Gengar in Pokémon Go is to catch a Gastly and spend 125 Gastly Candy on three evolutions: 25 for Haunter, then 100 more to reach Gengar. If you have a friend with a Haunter, trading it triggers a free evolution the moment the trade completes — no candy required. Raids and seasonal events are the shortcut for players who are candy-poor but time-rich.

Below is every route to Gengar, with the actual candy math, the trade trick most players overlook, and a decision table that matches the method to your candy budget.

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The Full Gastly Line: Candy Costs and Stats

Gengar sits at the end of a three-stage evolution line, so the total cost depends entirely on how far along you are. Ghost-type Candy is shared across the line, and walking a Gastly or Haunter as your buddy earns one candy per kilometer in Pokémon Go’s current buddy system.

Evolution stages and candy requirements

• Gastly → Haunter: 25 Gastly Candy
• Haunter → Gengar: 100 Gastly Candy (standard route)
• Haunter → Gengar via trade: 0 candy, applied instantly on trade completion

That means the standard route costs 125 candy total, while the trade route costs 25 candy if you raise your own Haunter first, or zero if a friend simply hands you a spare Haunter outright. According to the game’s official evolution mechanics, the trade evolution is free the first time — you do not need to be Best Friends with the other trainer, though friendship level does reduce the Stardust cost of the trade itself.

What you actually get at each stage

Gengar’s Attack stat of 261 is the reason it stays relevant despite modest bulk — it hits harder than most Ghost-types in the game and pairs that with Shadow Claw or Lick as a fast move. Its Defense and Stamina are low, so it faints quickly in raids, which is a trade-off worth knowing before you sink 100 candy into one.

Four Routes to Gengar, Ranked by Candy Efficiency

Route 1: The trade evolution (0–25 candy, fastest if you have a friend)

Trading a Haunter to another trainer causes it to evolve into Gengar the instant the trade screen closes. This is the single cheapest route in the game — no candy is spent at all on the evolution itself. The catch is that the Pokémon’s IVs reroll on trade, so you may lose the high-IV Haunter you carefully appraised. If you’re chasing a raid attacker rather than a perfect-IV trophy, this is the right call. Budget roughly 100 Stardust at Best Friend level and up to 20,000 Stardust at lower friendship tiers, per the game’s trade cost table.

Route 2: Standard candy evolution (125 candy, no dependency on anyone)

Catch Gastly, spend 25 candy to make Haunter, then 100 more to make Gengar. It’s the most reliable path because it requires nothing but your own effort. Gastly appears frequently in Ghost-type events, at night in many biomes, and during Halloween-season spawn rotations. Catch a few dozen and the candy adds up quickly — each catch yields 3 candy base, plus 1 for a Pinap Berry use, plus 1 more if you transfer the catch.

Route 3: Catch Gengar directly in a raid

Gengar has appeared in Tier 3 and Mega Gengar in Mega Raids across multiple seasonal rotations. A raid catch gives you a complete Gengar for the cost of a Raid Pass and a few Golden Razz Berries — no candy at all. The trade-off is that raid Gengar arrive at a fixed level (typically Level 20, or Level 25 in weather-boosted conditions) and their IVs are random. This is the fastest route if a Gengar raid is currently live and you can find two or three other trainers to help.

Route 4: Event and research catch

Halloween events and occasional Special Research lines hand out Haunter or Gengar as encounters or rewards. These cost nothing but time, though you cannot plan around them — they only exist when the event is running. Keep an eye on the in-game news tab during October, when Ghost-type spawns are at their yearly peak.

Which Method Fits Your Candy Budget?

Match your situation to the table below. Candy totals assume you start with only a Gastly.

A Worked Example: From Zero to Gengar in One Week

Suppose you have a single Gastly and no candy. Here’s how the numbers actually play out:

• Days 1–2: Catch 15 Gastly during evening spawns. Each catch yields 3 candy, plus 1 for a Pinap Berry and 1 for transferring the low-IV ones — that’s 5 candy per catch if you’re disciplined, so 75 candy.
• Days 3–4: Set Gastly as your buddy and walk 10 km total. At 1 candy per km, that’s 10 more candy, bringing you to 85.
• Days 5–7: Catch 8 more Gastly with Pinap Berries and transfer the duplicates. That’s 40 more candy, landing you at 125.

Now spend 25 to evolve Gastly into Haunter, then 100 to evolve Haunter into Gengar. Total spend: 125 candy. If instead you traded that Haunter to a friend on Day 2, you’d have saved the entire 100-candy second stage and finished with 100 candy left over for powering up.

Ownership Realities: What Wears Gengar Out

Gengar is a glass cannon, and that shapes how you’ll actually use and maintain it. Its low Stamina means it burns through in roughly 20–30 seconds against a tough raid boss before fainting, so you’ll be reviving it constantly. Keep a stock of Max Revives, because Gengar will be your most-revived attacker if you use it as your primary Ghost-type.

Common mistakes to avoid:

• Evolving your best-IV Haunter via trade. IVs reroll on trade, so trade a spare and evolve your prized one with candy.
• Ignoring the Legacy move. Some Gengar obtained through past events carry Shadow Claw, which the current Pokémon Go move pool does not normally allow. If you have one, don’t transfer it.
• Powering up before evolving. Always evolve first, then power up — you’ll spend less Stardust overall because the evolution raises the level cap you’re working toward more efficiently.
• Forgetting Mega Gengar. If you have Mega Energy banked, Mega Evolving a Gengar gives a substantial stat boost and boosts Ghost- and Poison-type candy for your whole team during the window.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much candy does it take to get Gengar?

From a fresh Gastly, the standard route costs 125 Gastly Candy: 25 to evolve into Haunter and 100 more to evolve into Gengar. If you trade a Haunter to another trainer, the evolution is free and costs zero candy — you only need the 25 candy to make the Haunter in the first place.

Can you get Gengar without trading?

Yes. Evolving a Haunter with 100 Gastly Candy produces a Gengar with no trading involved. You can also catch Gengar directly from a raid or receive one as an event or research reward, which skips the candy cost entirely.

Is Gengar still good in Pokémon Go in 2026?

Gengar remains a strong Ghost- and Poison-type attacker thanks to a 261 base Attack stat, one of the highest among Ghost-types. It faints quickly because of low Stamina, but in raids where speed matters, that trade-off is usually worth it.

What is the fastest way to get Gengar?

The trade evolution is fastest — if a friend trades you a Haunter, it becomes Gengar instantly. Without a trading partner, a live Gengar raid is next fastest, followed by the 125-candy evolution route if you already have the candy banked.

Does trading a Haunter always give Gengar?

Yes, Haunter is one of the Pokémon with a trade-locked evolution in Pokémon Go. Any Haunter received in a trade evolves immediately upon completing the trade, regardless of friendship level, though higher friendship reduces the Stardust cost of the trade itself.

How many Gastly do I need to catch for 125 candy?

At the base rate of 3 candy per catch, you’d need about 42 catches. Using Pinap Berries raises each catch to 6 candy, cutting that to roughly 21 catches, and transferring duplicates adds 1 candy each on top of that.