Why Ghost-type weak to Dark-Type

[Drayton]

I been plundering something and just pokemon logic.
You know Real ghost isn't afraid of darkness as it can possess someone and maybe objects. But something really bothering me that Ghost pokemon are afraid of dark. in the Anime I haven't seen GHOST pokemon reacts to dark palace like real ghost do. But gaming logic, why Ghost-type simply weak to Dark-type, it isn't a GHOSTLY thing to do? Do you think there's a reason behind it why dark-type moves are super effective to Ghost-type?

 

[moon]

Maybe Dark types are too "evil" and sneaky, while Ghost types are mostly spiritual and not necessary evil. So Dark types overwhelm the ghosts in that manner, by being some kind of essence of evil, while Ghosts are spirits, of any alignment.

Based on the Evil type they have in Japan, that is.

 

[Drayton]

But what if dark-type isn't originated or basely from Japan and taken from another country or region. Not all dark-types are sneaky.

 

[Puddle]

Maybe it's because Darkness is what powers a Ghost, so it is basically like what powers a ghost. And the power can be used against it.

 

[Drayton]

Ghost & Dark = Same, but what's makes them contrary in-game. Did gamefreak created Gen II adding GHOST-type weak to Dark-Type. This is a theory I been trying to solve the gaming oddities in every pokemon game includes spinoff. In Dungeon series, I didn't see DARK-TYPE being sneak as GHOST-TYPE, as Ghost type can pass through walls and dark-type doesn't have that affinity.

 

[Kieran]

I'll just take it as without darkness, ghosts will not be able to exist.

 

[Drayton]

hmm. but ghost exist even without darkness, but I put 2 cents on my other theory of this statement.

 

[PumpJack]

But what if dark-type isn't originated or basely from Japan and taken from another country or region. Not all dark-types are sneaky.

What she was saying is that the Dark type is known as the Evil type in Japan.

And given that Japan are the ones who created the series, we can presume that "Evil" is the main theme behind the Dark type.

Ghost types are not necessarily evil, but the Dark types are meant to be. Just look at their moves.


If you want to argue the other side, you can shed the morality scale and simply call Dark types pragmatic and objective- as opposed to evil; they do what they have to do to win.


And so they'd figure out ways to hurt spiritual beings.

 

[bobandbill]

Oh, I wrote stuff similar to this just recently re: type advantages. Not this one in particular though... but certainly some stuff on the Dark type!

With Dark types (or Evil looking at the Japanese translation), their fighting has less to do darkness and more to do with their fighting style. What better indication of that than their moveset? Bite/Crunch is dirty fighting, Sucker Punch/Foul Play would fit too, Thief, Snatch, Feint Attack, Beat Up... they tend to rely on dirty or sneaky tactics. They have a few 'darkness' attacks (Dark Pulse), but much less than those.

While it is true that not all Dark types are sneaky, the truth is a lot are sneaky, or malicious, etc. And the type system doesn't adjust to be specific for each Pokémon, it's a general grouping.

So it's really that which would help them overcome ghosts imo.

 

[MissingNo?]

Maybe its possible that the dark type is demons.
I personally think that demons have the upper hand on ghosts.

 

[bobandbill]

But... what's demonic about the dark types, or their moves? ._.

Sure, they could be demons, but there needs to be some reasoning behind it to back up that idea. Umbreon, Sneasel, Absol, etc... they don't really seem demonic to me.

 

[MissingNo?]

But... what's demonic about the dark types, or their moves? ._.

Nothing really. I just thought that could be a reason that dark types have the upper
hand on ghosts. I actually think the Dark type represents Night Time/Mischief/Troublemaking.

 

[Drayton]

You forge to mention certain dark move that status and special-based. also knock off move which is dirty :P

 

[Corvus of the Black Night]

I always thought that dark types were like demons and evil, while ghost types were spirits and relatively benign (or at most a prankster). I guess it's like something that destroys a spirit.

 

[Elaitenstile]

Yeah, there are a lot of examples in that certain stuff bobandbill wrote about typings. More specifically, this:

The best way to understand this is to look at what the Dark type really is, and that is helped by looking at the Japanese name for the type, あく. This can be translated to Evil, rather than Dark. Further and more conclusive clues come from the Dark type moves. They don't represent using dark powers or the like, but rather using evil, deceptive, or underhanded tactics.

Let's go through them. Faint Attack (now known as Feint Attack in 6th gen) – the Pokémon pretends to be fainted before attacking. Bite and Crunch – attacking with their teeth. Foul Play – uses the opponent's own attack stat to deal damage. Sucker Punch – attacks the opponent first if they were attacking. Thief – steals the opponent's item. Snatch – steals stat-up boosts from the opponent's move. Taunt – abuses a target into attacking them. Beat Up – literally gets other Pokémon in the party to join in and attack the Pokémon. And perhaps the 'Darkest' of all – Night Slash, or known in Japanese as 'つじぎり', translating as 'Crossroad Killing'.

Why is it called that, you ask? Why, it's based on the way some samurai would test their swords back in feudal Japan. This act was known as Tsujigiri. And what better way to test a sword used for killing by, well, killing someone? Say, someone innocent walking by a crossroad where you could hide by, in the middle of the night? Not a bad reason for that move to come with a critical hit rate improvement, certainly.

And yes, ghost types are actually more like 'spirits', and the whole Lavender town ghost thing is a good example for this. They aren't inherently evil, but they do indulge in haunting the live world. The ghost types have even been decreasing their 'evil factor' through the new generations, save for some unnerving Pokédex entries. Dark type was initially dragged in as a type balancer and now undermines both Ghost and Psychic.

Dark types have less affiliation with Ghosts than you think, they are the more trickster type of people. Somebody who'd lie and cheat purely for personal benefit (Jack Sparrow?). However, it is true that most spirits in tales and folklore are evil ones, and our soul should be protected from them. That's why the Dark type is an easy link to Ghost types. So basically, a Ghost type could pass as a Dark type, but a Dark type need not pass as a Ghost type.

Always remember:

 

[Fading Tree]

Why is Absol a dark type? Absol isn't evil or anything. It just pops up to forewarn of a bad event about to happen.

 

[pyx]

Well the actual translation of the Japanese term means "evil" so "dark" doesn´t necessarily refer to darkness. Ghosts aren´t necessarily evil beings, think about it. A ghost would most likely seek peace rather than be tormented by its past i.e evil. So, I guess that´s why dark is effective against ghost types. Of course, that´s only my opinion ;D

 

[Nidoking76]

Or maybe they don't fear darkness, they fear a different creature related to it. ._.

 

[JayGokani]

Maybe they are jealous of dark types because they are just too sneaky? :/

 

[mangamusicfan]

In My opinion It never made sense Ghost is weak against dark.
A ghost is A dark something with a aura.