Most Pokemon have changed or adapted in their designs since the debut of Green, Red, & Blue during the 90s. From chubby Pikachu to non-bipedal Meowth, the evolution of these classic Kanto companions has been a combination of art style shifts, 3D model updates, and modern audience perception. However, some Pokemon would look much less cute and catchable if they had stayed true to their original art. Gengar is a prime example of this.
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Gengar is a Ghost-type Pokemon from the Kanto region. It has maintained a reputation of being one of the more frightening Ghost-types, often causing trouble in the anime or being used to promote Halloween events in various games. However, it has lost its edge over the years thanks to 3D model changes. As of 2025, Gengar looks more like a purple pillow than quantified darkness.
One Pokemon fan has taken the time to reimagine Gengar using its original sprite art from the first games, and the outcome is not something you’d want lurking in your storage box.
Pokemon Fan Turns Gengar Into Haunting Shadow
In a social media post shared by TheYisusOne, the modder and animator has posted a reimagined Gengar model. The caption reads, “Gengar if it kept the style from its Gen 1 Pokemon sprite.”
In the animation clip, players can see a Gengar bouncing back and forth, but it looks very different than the one you might catch in Scarlet & Violet. Its purple body has been recolored to closely resemble the sprite image from Green, Red, & Blue, with the core a dark black and the edges and mouth highlighted with glowing white.
The glow of the face is particularly haunting, hammering home this Pokemon’s reputation as a spooky, trouble-causing, demon.
Players in the comments seem delighted with the changes. One commented, “Gengar would have been so much better with this color scheme.” Another added, “All of these models are so cool! Wish they truly kept them like this. Brings so much more personality to their design!”
The original poster also included a recolor of Gastly, which reverts the basic Pokemon to a pair of eyes surrounded by murky smoke. The strange orb that has come to represent its body has been removed, turning it into a Ghost-type phantom.
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For many, their first encounter with Gengar was in Lavender Town, a location in the Kanto region steeped in terrifying lore and haunted by urban legends about the Pokemon Cemetery, the music used in the town, and the Pokemon that appear there. Gengar’s original Pokedex entry reads, “Under a full moon, this Pokémon likes to mimic the shadows of people and laugh at their fright.”
While it doesn’t steal children or scare you to death, like Mimikyu, Phantum, or Drifloon, Gengar has remained a top-tier Ghost-type for its wide smile and long-standing presence as a trouble-maker in the video game franchise and animated series.
Gengar’s modern-day 3D model may not be as scary as its original design, but it could potentially get a spookier updated look in future games. With Pokemon Legends: Z-A just around the corner, Gengar’s Mega form is due to make another appearance in the new Switch title. Z-A will have an emphasis on night battling. It is possible Gengar could get a darker color scheme to make use of the night-time battlefields, or even to better blend into locations it might spawn.
Either way, this fan-reimagining of Gengar is a terrifying upgrade, and many Pokemon fans would love to see the spookier side of this Ghost-type make a reappearance in the series.
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