Where To Get TM30 Shadow Ball in Pokémon Crystal

TM30 Shadow Ball
#	Location	Repeatable?
1	Ecruteak Gym. Rewarded by Gym Leader Morty after defeating him in a Pokémon battle.	No

TM30 Shadow Ball is given to you by Gym Leader Morty as a reward for defeating him at the Ecruteak Gym.

However, Gym Leader Morty is absent from the Gym upon your arrival to Ecruteak City.

So you’ll first have to explore the Burned Tower and awaken the three Legendary Pokémon: Raikou, Suicune, and Entei. Once they’ve left the Burned Tower, Morty will return to the Gym.

Prerequisites

Gym Leader Morty is missing from Ecruteak Gym when you first arrive in Ecruteak City, making it impossible to get either the Fog Badge or TM30 Shadow Ball right away.

Here’s what you need to do to get him back to his post:

Explore the Burned Tower on the northwestern corner of Ecruteak City.
Defeat your Rival and fall down a hole to the basement (B1F).
Meet Suicune, Raikou, and Entei, and watch them run away.

After all that, you’ll be able to tackle Ecruteak Gym. Remember to visit the Pokémon Center first!

Getting TM30 Shadow Ball (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Find Ecruteak Gym in the southwestern corner of Ecruteak City.

Follow a straight line westward from the Pokémon Center and you’ll be there in no time.

Road to Ecruteak Gym from the Pokémon Center.

Step 2: Walk on the invisible floor and face spiritist trainers on the way to Morty.

There’s only one way through the invisible floor. Any other route will teleport you back to the beginning, so you can use the following image as a reference map:

Correct path over the invisible flooring. Follow closely not to fall.

As you can see, the invisible path forces you to battle all four trainers on the way to Morty.

But luckily this is definitely the most consistent Gym in the game. Not only are all the Pokémon Ghost/Poison-type, but they all belong to the Gastly-Haunter-Gengar evolution line.

Ghost/Poison-types are weak to Psychic, Dark, Ground, and Ghost-type moves, so make sure to have a few of those in your arsenal.

Step 3: Defeat Gym Leader Morty and receive TM30 Shadow Ball.

Gym Leader Morty’s Team

SCROLL

Morty’s Team

Pokémon	Gastly (Lv. 21)	Haunter (Lv. 21)	Gengar (Lv. 25)	Haunter (Lv. 23)
Type	Ghost/Poison	Ghost/Poison	Ghost/Poison	Ghost/Poison
Held Item	None	None	None	None
Moves	Lick Spite Mean Look Curse	Hypnosis Curse Mimic Night Shade	Shadow Ball Mean Look Hypnosis Dream Eater	Spite Mean Look Mimic Night Shade

Gym Leader Morty doesn’t break the mold. His team includes the entire Gastly-Haunter-Gengar evolution line.

Bringing a Normal-type Pokémon can severely limit Morty’s options, since Ghost-type moves are powerless against them.

Tip: They’ll use Lick and Hypnosis very often, inflicting Paralysis and Sleep. Make sure to stock up on Awakenings and Paralyz Heals at the PokéMart!

Receiving TM30 Shadow Ball from Morty.

TM30 Shadow Ball Details + Uses

Shadow Ball Move Details
Type	Ghost
Category	Special
Power	80
Effect	20% chance of lowering the target’s Sp. Def slightly.
Accuracy	100%
PP	15 (max. 24)

Shadow Ball is the most powerful Ghost-type move in Pokémon Crystal.

Where Curse and Destiny Bond rely on complex effects to deal damage, Shadow Ball simply hits hard. It also has a 20% chance of lowering the target’s Special Defense.

Tip: This makes it a fantastic combo with Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Psychic, Ice, Dragon, or Dark-type moves, which use Sp. Attack and Sp. Defense to determine damage.

Shadow Ball itself uses Attack to calculate damage. Ghost-type Pokémon rarely have high Attack, which keeps Shadow Ball from really shining with the same-type attack bonus.

Still, there are a couple of Ghost-types with enough Attack to deal some decent damage with Shadow Ball:

Pokémon	Type	Location
Gengar	Ghost/Poison	Evolve Haunter by trading.
Misdreavus	Ghost	Mt. Silver (Night).

Another great use for Shadow Ball is to give high-Attack Pokémon of other types some coverage against Ghost and Psychic-types. Here are some ideas:

Pokémon	Type	Location
Ursaring	Normal	Dark Cave and Mt. Silver (Morning, Day).
Tyranitar	Rock/Dark	Evolve Pupitar.
Houndoom	Dark/Fire	Evolve Houndour.

BACK TO THE MAIN GAME Pokémon Crystal Full Strategy Guide

Guide Navigation

Pokémon Crystal
- Where To Get TM30 Shadow Ball in Pokémon Crystal

Nelson Chitty

171 articles

Nelson Chitty is a Venezuelan expat living in Argentina. He’s a writer and translator passionate about history and foreign cultures. His ideal weekend is spent between leisurely playing games of Civilization VI and looking for the next seinen anime to marathon.

View Writer's Posts →