AG Spotlight: Gengar

By lotiasite.
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Art

Art by Bummer.

Introduction

Since the first generation of Pokémon, Gengar has always been a top-tier threat in OU, yet it wasn't until Gen 6 that Gengar found a home in Ubers. Gengarite turned Gengar into a huge threat, making it one of the best revenge killers thanks to its great Speed and Special Attack and, most importantly, its Shadow Tag ability, and it finds itself as one of the top Megas in Ubers. It is arguably more versatile in AG, though, and it also appreciates some of its checks, such as Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground, being less common in AG than in Ubers. Mega Rayquaza's existence invalidates some Ubers-useful Megas like Mega Salamence and Mega Lucario. The lack of Species Clause in AG as compared to Ubers makes Arceus formes very prevalent, and Mega Gengar's great Speed tier and ability make it a fearsome threat to multiple-Arceus teams. Mega Gengar serves as a great offensive threat for teams that need checks to both offensive and defensive Pokémon like Extreme Killer Arceus, Xerneas, Arceus-Fairy, Chansey, and Lugia. Shadow Tag makes it very effective at removing threats to assist teammates, as well as dismantling stall teams. However, unlike in Ubers, Gengar faces fierce competition from Mega Rayquaza for the Mega slot due to the latter's amazing offensive presence and raw power, but it performs well regardless.

Mega Gengar's Qualities

Besides Mega Gengar's amazing Shiny sprite, it has a large asset of good qualities that let it function well. A great Speed stat coupled with a Ghost typing lets it outspeed key threats like Arceus formes and Mega Rayquaza while being immune to Extreme Speed. Gengar also has a colorful movepool consisting of a variety of good moves: solid STAB moves, utility in Taunt and Perish Song, status moves like Hypnosis and Will-O-Wisp, and coverage attacks like Focus Blast. What is definitely Mega Gengar's best trait, though, is its access to Shadow Tag, which lets it easily trap and remove what it wants to and perform as a very effective revenge killer. Its Poison typing coupled with its ability lets it trap and beat Fairy-types like Arceus-Fairy. All these great qualities in tandem with each other allow Mega Gengar to be the powerhouse it is in the metagame, setting it apart from Mega Rayquaza.

However, even this great ghost has its faults. Firstly, and probably most importantly, using Mega Gengar disallows the use of the amazing wallbreaker Mega Rayquaza, giving Mega Gengar fierce competition, especially on offensive teams. Mega Gengar is also very frail and gets KOed or takes large amounts of damage from most unresisted attacks, making it harder for it to trap and defeat certain Pokémon, especially bulkier foes with offensive presence. Also, while Gengar is good at picking and choosing what it likes to take on, it is still forced out by many common Pokémon such as Zygarde-C, Yveltal, Marshadow, and Deoxys-A. Gengar is also easily Pursuit trapped by Pokémon like Alolan Muk, Tyranitar, and Deoxys-A.

Good Sets
Gengar Mega
Offensive Trapper
Hypnosis Trapper
Perish Trapper

Click on an image to reveal the set!

Using Mega Gengar

Good Cores

Arceus-Dark Arceus-Dark
Mega Gengar Mega Gengar

Mega Gengar + Arceus-Dark shines as a great offensive core, since the two of them cover each other very well. Mega Gengar is able to take care of troublesome Fairy-types like Arceus-Fairy and Xerneas, and in return, Arceus-Dark can cover Dark-types, most notably Yveltal, as well as Deoxys-A (sometimes). Mega Gengar is able to trap and remove the Fairy-types that annoy Arceus-Dark, setting it up for a late-game Calm Mind sweep. However, this core does get troubled by Marshadow (especially Life Orb variants), Ho-Oh, and Magearna.

Xerneas Xerneas
Mega Gengar Mega Gengar

While Gengar can be used to take out Fairy-types, it also works well with them. Mega Gengar is able to trap and eliminate some of Xerneas's checks, such as Primal Groudon, Lugia, and Ho-Oh, especially if it is using Destiny Bond or Perish Song. Depending on Xerneas's set, Gengar can either set it up for a late-game Geomancy sweep or benefit from Choice Specs Xerneas's wallbreaking power. However, this core struggles with both Primal Groudon (especially Roar variants) and Ho-Oh.

Zygarde-C Zygarde-C
Mega Gengar Mega Gengar

Similarly to Arceus-Dark, Zygarde appreciates Gengar's ability to beat Fairy-types, especially Arceus-Fairy. Gengar is also able to trap some of Zygarde's other roadblocks, like Lugia, Xerneas, and even Arceus-Grass. Trapping and removing Zygarde's checks allows it to set up with Dragon Dance and possibly sweep. In return, Zygarde's good bulk, especially after transforming, allows it to sponge attacks from Marshadow, Primal Groudon, and Ho-Oh, which all trouble Mega Gengar. This core, however, has trouble with Deoxys-A, especially those found on Psychic Terrain teams, and Zygarde and Gengar's somewhat underwhelming offensive presence makes setting up a sweep harder.

Fitting Mega Gengar into your team

Mega Gengar finds itself best used on offensive teams that need a check to specific offensive and defensive threats like Arceus and Lugia. The ability to easily trap and eliminate threats can put the Gengar user in an inherently advantageous position, since the opponent is forced to predict whether Mega Gengar is coming in or not. As seen from the previous section, Gengar works well with setup sweepers, as it is able to easily remove defensive checks that may stop a sweep. However, unlike in Ubers, where Gengar is a good fit on any offensive team, Gengar is sometimes hard to justify using over Mega Rayquaza, which offers much more offensive presence and raw power, making it a prime fit for any offensive team. Gengar is generally more of a specialized pick for teams that need its specific capabilities and isn't really a Pokémon that can be thrown onto any team.

Playing Against Mega Gengar

Mega Gengar is one of the trickiest Pokémon to play around—which may be representative of its sneakiness as a ghost—due to Shadow Tag. Mega Gengar is able to easily pick and choose what Pokémon it wants to face, making it difficult to get your Gengar check in without losing a Pokémon. Gengar does have its fair share of checks, though, which include: Ho-Oh, thanks to its amazing special bulk; Marshadow, because its Shadow Sneak is capable of dealing huge amounts of damage to or even OHKOing Mega Gengar; Zygarde-C, because of its great bulk and super effective coverage; Arceus-Dark, due to its good bulk and type advantage; and Yveltal, because Sucker Punch is capable of OHKOing Gengar, forcing the player into a risky position. Due to Gengar's increased versatility in AG compared to its role in Ubers, it is best to try and ascertain the opposing Gengar's set first because different sets have to be dealt with differently; if you're not careful, for example, a well-played Hypnosis Mega Gengar can put you in a very disadvantageous position. Shadow Tag can change a regular game and force both players to make high-risk predictions, where one wrong move can cause the player to lose a key Pokémon. Overall, playing around Mega Gengar is quite difficult to do—it seems that it upholds its status as the original ghost, being very tricky and sneaky.

Get Out There!

All in all, Mega Gengar is an amazing Pokémon in the Anything Goes metagame, and it differs from its Ubers counterpart quite a lot. Although it does have its fair share of flaws, it has a myriad of great qualities and uses. Give it a try on your next Anything Goes team (and stop using Mega Rayquaza all the time)!

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