Set Description

Defensive Gengar is most commonly used on teams that use indirect damage from sand and Spikes, and they are canonically referred to as Toxic, Sandstorm, and Spikes (TSS) teams. This set maintains pressure on both defensive and offensive Pokemon with a well-balanced combination of utility and coverage moves. Will-O-Wisp stings everything bar Fire-types and Natural Cure Pokemon. On the anti-offense side, it completely invalidates physical threats like Metagross, Tyranitar, and Snorlax. On the stallbreaking side, it turns the long game from an asset into a liability by ensuring that defensive Pokemon like Skarmory, Swampert, and Jirachi lose HP the more turns they stay in. Even Natural Cure Pokemon like Blissey and Celebi don't exactly gain momentum on Gengar, as the added Spikes damage frequently forces them to make an attempt at recovering.

Taunt makes this possible, providing additional pressure by preventing Blissey and, if you're daring, Celebi from healing up, keeping them at low HP throughout the game. Taunt also maintains pressure on passive Pokemon by denying Swampert, Milotic, and Claydol from using Refresh and Suicune and Snorlax from using Rest. Taunt also allows Gengar's teammates to come in without fear of status effects. Defensively, Taunt is also an emergency measure that prevents Dragon Dance Tyranitar and Calm Mind Jirachi from setting up and sweeping. Explosion is a slightly riskier and more targeted option than Taunt. Instead of playing the patient game with Taunt, Explosion seeks to blow through Blissey when the time is right for a sweeper at the back like Starmie, Zapdos, offensive Suicune, or offensive Jirachi. Explosion also helps to hammer through Zapdos + Celebi specially defensive cores, take out Claydol after an Ice Punch, thereby retaining Spikes for the rest of the game, and ending the turn to prevent the foe from setting up just like Taunt and enabling a Dugtrio trap. Although a rare choice, Destiny Bond can be used to lure in and remove Claydol more reliably, and also to remove key offensive threats.

Thunderbolt and Ice Punch provide neutral coverage for most of the metagame. In particular, Thunderbolt helps Gengar deal with the likes of Starmie trying to muscle through it to get a Rapid Spin off, allows it to beat Moltres and defensive Suicune one-on-one, and lets it check Gyarados. Ice Punch deals with Spikes-immune threats, namely Zapdos, Salamence, and Flygon, while providing extra pressure against Celebi. Note that with Ice Punch, Gengar is one of the rare mixed Salamence pivots and can even offensively check Dragon Dance Salamence with the right EVs. Occasionally, Explosion can be used over Thunderbolt or Ice Punch as a sacrificial stop against spinners and special walls.

Fire Punch and Giga Drain are alternatives coverage moves. They are, however, less commonly seen, as Gengar would then be completely walled by Moltres and Charizard, it couldn't serve as a reliable check against Salamence, and it would be forced out by Zapdos. Notably, though, Giga Drain provides Gengar with an opportunity to wrestle Pursuit Tyranitar one-on-one, especially with the aid of Will-O-Wisp and Spikes, and it improves the matchup against Claydol by healing off the damage from Psychic, turning it into a 3HKO instead. While the inability to hit Zapdos and Moltres hard may be seen as a weakness, this coverage combination may instead be used as a way to lure in and remove them through Explosion.

The listed EV spread allows Gengar to switch out in the face of Tyranitar's Pursuit without getting KOed in sand and to survive Salamence's and Gyarados's boosted Hidden Power Flying in sand, all while outspeeding Timid Moltres. An alternate EV spread of 248 HP / 60 SpD / 200 Spe allows Gengar to survive Tyranitar's Pursuit, which equates to about a half chance of surviving it in sand, and boosted Hidden Power Flying from Salamence half the time in addition to outspeeding Timid Zapdos, Jolly Salamence, maximum Speed Tyranitar with a neutral nature after a Dragon Dance, and even some Adamant Dugtrio that forgo Speed investment. Don't underestimate the value of a Gengar kept around only to get KOed by sand as it comes in; it provides an extra turn to spinblock and can be used sacrificially to bring a threatening sweeper like Aerodactyl in. A spread of 168 HP / 164 SpD / 176 Spe guarantees surviving Tyranitar's Pursuit in sand while offering virtually no protection against Salamence, yet maintaining the Speed advantage over Timid Zapdos and Jolly Salamence. This spread also allows it to survive Aerodactyl's Rock Slide under sand. Preserving Gengar under sand even after taking Pursuit can be extremely helpful when one has Dugtrio to trap Tyranitar, and especially if one faces Forretress.

Against stall teams, defensive Gengar should be used to play a patient game of constant pressure by keeping the opponent's special walls in a perpetual recover loop through Spikes, Will-O-Wisp, and Taunt. This creates multiple opportunities for a physical threat like Tyranitar to exert pressure and eventually force either the physical or special walls to crumble, allowing one's sweeper to take over. Against offensive teams, defensive Gengar can pivot in by exploiting its plethora of immunities and resistances to fire off Will-O-Wisp and punish their lack of status removal options, and keeping Gengar healthy might be all that is needed to stave off a late-game threat.

Team Options

Defensive Gengar mostly belongs on TSS teams. A Spiker is almost mandatory to exploit Gengar's ability to spinblock and force switches. The Spiker of choice is Skarmory most of the time, but on more offensive teams it can be Cloyster. To help the Spikes damage stick, Tyranitar is also frequently used as a partner. In particular, bulky physical Tyranitar is the best set at exploiting Spikes, as it easily comes in on Blissey and forces it to switch after Gengar has prevented Blissey from recovering. Other mid-game attackers that appreciate Spikes and that benefit from Gengar's spinblocking support are Moltres and perhaps even Zapdos. Finally, Gengar enables generic late-game sweepers like Starmie and Aerodactyl to sweep.

This Gengar set generally intends to play the long game and does not immediately threaten special threats like Jolteon, Zapdos, and Moltres, so robust special walls that also act as status absorbers like Blissey and Celebi are good partners. Defensive Jirachi can also act as a special wall that keeps Gengar healthy with Wish. Occasionally, Gengar is used with Jolteon for its ability to keep Blissey pressured in the absence of a more oppressive check like Metagross, and it makes the best use of its defensive abilities against Salamence on a team where a defensive backbone is lacking. Swampert is a staple in TSS style teams due to its immunity to sand, but Explosion Gengar can easily enable a Suicune sweep instead, where defensive Jirachi is the Rock resistance.

Sometimes, this Gengar is paired with Dugtrio, where Gengar brings the special walls and status absorbers to such a low HP that Dugtrio can essentially remove them or it simply dents them with Explosion for Dugtrio to finish them. There are two ways to proceed from here; with a standard Tyranitar lineup, the remaining team can be outstalled by TSS due to the elimination of the status absorber. Alternatively, this Gengar can also be used on a team that drops Tyranitar in favor of a special threat, which has now been allowed free rein by the elimination of the special wall. Dugtrio can also potentially remove Pursuit Tyranitar or at least weaken it to a point where it is no longer a threat to Gengar.

Set Description

Offensive Gengar is intended to be a mid- or late-game sweeper. With its vast coverage options, it can easily take out teams that have been weakened by Spikes with its super effective hits. The first move is the coverage for Skarmory. Thunderbolt is generally Gengar's strongest move, hitting most grounded targets neutrally, and it gives Gengar a way to hit Suicune, Starmie, Moltres, Charizard, and Gyarados really hard. The ability to threaten offensive Starmie with an almost assured OHKO under sand is notable, because it allows Gengar to switch in on an anticipated Rapid Spin and force Starmie out. Fire Punch is an alternative option that helps to take out metagame staples such as Metagross and Jirachi while also hitting Magneton and Heracross, which may wall Gengar in spite of their frailty. However, using Fire Punch comes at the cost of being walled by Fire-types and Gyarados.

As Spikes only affects grounded Pokemon, Gengar needs Ice Punch to exert pressure on all non-grounded threats. Ice Punch OHKOes Salamence, allowing Gengar to pivot into the mixed variant safely and prevent the Dragon Dance variant from sweeping. Ice Punch 2HKOes Zapdos but usually simply threatens to OHKO it after taking a hit from Swampert, Suicune, Zapdos, or Metagross mid-game. Celebi can also be brought into 2HKO range should it take any residual damage. Offensive Gengar is therefore great at tearing up Zapdos + Celebi specially defensive cores. Ice Punch is also very important for putting pressure on Claydol, as it scores a clean 3HKO on 252 HP / 0 SpD Claydol; while Claydol is unable to 2HKO Gengar, catching it with Ice Punch on the switch guarantees that Claydol will not get the opportunity to force Gengar out and use Rapid Spin. Finally, Ice Punch also allows Gengar to OHKO Dugtrio and Flygon.

A Grass-type move, most commonly Hidden Power Grass, is necessary to stop two of the tier's most common Pokemon, Swampert and Tyranitar, from completely walling Gengar. It comes very close to OHKOing Swampert and 2HKOing Tyranitar, and this again is where Spikes really helps. Pursuit Tyranitar is heavily pressured once it is put in 2HKO range because it loses if it tries to use Pursuit while Gengar boldly stays in to attack. Giga Drain can sometimes be used in place of Hidden Power Grass for healing Gengar.

The last slot is usually dedicated to a move that helps Gengar maintain momentum. Explosion takes out Pokemon that Gengar is just short of KOing with a coverage move, notably Claydol, Zapdos, Celebi, and Starmie, and it does a chunk to Blissey and Snorlax. It also chips and ends the turn on Dragon Dance Tyranitar and Calm Mind Jirachi, denying their opportunity of setting up with the prospect of a follow-up KO. Hypnosis invalidates Gengar's checks, and many teams have only one of them. It can turn the tables on Claydol and Pursuit Tyranitar, whose teams are already weak to Spikes and Gengar. Landing Hypnosis can be a complete disaster for the opponent, but missing it can also be tragic, as offensive Gengar is very frail. Hypnosis is thus best used on an expected switch.

Maximum Special Attack EVs are used to minimize the amount of chip damage needed before Gengar starts wreaking havoc. Maximum Speed investment is never a bad idea on offensive Pokemon to force Speed ties, but technically, only 216 Speed EVs are needed to outspeed the next fastest Pokemon, Adamant Dugtrio. If that is chosen, investing the remaining EVs in HP gives Gengar better odds to survive defensive Swampert's Torrent-boosted Hydro Pump, defensive Starmie's Psychic, and Heracross's attacks in general, but one could also just put them into Attack for the extra sting on Explosion.

Bring Gengar in on free turns after Spikes has been laid and when it can force a switch, especially when the opponent's team has been chipped across the board. The best situation either forces the opponent to sacrifice the Pokemon on the field or induces chip from Spikes and the first hit on the incoming Pokemon, putting the pivot into range of another coverage move.

Team Options

Spikes is pretty much mandatory with this set, as Gengar's lack of a STAB attack forbids it from hitting hard early-game, yet its versatile coverage becomes immensely more threatening when the opponent's team is uniformly chipped and unable to safely pivot around. Therefore, Cloyster and Skarmory are prime candidates as partners. Cloyster in particular deserves a mention because its offensive pace is better suited for offensive Gengar, and its Explosion or Surf can put a severe dent into Metagross or Tyranitar, bringing them further into Gengar's KO range. Naturally, fast phazers like Jolteon and Zapdos go well on offensive Spikes teams for racking up Spikes damage early-game on grounded bulky Pokemon. As offensive Gengar has no immediate answers to Blissey, Metagross could be an important pivot, especially if one is not using bulky physical Tyranitar. To set up for the sweep, Gengar appreciates other offensive partners that chip Zapdos mid-game such as offensive Swampert and Suicune. Finally, Gengar can also pave the way for an offensive Starmie, Jirachi, or Suicune to sweep, all of which take delight in bringing down the Pokemon that Gengar has already chipped or, in the case of Blissey and Snorlax, damaged with Explosion. Aerodactyl is also a great physically offensive partner, as desperate opponents are frequently very willing to trade away their bulky pivots to Aerodactyl, like Tyranitar, Metagross, Jirachi, and Suicune, to remove Gengar.

Set Description

This set is used mostly as a lead or early-game Pokemon on non-Spikes specially offensive teams to harass the opponent as much as possible with status moves before attempting to sacrifice itself to take out a special wall. If the set looks like a mess, it's because this Gengar's moves are truly versatile and, to some extent, team dependent. This Gengar works best in a position where it keeps its opponent guessing its moveset and eventually springs some surprises.

Hypnosis fits nicely on the specially offensive teams. Due to their fast pace, it is highly likely that a Pokemon put to sleep never wakes up throughout the game, and even if a Natural Cure Pokemon is put to sleep, the opponent is still highly pressured to switch out to avoid Explosion. Regardless of the opponent's choice, sleep also provides an opportunity for a partner like Choice Band Metagross to get a free switch in. Will-O-Wisp threatens to burn Metagross, Tyranitar, and Jirachi, allowing Gengar to more easily lure out the special walls. Note that nothing is stopping the use of Hypnosis and Will-O-Wisp together; it is well and valid. Mean Look is a good option for teams that are highly reliant on Gengar to nail the Blissey trap, eliminating the risk of using Explosion on an irrelevant target.

The second move is generally the move Gengar uses to force a trade. Explosion is the most common choice; unlike Destiny Bond, it eliminates any uncertainty of getting into a follow-up Dugtrio's KO range and doesn't risk critical hits or secondary effects. Destiny Bond, however, allows Gengar to take out a range of offensive threats and act as a secondary measure to completely remove the special wall if Dugtrio has been taken out. It also removes Pursuit Tyranitar, giving rain users free rein. Again, nothing is stopping one from using both Explosion and Destiny Bond.

Taunt has a variety of applications. It stops Skarmory from laying Spikes, and Skarmory is frequently willing to do so on the assumption that this Gengar in a lead position indicates a specially offensive team, against which Skarmory is not necessarily helpful and would gladly absorb Hypnosis. Furthermore, It prevents Refresh users from healing away the burn and keeps the momentum on one's side by preventing Blissey from firing off Thunder Wave. Having this momentum also allows Gengar to play more safely and time Explosion at a moment when the opponent is more highly pressured. Finally, Taunt also prevents the opponent from setting up and stops Suicune and Snorlax from using Rest.

Ice Punch and Thunderbolt are coverage moves that hit most of the metagame neutrally. However, they are not mandatory, as this Gengar tends not to be used to sweep but create problems with its utility moves and force early-game exchanges. In fact, since the opponent is also usually going to assume that an unrevealed Gengar moveset is going to contain attacking moves, having a third utility move can sometimes be a nasty surprise. Focus Punch can catch Blissey and Pursuit Tyranitar off guard. It also encourages Blissey to stay in and recover, making the use of Mean Look and Explosion more reliable, and puts Tyranitar in range of Gengar's coverage move.

There are multiple appropriate EV spreads for Gengar. The given spread allows it to put Bold Blissey into range of Dugtrio's Earthquake with Explosion while letting it survive Tyranitar's Pursuit in sand and outspeeding all base 100 Speed Pokemon like Zapdos and Salamence with Speed investment. Alternatively, one could go for an even more offensive spread of 96 Atk / 160 SpA / 252 Spe not just to do generally more damage but also to put most Snorlax into range of Dugtrio's Earthquake. Focus Punch sets might prefer the even more physically aggressive spread of 184 Atk / 124 SpA / 200 Spe to ensure that maximum HP Tyranitar gets KOed with the follow-up coverage move. One could go for the more physically defensive spread of 248 HP / 52 Atk / 112 SpD / 96 Spe with a Timid nature for an almost similar benchmark on Blissey, except this set is only fast enough to outspeed Timid Moltres. If one is willing to accept the small probability of a maximum HP Blissey surviving both Dugtrio and Gengar or is using Destiny Bond instead of Explosion, then using a Timid nature with any of the EV spreads in the defensive set is also fine.

Team Options

Dugtrio is the most common partner to this Gengar. It follows up after Gengar's Explosion to KO special walls like Blissey, Snorlax, Celebi, and Jirachi while also removing Pursuit Tyranitar for Gengar, or together with Gengar, for the sake of setting up rain. This combination opens the door for a whole host of special threats, including offensive Calm Mind users like Suicune, Celebi, Jirachi, and Raikou and rain users like Kingdra and Ludicolo. Apart from providing special support, Gengar's Hypnosis also allows hard-hitting physical threats like Heracross and Choice Band Metagross to come in for free.

Set Description

This set intends to trap special walls like Blissey, Snorlax, and Celebi through the surprise use of Mean Look + Perish Song. The generic idea is to trap the wall with Mean Look, use Perish Song, wait it out or switch to Dugtrio to continue the trap, and then switch out for the KO. If Gengar is kept around, one can even use Perish Song a second time as Gengar is KOed and use Substitute Dugtrio for a second follow-up KO.

Taunt prevents the opponent from phazing or using status moves and should be used with Destiny Bond to force the opponent into using an attacking move. Substitute tends to be used with Protect to retain as much HP as possible while the Perish Song counter is running. Destiny Bond is supposed to be used as a last resort when Gengar has taken out something and lacks the HP for another trap. Hypnosis is a high-risk high-reward option that has general utility; it can also turn the tides against a check if it hits, but it can lead to Gengar being KOed if it misses.

The EVs are tailored to outspeed base 100 Speed Pokemon like Timid Zapdos and Jolly Choice Band Salamence with maximum Speed investment in order to nail them with Taunt and Destiny Bond, while maximum HP investment helps to survive attacks like defensive Celebi's Psychic and minimize damage from Blissey's Ice Beam, Snorlax's Shadow Ball, and Heracross's Rock Slide. Gengar's EVs are versatile here. One could go for a spread that guarantees surviving Pursuit from Tyranitar under sand so that Destiny Bond is not ruined by sand at the expense of physical bulk that is helpful in taking Snorlax's Shadow Ball or Speed. A spread that satisfies the former condition is 168 HP / 164 SpD / 176 Spe, while one that provides for the latter is 248 HP / 44 Def / 112 SpD / 104 Spe.

Team Options

Substitute Dugtrio is an important partner to this Gengar, as Substitute allows Dugtrio to take over from Gengar in extending trap turns for Perish Song to take effect. Note that Dugtrio can still carry Choice Band and replace Rock Slide with Substitute, since everything Dugtrio traps is hit hard by its other moves. Offensive Calm Mind users like Suicune, Celebi, Jirachi, and Raikou as well as rain users like Kingdra and Ludicolo all benefit from the removal of special walls.