[OVERVIEW]
As the only fully evolved Ghost-type Pokemon in RBY, Gengar fulfills a unique role that no other Pokemon in the generation manages to accomplish; its immunity to Normal-type moves means that it does not take damage from Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Explosion, and Self-Destruct, four moves that completely shape the tier. Gengar is also the fastest sleep inducer available, getting the jump on other sleepers such as Jynx and Exeggutor, an extremely strong trait in a generation where the sleep status is so centralizing. Finally, its high Special and Speed mean that it is capable of dishing out strong attacks that come with a 21.48% critical hit rate attached to them. This high critical hit rate also comes into relevance when Gengar uses Explosion, turning it into a very dangerous and disruptive Pokemon.
However, Gengar also comes with an array of shortcomings. First, its Poison typing brings virtually no upsides and gives Gengar two very crippling weaknesses to Earthquake and Psychic, two of the most common attacking moves in the tier. Most notably, Tauros and Snorlax 2HKO Gengar with Earthquake, and Starmie, Exeggutor, Alakazam, and Jynx 2HKO it with Psychic, severely hindering Gengar's ability to take on these Pokemon. Second, the two most important moves in its arsenal both come with a caveat: Hypnosis has a very shaky 60% accuracy that will often prove extremely crippling when it misses, and Explosion comes off of a mediocre Attack stat, meaning that barring critical hits, it is one of the weakest Explosions in the tier. Third, since its attacking options do not benefit from a STAB boost, Gengar's damage output can oftentimes prove to be underwhelming. Lastly, despite being by no means a slow Pokemon, Gengar's Speed can still leave much to be desired, as it Speed ties with Tauros and is outsped by Starmie and Alakazam.
[SET]
name: Sleeper
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Explosion
move 3: Psychic / Thunderbolt / Night Shade
move 4: Thunderbolt / Night Shade / Psychic
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Hypnosis is pivotal to Gengar's success; it possesses the fastest sleep-inducing move in the tier, which means it can use the move before other prevalent sleepers such as Jynx, Exeggutor, and Sing Chansey.
Despite coming off of a mediocre base 65 Attack stat, Explosion is still a very strong move that should never be dropped. Gengar's Speed also means that it will manage to use the move more consistently than slower explosive move users such as Exeggutor and Snorlax. Moreover, its high base Speed means that the move comes with a high critical hit chance, which can significantly increase the value of Gengar's Explosion by netting a guaranteed KO on almost every Pokemon in the tier.
When used in the lead slot, Gengar is often the Pokemon one is willing to sacrifice to sleep. This means that the final two moves' value is closely tied to how effective they are against the Pokemon Gengar is matched up against early-game, since once it's asleep, Gengar's moveset will seldom matter anymore. Psychic allows Gengar to hit opposing Gengar harder than any other move. Thunderbolt allows it to hit Starmie, but the move does not necessarily flip the matchup around, since Starmie commonly carries Psychic when used in the lead slot. Moreover, non-Psychic Starmie variants often switch out of Gengar to a Pokemon such as Exeggutor or Jynx in the hopes of catching Gengar swotching out to a Pokemon such as Sing Chansey. However, if Starmie is not expected to carry Psychic, or if your early-game plan revolves around paralyzing Starmie and subsequently forcing another Pokemon to sleep by threatening Starmie with Gengar's Thunderbolt, it becomes a considerably stronger option. Night Shade allows Gengar to pressure Exeggutor, the most consistent and common sleeper in the tier, which could switch in with impunity otherwise. Without Night Shade, Exeggutor is not really in a rush to use Sleep Powder, even being able to use Stun Spore and Psychic instead to attempt to beat Gengar or force it out, which lets Exeggutor put another Pokemon to sleep instead.
Gengar excels in the lead slot due to both its ability to immediately threaten sleep using its fast Hypnosis and being arguably the best Pokemon in the tier to sacrifice to sleep, since it retains a lot of its utility even while asleep through its Normal immunity. Outspeeding Jynx is especially relevant, since both are most commonly found in the lead slot, and teams with Jynx usually do not carry any other sleeper, which creates an awkward situation for the Jynx user through both the threat of Hypnosis and the threat of Explosion paired with a backup sleeper. Some of Gengar's utility also includes deterring the opponent's Pokemon from using Explosion simply by virtue of its existence, as well as walling Tauros and Snorlax variants not packing Earthquake or Amnesia. Moreover, its typing allows it to switch into Body Slam and Hyper Beam, drawing in weaker moves such as Earthquake or Ice-type moves from the aforementioned Snorlax and Tauros for a cleaner entry to another Pokemon. These two reasons also give Gengar opportunities to try to wake up—as its foes may use their Normal-type moves again, expecting the switch—or burn sleep turns against the aforementioned Tauros and Snorlax sets.
Gengar's perks while asleep mean that it should generally opt to hit opposing Gengar with Psychic instead of using Hypnosis. One Psychic leaves opposing Gengar in a very awkward position against Pokemon such as Exeggutor—which can now much more effectively push sleep past it, since Psychic now KOes it—and Snorlax, which can also threaten the KO with Earthquake. In fact, even if Snorlax is not packing Earthquake, opposing Gengar will still have to respect its threat and oftentimes switch out, allowing even mono-attacking Snorlax variants to capitalize on the opponent's lack of information to generate progress it would otherwise not be able to. When using Gengar for its defensive abilities, you must be very aware of its HP, because Gengar relies on it a lot to perform that job.
Nevertheless, leading Gengar often translates into high variance and a lot of mind games in the first turns of the game. This is especially acute in mirror matchups because of Psychic's Special drop chance, Gengar's critical hit rate, and Hypnosis's shaky accuracy. Even if the opponent is not leading Gengar, experienced opponents will often try to beat Gengar instead putting it to sleep. This includes both damaging it with a strong move to create the dynamics mentioned in the previous paragraph and even paralyzing it, since opponents often prefer a paralyzed Gengar over a sleeping one. These dynamics result in several early-game mind games revolving around incapacitating, paralyzing, or attacking Gengar.
Despite being less common than lead variants, a non-lead Gengar dodges early-game mind games and high-variance dynamics it otherwise often experiences. Not leading also allows Gengar to come in against Snorlax and Tauros early-game, since these Pokemon will generally opt for Body Slam until Gengar has been revealed—unless they have a specific reason not to, such as scouting for Counter on Chansey. This allows Gengar to turn the tables on them and immediately threaten their teams through sleep; it outspeeds Snorlax, and Tauros is often perceived as too valuable to be put to sleep, thus being forced out.
While still worthy of consideration, Night Shade's ability to hit Exeggutor generally becomes of less importance outside the lead slot, since Gengar is subject to considerably less pressure from it when brought out from the back. Thunderbolt allows Gengar to hit Water-types such as Starmie, Cloyster, Slowbro, and Lapras for super effective damage and Psychic-types such as Alakazam and Jynx for more damage than Psychic, as well as coming with a nice 10% paralysis chance, all traits that are more relevant when Gengar is used outside the lead slot. Lastly, Psychic provides the ability to hit Rhydon hard and reliably forces Rest Snorlax without Earthquake out, two traits Gengar heavily appreciates. When kept awake, non-lead Gengar can also be more effectively used for the aforementioned defensive traits against Snorlax and Tauros, since it can actually damage them in return.
Team Options
========
Due to the inconsistency and exploitability of Hypnosis and the wide range of Pokemon that can 2HKO Gengar by exploiting its Poison typing, it should be paired with another sleep-inducing Pokemon. The most common options include Sleep Powder Exeggutor and Sing Chansey. The former is the most consistent sleeper, since Exeggutor is less exploitable than Sing Chansey and packs a more accurate sleep move. However, Gengar + Exeggutor is a core notoriously weak to Starmie carrying both Psychic and Blizzard. Early in a game, you should expect to play on the backfoot at the sight of a Starmie lead if using this core, especially if the opponent also has an Exeggutor of their own. The latter doesn't have any notoriously bad early-game matchups; however, it relies on two considerably inaccurate moves, which allows Pokemon such as Alakazam and Starmie to muscle past Chansey through repeated Sing misses, Psychic's Special drops, full paralysis chance, or, in the case of Starmie, freezing it. Even against opposing lead Gengar, especially if they're paired with Exeggutor, it is not unrealistic to end up with one of Gengar and Chansey KOed and the other asleep without putting a foe to sleep beforehand because of the aforementioned early-game dynamics between Gengar and Exeggutor. Using Sing will also mean Chansey misses out on Thunder Wave or the great coverage Ice Beam and Thunderbolt provide when paired together.
When including Gengar in teams using the Chansey / Snorlax / Tauros core, you should generally also pair it with at least one Psychic-type. Exeggutor is an especially good partner for Gengar, as it resists both Psychic and Earthquake, whereas Gengar can take the Normal-type moves thrown at Exeggutor; this creates the possibility of one granting safe entry points for the other, especially early-game when full teams are not revealed yet. Starmie also appreciates Gengar drawing Earthquake from Tauros and Snorlax, avoiding the threat of paralysis from Body Slam upon entry. These dynamics also allow an asleep Gengar to more easily burn sleep turns should it attempt to wake up. When it comes to the Normal-type trio's movesets, the presence of Gengar discourages the use of Counter Chansey, since the utility provided by both overlaps considerably, whereas the choice of the movesets on Tauros and Snorlax generally depends more on the rest of the team than Gengar itself.
Outside of teams including the aforementioned trio of Normal-type Pokemon, Gengar can also take part in a core of Explosion users including Pokemon such as Exeggutor, Snorlax, Cloyster, and Golem, which pave the way for fast potential wincons such as Tauros, Starmie, Alakazam, and Jolteon or Pokemon carrying Agility such as Zapdos to sweep late-game.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
The most common other options include Mega Drain and Confuse Ray. Mega Drain is used with the purpose of 2HKOing Rhydon. However, Psychic already has a roll to 3HKO it before factoring in the chance of a Special drop, and Mega Drain does not turn the matchup in Gengar's favor, since Rhydon has a guaranteed OHKO on Gengar with Earthquake. Confuse Ray is used with the intent of denying recovery to Pokemon such as Chansey, Alakazam, and Rest Snorlax or providing teammates safer entry points, but the fact it is RNG reliant makes it an inconsistent option.
Gengar can also use Submission to threaten a 3HKO on Chansey, but its accuracy and recoil make it a fringe option; Gengar will take 60% in recoil damage to KO a Chansey from full HP. Nevertheless, since a turn immediately ends in RBY once a Pokemon has been KOed, Gengar can use Submission to inflict heavy damage and KO itself with recoil, setting up a better game state for Pokemon like Moltres, Articuno, and Lapras. However, the same can be achieved with Explosion.
Gengar can use Toxic on teams utilizing partial trapping strategies, but these are often inconsistent and luck reliant as a whole. Rest can seem like an appealing option on Gengar, but its frailty and typing mean that it is 2HKOed by a very significant number of the Pokemon in the tier, which makes waking itself up hard. However, Rest's ability to let Gengar wall Chansey carrying Thunderbolt and Ice Beam is a nice perk. The two moves can also be paired together in more stall-oriented teams, but they tend to be very niche in RBY, since wallbreaking is extremely facilitated by the way critical hits work.
Lastly, it should be noted that although Gengar learns Seismic Toss, which has eight more PP than Night Shade, it generally does not last enough to make use of the extra PP. Additionally, unlike Night Shade, Seismic Toss can be exploited by a foe's Counter as Gengar switches out, making Night Shade the superior choice.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Psychic**: Gengar is 2HKOed by every STAB Psychic user in the tier. Alakazam and Exeggutor deserve special mentions because the former outspeeds it and always carries Psychic, whereas the latter can use Psychic to push past Gengar and put another Pokemon to sleep. Opposing Gengar is also very threatening because one Psychic is enough to leave Gengar in range of Exeggutor's Psychic and Tauros's and Snorlax's Earthquakes, severely hindering its defensive ability. However, Slowbro and Starmie may not necessarily be running Psychic, and Thunderbolt turns the tides on them.
**Rhydon**: Gengar is OHKOed by Rhydon's Earthquake, and even if Sleep Clause is not active, using Hypnosis is often suboptimal, as Gengar is gambling a 60% chance to put a Pokemon to sleep over a 40% chance of getting outright KOed, and that's before considering wake up chances. However, Rhydon is generally more of a check than a counter, as it can usually only switch in safely once due to Psychic's damage output, and it depends a lot on keeping its HP as high as possible to be threatening.
**Earthquake**: Gengar is 2HKOed by Snorlax's and Tauros's Earthquake; in addition, Tauros's high Speed means that a critical hit OHKO is also a realistic prospect. By contrast, Gengar can only 4HKO Tauros and 5HKO Snorlax with any of its moves without Explosion or Special drops. Hence, Gengar should be very wary of its HP, as its ability to be threatening becomes hindered once it is in range of these two Pokemon's Earthquake. However, with Sleep Clause active, Gengar can also force both Pokemon out, since Tauros is often perceived as too valuable to risk the interaction, and Snorlax is outsped. Moreover, Snorlax might not be using Earthquake, and although doing so is rare, Tauros can also choose to drop it for other moves, significantly improving the matchup for Gengar because they can now only threaten a 5HKO or 6HKO.
**Chansey**: Once Sleep Clause is active, Chansey can come in and take very little damage from Gengar's attacks, threatening Gengar with paralysis and damaging moves while only being wary of the threat of Explosion. In fact, with Reflect, Chansey doesn't even fear Explosion unless it scores a critical hit.
**Paralysis**: Gengar is notoriously weak to paralysis. In fact, opponents often desire to paralyze it even with Sleep Clause not yet active. A paralyzed Gengar cannot block a sleep move from the opponent's Pokemon consistently, since all of Jynx, opposing Gengar, and Exeggutor carry a strong move to damage it with, and Chansey can chip it with attacking moves until it is forced to use Explosion. Moreover, Tauros is guaranteed to outspeed it, and Snorlax with Earthquake becomes a much bigger threat. Paralysis also hinders the chances of landing Hypnosis, which, coupled with the fact that a very significant number of Pokemon in the tier can 2HKO it, makes landing Hypnosis a difficult proposition. All of this means that a paralyzed Gengar will often be forced to use Explosion fairly early in a predictable fashion, making it significantly easier for the opponent's team to take Explosion in the most optimal way possible.
**Chip Damage**: As mentioned before, Gengar heavily relies on its HP to be able to switch in safely, be a check, and be more threatening. This means that chipping Gengar's HP down to the point it is in range of an Earthquake or Psychic is often good progress to beating it.
[CREDITS]
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Quality checked by:
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https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
As the only fully evolved Ghost-type Pokemon in RBY, Gengar fulfills a unique role that no other Pokemon in the generation manages to accomplish; its immunity to Normal-type moves means that it does not take damage from Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Explosion, and Self-Destruct, four moves that completely shape the tier. Gengar is also the fastest sleep inducer available, getting the jump on other sleepers such as Jynx and Exeggutor, an extremely strong trait in a generation where the sleep status is so centralizing. Finally, its high Special and Speed mean that it is capable of dishing out strong attacks that come with a 21.48% critical hit rate attached to them. This high critical hit rate also comes into relevance when Gengar uses Explosion, turning it into a very dangerous and disruptive Pokemon.
However, Gengar also comes with an array of shortcomings. First, its Poison typing brings virtually no upsides and gives Gengar two very crippling weaknesses to Earthquake and Psychic, two of the most common attacking moves in the tier. Most notably, Tauros and Snorlax 2HKO Gengar with Earthquake, and Starmie, Exeggutor, Alakazam, and Jynx 2HKO it with Psychic, severely hindering Gengar's ability to take on these Pokemon. Second, the two most important moves in its arsenal both come with a caveat: Hypnosis has a very shaky 60% accuracy that will often prove extremely crippling when it misses, and Explosion comes off of a mediocre Attack stat, meaning that barring critical hits, it is one of the weakest Explosions in the tier. Third, since its attacking options do not benefit from a STAB boost, Gengar's damage output can oftentimes prove to be underwhelming. Lastly, despite being by no means a slow Pokemon, Gengar's Speed can still leave much to be desired, as it Speed ties with Tauros and is outsped by Starmie and Alakazam.
[SET]
name: Sleeper
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Explosion
move 3: Psychic / Thunderbolt / Night Shade
move 4: Thunderbolt / Night Shade / Psychic
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Hypnosis is pivotal to Gengar's success; it possesses the fastest sleep-inducing move in the tier, which means it can use the move before other prevalent sleepers such as Jynx, Exeggutor, and Sing Chansey.
Despite coming off of a mediocre base 65 Attack stat, Explosion is still a very strong move that should never be dropped. Gengar's Speed also means that it will manage to use the move more consistently than slower explosive move users such as Exeggutor and Snorlax. Moreover, its high base Speed means that the move comes with a high critical hit chance, which can significantly increase the value of Gengar's Explosion by netting a guaranteed KO on almost every Pokemon in the tier.
When used in the lead slot, Gengar is often the Pokemon one is willing to sacrifice to sleep. This means that the final two moves' value is closely tied to how effective they are against the Pokemon Gengar is matched up against early-game, since once it's asleep, Gengar's moveset will seldom matter anymore. Psychic allows Gengar to hit opposing Gengar harder than any other move. Thunderbolt allows it to hit Starmie, but the move does not necessarily flip the matchup around, since Starmie commonly carries Psychic when used in the lead slot. Moreover, non-Psychic Starmie variants often switch out of Gengar to a Pokemon such as Exeggutor or Jynx in the hopes of catching Gengar swotching out to a Pokemon such as Sing Chansey. However, if Starmie is not expected to carry Psychic, or if your early-game plan revolves around paralyzing Starmie and subsequently forcing another Pokemon to sleep by threatening Starmie with Gengar's Thunderbolt, it becomes a considerably stronger option. Night Shade allows Gengar to pressure Exeggutor, the most consistent and common sleeper in the tier, which could switch in with impunity otherwise. Without Night Shade, Exeggutor is not really in a rush to use Sleep Powder, even being able to use Stun Spore and Psychic instead to attempt to beat Gengar or force it out, which lets Exeggutor put another Pokemon to sleep instead.
Gengar excels in the lead slot due to both its ability to immediately threaten sleep using its fast Hypnosis and being arguably the best Pokemon in the tier to sacrifice to sleep, since it retains a lot of its utility even while asleep through its Normal immunity. Outspeeding Jynx is especially relevant, since both are most commonly found in the lead slot, and teams with Jynx usually do not carry any other sleeper, which creates an awkward situation for the Jynx user through both the threat of Hypnosis and the threat of Explosion paired with a backup sleeper. Some of Gengar's utility also includes deterring the opponent's Pokemon from using Explosion simply by virtue of its existence, as well as walling Tauros and Snorlax variants not packing Earthquake or Amnesia. Moreover, its typing allows it to switch into Body Slam and Hyper Beam, drawing in weaker moves such as Earthquake or Ice-type moves from the aforementioned Snorlax and Tauros for a cleaner entry to another Pokemon. These two reasons also give Gengar opportunities to try to wake up—as its foes may use their Normal-type moves again, expecting the switch—or burn sleep turns against the aforementioned Tauros and Snorlax sets.
Gengar's perks while asleep mean that it should generally opt to hit opposing Gengar with Psychic instead of using Hypnosis. One Psychic leaves opposing Gengar in a very awkward position against Pokemon such as Exeggutor—which can now much more effectively push sleep past it, since Psychic now KOes it—and Snorlax, which can also threaten the KO with Earthquake. In fact, even if Snorlax is not packing Earthquake, opposing Gengar will still have to respect its threat and oftentimes switch out, allowing even mono-attacking Snorlax variants to capitalize on the opponent's lack of information to generate progress it would otherwise not be able to. When using Gengar for its defensive abilities, you must be very aware of its HP, because Gengar relies on it a lot to perform that job.
Nevertheless, leading Gengar often translates into high variance and a lot of mind games in the first turns of the game. This is especially acute in mirror matchups because of Psychic's Special drop chance, Gengar's critical hit rate, and Hypnosis's shaky accuracy. Even if the opponent is not leading Gengar, experienced opponents will often try to beat Gengar instead putting it to sleep. This includes both damaging it with a strong move to create the dynamics mentioned in the previous paragraph and even paralyzing it, since opponents often prefer a paralyzed Gengar over a sleeping one. These dynamics result in several early-game mind games revolving around incapacitating, paralyzing, or attacking Gengar.
Despite being less common than lead variants, a non-lead Gengar dodges early-game mind games and high-variance dynamics it otherwise often experiences. Not leading also allows Gengar to come in against Snorlax and Tauros early-game, since these Pokemon will generally opt for Body Slam until Gengar has been revealed—unless they have a specific reason not to, such as scouting for Counter on Chansey. This allows Gengar to turn the tables on them and immediately threaten their teams through sleep; it outspeeds Snorlax, and Tauros is often perceived as too valuable to be put to sleep, thus being forced out.
While still worthy of consideration, Night Shade's ability to hit Exeggutor generally becomes of less importance outside the lead slot, since Gengar is subject to considerably less pressure from it when brought out from the back. Thunderbolt allows Gengar to hit Water-types such as Starmie, Cloyster, Slowbro, and Lapras for super effective damage and Psychic-types such as Alakazam and Jynx for more damage than Psychic, as well as coming with a nice 10% paralysis chance, all traits that are more relevant when Gengar is used outside the lead slot. Lastly, Psychic provides the ability to hit Rhydon hard and reliably forces Rest Snorlax without Earthquake out, two traits Gengar heavily appreciates. When kept awake, non-lead Gengar can also be more effectively used for the aforementioned defensive traits against Snorlax and Tauros, since it can actually damage them in return.
Team Options
========
Due to the inconsistency and exploitability of Hypnosis and the wide range of Pokemon that can 2HKO Gengar by exploiting its Poison typing, it should be paired with another sleep-inducing Pokemon. The most common options include Sleep Powder Exeggutor and Sing Chansey. The former is the most consistent sleeper, since Exeggutor is less exploitable than Sing Chansey and packs a more accurate sleep move. However, Gengar + Exeggutor is a core notoriously weak to Starmie carrying both Psychic and Blizzard. Early in a game, you should expect to play on the backfoot at the sight of a Starmie lead if using this core, especially if the opponent also has an Exeggutor of their own. The latter doesn't have any notoriously bad early-game matchups; however, it relies on two considerably inaccurate moves, which allows Pokemon such as Alakazam and Starmie to muscle past Chansey through repeated Sing misses, Psychic's Special drops, full paralysis chance, or, in the case of Starmie, freezing it. Even against opposing lead Gengar, especially if they're paired with Exeggutor, it is not unrealistic to end up with one of Gengar and Chansey KOed and the other asleep without putting a foe to sleep beforehand because of the aforementioned early-game dynamics between Gengar and Exeggutor. Using Sing will also mean Chansey misses out on Thunder Wave or the great coverage Ice Beam and Thunderbolt provide when paired together.
When including Gengar in teams using the Chansey / Snorlax / Tauros core, you should generally also pair it with at least one Psychic-type. Exeggutor is an especially good partner for Gengar, as it resists both Psychic and Earthquake, whereas Gengar can take the Normal-type moves thrown at Exeggutor; this creates the possibility of one granting safe entry points for the other, especially early-game when full teams are not revealed yet. Starmie also appreciates Gengar drawing Earthquake from Tauros and Snorlax, avoiding the threat of paralysis from Body Slam upon entry. These dynamics also allow an asleep Gengar to more easily burn sleep turns should it attempt to wake up. When it comes to the Normal-type trio's movesets, the presence of Gengar discourages the use of Counter Chansey, since the utility provided by both overlaps considerably, whereas the choice of the movesets on Tauros and Snorlax generally depends more on the rest of the team than Gengar itself.
Outside of teams including the aforementioned trio of Normal-type Pokemon, Gengar can also take part in a core of Explosion users including Pokemon such as Exeggutor, Snorlax, Cloyster, and Golem, which pave the way for fast potential wincons such as Tauros, Starmie, Alakazam, and Jolteon or Pokemon carrying Agility such as Zapdos to sweep late-game.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
The most common other options include Mega Drain and Confuse Ray. Mega Drain is used with the purpose of 2HKOing Rhydon. However, Psychic already has a roll to 3HKO it before factoring in the chance of a Special drop, and Mega Drain does not turn the matchup in Gengar's favor, since Rhydon has a guaranteed OHKO on Gengar with Earthquake. Confuse Ray is used with the intent of denying recovery to Pokemon such as Chansey, Alakazam, and Rest Snorlax or providing teammates safer entry points, but the fact it is RNG reliant makes it an inconsistent option.
Gengar can also use Submission to threaten a 3HKO on Chansey, but its accuracy and recoil make it a fringe option; Gengar will take 60% in recoil damage to KO a Chansey from full HP. Nevertheless, since a turn immediately ends in RBY once a Pokemon has been KOed, Gengar can use Submission to inflict heavy damage and KO itself with recoil, setting up a better game state for Pokemon like Moltres, Articuno, and Lapras. However, the same can be achieved with Explosion.
Gengar can use Toxic on teams utilizing partial trapping strategies, but these are often inconsistent and luck reliant as a whole. Rest can seem like an appealing option on Gengar, but its frailty and typing mean that it is 2HKOed by a very significant number of the Pokemon in the tier, which makes waking itself up hard. However, Rest's ability to let Gengar wall Chansey carrying Thunderbolt and Ice Beam is a nice perk. The two moves can also be paired together in more stall-oriented teams, but they tend to be very niche in RBY, since wallbreaking is extremely facilitated by the way critical hits work.
Lastly, it should be noted that although Gengar learns Seismic Toss, which has eight more PP than Night Shade, it generally does not last enough to make use of the extra PP. Additionally, unlike Night Shade, Seismic Toss can be exploited by a foe's Counter as Gengar switches out, making Night Shade the superior choice.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Psychic**: Gengar is 2HKOed by every STAB Psychic user in the tier. Alakazam and Exeggutor deserve special mentions because the former outspeeds it and always carries Psychic, whereas the latter can use Psychic to push past Gengar and put another Pokemon to sleep. Opposing Gengar is also very threatening because one Psychic is enough to leave Gengar in range of Exeggutor's Psychic and Tauros's and Snorlax's Earthquakes, severely hindering its defensive ability. However, Slowbro and Starmie may not necessarily be running Psychic, and Thunderbolt turns the tides on them.
**Rhydon**: Gengar is OHKOed by Rhydon's Earthquake, and even if Sleep Clause is not active, using Hypnosis is often suboptimal, as Gengar is gambling a 60% chance to put a Pokemon to sleep over a 40% chance of getting outright KOed, and that's before considering wake up chances. However, Rhydon is generally more of a check than a counter, as it can usually only switch in safely once due to Psychic's damage output, and it depends a lot on keeping its HP as high as possible to be threatening.
**Earthquake**: Gengar is 2HKOed by Snorlax's and Tauros's Earthquake; in addition, Tauros's high Speed means that a critical hit OHKO is also a realistic prospect. By contrast, Gengar can only 4HKO Tauros and 5HKO Snorlax with any of its moves without Explosion or Special drops. Hence, Gengar should be very wary of its HP, as its ability to be threatening becomes hindered once it is in range of these two Pokemon's Earthquake. However, with Sleep Clause active, Gengar can also force both Pokemon out, since Tauros is often perceived as too valuable to risk the interaction, and Snorlax is outsped. Moreover, Snorlax might not be using Earthquake, and although doing so is rare, Tauros can also choose to drop it for other moves, significantly improving the matchup for Gengar because they can now only threaten a 5HKO or 6HKO.
**Chansey**: Once Sleep Clause is active, Chansey can come in and take very little damage from Gengar's attacks, threatening Gengar with paralysis and damaging moves while only being wary of the threat of Explosion. In fact, with Reflect, Chansey doesn't even fear Explosion unless it scores a critical hit.
**Paralysis**: Gengar is notoriously weak to paralysis. In fact, opponents often desire to paralyze it even with Sleep Clause not yet active. A paralyzed Gengar cannot block a sleep move from the opponent's Pokemon consistently, since all of Jynx, opposing Gengar, and Exeggutor carry a strong move to damage it with, and Chansey can chip it with attacking moves until it is forced to use Explosion. Moreover, Tauros is guaranteed to outspeed it, and Snorlax with Earthquake becomes a much bigger threat. Paralysis also hinders the chances of landing Hypnosis, which, coupled with the fact that a very significant number of Pokemon in the tier can 2HKO it, makes landing Hypnosis a difficult proposition. All of this means that a paralyzed Gengar will often be forced to use Explosion fairly early in a predictable fashion, making it significantly easier for the opponent's team to take Explosion in the most optimal way possible.
**Chip Damage**: As mentioned before, Gengar heavily relies on its HP to be able to switch in safely, be a check, and be more threatening. This means that chipping Gengar's HP down to the point it is in range of an Earthquake or Psychic is often good progress to beating it.
[CREDITS]
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/sceptross.123746/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/emma.294304/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/amaranth.265630/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/a-blue-banana.649096/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/autumn.384270/
Last edited:
