Gengar
QC: Dennis EG, PK Gaming, p2
GP: Kris
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- Gengar has great Special Attack and a decent movepool to allow it to act as a strong wallbreaker.
- Its good Speed can be utilized to make a semipotent revenge killer on Offense.
- Gengar has utility outside of wallbreaking with moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, Subtitute, Disable, and Trick.
- Its poor defensive typing and thin defenses make it extremely vulnerable to being revenge killed and Pursuit trapped.
- With Cursed Body, it removes any ability Gengar can no longer pivot into Ground-type moves. However, it allows Gengar to gain advantages from terrain effects and clean up Toxic Spikes.
- Despite its great Speed tier, Gengar falls short of some Choice Scarf users such as Tyranitar and other naturally faster Pokemon such as Thundurus, Tapu Koko, Greninja, and Weavile.
[SET]
name: Life Orb Attacker
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Sludge Wave
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Taunt
item: Life Orb
ability: Cursed Body
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
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- Shadow Ball is Gengar's Ghost-type STAB move and hits foes very hard naturally and should be spammed whenever applicable.
- Sludge Wave is used for hitting Fairy-yypes and other Pokemon that are either immune to or resistant to Shadow Ball, such as Mandibuzz. It's also more powerful than Shadow Ball when hitting neutrally.
- Focus Blast can be used to break through Pokemon like Ferrothorn or Heatran, as well as Pokemon that can reliably switch into Gengar and give it trouble, such as Bisharp and Tyranitar.
- Thunderbolt can be used for very bulky Water- and Flying-types such as Toxapex, Mantine, and Celesteela.
- Taunt is useful to prevent slower Pokemon from setting up entry hazards or recovering health.
- Will-O-Wisp can be used to cripple physical attackers that can switch in on Gengar, such as Mega Scizor.
- Destiny Bond can be used in tandem with Taunt in order to potentially secure a KO on something Gengar can't KO straight up.
Set Details
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- Maximum Speed and Special Attack investment is used to help Gengar take advantage of its amazing Speed while letting it hit as hard as possible.
- Life Orb is used to give Gengar's attacks extra power without being restricted to a Choice item.
- A Timid nature allows Gengar to make the most of its Speed while not gimping any important stat.
Usage Tips
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- Being a fast and powerful but extremely frail attacker, Gengar should be used to either revenge kill a slower threat or break down opposing walls and tanks.
- Pivoting in Gengar after a slow U-turn or Volt Switch can be a very effective strategy to get it in safely. This is also extremely important, as now that Gengar's Spikes damage with Life Orb recoil, its health will be diminished even faster throughout the course of a match.
- Entry hazards are a great tool that Gengar can utilize to nail 2HKOs that otherwise would not be possible.
Team Options
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- Teammates that beat Dark-types and faster Psychic- and Ghost-types are paramount to success with Gengar. For this reason, Pokemon like Buzzwole, Azumarill, Mega Scizor, Pheromosa, and Magearna make excellent partners. Tapu Bulu is also an excellent partner that stomachs Ground- and Dark-type attacks thrown at Gengar while providing Grassy Terrain to help sustain Gengar.
- Anything that can set up entry hazards while also being able to stomach hits from powerful priority attackers are good partners. For this reason, Skarmory and Ferrothorn get a mention as notable teammates.
- Partners that benefit from Gengar's profound ability to break down walls and stall teams alike include Mega Pinsir, Greninja, Pheromosa, and Mega Sharpedo.
- It's extremely important to have control over entry hazards during the course of the match, as keeping Gengar alive and healthy can be a difficult task. Partners that control entry hazards such as Starmie, Tapu Fini, Zapdos, and Skarmory are greatly appreciated.
- Slow VoltTurn users are great to pivot Gengar in and out of battle while keeping it safe from as much damage as possible. Good examples of this are Landorus-T, Magearna, Magnezone, Mega Scizor, and Rotom-W.
- Tapu Lele deserves a mention of its own, as it resists Psychic and brings Psychic Terrain, preventing priority attacks from even touching Gengar.
- Anything that can set up Sticky Web for Gengar would help immensely against faster-paced teams. Good users of Sticky Webs, such as Smeargle and Shuckle, go very well with Gengar.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
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- Substitute can be used in order to ease prediction and safely secure a 2HKO or a burn with Will-O-Wisp; however, it can be somewhat difficult to properly find the moveslot for it.
- Hex is plausible on a team focused on status, as Hex on a status-inflicted target will in fact be stronger than Shadow Ball. However, it lacks the same consistency that Shadow Ball has.
- Icy Wind is an option to not only hit Ground- and Dragon-types super effectively, but to also slow down a switch-in that would normally be faster than Gengar, allowing Gengar to potentially outspeed and KO the opponent, but the move itself is overall very weak.
- Pain Split is an option for Substitute sets to recover Gengar's lost health. However, this limits Gengar's options further.
- Dazzling Gleam is an option to hit specific targets for super effective damage, such as Sableye. However, Shadow Ball should suffice, as it is also much more consistent.
- Disable, when used in conjunction with Substitute can cripple the opposing Pokemon if their only reliable way to OHKO Gengar becomes disabled; however, this cuts into Gengar's coverage options.
- A Trick + Choice Scarf set can also be used to not only outspeed threatening Pokemon like Pheromosa, Tapu Koko, Mega Alakazam, and Thundurus, but also to Trick a Choice Scarf onto a Pokemon like Chansey or Skarmory, effectively crippling them. However, such a set is relatively weak, and aside from the one use of Trick, is for the most part useless against more stall oriented teams.
- Choice Specs allows Gengar to wallbreak more effectively and doesn't have the recoil of Life Orb; However, it prevents Gengar from switching moves and restricts its utility outside of wallbreaking.
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**Dark-types**: Weavile, Bisharp, and Tyranitar are all able to potentially come in on Gengar and proceed to either outspeed it in the case of Weavile and Choice Scarf Tyranitar, KO it with Sucker Punch in the case of Bisharp, or Pursuit trap it. Alolan Muk deserves a special mention, as it can safely switch into any of Gengar's attacks and freely Pursuit Gengar to death.
**Faster Pokemon**: Greninja, Weavile, Tapu Koko, Mega Alakazam, Zygarde-10%, and Thundurus are all examples of Pokemon that naturally outspeed and can OHKO Gengar with their respective STABs. However, these Pokemon cannot safely switch into Gengar.
**Priority Attacks**: Priority attacks from powerful Pokemon such as Azumarill, Mega Scizor, Alolan Muk, Bisharp, Mega Pinsir, and Mamoswine can all threaten Gengar with a potential 2HKO or even OHKO.
**Residual Damage and Status**: Chip damage from things like Stealth Rock, Spikes, burns, and Life Orb recoil and quickly dwindle Gengar's health, making its time on the battlefield short-lived.
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