REGULAR GENGAR STARES INTO YOUR SOUL
RIP Mega Gengar...
<ul>
<li>Gengar is just as good as ever; it is deadly and unpredictable.</li>
<li>Gengar is a great Fighting- and Fairy-Type check thanks to Ghost- and Poison-Type respectively.</li>
<li>A 130 SpA backed by a great 110 Speed allows it to threaten most OU Pokemon.</li>
<li>Dual STAB, Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb, plus good coverage moves provide unpredictability.</li>
<li>The team preview helps it with scouting of faster Pokemon and priority.</li>
<li>It is immune to Spikes and Sticky Web.</li>
<li>It functions great with Substitute, Destiny Bond, and Taunt as a possible Anti-Lead.</li>
</ul>
[Cons]
<ul>
<li>It is quite frail.</li>
<li>Hidden Power Fire and Ice were both nerfed, leaving Gengar more wary of Scizor and other Dragons.</li>
<li>It's weak to Pursuit.</li>
<li>It hates most priority, especially Sucker Punch and Scizor's Bullet Punch.</li>
<li>Gengar just misses Starmie and Greninja with its Speed.</li>
</ul>
name: Standard
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Sludge Bomb
move 3: Substitute / Protect
move 4: Focus Blast / Hidden Power Fire
ability: Levitate
item: Black Sludge / Life Orb
evs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Def
nature: Timid
<p>This is a standard set similar to 5th Gen, but using Sludge Bomb for strong STAB and a useful super effective move against Fairy-Types. Shadow Ball is for STAB and Ghost-Types and Sludge Bomb is for stronger STAB and Fairy-Types. Substitute could be used on switches to gain an advantage, but Protect allows better Pursuit vs. Bullet Punch scouting of Pokemon like Scizor. Focus Blast is usually better for Pokemon like Tyranitar, but Hidden Power Fire, despite its reduction, will hit x4 weak targets such as Scizor and Ferrothorn harder. Black Sludge is usually better with Substitute, but Life Orb could still be used. Protect is usually better with Life Orb.</p>
<p>Gengar usually likes being paired with strong physical attackers, especially Fighting-Types, in order to take on its pink blob menaces: Chansey and Blissey. Gengar works well with strong physical walls that can take on most priority, such as Skarmory or Gliscor. In order to make 2HKOs into OHKOs, Gengar also appreciates Stealth Rocks and Spikes support, which Ferrothorn can set up well. Both have pretty good synergy due to Gengar's Fighting-Type resistance. Sticky Web support is also welcomed as it allows Gengar to outspeed the likes of Greninja, Starmie, and many Choice Scarf users. Galvantula is usually your best bet at setting up Sticky Web.</p>
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Sludge Bomb
move 3: Hidden Power Ice / Trick
move 4: Focus Blast
ability: Levitate
item: Choice Scarf
evs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Def
nature: Timid
<p>With a great 110 Speed, Gengar makes a great, yet unexpected Choice Scarf User. Shadow Ball is for STAB and hits Ghost-Types hard. Sludge Bomb is for stronger neutral STAB and for Fairy-Types. Hidden Power Ice smashes x4 weak Dragons, but Trick is useful for crippling Pokemon such as Eviolite Chansey or Blissey. Focus Blast is largely for Tyranitar and hits Steel-Types generally well, so usually it's a best choice in the last slot. Thunderbolt might be useful over Hidden Power Ice or Focus Blast, especially outside of simulator play, but usually Sludge Bomb suffices against bulky waters. Gyarados, however, will not enjoy taking a Thunderbolt.</p>
<p>This set plays a bit differently than the standard Gengar set, as it is a bit weaker since it lacks a Life Orb and Black Sludge. The focus of the set is to revenge kill by outspeeding major threats on the opponent's team. For this reason, any entry hazards are recommended. Since Gengar lacks priority, it still hates Sucker Punch, Shadow Sneak, Bullet Punch, and Aqua Jet, making Ferrothorn a great partner. Rotom-W, especially physically bulky variants, take also most of those priority attacks well. Pursuit users are the vain of this set's existence, so exercise caution when looking at the Team Preview and watch out for potential Pursuit users. Scizor has both a priority Bullet Punch and Pursuit to scare Gengar away, so either a strong special attacker with Fire Blast or a Fire-Type will suffice in checking Scizor. Charizard, for example, works fairly well here, as it can take a Bullet Punch, Mega evolve on Scizor's switch, and set up a Dragon Dance.</p>
name: Focus Sash
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Destiny Bond
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Sludge Bomb / Focus Blast
ability: Levitate
item: Focus Sash
evs: 252 SpA / 252 Spe / 4 Def
nature: Timid
<p>This more unorthodox Gengar set plays similarly to the now banished Mega Gengar, but it focuses on deceiving the opponent. It is more like an anti-lead. With the Focus Sash in tact, Gengar can suddenly counter priority, sweepers, and faster attackers more effectively. Shadow Ball is solid STAB, hitting most types for neutral damage. When Gengar has done its job, it can use Destiny Bond to usually net two KOs. Taunt is just for walls such as Blissey and Chansey, and it also allows Gengar to function as an anti-lead. In the last slot, Sludge Bomb is great STAB and hits Fairy-Type Pokemon, but Focus Blast hits Tyranitar and Steel-Types much harder. If you are in need of a Will-O-Wisp user, thanks to Gengar's speed and Will-O-Wisp's buffed 85% accuracy, it may be usable on this set. Be careful, however, because should Will-O-Wisp miss, Gengar will usually be knocked down to its Focus Sash early.</p>
<p>For this set, Taunt doesn't work only for special walls, but it also to lures threats into a Destiny Bond trap. While this set is effective, it should have Rapid Spin or Defog support, especially if you do not lead with Gengar, making Excadrill or Crobat good teammates. Rapid Spin and Defog support should not be used to just support Gengar, however, so other Stealth Rock weak Pokemon such as Talonflame, Dragonite, or Volcarona are also great teammates. This set does not like switching into Taunt, so that is something to be careful of. This Gengar set, without Stealth Rocks in play, usually does not mind taking one hit, but multi-hit moves will ruin the Focus Sash, making Ferrothorn a good partner to wreck any multi-hit move users take severe damage from Iron Barbs. Unfortunately, until PokeBank is released, Counter cannot be used on this set.</p>
name: Sub Utility
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Disable / Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Focus Blast / Sludge Bomb
ability: Levitate
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
<p>I typed this entire thing out and it didn't save. Site errors? I'll have a good description later...</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Regular Gengar has its fair share of counters. Scizor has Bullet Punch and Pursuit to send it packing, while Hidden Power Fire has lost a lot of its use, so Scizor has less fear of Gengar. Any other priority will do major damage to it. This includes most Sucker Punches, Aqua Jet from Azumarill, Aegislash's Shadow Sneak, and Talonflame's Brave Bird. Special walls like Blissey and Chansey will be able to tank any hit from Gengar. Tyranitar, if defensive, will also be able to live one Focus Blast in the Sandstorm (if it hits of course!) and KO Gengar with a STAB Crunch or Pursuit. Dragonite does a good job of checking Gengar, especially due to Multiscale, and can often set up a Dragon Dance and KO. If Gengar doesn't have Hidden Power Fire / Ice or Destiny Bond, then Bulletproof Chesnaught completely shuts him down. Users of Infiltrator such as Crobat or Noivern will likely wreck Gengar's day. Most things that outspeed it will also be a problem; this includes Greninja, Starmie, Talonflame, Alakazam, and Choice Scarf users.</p>
Last edited: