approved by Aragorn the King
original thread here
original thread here
#094
Gengar
Base Stats: 60 HP / 65 Atk / 60 Def / 130 SpA / 75 SpD / 110 Spe
Ability: Levitate - Damage dealing Ground-type moves have no effect on this Pokémon. Cannot be trapped by Arena Trap ability. Takes no damage from Spikes. Is negated by the effects of Iron Ball.
Notable Moves:
(STAB in Purple)
Shadow Ball
Sludge Wave
Sludge Bomb
Hex
Will-O-Wisp
Taunt
Focus Blast
Dazzling Gleam
Icy Wind
Thunderbolt
Giga Drain
Hypnosis
Perish Song
Disable
Reflect Type
Pain Split
Trick
Substitute
Destiny Bond
Analysis:
Gengar is an extremely notable Pokemon, being the only fully-evolved Ghost and Poison type, the first Ghost type in the history of Pokemon, as well as still being undisputed as the only Pokemon to have stayed in OU for all generations. And its stay in OU for so long is for good reason - boasting access to a fantastic base 110 Speed tier letting it outspeed the likes of Mega Pinsir and Celebi as well as Speed-tying with Latios, Mega Metagross and Mega Gallade and it also has an excellent base 130 Special Attack as well as good, solid STAB moves to work with. Gengar also possess a great array of utility moves, such as Destiny Bond, Taunt, Hypnosis, Disable, Pain Split and Will-O-Wisp, just to name a few. In addition, Gengar has quite a nice typing, letting it check Mega Altaria, Mega Gardevoir, Azumarill and Celebi very well, and it's Ghost typing means it is a good spinblocker and can take on the likes of Excadrill and Forretress relatively easily.
However, Gengar has extremely poor bulk, meaning it cannot withstand hits very well, especially with all the priority flying around such as Scizor's Bullet Punch and Bisharp's Sucker Punch. Gengar is also hard-pressed to find opportunities to switch-in, even against weaker attacks such as Rotom-W's Volt Switch or Heatran's Lava Plume, which means it requires VoltTurn support or has to switch-in against immune or extremely weak attacks or after a teammate falls.
Movesets:
~~Life Orb Attacker~~
Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP, 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Taunt / Icy Wind / Substitute
This is Gengar's most prominent set and probably it's best in the metagame right now. Shadow Ball has excellent coverage alongside Gengar's stellar offensive stats, having great neutral coverage and dealing excellent damage to Pokemon such as Landorus-Therian, Mega Metagross and Mega Diancie. Sludge Wave is Gengar's secondary STAB attack, dealing with Fairy- and Grass-types such as Mega Altaria and Chesnaught, and hits neutral targets such as Mandibuzz and Rotom-Wash harder than a Shadow Ball due to Sludge Wave's higher base power. Sludge Wave is used over Sludge Bomb for the higher power and so that Gengar can get past Chesnaught. Focus Blast gives Gengar the ability to hit Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Bisharp for super-effective damage, crippling them greatly if not downright OHKOing. In addition, Focus Blast allows Gengar to muscle past bulkier Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran. It is to be noted that, with Focus Blast, Gengar gains unparalled neutral coverage alongside Shadow Ball. Taunt is the primary slash on the last slot for Gengar's moveset, stopping defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Alomomola from healing or using status to cripple Gengar. With Taunt, Gengar is a decent stallbreaker and completely stops Chansey and Clefable in their tracks. Icy Wind deserves a secondary slash as it deals with the increasingly popular Specially Defensive Gliscor, having a high chance to OHKO with rocks up; Icy Wind also hits both forms of Landorus and Hippowdon for nice damage, and the Speed drop is also welcome. Substitute is slashed last, as it allows Gengar to take advantage of, and protect itself from Sucker Punch. Also Substitute allows Gengar to evade status, just like Taunt, but with Life Orb recoil, Gengar's health will be going down fast. Life Orb is the chosen item for more power. Maximum investment in Special Attack and Speed allows Gengar to be as fast and hit as hard as possible, speed-tying with opposing Gengar, Mega Metagross, Latios and Mega Diancie.
~~Utility Attacker~~
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hex
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sludge Wave / Substitute
This set takes advantage of Gengar's excellent utility movepool, to turn Gengar into a terrifying sweeper late-game, especially for stall teams. Hex is Gengar's main STAB on this set, reaching a terrifying 130 base power against Pokemon with status, and turns it into quite a decent late-game sweeper against statused teams. Hex also 2HKOes Specially Defensive Gliscor after being poisoned by the Toxic Orb. Will-O-Wisp is Gengar's own method of spreading status, and can wear down defensive behemoths such as Chansey faster; Will-O-Wisp also lures in and cripples Bisharp and Tyranitar. It is also a good option to spam so that Gengar can later come back in and sweep. Taunt is a no-brainer, providing excellent utility in shutting down defensive Pokemon from recovering or inflicting status on Gengar, so that Gengar can slowly wear them down with Will-O-Wisp. Sludge Wave is the better option on the last slot, allowing Gengar to beat Calm Mind Clefable as well as Fairy-types such as Altaria easier. Substitute is an option as well to evade Sucker Punch, status and also ease prediction against the foe.
A bulkier, alternative set could be 144 HP / 108 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe, which makes sure Clefable's Moonblast does not break Gengar's Substitute and Mega Gardevoir's Hyper Voice will not 2HKO, as well as making sure Hex will always 2HKO Gliscor after rocks. Black Sludge is the item to increase Gengar longevity significantly.
Other Moves and Sets:
Destiny Bond is a good option to nab a last-minute kill against foes that you cannot damage or when you know Gengar is about to faint.
Hypnosis can be used to make the foe sleep allowing for easy setup opportunities but Hypnosis has terrible accuracy.
Substitute + Disable is a relic of the past; with this set Gengar aims to use Substitute on a super-effective hit, then uses Disable to, well, disable the opponent from using it. However, it relies on the opponent to use a super-effective hit and considering priority and Gengar's poor bulk, meaning it cannot take neutral hits well, this set has lost it's shine.
Pain Split can be used to keep Gengar healthy because of Gengar's relatively low HP stat, and also beats Chansey and Blissey faster than Taunt does.
Dazzling Gleam can be used to beat utility Mega Sableye (252 / 96+) who would otherwise wall Gengar; however it is quite situational and is generally a poor option considering Focus Blast.
Perish Song is a good utility move in general to force out set-up sweepers such as Mega Charizard X, but without Gengar's Mega Form and Shadow Tag, Perish Song is easily taken advantage of.
Reflect Type protects Gengar from Sucker Punch and Pursuit users, most notably Bisharp, Tyranitar and Scizor.
Choice Scarf turns Gengar into a decent revenge killer, but Gengar really enjoys being able to switch move and use utility moves such as Taunt and Will-O-Wisp.
NOTE: No physical Gengars please. I know it gets a wide physical movepool but it's still shit, what with base 65 Attack. I have seen this on the ladder so many times o_0
Conclusion:
Gengar has been a long-time veteran of OU, and it is unlikely it will drop in the future, as it still resides comfortably in A+ rank, plus it's ability to check many prominent threats is priceless. How has the various transitions, from BW to XY, XY to ORAS, affected Gengar? After the power and speed creep with the coming of ORAS, how effective is Gengar still?
Gengar
Base Stats: 60 HP / 65 Atk / 60 Def / 130 SpA / 75 SpD / 110 Spe
Ability: Levitate - Damage dealing Ground-type moves have no effect on this Pokémon. Cannot be trapped by Arena Trap ability. Takes no damage from Spikes. Is negated by the effects of Iron Ball.
Notable Moves:
(STAB in Purple)
Shadow Ball
Sludge Wave
Sludge Bomb
Hex
Will-O-Wisp
Taunt
Focus Blast
Dazzling Gleam
Icy Wind
Thunderbolt
Giga Drain
Hypnosis
Perish Song
Disable
Reflect Type
Pain Split
Trick
Substitute
Destiny Bond
Analysis:
Gengar is an extremely notable Pokemon, being the only fully-evolved Ghost and Poison type, the first Ghost type in the history of Pokemon, as well as still being undisputed as the only Pokemon to have stayed in OU for all generations. And its stay in OU for so long is for good reason - boasting access to a fantastic base 110 Speed tier letting it outspeed the likes of Mega Pinsir and Celebi as well as Speed-tying with Latios, Mega Metagross and Mega Gallade and it also has an excellent base 130 Special Attack as well as good, solid STAB moves to work with. Gengar also possess a great array of utility moves, such as Destiny Bond, Taunt, Hypnosis, Disable, Pain Split and Will-O-Wisp, just to name a few. In addition, Gengar has quite a nice typing, letting it check Mega Altaria, Mega Gardevoir, Azumarill and Celebi very well, and it's Ghost typing means it is a good spinblocker and can take on the likes of Excadrill and Forretress relatively easily.
However, Gengar has extremely poor bulk, meaning it cannot withstand hits very well, especially with all the priority flying around such as Scizor's Bullet Punch and Bisharp's Sucker Punch. Gengar is also hard-pressed to find opportunities to switch-in, even against weaker attacks such as Rotom-W's Volt Switch or Heatran's Lava Plume, which means it requires VoltTurn support or has to switch-in against immune or extremely weak attacks or after a teammate falls.
Movesets:
~~Life Orb Attacker~~
Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 29 HP, 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Taunt / Icy Wind / Substitute
This is Gengar's most prominent set and probably it's best in the metagame right now. Shadow Ball has excellent coverage alongside Gengar's stellar offensive stats, having great neutral coverage and dealing excellent damage to Pokemon such as Landorus-Therian, Mega Metagross and Mega Diancie. Sludge Wave is Gengar's secondary STAB attack, dealing with Fairy- and Grass-types such as Mega Altaria and Chesnaught, and hits neutral targets such as Mandibuzz and Rotom-Wash harder than a Shadow Ball due to Sludge Wave's higher base power. Sludge Wave is used over Sludge Bomb for the higher power and so that Gengar can get past Chesnaught. Focus Blast gives Gengar the ability to hit Dark-types such as Tyranitar and Bisharp for super-effective damage, crippling them greatly if not downright OHKOing. In addition, Focus Blast allows Gengar to muscle past bulkier Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran. It is to be noted that, with Focus Blast, Gengar gains unparalled neutral coverage alongside Shadow Ball. Taunt is the primary slash on the last slot for Gengar's moveset, stopping defensive Pokemon such as Chansey and Alomomola from healing or using status to cripple Gengar. With Taunt, Gengar is a decent stallbreaker and completely stops Chansey and Clefable in their tracks. Icy Wind deserves a secondary slash as it deals with the increasingly popular Specially Defensive Gliscor, having a high chance to OHKO with rocks up; Icy Wind also hits both forms of Landorus and Hippowdon for nice damage, and the Speed drop is also welcome. Substitute is slashed last, as it allows Gengar to take advantage of, and protect itself from Sucker Punch. Also Substitute allows Gengar to evade status, just like Taunt, but with Life Orb recoil, Gengar's health will be going down fast. Life Orb is the chosen item for more power. Maximum investment in Special Attack and Speed allows Gengar to be as fast and hit as hard as possible, speed-tying with opposing Gengar, Mega Metagross, Latios and Mega Diancie.
~~Utility Attacker~~
Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 8 HP / 248 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hex
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Sludge Wave / Substitute
This set takes advantage of Gengar's excellent utility movepool, to turn Gengar into a terrifying sweeper late-game, especially for stall teams. Hex is Gengar's main STAB on this set, reaching a terrifying 130 base power against Pokemon with status, and turns it into quite a decent late-game sweeper against statused teams. Hex also 2HKOes Specially Defensive Gliscor after being poisoned by the Toxic Orb. Will-O-Wisp is Gengar's own method of spreading status, and can wear down defensive behemoths such as Chansey faster; Will-O-Wisp also lures in and cripples Bisharp and Tyranitar. It is also a good option to spam so that Gengar can later come back in and sweep. Taunt is a no-brainer, providing excellent utility in shutting down defensive Pokemon from recovering or inflicting status on Gengar, so that Gengar can slowly wear them down with Will-O-Wisp. Sludge Wave is the better option on the last slot, allowing Gengar to beat Calm Mind Clefable as well as Fairy-types such as Altaria easier. Substitute is an option as well to evade Sucker Punch, status and also ease prediction against the foe.
A bulkier, alternative set could be 144 HP / 108 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe, which makes sure Clefable's Moonblast does not break Gengar's Substitute and Mega Gardevoir's Hyper Voice will not 2HKO, as well as making sure Hex will always 2HKO Gliscor after rocks. Black Sludge is the item to increase Gengar longevity significantly.
Other Moves and Sets:
Destiny Bond is a good option to nab a last-minute kill against foes that you cannot damage or when you know Gengar is about to faint.
Hypnosis can be used to make the foe sleep allowing for easy setup opportunities but Hypnosis has terrible accuracy.
Substitute + Disable is a relic of the past; with this set Gengar aims to use Substitute on a super-effective hit, then uses Disable to, well, disable the opponent from using it. However, it relies on the opponent to use a super-effective hit and considering priority and Gengar's poor bulk, meaning it cannot take neutral hits well, this set has lost it's shine.
Pain Split can be used to keep Gengar healthy because of Gengar's relatively low HP stat, and also beats Chansey and Blissey faster than Taunt does.
Dazzling Gleam can be used to beat utility Mega Sableye (252 / 96+) who would otherwise wall Gengar; however it is quite situational and is generally a poor option considering Focus Blast.
Perish Song is a good utility move in general to force out set-up sweepers such as Mega Charizard X, but without Gengar's Mega Form and Shadow Tag, Perish Song is easily taken advantage of.
Reflect Type protects Gengar from Sucker Punch and Pursuit users, most notably Bisharp, Tyranitar and Scizor.
Choice Scarf turns Gengar into a decent revenge killer, but Gengar really enjoys being able to switch move and use utility moves such as Taunt and Will-O-Wisp.
NOTE: No physical Gengars please. I know it gets a wide physical movepool but it's still shit, what with base 65 Attack. I have seen this on the ladder so many times o_0
Conclusion:
Gengar has been a long-time veteran of OU, and it is unlikely it will drop in the future, as it still resides comfortably in A+ rank, plus it's ability to check many prominent threats is priceless. How has the various transitions, from BW to XY, XY to ORAS, affected Gengar? After the power and speed creep with the coming of ORAS, how effective is Gengar still?
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