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-
Levitate
- This Pokémon is immune to Ground-type moves.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
60
|
- |
261 |
324 |
- |
| Atk |
65
|
149 |
166 |
229 |
251 |
| Def |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
| SpA |
130
|
266 |
296 |
359 |
394 |
| SpD |
75
|
167 |
186 |
249 |
273 |
| Spe |
110
|
230 |
256 |
319 |
350 |
Overview
Gengar's combination of power and unpredictability make it a potent offensive threat. It has an excellent movepool backed up with great Speed and impressive Special Attack. Gengar's immunity to the popular Ground- and Fighting-type attacks (and Normal-type ones too) allows it plenty of opportunities to switch in and wreak havoc. Despite its immense power, Gengar does have its drawbacks. Its atrocious defensive stats means it will take massive damage from even neutral STAB attacks, while its weakness to Dark means it can be easily Pursuited by Tyranitar or Scizor if it isn't careful. However, its frailty shouldn't deter you from using Gengar—its wide range of powerful and disruptive moves make it a threat to even the best-prepared teams.
Since Gengar's excellent type coverage forces a lot of switches, it can use Substitute to great effect. It helps deal with Tyranitar and Scizor, two of Gengar's greatest nemeses, by scouting the switch and letting Gengar hit them with the appropriate 4x super effective attack. Substitute is especially important given the popularity of Choice Scarf Tyranitar, which would otherwise be able to pick off Gengar with near impunity. It also allows Gengar to evade status such as Celebi and Blissey's Thunder Wave. Shadow Ball and Focus Blast give Gengar the unresisted Ghost / Fighting coverage, while Hidden Power Fire in the last slot grants a quick OHKO on Scizor and Forretress while giving it a way of hurting specially defensive Skarmory reliably.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Another option for the last slot is Hypnosis. With its unreliable 60% accuracy, it is a risky move to try and use on a standard Gengar set. However, Substitute effectively gives Gengar two shots at sleeping an opponent, and Hypnosis has a reasonable 84% chance to hit at least once out of two uses. Alternatively, you can play this Gengar just like the standard sweeper set but with Substitute, and so go with Thunderbolt in the last slot to get the super effective hit on bulky Waters and Gyarados.
Even without a specific boosting item, Gengar gets the KOs it needs to. Focus Blast OHKOes 252 HP Tyranitar after Stealth Rock damage. While specially defensive Tyranitar isn't OHKOed, if Gengar gets a Substitute up, it has two chances to KO it instead of just one. Leftovers is preferred to heal HP lost from creating Substitutes and to ensure Gengar won't lose obscenely high amounts of HP in a sandstorm. Wide Lens can be used to increase the accuracy of Hypnosis and Focus Blast.
This set has two distinct advantages over a similar set utilizing Substitute and Focus Punch. Even if it doesn't get a free turn to create Substitute, it can use Focus Blast to kill Pokemon such as Lucario, non-Scarf Heatran, and even non-Scarf Tyranitar; running an all-special set also eliminates the need to run Expert Belt and split offensive EVs.
With the release of HeartGold and SoulSilver came a new toy for Gengar to play with: Pain Split. By utilizing a combination of Substitute and Pain Split, Gengar becomes nearly impossible to wall, even by Blissey. Pain Split also allows Gengar to safely run Substitute and Life Orb at the same time, all the while taking damage from sandstorm and hail; in fact, taking so much residual damage only increases the amount of HP that Gengar sucks away from its opponents. Gengar is also notorious for its ability to sweep, with its massive Special Attack stat and base 110 Speed. Although this set loses some super effective coverage due to the lack of attacking moveslots, Gengar still maintains perfect neutral coverage with the unresisted Fighting- and Ghost-type combination. A combination of base 130 Special Attack and high-powered moves ensures this Gengar is still a terrifying sweeper.
The combination of Substitute and Pain Split allows Gengar to take out Pokemon it normally would not be able to, most notably Blissey. After Substitute and two Pain Splits (or one if sandstorm is in effect), Blissey's health will low enough so that Focus Blast is a 2HKO. This means that Blissey will be forced to constantly heal herself or risk being KOed. Pain Split has 32 PP, while Wish and Softboiled have 16, meaning that Gengar can easily stall Blissey out. If Blissey does not use a healing move to conserve PP, then she is at huge risk of being 2HKOed by Focus Blast. Finally, most Blissey are unable to break Gengar's Substitutes, meaning it can usually come out of the duel unscathed.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
One of the biggest drawbacks to using any Gengar set is how fragile it is. Gengar is OHKOed by a Choice Band Bullet Punch from Scizor, and takes a huge hit from a Choice Scarf Tyranitar's Pursuit, making it very hard for Gengar to sweep for long. The use of Substitute effectively solves this problem, though, as Gengar can provide itself with a safety blanket to switch out of harm's way without getting hit by Pursuit. Substitute also protects Gengar from nasty status effects, namely paralysis, which can immediately stop its sweep. Substitute also eases the prediction required for Gengar to effectively sweep, by allowing it to scout the opponent's switch-in and attack appropriately. The combination of Substitute and Life Orb is generally not recommended due to how quickly Gengar ends up killing itself, but is mitigated by Pain Split.
Since Gengar does such a great job of luring in and beating Blissey, it is recommended that this set be paired up with Pokemon who are normally walled by Blissey but do a fantastic job at sweeping otherwise. This includes Pokemon such as offensive Suicune, Substitute + Agility Empoleon, offensive Starmie, and Heatran, among many others. Although this set can sweep on its own, the fact that it can also clear the way for other sweepers like this should be exploited to its fullest.
Due to Gengar's paper-thin defenses, it is usually very risky to switch it in on an attack; even though it packs impressive immunities, a misprediction can be enough to end Gengar's sweep before it begins. However, there are ways to “guarantee” a safe switch in for Gengar by using Pokemon such as Heatran with Substitute. Gengar can come in safely on the Fighting- and Ground-type attacks Heatran lures; people generally do not try to predict switch-ins against Pokemon who have a Substitute up. As a bonus, Gengar does not have to worry about switching in on Blissey's Thunder Wave, which is one of the biggest concerns when contemplating whether or not to switch Gengar in. This strategy can be used with other Pokemon who have similar weaknesses, particularly Tyranitar or Empoleon. Tyranitar in particular is recommended, as the sandstorm that it provides makes it significantly easier for Gengar to beat Blissey. For extra insurance against Blissey in worst-case scenarios, Toxic Spikes should be considered. As with any set utilizing Substitute, Toxic Spikes can prove to be even more potent than usual, forcing Pokemon to usually take two turns of damage minimum should you choose to have Gengar attack then switch out.
Gengar also makes a great partner for Swords Dance Lucario, as Gengar is almost guaranteed a free switch in against Gliscor, the premier Lucario counter. Gengar is immune to Ground-type attacks and Toxic, and boasts a 4x resistance to U-turn, meaning Gengar does not fear any of the common moves that Gliscor carries. Gengar can then start hitting hard every time someone relies on Gliscor to beat Lucario.
The ability to give all team archetypes trouble makes this one of the most useful Gengar sets. Offensive teams do not like facing fast and heavy hitters, and defensive teams do not like Pain Split, which keeps Gengar alive. Because of this, Substitute + Pain Split Gengar makes a great addition to any team.
Life Orb Gengar is a fearsome sweeper that has few true counters. With great Special Attack and Speed, great type coverage, as well as three immunities, Gengar is capable of dealing heavy damage to almost any team. Shadow Ball and Focus Blast give Gengar complete type coverage and hit some of the metagame's top threats for super effective damage. Focus Blast always OHKOes max HP Tyranitar in sandstorm, 2HKOes most Snorlax, and always OHKOes min HP Heatran. Thunderbolt offers a quick OHKO against Gyarados and 2HKOes max HP Suicune. In the last slot, Hidden Power Fire can be used for its additional power against most Steel-types (most notably Scizor and Forretress), but running Hidden Power Fire forces Gengar to have an imperfect Speed IV which means it will almost always lose the speed tie against opposing Gengar. Finally, Explosion allows Gengar to go out with a bang and possibly defeat Blissey.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Without Hidden Power Fire, a lot of Steel-type Pokemon in the game—Scizor, Metagross, and Jirachi, to name a few—can come in on most of Gengar's attacks and threaten it with their STAB attacks. Metagross can easily dispatch it with Meteor Mash, while Jirachi can paralyze it with Thunder Wave or send it to oblivion with repeated hits with Iron Head. Scizor gets particular mention as it can take down Gengar with a swift Bullet Punch, or punish a fleeing one with Pursuit. However, without Explosion, Blissey can entirely wall this set, paralyze Gengar with Thunder Wave, and even start weakening it with one of her special attacks. Choice Scarfed versions of Heatran can come in on Shadow Ball or get a Flash Fire boost from Hidden Power Fire and proceed to easily KO Gengar with Fire Blast.
40 Attack EVs and a Hasty nature (or 92 Attack EVs when using Timid nature) is an alternative when using Explosion since it allows Gengar to OHKO standard Blissey after Stealth Rock. An Attack stat of 200 (Hasty or Naive nature, 136 EVs) is required to guarantee an OHKO on said Blissey without Stealth Rock. Hypnosis could be used in the final slot, but its low accuracy makes it a high-risk high-reward option.
Since most of Gengar's counters are Steel-types, Magnezone makes for a great partner. Not only can it trap and take down Scizor, it can also utilize a set with Magnet Rise and Substitute to deal with both Metagross and Jirachi. Gengar is also immune to the Fighting- and Ground-type attacks that are commonly directed at Magnezone, should you not want to run Magnet Rise. Ironically, a Scizor of your own can be of great help to Gengar, as it can slowly weaken Gengar's common counters with its ever-useful U-turn. Scizor can also come in on Blissey without really minding paralysis and then use Superpower for the OHKO or heavily damage a fleeing Blissey with Pursuit. Swampert can take on both Heatran and other Steel-types with STAB Earthquake and set up Stealth Rock.
Although it seems odd to use a Choice Scarf on something as fast as Gengar, its stellar type coverage allows Choice Scarf Gengar to act as an effective revenge killer for many of OU's most dangerous sweepers, including Dragonite, Gyarados, and Tyranitar.
Shadow Ball gives Gengar its requisite STAB attack and allows it to revenge threats such as Scarf Rotom-A, Azelf, and Starmie. Focus Blast is primarily useful for Tyranitar and Heatran, but can deal decent damage to Snorlax in a pinch. Thunderbolt turns Gengar into a great revenge killer for Dragon Dance Gyarados. Finally, Hidden Power Ice provides more reliability against Dragon Dance Dragonite, since Dragonite needs to be moderately weakened for Shadow Ball to KO. Gengar can also use Trick to cripple bulkier Pokemon such as Blissey and Snorlax, while Explosion allows it to revenge kill a large number of Pokemon with one move.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
A Pokemon who can easily deal with Choiced Gengar is Tyranitar. With sandstorm bolstering its above average Special Defense stat, Tyranitar can easily come in on anything bar Focus Blast, and then end Gengar's sweep with Pursuit. Tyranitar, however, can be easily stopped by Swampert, while Gliscor also makes a very fine switch-in as it can take on most of Tyranitar's attacks and give it a heavy blow with Earthquake. Snorlax is in a similar boat with Tyranitar, as it can come in on Gengar with its respectable Special Defense and KO it with Pursuit.
Defensive Pokemon such Celebi, Jirachi, Suicune, and Cresselia can all come in on resisted hits and then start setting-up as they force Gengar to switch out. Celebi can paralyze one of your Pokemon, Jirachi and Suicune can start boosting their stats with Calm Mind, and Cresselia can set up both Reflect and Light Screen to weaken your attacks and help set-up for an eventual sweep. As such, having a Pokemon who can deal with such threats, such as a Suicune of your own, would be necessary. As they start setting-up, Suicune can set-up alongside of them, Roar them out, and then get ready to sweep their team. Suicune is also capable of taking the Steel-type moves that Gengar hates with ease, as it is resistant to them and has naturally high Defense.
Gengar is a great and unexpected lead who can stop a large portion of the common leads in the metagame. For instance, Azelf and Aerodactyl must choose between setting up Stealth Rock or attacking Gengar since Icy Wind followed by Shadow Ball is a certain 2HKO on both. Additionally, Gengar can take out the opponent's lead almost all the time, sometimes even while keeping its Focus Sash intact.
Icy Wind and Shadow Ball are the bread and butter of this set. Icy Wind breaks the opposing lead's Focus Sash and lowers its Speed, allowing Gengar to outspeed and take it out with Shadow Ball on the next turn. Common suicide leads, such as Azelf, Aerodactyl, and Infernape, either get up their Stealth Rock or bring Gengar down to its Focus Sash. If they set up Stealth Rock, Gengar remains at full health with its Focus Sash still unactivated. However, if they attack, then Gengar succeeds at taking out the opposing lead and keeping Stealth Rock off of the field.
The rest of the moves enable Gengar to eliminate physical threats and leads who resist both Icy Wind and Shadow Ball. Counter is a great move for taking out common physical threats such as Machamp and Metagross, reflecting their attacks for double the damage. The last move should be Focus Blast, which allows Gengar to deal with Heatran and Tyranitar, two Pokemon who cannot be beaten otherwise. With a Mild nature, Gengar will 2HKO max HP Heatran with a Focus Blast followed by a Shadow Ball, while surviving with its own Focus Sash. Gengar also has a high chance of OHKOing max HP Tyranitar with Focus Blast with a Mild nature.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The choice between the natures is difficult. A Mild nature allows Gengar to take out Heatran and Tyranitar most of the time (bar Focus Blast misses and low damage rolls), which is the main reason to run Focus Blast. A Hasty nature can be used to outspeed Infernape and 2HKO it with Shadow Ball, ensuring that it can only either set up Stealth Rock or bring Gengar down to its Focus Sash. Alternatively, Taunt will help against slower Stealth Rock leads. Generally, a Mild nature should be used if you opt for Focus Blast, while a Hasty nature is the preferred option if you choose Taunt.
Gengar does not need much team support, as it can deal with most leads who it runs across. The most threatening lead that Gengar will encounter is Choice Scarf Jirachi. Iron Head's high flinch rate means that Gengar can only Counter 40% of the time and will be defeated the other 60%. Therefore, in order to deal with Jirachi, a good teammate for Gengar is Magnezone. Magnezone traps Jirachi with Magnet Pull and can set up a Substitute before taking it out. Magnezone can also trap Skarmory and Forretress, two leads who set up on Gengar if it does not run Taunt. Other than that, Gengar fares well on its own, often preventing Stealth Rock through Taunt or brute force.
Protect allows Gengar to defeat most versions of the two Pokemon who give it the most difficulty in the Platinum metagame: Pursuit Tyranitar and Bullet Punch + Pursuit Scizor. After Gengar has switched in and Tyranitar or Scizor have then switched in as well, Gengar will first use Protect to see if Tyranitar or Scizor uses Pursuit. If either Pokemon uses Pursuit, Gengar will use the proper move to OHKO it. If neither Pokemon uses Pursuit, Gengar can safely switch out. Note that even with Protect, Gengar needs to remain wary of non-Choice Scizor with Bullet Punch and Pursuit and Choice Scarf Tyranitar with Pursuit. Shadow Ball and Focus Blast give Gengar perfect coverage, while Hidden Power Fire lets it OHKO Scizor that decide to Pursuit.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
Magnezone is a great partner for this set due to its ability to trap Choice Band Scizor attempting to Bullet Punch Gengar as well as Choice Scarf Jirachi aiming to Iron Head it. Additionally, as this version of Gengar is such a good lure for its usual counters, a Pokemon who benefits from having the likes of Scizor eliminated makes for a great partner. If Gengar lures out and eliminates Scizor, Dragonite can sweep more easily, as one of its main counters has been eliminated. Other offensive Pokemon such as Tyranitar can significantly benefit from Scizor's death as well.
This mixed Substitute set allows Gengar to deal with many Pokemon who commonly switch into it, including Blissey, Scizor, and Snorlax. Substitute not only blocks status and eases prediction, but allows Gengar to Focus Punch without risk of being hit. Focus Punch 2HKOs Snorlax and even the most physically defensive Blissey after Stealth Rock, while OHKOing most Tyranitar. Even with split offensive EVs, Shadow Ball packs a hefty kick and is a reliable STAB. In the last slot, Hidden Power Fire lets Gengar dispatch Forretress and Scizor.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
With the given EVs and item, Focus Punch deals 63.29% - 74.81% to 0/252+ Blissey and 53.08% - 62.46% to 252/252+ Blissey, both a 2HKO even when factoring in Leftovers recovery (though Bold Blissey can avoid the 2HKO with Protect). Focus Punch also deals 62.23% - 73.37% to min HP Heatran, meaning Stealth Rock followed by Focus Punch and Shadow Ball has a small chance of KOing. Hypnosis can be used in the last slot, since having a Substitute up gives Gengar an insurance policy in case Hypnosis's accuracy lets it down. Explosion is also an option to go out with a bang; it deals more damage than normal due to the Attack investment.
Expert Belt is chosen over Leftovers for one main reason: as Blissey and Snorlax are hit super effectively by Focus Punch, it saves Gengar from having to transfer a significant amount of Special Attack EVs into Attack, which would significantly lower Shadow Ball's damage on common neutral threats, especially Dragonite and Gyarados. The lack of any kind of recovery is a non-issue too because Gengar can switch in numerous times on one of its many immunities, hopefully only ever taking damage from Stealth Rock.
Although this set can be dangerous, it doesn't have the raw power that the standard set has. The bulky Pokemon mentioned earlier all fair well against this set, although they should to be wary of being put to sleep by Hypnosis. Additionally, this Gengar is helpless against threats that it needs to hit with Focus Punch if it can't keep a Substitute up; these may include Blissey with Flamethrower or Ice Beam, Tyranitar, Heatran, and Snorlax with Crunch or Pursuit.
Other Options
Sludge Bomb was left out of the main sets, as it offers rather poor type coverage despite being Gengar's most powerful attack. Most Grass-types, especially Celebi, won't enjoy a hit from Shadow Ball, and are unlikely to stay in on Gengar, as Gengar resists their main STAB. Gengar has Energy Ball and Giga Drain to hammer Swampert and Rhyperior, if either is a problem for your team. Psychic hurts Fighters more than Gengar's other attacks, but most of them won't enjoy boosted Shadow Balls, so it still remains a lesser option.
Mean Look can trap an opponent so Gengar can Explode on them and Perish Song can phaze opponents. Mismagius is better than Gengar in this respect due to Mismagius' higher Special Defense, but Gengar can employ Hypnosis (and it also has more Speed than Mismagius). Taunt can prevent Blissey from firing off Thunder Wave and Toxic, allowing you to switch in your physical attackers without fearing status. Will-O-Wisp can hit Tyranitar and Scizor hoping to switch in, but is usually better left to the Rotom Appliances. Destiny Bond works well in place of Explosion if you are sure that Gengar will be KOed with the following attack.
Because of Gengar's plethora of attacks, Expert Belt is a fine option. It allows Gengar to hit harder, but without the 10% recoil that Life Orb inflicts. If you're playing under Item Clause, you can use Black Sludge over Leftovers. Finally, Gengar can invest 72 EVs in Defense so that it always survives Choice Band Scizor's Bullet Punch assuming no prior damage.
Checks and Counters
Anything with Pursuit will ruin Gengar, especially Choice variants, although Weavile and Tyranitar fear Focus Blast, and Metagross won't enjoy a burn or repeated hits from Shadow Ball or Focus Blast, which can 2HKO with Choice Specs. 252/216+ Tyranitar always survives Timid Gengar's Life Orb Focus Blast. Choice Scarf Tyranitar deals a minimum of 78.2% to a non-switching Gengar with Pursuit, which can mean a guaranteed KO with a bit of residual damage. Spiritomb has both Pursuit and Sucker Punch and plenty of Special Defense to absorb Gengar's attacks. Scizor also makes an excellent counter as it can deal with Gengar whether it stays in or switches out with Bullet Punch and Pursuit respectively, but must beware of Hidden Power Fire.
Blissey does well against most sets; she can paralyze Gengar with Thunder Wave or wear it down with whichever special attack she happens to carry. Blissey can be easily shut down by Tricking a Choice item onto her or with the Substitute + Pain Split set, and must always beware of Explosion. Snorlax with Crunch does a fine job, especially Sleep Talk versions as they can absorb Hypnosis. Snorlax can also put the hurt on Gengar by packing Pursuit. Beware of Focus Punch, Focus Blast, and Explosion though. Jirachi and Bronzong both do well with their high Special Defense and neutrality to most of Gengar's attacks. Heatran, especially Choice Scarf ones, can switch into everything barring a Fighting-type attack, and gets a boost from Hidden Power Fire. Even without a boost, Fire Blast will OHKO standard Gengar 100% of the time when accounting for Stealth Rock damage.
Gengar's attacking power and incredible movepool mean that countering it is a rather daunting prospect. Thankfully, Gengar is incredibly fragile and most neutral attacks will at least score a 2HKO.
