Everyone knows Gengar is one of the if not the most unpredictable pokemon in the game. It can even hit hard on the physical side and killing your special wall with ease, Not only that it can even destroy your counter with destiny bond after its done a considerable amount of damage or just make it go to sleep.
All in all hes one of the best in the game, But today we talk about his typing. Ghost/Poison, No ones really stressed this enough, I want to know the community's answer to this. Is it better that hes part poison, or it brings him down a notch adding that psychic weak.Lets take a look at the positives that come from this typing.
+ Doubles his poison resist to x4 ( 400% )
+ Doubles his bug resist to x4 ( 400% )
+ Adds a grass resist to x2 ( 200% )
+ Immunity to toxic making him even easier to bring in, However levitate removes his ability to suck up toxic spikes from the field
+ Adds a secondary stab ( Though its not so useful )
Now lets take a look at the negatives from his poison typing.
- Adds a psychic weak x2 ( 200% )
- Adds a ground weak x2 ( 200 % ) However it is negated by levitate, It still matters though thanks to mold breaker
To the naked eye, the poison typing is awesome for gengar however.... That psychic weak really is a lot bigger than it seems. Ghost only hits two types for super effective ( Psychic, Ghost ) so lets take a look at the OU psychic threats.
- Alakazam
- Azelf
These are the main psychic threats in the game as both of them are just like gengar and able to dish out serious pain.And standard gengar ohkos both of them with shadow ball, Even an expert belt ( Which is better than life orb in my opinion ) Manages to ohko.
Just some clarifications when ever i refer to a standard gengar, I use these evs and natures.
Gengar @ Life Orb
Timid nature
4 hp 252 special attack 252 speed
Standard Gengar shadow ball to 36 hp 0 sp def Azelf = Total hp 299, None of the proposed sets on smogon propose any more than 39 hp evs and more than 0 sp def evs.
That attack will do between 390 and 459 damage! Definite OHKO
Standard Gengar shadow ball to 4 hp 0 sp def Alakazam = Total hp 252, None of the proposed sets on smogon propose any more than 4 hp evs and more than 0 sp def evs.That attack will do between 334 and 393 damage! Definite OHKO
So great, Gengar ohkos both of them with ease, However.. They are both faster than gengar so hes going to have to outperdict him or die the very next turn.They both OHKO easily with STAB psychic.The question is.. Would they still OHKO standard gengar if he wasn't weak to psychic? Lets find out.
Standard Azelf ( Timid, 252 special attack, 232 speed life orb ) psychic to standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 186 and 219 damage! There is no chance to OHKO how ever its a definite 2ko
Standard Alakazam ( Timid, 252 special attack, 252 speed life orb ) psychic to standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 213 and 251 damage! Once again no chance at an OHKO but definite 2ko, However gengar has a chance of dying after attacking with shadow ball thanks to life orb recoil
So its established, Gengar wouldn't get ohkod by them, But he cant switch in them either ( Unless someone dies and then he switches in ) Cause they'll both attack twice before gengar gets an attack in.The negatives are out of the way, lets get on to the positives of having the poison type resistances.
4x Bug Resist, Top Bug Threats
- Heracross
- Yanmega
- Scizor
Standard Heracross ( Adamant, 252 atk, Choice Band ) Megahorn against standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 159 and 188 damage! No OHKO definite 2ko
Who would've thought.. A standard gengar with no defense evs and 4 hp evs can acually not get ohkod by a banded heracross, Standard gengar also has a chance to 2ko heracross back with shadow ball ( 51 - 57 % damage to standard heracross )
Standard Yanmega ( Modest, 252 sp atk, Life Orb ) Bug Buzz against standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 53 and 62 damage! Not even close to an OHKO.
In return standard Gengar 2kos back with shadow ball and OHKOS with Hidden Power Ice and ThunderBolt.
Standard Scizor ( Impish, 0 attack, Leftovers ) X-Scizor against standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 41 and 49 damage! Far and wide away from an OHKO
Standard Scizor with Sword Danced X-Scizor against standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 82 and 96 damage! No where near an ohko.In return gengar can't do much, The best it can do is ThunderBolt which is about a 3ko sometimes 2ko and scizor can simply roost off damage as you kill yourself with life orb, Or you can make it go to sleep and pound away.
4x Poison resist, Top Poison Threats
- Roserade
- Venasaur
- Tentacruel
Standard Roserade ( Timid, 252 special attack, Choice Specs ) Sludge Bomb against standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 80 and 94 damage! No where near an OHKO.
In return, Gengar 2kos with either hidden power ice or shadow ball.
Standard Venasaur ( Bold, 0 special attack, Black Sludge ) Sludge Bomb against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between 34 and 40 damage! Forget about an ohko, However gengar can't even 3ko standard venasaur with shadow ball or hp ice and thats without black sludge and leech seed accounted. Its best to switch out for sure.
Standard Tentacruel ( Jolly, 252 attack, LeftOvers ) Poison Jab against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between34 and40 damage!
With Swords Dance
That attack will do between 67 and78 damage! No where near an ohko however waterfall will 2ko without Swords Dance and OHKO with Swords Dance. Gengar cannot OHKO back with thunderbolt or shadow ball, It is a 2ko.
2x Grass resist, Top Grass Threats
- Breloom
- Sceptile
- Tangrowth
Standard Breloom ( Adamant, 252 atk, Poison Heal ) Seed Bomb against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between110 and 130 damage!2ko, Gengar easily ohkos back with either shadow ball or hp ice.
Standard Physical Sceptile ( Jolly, 252 atk, Leftovers ) Leaf Blade against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between 85 and 100 damage! 3ko without critical, 2ko with critical.Gengar easily ohkos back with Hidden Power Ice and 2kos with shadow ball.
Leaf blade with swords dance
That attack will do between 169 and 198 damage! 2ko without critical ohko with critical.
Standard Special Sceptile ( Timid, 252 special attack, Choice Specs ) Leaf Storm against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between 250 and 295 damage! After the special attack drop. That attack will do between 126 and 148 damage! So not the best switch in as sceptile is faster and will 2ko before you will attack.Gengar ohkos with Hidden Power Ice though.
Standard Tangrowth ( Impish, 0 attack, LeftOvers) Power Whip against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between 99 and 117 damage! Barely a 2ko and gengar ohkos back with Hidden Power Ice.
Alright so now you've seen everything you need to see! Now use your brains and figure out how it would be like without those resistances.
The simple question is, Do you think that gengar would be better off with just being a ghost type? Or hes better as a part poison type?
My answer is yes hes better being part poison because it actually gives it more chances to come in and do heavy damage.
Please state why you think its better or not when voting!
Happy voting!
All in all hes one of the best in the game, But today we talk about his typing. Ghost/Poison, No ones really stressed this enough, I want to know the community's answer to this. Is it better that hes part poison, or it brings him down a notch adding that psychic weak.Lets take a look at the positives that come from this typing.
+ Doubles his poison resist to x4 ( 400% )
+ Doubles his bug resist to x4 ( 400% )
+ Adds a grass resist to x2 ( 200% )
+ Immunity to toxic making him even easier to bring in, However levitate removes his ability to suck up toxic spikes from the field
+ Adds a secondary stab ( Though its not so useful )
Now lets take a look at the negatives from his poison typing.
- Adds a psychic weak x2 ( 200% )
- Adds a ground weak x2 ( 200 % ) However it is negated by levitate, It still matters though thanks to mold breaker
To the naked eye, the poison typing is awesome for gengar however.... That psychic weak really is a lot bigger than it seems. Ghost only hits two types for super effective ( Psychic, Ghost ) so lets take a look at the OU psychic threats.
- Alakazam
- Azelf
These are the main psychic threats in the game as both of them are just like gengar and able to dish out serious pain.And standard gengar ohkos both of them with shadow ball, Even an expert belt ( Which is better than life orb in my opinion ) Manages to ohko.
Just some clarifications when ever i refer to a standard gengar, I use these evs and natures.
Gengar @ Life Orb
Timid nature
4 hp 252 special attack 252 speed
Standard Gengar shadow ball to 36 hp 0 sp def Azelf = Total hp 299, None of the proposed sets on smogon propose any more than 39 hp evs and more than 0 sp def evs.
That attack will do between 390 and 459 damage! Definite OHKO
Standard Gengar shadow ball to 4 hp 0 sp def Alakazam = Total hp 252, None of the proposed sets on smogon propose any more than 4 hp evs and more than 0 sp def evs.That attack will do between 334 and 393 damage! Definite OHKO
So great, Gengar ohkos both of them with ease, However.. They are both faster than gengar so hes going to have to outperdict him or die the very next turn.They both OHKO easily with STAB psychic.The question is.. Would they still OHKO standard gengar if he wasn't weak to psychic? Lets find out.
Standard Azelf ( Timid, 252 special attack, 232 speed life orb ) psychic to standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 186 and 219 damage! There is no chance to OHKO how ever its a definite 2ko
Standard Alakazam ( Timid, 252 special attack, 252 speed life orb ) psychic to standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 213 and 251 damage! Once again no chance at an OHKO but definite 2ko, However gengar has a chance of dying after attacking with shadow ball thanks to life orb recoil
So its established, Gengar wouldn't get ohkod by them, But he cant switch in them either ( Unless someone dies and then he switches in ) Cause they'll both attack twice before gengar gets an attack in.The negatives are out of the way, lets get on to the positives of having the poison type resistances.
4x Bug Resist, Top Bug Threats
- Heracross
- Yanmega
- Scizor
Standard Heracross ( Adamant, 252 atk, Choice Band ) Megahorn against standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 159 and 188 damage! No OHKO definite 2ko
Who would've thought.. A standard gengar with no defense evs and 4 hp evs can acually not get ohkod by a banded heracross, Standard gengar also has a chance to 2ko heracross back with shadow ball ( 51 - 57 % damage to standard heracross )
Standard Yanmega ( Modest, 252 sp atk, Life Orb ) Bug Buzz against standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 53 and 62 damage! Not even close to an OHKO.
In return standard Gengar 2kos back with shadow ball and OHKOS with Hidden Power Ice and ThunderBolt.
Standard Scizor ( Impish, 0 attack, Leftovers ) X-Scizor against standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 41 and 49 damage! Far and wide away from an OHKO
Standard Scizor with Sword Danced X-Scizor against standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 82 and 96 damage! No where near an ohko.In return gengar can't do much, The best it can do is ThunderBolt which is about a 3ko sometimes 2ko and scizor can simply roost off damage as you kill yourself with life orb, Or you can make it go to sleep and pound away.
4x Poison resist, Top Poison Threats
- Roserade
- Venasaur
- Tentacruel
Standard Roserade ( Timid, 252 special attack, Choice Specs ) Sludge Bomb against standard gengar = total hp 262
That attack will do between 80 and 94 damage! No where near an OHKO.
In return, Gengar 2kos with either hidden power ice or shadow ball.
Standard Venasaur ( Bold, 0 special attack, Black Sludge ) Sludge Bomb against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between 34 and 40 damage! Forget about an ohko, However gengar can't even 3ko standard venasaur with shadow ball or hp ice and thats without black sludge and leech seed accounted. Its best to switch out for sure.
Standard Tentacruel ( Jolly, 252 attack, LeftOvers ) Poison Jab against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between34 and40 damage!
With Swords Dance
That attack will do between 67 and78 damage! No where near an ohko however waterfall will 2ko without Swords Dance and OHKO with Swords Dance. Gengar cannot OHKO back with thunderbolt or shadow ball, It is a 2ko.
2x Grass resist, Top Grass Threats
- Breloom
- Sceptile
- Tangrowth
Standard Breloom ( Adamant, 252 atk, Poison Heal ) Seed Bomb against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between110 and 130 damage!2ko, Gengar easily ohkos back with either shadow ball or hp ice.
Standard Physical Sceptile ( Jolly, 252 atk, Leftovers ) Leaf Blade against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between 85 and 100 damage! 3ko without critical, 2ko with critical.Gengar easily ohkos back with Hidden Power Ice and 2kos with shadow ball.
Leaf blade with swords dance
That attack will do between 169 and 198 damage! 2ko without critical ohko with critical.
Standard Special Sceptile ( Timid, 252 special attack, Choice Specs ) Leaf Storm against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between 250 and 295 damage! After the special attack drop. That attack will do between 126 and 148 damage! So not the best switch in as sceptile is faster and will 2ko before you will attack.Gengar ohkos with Hidden Power Ice though.
Standard Tangrowth ( Impish, 0 attack, LeftOvers) Power Whip against a standard Gengar = 262 hp
That attack will do between 99 and 117 damage! Barely a 2ko and gengar ohkos back with Hidden Power Ice.
Alright so now you've seen everything you need to see! Now use your brains and figure out how it would be like without those resistances.
The simple question is, Do you think that gengar would be better off with just being a ghost type? Or hes better as a part poison type?
My answer is yes hes better being part poison because it actually gives it more chances to come in and do heavy damage.
Please state why you think its better or not when voting!
Happy voting!