mcmeghan, cbb, dekzeh, sir, badass, marcelodk, and eventually floppy helped me perfect these sets and spreads.
im sorry but i have to add this in as well: whoever wrote the last analysis did not do much research at all. whether it be inaccuracies about damage output (like explosion vs lax), no sense of what pokemon can do (im sorry but adamant dugtrio does not beat starmie) and just a sense of laziness this was really sloppy. i have removed inaccuracies, removed some of the pretentiousness and hopefully made this actually accurate
I left perish trap alone because i see it a lot and i dunno what id fix
[Overview]
<p>Gengar is a very powerful threat due to its great stats and diversity, and its vast movepool is aided by its high Special Attack and Speed. Though held back by its awful defenses, Gengar will often have multiple opportunities to switch in safely thanks to immunities to Ground-, Fighting-, and Normal-type attacks. Because of its versatility and great coverage, Gengar is very difficult to properly counter once it is on the offensive. Gengar also has a wide variety of support moves at its disposal, ranging from status moves, such as Will-O-Wisp and Hypnosis, to Destiny Bond and Perish Song. Gengar can easily clean up late-game when teams have been weakened and opposing Pokemon are in KO range of its potent attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Taunt / Hypnosis / Fire Punch
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 24 SpA / 188 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set combines Gengar's great coverage with a variety of support moves to cripple Pokemon that normally switch into it. Thunderbolt and Ice Punch create a pseudo-BoltBeam combination, which hits all but dedicated special walls for huge damage. Will-O-Wisp puts a lot of pressure on the opponent right from the start, threatening Metagross, Snorlax, and other Pokemon who would normally try to harm Gengar.</p>
<p>A ton of choices are available in the last slot. Taunt stops Blissey, non-Psychic Celebi, and allows Gengar to take down more defensive teams by himself. Hypnosis allows Gengar to put one Pokemon to sleep and essentially render it useless; its terrible accuracy is its main drawback though. Fire Punch can take on opposing Forretress and allows Gengar to actually beat Magneton. It can also be used vs threats like Metagross and Jirachi in a pinch.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>188 Speed EVs and a Timid nature let Gengar outrun the likes of Timid Celebi, Jolly Flygon, and +1 Tyranitar, while HP EVs allow it to survive a +1 Hidden Power Flying from Salamence. The remaining EVs are invested in Special Attack to pump up Gengar's damage output.</p>
<p>Blissey takes pathetic damage from Gengar's attacks and can cripple it with Thunder Wave, as well as heal burned or sleeping teammates with Aromatherapy. Celebi is 3HKOed by Ice Punch, but can Recover off damage, set up with Calm Mind, and OHKO Gengar with Psychic; to top it all off, neither of these Pokemon are crippled by status due to Natural Cure. Starmie and Raikou can easily switch in on Ice Punch and Thunderbolt respectively, then outspeed and KO Gengar. Dugtrio can trap and kill some of these threats.</p>
<p>Taunt can turn the tables on some of Gengar's most common counters, such as Blissey, Snorlax, and Regice. Gengar should attempt to burn these Pokemon as they switch in, then when they attempt to use a recovery or status move, Taunt them to prevent it, and switch to an appropriate counter or attempt to finish them off. The effectiveness of this strategy is a lot greater if you have Spikes support and sandstorm to wear down the aforementioned Pokemon's HP. Destiny Bond can also be used in conjunction with Taunt to force the opponent to use an attacking move, thus taking the foe down when Gengar is KOed.</p>
[SET]
name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Giga Drain / Hypnosis / Explosion
move 4: Fire Punch / Hypnosis / Explosion
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>High Speed and Special Attack stats as well as a great movepool make Gengar an excellent all-out attacker. This set sacrifices support moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Hypnosis to gain the widest possible coverage against common Pokemon. With perfect neutral coverage, this is an anti-metagame set that is effective against teams that play off resistances. Thunderbolt hits Skarmory and bulky Water-types such as Gyarados, Suicune, and Vaporeon, whereas Ice Punch nails Zapdos and Celebi for around 40%, and OHKOes the common Dragon-types. Giga Drain nails Swampert, who shrugs off Gengar's other attacks and 2HKOes it with Hydro Pump. As Swampert is a sometimes a reliable check to Gengar, you can finish off unprepared teams who don't expect it. Fire Punch, Gengar's last move, allows it to OHKO some Forretress, and 2HKO some Magneton and Metagross. Hypnosis can eliminate a threat if it hits which makes it a great move for a Gengar focused on sweeping. Finally, Explosion could be used in one of the final slots as a way to deal with Blissey, Snorlax, and Regice. Use a Hasty or Naive nature and 36 Attack EVs with Explosion to make sure Dugtrio is guaranteed to finish off Blissey and Snorlax afterwards.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is very straightforward: 216 Speed EVs beat Adamant Dugtrio while 40 HP helps vs Aerodactyl and other random attacks. Maximize Gengar's Special Attack to ensure a high damage output. A Timid nature is advised to make Gengar as fast as possible, but a Modest nature can be used to increase Gengar's power even further, if you don't mind losing to opposing Gengar. If using Modest, just use max Special Attack and Speed for Houndoom.</p>
<p>As Gengar lacks Will-O-Wisp, Tyranitar can be a problem, as it doesn't take much from Gengar's attacks. Starmie can switch in on a predicted Ice Punch or Fire Punch, then outspeed and KO Gengar with Psychic. Gengar is not OHKOed by any of its other attacks though, and can finish it off with Thunderbolt if it doesn't carry Psychic. Raikou is also problematic as it outspeeds Gengar and has access to Calm Mind. As such, Dugtrio makes a reliable teammate, because it can eliminate Raikou and +1 Tyranitar. Defensive variants of Zapdos and Celebi cause further problems for Gengar, taking about 40% from super effective moves while doing serious damage to Gengar with Thunderbolt and Psychic, respectively. Tyranitar can be used to assist Gengar's team against Zapdos, while Dugtrio can switch in on a Recovering Celebi and 2HKO with Hidden Power Bug.</p>
[SET]
name: Perish Trapper
move 1: Mean Look
move 2: Perish Song
move 3: Substitute / Taunt
move 4: Destiny Bond / Protect / Hypnosis
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 80 SpD / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Perish Trapping Gengar is often unexpected and can turn the tables on typical Gengar counters. The idea of the set is to use Mean Look as a Gengar counter such as Blissey or Snorlax switches in and trap it, then use Perish Song to KO it. Substitute effectively provides free turns at the cost of a quarter of Gengar's HP. After two turns, Gengar switches to an appropriate switch-in, scoring a free KO on the trapped opponent. Destiny Bond is used in the final moveslot to let Gengar take out another Pokemon after successfully Perish Trapping something. It should only be used as a last resort, such as when Gengar has lost most of its HP from making Substitutes. Taunt can be used instead of Substitute to stop attempts at crippling Gengar with status moves or phazing it, but Protect must then be used in the final moveslot as Gengar needs free turns to pull off the strategy. Hypnosis is an alternative to put the trapped Pokemon to sleep, rendering it useless as Perish Song takes effect. However, its low accuracy makes it a risky option.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This bulky EV spread allows Gengar to survive dangerous moves such as Celebi's Psychic and Choice Band Salamence's Hidden Power Flying, as Gengar is vulnerable while it sets up Perish Song. With 80 Speed EVs and a Timid nature, Gengar has over 300 Speed, allowing it to outspeed a vast number of Pokemon and use Substitute to provide free turns for itself. Its Speed stat should not be maximized though, because bulk is this set's main priority.</p>
<p>For the purposes of trapping, Dugtrio makes an excellent teammate because of its Arena Trap ability. Dugtrio can reliably trap and KO Pokemon with Perish Song if Gengar is KOed before Perish Song has fully taken effect. However, Dugtrio will need the otherwise slightly gimmicky Substitute or Protect in its movepool. Dugtrio can also assist against Starmie, Raikou, and Dragon Dance Tyranitar, all of which are problematic for Gengar.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Choice Band Gengar is a gimmicky option, but an option nonetheless, as it has two strong physical STAB attacks in Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball. This set can do serious damage to Pokemon that normally counter Gengar, as Blissey and Snorlax are nailed by Focus Punch, and Celebi by Sludge Bomb. Once the opponent discovers the set, however, Gengar can be easily countered and will often end up resorting to Explosion quite quickly. Shadow Ball used to be a common move for dispatching of Celebi and other Gengar. Sludge Bomb is the only other physical move worth using on Gengar, as it dents Blissey for about 25-30% and has a chance to poison. This will force Blissey to resort to using Softboiled, which is when Gengar can hit her with Focus Punch for the 2HKO. Gengar can run a mixed set with both special and physical attacks, but this would be less effective overall due to the split EVs. Additionally, it would run into serious issues with Metagross and Jirachi, and is generally not effective in this metagame.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Blissey can come in on most Gengar sets with ease; special attacks do virtually nothing to it, and Natural Cure makes status moves ineffective. That said, it is usually wise to switch out to a sleep absorber on Hypnosis to activate Sleep Clause. Curse + Rest Snorlax can set up on Gengar without fear of Will-O-Wisp; the standard RestTalk Regice is a solid Gengar counter as well. Both should watch out for Taunt. RestTalk Magneton can handle Gengar that aren't using Fire Punch. Teams that use resistances to defend against strong special attackers will often have to figure out or guess Gengar's set first, as it is very versatile.</p>
<p>With some careful playing, Calm Zapdos will usually be able to switch in; Ice Punch deals considerable damage, but Gengar will usually lose one-on-one. Celebi can take on Gengar well thanks to Recover and Calm Mind, as Gengar won't usually risk staying in and taking Psychic. Jirachi works in a similar way, except it takes less damage from Thunderbolt than Celebi takes from Ice Punch. With maximum HP and some Special Defense investment, Pokemon like Metagross and Tyranitar can reliably shut Gengar down. Tyranitar will also be able to trap and eliminate Gengar with Pursuit. However, both Metagross and Tyranitar have to watch be cautious of Will-O-Wisp.</p>
<p>Raikou is a good counter too, because it doesn't take much damage from Thunderbolt or Ice Punch, and can outspeed and do around serious damage to Gengar with Thunderbolt; it should be wary of an incoming Hypnosis or Will-O-Wisp though. Rest + Sleep Talk Raikou, though situational, is a hard counter to Gengar. Dusclops is in the same boat; Rest + Sleep Talk sets will easily switch in on Gengar, but the Pain Split variant should watch out for status.</p>
im sorry but i have to add this in as well: whoever wrote the last analysis did not do much research at all. whether it be inaccuracies about damage output (like explosion vs lax), no sense of what pokemon can do (im sorry but adamant dugtrio does not beat starmie) and just a sense of laziness this was really sloppy. i have removed inaccuracies, removed some of the pretentiousness and hopefully made this actually accurate
I left perish trap alone because i see it a lot and i dunno what id fix
[Overview]
<p>Gengar is a very powerful threat due to its great stats and diversity, and its vast movepool is aided by its high Special Attack and Speed. Though held back by its awful defenses, Gengar will often have multiple opportunities to switch in safely thanks to immunities to Ground-, Fighting-, and Normal-type attacks. Because of its versatility and great coverage, Gengar is very difficult to properly counter once it is on the offensive. Gengar also has a wide variety of support moves at its disposal, ranging from status moves, such as Will-O-Wisp and Hypnosis, to Destiny Bond and Perish Song. Gengar can easily clean up late-game when teams have been weakened and opposing Pokemon are in KO range of its potent attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: Defensive
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Taunt / Hypnosis / Fire Punch
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 44 Def / 24 SpA / 188 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set combines Gengar's great coverage with a variety of support moves to cripple Pokemon that normally switch into it. Thunderbolt and Ice Punch create a pseudo-BoltBeam combination, which hits all but dedicated special walls for huge damage. Will-O-Wisp puts a lot of pressure on the opponent right from the start, threatening Metagross, Snorlax, and other Pokemon who would normally try to harm Gengar.</p>
<p>A ton of choices are available in the last slot. Taunt stops Blissey, non-Psychic Celebi, and allows Gengar to take down more defensive teams by himself. Hypnosis allows Gengar to put one Pokemon to sleep and essentially render it useless; its terrible accuracy is its main drawback though. Fire Punch can take on opposing Forretress and allows Gengar to actually beat Magneton. It can also be used vs threats like Metagross and Jirachi in a pinch.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>188 Speed EVs and a Timid nature let Gengar outrun the likes of Timid Celebi, Jolly Flygon, and +1 Tyranitar, while HP EVs allow it to survive a +1 Hidden Power Flying from Salamence. The remaining EVs are invested in Special Attack to pump up Gengar's damage output.</p>
<p>Blissey takes pathetic damage from Gengar's attacks and can cripple it with Thunder Wave, as well as heal burned or sleeping teammates with Aromatherapy. Celebi is 3HKOed by Ice Punch, but can Recover off damage, set up with Calm Mind, and OHKO Gengar with Psychic; to top it all off, neither of these Pokemon are crippled by status due to Natural Cure. Starmie and Raikou can easily switch in on Ice Punch and Thunderbolt respectively, then outspeed and KO Gengar. Dugtrio can trap and kill some of these threats.</p>
<p>Taunt can turn the tables on some of Gengar's most common counters, such as Blissey, Snorlax, and Regice. Gengar should attempt to burn these Pokemon as they switch in, then when they attempt to use a recovery or status move, Taunt them to prevent it, and switch to an appropriate counter or attempt to finish them off. The effectiveness of this strategy is a lot greater if you have Spikes support and sandstorm to wear down the aforementioned Pokemon's HP. Destiny Bond can also be used in conjunction with Taunt to force the opponent to use an attacking move, thus taking the foe down when Gengar is KOed.</p>
[SET]
name: All-Out Attacker
move 1: Thunderbolt
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Giga Drain / Hypnosis / Explosion
move 4: Fire Punch / Hypnosis / Explosion
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid / Modest
evs: 40 HP / 252 SpA / 216 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>High Speed and Special Attack stats as well as a great movepool make Gengar an excellent all-out attacker. This set sacrifices support moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Hypnosis to gain the widest possible coverage against common Pokemon. With perfect neutral coverage, this is an anti-metagame set that is effective against teams that play off resistances. Thunderbolt hits Skarmory and bulky Water-types such as Gyarados, Suicune, and Vaporeon, whereas Ice Punch nails Zapdos and Celebi for around 40%, and OHKOes the common Dragon-types. Giga Drain nails Swampert, who shrugs off Gengar's other attacks and 2HKOes it with Hydro Pump. As Swampert is a sometimes a reliable check to Gengar, you can finish off unprepared teams who don't expect it. Fire Punch, Gengar's last move, allows it to OHKO some Forretress, and 2HKO some Magneton and Metagross. Hypnosis can eliminate a threat if it hits which makes it a great move for a Gengar focused on sweeping. Finally, Explosion could be used in one of the final slots as a way to deal with Blissey, Snorlax, and Regice. Use a Hasty or Naive nature and 36 Attack EVs with Explosion to make sure Dugtrio is guaranteed to finish off Blissey and Snorlax afterwards.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EV spread is very straightforward: 216 Speed EVs beat Adamant Dugtrio while 40 HP helps vs Aerodactyl and other random attacks. Maximize Gengar's Special Attack to ensure a high damage output. A Timid nature is advised to make Gengar as fast as possible, but a Modest nature can be used to increase Gengar's power even further, if you don't mind losing to opposing Gengar. If using Modest, just use max Special Attack and Speed for Houndoom.</p>
<p>As Gengar lacks Will-O-Wisp, Tyranitar can be a problem, as it doesn't take much from Gengar's attacks. Starmie can switch in on a predicted Ice Punch or Fire Punch, then outspeed and KO Gengar with Psychic. Gengar is not OHKOed by any of its other attacks though, and can finish it off with Thunderbolt if it doesn't carry Psychic. Raikou is also problematic as it outspeeds Gengar and has access to Calm Mind. As such, Dugtrio makes a reliable teammate, because it can eliminate Raikou and +1 Tyranitar. Defensive variants of Zapdos and Celebi cause further problems for Gengar, taking about 40% from super effective moves while doing serious damage to Gengar with Thunderbolt and Psychic, respectively. Tyranitar can be used to assist Gengar's team against Zapdos, while Dugtrio can switch in on a Recovering Celebi and 2HKO with Hidden Power Bug.</p>
[SET]
name: Perish Trapper
move 1: Mean Look
move 2: Perish Song
move 3: Substitute / Taunt
move 4: Destiny Bond / Protect / Hypnosis
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 96 Def / 80 SpD / 80 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Perish Trapping Gengar is often unexpected and can turn the tables on typical Gengar counters. The idea of the set is to use Mean Look as a Gengar counter such as Blissey or Snorlax switches in and trap it, then use Perish Song to KO it. Substitute effectively provides free turns at the cost of a quarter of Gengar's HP. After two turns, Gengar switches to an appropriate switch-in, scoring a free KO on the trapped opponent. Destiny Bond is used in the final moveslot to let Gengar take out another Pokemon after successfully Perish Trapping something. It should only be used as a last resort, such as when Gengar has lost most of its HP from making Substitutes. Taunt can be used instead of Substitute to stop attempts at crippling Gengar with status moves or phazing it, but Protect must then be used in the final moveslot as Gengar needs free turns to pull off the strategy. Hypnosis is an alternative to put the trapped Pokemon to sleep, rendering it useless as Perish Song takes effect. However, its low accuracy makes it a risky option.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>This bulky EV spread allows Gengar to survive dangerous moves such as Celebi's Psychic and Choice Band Salamence's Hidden Power Flying, as Gengar is vulnerable while it sets up Perish Song. With 80 Speed EVs and a Timid nature, Gengar has over 300 Speed, allowing it to outspeed a vast number of Pokemon and use Substitute to provide free turns for itself. Its Speed stat should not be maximized though, because bulk is this set's main priority.</p>
<p>For the purposes of trapping, Dugtrio makes an excellent teammate because of its Arena Trap ability. Dugtrio can reliably trap and KO Pokemon with Perish Song if Gengar is KOed before Perish Song has fully taken effect. However, Dugtrio will need the otherwise slightly gimmicky Substitute or Protect in its movepool. Dugtrio can also assist against Starmie, Raikou, and Dragon Dance Tyranitar, all of which are problematic for Gengar.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Choice Band Gengar is a gimmicky option, but an option nonetheless, as it has two strong physical STAB attacks in Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball. This set can do serious damage to Pokemon that normally counter Gengar, as Blissey and Snorlax are nailed by Focus Punch, and Celebi by Sludge Bomb. Once the opponent discovers the set, however, Gengar can be easily countered and will often end up resorting to Explosion quite quickly. Shadow Ball used to be a common move for dispatching of Celebi and other Gengar. Sludge Bomb is the only other physical move worth using on Gengar, as it dents Blissey for about 25-30% and has a chance to poison. This will force Blissey to resort to using Softboiled, which is when Gengar can hit her with Focus Punch for the 2HKO. Gengar can run a mixed set with both special and physical attacks, but this would be less effective overall due to the split EVs. Additionally, it would run into serious issues with Metagross and Jirachi, and is generally not effective in this metagame.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Blissey can come in on most Gengar sets with ease; special attacks do virtually nothing to it, and Natural Cure makes status moves ineffective. That said, it is usually wise to switch out to a sleep absorber on Hypnosis to activate Sleep Clause. Curse + Rest Snorlax can set up on Gengar without fear of Will-O-Wisp; the standard RestTalk Regice is a solid Gengar counter as well. Both should watch out for Taunt. RestTalk Magneton can handle Gengar that aren't using Fire Punch. Teams that use resistances to defend against strong special attackers will often have to figure out or guess Gengar's set first, as it is very versatile.</p>
<p>With some careful playing, Calm Zapdos will usually be able to switch in; Ice Punch deals considerable damage, but Gengar will usually lose one-on-one. Celebi can take on Gengar well thanks to Recover and Calm Mind, as Gengar won't usually risk staying in and taking Psychic. Jirachi works in a similar way, except it takes less damage from Thunderbolt than Celebi takes from Ice Punch. With maximum HP and some Special Defense investment, Pokemon like Metagross and Tyranitar can reliably shut Gengar down. Tyranitar will also be able to trap and eliminate Gengar with Pursuit. However, both Metagross and Tyranitar have to watch be cautious of Will-O-Wisp.</p>
<p>Raikou is a good counter too, because it doesn't take much damage from Thunderbolt or Ice Punch, and can outspeed and do around serious damage to Gengar with Thunderbolt; it should be wary of an incoming Hypnosis or Will-O-Wisp though. Rest + Sleep Talk Raikou, though situational, is a hard counter to Gengar. Dusclops is in the same boat; Rest + Sleep Talk sets will easily switch in on Gengar, but the Pain Split variant should watch out for status.</p>