Overview
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Gengar returns for another bout in OU, still undisputed as the only Pokemon to consistently remain in the tier across all generations. It has always just been that good, and in XY it is no exception. It resists Fairy and can hit Fairy-types hard with its super effective Poison STAB moves, and the Steel-type losing its Ghost-type resistance makes it easier for Gengar to fit moves onto a set and harder to switch into it. Not all is good for Gengar though, as the presence of new priority users, former Ubers threats, Assault Vest users, and powerful Mega Evolutions leaves Gengar struggling to keep up. However, Gengar still remains as useful and unique as days past, as its typing, ability, and support movepool let it act as a powerful stallbreaker, while its offensive stats and very good Speed tier don't let it down against offensive teams. A number of other traits, such as acting as a spinblocker and an effective Destiny Bond user makes Gengar a rather consistent, yet still unpredictable choice for many teams.
Utility Attacker
########
name: Utility Attacker
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Taunt / Sludge Wave / Disable
ability: Levitate
item: Black Sludge
evs: 28 HP / 148 SpA / 80 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
========
Substitute allows Gengar to play around its poor bulk; by using its typing's defensive attributes to force the opponent to attack, Gengar can get a free Substitute on Pokemon such as Chansey, Clefable, Gliscor, Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Amoonguss. Substitute also works really well with Disable; even against Pokemon that can take Gengar out with multiple attacks, it blocks status moves as well as Sucker Punch, giving Gengar a free turn to dish out damage. Shadow Ball is Gengar's STAB move of choice, as its neutral coverage is unrivaled and it does pretty solid damage to most Pokemon, letting Gengar keep up the offensive pressure. Will-O-Wisp is a fantastic move in general, and on Gengar it is very valuable for pressuring defensive Pokemon, as well as severely crippling typical checks and counters, especially Pursuit, Shadow Sneak, and Sucker Punch users. Will-O-Wisp is almost always a great way to take advantage of a free turn, and it improves Gengar's utility against offensive teams.
Taunt's ability to stop the opponent from phazing out Gengar's Substitutes, healing, setting up entry hazards, or using Defog turns it into a powerful stallbreaker; it also disrupts and cripples Pokemon that Gengar can't really damage when behind a Substitute, such as Chansey, Sylveon, specially defensive Hippowdon, specially defensive Heatran, and other extra resilient special walls, allowing a teammate to switch in easily or even Gengar to beat them outright. Sludge Wave provides reasonably good coverage with Shadow Ball and also lets Gengar act as a potent Fairy-type slayer. Disable prevents the opposing Pokemon from using the move they last used for three turns, allowing Gengar to prey upon opposing Pokemon that rely on one move to do significant damage to it, as well as completely shutting down slower Choice attackers. Dropping Will-O-Wisp decreases Gengar's effectiveness against offensive teams, but Taunt and Disable in tandem are a nightmare to stall-based teams, preventing the opponent from healing or clearing entry hazards while also completely shutting down mono-attacking sets that many stall Pokemon use.
An alternative option in the last slot is Focus Blast, which provides perfect neutral coverage alongside Shadow Ball and lets Gengar patch up a weakness to Dark-types that attempt to beat it with Sucker Punch or Pursuit, or by virtue of their typing in general. Though Tyranitar and Bisharp are crippled by Will-O-Wisp, deterring them from switching in, it does not prevent Gengar from getting KOed in the process. If your team values Gengar to the point where sacrificing it is unacceptable, Focus Blast should be used.
Set Details
========
Black Sludge goes excellently with a set that ought to be creating a fair amount of free turns, and it is necessary for Substitute to be as effective as possible. An EV spread of 28 HP / 148 SpA / 80 SpD / 252 Spe with a Timid nature lets Gengar's Substitutes survive a minimum Special Attack Mega Venusaur's Giga Drain or Clefable's Moonblast, allowing Gengar to deal with these common threats much more easily. If this is not a massive concern, a simple spread with maximum Speed and Special Attack investment improves offensive capability while still being very effective against defense.
Usage Tips
========
Gengar's unpredictability means that a number of moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Taunt will often be a surprise. This lets Gengar act as a solid Taunt lead, as even Magic Coat users will falter. If you see opposing Smeargle or Deoxys-D, leading with Gengar is recommended. Against stall teams, Gengar is quite effective as it easily makes free Substitutes on stall staples such as Chansey, Hippowdon, Clefable, and Gliscor. This success is exponentially greater with entry hazards, as it often forces the opponent to switch around. Against stall teams, aggressive Stealth Rock use and getting Gengar into the fray is recommended.
Against more offensive teams, Gengar isn't as great; however, its Speed can still be useful, so Ghost-weak Pokemon slower than Gengar can be easily checked, and Gengar's fast Will-O-Wisp can also be used to shut down slower attackers if necessary. Subsitute + Disable preys well upon opponents that have little to hit Gengar with outside of one coverage move, so scouting for sets with teammates or excessive Substitute use may be helpful. Disable prevents slower Choice attackers from doing anything at all, and again, scouting for these is valuable as it can buy Gengar free turns. Ferrothorn is easy prey for the Substitute + Disable set as it relies on just one attacking move to beat Gengar. If given a free turn behind a Substitute against a full-strength Aegislash, it is generally advisable to burn it; although Shadow Ball deals a lot of damage to Aegislash, Gengar will be forced out due to the threat of Shadow Sneak the next turn, so Will-O-Wisp is the better option to let Gengar do more damage one-on-one and make Aegislash much easier to deal with later in the match.
Team Options
========
When not using Focus Blast, a strong Fighting- or Fairy-type partner to beat Dark-types that make life a pain for Gengar is appreciated. Azumarill, Terrakion, and Keldeo are good choices for this in general. Gengar switches in to its immunities the best, so powerful attackers such as Life Orb Terrakion that put sufficient pressure on the opponent to use Fighting-, Normal-, or Ground-type moves despite Gengar's presence go well with it. Due to the fact that Gengar can effectively render opponents unable to damage it with Disable or Taunt and Substitute, it often forces the opponent to switch. As such, entry hazard stacking racks up damage very efficiently. Entry hazard setters such as Deoxys-S, Deoxys-D, Terrakion, Garchomp, or Landorus make great teammates as they can also indirectly punch holes in an opposing team. As damage from entry hazards accumulates, opponents may attempt to remove them. Opponents cannot Rapid Spin on Gengar to remove entry hazards thanks to its Ghost typing, but they may be able to use Defog if Gengar lacks Taunt. Bisharp is a solid partner to Gengar in this regard, as it can deter opponents from using Defog thanks to Defiant and can act as solid answer to the ever-present Aegislash, which can check Gengar by threatening with Shadow Sneak. This set is very good at stallbreaking when using Taunt, so insert it on teams that may struggle against this team archetype. The few viable stall Pokemon that can actually defeat Gengar such as specially defensive Heatran and Knock Off Gliscor, need to be dealt with by teammates. Hidden Power Ice Terrakion is a very good Gliscor lure, and Pokemon that can reliably deal with Heatran, such as Mega Charizard X, are also good teammates.
Other Options
########
Gengar has a couple of miscellaneous coverage options that can beat some specific Pokemon, such as Energy Ball, Psychic, and Dazzling Gleam, but these moves have limited application compared to the versatility and strength of Gengar's other options. Destiny Bond can be used in order to better deal with offensive threats. A Choice Specs set using Gengar's coverage and the lack of resistances to Ghost-type moves may seem appealing, but it requires a lot of support to function. Gengar can also beat pretty much every counter with coverage or Trick, and the power granted by Choice Specs makes it very hard to switch into, but overall, it is inefficient compared to the other sets. A Choice Scarf set can be used to capitalize on Gengar's immunity to Normal-type moves to reliably revenge kill Extreme Speed users, but these are not the biggest threats in the metagame, and it is pretty weak overall. Pain Split is an option for Substitute Gengar to recover health, affording the use of Life Orb in most situations too. It can also hassle some defensive Pokemon like Chansey or Clefable pretty well by discouraging healing, but utility Life Orb Gengar fails to be as effective against stall as Black Sludge, nor as effective as all-out Destiny Bond attacker against offense, so it's a situational middle ground.
Checks & Counters
########
**Heatran**: Specially defensive Heatran is immune to burns, takes Shadow Ball quite well, and does enough with Lava Plume to force Gengar out. However, it is narrowly 2HKOed by Life Orb Focus Blast.
**Bulky Pursuit Users**: Bisharp and Tyranitar are both capable of trapping Gengar with Pursuit, though the right coverage moves on Gengar as well as the threat of Will-O-Wisp can be troublesome.
**Assault Vest users**: Conkeldurr, Raikou, Escavalier, Tyranitar, Tornadus-T, and other Assault Vest users really ruin Gengar's day, and unless they can be neutered with Substitute + Disable, Gengar is fighting a losing battle. However, all typical Assault Vest users are crippled by a burn.
**Strong Choice scarf users**: Choice Scarf Garchomp, Tyranitar, Terrakion, Excadrill, and Landorus-T are all checks to a Gengar that is not behind a Substitute, as they cleanly outspeed and KO it. Tyranitar is especially troubling, as it effortlessly traps and KOes Gengar if it can get in for free.
**Strong Priority Moves**: Scizor, Talonflame, and other powerful priority users have no trouble checking Gengar due to its frailty. Sucker Punch users may seem like a good check, but no Gengar set eschews a countermeasure to this move, whether it be Substitute, Destiny Bond, or Will-O-Wisp.
**Fast Offensive Checks**: Thundurus, Alakazam, and Greninja can easily check Gengar due to its bad defenses.
########
Gengar returns for another bout in OU, still undisputed as the only Pokemon to consistently remain in the tier across all generations. It has always just been that good, and in XY it is no exception. It resists Fairy and can hit Fairy-types hard with its super effective Poison STAB moves, and the Steel-type losing its Ghost-type resistance makes it easier for Gengar to fit moves onto a set and harder to switch into it. Not all is good for Gengar though, as the presence of new priority users, former Ubers threats, Assault Vest users, and powerful Mega Evolutions leaves Gengar struggling to keep up. However, Gengar still remains as useful and unique as days past, as its typing, ability, and support movepool let it act as a powerful stallbreaker, while its offensive stats and very good Speed tier don't let it down against offensive teams. A number of other traits, such as acting as a spinblocker and an effective Destiny Bond user makes Gengar a rather consistent, yet still unpredictable choice for many teams.
Utility Attacker
########
name: Utility Attacker
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Taunt / Sludge Wave / Disable
ability: Levitate
item: Black Sludge
evs: 28 HP / 148 SpA / 80 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Timid
Moves
========
Substitute allows Gengar to play around its poor bulk; by using its typing's defensive attributes to force the opponent to attack, Gengar can get a free Substitute on Pokemon such as Chansey, Clefable, Gliscor, Venusaur, Ferrothorn, and Amoonguss. Substitute also works really well with Disable; even against Pokemon that can take Gengar out with multiple attacks, it blocks status moves as well as Sucker Punch, giving Gengar a free turn to dish out damage. Shadow Ball is Gengar's STAB move of choice, as its neutral coverage is unrivaled and it does pretty solid damage to most Pokemon, letting Gengar keep up the offensive pressure. Will-O-Wisp is a fantastic move in general, and on Gengar it is very valuable for pressuring defensive Pokemon, as well as severely crippling typical checks and counters, especially Pursuit, Shadow Sneak, and Sucker Punch users. Will-O-Wisp is almost always a great way to take advantage of a free turn, and it improves Gengar's utility against offensive teams.
Taunt's ability to stop the opponent from phazing out Gengar's Substitutes, healing, setting up entry hazards, or using Defog turns it into a powerful stallbreaker; it also disrupts and cripples Pokemon that Gengar can't really damage when behind a Substitute, such as Chansey, Sylveon, specially defensive Hippowdon, specially defensive Heatran, and other extra resilient special walls, allowing a teammate to switch in easily or even Gengar to beat them outright. Sludge Wave provides reasonably good coverage with Shadow Ball and also lets Gengar act as a potent Fairy-type slayer. Disable prevents the opposing Pokemon from using the move they last used for three turns, allowing Gengar to prey upon opposing Pokemon that rely on one move to do significant damage to it, as well as completely shutting down slower Choice attackers. Dropping Will-O-Wisp decreases Gengar's effectiveness against offensive teams, but Taunt and Disable in tandem are a nightmare to stall-based teams, preventing the opponent from healing or clearing entry hazards while also completely shutting down mono-attacking sets that many stall Pokemon use.
An alternative option in the last slot is Focus Blast, which provides perfect neutral coverage alongside Shadow Ball and lets Gengar patch up a weakness to Dark-types that attempt to beat it with Sucker Punch or Pursuit, or by virtue of their typing in general. Though Tyranitar and Bisharp are crippled by Will-O-Wisp, deterring them from switching in, it does not prevent Gengar from getting KOed in the process. If your team values Gengar to the point where sacrificing it is unacceptable, Focus Blast should be used.
Set Details
========
Black Sludge goes excellently with a set that ought to be creating a fair amount of free turns, and it is necessary for Substitute to be as effective as possible. An EV spread of 28 HP / 148 SpA / 80 SpD / 252 Spe with a Timid nature lets Gengar's Substitutes survive a minimum Special Attack Mega Venusaur's Giga Drain or Clefable's Moonblast, allowing Gengar to deal with these common threats much more easily. If this is not a massive concern, a simple spread with maximum Speed and Special Attack investment improves offensive capability while still being very effective against defense.
Usage Tips
========
Gengar's unpredictability means that a number of moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Taunt will often be a surprise. This lets Gengar act as a solid Taunt lead, as even Magic Coat users will falter. If you see opposing Smeargle or Deoxys-D, leading with Gengar is recommended. Against stall teams, Gengar is quite effective as it easily makes free Substitutes on stall staples such as Chansey, Hippowdon, Clefable, and Gliscor. This success is exponentially greater with entry hazards, as it often forces the opponent to switch around. Against stall teams, aggressive Stealth Rock use and getting Gengar into the fray is recommended.
Against more offensive teams, Gengar isn't as great; however, its Speed can still be useful, so Ghost-weak Pokemon slower than Gengar can be easily checked, and Gengar's fast Will-O-Wisp can also be used to shut down slower attackers if necessary. Subsitute + Disable preys well upon opponents that have little to hit Gengar with outside of one coverage move, so scouting for sets with teammates or excessive Substitute use may be helpful. Disable prevents slower Choice attackers from doing anything at all, and again, scouting for these is valuable as it can buy Gengar free turns. Ferrothorn is easy prey for the Substitute + Disable set as it relies on just one attacking move to beat Gengar. If given a free turn behind a Substitute against a full-strength Aegislash, it is generally advisable to burn it; although Shadow Ball deals a lot of damage to Aegislash, Gengar will be forced out due to the threat of Shadow Sneak the next turn, so Will-O-Wisp is the better option to let Gengar do more damage one-on-one and make Aegislash much easier to deal with later in the match.
Team Options
========
When not using Focus Blast, a strong Fighting- or Fairy-type partner to beat Dark-types that make life a pain for Gengar is appreciated. Azumarill, Terrakion, and Keldeo are good choices for this in general. Gengar switches in to its immunities the best, so powerful attackers such as Life Orb Terrakion that put sufficient pressure on the opponent to use Fighting-, Normal-, or Ground-type moves despite Gengar's presence go well with it. Due to the fact that Gengar can effectively render opponents unable to damage it with Disable or Taunt and Substitute, it often forces the opponent to switch. As such, entry hazard stacking racks up damage very efficiently. Entry hazard setters such as Deoxys-S, Deoxys-D, Terrakion, Garchomp, or Landorus make great teammates as they can also indirectly punch holes in an opposing team. As damage from entry hazards accumulates, opponents may attempt to remove them. Opponents cannot Rapid Spin on Gengar to remove entry hazards thanks to its Ghost typing, but they may be able to use Defog if Gengar lacks Taunt. Bisharp is a solid partner to Gengar in this regard, as it can deter opponents from using Defog thanks to Defiant and can act as solid answer to the ever-present Aegislash, which can check Gengar by threatening with Shadow Sneak. This set is very good at stallbreaking when using Taunt, so insert it on teams that may struggle against this team archetype. The few viable stall Pokemon that can actually defeat Gengar such as specially defensive Heatran and Knock Off Gliscor, need to be dealt with by teammates. Hidden Power Ice Terrakion is a very good Gliscor lure, and Pokemon that can reliably deal with Heatran, such as Mega Charizard X, are also good teammates.
Other Options
########
Gengar has a couple of miscellaneous coverage options that can beat some specific Pokemon, such as Energy Ball, Psychic, and Dazzling Gleam, but these moves have limited application compared to the versatility and strength of Gengar's other options. Destiny Bond can be used in order to better deal with offensive threats. A Choice Specs set using Gengar's coverage and the lack of resistances to Ghost-type moves may seem appealing, but it requires a lot of support to function. Gengar can also beat pretty much every counter with coverage or Trick, and the power granted by Choice Specs makes it very hard to switch into, but overall, it is inefficient compared to the other sets. A Choice Scarf set can be used to capitalize on Gengar's immunity to Normal-type moves to reliably revenge kill Extreme Speed users, but these are not the biggest threats in the metagame, and it is pretty weak overall. Pain Split is an option for Substitute Gengar to recover health, affording the use of Life Orb in most situations too. It can also hassle some defensive Pokemon like Chansey or Clefable pretty well by discouraging healing, but utility Life Orb Gengar fails to be as effective against stall as Black Sludge, nor as effective as all-out Destiny Bond attacker against offense, so it's a situational middle ground.
Checks & Counters
########
**Heatran**: Specially defensive Heatran is immune to burns, takes Shadow Ball quite well, and does enough with Lava Plume to force Gengar out. However, it is narrowly 2HKOed by Life Orb Focus Blast.
**Bulky Pursuit Users**: Bisharp and Tyranitar are both capable of trapping Gengar with Pursuit, though the right coverage moves on Gengar as well as the threat of Will-O-Wisp can be troublesome.
**Assault Vest users**: Conkeldurr, Raikou, Escavalier, Tyranitar, Tornadus-T, and other Assault Vest users really ruin Gengar's day, and unless they can be neutered with Substitute + Disable, Gengar is fighting a losing battle. However, all typical Assault Vest users are crippled by a burn.
**Strong Choice scarf users**: Choice Scarf Garchomp, Tyranitar, Terrakion, Excadrill, and Landorus-T are all checks to a Gengar that is not behind a Substitute, as they cleanly outspeed and KO it. Tyranitar is especially troubling, as it effortlessly traps and KOes Gengar if it can get in for free.
**Strong Priority Moves**: Scizor, Talonflame, and other powerful priority users have no trouble checking Gengar due to its frailty. Sucker Punch users may seem like a good check, but no Gengar set eschews a countermeasure to this move, whether it be Substitute, Destiny Bond, or Will-O-Wisp.
**Fast Offensive Checks**: Thundurus, Alakazam, and Greninja can easily check Gengar due to its bad defenses.
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