BDSP OU Suspect Coverage: Gengar

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Introduction

Gengar was an incredibly controversial Pokémon in the BDSP OU metagame due to how varied the opinions of the general playerbase were compared to the higher level players on Gengar; furthermore, the fact that it was completely overlooked by a large majority until after the Latios suspect test made a general consensus on Gengar even harder to make. Gengar's incredible base 110 Speed lets it tie the likes of Latios and Latias as well as outspeed Garchomp and Gliscor, allowing it to thrive in such an offensive tier and demolish slower teams that lacked a hard counter. Furthermore, the fact that Gengar can utilize two different sets that vary in counterplay makes it quite unpredictable to play around, as a minor misplay can be game ending.

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Sets

• Gengar @ Choice Specs
• Ability: Cursed Body
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• IVs: 0 Attack
• - Shadow Ball
• - Focus Blast
• - Sludge Bomb
• - Energy Ball

Choice Specs Gengar is the most pivotal Gengar set in the metagame, having next to no safe switch-ins, with dedicated special walls such as Blissey falling to two well-timed Focus Blasts after Stealth Rock. Shadow Ball in conjunction with Focus Blast gives Gengar perfect neutral coverage across the metagame. Sludge Bomb threatens Fairy-types like Clefable and Togekiss immediately, while Energy Ball lets it dissuade Gastrodon from switching in to scout its set as well as force out other Water-types like Feraligatr. The immediate boost from Choice Specs as well as the option for at least 1 more extra coverage option makes Gengar much harder to deal with offensively, as it does not have to waste a turn setting up. Furthermore, Gengar's solid defensive typing rewards aggressive plays, letting it switch into the likes of Clefable and Breloom, taking advantage of them and punching holes in unprepared teams. Hex is a relatively niche but effective fourth move option, punishing Gliscor immediately and rewarding teams with partners that spread status such as Rotom-W, Jirachi, and Breloom, as well as teams that utilize the rarer Toxic Spikes.

• Gengar @ Life Orb / Black Sludge
• Ability: Cursed Body
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• IVs: 0 Atk
• - Nasty Plot
• - Shadow Ball
• - Focus Blast
• - Sludge Bomb / Substitute

Nasty Plot Gengar on the other hand trades in the Choice Specs set's immediate power for the freedom to switch moves and cleave through teams after a boost. Additionally, it makes Gengar less prediction reliant and allows it to break through checks like Blissey more easily. Losing a coverage option in Sludge Bomb or Energy Ball means this set is unable to immediately force out Pokémon like Clefable and Feraligatr, allowing them to threaten it back if healthy. However, its previously mentioned defensive utility allows it to make the likes of Clefable and Blissey setup fodder and sweep slower, more passive teams that provide it room to set up. Life Orb is the go-to item in order to break through the likes of Blissey, Scizor, and Gliscor more easily after a boost, though Black Sludge can be used alongside Substitute to give Gengar better longevity and leave it less reliant on prediction, trading off raw power and coverage.

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Other Options

A Choice Scarf set can also be used to let Gengar outspeed the entire unboosted metagame and revenge kill threats such as Weavile and Latios while also cleaning weakened teams. Destiny Bond can also be run on this set to get a surprise KO as a last-ditch effort. However, this set is simply less effective than its other two sets, and Gengar isn't a standout Choice Scarf user that offers more to teams compared to other options like Garchomp and Rotom-W. A set utilizing Will-O-Wisp + Hex allows Gengar to cripple and punish switch-ins such as Scizor, Gliscor, and Gastrodon while also threatening the likes of Garchomp and Azumarill with a burn, although this set requires more support to use properly for not much gain, which makes it hard to justify on most teams.

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Team Example

This team shows just how terrifying Gengar can be to deal with when paired with strong offensive partners like Swords Dance Breloom and Trick+ Nasty Plot Rotom-W while also showing how oppresive Gengar is in the builder, as even with relatively solid checks in Scizor and Gliscor, Kasib Berry Mew also is utilized to lure and KO it due to the team lacking a consistent revenge killer. The aim of the team is to break holes in teams early on with Gengar, using the pivoting from all 3 of Gliscor, Scizor, and Rotom-W to bring it in safely, and set up an easy end-game win for Breloom. Gliscor, Scizor, and Mew also function as the team's defensive core, dealing with threats such as Garchomp, Latios, and Heatran with ease while also providing utility in Stealth Rock and Defog. Mew is an integral part of the team due to its ability to soft check a number of prominent threats such as Breloom and Heatran, which is extremely important, as Gliscor is physically defensive and Scizor is specially defensive, making Heatran and Breloom harder to deal with.

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Pro-Ban Arguments

The main argument in favor of banning Gengar is how incredibly hard it is to deal with due to its lack of consistent defensive or offensive counterplay. With such a polarized metagame, Gengar feasts on both the offense and stall teams that reign supreme, as both sets force unmanageable progress on either side of the spectrum. Furthermore, its lack of consistent defensive answers forces stall teams into a chokehold: either load one of the few consistent defensive answers to Gengar such as Gastrodon while worsening your matchup against other top-tier threats, or accept losing to a well-played one. Stall was also forced to run extremely niche sets such as Shadow Ball Blissey to have a chance against Gengar without completely changing up the team to accommodate for it. Offense teams on the other hand had to play extremely aggressively versus Nasty Plot sets and dance around deadly Choice Specs sets, not to mention Gengar's great Speed tier makes it a pain to revenge kill consistently. Gengar dissuaded teams from using otherwise common wallbreakers such as Choice Band Dragonite due to them potentially providing Gengar with a free turn, which is extremely detrimental to faster teams. Add in the fact that both these sets require totally different counterplay, and you have an unpredictable, progress-forcing machine. Gengar also paired well with other solid wallbreakers such as Latios, Heatran, and Weavile due to how much pressure it puts on their shared checks. Lastly, Gengar isn't a wallbreaker that mandates slow pivoting, as it has decent bulk as well as solid defensive capabilities from its typing, being able to switch into and force out prominent Pokémon such as Clefable and Breloom. Gengar is simply the byproduct of an incredibly fast-paced, offensive metagame with a lack of consistent answers to Ghost-types, allowing it to feast on the metagame. This is also reflected through other Ghost-types such as Mismagius, which saw niche usage just due to how unprepared the metagame is to deal with Ghost-type STAB moves.

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Anti-Ban Arguments

Due to the current state of the metagame, Gengar was honestly thought to be fine for the better part of a few months, with offensive teams managing to limit it to an extent and most stall teams being able to deal with it with niche but usable tools such as Gastrodon and even Muk. Additionally, most people who were against the ban passed over the Pokémon as simply a metagame trend that had to be adapted to but was not too over the top, with mentions of the aforementioned Muk, as well as the ever-present Scizor providing a soft check to it and Weavile rising in popularity. People also brought up Latios as being much worse than Gengar, making the latter the lesser of the two evils and requiring it to be looked at after. Lastly, many cited Gengar's unreliability in hitting Focus Blast, making soft checks such as Scizor and Tyranitar more successful.

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Results

As expected, Gengar was quickly voted out of the tier by an overwhelming majority, solidifying the opinion of the qualified playerbase. With the departure of Gengar, bulkier playstyles were being explored much more successfully, with bulky offense turning from niche to one of the best playstyles in the tier, and even balance seeing some solid experimentation. Furthermore, both offense and stall have much more freedom in what they can run, allowing them to run better, more solid countermeasures to other top-tier metagame threats such as Weavile and Crawdaunt. Compared to the recent Latios and Manaphy suspects, Gengar had a much more one-sided result than the latter two, which is extremely surprising considering how much more vocal the community was about the former two. In conclusion, with all of the generally agreed-upon metagame-breaking threats having been addressed and, in the case of Manaphy and Gengar, banned, the BDSP OU metagame will continue to thrive and grow into a much more balanced state, making a competitive and fun to play meta for all.

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