Ghost-types in NU

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Introduction

Throughout Generation 8, Ghost-types have been particularly dominant in NU; Haunter was one of the first Pokémon voted out of the tier, largely because of Pursuit's removal, and Cofagrigus and Gourgeist-S have been top-tier threats from the beginning. As the generation has progressed, NU has been given more and more potent Ghost-types such as Rotom and Decidueye that quickly made a name for themselves, and the addition of the new move Poltergeist thanks to the first DLC brought Ghost-types such as Golurk and Froslass back into relevancy and buffed already existing ones as well. Despite the addition of more Normal- and Dark-types to combat these problematic ghouls and set adaptations made by previously existing Pokémon, Ghost-types have remained prominent in NU; this article aims to cover some of the Ghost-types that haunt the tier and what they contribute!

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The Primary Poltergeists

Cofagrigus has been a mainstay of NU ever since the generation started; its immense bulk lets it check a wide range of Pokémon, including common threats like Toxicroak, Piloswine, and Kangaskhan, and its access to boosting moves in Nasty Plot and Iron Defense makes it a potent late-game sweeper. Cofagrigus's has a lot of flexibility even within its sets, with Nasty Plot sets running Trick Room to style on offense teams or simply three attacks to become more threatening offensively. Even utility sets still make an appearance, with Cofagrigus's ability to set Toxic Spikes being particularly appreciated by Pokémon like Sawk and Dubwool.

Decidueye arrived in NU with the July tier shifts, and it made its presence known immediately. Its great offensive stats combined with its access to Swords Dance and Nasty Plot let it run potent boosting sets along with its devastating Choice Specs set, which can easily dismantle teams with its strong Leaf Storm alone. Besides its great breaking power, though, Decidueye also has convenient defensive utility with its Water and Ground resistances, letting it pivot into foes like Lanturn and Galarian Stunfisk fairly reliably. Beyond functioning as a great wallbreaker, some Decidueye even opt for more utility-based sets to make further use of its good defensive utility and access to moves like Roost, U-turn, and Defog, although those are less consistent than the ones listed above.

Gourgeist-S was already a premier wallbreaker and reliable revenge killer before it got Poltergeist; however, it now has a powerful, spammable Ghost-type attack to use against previously reliable checks such as Rotom-S and Garbodor. Although the addition of Pokémon such as Weezing and Miltank has hampered it slightly, Gourgeist-S has a few tools to make these matchups less punishing; Life Orb sets can opt for a status-inducing move to put these Pokémon on a timer, while Choice Scarf sets employ Trick for a similar effect.

Rotom was a mainstay in NU last generation for its great utility and wallbreaking capabilities, and that has remained true in Generation 8. Its STAB combination is nearly unresisted, which makes playing around Choice Specs sets potentially very punishing; Ground-types not named Galarian Stunfisk are hit hard by Shadow Ball, while Ghost-resistant and -immune Pokémon like Skuntank and Miltank dislike taking Rotom's strong Thunderbolt. Even general special walls like Galarian Stunfisk and Clefairy are at risk of being crippled by Rotom's Trick, hampering them for the remainder of the game. Choice Scarf Rotom, meanwhile, is a consistent means of revenge killing foes like special Decidueye and non-Choice Scarf Basculin and is still very effective at garnering momentum with Volt Switch and luring in and crippling special walls with Trick.

The Secondary Specters

• Cursola @ Focus Sash
• Ability: Weak Armor
• EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
• Timid Nature
• - Stealth Rock
• - Shadow Ball
• - Hydro Pump
• - Endure

Cursola's role has diminished greatly in the tier over the course of the generation, and even now its niche as a lead Stealth Rock setter on hyper offense teams has been mostly eclipsed by Drednaw. Nevertheless, Cursola is still effective thanks to the combination of its coverage, ability, and access to Endure; this lets it threaten other common leads like Piloswine and Sandaconda and guarantee damage on faster foes like Silvally-Dark and Liepard.

• Froslass @ Choice Band
• Ability: Cursed Body
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Poltergeist
• - Trick
• - Triple Axel / Icicle Crash
• - Spikes / Ice Shard

Froslass is perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the new move Poltergeist, going from a mostly irrelevant lead Spiker to a fairly good wallbreaker. Despite Froslass having equivalent Attack and Special Attack stats, its lack of a good physical Ghost-type move prevented it from running physical sets and relegated it mostly to a utility role, with special wallbreaking sets generally being outdone by Rotom. Additionally, Triple Axel's addition gives Froslass even more breaking potential, although Icicle Crash is a more reliable option. Froslass also provides a good amount of utility for a wallbreaker; it has a great natural Speed tier and access to Trick and Spikes to support its team, with Ice Shard also being an option to hit faster foes.

Golurk was already a pretty decent offensive Stealth Rock setter in earlier months; however, the addition of Poltergeist gave it two strong STAB attacks to throw out at foes. No longer is Golurk forced to rely on coverage to deal with checks like Rotom-S and Eldegoss, as Poltergeist is a clean 2HKO on both from Choice Band sets and has a chance to OHKO the former. Offensive Stealth Rock sets are still a good option too, as Golurk's raw power lets it reliably force damage onto checks like Wishiwashi and itemless Cofagrigus for its teammates, although these sets are harder to build around because they have a tendency to make teams weaker to Swords Dance Silvally variants.

• Silvally-Ghost @ Ghost Memory
• Ability: RKS System
• EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
• Jolly Nature
• - Swords Dance
• - Multi-Attack
• - Flame Charge
• - U-turn

Although Silvally-Ghost hasn't made as much of a splash as was anticipated, primarily as a result of Silvally-Dark providing more defensive utility and at worst equivalent offensive potential, it still functions as a potent late-game cleaner and helpful spinblocker on Spikes stacking teams. The combination of the threat of Multi-Attack and U-turn is incredibly useful for Silvally-Ghost, letting it draw in Dark- and Normal-types like Alolan Persian, Skuntank, and Miltank, pivot out, and bring in the appropriate check.

Metagame Adaptations

As a result of the plethora of Ghost-types in NU and their prolonged dominance, several Pokémon have stepped up to help handle their offensive prowess and break past them. The rise in usage of Dark-types such as Silvally-Dark, Alolan Persian, Skuntank, and Liepard is perhaps the most notable trend, with Silvally-Dark particularly appreciating the decrease in Colbur Berry usage making it more adept at setting up and sweeping with its strong Multi-Attack, while Liepard can simply outspeed and KO almost every Ghost-type with its Choice Band Knock Off. Skuntank is one of the few somewhat consistent Decidueye checks, resisting both of its STAB options and forcing it out, while Alolan Persian can handily switch into Gourgeist-S, Froslass, and Swords Dance Decidueye. NU has also seen an interesting trend in Pokémon simply forgoing an item to block Poltergeist from foes like Gourgeist-S and Golurk, with Cofagrigus and Eldegoss being the most common examples.

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Final Thoughts

The impact of Ghost-types on NU this generation has been felt throughout its duration. Between the removal of Pursuit and a new toy in Poltergeist, Ghost-types have benefited greatly and likely will for the foreseeable future. Their ability to withstand changes to the metagame is remarkable to say the least; it'll be interesting to see what further changes players make to stop the spooky Pokémon from continuing their reign of dominance!

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