[OVERVIEW]
Gastly's combination of a diverse offensive movepool, complete with options such as Psychic, Thunderbolt, and Explosion, and ability to hit 18 Speed makes it a potent offensive threat in LC. What sets Gastly apart from other speedy attackers is its rare defensive utility. Its uncommon Ghost typing lets it take advantage of the exceptionally dangerous Choice Band Doduo and provides it with an immunity to Self-Destruct and Explosion. Once revealed, it dissuades the opponent from using this move as long as it isn't KOed. Levitate gives Gastly an immunity to Ground-type moves and lets it avoid being trapped by Diglett and Trapinch's Arena Trap. Finally, it has the right combination of moves and typing to take on one of LC's most threatening Pokemon, Wailmer. However, Gastly is hardly a defensive staple, with it easily OHKOed by common neutral hits like Choice Band Doduo's Drill Peck. Gastly's Speed can also fail it against certain foes, most significantly Abra, which can effortlessly revenge kill Gastly. This gives Gastly competition with Duskull, another Ghost-type with Levitate that can actually beat Abra and isn't OHKOed by Choice Band Doduo's Drill Peck, though Gastly is still generally preferred thanks to its offensive presence generally being more useful in such a fast-paced metagame.
[SET]
Mixed Offensive (Gastly) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 156 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpA / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Psychic
- Sludge Bomb / Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt / Thief
- Explosion
[SET COMMENTS]
Psychic is Gastly's most spammable attack, notably hitting opposing Poison-types like Koffing and Gastly super effectively while providing a strong hit against Diglett. Sludge Bomb deals decent damage to mixed bulky attacker Wailmer without activating Sitrus Berry, giving it high odds of being KOed by Thunderbolt afterwards. It also OHKOes Cacnea while having decent odds to do the same to Exeggcute, and it can possibly weaken other targets with its chance to poison. Shadow Ball is an alternative, also giving Gastly high, albeit slightly worse, odds of KOing mixed bulky attacker Wailmer when used before Thunderbolt. It's also Gastly's strongest move with no drawbacks against Duskull and Abra, KOing the former after Thunderbolt or Psychic and OHKOing the latter, though Gastly still loses one-on-one to them. Thunderbolt primarily hits Flying- and Water-types, damaging the aforementioned Wailmer and OHKOing foes like Doduo and Staryu. Thief is an alternative to let Gastly steal a foe's Sitrus Berry after Gastly has used up its own, notably preventing Porygon from using Recycle to stay healthy. Explosion lets Gastly sacrifice itself to OHKO most targets, including extremely bulky ones like Wailmer and Porygon. The given EV spread alongside a Hasty nature maximizes Gastly's Speed while providing enough Attack to OHKO Porygon. 76 Special Defense EVs let Gastly never be OHKOed by mixed bulky attacker Wailmer's Surf, with this matchup also being why Hasty is chosen over Naive. Of what is left over, 36 EVs are used to augment Gastly's Special Attack as much as possible, while the remainder is put into its Defense.
Gastly is a natural fit on teams looking for a switch-in to Choice Band Doduo's Normal-type moves and Self-Destruct and Explosion users such as Wailmer, Koffing, and opposing Gastly, on teams that prefer Gastly's explosive offensive power over Duskull's better defenses. Essentially the entire metagame appreciates this support, with teammates unable to outspeed and OHKO these foes like Wailmer and Chinchou especially appreciating Gastly as a teammate. It is recommended that Gastly not reveal itself too early but instead switch in when it's clear the mentioned examples are committing to their Normal-type move. Either way, if the foe sacrifices itself for nothing or Doduo locks itself into a move that does no damage, Gastly will almost always get a KO in those situations. Gastly is also an effective answer to Porygon, as being able to KO it with Explosion is usually an advantageous trade, though players must be wary of not being too predictable and risking the opponent switching in their own Ghost-type. Beyond switching into Self-Destruct, Gastly also reliably handles Wailmer, helping Pokemon that struggle against it like Diglett, Elekid, and Koffing. Gastly primarily struggles with foes that are faster than it, such as Staryu, making a teammate like Chinchou useful at checking it. Gastly has an abhorrent matchup against Abra, being outsped and OHKOed by its STAB Psychic, with Abra even able to switch into many of Gastly's moves. Gastly is generally best off staying in to stop Abra from setting up, and once it's KOed, it can let in a faster teammate, like Elekid or Diglett, or a priority user, like Doduo, to revenge kill Abra.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Destiny Bond can be used to help Gastly trade with its foe, though Explosion is preferred for this role due to its flexibility. Giga Drain and Hidden Power Grass provide coverage for Water- and Ground-types, notably being Gastly's strongest moves against the latter type and Chinchou, excluding Explosion. The latter move healing Gastly can also improve its longevity somewhat. However, Gastly generally doesn't need the recovery, and it already has other moves to hit Giga Drain's targets for good or better damage. Gastly can use Endure and Salac Berry to become a potent sweeper, one that notably is immune to Quick Attack. However, Gastly needs the opposing team heavily weakened, since it can't OHKO many foes, and running Endure forces it to give up coverage. Substitute can let Gastly take advantage of the switches it forces and ease prediction, though the loss of coverage limits its ability to take advantage of Substitute. Gastly can maximize its Special Attack and run a special attacking set using Psychic, Thunderbolt, Giga Drain, and Thief or Substitute, but this set sacrifices a powerful option in Explosion and coverage against Abra and Duskull.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Pokemon**: Abra is Gastly's worst matchup, outspeeding and OHKOing it with Psychic, though it is OHKOed by Shadow Ball and Explosion. Staryu also outspeeds Gastly and has high odds to OHKO it with Hydro Pump, though it is OHKOed by Thunderbolt. Elekid and Diglett outspeed Gastly and 2HKO it while only being 2HKOed in return. Gastly can use Explosion to OHKO them, though they both often carry Substitute. Diglett in particular has low odds to OHKO Gastly with Hidden Power Ghost, which becomes a guaranteed OHKO with Choice Band or Liechi Berry.
**Duskull**: Duskull OHKOes Gastly with Shadow Ball while only being 2HKOed by Gastly's own—which becomes a 3HKO if Duskull still has its Sitrus Berry—and doesn't even lose half its health from any of Gastly's other moves. Additonally, Duskull can switch into Gastly's Explosion while taking no damage. However, Thunderbolt and Psychic can put Duskull in range of being KOed by Shadow Ball without activating Sitrus Berry.
**Paralysis**: Once paralyzed by a foe like Porygon, Elekid, or Snubbull, Gastly loses one-on-one to the majority of the tier.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/grape-tylenol.593128/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/quinn.553008/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/aurora.109385/
Gastly's combination of a diverse offensive movepool, complete with options such as Psychic, Thunderbolt, and Explosion, and ability to hit 18 Speed makes it a potent offensive threat in LC. What sets Gastly apart from other speedy attackers is its rare defensive utility. Its uncommon Ghost typing lets it take advantage of the exceptionally dangerous Choice Band Doduo and provides it with an immunity to Self-Destruct and Explosion. Once revealed, it dissuades the opponent from using this move as long as it isn't KOed. Levitate gives Gastly an immunity to Ground-type moves and lets it avoid being trapped by Diglett and Trapinch's Arena Trap. Finally, it has the right combination of moves and typing to take on one of LC's most threatening Pokemon, Wailmer. However, Gastly is hardly a defensive staple, with it easily OHKOed by common neutral hits like Choice Band Doduo's Drill Peck. Gastly's Speed can also fail it against certain foes, most significantly Abra, which can effortlessly revenge kill Gastly. This gives Gastly competition with Duskull, another Ghost-type with Levitate that can actually beat Abra and isn't OHKOed by Choice Band Doduo's Drill Peck, though Gastly is still generally preferred thanks to its offensive presence generally being more useful in such a fast-paced metagame.
[SET]
Mixed Offensive (Gastly) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Level: 5
EVs: 156 Atk / 36 Def / 36 SpA / 76 SpD / 196 Spe
Hasty Nature
- Psychic
- Sludge Bomb / Shadow Ball
- Thunderbolt / Thief
- Explosion
[SET COMMENTS]
Psychic is Gastly's most spammable attack, notably hitting opposing Poison-types like Koffing and Gastly super effectively while providing a strong hit against Diglett. Sludge Bomb deals decent damage to mixed bulky attacker Wailmer without activating Sitrus Berry, giving it high odds of being KOed by Thunderbolt afterwards. It also OHKOes Cacnea while having decent odds to do the same to Exeggcute, and it can possibly weaken other targets with its chance to poison. Shadow Ball is an alternative, also giving Gastly high, albeit slightly worse, odds of KOing mixed bulky attacker Wailmer when used before Thunderbolt. It's also Gastly's strongest move with no drawbacks against Duskull and Abra, KOing the former after Thunderbolt or Psychic and OHKOing the latter, though Gastly still loses one-on-one to them. Thunderbolt primarily hits Flying- and Water-types, damaging the aforementioned Wailmer and OHKOing foes like Doduo and Staryu. Thief is an alternative to let Gastly steal a foe's Sitrus Berry after Gastly has used up its own, notably preventing Porygon from using Recycle to stay healthy. Explosion lets Gastly sacrifice itself to OHKO most targets, including extremely bulky ones like Wailmer and Porygon. The given EV spread alongside a Hasty nature maximizes Gastly's Speed while providing enough Attack to OHKO Porygon. 76 Special Defense EVs let Gastly never be OHKOed by mixed bulky attacker Wailmer's Surf, with this matchup also being why Hasty is chosen over Naive. Of what is left over, 36 EVs are used to augment Gastly's Special Attack as much as possible, while the remainder is put into its Defense.
Gastly is a natural fit on teams looking for a switch-in to Choice Band Doduo's Normal-type moves and Self-Destruct and Explosion users such as Wailmer, Koffing, and opposing Gastly, on teams that prefer Gastly's explosive offensive power over Duskull's better defenses. Essentially the entire metagame appreciates this support, with teammates unable to outspeed and OHKO these foes like Wailmer and Chinchou especially appreciating Gastly as a teammate. It is recommended that Gastly not reveal itself too early but instead switch in when it's clear the mentioned examples are committing to their Normal-type move. Either way, if the foe sacrifices itself for nothing or Doduo locks itself into a move that does no damage, Gastly will almost always get a KO in those situations. Gastly is also an effective answer to Porygon, as being able to KO it with Explosion is usually an advantageous trade, though players must be wary of not being too predictable and risking the opponent switching in their own Ghost-type. Beyond switching into Self-Destruct, Gastly also reliably handles Wailmer, helping Pokemon that struggle against it like Diglett, Elekid, and Koffing. Gastly primarily struggles with foes that are faster than it, such as Staryu, making a teammate like Chinchou useful at checking it. Gastly has an abhorrent matchup against Abra, being outsped and OHKOed by its STAB Psychic, with Abra even able to switch into many of Gastly's moves. Gastly is generally best off staying in to stop Abra from setting up, and once it's KOed, it can let in a faster teammate, like Elekid or Diglett, or a priority user, like Doduo, to revenge kill Abra.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Destiny Bond can be used to help Gastly trade with its foe, though Explosion is preferred for this role due to its flexibility. Giga Drain and Hidden Power Grass provide coverage for Water- and Ground-types, notably being Gastly's strongest moves against the latter type and Chinchou, excluding Explosion. The latter move healing Gastly can also improve its longevity somewhat. However, Gastly generally doesn't need the recovery, and it already has other moves to hit Giga Drain's targets for good or better damage. Gastly can use Endure and Salac Berry to become a potent sweeper, one that notably is immune to Quick Attack. However, Gastly needs the opposing team heavily weakened, since it can't OHKO many foes, and running Endure forces it to give up coverage. Substitute can let Gastly take advantage of the switches it forces and ease prediction, though the loss of coverage limits its ability to take advantage of Substitute. Gastly can maximize its Special Attack and run a special attacking set using Psychic, Thunderbolt, Giga Drain, and Thief or Substitute, but this set sacrifices a powerful option in Explosion and coverage against Abra and Duskull.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Faster Pokemon**: Abra is Gastly's worst matchup, outspeeding and OHKOing it with Psychic, though it is OHKOed by Shadow Ball and Explosion. Staryu also outspeeds Gastly and has high odds to OHKO it with Hydro Pump, though it is OHKOed by Thunderbolt. Elekid and Diglett outspeed Gastly and 2HKO it while only being 2HKOed in return. Gastly can use Explosion to OHKO them, though they both often carry Substitute. Diglett in particular has low odds to OHKO Gastly with Hidden Power Ghost, which becomes a guaranteed OHKO with Choice Band or Liechi Berry.
**Duskull**: Duskull OHKOes Gastly with Shadow Ball while only being 2HKOed by Gastly's own—which becomes a 3HKO if Duskull still has its Sitrus Berry—and doesn't even lose half its health from any of Gastly's other moves. Additonally, Duskull can switch into Gastly's Explosion while taking no damage. However, Thunderbolt and Psychic can put Duskull in range of being KOed by Shadow Ball without activating Sitrus Berry.
**Paralysis**: Once paralyzed by a foe like Porygon, Elekid, or Snubbull, Gastly loses one-on-one to the majority of the tier.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/gangsta-spongebob.535530/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/grape-tylenol.593128/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/quinn.553008/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/aurora.109385/
Last edited:
