Status: DONE. Final proofreads/nitpicks welcome
This is my first update so please bear with me. I'll be slowly updating with the team support options and and the team options section. Team support options and anything added to the set comments will be in blue. If you find anything wrong in the original write-up, or have any suggestions, please tell me.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/gengar
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[SET]
name: Standard
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Explosion
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Gengar is a major threat, and with good reason. With base 130 Special Attack and 110 Speed, as well as a great STAB type and good type coverage, Gengar is capable of dealing heavy damage to the opponent's team. Gengar also has three extremely useful immunities to Ground, Normal, and Fighting to work with, allowing it to switch in against Pokémon such as Scarf Flygon locked into Earthquake, Choice Band Machamp locked into DynamicPunch, or Choice Scarf Heatran locked into Earth Power. Shadow Ball and Focus Blast give Gengar complete type coverage and hit some of the metagame's top threats for super effective damage. Focus Blast always OHKOes max HP Tyranitar in sandstorm; however, Gengar should be cautious due to Focus Blast's shaky 70% accuracy. It also does a good amount of damage to standard Snorlax and always OHKOes min HP Heatran. Thunderbolt offers a quick OHKO against Gyarados and 2HKOes max HP Suicune.</p>
<p>Hidden Power Fire OHKOes Scizor and deals 59.34% - 70.33% to max HP Metagross. It should be noted that by running Hidden Power Fire, Gengar is forced to have an imperfect Speed IV, which means that it will almost always lose the speed tie against opposing Gengar and Latias. 40 Attack EVs and a Hasty nature (92 Attack EVs when using Timid nature) are recommended when using Explosion, allowing Gengar to OHKO standard Blissey after Stealth Rock (watch out for Protect though). Hypnosis could be used in the final slot, however its low accuracy makes it a less than ideal option. It is one of Gengar's best options against Blissey, who does not threaten Gengar immediately with Flamethrower or Ice Beam. Gengar should watch out for Thunder Wave though.</p>
<p>Without Hidden Power Fire, a lot of Steel-type Pokemon in the game - Scizor, Metagross, and Jirachi, to name a few - can come in on most of Gengar's attacks and threaten it with their STAB attacks. Metagross can easily dispatch it with Meteor Mash, while Jirachi can paralyze it with Thunder Wave or send it to oblivion with repeated hits with Iron Head. Scizor gets particular mention as it can take down Gengar with a swift Bullet Punch, or punish a fleeing one with Pursuit. Without Explosion, Blissey can entirely wall this set, paralyze Gengar with Thunder Wave, and even start weakening it with one of her special attacks. Choice Scarfed versions of Heatran can come in on Shadow Ball or get a Flash Fire boost from Hidden Power Fire and proceed to easily KO Gengar with Fire Blast.</p>
<p>Since most of Gengar's counters are Steel-types, Magnezone makes for a great partner. Not only can it trap and take down Scizor, it can also utilize a set with Magnet Rise and Substitute to deal with both Metagross and Jirachi. Gengar is also immune to the Fighting- and Ground-type attacks that are commonly directed at Magnezone, should you not want to run Magnet Rise. Ironically, a Scizor of your own can be of great help to Gengar, as it can slowly weaken Gengar's common counters with its ever-broke U-Turn attack. Scizor can also come in on Blissey without really minding Paralysis and then use Superpower for the OHKO or heavily damage a fleeing Blissey with Pursuit. A Pokemon that can take on both Heatran and the other Steel-types well is Swampert. Swampert can easily come in on most Heatran and scare it off with Earthquake or Waterfall, netting you a free turn to set-up Stealth Rock. Swampert can also deal with most of the Steel-type Pokemon that threaten Gengar with its STABed Earthquake.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Trick / Explosion
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Odd though it may seem to use Choice Scarf on something as fast as Gengar, this set has some very alluring advantages. Gengar's varied movepool lets it act as an effective revenge killer against some of the biggest threats in the game; Azelf, Tyranitar, Gyarados (including bulky varieties), and Salamence will all fall in one hit to their corresponding moves if they lack significant defensive investment or type-resisting berries such as the Wacan Berry. Choice Scarf Gengar is by no means a counter to such Pokémon, but it can easily save you the match should you make an error and let your Gyarados counter be KOed by something like Pursuit.</p>
<p>When you're finally tired of or no longer need to revenge kill any of your opponent's Pokémon, Gengar can then relieve itself of the penalties of its Choice Scarf at the expense of one of your opponent's Pokémon with the move Trick. This cripples most of Gengar's common switch-ins like Blissey and Snorlax by swapping their Leftovers for your Choice Scarf and more or less making them a burden for your opponent for the remainder of the match. Trick can also be used in lieu of Thunderbolt, as Trick cripples most targets of Thunderbolt anyway (Skarmory for example).</p>
<p>Explosion (preferably used with a Mild or Hasty nature) allows you to revenge kill a large number of Pokémon with one move as well, but don't expect to beat Blissey without a significant amount of investment in Attack or some previous damage.</p>
<p>Alternatively, this moveset is also ideal for Choice Specs Gengar. With such high Speed and Special Attack stats, Choice Specs is indeed a fearsome item on an opposing Gengar. In comparison to the Choice Scarf set, you won't be outspeeding Pokémon like Weavile or a once Dragon Danced Salamence here, but you'll pack way more power so neither can afford to switch in safely, nor can much else. Timid is the nature of choice here, as without a Choice Scarf you're going to want Gengar to be outspeeding as much as possible.</p>
<p>Along with the aforementioned Steel-types, a Pokemon that can easily deal with Choiced Gengar is Tyranitar. With Sandstorm bolstering its above average Special Defense stat, Tyranitar can easily come in on anything bar Focus Blast, and then end Gengar's sweep with Pursuit. Tyranitar, however, can be easily stopped by Swampert, while Gliscor also makes a very fine switch-in as it can take on most of Tyranitar's attacks and give it a heavy blow with Earthquake. Snorlax is in a similar boat with Tyranitar, as it can come in on Gengar with its respectable Special Defense and KO it with Pursuit.</p>
<p>Defensive Pokemon such Celebi, Jirachi, Suicune, and Cresselia can all come in on resisted hits and then start setting-up as they force Gengar to switch out. Celebi can paralyze one of your Pokemon, Jirachi and Suicune can start boosting with Calm Mind, and Cresselia can set up both Reflect and Light Screen to weaken your attacks and help set-up for an eventual sweep. As such, having a Pokemon that can deal with such threats, such as a Suicune of your own, would be necessary. As they start setting-up, Suicune can set-up alongside of them, Roar them out, and then get ready to sweep their team. Suicune is also capable of taking on the Steel-type moves that Gengar hates with ease, given its resistance and naturally high Defense.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute + Focus Punch
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Focus Punch
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Hypnosis / Explosion
item: Expert Belt
nature: Hasty
evs: 100 Atk / 156 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Substitute allows Gengar to deal with the Pokémon that commonly switch into it — namely Blissey, Scizor, and Snorlax.</p>
<p>Substitute not only blocks status and eases prediction, but allows Gengar to Focus Punch without risk of being hit. Focus Punch with the given EVs and item deals 63.29% - 74.81% to 0 HP / 252 Def Calm Blissey and 53.08% - 62.46% to 252 HP / 252 Bold Blissey, both a 2HKO even when factoring in Leftovers recovery (however, Bold Blissey can avoid the 2HKO with Protect). Focus Punch also deals 62.23% - 73.37% to min HP Heatran, meaning Stealth Rock followed by Focus Punch and Shadow Ball has a small chance of KOing.</p>
<p>Normally, Gengar should Substitute first turn, allowing it to OHKO Scizor hoping to OHKO with Bullet Punch or Forretress with Gyro Ball. Once behind a Substitute, Gengar can more safely use Hypnosis without fear of retaliation. Once the opponent is safely asleep and Gengar is behind its Substitute, it can begin to wreak havoc with the unresisted type coverage provided by Focus Punch and Shadow Ball.</p>
<p>Expert Belt is chosen over Leftovers for one main reason: it saves Gengar from having to transfer a significant amount of Special Attack EVs into Attack (because Blissey and Snorlax are hit super effectively by Focus Punch), which would significantly lower Shadow Ball's damage on common neutral threats like Salamence and Gyarados. The lack of any kind of recovery is a non-issue too because Gengar can switch in numerous times on one of its many immunities (hopefully only ever taking damage from Stealth Rock).</p>
<p>Explosion can be used in the final slot in place of Hidden Power Fire, allowing Gengar to go out with a literal bang, dealing more damage than normal due to the investment in Attack.</p>
<p>Although this set can be dangerous, it doesn't have the raw power that the standard set has. The bulky Pokemon mentioned earlier all fair well against this set, although they should to be wary of being put to sleep by Hypnosis. That said, another Pokemon that can be very troublesome to this set is Spiritomb. Its dual Ghost- and Dark-typing makes it both immune to Focus Punch and neutral to Shadow Ball, and with its respectable Special Defense it can take on Gengar's attacks with ease and use Pursuit or Dark Pulse to inflict massive damage. A weakened Spiritomb can also take on Gengar with Sucker Punch, possibly finishing the latter off.</p>
<p>Heatran can usually take on most of the bulky Steel-types that this Gengar has trouble with. Since Spiritomb occasionally carries Will-O-Wisp, Heatran can come in and grab a Fire Flash boost and then start spamming over-powered Fire Blasts that can open holes in your opponents team, possibly allowing you to end the game with an easy win.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute Special
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Hypnosis
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Substitute is an excellent move on Gengar and serves a multitude of purposes. On something as frail and susceptible to Pursuit and priority attacks as Gengar, having an "extra life" beyond those meager defenses is a great asset. It helps it deal with Tyranitar and Scizor, two of its greatest threats, by scouting their switch in with Substitute and then hitting them with the respective 4x super effective attack. Substitute also allows you to evade status, meaning you don't need to fear paralysis from Celebi, among others.</p>
<p>Shadow Ball and Focus Blast pair up to give Gengar the unresisted Ghost / Fighting coverage, and Focus Blast in particular is essential for dealing with any Tyranitar or Weavile that try to come in and Pursuit you. Hidden Power Fire in the last slot grants Gengar a quick OHKO on Scizor and Forretress, as well as giving it a way of hurting Skarmory without having to risk Focus Blast's poor accuracy. However, another very viable option for the last slot is Hypnosis. With its unreliable 60% accuracy, it is a risky move to try and use on a standard Gengar set. Substitute, however, effectively gives Gengar two shots at sleeping an opponent, and Hypnosis has a reasonable 84% chance to hit at least once out of two uses. The fact that it is so unexpected from Gengar anymore makes it all the more effective. Hidden Power Fire is useful but not essential, as Focus Blast hits Scizor plenty hard anyway, meaning Hypnosis is a useable option as well. Alternatively, you can play this Gengar just like the standard sweeper set but with Substitute, and so go with Thunderbolt in the last slot to get the super effective hit on bulky waters and Gyarados.</p>
<p>Even without a specific boosting item, Gengar gets the KOs it needs to. Focus Blast OHKOes 252 HP Tyranitar after taking Stealth Rock damage, and the bulkier 252 HP / 216 SpD Careful Tyranitar won't be OHKOed even by a Life Orb Focus Blast. However, this Gengar has the advantage of Substitute, usually giving it two shots against Tyranitar if Focus Blast's accuracy lets it down the first time. Leftovers provides a reliable source of healing for Gengar and helps offset the HP loss from Substitute. It also means that in a sandstorm, Gengar won't be losing obscenely large amounts of health to residual damage. There are other item choices for this set, such as Wide Lens to slightly increase the chances of Hypnosis and Focus Blast hitting, and Petaya Berry to turn Gengar into a deadly sweeper when at low health, but usually Leftovers is the best item to have. The advantages of using this Gengar over a similar set utilizing Substitute and Focus Punch are that it is not required to run Expert Belt and split its offensive EVs, and it can use Focus Blast to revenge kill threatening Pokémon such as Lucario and non-Scarf Heatran.</p>
<p>Most of what deals with the Focus Punch + Substitute set above fairs well against this set. Special mention goes to Blissey, as it can take on Focus Blast with ease and then recover the damage. Another great Pokemon capable of dealing with Gengar is a specially defensive Zapdos. It can come in on Gengar, get rid of any damage it has with Roost, set up Light Screen, and proceed to deal with Gengar with its STAB attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: MYSTICgar
move 1: Protect
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, and Hidden Power Fire give Gengar great coverage, and Protect allows for general scouting. Life Orb is necessary, as many Choice Band Tyranitar run a lot of Special Defense, and without Life Orb the OHKO with Focus Blast is non-existent. The EVs maximize Speed so that Gengar can both outspeed Adamant Choice Scarf Scizor and Infernape and have a 50% chance of outspeeding other Hidden Power Fire Gengar.</p>
<p>Protect allows Gengar to defeat most versions of the two Pokemon that give it the most difficulty in the Platinum metagame: Pursuit Tyranitar and Bullet Punch + Pursuit Scizor. After Gengar has switched in and Tyranitar or Scizor have then switched in as well, Gengar will first use Protect to see if Tyranitar or Scizor uses Pursuit. If either Pokemon uses Pursuit, Gengar will use the proper move to OHKO it. If neither Pokemon uses Pursuit, Gengar can safely switch out. Note that even with Protect, Gengar needs to remain wary of non-Choiced Scizor with Bullet Punch and Pursuit and Choice Scarf Tyranitar with Pursuit.</p>
<p>This specific version of Gengar acts as a great lure for many of Gengar's counters. As such, having a Pokemon that benefits from things like Scizor eliminated makes for a great partner. Gengar lures out and eliminates Scizor, for example, and then Pokemon like Latias can sweep easier thanks to one of its main counters eliminated. Latias can also greatly enjoy Tyranitar being significantly weakened or even eliminated by a a super effective Focus Blast from Gengar. Other offensive Pokemon such as Salamence and Tyranitar can significantly benefit from there counters weakened, and thus are great partners.</p>
<p>It should be noted that Pokemon that can beat the aforementioned counters should be also considered as partners for this Gengar. For example, Gengar can OHKO a Scizor with Hidden Power Fire if it uses Pursiut, but will need a Magnezone to trap and eliminate a Scizor that is using Bullet Punch.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Gengar is a fast and destructive Pokemon, albiet very frail. Usually, any neutral STAB attack from the opponent can take out a big chunk of Gengar's health, and maybe even OHKO it. That said, Gengar tends to benefit from almost any Pokemon that can deal with or at least weaken its counters. Stealth Rock can also help Gengar secure some OHKOes or 2HKOes that would otherwise be hard to get. Gengar also has a great typing and one of the most useful abilities in the game - Levitate. Having an immunity to some of the most abundant moves in the game - Earthquake and Earth Power - means that Gengar generally tends to come in on its immunities rather than on resisted hits. This means that not only Gengar but also most of its Steel-type partners can benifit from its immunities to Ground- and Fighting-type moves.</p>
<p>As previously mentioned, most of Gengar's partners tend to be Steel-type Pokemon. Magnezone is one of Gengar's most beneficial partners as not only can it eliminate most Steel-types that give Gengar lots of trouble, but also resists Steel-, Ghost-, and Dark-type moves that hit Gengar for super-effective damage. Gengar is also immune to the Fighting- and Ground-type attacks that Magnezone fears. Most of the aforementioned Steel-type Pokemon are great partners to Gengar as they can at least weaken most of its counters, possibly allowing an almost unhindered sweep.</p>
<p>On the offensive side of the game, Pokemon like Infernape and Salamence are great partners to Gengar, as they are fantastic wall-breakers that can severly cripple most of Gengar's counters. For example, Infernape can easily OHKO Tyranitar, Scizor, Blissey, Snorlax, and most other general walls that Gengar has trouble with. Scizor is also another great partner that can deal with most of the above Pokemon. Gengar Pokemon like Latias have common counters, meaning that if one of them can at least weaken its counters, the other Pokemon can have a field day against the opponent's team.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Sludge Bomb was left out of the main sets, as it offers rather poor type coverage despite being Gengar’s most powerful attack. Most Grass-types won't enjoy a hit from Shadow Ball (especially Celebi), and are unlikely to stay in on Gengar, as Gengar resists their main STAB attacks.</p>
<p>Gengar has Energy Ball and Giga Drain to hammer Swampert and Rhyperior, if either is a problem for your team. Psychic hurts Fighters more than Gengar's other attacks, but most of them won't enjoy boosted Shadow Balls, so it still remains a lesser option.</p>
<p>Mean Look can trap an opponent so you can Explode on them and Perish Song can phaze opponents. Mismagius is better than Gengar in this respect due to Mismagius' higher Special Defense, but Gengar can employ Hypnosis (and it also has more Speed than Mismagius). Taunt can prevent Blissey from firing off Thunder Wave and Toxic, allowing you to switch in your physical attackers without fearing status. Will-O-Wisp can hit Tyranitar and Scizor hoping to switch in; however, it is an option better left to any of the Rotom Appliances. Destiny Bond works well in place of Explosion if you are sure that Gengar will be KOed with the following attack.</p>
<p>Because of Gengar's plethora of attacks, Expert Belt is a fine option. It allows Gengar to hit harder, but without the 10% recoil that Life Orb inflicts. If you're playing under item clause, you can use Black Sludge over Leftovers.</p>
[EVs]
<p>341 Speed (216 EVs) outruns max Speed Adamant Dugtrio and Timid Mismagius. 347 beats max Speed Infernape, while maxing your Speed gives you the chance to win the coin flip against opposing Gengar. 204 Speed EVs is a good point to aim for on Choice Scarf sets so Gengar will outrun Adamant once-Dragon Danced Salamence and positive natured Choice Scarfed base 90 Pokémon, though max Speed is generally preferable to tie with other Choice Scarf Gengar. A Timid nature allows you to outspeed up to positive-natured base 105 Pokémon. You can however opt to use a Hasty or Naive nature if you want to use Explosion.</p>
<p>An Attack stat of 200 (Hasty or Naive nature, 136 EVs) is required to guarantee an OHKO on 252 HP / 252 Defense Bold Blissey with a Life Orb Explosion.</p>
<p>Gengar can invest 72 EVs in Defense allowing it to always survive CB Scizor Bullet Punch assuming it has not taken any prior damage.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Gengar is one of the most unpredictable Pokémon you will encounter. It has an excellent movepool backed up with great Speed and impressive Special Attack. Although Gengar's defenses are awful, its immunity to the popular Ground- and Fighting-type attacks (and Normal-type ones too) allows it plenty of opportunities to switch in and wreak havoc.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Anything with Pursuit will really ruin Gengar, especially choiced variants, although Weavile and Tyranitar fear Focus Blast and Metagross won't enjoy a burn or repeated hits from Shadow Ball / Focus Blast (which can 2HKO with Choice Specs). If Tyranitar has 252 HP / 216 Special Defense and a Careful nature it will always survive Timid Gengar's Life Orb Focus Blast. If it has 252 HP / 128 Special Defense, it will survive Modest Choice Scarf Gengar all the time. Beware of Choice Scarf Heracross' Pursuit too. Spiritomb has both Pursuit and Sucker Punch and plenty of Special Defense to absorb Gengar's attacks. Be wary of Sucker Punch and / or Pursuit from various other less common opponents as well, like Absol, Drapion, Dugtrio, and Toxicroak.</p>
<p>Scizor also makes an excellent counter to Gengar as it resists Shadow Ball. Once in, Scizor can either use Bullet Punch if Gengar stays in, or Pursuit a fleeing one.</p>
<p>Blissey does well against most sets; she can paralyze Gengar with Thunder Wave or wear it down with whichever special attack (Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt) she happens to carry. Blissey can be easily shut down by Tricking a Choice item onto her, though. Snorlax with Crunch does a fine job, especially Sleep Talk versions as they can absorb Hypnosis. Snorlax can also put the hurt on Gengar by packing Pursuit. Beware of Focus Punch, Focus Blast, and Explosion though. Jirachi and Bronzong both do well with their high Special Defense and neutrality to most of Gengar's attacks. Heatran (especially Choice Scarf versions) can switch into everything barring a Fighting-type attack, and gets a boost from Hidden Power Fire. Even without a boost, Fire Blast will OHKO standard Gengar 100% of the time when accounting for Stealth Rock damage.</p>
<p>Gengar's attacking power and incredible movepool mean that countering it is a rather daunting prospect. Thankfully, Gengar is incredibly fragile and most neutral attacks will at least score a 2HKO.</p>
___________________________
Please don't hesitate to point out anything wrong or any suggestions.
Thanks for your time.
This is my first update so please bear with me. I'll be slowly updating with the team support options and and the team options section. Team support options and anything added to the set comments will be in blue. If you find anything wrong in the original write-up, or have any suggestions, please tell me.
http://www.smogon.com/dp/pokemon/gengar
_____________________________
[SET]
name: Standard
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Explosion
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Gengar is a major threat, and with good reason. With base 130 Special Attack and 110 Speed, as well as a great STAB type and good type coverage, Gengar is capable of dealing heavy damage to the opponent's team. Gengar also has three extremely useful immunities to Ground, Normal, and Fighting to work with, allowing it to switch in against Pokémon such as Scarf Flygon locked into Earthquake, Choice Band Machamp locked into DynamicPunch, or Choice Scarf Heatran locked into Earth Power. Shadow Ball and Focus Blast give Gengar complete type coverage and hit some of the metagame's top threats for super effective damage. Focus Blast always OHKOes max HP Tyranitar in sandstorm; however, Gengar should be cautious due to Focus Blast's shaky 70% accuracy. It also does a good amount of damage to standard Snorlax and always OHKOes min HP Heatran. Thunderbolt offers a quick OHKO against Gyarados and 2HKOes max HP Suicune.</p>
<p>Hidden Power Fire OHKOes Scizor and deals 59.34% - 70.33% to max HP Metagross. It should be noted that by running Hidden Power Fire, Gengar is forced to have an imperfect Speed IV, which means that it will almost always lose the speed tie against opposing Gengar and Latias. 40 Attack EVs and a Hasty nature (92 Attack EVs when using Timid nature) are recommended when using Explosion, allowing Gengar to OHKO standard Blissey after Stealth Rock (watch out for Protect though). Hypnosis could be used in the final slot, however its low accuracy makes it a less than ideal option. It is one of Gengar's best options against Blissey, who does not threaten Gengar immediately with Flamethrower or Ice Beam. Gengar should watch out for Thunder Wave though.</p>
<p>Without Hidden Power Fire, a lot of Steel-type Pokemon in the game - Scizor, Metagross, and Jirachi, to name a few - can come in on most of Gengar's attacks and threaten it with their STAB attacks. Metagross can easily dispatch it with Meteor Mash, while Jirachi can paralyze it with Thunder Wave or send it to oblivion with repeated hits with Iron Head. Scizor gets particular mention as it can take down Gengar with a swift Bullet Punch, or punish a fleeing one with Pursuit. Without Explosion, Blissey can entirely wall this set, paralyze Gengar with Thunder Wave, and even start weakening it with one of her special attacks. Choice Scarfed versions of Heatran can come in on Shadow Ball or get a Flash Fire boost from Hidden Power Fire and proceed to easily KO Gengar with Fire Blast.</p>
<p>Since most of Gengar's counters are Steel-types, Magnezone makes for a great partner. Not only can it trap and take down Scizor, it can also utilize a set with Magnet Rise and Substitute to deal with both Metagross and Jirachi. Gengar is also immune to the Fighting- and Ground-type attacks that are commonly directed at Magnezone, should you not want to run Magnet Rise. Ironically, a Scizor of your own can be of great help to Gengar, as it can slowly weaken Gengar's common counters with its ever-broke U-Turn attack. Scizor can also come in on Blissey without really minding Paralysis and then use Superpower for the OHKO or heavily damage a fleeing Blissey with Pursuit. A Pokemon that can take on both Heatran and the other Steel-types well is Swampert. Swampert can easily come in on most Heatran and scare it off with Earthquake or Waterfall, netting you a free turn to set-up Stealth Rock. Swampert can also deal with most of the Steel-type Pokemon that threaten Gengar with its STABed Earthquake.</p>
[SET]
name: Choice
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Trick / Explosion
item: Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
nature: Modest / Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Odd though it may seem to use Choice Scarf on something as fast as Gengar, this set has some very alluring advantages. Gengar's varied movepool lets it act as an effective revenge killer against some of the biggest threats in the game; Azelf, Tyranitar, Gyarados (including bulky varieties), and Salamence will all fall in one hit to their corresponding moves if they lack significant defensive investment or type-resisting berries such as the Wacan Berry. Choice Scarf Gengar is by no means a counter to such Pokémon, but it can easily save you the match should you make an error and let your Gyarados counter be KOed by something like Pursuit.</p>
<p>When you're finally tired of or no longer need to revenge kill any of your opponent's Pokémon, Gengar can then relieve itself of the penalties of its Choice Scarf at the expense of one of your opponent's Pokémon with the move Trick. This cripples most of Gengar's common switch-ins like Blissey and Snorlax by swapping their Leftovers for your Choice Scarf and more or less making them a burden for your opponent for the remainder of the match. Trick can also be used in lieu of Thunderbolt, as Trick cripples most targets of Thunderbolt anyway (Skarmory for example).</p>
<p>Explosion (preferably used with a Mild or Hasty nature) allows you to revenge kill a large number of Pokémon with one move as well, but don't expect to beat Blissey without a significant amount of investment in Attack or some previous damage.</p>
<p>Alternatively, this moveset is also ideal for Choice Specs Gengar. With such high Speed and Special Attack stats, Choice Specs is indeed a fearsome item on an opposing Gengar. In comparison to the Choice Scarf set, you won't be outspeeding Pokémon like Weavile or a once Dragon Danced Salamence here, but you'll pack way more power so neither can afford to switch in safely, nor can much else. Timid is the nature of choice here, as without a Choice Scarf you're going to want Gengar to be outspeeding as much as possible.</p>
<p>Along with the aforementioned Steel-types, a Pokemon that can easily deal with Choiced Gengar is Tyranitar. With Sandstorm bolstering its above average Special Defense stat, Tyranitar can easily come in on anything bar Focus Blast, and then end Gengar's sweep with Pursuit. Tyranitar, however, can be easily stopped by Swampert, while Gliscor also makes a very fine switch-in as it can take on most of Tyranitar's attacks and give it a heavy blow with Earthquake. Snorlax is in a similar boat with Tyranitar, as it can come in on Gengar with its respectable Special Defense and KO it with Pursuit.</p>
<p>Defensive Pokemon such Celebi, Jirachi, Suicune, and Cresselia can all come in on resisted hits and then start setting-up as they force Gengar to switch out. Celebi can paralyze one of your Pokemon, Jirachi and Suicune can start boosting with Calm Mind, and Cresselia can set up both Reflect and Light Screen to weaken your attacks and help set-up for an eventual sweep. As such, having a Pokemon that can deal with such threats, such as a Suicune of your own, would be necessary. As they start setting-up, Suicune can set-up alongside of them, Roar them out, and then get ready to sweep their team. Suicune is also capable of taking on the Steel-type moves that Gengar hates with ease, given its resistance and naturally high Defense.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute + Focus Punch
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Substitute
move 3: Focus Punch
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Hypnosis / Explosion
item: Expert Belt
nature: Hasty
evs: 100 Atk / 156 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Substitute allows Gengar to deal with the Pokémon that commonly switch into it — namely Blissey, Scizor, and Snorlax.</p>
<p>Substitute not only blocks status and eases prediction, but allows Gengar to Focus Punch without risk of being hit. Focus Punch with the given EVs and item deals 63.29% - 74.81% to 0 HP / 252 Def Calm Blissey and 53.08% - 62.46% to 252 HP / 252 Bold Blissey, both a 2HKO even when factoring in Leftovers recovery (however, Bold Blissey can avoid the 2HKO with Protect). Focus Punch also deals 62.23% - 73.37% to min HP Heatran, meaning Stealth Rock followed by Focus Punch and Shadow Ball has a small chance of KOing.</p>
<p>Normally, Gengar should Substitute first turn, allowing it to OHKO Scizor hoping to OHKO with Bullet Punch or Forretress with Gyro Ball. Once behind a Substitute, Gengar can more safely use Hypnosis without fear of retaliation. Once the opponent is safely asleep and Gengar is behind its Substitute, it can begin to wreak havoc with the unresisted type coverage provided by Focus Punch and Shadow Ball.</p>
<p>Expert Belt is chosen over Leftovers for one main reason: it saves Gengar from having to transfer a significant amount of Special Attack EVs into Attack (because Blissey and Snorlax are hit super effectively by Focus Punch), which would significantly lower Shadow Ball's damage on common neutral threats like Salamence and Gyarados. The lack of any kind of recovery is a non-issue too because Gengar can switch in numerous times on one of its many immunities (hopefully only ever taking damage from Stealth Rock).</p>
<p>Explosion can be used in the final slot in place of Hidden Power Fire, allowing Gengar to go out with a literal bang, dealing more damage than normal due to the investment in Attack.</p>
<p>Although this set can be dangerous, it doesn't have the raw power that the standard set has. The bulky Pokemon mentioned earlier all fair well against this set, although they should to be wary of being put to sleep by Hypnosis. That said, another Pokemon that can be very troublesome to this set is Spiritomb. Its dual Ghost- and Dark-typing makes it both immune to Focus Punch and neutral to Shadow Ball, and with its respectable Special Defense it can take on Gengar's attacks with ease and use Pursuit or Dark Pulse to inflict massive damage. A weakened Spiritomb can also take on Gengar with Sucker Punch, possibly finishing the latter off.</p>
<p>Heatran can usually take on most of the bulky Steel-types that this Gengar has trouble with. Since Spiritomb occasionally carries Will-O-Wisp, Heatran can come in and grab a Fire Flash boost and then start spamming over-powered Fire Blasts that can open holes in your opponents team, possibly allowing you to end the game with an easy win.</p>
[SET]
name: Substitute Special
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Fire / Hypnosis
item: Leftovers
nature: Timid
evs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Substitute is an excellent move on Gengar and serves a multitude of purposes. On something as frail and susceptible to Pursuit and priority attacks as Gengar, having an "extra life" beyond those meager defenses is a great asset. It helps it deal with Tyranitar and Scizor, two of its greatest threats, by scouting their switch in with Substitute and then hitting them with the respective 4x super effective attack. Substitute also allows you to evade status, meaning you don't need to fear paralysis from Celebi, among others.</p>
<p>Shadow Ball and Focus Blast pair up to give Gengar the unresisted Ghost / Fighting coverage, and Focus Blast in particular is essential for dealing with any Tyranitar or Weavile that try to come in and Pursuit you. Hidden Power Fire in the last slot grants Gengar a quick OHKO on Scizor and Forretress, as well as giving it a way of hurting Skarmory without having to risk Focus Blast's poor accuracy. However, another very viable option for the last slot is Hypnosis. With its unreliable 60% accuracy, it is a risky move to try and use on a standard Gengar set. Substitute, however, effectively gives Gengar two shots at sleeping an opponent, and Hypnosis has a reasonable 84% chance to hit at least once out of two uses. The fact that it is so unexpected from Gengar anymore makes it all the more effective. Hidden Power Fire is useful but not essential, as Focus Blast hits Scizor plenty hard anyway, meaning Hypnosis is a useable option as well. Alternatively, you can play this Gengar just like the standard sweeper set but with Substitute, and so go with Thunderbolt in the last slot to get the super effective hit on bulky waters and Gyarados.</p>
<p>Even without a specific boosting item, Gengar gets the KOs it needs to. Focus Blast OHKOes 252 HP Tyranitar after taking Stealth Rock damage, and the bulkier 252 HP / 216 SpD Careful Tyranitar won't be OHKOed even by a Life Orb Focus Blast. However, this Gengar has the advantage of Substitute, usually giving it two shots against Tyranitar if Focus Blast's accuracy lets it down the first time. Leftovers provides a reliable source of healing for Gengar and helps offset the HP loss from Substitute. It also means that in a sandstorm, Gengar won't be losing obscenely large amounts of health to residual damage. There are other item choices for this set, such as Wide Lens to slightly increase the chances of Hypnosis and Focus Blast hitting, and Petaya Berry to turn Gengar into a deadly sweeper when at low health, but usually Leftovers is the best item to have. The advantages of using this Gengar over a similar set utilizing Substitute and Focus Punch are that it is not required to run Expert Belt and split its offensive EVs, and it can use Focus Blast to revenge kill threatening Pokémon such as Lucario and non-Scarf Heatran.</p>
<p>Most of what deals with the Focus Punch + Substitute set above fairs well against this set. Special mention goes to Blissey, as it can take on Focus Blast with ease and then recover the damage. Another great Pokemon capable of dealing with Gengar is a specially defensive Zapdos. It can come in on Gengar, get rid of any damage it has with Roost, set up Light Screen, and proceed to deal with Gengar with its STAB attacks.</p>
[SET]
name: MYSTICgar
move 1: Protect
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Hidden Power Fire
item: Life Orb
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Shadow Ball, Focus Blast, and Hidden Power Fire give Gengar great coverage, and Protect allows for general scouting. Life Orb is necessary, as many Choice Band Tyranitar run a lot of Special Defense, and without Life Orb the OHKO with Focus Blast is non-existent. The EVs maximize Speed so that Gengar can both outspeed Adamant Choice Scarf Scizor and Infernape and have a 50% chance of outspeeding other Hidden Power Fire Gengar.</p>
<p>Protect allows Gengar to defeat most versions of the two Pokemon that give it the most difficulty in the Platinum metagame: Pursuit Tyranitar and Bullet Punch + Pursuit Scizor. After Gengar has switched in and Tyranitar or Scizor have then switched in as well, Gengar will first use Protect to see if Tyranitar or Scizor uses Pursuit. If either Pokemon uses Pursuit, Gengar will use the proper move to OHKO it. If neither Pokemon uses Pursuit, Gengar can safely switch out. Note that even with Protect, Gengar needs to remain wary of non-Choiced Scizor with Bullet Punch and Pursuit and Choice Scarf Tyranitar with Pursuit.</p>
<p>This specific version of Gengar acts as a great lure for many of Gengar's counters. As such, having a Pokemon that benefits from things like Scizor eliminated makes for a great partner. Gengar lures out and eliminates Scizor, for example, and then Pokemon like Latias can sweep easier thanks to one of its main counters eliminated. Latias can also greatly enjoy Tyranitar being significantly weakened or even eliminated by a a super effective Focus Blast from Gengar. Other offensive Pokemon such as Salamence and Tyranitar can significantly benefit from there counters weakened, and thus are great partners.</p>
<p>It should be noted that Pokemon that can beat the aforementioned counters should be also considered as partners for this Gengar. For example, Gengar can OHKO a Scizor with Hidden Power Fire if it uses Pursiut, but will need a Magnezone to trap and eliminate a Scizor that is using Bullet Punch.</p>
[Team Options]
<p>Gengar is a fast and destructive Pokemon, albiet very frail. Usually, any neutral STAB attack from the opponent can take out a big chunk of Gengar's health, and maybe even OHKO it. That said, Gengar tends to benefit from almost any Pokemon that can deal with or at least weaken its counters. Stealth Rock can also help Gengar secure some OHKOes or 2HKOes that would otherwise be hard to get. Gengar also has a great typing and one of the most useful abilities in the game - Levitate. Having an immunity to some of the most abundant moves in the game - Earthquake and Earth Power - means that Gengar generally tends to come in on its immunities rather than on resisted hits. This means that not only Gengar but also most of its Steel-type partners can benifit from its immunities to Ground- and Fighting-type moves.</p>
<p>As previously mentioned, most of Gengar's partners tend to be Steel-type Pokemon. Magnezone is one of Gengar's most beneficial partners as not only can it eliminate most Steel-types that give Gengar lots of trouble, but also resists Steel-, Ghost-, and Dark-type moves that hit Gengar for super-effective damage. Gengar is also immune to the Fighting- and Ground-type attacks that Magnezone fears. Most of the aforementioned Steel-type Pokemon are great partners to Gengar as they can at least weaken most of its counters, possibly allowing an almost unhindered sweep.</p>
<p>On the offensive side of the game, Pokemon like Infernape and Salamence are great partners to Gengar, as they are fantastic wall-breakers that can severly cripple most of Gengar's counters. For example, Infernape can easily OHKO Tyranitar, Scizor, Blissey, Snorlax, and most other general walls that Gengar has trouble with. Scizor is also another great partner that can deal with most of the above Pokemon. Gengar Pokemon like Latias have common counters, meaning that if one of them can at least weaken its counters, the other Pokemon can have a field day against the opponent's team.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Sludge Bomb was left out of the main sets, as it offers rather poor type coverage despite being Gengar’s most powerful attack. Most Grass-types won't enjoy a hit from Shadow Ball (especially Celebi), and are unlikely to stay in on Gengar, as Gengar resists their main STAB attacks.</p>
<p>Gengar has Energy Ball and Giga Drain to hammer Swampert and Rhyperior, if either is a problem for your team. Psychic hurts Fighters more than Gengar's other attacks, but most of them won't enjoy boosted Shadow Balls, so it still remains a lesser option.</p>
<p>Mean Look can trap an opponent so you can Explode on them and Perish Song can phaze opponents. Mismagius is better than Gengar in this respect due to Mismagius' higher Special Defense, but Gengar can employ Hypnosis (and it also has more Speed than Mismagius). Taunt can prevent Blissey from firing off Thunder Wave and Toxic, allowing you to switch in your physical attackers without fearing status. Will-O-Wisp can hit Tyranitar and Scizor hoping to switch in; however, it is an option better left to any of the Rotom Appliances. Destiny Bond works well in place of Explosion if you are sure that Gengar will be KOed with the following attack.</p>
<p>Because of Gengar's plethora of attacks, Expert Belt is a fine option. It allows Gengar to hit harder, but without the 10% recoil that Life Orb inflicts. If you're playing under item clause, you can use Black Sludge over Leftovers.</p>
[EVs]
<p>341 Speed (216 EVs) outruns max Speed Adamant Dugtrio and Timid Mismagius. 347 beats max Speed Infernape, while maxing your Speed gives you the chance to win the coin flip against opposing Gengar. 204 Speed EVs is a good point to aim for on Choice Scarf sets so Gengar will outrun Adamant once-Dragon Danced Salamence and positive natured Choice Scarfed base 90 Pokémon, though max Speed is generally preferable to tie with other Choice Scarf Gengar. A Timid nature allows you to outspeed up to positive-natured base 105 Pokémon. You can however opt to use a Hasty or Naive nature if you want to use Explosion.</p>
<p>An Attack stat of 200 (Hasty or Naive nature, 136 EVs) is required to guarantee an OHKO on 252 HP / 252 Defense Bold Blissey with a Life Orb Explosion.</p>
<p>Gengar can invest 72 EVs in Defense allowing it to always survive CB Scizor Bullet Punch assuming it has not taken any prior damage.</p>
[Opinion]
<p>Gengar is one of the most unpredictable Pokémon you will encounter. It has an excellent movepool backed up with great Speed and impressive Special Attack. Although Gengar's defenses are awful, its immunity to the popular Ground- and Fighting-type attacks (and Normal-type ones too) allows it plenty of opportunities to switch in and wreak havoc.</p>
[Counters]
<p>Anything with Pursuit will really ruin Gengar, especially choiced variants, although Weavile and Tyranitar fear Focus Blast and Metagross won't enjoy a burn or repeated hits from Shadow Ball / Focus Blast (which can 2HKO with Choice Specs). If Tyranitar has 252 HP / 216 Special Defense and a Careful nature it will always survive Timid Gengar's Life Orb Focus Blast. If it has 252 HP / 128 Special Defense, it will survive Modest Choice Scarf Gengar all the time. Beware of Choice Scarf Heracross' Pursuit too. Spiritomb has both Pursuit and Sucker Punch and plenty of Special Defense to absorb Gengar's attacks. Be wary of Sucker Punch and / or Pursuit from various other less common opponents as well, like Absol, Drapion, Dugtrio, and Toxicroak.</p>
<p>Scizor also makes an excellent counter to Gengar as it resists Shadow Ball. Once in, Scizor can either use Bullet Punch if Gengar stays in, or Pursuit a fleeing one.</p>
<p>Blissey does well against most sets; she can paralyze Gengar with Thunder Wave or wear it down with whichever special attack (Ice Beam, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt) she happens to carry. Blissey can be easily shut down by Tricking a Choice item onto her, though. Snorlax with Crunch does a fine job, especially Sleep Talk versions as they can absorb Hypnosis. Snorlax can also put the hurt on Gengar by packing Pursuit. Beware of Focus Punch, Focus Blast, and Explosion though. Jirachi and Bronzong both do well with their high Special Defense and neutrality to most of Gengar's attacks. Heatran (especially Choice Scarf versions) can switch into everything barring a Fighting-type attack, and gets a boost from Hidden Power Fire. Even without a boost, Fire Blast will OHKO standard Gengar 100% of the time when accounting for Stealth Rock damage.</p>
<p>Gengar's attacking power and incredible movepool mean that countering it is a rather daunting prospect. Thankfully, Gengar is incredibly fragile and most neutral attacks will at least score a 2HKO.</p>
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