Ok so Gengar is my favorite pokemon. I've been trying since the beginning of this gen to get it to work, and when I first started I assumed it would be just a meme. And like it kind of is. But the more I played with it (it's been on every team I've made since this gen came out), overall it fared a lot better than I expected, and I feel like I've figured out the like one single niche that it can have in the tier. When I say niche, I'm obviously saying I want to use a Gengar that isn't literally just an inferior version of Dragapult or Gholdengo, so I'll entertain changes to most of the team but I'm not switching to scarf Gengar. At that point, I'm just using a worse version of other ghosts, the only difference being "it looks cool", so dude at that point I may as well just run scarf Haunter. The Gengar set has to actually add value on the merit of being a Gengar, it has to do something to differentiate it from the others. And I honestly think I've figured out a way to accomplish that. I'm not like an amazing player or anything so don't take this as bragging because I know it's not like super impressive, but the team has been performing well enough to get me up to 1700, which is fairly decent for somebody who's not a super strong player using a pretty non-meta team. So many people write off Gengar as basically useless, I just kind of wanted to show there's potential for it to have a place. Maybe not like a sleeper S tier threat, but I certainly think it's merits are being overlooked.
Team: https://pokepast.es/a58b273498f7f0df
Replays where Gengar sweeps:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1782072762
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1782071312
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1782369263
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1784199011-jdq6ywbgy0yeeqajhs8hflfpfw4e0d0pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1784203637 (focus blast sucks :( just pretend we hit)
Normal Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1784176936 (got unfortunate turn 1 hax but it was overall a solid match. Shows how tough Breloom can be vs this team)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1784172157 (dealing with dragonite)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1784206572-cye6jkpe70n2lw7xnrwl8nsy8f46cd0pw (stall matchup, guy tells me to use Gholdengo then loses to Gengar)
The team was built off kind of a basic premise. I wanted to use Gengar+Dragapult and kind of spam shadow ball, depending on the matchup I can trade one to make breaking with the other easier. So obviously there's going to be a lot of overlap of mons they're weak to, although not as much as you'd might think since the dual STAB of each mon isn't super easy to deal with, especially when you factor in the kind of lure set the Gengar is running. So I felt I had a really strong core with Gengar and Dragapult offensively, and Ting Lu and Tauros defensively, those 2 mons are pretty effective at checking the majority of mons that threaten my ghosts. I'll get into the team breakdown.
Gengar @ Leftovers
Ability: Cursed Body
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
I mentioned a little niche Gengar has carved out for itself. And that little niche is a sub+nasty plot set, and it requires a lot of volt-turn support. Yeah Gholdengo can do it to but the extra speed makes it a little easier to make use of those boosts. That plus Gholden can't fit sub on its set, this team kind of revolves around Gengar subbing on on some key mons. The interesting thing is that there's a decent amount of opportunities to get a sub up in the current meta. The first one, and the one that actually inspired the creation of this set, is Garganacl. The cool thing about this set is that it can lure Ting Lu and Garganacl pretty effectively, assuming you hit a focus blast. If you terra not even a crit salt cure will break your sub, and then +2 focus blast ohkos. The fighting terra is also extremely valuable defensively in a pinch. Other notable things you can sub on are chilling water toxapex, amoongus (that includes foul play if you burn it) and Corviknight if it's body press over brave bird, plus against stuff like sucker punch. If you're using any sub mons in OU then make sure you're aware of the mons that can bypass subs (Dragapult and Skelidirge). I began testing the team with the assumption that Gengar would be a meme, but I feel like it proved to be fairly effective and has absolutely been pulling its weight.
Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
Tera Type: Dragon/Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- U-turn
The other half of the offensive spooky duo. It's crazy to say, but 110 is pretty slow in this economy. I never would have thought I'd consider Gengar a slow mon back when I was playing XY, but here we are. So Dragapult not only brings much needed speed to the team to outspeed stuff like Cinderace, Iron Valiant and Roaring Moon, it also pairs really well with Gengar in general. U-turn is extremely important, as realistically Gengar doesn't switch into very much so in order to make sure it's not dead weight it needs constant pivot support. Again I'm open to changes to the team, but I strongly believe the team requires at minimum 3 strong pivots in order to make sure Gengar isn't a useless mon. As mentioned, Gengar can lure Ting Lu and Garganacl if you play correctly, 2 mons which can pressure Dragapult a lot, as well as to a lesser extent spdef Toxapex and Amoongus. It starts to get dicey when you factor in the terra options for Garg, but 1v1 if you play correctly you should still be able to boost past terra fairy Garg before it kills you. In return, Dragapult deals with unaware Quagsire which hard counters Gengar. Terra Dragon combined with the fact unaware ignores your special attack drops lets you easily 2hko any variant of Quagsire, while also letting you terra defensively vs Cinderace sucker punch or Chein Pau priority, but with that I've been testing more with terra ghost for the added power so I'm kind of torn on the optimal terra type.
Tauros-Paldea-Aqua @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Raging Bull
- Protect
- Aqua Jet
I mentioned Tauros earlier, but let me get more into it. Tauros really feels like an optimal pick here, mainly because of the Chein Pau and Kinggambit matchup, as well as Cinderace. Tauros felt like the best answer into that mon without giving up too much offensive momentum. It's also a nice blanket check to things like Great Tusk or Ting Lu (Gengar can theoretically lure it as I mentioned but that requires Ting Lu to be switching into it, not the other way around). Body press and raging bull offer a lot of offensive coverage, people love switching in their rotom and taking 30%. Protect is mainly there for leftovers recovery, Tauros feels like a very integral part of the team in checking a lot of physical threats so every little bit of health helps. I'm not super sure what other people run in the last slot, I feel like it's EQ. But I've found aqua jet to be the most helpful in the games I've tested for that little bit of extra speed control, it's helped pick off things like weakened Valiant or Volcorona. Kind of unsure what the best terra type for the bull is. Maybe steel or fire? Realistically I won't be terraing often, but there should be some way to optimize the set that I'm missing.
Ting-Lu @ Leftovers
Ability: Vessel of Ruin
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
Ting Lu is the second half of the defensive core for the team. Ting Lu is a phenomenal answer to things like opposing Dragapult, scarf Gholdengo (it can trick me but tbh I'd much rather fight Gholden once it's given away its scarf), . It's also my emergency check to Iron Valiant, especially booster Valiant. I've been so afraid of Valiant in the past that I'm running terra poison specifically for that matchup. Even without the terra, we live moonblast pretty comfortably and whirlwind out, negating the booster so that Dragapult can deal with it later. Whirlwind is also pretty imperative for not losing to espathra.. The team is pretty annoyed by hazard stack, so our primary answer is to hazard stack right back which is why I'm running dual hazards on ting lu, with an emergency answer later on. Ting Lu is also a decent answer to Clodsire, it just sucks how easily it's worn down by toxic.
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Thief
Rotom is here to patch up several holes for the team. The first thing rotom does is it volt switches into Gengar, which as I mentioned before, the main goal of the team is to get use out of Gengar so that support is invaluable. It's also pretty important in burning Amoongus to make sure foul play won't break the sub. The ground immunity is very important, as the team struggles to switch into Great tusk, Garchomp and Ting Lu. I'm using terra ghost because Rotom is the emergency Dragonite check, since otherwise DD nite has every opportunity to run away vs this team after a boost. It's also my primary switch into stuff like Skelidirge and opposing Rotom. Both those mons are super annoying to deal with, but can be pressured offensively enough with this team with correct play. Some people say this set is a meme and others live by it. For me, the ability to remove leftovers from opposing rotom feels pretty important, and rotom will be switching into knock off from Great Tusk like, 100% of games with this team so I feel like if there's any team the set might be justified on, it's this one. Rotom is also nice to have in the rain matchup, like Tauros is great but Taruos will always invite in Pelipper, and doubling to predict the Pelipper while a Floatzel is in front of you with rain up is a really hard play to make. Rotom is also kind of nice in pressuring defensive annoying mons like Corviknight and the Unaware trio.
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Sucker Punch/Gunk Shot
- U-turn
- Court Change
The last mon I'm kind of uncertain about. I tested with Scizor, Roaring Moon and with Cinderace, and for the moment I'm using ace. Court change is a really helpful backup plan vs hazard stack since the team does kind of struggle vs it. I didn't mention it before, but something else Gengar does that the other ghosts don't is absorb toxic spikes, which is like, it's ok. The second really important thing is adding that third form of momentum into Gengar that I've been harping on all post. The third thing is some safety priority if I wanted to run sucker punch, I go so back and forth. And then the fourth thing is it's a neat fairy check. Scizor and Roaring moon can offer some of these benefits between the two of them, but Cinderace hitting all 4 points makes it difficult to commit to swapping him out. Terra poison is there basically for just one reason, to switch into Valient moonblast and then live close combat/focus blast. I've literally never terrad Cinderace, it's more of a mon to patch up holes in the team then to actually like sweep or anything on its own, it just gives me peace of mind knowing I have it. Also, I talked about Cinderace offering priority, but I just recently switched to running gunk shot. Terra fairy Garg has traumatized me ok, don't judge.
Offensively, I've found the team struggles with Meowscarada, Volcorona, Iron Moth in theory as well but it hasn't been too oppressive, Garganacl since beating it basically relies off hitting focus blast, I've also found some games I struggle to switch into Breloom and Meoscarada. I'm sure there's others, but those are the ones that have stood out to me so far.
Defensively, Rotom is extremely annoying, and switching into salt cure or wisp is awful. Clod feels like it shouldn't be an issue but I hate facing it.
Again to reiterate, using Gengar isn't like incredibly easy, I'm not saying that Gengar is a sleeper S tier threat. But I'm trying to build a team that can work around Gengars strengths as best as I can, and I feel like way too many people are writing it off as useless. Any help or suggestions would be awesome <3
(volcorona, rotom,
Team: https://pokepast.es/a58b273498f7f0df
Replays where Gengar sweeps:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1782072762
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1782071312
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1782369263
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1784199011-jdq6ywbgy0yeeqajhs8hflfpfw4e0d0pw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1784203637 (focus blast sucks :( just pretend we hit)
Normal Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1784176936 (got unfortunate turn 1 hax but it was overall a solid match. Shows how tough Breloom can be vs this team)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1784172157 (dealing with dragonite)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1784206572-cye6jkpe70n2lw7xnrwl8nsy8f46cd0pw (stall matchup, guy tells me to use Gholdengo then loses to Gengar)
The team was built off kind of a basic premise. I wanted to use Gengar+Dragapult and kind of spam shadow ball, depending on the matchup I can trade one to make breaking with the other easier. So obviously there's going to be a lot of overlap of mons they're weak to, although not as much as you'd might think since the dual STAB of each mon isn't super easy to deal with, especially when you factor in the kind of lure set the Gengar is running. So I felt I had a really strong core with Gengar and Dragapult offensively, and Ting Lu and Tauros defensively, those 2 mons are pretty effective at checking the majority of mons that threaten my ghosts. I'll get into the team breakdown.
Gengar @ Leftovers
Ability: Cursed Body
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Focus Blast
- Nasty Plot
- Substitute
I mentioned a little niche Gengar has carved out for itself. And that little niche is a sub+nasty plot set, and it requires a lot of volt-turn support. Yeah Gholdengo can do it to but the extra speed makes it a little easier to make use of those boosts. That plus Gholden can't fit sub on its set, this team kind of revolves around Gengar subbing on on some key mons. The interesting thing is that there's a decent amount of opportunities to get a sub up in the current meta. The first one, and the one that actually inspired the creation of this set, is Garganacl. The cool thing about this set is that it can lure Ting Lu and Garganacl pretty effectively, assuming you hit a focus blast. If you terra not even a crit salt cure will break your sub, and then +2 focus blast ohkos. The fighting terra is also extremely valuable defensively in a pinch. Other notable things you can sub on are chilling water toxapex, amoongus (that includes foul play if you burn it) and Corviknight if it's body press over brave bird, plus against stuff like sucker punch. If you're using any sub mons in OU then make sure you're aware of the mons that can bypass subs (Dragapult and Skelidirge). I began testing the team with the assumption that Gengar would be a meme, but I feel like it proved to be fairly effective and has absolutely been pulling its weight.
Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
Tera Type: Dragon/Ghost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- U-turn
The other half of the offensive spooky duo. It's crazy to say, but 110 is pretty slow in this economy. I never would have thought I'd consider Gengar a slow mon back when I was playing XY, but here we are. So Dragapult not only brings much needed speed to the team to outspeed stuff like Cinderace, Iron Valiant and Roaring Moon, it also pairs really well with Gengar in general. U-turn is extremely important, as realistically Gengar doesn't switch into very much so in order to make sure it's not dead weight it needs constant pivot support. Again I'm open to changes to the team, but I strongly believe the team requires at minimum 3 strong pivots in order to make sure Gengar isn't a useless mon. As mentioned, Gengar can lure Ting Lu and Garganacl if you play correctly, 2 mons which can pressure Dragapult a lot, as well as to a lesser extent spdef Toxapex and Amoongus. It starts to get dicey when you factor in the terra options for Garg, but 1v1 if you play correctly you should still be able to boost past terra fairy Garg before it kills you. In return, Dragapult deals with unaware Quagsire which hard counters Gengar. Terra Dragon combined with the fact unaware ignores your special attack drops lets you easily 2hko any variant of Quagsire, while also letting you terra defensively vs Cinderace sucker punch or Chein Pau priority, but with that I've been testing more with terra ghost for the added power so I'm kind of torn on the optimal terra type.
Tauros-Paldea-Aqua @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Body Press
- Raging Bull
- Protect
- Aqua Jet
I mentioned Tauros earlier, but let me get more into it. Tauros really feels like an optimal pick here, mainly because of the Chein Pau and Kinggambit matchup, as well as Cinderace. Tauros felt like the best answer into that mon without giving up too much offensive momentum. It's also a nice blanket check to things like Great Tusk or Ting Lu (Gengar can theoretically lure it as I mentioned but that requires Ting Lu to be switching into it, not the other way around). Body press and raging bull offer a lot of offensive coverage, people love switching in their rotom and taking 30%. Protect is mainly there for leftovers recovery, Tauros feels like a very integral part of the team in checking a lot of physical threats so every little bit of health helps. I'm not super sure what other people run in the last slot, I feel like it's EQ. But I've found aqua jet to be the most helpful in the games I've tested for that little bit of extra speed control, it's helped pick off things like weakened Valiant or Volcorona. Kind of unsure what the best terra type for the bull is. Maybe steel or fire? Realistically I won't be terraing often, but there should be some way to optimize the set that I'm missing.
Ting-Lu @ Leftovers
Ability: Vessel of Ruin
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Spikes
- Earthquake
- Whirlwind
Ting Lu is the second half of the defensive core for the team. Ting Lu is a phenomenal answer to things like opposing Dragapult, scarf Gholdengo (it can trick me but tbh I'd much rather fight Gholden once it's given away its scarf), . It's also my emergency check to Iron Valiant, especially booster Valiant. I've been so afraid of Valiant in the past that I'm running terra poison specifically for that matchup. Even without the terra, we live moonblast pretty comfortably and whirlwind out, negating the booster so that Dragapult can deal with it later. Whirlwind is also pretty imperative for not losing to espathra.. The team is pretty annoyed by hazard stack, so our primary answer is to hazard stack right back which is why I'm running dual hazards on ting lu, with an emergency answer later on. Ting Lu is also a decent answer to Clodsire, it just sucks how easily it's worn down by toxic.
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Volt Switch
- Hydro Pump
- Will-O-Wisp
- Thief
Rotom is here to patch up several holes for the team. The first thing rotom does is it volt switches into Gengar, which as I mentioned before, the main goal of the team is to get use out of Gengar so that support is invaluable. It's also pretty important in burning Amoongus to make sure foul play won't break the sub. The ground immunity is very important, as the team struggles to switch into Great tusk, Garchomp and Ting Lu. I'm using terra ghost because Rotom is the emergency Dragonite check, since otherwise DD nite has every opportunity to run away vs this team after a boost. It's also my primary switch into stuff like Skelidirge and opposing Rotom. Both those mons are super annoying to deal with, but can be pressured offensively enough with this team with correct play. Some people say this set is a meme and others live by it. For me, the ability to remove leftovers from opposing rotom feels pretty important, and rotom will be switching into knock off from Great Tusk like, 100% of games with this team so I feel like if there's any team the set might be justified on, it's this one. Rotom is also nice to have in the rain matchup, like Tauros is great but Taruos will always invite in Pelipper, and doubling to predict the Pelipper while a Floatzel is in front of you with rain up is a really hard play to make. Rotom is also kind of nice in pressuring defensive annoying mons like Corviknight and the Unaware trio.
Cinderace @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Libero
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Pyro Ball
- Sucker Punch/Gunk Shot
- U-turn
- Court Change
The last mon I'm kind of uncertain about. I tested with Scizor, Roaring Moon and with Cinderace, and for the moment I'm using ace. Court change is a really helpful backup plan vs hazard stack since the team does kind of struggle vs it. I didn't mention it before, but something else Gengar does that the other ghosts don't is absorb toxic spikes, which is like, it's ok. The second really important thing is adding that third form of momentum into Gengar that I've been harping on all post. The third thing is some safety priority if I wanted to run sucker punch, I go so back and forth. And then the fourth thing is it's a neat fairy check. Scizor and Roaring moon can offer some of these benefits between the two of them, but Cinderace hitting all 4 points makes it difficult to commit to swapping him out. Terra poison is there basically for just one reason, to switch into Valient moonblast and then live close combat/focus blast. I've literally never terrad Cinderace, it's more of a mon to patch up holes in the team then to actually like sweep or anything on its own, it just gives me peace of mind knowing I have it. Also, I talked about Cinderace offering priority, but I just recently switched to running gunk shot. Terra fairy Garg has traumatized me ok, don't judge.
Offensively, I've found the team struggles with Meowscarada, Volcorona, Iron Moth in theory as well but it hasn't been too oppressive, Garganacl since beating it basically relies off hitting focus blast, I've also found some games I struggle to switch into Breloom and Meoscarada. I'm sure there's others, but those are the ones that have stood out to me so far.
Defensively, Rotom is extremely annoying, and switching into salt cure or wisp is awful. Clod feels like it shouldn't be an issue but I hate facing it.
Again to reiterate, using Gengar isn't like incredibly easy, I'm not saying that Gengar is a sleeper S tier threat. But I'm trying to build a team that can work around Gengars strengths as best as I can, and I feel like way too many people are writing it off as useless. Any help or suggestions would be awesome <3
(volcorona, rotom,
