[OVERVIEW]
* Gengar's great typing gives it a coveted Fairy-type resistance and, on top of that, it is immune to all Normal-type attacks. This makes it excellent to switch-in to Fake Out.
* Its main role in the metagame comes from its combination of great Speed, strong yet consistent STAB attacks, and a very high base 130 Special Attack stat. Its niche is providing a fast way to get solid damage on Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele, but it also can damage Pokemon such as Alolan Ninetales and Arcanine.
* Gengar's phenomenal Speed tier allows it to outrun Kartana and Alolan Ninetales, both of which are very common Pokemon in the metagame. It also means that it can outspeed its primary threat, Garchomp.
* Low bulk pretty much requires that it be run with Focus Sash, which also limits its offensive potential. This puts Gengar in a very awkward spot, as it means it won't be able to get much done without it and a partner supporting it.
[SET]
name: Standard Attacker
move 1: Sludge Bomb
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Protect / Will-O-Wisp
item: Focus Sash
ability: Cursed Body
nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Sludge Bomb is used for reliable, strong STAB coverage, especially on Fairy-types. Its higher damage output than Shadow Ball coupled with its 30% chance to inflict poison means this is the move that will be used in most scenarios.
* Shadow Ball to provide a consistent secondary STAB move that can hit Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon for super effective damage as well as hitting Steel-types neutrally.
* Fast Taunt makes Gengar an excellent utility Pokemon, especially when a lot of the Pokemon that enjoys to use Taunt against are at the forefront of the metagame, such as Porygon2.
* Will-O-Wisp has a niche in crippling physical attackers, which usually ends up helping the team out more than Gengar itself. With this increased utility, Gengar is great for supporting certain teams that need ways to halt physical attackers. It's worth it to note that Will-O-Wisp will be rendered useless in Misty Terrain, unless the target is a Flying-type or Levitate Pokemon.
* Protect is for capitalizing on turns where Gengar puts pressure on the opponent. With a Focus Sash, Gengar is very likely to be attacked twice in one turn. Using Protect to potentially make the opponent waste an entire turn in such a fast-paced metagame can be absolutely crucial.
Set Details
=========
* Focus Sash is to ensure at least one move goes off, and patches up Gengar's low bulk. It also makes Gengar very open to double targets, which is why Protect can be seen as a useful move choice.
* Cursed Body has a 30% chance to disable crucial attacks from the opponent, which can occasionally win games.
* The EV spread maximizes both Gengar's Speed and attacking potential. Without the Speed investment, Gengar falls behind both Alolan Ninetales and Kartana, and even Garchomp if you sacrifice more Speed or choose to play with a Modest nature. In addition, there's no reason to sacrifice attacking power for more bulk, as the Focus Sash ensures that Gengar will be, at worst, 2HKOed.
Usage Tips
========
* Scout for teams that have Pokemon faster than Gengar such as Tapu Koko, as they'll be able to easily bring Gengar down to its Focus Sash.
* Gengar is a good pick to bring against Trick Room teams, where they usually don't have checks to a Taunt user like Gengar that is immune to Fake Out.
* Use Gengar's utility moves to support your team, in ways like burning strong physical attackers.
Team Options
=========
* Use other fast Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko, to follow up on Gengar's fast attacks with an additional fast attack. This offensive momentum makes it more likely that Gengar and its partner can KO threats and Gengar can stay around longer.
* Pheromosa is another fast Pokemon that can eliminate Pokemon that Gengar has a bad matchup against, such as Garchomp with Ice Beam and Porygon2 with High Jump Kick, or even All-Out Pummeling if a Z-crystal hasn't already been taken.
* Pelipper and Golduck can cover up Gengar's Ground-type weakness with strong Water- and Ice-type moves; just note that a lot of common Pokemon in the format have prepared for this combination.
* Snorlax and Gigalith are good Trick Room checks, which Gengar struggles under if the opponent manages to get a Trick Room up. They're both slower than almost all common Trick Room attackers, and Snorlax can become the slowest viable Pokemon in the format after one Curse.
* Porygon2 packs a strong Ice Beam that can OHKO Garchomp and 2HKO Krookodile with the right investment, and has bulk that any Pokemon in the format appreciates.
* Araquanid and Celesteela can use to Wide Guard to block out Earthquakes, but keep in mind this does not block Tectonic Rage and will make your opponent more likely to use Tectonic Rage over Earthquake.
* Mandibuzz has Tailwind support and covers Gengar's and Ground-type weaknesses very well. Vikavolt also does this, trading a Psychic immunity for the ability to do lots of damage to Celesteela and Kartana.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=========
* Ghostium Z allows Gengar the ability to chose between either a strong Never-Ending Nightmare or Z-Destiny Bond to take advantage of when opponents are baited into targeting Gengar.
* Poisonium Z can be used to have a nuke that can OHKO many Pokemon, such as Tapu Lele, offensive Arcanine, and Tapu Fini.
* Life Orb can increase damage output on Pokemon that Gengar already does solid damage to, such as Marowak, Metagross, Tapu Fini, and Tapu Lele. Running Life Orb does completely compromise Gengar's survivability, however.
* Hidden Power Fire can be used as a check to Assault Vest Kartana, ensuring a knock out.
* Disable may be used for additional utility (it won't stop Z-moves, however). It's also worth noting that when paired with an Encore user, it can completely shut out a Pokemon from doing anything but Struggling, if it chooses to stay in.
* Energy Ball can cover Gastrodon and do decent damage to Mudsdale, and Thunderbolt can be used to blast Gyarados and deal additional super effective coverage on things like Celesteela and Araquanid. Hidden Power Ice can do solid damage to Garchomp and other Pokemon with a 4x weaknesses, such as Salamence.
* Haze can be used to cover for niche threats like Eevee teams, but otherwise is a rather useless move.
* Perish Song can be used as a way to secure wins late-game, and also provides checks to things such as Eevee and Palossand.
* Trick Room is rather unexpected in a best-of-one setting, but is rather obvious and easy to play around in best-of-three battles.
Checks and Counters
=========
**Alolan Muk**: Gengar's STAB attacks do virtually no damage to Alolan Muk due to its great bulk on top of its Dark and Poison typing resisting both of them. Muk, on the other hand, can bring Gengar down to its Focus Sash with Knock Off, and then potentially follow up with a Shadow Sneak. If not, it can simply just finish Gengar with a clean second Knock Off.
**Gigalith**: The fact that Gigalith summons sandstorm means that it can break Gengar's Focus Sash, in addition to the fact that it gains boosted Special Defense when in sandstorm. Gigalith's Earthquake is strong enough to one shot a Gengar barring Focus Sash, meaning Gengar's best play is really to just flee the field.
**Faster Pokemon**: Anything holding a Choice Scarf, such as Garchomp, can easily outspeed and bring Gengar to its Focus Sash. Garchomp in particular can also switch in on any of Gengar's attacks without taking too much damage. Other fast Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko and Aerodactyl, don't even need a Choice Scarf to outspeed and damage Gengar.
**Trick Room**: Gengar's great Speed can become its largest weakness once Trick Room goes up, as attackers can take full advantage of Gengar's little bulk. Snorlax and Araquanid deserve a mention as well as Knock Off from Hariyama and Eruption from Torkoal will bring Gengar down to its Focus Sash if it has one.
**Special Walls**: Gengar severely struggles against Pokemon that can sponge its hits and do decent damage back to it, such as Porygon2, Snorlax, and Araquanid. The latter two also have the ability to bring Gengar down to its Focus Sash, whereas Gengar can 3HKO Araquanid at best. In addition, Celesteela can easily hold its own with Gengar, even if it is Taunted.
* Gengar's great typing gives it a coveted Fairy-type resistance and, on top of that, it is immune to all Normal-type attacks. This makes it excellent to switch-in to Fake Out.
* Its main role in the metagame comes from its combination of great Speed, strong yet consistent STAB attacks, and a very high base 130 Special Attack stat. Its niche is providing a fast way to get solid damage on Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele, but it also can damage Pokemon such as Alolan Ninetales and Arcanine.
* Gengar's phenomenal Speed tier allows it to outrun Kartana and Alolan Ninetales, both of which are very common Pokemon in the metagame. It also means that it can outspeed its primary threat, Garchomp.
* Low bulk pretty much requires that it be run with Focus Sash, which also limits its offensive potential. This puts Gengar in a very awkward spot, as it means it won't be able to get much done without it and a partner supporting it.
[SET]
name: Standard Attacker
move 1: Sludge Bomb
move 2: Shadow Ball
move 3: Taunt
move 4: Protect / Will-O-Wisp
item: Focus Sash
ability: Cursed Body
nature: Timid
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Sludge Bomb is used for reliable, strong STAB coverage, especially on Fairy-types. Its higher damage output than Shadow Ball coupled with its 30% chance to inflict poison means this is the move that will be used in most scenarios.
* Shadow Ball to provide a consistent secondary STAB move that can hit Psychic- and Ghost-type Pokemon for super effective damage as well as hitting Steel-types neutrally.
* Fast Taunt makes Gengar an excellent utility Pokemon, especially when a lot of the Pokemon that enjoys to use Taunt against are at the forefront of the metagame, such as Porygon2.
* Will-O-Wisp has a niche in crippling physical attackers, which usually ends up helping the team out more than Gengar itself. With this increased utility, Gengar is great for supporting certain teams that need ways to halt physical attackers. It's worth it to note that Will-O-Wisp will be rendered useless in Misty Terrain, unless the target is a Flying-type or Levitate Pokemon.
* Protect is for capitalizing on turns where Gengar puts pressure on the opponent. With a Focus Sash, Gengar is very likely to be attacked twice in one turn. Using Protect to potentially make the opponent waste an entire turn in such a fast-paced metagame can be absolutely crucial.
Set Details
=========
* Focus Sash is to ensure at least one move goes off, and patches up Gengar's low bulk. It also makes Gengar very open to double targets, which is why Protect can be seen as a useful move choice.
* Cursed Body has a 30% chance to disable crucial attacks from the opponent, which can occasionally win games.
* The EV spread maximizes both Gengar's Speed and attacking potential. Without the Speed investment, Gengar falls behind both Alolan Ninetales and Kartana, and even Garchomp if you sacrifice more Speed or choose to play with a Modest nature. In addition, there's no reason to sacrifice attacking power for more bulk, as the Focus Sash ensures that Gengar will be, at worst, 2HKOed.
Usage Tips
========
* Scout for teams that have Pokemon faster than Gengar such as Tapu Koko, as they'll be able to easily bring Gengar down to its Focus Sash.
* Gengar is a good pick to bring against Trick Room teams, where they usually don't have checks to a Taunt user like Gengar that is immune to Fake Out.
* Use Gengar's utility moves to support your team, in ways like burning strong physical attackers.
Team Options
=========
* Use other fast Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko, to follow up on Gengar's fast attacks with an additional fast attack. This offensive momentum makes it more likely that Gengar and its partner can KO threats and Gengar can stay around longer.
* Pheromosa is another fast Pokemon that can eliminate Pokemon that Gengar has a bad matchup against, such as Garchomp with Ice Beam and Porygon2 with High Jump Kick, or even All-Out Pummeling if a Z-crystal hasn't already been taken.
* Pelipper and Golduck can cover up Gengar's Ground-type weakness with strong Water- and Ice-type moves; just note that a lot of common Pokemon in the format have prepared for this combination.
* Snorlax and Gigalith are good Trick Room checks, which Gengar struggles under if the opponent manages to get a Trick Room up. They're both slower than almost all common Trick Room attackers, and Snorlax can become the slowest viable Pokemon in the format after one Curse.
* Porygon2 packs a strong Ice Beam that can OHKO Garchomp and 2HKO Krookodile with the right investment, and has bulk that any Pokemon in the format appreciates.
* Araquanid and Celesteela can use to Wide Guard to block out Earthquakes, but keep in mind this does not block Tectonic Rage and will make your opponent more likely to use Tectonic Rage over Earthquake.
* Mandibuzz has Tailwind support and covers Gengar's and Ground-type weaknesses very well. Vikavolt also does this, trading a Psychic immunity for the ability to do lots of damage to Celesteela and Kartana.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=========
* Ghostium Z allows Gengar the ability to chose between either a strong Never-Ending Nightmare or Z-Destiny Bond to take advantage of when opponents are baited into targeting Gengar.
* Poisonium Z can be used to have a nuke that can OHKO many Pokemon, such as Tapu Lele, offensive Arcanine, and Tapu Fini.
* Life Orb can increase damage output on Pokemon that Gengar already does solid damage to, such as Marowak, Metagross, Tapu Fini, and Tapu Lele. Running Life Orb does completely compromise Gengar's survivability, however.
* Hidden Power Fire can be used as a check to Assault Vest Kartana, ensuring a knock out.
* Disable may be used for additional utility (it won't stop Z-moves, however). It's also worth noting that when paired with an Encore user, it can completely shut out a Pokemon from doing anything but Struggling, if it chooses to stay in.
* Energy Ball can cover Gastrodon and do decent damage to Mudsdale, and Thunderbolt can be used to blast Gyarados and deal additional super effective coverage on things like Celesteela and Araquanid. Hidden Power Ice can do solid damage to Garchomp and other Pokemon with a 4x weaknesses, such as Salamence.
* Haze can be used to cover for niche threats like Eevee teams, but otherwise is a rather useless move.
* Perish Song can be used as a way to secure wins late-game, and also provides checks to things such as Eevee and Palossand.
* Trick Room is rather unexpected in a best-of-one setting, but is rather obvious and easy to play around in best-of-three battles.
Checks and Counters
=========
**Alolan Muk**: Gengar's STAB attacks do virtually no damage to Alolan Muk due to its great bulk on top of its Dark and Poison typing resisting both of them. Muk, on the other hand, can bring Gengar down to its Focus Sash with Knock Off, and then potentially follow up with a Shadow Sneak. If not, it can simply just finish Gengar with a clean second Knock Off.
**Gigalith**: The fact that Gigalith summons sandstorm means that it can break Gengar's Focus Sash, in addition to the fact that it gains boosted Special Defense when in sandstorm. Gigalith's Earthquake is strong enough to one shot a Gengar barring Focus Sash, meaning Gengar's best play is really to just flee the field.
**Faster Pokemon**: Anything holding a Choice Scarf, such as Garchomp, can easily outspeed and bring Gengar to its Focus Sash. Garchomp in particular can also switch in on any of Gengar's attacks without taking too much damage. Other fast Pokemon, such as Tapu Koko and Aerodactyl, don't even need a Choice Scarf to outspeed and damage Gengar.
**Trick Room**: Gengar's great Speed can become its largest weakness once Trick Room goes up, as attackers can take full advantage of Gengar's little bulk. Snorlax and Araquanid deserve a mention as well as Knock Off from Hariyama and Eruption from Torkoal will bring Gengar down to its Focus Sash if it has one.
**Special Walls**: Gengar severely struggles against Pokemon that can sponge its hits and do decent damage back to it, such as Porygon2, Snorlax, and Araquanid. The latter two also have the ability to bring Gengar down to its Focus Sash, whereas Gengar can 3HKO Araquanid at best. In addition, Celesteela can easily hold its own with Gengar, even if it is Taunted.
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