Pokémon Gengar

[Mega-Pokebattlerz]

Gengar

Base Stats: 60 HP / 65 Atk / 60 Def / 130 SpA / 75 SpD / 110 Spe

All Moves

Moves

Shadow Punch (Lv.1)
Perish Song (Lv.1 or Egg)
Reflect Type (Lv.1 or Egg)
Lick (Lv.1)
Confuse Ray (Lv.1)
Hypnosis (Lv.1)
Mean Look (Lv.1)
Payback (Lv.12 or TM57)
Spite (Lv.16)
Curse (Lv.20)
Hex (Lv.24 or TM77)
Night Shade (Lv.30)
Sucker Punch (Lv.36)
Dark Pulse (Lv.42 or TR58)
Shadow Ball (Lv.48 or TR33)
Destiny Bond (Lv.54)
Dream Eater (Lv.60)
Mega Punch (TM00)
Mega Kick (TM01)
Fire Punch (TM03)
Ice Punch (TM04)
Thunder Punch (TM05)
Hyper Beam (TM08)
Giga Impact (TM09)
Self-Destruct (TM20)
Rest (TM21)
Thief (TM23)
Snore (TM24)
Protect (TM25)
Scary Face (TM26)
Icy Wind (TM27)
Giga Drain (TM28)
Attract (TM31)
Rain Dance (TM33)
Sunny Day (TM34)
Will-O-Wisp (TM38)
Facade (TM39)
Brick Break (TM43)
Imprison (TM44)
Fling (TM59)
Drain Punch (TM63)
Shadow Claw (TM65)
Trick Room (TM70)
Wonder Room (TM71)
Venoshock (TM74)
Round (TM76)
Phantom Force (TM86)
Body Slam (TR01)
Thunderbolt (TR08)
Thunder (TR09)
Psychic (TR11)
Metronome (TR14)
Substitute (TR20)
Sludge Bomb (TR22)
Endure (TR26)
Sleep Talk (TR27)
Encore (TR30)
Uproar (TR35)
Taunt (TR37)
Trick (TR38)
Skill Swap (TR40)
Poison Jab (TR57)
Focus Blast (TR64)
Energy Ball (TR65)
Nasty Plot (TR68)
Sludge Wave (TR78)
Foul Play (TR81)
Ally Switch (TR83)
Dazzling Gleam (TR92)
Haze (Egg)
Astonish (Egg)
Grudge (Egg)
Disable (Egg)
Clear Smog (Egg)
Smog (Egg)
Toxic (Egg)

Notable Moves
Perish Song
Confuse Ray
Hypnosis
Hex
Dark Pulse
Shadow Ball
Destiny Bond
Protect
Icy Wind
Giga Drain
Will-O-Wisp
Trick Room
Thunderbolt
Thunder
Psychic
Substitute
Sludge Bomb
Taunt
Trick
Focus Blast
Energy Ball
Nasty Plot
Sludge Wave
Dazzling Gleam
Disable

Pros

• Fantastic offensive typing and good defensive typing
• Fantastic Sp. Attack and Speed stats with a wide coverage movepool
• NASTY PLOT
• Nifty support moves such as Will-O-Wisp, Taunt and Hypnosis allowing it to be an effective stallbreaker

Cons

• Horrible defenses
• 4MSS
• Still no Levitate

Dynamax Potential

• Max Ooze is a fantastic Max Move, hitting like a truck while also boosting Gengar’s Sp. Attack.
• Gengar has a Gigantamax form which replaces the useless Max Phantasm with G-Max Terror, which deals damage and traps the opponent. It’s almost as if Mega Gengar never left!
• Max Knuckle’s effect is useless to Gengar, but the move itself is handy for breaking past bulky Steel-types such as Ferrothorn.
• Max Lightning lets it have an easier time breaking Corviknight and Toxapex.

Potential Movesets

Nasty Plot

Gengar @ Life Orb
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast / Thunderbolt

Standard LO Gengar set from the past few gens, but now it can set up Nasty Plot to have an even easier time breaking things. Shadow Ball and Sludge Wave are your go-to STAB attacks while Focus Blast or Thunderbolt provides useful coverage.

Analysis
After a disappointing performance last generation, Gengar seems to be back and better than ever in SWSH. Nasty Plot makes walling it an even harder task, and with its Gigantamax Form and STAB Max Ooze it’s a fantastic abuser of Dynamax. It may have some competition with other wallbreakers such as Hydreigon, but it should still be well worth a spot on your team.

 

[Jocus]

Nasty Plot is certainly a boost. I see it as a progression from the old Sub + 3 Attacks of Gen 7 UU.

You might also want to try a Choice Scarf set, and even a Choice Specs one:
Gengar @ Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
This also gets Dazzling Gleam (e.g. for Haxorus), Energy Ball (Seismitoad), and Trick (cripples utility & stall mons). I haven't found any notable uses for Dark Pulse because Shadow Ball hits Ghosts and Psychics anyway. Will-o-Wisp + Substitute + Hex could also carry over from the last gen.

 

[Mega-Pokebattlerz]

Nasty Plot is certainly a boost. I see it as a progression from the old Sub + 3 Attacks of Gen 7 UU.

You might also want to try a Choice Scarf set, and even a Choice Specs one:
Gengar @ Choice Scarf / Choice Specs
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
This also gets Dazzling Gleam (e.g. for Haxorus), Energy Ball (Seismitoad), and Trick (cripples utility & stall mons). I haven't found any notable uses for Dark Pulse because Shadow Ball hits Ghosts and Psychics anyway. Will-o-Wisp + Substitute + Hex could also carry over from the last gen.

Good point! Gengar did use these sets in Gen 7, so I guess I could add them lol.

 

[Jordy]

Mono-Hex

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex
- Nasty Plot
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
- Hypnosis / Toxic

I think Mono-Hex Gengar is actually the best set, shoutouts to Diophantine for bringing it up. Considering that Dark-types lack a good way of actually punishing Gengar, it can just afford to wear them down over time. As a result, I really haven't found much use for Focus Blast except for pressuring Dark-types immediately, which is, when considering everything else, really unnecessary. Running both Hypnosis and one of Will-O-Wisp or Toxic gives Gengar a lot of leeway in almost any matchup that it otherwise wouldn't have.

 

[Darvin]

I've been running Scarf Gengar today, and I've been quite enjoying it. The ability to dynamax to temporarily lift your choice lock is amazing, since a choice-locked Gengar tends to lure in pokemon that can be hit super-effectively with a max move. Focus Blast lures in opposing ghost-types which crumple to Max Phantasm, while Shadow Ball lures in Dark-types that struggle with Max Knuckle. I've gotten a lot of easy wins from people who fall for this one, and even people who know about this have to tread carefully lest they be crushed. The only problem I've found is that the BP drop from Focus Blast to Max Knuckle means Gengar falls short of the OHKO on Excadrill, a pokemon that's everywhere.

 

[NoStatusPlz]

Mono-Hex

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex
- Nasty Plot
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
- Hypnosis / Toxic

I think Mono-Hex Gengar is actually the best set, shoutouts to Diophantine for bringing it up. Considering that Dark-types lack a good way of actually punishing Gengar, it can just afford to wear them down over time. As a result, I really haven't found much use for Focus Blast except for pressuring Dark-types immediately, which is, when considering everything else, really unnecessary. Running both Hypnosis and one of Will-O-Wisp or Toxic gives Gengar a lot of leeway in almost any matchup that it otherwise wouldn't have.

Any explanation as to why its a good set at least? Is this highly offensive meta a lot of mons will just outspeed and OHKO before it does anything, seems very reliant on the other team running walls/semi stall because on most teams there is no way gengar with how frail he is is going to even make it 2 turns, I think this set desperately needs substitute somewhere

 

[escarlata]

I'm really liking this set so far.

Encore + NP

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Encore
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave / Substitute

Encore is a really powerful tool for a fast user like Gengar, and helps you set up NP safely in situations where you normally have no business doing, especially considering the good immunities it has. It forces out any slower Pokemon once you lock them into a set-up move like SR on Ferrothorn, Toxic on Toxapex etc. without needing the need to run the necessary coverage. It also makes your team unsweepable by any set-up attacker that can't boosts its own speed because Gengar can come in, Encore and countersweep. I've had several opponent Hydreigon, notably, seeing the Black Sludge recovery, assume I don't have Focus Blast, try to NP and get locked into it. Substitute is another option which lets you beat Aegislash 100% of the time by baiting it into attack form, Encore King's Shield and set up from there.

Taunt is another option to be running over Encore and absolutely demolishes slower teams.

 

[Diophantine]

Mono-Hex

Gengar @ Black Sludge
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hex
- Nasty Plot
- Will-O-Wisp / Toxic
- Hypnosis / Toxic

I think Mono-Hex Gengar is actually the best set, shoutouts to Diophantine for bringing it up. Considering that Dark-types lack a good way of actually punishing Gengar, it can just afford to wear them down over time. As a result, I really haven't found much use for Focus Blast except for pressuring Dark-types immediately, which is, when considering everything else, really unnecessary. Running both Hypnosis and one of Will-O-Wisp or Toxic gives Gengar a lot of leeway in almost any matchup that it otherwise wouldn't have.

Any explanation as to why its a good set at least? Is this highly offensive meta a lot of mons will just outspeed and OHKO before it does anything, seems very reliant on the other team running walls/semi stall because on most teams there is no way gengar with how frail he is is going to even make it 2 turns, I think this set desperately needs substitute somewhere

Thanks for the credit Jordy :) This has been one of my favourite Pokemon to use. Gengar surprisingly gets a lot of chances to use Hypnosis, provided you evaluate your risk-reward well. Just elaborating a little bit more on the set, Black Sludge is the optimal item choice because recovery allows Gengar to spread status around for longer so that it can essentially set up its own sweep. I personally prefer having Wisp because of the Attack drop and that there are less immunities (Poison and Steel are way more common than Fire in terms of Gengar switch-ins), meaning that you can burn Pokemon like Ferrothorn and Toxapex allowing you to take them on later. This thing is a really good stall breaker and I hope to see it more often (or rather not, since I wouldn't want to face it!).

NoStatusPlz, Gengar finds utility against offence in its status and speed tier. I agree that it is not the greatest in dealing with set up sweepers and Pokemon faster than it, but Pokemon like CB Darmanitan don't want to take status from it, and hence it finds utility in those 1v1s. Against these types of teams it doesn't even need +2 to get cracking after the status has inflicted. Furthermore, I think that the metagame is not as offence leaning as you make it out to be, and that balance and stall are both prominent too.

 

[Fun Old Man]

I'm getting back into competitive battling for the first time in almost 8 years so Gengar was a nice comfortable place to start team building again.

I've tried a number of pretty standard offensive sets, but the one that's been fitting my needs best is running with a Choice Scarf + 4 Attacks. I considered Trick, but the combination of Dynamax unlocking moves and Electric being such valuable coverage caused me to ditch the idea.

Choice Scarf Gengar

Gengar-Gmax @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt

While it may have trouble breaking some of the sturdier walls, this thing will threaten out or revenge kill a surprising number of the most common threats out there currently. Add in no risk of being trapped by Pursuit and, as you long you've got a good pivot waiting in the wings, you're pretty free to take that shot or get out and reset the situation.

Another fun aspect of this set is that there's merits to both Timid and Modest natures that'll change the threats you can OHKO. Timid puts you at 525 which is faster than a +Speed Shell Smash Polteageist and I'm sure plenty of other things that I'm not well versed enough in speed tiers to know about. On the other hand Modest lets you one shot max HP EV Hatterne before it can Trick Room or KO you. Choosing to run Thunder over T-bolt may also open up some options like KOing Dynamax Gyarados after stealth rock damage and with Timid you can outspeed and OHKO Swift Swim Specs Mantine. (T-bolt can KO Mantine as well but it's a range and Modest won't outspeed)

Everything I mention from here should be applicable to either Nature unless I'm referring to the above.

Specs Dragapult gets rocked (DD as well but then you're risking Sucker Punch), Eiscue can't block it's special attacks, Timid OHKO's Shell Smashed Polteageist, G-Darm, Gyarados, Mamoswine, and unboosted Barraskewda, Excadrill and Hawlucha are also outsped and KO'd if you can get to them before they're setup. These are just the clean OHKO's on some of the more common sweeping threats (or at least things that sweep me ;>.>).

It wasn't my intention at first but Gengar has been pretty key in my ability to deal with OU's current elephant in the room, and by elephant I mean weird snowball afro monkey. Lead Scarf G-Darm has been very common during my time on the ladder and matching it with my own Choice Scarf has proven a very effective way of dealing with it since nothing on my team really wants to eat that free U-Turn or the momentum that comes with it.

Is it foolproof? Well, no. Gengar is made of glass after all, but the odds play out in my favor in almost every case.

Gengar vs G-Darm

a) G-Darm switches out, Focus Blast hits or misses the replacement, I get a reactive switch next turn.
b) G-Darm switches out, I switch out. Clean start but I'm guaranteed to not have to deal with G-Darm.
c) G-Darm goes for any move, Focus Blast hits and it's gone.
d) G-Darm goes for Flare Blitz or Icicle Crash, Focus Blast misses, barring a Crit or high roll on Icicle Crash I live. Refer to options a, b or c.
e) G-Darm goes for U-Turn, Focus Blast misses, I get a reactive switch next turn
f) G-Darm Dynamaxes, Focus Blast hits or misses, either way Gengar's dead and it's alive.

1) Haxorus comes in, outspeeds and KO's with Close Combat.​

2) Haxorus comes in, opponent switches out and has now blown their Dynamax for one attack on Turn 1. Replacement also eats Close Combat.​

g) G-Darm goes for Earthquake, Focus Blast misses, everything sucks.

The only outcome that really screws me is the final one in every other case I feel like I come out even or ahead. Any strategy that relies on Focus Blast is bound to end in tragedy at least some of the time, but for the most part it's a low risk high reward play because very few are willing to risk losing such a valuable Pokemon on a weighted coin flip Turn 1. Most of these can play out at other points in the match on a double switch or revenge kill scenario but you're less likely to be at full HP meaning Gengar will now die to Flare Blitz or Icicle crash as well which are much less fun moves to deal with the opponent being locked into.

As for notable weaknesses, checks and counters, it's mostly what you'd expect.

Dynamax, Sucker Punch, Focus Sash, Bulky Steels, Trick Room and Sticky Web are some general things to watch out for. Hit you first or hit you back.

Some specific Pokemon to watch out for are Tyranitar, Grimmsnarl, Bisharp, Ditto, Indeedee, Dugtrio, Hydreigon, Mandibuzz, Corviknight, Ferrothorn and finally Dracovish.

Being unable to deal with Dracovish is probably the biggest downside of this set. Every other name on that list in manageable to varying degrees but I specifically had to teambuild around this problem. Fortunately Dracovish has some pretty exploitable weaknesses but it does force a scary switch and if you've already lost a key member of your team it can be game ending.

 

[Darvin]

I've tried a number of pretty standard offensive sets, but the one that's been fitting my needs best is running with a Choice Scarf + 4 Attacks. I considered Trick, but the combination of Dynamax unlocking moves and Electric being such valuable coverage caused me to ditch the idea.

That was my original thought process when I was building around Scarf Gengar, but after running it quite a bit I found that Sludge Wave is actually not that useful on a Scarf set. It hits relatively little and is very exploitable if your opponent has a Steel-type. The low BP on Max Ooze is also a problem; Scarf Gengar will usually be dynamaxed to get a surprise KO by breaking choice lock, and the move you go for will almost never be Max Ooze since it doesn't hit hard enough. As a result I dropped Sludge Wave for Trick and have found it's far more useful. There certainly have been occasions where I've missed having Sludge Wave, but they've been vastly outnumbered by the situations where Trick has allowed me to cripple something or rid myself of an unnecessary scarf.

 

[Fun Old Man]

That was my original thought process when I was building around Scarf Gengar, but after running it quite a bit I found that Sludge Wave is actually not that useful on a Scarf set. It hits relatively little and is very exploitable if your opponent has a Steel-type.

After 100+ games with the set I'd have to agree it's definitely more niche than I originally thought. Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, Togekiss, and Clefable provide enough threat to my team that I've continued to carry it, but Trick can be pretty crippling to all of them as well. It's also a clean pretty clean 2HKO if you can catch Hydreigon on the switch in but I've got better answers to it in most cases.

Maybe I'll keep Sludge Wave if I'm running Modest but swap it out for Trick on a Timid set. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Senni]

Nice threat. Though Hydreigon is the superior NastyPlot user atm, Gengar is not too bad. I have ran NP-Shadow Ball-Thunder Bolt-Focus/Sludge Wave with a Kasib Berry. The berry allows it to beat unsuspecting Ditto (which I have found to be unusually annoying to work around currently even when I am super careful with setting up and what not / taking Dyna out the picture) and Dragapults. This is the type of mon that stays in the back though. It is frail and the berry allows it to barely take ghost hits. Thunderbolt I found necessary to deal with Corviknight and Toxapex.

I actually want to try out the status-hex sets. Seems great and perhaps the superior set.

This thing will put in work in UU and I see it potentially being insta-banned to BL.