[OVERVIEW]
Mega Gengar is 1v1's fastest viable sleep user, being able to outspeed many common threats, such as Greninja, Naganadel, and Jumpluff, thanks to an impressive base 130 Speed stat. Its access to Hypnosis alongside perfect neutral coverage through Hex, Sludge Wave, and Focus Blast often enables it to OHKO or 2HKO any Pokemon that it can put to sleep. This is aided by its Ghost typing, which allows Mega Gengar to avoid damage from Hyper Beam from Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, which is usually a notable answer to fast sleep users. What really cannot be stressed enough is that if Mega Gengar can hit its moves, it has comparable or greater odds than an OHKO move to beat every single Pokemon it can outspeed with little exception. Unfortunately, despite Mega Gengar's ludicrous theoretical peaks, Hypnosis's 60% accuracy, potentially paired with Focus Blast's 70% accuracy, often makes it far too inconsistent to be taken seriously; using it is akin to high-risk, high-reward gambling. Additionally, bulkier threats, even after being hit by Hypnosis, also have the chance to wake up before Mega Gengar has finished 2HKOing or 3HKOing them, leading top-tier Pokemon like Mega Gyarados and Meloetta to usually win against Mega Gengar. Additionally, faster offensive threats can simply move first and destroy Mega Gengar before it can lift a finger, meaning it falls to Pokemon like Zeraora and Mega Lopunny.
[SET]
name: Hypnosis + Hex
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Hex
move 3: Sludge Wave
move 4: Substitute / Dazzling Gleam / Focus Blast
item: Gengarite
ability: Cursed Body
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 Spa / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Hypnosis is absolutely essential on this set, potentially incapacitating threats that would otherwise annihilate Mega Gengar, such as Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Dragonite, and Aegislash. However, it only has 60% accuracy, which on top of Mega Gengar usually requiring more than one sleep turn leads to it being extremely unreliable. Hex allows Mega Gengar to safely damage any sleeping foe that cannot be knocked out by its coverage moves, like Mega Charizard X, Dragonite, and Magearna. Sludge Wave is Mega Gengar's secondary STAB option, allowing it to not risk Hypnosis odds against certain Grass- and Fairy-type Pokemon like Jumpluff, Serperior, and Tapu Lele. Substitute minimizes the chances of losing against bulkier Pokemon that could survive one boosted Hex and OHKO Mega Gengar if they wake up on the first turn but will fall to a combination of a boosted Hex followed by another move, such as Magnezone and Landorus-T. Dazzling Gleam can be run for greater reliability against Pokemon like Kommo-o, Scrafty, Greninja, and physically defensive Mega Sableye. Focus Blast is another option in order to have the best odds possible against very bulky Dark-type Pokemon, like Incineroar, Mega Tyranitar, and Mega Gyarados, although with sufficient luck, Mega Gengar can still muscle past these threats without Focus Blast. Focus Blast will also lose consistency against frailer Dark-types, like Greninja, compared to Dazzling Gleam. Specific coverage moves like Hidden Power Ice and Energy Ball can also be run in order to make Pokemon they hit super effectively more reliable OHKOs, rather than leaving Gengar dependent on sleep turns, like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Gastrodon, and Quagsire.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment enables Mega Gengar to offensively pressure its prey as effectively as possible and outspeed anything slower than base 130 Speed and Speed tie with opposing Mega Gengar. The 4 Defense EVs serve no relevant purpose.
Usage Tips
========
The core gameplay of Mega Gengar revolves mostly around putting the foe to sleep with Hypnosis and how long the foe will remain asleep while it is being attacked. Mega Gengar will naturally be more reliable against foes it can beat with the lowest number of sleep turns possible and will be most useful against those it can OHKO with a boosted Hex. The Hypnosis + Hex strategy will be most effective against Pokemon like Mew, non-Choice Scarf Victini, and Naganadel, where Mega Gengar will win 60% of the time. The majority of the metagame is 2HKOed by a boosted Hex, encompassing Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Magearna, Dragonite, and Garchomp; statistically, Mega Gengar will be able to beat these 40% of the time, although this statistic is greatly alleviated through the use of Substitute to scout for early wakes and potentially try and use Hypnosis + Hex again. Obviously, if a Pokemon is taken care of with coverage options, such as Tapu Lele and Mega Gardevoir with Sludge Wave and Kommo-o with Dazzling Gleam, then that should be relied on rather than Hypnosis + Hex. Mega Gengar should be sent out primarily against slower Pokemon and other Pokemon it can hit with Hypnosis before being knocked out. Hypnosis should always be used against any foe Mega Gengar cannot OHKO, like Mega Charizard X and Landorus-T. Bear in mind that a few Pokemon, primarily Kartana and Hoopa, can be knocked out with Hex without using Hypnosis. Porygon-Z, although potentially faster than Mega Gengar through Choice Scarf, will not be able to OHKO Mega Gengar with any of its moves, allowing Mega Gengar to fire off a Focus Blast after tanking any of its coverage moves. If you're not running Focus Blast, you will need to rely on Hypnosis and Sludge Wave for a less reliable 2HKO. When running Substitute, it is unwise to use it in the face of a sleeping Mega Charizard X, as they can potentially use Flame Charge to break it and rob Mega Gengar of the extra layer of protection it would have granted it. Additionally, using Substitute against the bulkiest threats like Mega Gyarados will not be worth it, as it it most reliable in matchups where a boosted Hex followed by any other move can KO the foe, in case it wakes up on turn two and breaks the Substitute. Against the bulkiest foes, time is of the essence, and you will not want to potentially waste the sleep turns you do get using Substitute. The same applies for Dragonite, as Multiscale needs to be broken as soon as possible in order to capitalize on Hex's boosted damage. However, you should use Substitute against Sturdy Pokemon like Magnezone and Donphan as well as somewhat bulkier Pokemon like Genesect and Garchomp. Bulkier threats like Meloetta and a well-played Mega Gyarados, while technically possible to win against, will require maximum sleep turns, not to mention Pokemon like Mega Gyarados will require relying on Focus Blast, so if you think your opponent will be sending in a Pokemon like that, don't initially rely on Mega Gengar and send something else. Just know that if you are unsure what your opponent will be using, it's not entirely out of the question for Mega Gengar to win.
Team Options
========
Mega Gengar should be paired with bulkier threats that can stomach hits from faster Pokemon that would KO Mega Gengar, like Zeraora, Mega Lopunny, and common Choice Scarf users like Victini, Haxorus, and Jirachi. Therefore, Sturdy users like Donphan, Crustle, and Mega Aggron will have the greatest utility for Mega Gengar, providing it a safe fallback to rely on. In exchange, Mega Gengar can deal with opposing Pokemon that can take advantage of slower Pokemon, like Jumpluff and Smeargle, and have an excellent matchup against Tapu Fini, one of the bulkiest Water-types in the metagame. Bulkier Pokemon with stallbreaking tactics, like Taunt Mega Gyarados and Electrium Z Togekiss, can do especially well as a partner, as they all shut down the few types of Pokemon that Mega Gengar either can't beat at all or can't beat consistently, such as Mega Sableye, Chansey, Dragonite, Zygarde-C, Mega Lopunny, Mega Alakazam, and, in Mega Gyarados's case, Choice Scarf Haxorus and Jirachi. In exchange, Mega Gengar can help Mega Gyarados against annoying Fairy- and Grass-type Pokemon, like Tapu Lele, Mega Gardevoir, and Serperior, as well as beat normal Mega Gyarados answers like Kommo-o and Flyinium Z Landorus-T. For Togekiss, Mega Gengar can do decently well against Rock-types like Golem, Crustle, and Mega Tyranitar and do solidly against certain Steel-type threats like Mega Metagross and Magearna.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mega Gengar can run a defensive spread with Will-O-Wisp, which will shorten the number of possible winnable matchups but make the remaining more reliable, allowing it to more reliably beat Pokemon like Dragonite, Mega Metagross, and Donphan.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Naturally Faster Pokemon**: Mega Gengar relies almost entirely on preventing its foe from attacking it by either immediately OHKOing it or putting it to sleep with Hypnosis and then KOing it with STAB and coverage moves. However, almost every offensive Pokemon with a base Speed higher than 130 will defeat Mega Gengar, including Pokemon such as Mega Lopunny, Zeraora, Mega Alakazam, and Choice Specs Deoxys-S. Z-Move Pheromosa will have issue with Mega Gengar, though, as it either resists or is immune to both of its STAB options.
**Fast Choice Scarf Users**: Hard-hitting Choice Scarf users like Tapu Lele, Victini, Haxorus, Jirachi, and Sawk will be able to also outspeed Mega Gengar and often deal a fatal blow before being hit with Hypnosis. However, some slower Choice Scarf users, like Emboar and Adamant Dragonite, will not be able to outspeed Mega Gengar. Porygon-Z, perhaps the most prominent Choice Scarf user, can also be taken out with Focus Blast, as Mega Gengar will be unaffected by Hyper Beam.
**Pokemon That Bypass Hypnosis**: Magic Bounce users like Mega Sableye and Rock Tomb Mega Diancie are uniquely situated against Mega Gengar, as they can bounce Hypnosis back and are not OHKOed by any of its coverage moves. Although rare to see, Talonflame is also notable for having access to the only priority option strong enough to OHKO Mega Gengar in Gale Wings-boosted Supersonic Skystrike.
**Very Bulky Pokemon**: While these certainly aren't counters, Pokemon that will require a 3HKO or more from Mega Gengar even after being put to sleep will more often than not beat Mega Gengar. Mega Gyarados can change its typing while setting up and playing around Hypnosis, and Meloetta is a Normal-type that is hit neutrally by Focus Blast and can KO Mega Gengar quickly with Psychic STAB moves if given the opportunity. Finally, even after being put to sleep, Chansey will almost always stall out Mega Gengar's Focus Blast before it's in serious danger and PP stall Mega Gengar, in part due to Hypnosis eventually conserving Chansey's PP.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Alakazam, 276708]]
- Quality checked by: [[MaceMaster, 302951], [Osra, 239997], [pqs, 425798]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Estronic, 240732]]
Mega Gengar is 1v1's fastest viable sleep user, being able to outspeed many common threats, such as Greninja, Naganadel, and Jumpluff, thanks to an impressive base 130 Speed stat. Its access to Hypnosis alongside perfect neutral coverage through Hex, Sludge Wave, and Focus Blast often enables it to OHKO or 2HKO any Pokemon that it can put to sleep. This is aided by its Ghost typing, which allows Mega Gengar to avoid damage from Hyper Beam from Choice Scarf Porygon-Z, which is usually a notable answer to fast sleep users. What really cannot be stressed enough is that if Mega Gengar can hit its moves, it has comparable or greater odds than an OHKO move to beat every single Pokemon it can outspeed with little exception. Unfortunately, despite Mega Gengar's ludicrous theoretical peaks, Hypnosis's 60% accuracy, potentially paired with Focus Blast's 70% accuracy, often makes it far too inconsistent to be taken seriously; using it is akin to high-risk, high-reward gambling. Additionally, bulkier threats, even after being hit by Hypnosis, also have the chance to wake up before Mega Gengar has finished 2HKOing or 3HKOing them, leading top-tier Pokemon like Mega Gyarados and Meloetta to usually win against Mega Gengar. Additionally, faster offensive threats can simply move first and destroy Mega Gengar before it can lift a finger, meaning it falls to Pokemon like Zeraora and Mega Lopunny.
[SET]
name: Hypnosis + Hex
move 1: Hypnosis
move 2: Hex
move 3: Sludge Wave
move 4: Substitute / Dazzling Gleam / Focus Blast
item: Gengarite
ability: Cursed Body
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 Spa / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Hypnosis is absolutely essential on this set, potentially incapacitating threats that would otherwise annihilate Mega Gengar, such as Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Dragonite, and Aegislash. However, it only has 60% accuracy, which on top of Mega Gengar usually requiring more than one sleep turn leads to it being extremely unreliable. Hex allows Mega Gengar to safely damage any sleeping foe that cannot be knocked out by its coverage moves, like Mega Charizard X, Dragonite, and Magearna. Sludge Wave is Mega Gengar's secondary STAB option, allowing it to not risk Hypnosis odds against certain Grass- and Fairy-type Pokemon like Jumpluff, Serperior, and Tapu Lele. Substitute minimizes the chances of losing against bulkier Pokemon that could survive one boosted Hex and OHKO Mega Gengar if they wake up on the first turn but will fall to a combination of a boosted Hex followed by another move, such as Magnezone and Landorus-T. Dazzling Gleam can be run for greater reliability against Pokemon like Kommo-o, Scrafty, Greninja, and physically defensive Mega Sableye. Focus Blast is another option in order to have the best odds possible against very bulky Dark-type Pokemon, like Incineroar, Mega Tyranitar, and Mega Gyarados, although with sufficient luck, Mega Gengar can still muscle past these threats without Focus Blast. Focus Blast will also lose consistency against frailer Dark-types, like Greninja, compared to Dazzling Gleam. Specific coverage moves like Hidden Power Ice and Energy Ball can also be run in order to make Pokemon they hit super effectively more reliable OHKOs, rather than leaving Gengar dependent on sleep turns, like Landorus-T, Garchomp, Gastrodon, and Quagsire.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment enables Mega Gengar to offensively pressure its prey as effectively as possible and outspeed anything slower than base 130 Speed and Speed tie with opposing Mega Gengar. The 4 Defense EVs serve no relevant purpose.
Usage Tips
========
The core gameplay of Mega Gengar revolves mostly around putting the foe to sleep with Hypnosis and how long the foe will remain asleep while it is being attacked. Mega Gengar will naturally be more reliable against foes it can beat with the lowest number of sleep turns possible and will be most useful against those it can OHKO with a boosted Hex. The Hypnosis + Hex strategy will be most effective against Pokemon like Mew, non-Choice Scarf Victini, and Naganadel, where Mega Gengar will win 60% of the time. The majority of the metagame is 2HKOed by a boosted Hex, encompassing Pokemon like Mega Charizard X, Mega Charizard Y, Magearna, Dragonite, and Garchomp; statistically, Mega Gengar will be able to beat these 40% of the time, although this statistic is greatly alleviated through the use of Substitute to scout for early wakes and potentially try and use Hypnosis + Hex again. Obviously, if a Pokemon is taken care of with coverage options, such as Tapu Lele and Mega Gardevoir with Sludge Wave and Kommo-o with Dazzling Gleam, then that should be relied on rather than Hypnosis + Hex. Mega Gengar should be sent out primarily against slower Pokemon and other Pokemon it can hit with Hypnosis before being knocked out. Hypnosis should always be used against any foe Mega Gengar cannot OHKO, like Mega Charizard X and Landorus-T. Bear in mind that a few Pokemon, primarily Kartana and Hoopa, can be knocked out with Hex without using Hypnosis. Porygon-Z, although potentially faster than Mega Gengar through Choice Scarf, will not be able to OHKO Mega Gengar with any of its moves, allowing Mega Gengar to fire off a Focus Blast after tanking any of its coverage moves. If you're not running Focus Blast, you will need to rely on Hypnosis and Sludge Wave for a less reliable 2HKO. When running Substitute, it is unwise to use it in the face of a sleeping Mega Charizard X, as they can potentially use Flame Charge to break it and rob Mega Gengar of the extra layer of protection it would have granted it. Additionally, using Substitute against the bulkiest threats like Mega Gyarados will not be worth it, as it it most reliable in matchups where a boosted Hex followed by any other move can KO the foe, in case it wakes up on turn two and breaks the Substitute. Against the bulkiest foes, time is of the essence, and you will not want to potentially waste the sleep turns you do get using Substitute. The same applies for Dragonite, as Multiscale needs to be broken as soon as possible in order to capitalize on Hex's boosted damage. However, you should use Substitute against Sturdy Pokemon like Magnezone and Donphan as well as somewhat bulkier Pokemon like Genesect and Garchomp. Bulkier threats like Meloetta and a well-played Mega Gyarados, while technically possible to win against, will require maximum sleep turns, not to mention Pokemon like Mega Gyarados will require relying on Focus Blast, so if you think your opponent will be sending in a Pokemon like that, don't initially rely on Mega Gengar and send something else. Just know that if you are unsure what your opponent will be using, it's not entirely out of the question for Mega Gengar to win.
Team Options
========
Mega Gengar should be paired with bulkier threats that can stomach hits from faster Pokemon that would KO Mega Gengar, like Zeraora, Mega Lopunny, and common Choice Scarf users like Victini, Haxorus, and Jirachi. Therefore, Sturdy users like Donphan, Crustle, and Mega Aggron will have the greatest utility for Mega Gengar, providing it a safe fallback to rely on. In exchange, Mega Gengar can deal with opposing Pokemon that can take advantage of slower Pokemon, like Jumpluff and Smeargle, and have an excellent matchup against Tapu Fini, one of the bulkiest Water-types in the metagame. Bulkier Pokemon with stallbreaking tactics, like Taunt Mega Gyarados and Electrium Z Togekiss, can do especially well as a partner, as they all shut down the few types of Pokemon that Mega Gengar either can't beat at all or can't beat consistently, such as Mega Sableye, Chansey, Dragonite, Zygarde-C, Mega Lopunny, Mega Alakazam, and, in Mega Gyarados's case, Choice Scarf Haxorus and Jirachi. In exchange, Mega Gengar can help Mega Gyarados against annoying Fairy- and Grass-type Pokemon, like Tapu Lele, Mega Gardevoir, and Serperior, as well as beat normal Mega Gyarados answers like Kommo-o and Flyinium Z Landorus-T. For Togekiss, Mega Gengar can do decently well against Rock-types like Golem, Crustle, and Mega Tyranitar and do solidly against certain Steel-type threats like Mega Metagross and Magearna.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mega Gengar can run a defensive spread with Will-O-Wisp, which will shorten the number of possible winnable matchups but make the remaining more reliable, allowing it to more reliably beat Pokemon like Dragonite, Mega Metagross, and Donphan.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Naturally Faster Pokemon**: Mega Gengar relies almost entirely on preventing its foe from attacking it by either immediately OHKOing it or putting it to sleep with Hypnosis and then KOing it with STAB and coverage moves. However, almost every offensive Pokemon with a base Speed higher than 130 will defeat Mega Gengar, including Pokemon such as Mega Lopunny, Zeraora, Mega Alakazam, and Choice Specs Deoxys-S. Z-Move Pheromosa will have issue with Mega Gengar, though, as it either resists or is immune to both of its STAB options.
**Fast Choice Scarf Users**: Hard-hitting Choice Scarf users like Tapu Lele, Victini, Haxorus, Jirachi, and Sawk will be able to also outspeed Mega Gengar and often deal a fatal blow before being hit with Hypnosis. However, some slower Choice Scarf users, like Emboar and Adamant Dragonite, will not be able to outspeed Mega Gengar. Porygon-Z, perhaps the most prominent Choice Scarf user, can also be taken out with Focus Blast, as Mega Gengar will be unaffected by Hyper Beam.
**Pokemon That Bypass Hypnosis**: Magic Bounce users like Mega Sableye and Rock Tomb Mega Diancie are uniquely situated against Mega Gengar, as they can bounce Hypnosis back and are not OHKOed by any of its coverage moves. Although rare to see, Talonflame is also notable for having access to the only priority option strong enough to OHKO Mega Gengar in Gale Wings-boosted Supersonic Skystrike.
**Very Bulky Pokemon**: While these certainly aren't counters, Pokemon that will require a 3HKO or more from Mega Gengar even after being put to sleep will more often than not beat Mega Gengar. Mega Gyarados can change its typing while setting up and playing around Hypnosis, and Meloetta is a Normal-type that is hit neutrally by Focus Blast and can KO Mega Gengar quickly with Psychic STAB moves if given the opportunity. Finally, even after being put to sleep, Chansey will almost always stall out Mega Gengar's Focus Blast before it's in serious danger and PP stall Mega Gengar, in part due to Hypnosis eventually conserving Chansey's PP.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Alakazam, 276708]]
- Quality checked by: [[MaceMaster, 302951], [Osra, 239997], [pqs, 425798]]
- Grammar checked by: [[The Dutch Plumberjack, 232216], [Estronic, 240732]]
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