Physical attacking ghost-types have been getting the short end of the stick over the past couple generations. The only moves that really have been considered viable are Shadow Claw and Shadow Punch. Both of these moves have relatively low base power, even after factoring in STAB since no pokemon takes 4 times damage to ghost-type moves. Of course there's Shadow Force, but it is the signature move of Giratina. Shadow Sneak has been seeing a lot of usage recently due to the additions of Aegislash and Gourgeist but was previously unseen in the upper tiers since the only viable users were Muk, who doesn't even get STAB, Shedinja, Spiritomb, Dusknoir, and maybe Gallade. As you can see, GameFreak has been pretty rough to our physical attacking ghost-types before this generation.
However, things have changed with the introduction of X and Y. As previously stated, Aegislash appears to be the first potential OU mon who will be a notable user of Shadow Sneak. Not only that, but a new move called Phantom Force has been been introduced. It is a physical ghost-type move with 90 base power. It's a 2-turn move that makes the user vanish on the first turn and attacks on the second turn and it will attack through protection moves. The mechanics of this move may seem unfavorable, but due to the lack of powerful STAB moves for ghosts, it may turn out to be viable. Also, Ghost has turned into an even better attacking type due to steel no longer resisting it. GF was very generous by giving this move to the right pokemon like Golurk, Banette, Shedinja, Drifblim, Trevenent, and Gourgeist. MegaBanette with its sky high attack could make very good use of the move, but Prankster has been getting a lot of hype so I don't think it'll be too popular of a move on him just yet. However, Golurk could really use this move. It is a big upgrade in power over Shadow Punch and due to its low speed, if a mon switches out when Golurk uses PF, more than likely Golurk will attack after the target's move. Trevenent and Gourgeist could make use of this move, but I think they will be used in a more defensive role. I guess by using this move they can gain an extra turn of leftovers recovery by vanishing first turn. I do not see Shedinja really using this move but Drifblim could find a way of putting it to use on a possible Unburden set when/if gems get released.
It's not all fun and games for the new move. Even though steel no longer resists ghost, normal is still immune to it. Blissey may have been the only normal-type OU pokemon last gen, but there were 5 in UU along with the introduction of Diggersby, Pyroar, Furfrou, and Heliolisk may make an impact on the viability of Phantom Force. Of course the tiers are going to be changed quite dramatically due to the changes this generation, but none of this changes the fact that ghost got such a huge buff this generation. I'm going to post a possible set that uses Phantom Force and hopefully other possibly viable sets will be discussed as well.
Golurk@Leftovers
EV's: 248 HP/252 Attack/8 SpD
Trait:No Guard Iron Fists
Adamant Nature
-Substitute
-Phantom Force
-Dynamic Punch Focus Punch
-Earthquake/Shadow Punch
The idea of this set is simple: set up a sub and cause damage with Focus Punch. If a ghost-type comes in then click PF, which will prompt another switch to a mon that can take the attack. As you can see, pokemon will be switching quite often, so Spikes and Stealth Rocks will be of great assistance to Golurk, helping to wear down pokemon quickly. Golurk's bulk is pretty respectable thanks to full HP investment and moderate base 80/80 defenses. Earthquake is on the set as a powerful STAB option. Of course, if you want to hit a ghost right away, you could drop EQ since fighting/ghost give perfect coverage anyway for Shadow Punch.
Alright people, what do you guys think? Is it going to be the move that helps physical ghosts prevail for the first time and what are some other sets you can think of for these users?
However, things have changed with the introduction of X and Y. As previously stated, Aegislash appears to be the first potential OU mon who will be a notable user of Shadow Sneak. Not only that, but a new move called Phantom Force has been been introduced. It is a physical ghost-type move with 90 base power. It's a 2-turn move that makes the user vanish on the first turn and attacks on the second turn and it will attack through protection moves. The mechanics of this move may seem unfavorable, but due to the lack of powerful STAB moves for ghosts, it may turn out to be viable. Also, Ghost has turned into an even better attacking type due to steel no longer resisting it. GF was very generous by giving this move to the right pokemon like Golurk, Banette, Shedinja, Drifblim, Trevenent, and Gourgeist. MegaBanette with its sky high attack could make very good use of the move, but Prankster has been getting a lot of hype so I don't think it'll be too popular of a move on him just yet. However, Golurk could really use this move. It is a big upgrade in power over Shadow Punch and due to its low speed, if a mon switches out when Golurk uses PF, more than likely Golurk will attack after the target's move. Trevenent and Gourgeist could make use of this move, but I think they will be used in a more defensive role. I guess by using this move they can gain an extra turn of leftovers recovery by vanishing first turn. I do not see Shedinja really using this move but Drifblim could find a way of putting it to use on a possible Unburden set when/if gems get released.
It's not all fun and games for the new move. Even though steel no longer resists ghost, normal is still immune to it. Blissey may have been the only normal-type OU pokemon last gen, but there were 5 in UU along with the introduction of Diggersby, Pyroar, Furfrou, and Heliolisk may make an impact on the viability of Phantom Force. Of course the tiers are going to be changed quite dramatically due to the changes this generation, but none of this changes the fact that ghost got such a huge buff this generation. I'm going to post a possible set that uses Phantom Force and hopefully other possibly viable sets will be discussed as well.
Golurk@Leftovers
EV's: 248 HP/252 Attack/8 SpD
Trait:
Adamant Nature
-Substitute
-Phantom Force
-
-Earthquake/Shadow Punch
The idea of this set is simple: set up a sub and cause damage with Focus Punch. If a ghost-type comes in then click PF, which will prompt another switch to a mon that can take the attack. As you can see, pokemon will be switching quite often, so Spikes and Stealth Rocks will be of great assistance to Golurk, helping to wear down pokemon quickly. Golurk's bulk is pretty respectable thanks to full HP investment and moderate base 80/80 defenses. Earthquake is on the set as a powerful STAB option. Of course, if you want to hit a ghost right away, you could drop EQ since fighting/ghost give perfect coverage anyway for Shadow Punch.
Alright people, what do you guys think? Is it going to be the move that helps physical ghosts prevail for the first time and what are some other sets you can think of for these users?
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