Emeral
toward new horizons
[SET]
name: Taunt + Will-O-Wisp
move 1: Shadow Ball
move 2: Focus Blast
move 3: Will-O-Wisp
move 4: Taunt
item: Black Sludge
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 80 HP / 176 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Although Gengar has weak defensive stats, it's actually able to function as a solid utility Pokemon and stallbreaker. Its awful base defensive stats are somewhat compensated for by a solid defensive typing and access to Will-O-Wisp, which allow Gengar to spread burns around the opposing team and utilize its good set of resistances and immunities to absorb Ground- and Fighting-type attacks as well as function as a spinblocker. This variant takes advantage of the fact that many common switch-ins to Gengar's other sets, such as Tyranitar, Scizor, and Jirachi, are severely crippled by the burn. Shadow Ball in tandem with Focus Blast provides Gengar with perfect coverage. Taunt enables Gengar to prevent defensive threats like Clefable, Skarmory, Jirachi, Zapdos, and Suicune from healing themselves up or statusing it and stops offensive threats like Dragon Dance Dragonite and Gyarados and Calm Mind Suicune and Jirachi from setting up.
Set Details
========
Maximum Speed EVs with a Timid nature help Gengar Speed tie with non-Choice Scarf variants of Gengar and Latias while letting it outspeed non-Choice Scarf Jirachi and Infernape. 80 HP EVs guarantee Gengar survives non-Life Orb Starmie's Hydro Pump from full after Stealth Rock damage, which lets Gengar spinblock against it. They also allow it to survive Choice Scarf Tyranitar's Pursuit from full after Stealth Rock damage and give a comfortable damage roll against Breloom's Seed Bomb as well as burned Swampert's Waterfall and Jirachi's Iron Head. The remaining EVs are invested in Special Attack to pump up Gengar's damage output.
Usage Tips
========
As Gengar is not exactly bulky to begin with, the best way to bring it on the field is by switching it into the very popular Fighting-,Normal-, and Ground-type attacks from Pokemon like Infernape and Jirachi as well as Choice-locked Pokemon like Flygon, Dugtrio, and Heracross. Then, Gengar's coverage and natural offensive presence make it excellent at forcing switches, which gives it more opportunities to spread burns. Once foes like Jirachi, Scizor, and Tyranitar are crippled, Gengar has a much easier time dealing with them, since they mostly rely on physical hits. On top of that, Gengar's Ghost typing is useful to prevent Starmie from spinning, and it can be sacrificed to Starmie's Hydro Pump to allow a teammate like Pursuit Choice Scarf Tyranitar to revenge kill it, which helps keep your entry hazards up. Also, keep in mind the drop in damage against certain important targets due to the lack of Special Attack investment; specifically, Focus Blast no longer guarantees an OHKO against bulkless Heatran and Tyranitar, which obviously makes things even dicier against bulkier sets.
When facing stallish archetypes, this Gengar can be a pain to beat because status absorbers like Clefable and RestTalk Rotom-A lose to it one-on-one. It basically forces a foe like Jirachi, Skarmory, Hippowdon, or Bronzong to be burned, which considerably hampers its durability. Taunt is an absolute nightmare for foes that generally sponge Gengar's attacks, as it prevents them from healing. However, using Taunt against Bold Zapdos when you expect it to use Roost is risky, since even uninvested Thunderbolt melts Gengar's poor Defense.
Team Options
========
Gengar works marvelously well alongside entry hazards, as it forces a lot of switches and can stall out some threats with the combination of Taunt and Will-O-Wisp. On top of that, Gengar's Ghost typing is useful to keep them up because it prevents Starmie from spinning. Additionally, Will-O-Wisp doesn't overlap with Toxic Spikes that much, since Flying- and Steel-types are immune to them. This combination guarantees that the foe is most likely going to get statused in some way because nothing besides Heatran, Clefable, and Breloom—which is never going to switch into Gengar—are immune to both poison and burn. Also, two layers of Toxic Spikes in conjunction with Taunt let Gengar wear down foes like Swampert, Blissey, and Milotic as they attempt to set hazards or heal themselves. Skarmory can set up multiple layers of Spikes, which supports Gengar in the long run to help deal with threats like Jirachi and Heatran. Skarmory can also take advantage of having Jirachi and Metagross burned, as it will take a pittance of damage from Fire Punch and Explosion. Swampert can set up Stealth Rock and can switch into Steel-type moves, while Gengar's typing helps it deal with Grass-types, especially Breloom, as it is also immune to Fighting-type moves. A core of Skarmory + Gengar + Swampert on its own would make a solid defensive backbone alongside hazard control. Steel-types in general are awesome to pair with Gengar, as they provide key resistances, and Gengar helps with switching into Ground- and Fighting-type attacks. Heatran can take advantage of the burns Gengar spreads with moves like Magma Storm and Protect and also appreciates Toxic Spikes. Magnezone can take advantage of having Jirachi burned to have an easier time trapping it, while it helps Gengar at dealing with Steel-types. Empoleon really appreciates having foes like Clefable, Blissey, and specially defensive Jirachi being worn down by the combination of Taunt and Will-O-Wisp. Gliscor is also a great option, as it forms a nice Fighting-resistant core and also uses Taunt, compounding with Gengar to pressure defensive teams. Tyranitar is a very interesting option, especially Choice Scarf Tyranitar, as it almost ensures with Gengar that Starmie will not remove hazards. Gengar also helps switch into attacks Tyranitar is weak to. Likewise, Choice Scarf Scizor and Heracross help at dealing with Starmie after Gengar faints, as they both learn Pursuit, have STAB Bug-type attacks, and outspeed it. Pokemon that appreciate having Steel-types burned are also valuable teammates. Latias, for example, has an easier time with Scizor, Bronzong, and Jirachi severely crippled by burn, but this also works for Tyranitar, Roserade, and a Jirachi of your own. Finally, Lucario particularly appreciates having Jirachi burned and the residual damage from entry hazards wearing down foes and has great typing synergy with Gengar.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Emeral, 72767]]
- Quality checked by: [[Excal, 456373], [DeepBlueC, 307789], [BKC, 52012]]
- Grammar checked by: [[Rabia,336073], [The Dutch Plumberjack,232216]]
Last edited: