[OVERVIEW]
Gengar is a thoroughly dominant offensive threat in GSC OU. This in no short part due to its excellent Special Attack and vast movepool letting it deal noticeable damage to nearly the entire tier. Its typing grants Gengar unique defensive utility, which is especially questionable as upon first glance, Gengar is quite frail. However, its typing boasts a whopping 3 immunities and solid resistances to Bug- and Grass-type moves, which lets it pivot in on threats such as non-Earthquake Snorlax, Machamp, and Heracross. Gengar's typing is also unique because it is one of two viable Pokemon that can block Rapid Spin and maintain offensive pressure by helping maintain its team's Spikes. Gengar's movepool is also very colorful, boasting a wide array of options, both offensively and utility-wise, making it very hard to check for the majority of the tier. It is able to keep offensive momentum with moves like Destiny Bond, Explosion, and Thief while still being able to flex its neutral coverage.
However, Gengar lacks a STAB option to use off of its tremendous Special Attack stat, meaning that it is often forced to rely on super effective hits to deal damage. This is rather worrisome, as it means Gengar is rather prediction reliant and is less reliable as an offensive Pokemon in the early game, often relying on repeated chip damage to help it make progress. In addition to this, Gengar is weak to common coverage moves such as Earthquake and Psychic, which, when paired with its meager bulk, makes its matchups against Pokemon like Machamp, Heracross, and Starmie much more shaky. On top of this, Gengar has a major weakness to Pursuit, leaving it extremely vulnerable to trapping from the likes of Tyranitar and Umbreon. Gengar's meager bulk also means that it is unreliable at stomaching neutral hits, making chip damage even more necessary for Gengar to succeed so that it can KO mons without having to take many hits.
[SET]
name: Offensive
move 1: Thunderbolt / Thunder
move 2: Ice Punch
move 3: Explosion
move 4: Dynamic Punch / Thief / Hypnosis / Destiny Bond
item: Leftovers / No Item
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
Gengar is a great offensive Pokemon on many different styles of teams, ranging from spikes offense to balance teams that boasts perfect neutral coverage that allows it to hit the entire tier for at least neutral damage. Thunderbolt is Gengar's strongest coverage move, hitting various Water-types such as Cloyster, Suicune, and Vaporeon. Thunderbolt is generally more applicable for Gengar, as its poor bulk means that it usually cannot afford to miss against these threats, but Thunder is able to hit specially bulky Pokemon such as Raikou, Umbreon, and Kingdra for more damage upon switching in. Ice Punch compliments Thunderbolt very well, hitting the Ground-types that are immune to Electric-type moves like Golem, Marowak, and Rhydon, while also hitting Pokemon like Exeggutor and Zapdos. Ice Punch also allows for Gengar to fish for freeze against foes that it struggles against, namely Snorlax, Raikou, and Steelix. Explosion is an extremely important part of Gengar's gameplan, keeping offensive momentum and taking advantage of Gengar's capability of luring in special walls that are less capable physically. Notably, Explosion is able to OHKO Raikou after Spikes damage, which can be huge for Gengar's specially offensive teammates as Raikou often brings them to a halt. The last moveslot is quite versatile, generally being reserved for a utility option to mess around with special walls. Dynamic Punch is a useful coverage move, letting Gengar deal better damage to Pokemon like Snorlax, Tyranitar, and Umbreon while also putting them in range of an Explosion. With no item, Thief is able to cripple Pokemon like Zapdos, Raikou, Marowak, and other Pokemon who are heavily reliant on their item to function reliably. Hypnosis can put common Gengar answers such as Tyranitar and Umbreon out of comission. However, it comes with the risk of being able to miss, which is futher exemplified by Gengar's meager bulk. Destiny Bond can turn the tables on the aforementioned answers, forcing a trade and maintaining offensive momentum for its teammates.
Team Options
========
Gengar is a staple on offense teams thanks to its versatility and solid defensive typing. Pokemon that appreciate Gengar luring in special walls like Snorlax, Raikou, Tyranitar, and Blissey and eliminating them with Explosion make for solid partners. Zapdos, Starmie, Jynx, and Alakazam make for great offensive partners, as they all
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
List some options for the Pokemon user that are plausible but not always recommended due to either being not consistent enough or too outclassed by other Pokemon in the metagame.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Special Walls**: Describe the counterplay / check / counter.
**Dark-types**: Describe the counterplay / check / counter.
**Ground-types**: Describe the counterplay / check / counter.
**Snorlax**:
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[BT89, 487308]]
- Quality checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
- Grammar checked by: [[, ], [, ]]
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