Monotype Mass Extinction (SS Mono Ghost Team)

[piyo!]

End Ordovician (Gengar) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Focus Blast
- Dazzling Gleam

Analysis

Named after the oldest mass extinction out of the "Big Six" that saw the extinction of 45-60% of marine genera and 85% of marine species, Gengar makes up a revenge killer core with Dragapult and was this team's original inspiration. With Choice Scarf as well as speed EV's and Timid, Gengar focuses more on a naturally high special attack to take down threats that shut down sweeps or to deal with potential dark type sweepers that are immune to Prankster. Sludge Bomb was initially played with in place of Sludge Wave for the extra poison chance but it really wasn't worth the 5 less BP, in my opinion.

End Devonian (Corsola-Galar) @ Eviolite
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Strength Sap
- Stealth Rock
- Night Shade

Analysis

The primary hazard setter and a wall in the later game, Corsola is named after the Late Devonian Extinction (also known as the Kellwasser Event) which made 19% of all animal families and around 50% of all animal generas extinct. Corsola was a later addition to the team, replacing Runerigus. I chose Corsola over Runerigus for a bit more defense with Eviolite and Strength Sap at the cost of Toxic Spikes which I think is fine trade given that Corsola already passes around statuses with Will-O-Wisp. Night Shade serves as a way to deal sizable damage (around 20%) to Pokémon that would otherwise resist Ghost such as Grimmsnarl.

End Permian (Aegislash) (M) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Brick Break
- Iron Head

Analysis

Named after the "Great Dying" -- the largest recorded mass extinction event -- Aegislash serves as a great setup sweeper with an attack stat reaching a maximum of over 1,000. Shadow Sneak covers faster Ghost types and possible threats such as Metagross and Tapu Fini. Brick Break deals with the screens that may be set up by Ninetales-Alola or Victini. Iron Head is used to cover fairy types that Gengar either can't deal with due to being KO'd or not wanting to lose the stat boosts from Swords Dance and the Weakness Policy.

End Triassic (Sableye) @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
- Recover

Analysis

Named after the extinction event that secured the dominance of dinosaurs on Earth for 65 million years, Sableye shuts down setup sweepers with Prankster and Taunt as well as Will-O-Wisp to hurt the attack stat. Knock Off gets rid of potentially threatening items such as the Choice family or Weakness Policies and Recover is used to make sure that Sableye can stay in the fight long enough to clear the field of these threats. In all honesty, Sableye is probably the weakest link of the group; by the time a setup sweeper comes out I'm usually busy with a revenge killer to send Sableye out in time to stop at least part of the setup on mons such as Alakazam.

End Cretaceous (Dragapult) @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt

Analysis

Dragapult makes up part of the revenge killer core with Gengar and is named after the mass extinction that saw the end of the dinosaurs and rise of mammals. Choice Specs add onto Dragapult's already decent Special Attack while Timid and 252 EV's in Speed give him a whopping 421 Speed. Infiltrator is chosen to take care of substitute Pokémon such as certain Zapdos sets. Flamethrower has been chosen over Fire Blast for better accuracy, which can potentially win battles. Also, the Pokémon named after the death of the dinosaurs has Draco Meteor. That's funny.

End Holocene (Polteageist) @ White Herb
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Shadow Ball
- Stored Power
- Giga Drain

Analysis

Named after the current ongoing mass extinction due to human influence on Earth, Polteageist is a late game setup sweeper forming a loose core with Aegislash. Shell Smash combined with White Herb adds bonuses to Polteageist's already good Special Attack and Speed. Giga Drain allows Polteageist to stay in the fight for as long as he needs, Shadow Ball takes care of pesky Ghost and Psychic types, and Stored Power has a whopping 140 BP when used alongside Shell Smash, giving Polteageist an incredibly hard-hitting STAB move.

Raw Data

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

Corsola-Galar @ Eviolite
Ability: Cursed Body
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Will-O-Wisp
- Strength Sap
- Stealth Rock
- Night Shade

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Brick Break
- Iron Head

Sableye @ Leftovers
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Taunt
- Will-O-Wisp
- Knock Off
- Recover

Dragapult @ Choice Specs
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- Thunderbolt

Polteageist @ White Herb
Ability: Weak Armor
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shell Smash
- Shadow Ball
- Stored Power
- Giga Drain

 

[plunder]

Hey!

Super cool team, I like the core concept and the team overall looks good, but here's some ways to make it even better:

set changes

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Close Combat / Shadow Claw
- Iron Head

I wanted to keep WP because it's still quite good, however, I opted for close combat over brick break. The power difference is huge and you're not going to be able to break teams down well enough without close combat. Shadow claw is also a viable alternative if you don't want to use close combat.

>

set

Mimikyu @ Life Orb
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Shadow Sneak
- Drain Punch

You've identified Sableye to be the weak link and I fully agree. Mimikyu imo is quite necessary on ghost, just it's ability can help prevent set up sweepers from 6-0'ing you, its access to swords dance also allows it to sweep or at the very least weaken the opposing team down. The set is just the standard set.

>

set

Spectrier @ Leftovers
Ability: Grim Neigh
EVs: 52 HP / 200 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex

Although Polteageist is fun and can definitely be used, I personally find it super inconsistent and at times just not as powerful as I'd expect. Spectrier works better in this team since corsola also will o wisps, allowing you to spam hex more easily, overall you get a lot of good opportunities to sub and cm so your overall potential for sweeping is very high.

These are the main changes, there are definitely other alternatives to the suggestions I made but that would have required a complete overhaul of the team, so I tried improving the team with the base that you had.

Final updated paste:https://pokepast.es/1bce694bc3c47d57

Hope you enjoy! and if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'm happy to help.

 

[Mada]

Hello! I played ghost for a while so i will try to help you!
I directly see that you don't have Spectrier, which imo is the strongest mon in ghost along with dpult. I also see that you are missing Mimikyu which i think it's essential in Ghost, since it saves u from mons like hydre and gmoltres and can sometimes help against steel and flying and overall after a sd he can be really strong, even tho there are mons like tpex and corvi and that's why spectrier can be good as well with sub cm.

gengar is a great mon but after a lot of tests i decided that i prefer blacephalon.
Gengar : He is able to remove tspikes, large movepool, hits hydreigon, has a large movepool and can outpace other scarf gengar's and can tie the latis. + he can help against ground and fairy MU.
Blace : Hits way harder, after one boost he can become a winco against a lot of teams, and he helps a lot against Flying and steel, besides being a good presence against other types like fairy, Ground, fire, ice and poison. He can also Trick some annoying mons like tpex or blissey.
If you didn't, i would suggest u to try Blace as well and maybe to decide. Beside that a move i liked a lot was energy ball for boh ground and water, since in ladder u can sometimes like join into pert or gastro toxic and click eball, or he can just become a good winco against those types.

Classical set, i run it spdef but people doesn't like it, i just do since u have wow and stregth sap for physical attackers and there are only a few mons that can ohko u and being max def doesn't really help against them, it can only prevent some 2hkoes. I run 48 EVs in speed for Melmetal since the mon kinda destroys everyone in ghost, but i m not sure if it is needed on max def.

good set but Close Combat is better over Brick Break and i still prefer king's shield over sd but sd + wpolicy can make u really strong. I also sugget you to run like 12 EVs in speed to outpace other 60 base speed mons + u outpace no investment steela and ttar.

as i said, you should replace it with Mimikyu, since he saves u from a lot of things. You can run LO which i consider the best or i saw some Red Cards,along the classica SD moveset. If you want to keep sableye (i highly reccomend to change him) you can try encore over taunt to resolve the setup sweepers problem.

specs pult is always good but i think DD set is the strongest. You can run Leftovers and i suggest them only if you use Substitute, since u kinda recover some HP with Phantom Force and Sub. Dragon Fang can be good with or without Sub, and i think some people runs LO as well but i'm not sure if it is that good. An important Point might be Clear Body : not only for Intimidate's but it helps u against webs since you don't have a removal, so it can help u beat things like bug or electric with webs.

Ngl this mon can be a good niche, even tho i prefer Strength Sap as 4th move, but Spectrier is kinda needed on ghost and i simply think u should for sure change it. This is my spread i use for Spectrier :

Spread

Harley Quinn (Spectrier) @ Leftovers
Ability: Grim Neigh
EVs: 188 HP / 104 Def / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Calm Mind
- Hex
- Substitute

I hope this helps :)

 

[style.css]

It seems like I’m always late to the party but I did want to throw my two cents in as well. Plunder and AtraX Madara did a great job (which is to be expected).


I totally agree with Plunder on adding Close Combat or Shadow Claw over Brick Break. The kn suggestion I would make is to the EV spread. If you change the EVs to the following you live an Earth Power from Nidoking from full HP which otherwise could be a pain to set up on.

EVs: 252 HP / 228 AtK / 28 SpD

Here’s where you could take a bit of a different route. Spectrier is great, but if you wanted to keep Sableye, you could replace Polteageist with Mimikyu. The fast Fairy type is essential on Ghost with the 6th slot being flexible; a great place to try out Sableye if you want.

Other than that, I think the suggestions above me were right on point. Hopefully my little bit helps too!

 

[piyo!]

Wow, way more responses than my Ice team. Thanks, all! I'll get down to replying to all of these later but know that I've read them all.

 

[piyo!]

Hey!

Super cool team, I like the core concept and the team overall looks good, but here's some ways to make it even better:

set changes

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak
- Close Combat / Shadow Claw
- Iron Head

I wanted to keep WP because it's still quite good, however, I opted for close combat over brick break. The power difference is huge and you're not going to be able to break teams down well enough without close combat. Shadow claw is also a viable alternative if you don't want to use close combat.

>

set

Mimikyu @ Life Orb
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Play Rough
- Shadow Sneak
- Drain Punch

You've identified Sableye to be the weak link and I fully agree. Mimikyu imo is quite necessary on ghost, just it's ability can help prevent set up sweepers from 6-0'ing you, its access to swords dance also allows it to sweep or at the very least weaken the opposing team down. The set is just the standard set.

>

set

Spectrier @ Leftovers
Ability: Grim Neigh
EVs: 52 HP / 200 Def / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Will-O-Wisp
- Hex

Although Polteageist is fun and can definitely be used, I personally find it super inconsistent and at times just not as powerful as I'd expect. Spectrier works better in this team since corsola also will o wisps, allowing you to spam hex more easily, overall you get a lot of good opportunities to sub and cm so your overall potential for sweeping is very high.

These are the main changes, there are definitely other alternatives to the suggestions I made but that would have required a complete overhaul of the team, so I tried improving the team with the base that you had.

Final updated paste:https://pokepast.es/1bce694bc3c47d57

Hope you enjoy! and if you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'm happy to help.

Going mon-by-mon:

1. Replacing BB with CC is an idea I've seen floating around. I'm still not sold on losing defenses and a way to break screens, but I guess with SD and Weakness Policy it could be worth it. I'll think about it.

2. Mimikyu can help deal with setup sweepers, true, which Sableye can't cover with Taunt and Prankster against a Dark team. Mimikyu will probably end up replacing Sableye in the end.

3. I really don't like using legendaries. That being said, Spectrier with Hex (alongside Corsola throwing out statuses) might be worth a look at. Another reason I'm keeping Polteageist around is for coverage against Poison; if Aegislash is taken out then Polteageist can cover with a Shell Smash boost that makes him faster than Tailwind. Thanks for looking at the team!

Hello! I played ghost for a while so i will try to help you!
I directly see that you don't have Spectrier, which imo is the strongest mon in ghost along with dpult. I also see that you are missing Mimikyu which i think it's essential in Ghost, since it saves u from mons like hydre and gmoltres and can sometimes help against steel and flying and overall after a sd he can be really strong, even tho there are mons like tpex and corvi and that's why spectrier can be good as well with sub cm.

gengar is a great mon but after a lot of tests i decided that i prefer blacephalon.
Gengar : He is able to remove tspikes, large movepool, hits hydreigon, has a large movepool and can outpace other scarf gengar's and can tie the latis. + he can help against ground and fairy MU.
Blace : Hits way harder, after one boost he can become a winco against a lot of teams, and he helps a lot against Flying and steel, besides being a good presence against other types like fairy, Ground, fire, ice and poison. He can also Trick some annoying mons like tpex or blissey.
If you didn't, i would suggest u to try Blace as well and maybe to decide. Beside that a move i liked a lot was energy ball for boh ground and water, since in ladder u can sometimes like join into pert or gastro toxic and click eball, or he can just become a good winco against those types.

Classical set, i run it spdef but people doesn't like it, i just do since u have wow and stregth sap for physical attackers and there are only a few mons that can ohko u and being max def doesn't really help against them, it can only prevent some 2hkoes. I run 48 EVs in speed for Melmetal since the mon kinda destroys everyone in ghost, but i m not sure if it is needed on max def.

good set but Close Combat is better over Brick Break and i still prefer king's shield over sd but sd + wpolicy can make u really strong. I also sugget you to run like 12 EVs in speed to outpace other 60 base speed mons + u outpace no investment steela and ttar.

as i said, you should replace it with Mimikyu, since he saves u from a lot of things. You can run LO which i consider the best or i saw some Red Cards,along the classica SD moveset. If you want to keep sableye (i highly reccomend to change him) you can try encore over taunt to resolve the setup sweepers problem.

specs pult is always good but i think DD set is the strongest. You can run Leftovers and i suggest them only if you use Substitute, since u kinda recover some HP with Phantom Force and Sub. Dragon Fang can be good with or without Sub, and i think some people runs LO as well but i'm not sure if it is that good. An important Point might be Clear Body : not only for Intimidate's but it helps u against webs since you don't have a removal, so it can help u beat things like bug or electric with webs.

Ngl this mon can be a good niche, even tho i prefer Strength Sap as 4th move, but Spectrier is kinda needed on ghost and i simply think u should for sure change it. This is my spread i use for Spectrier :

Spread

Harley Quinn (Spectrier) @ Leftovers
Ability: Grim Neigh
EVs: 188 HP / 104 Def / 216 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp
- Calm Mind
- Hex
- Substitute

I hope this helps :)

Going mon-by-mon:

1. I think I'll continue to use Gengar. I tried out Blace a bit on a fire team a few weeks back and I just don't really like playing with him. I also have a bit of a stigma around using legendaries. I'll also like to put out the fact that since Water is quite prevalent (or at least was the last time I was really into competitive Mono) Blace can be shut down relatively quickly by Swift Swim teams.

2. SpDef on Corsola might be worth playing with. I'll try it out.

3. I've seen people say Close Combat is better than Brick Break and I think I'm starting to agree. I'm still not fond of losing so much defense as well as losing a way to deal somewhat reliably with screens but it's a good point to make. I'm not going to take King's Shield over SD though because with SD and Weakness Policy Aegislash is busted.

4. Many are recommending Mimikyu over Sableye and I think I'll agree here. Sableye was always a bit of a weak link IMO and Mimikyu is a really good replacement.

5. Dragapult is being used primarily as a revenge killer, not a setup sweeper; that's what Aegislash and Polteageist are used for. I don't think DD is a good choice for Dragapult's niche in this team and would only add another setup sweeper to a team that doesn't really need another one.

6. Like I said, I have a bit of a stigma around using legendary mons but I can't deny that Spectrier is super good. I might try out Strength Sap in place of Giga Drain, though.

It seems like I’m always late to the party but I did want to throw my two cents in as well. Plunder and AtraX Madara did a great job (which is to be expected).


I totally agree with Plunder on adding Close Combat or Shadow Claw over Brick Break. The kn suggestion I would make is to the EV spread. If you change the EVs to the following you live an Earth Power from Nidoking from full HP which otherwise could be a pain to set up on.



Here’s where you could take a bit of a different route. Spectrier is great, but if you wanted to keep Sableye, you could replace Polteageist with Mimikyu. The fast Fairy type is essential on Ghost with the 6th slot being flexible; a great place to try out Sableye if you want.

Other than that, I think the suggestions above me were right on point. Hopefully my little bit helps too!

Your suggestions are totally worth it! I didn't even think about changing Aegi's EV's (I'm not huge into EV's) but that's totally worth a change IMO.

Thanks for looking at the team, everybody!