Overused Pokemon Showcase (Week 4)

[Reignited'Light]

[[: OU SHOWCASE WITH DESTRUCTIVE SKITTY :]]

Pokemon of the week is...

Gengar

Viability in OU:

A+ Rank- Gengar is one of those Pokemon that is just unstoppable if played correctly. It checks many common OU 'mons like Clefable and speedties with Latias, Latios, and Mega Metagross. It can even hold its own against a Tyranitar if Gengar chooses to carry Focus Blast! It's a excellent pokemon that should be considered in Balanced or Hyper Offense teams depending on the set and spread you choose. There are not many counters to Gengar, but checks that do run around are Choice Scarf Tyranitar and Bisharp. Those two aren't counters due to the fact that they can be destroyed or crippled by a Focus Blast or a Will-O-Wisp. Gengar's strength and clever tactics will be able to lead your team to victory!

Recommended Movesets

Gengar (M) @ Black Sludge

Trait: Levitate

EVs: 28 HP / 228 SAtk / 252 Spd

IVs: 0 Atk

Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)

- Hex

- Will-O-Wisp

- Sludge Wave

- Substitute

Gengar is a excellent stallbreaker utilizing Will-O-Wisp + Hex. Sludge Wave is a excellent STAB move that compliments Gengar, hitting Clefable harder than Hex. The last slot features the move Substitute. Behind a substitute, Gengar can burn Bisharp and Tyranitar more easily. It also plays mind games with Sucker Punch! It's a simple moveset, but with great rewards at the end of the battlefield!
28 HP EVs are included because it is a Black Sludge recovery number. (Meaning you will benefit the most from black sludge)
This Gengar is best with Balanced teams that tend to have trouble against stall teams.

Gengar @ Life Orb

Ability: Levitate

EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe

IVs: 29 HP / 0 Atk

Timid Nature

- Shadow Ball

- Sludge Wave

- Focus Blast

- Taunt

This Gengar tends to lean towards a more offensive approach. Shadow Ball + Focus Blast have perfect coverage that hits everything in this metagame unresisted. Sludge Wave is on the set to hit annoying Fairy types like Clefable, Mega Gardevoir, Sylveon, and Azumarill. Taunt is used to stop many stall teams that can recover/roost off the damage from Gengar and attempt to Life Orb stall it. Taunt is also a move that prevents opposing sweepers from cleaning up your team, like Swords Dance Scizor, Dragon Dance Charizard, and Gyarados! Gengar is supposed to dish out many attacks, while having a late game sweeper to clean up the mess Gengar made.
29 HP IVs are used because it is able to take the least amount of damage from Life Orb, so that means Gengar can stay around slightly longer.

This Gengar is able to perform well in Balanced and Hyper Offense teams due to its powerful attacks and utility with Taunt.

Making plays

Gengar is really powerful; Its defenses are not. So it's best to bring Gengar into a pokemon by predicting a switch or having a slow Volt-Turn combination. Once Gengar is in play, you are free to spam Will-O-Wisp with the first recommended set so you are able to abuse Hex later in game. Gengar should be preserved so you are able to beat Stall and cripple the opposing team.

The second set breaks walls and stall. Gengar tends to force many switches, so you should predict more often with Gengar by using one of the three powerful moves Gengar can utilize. If there is a potential sweeper on the field, do not be afraid to use Taunt to stop the opposing Pokemon from using Swords Dance/Quiver Dance/Set-up move.

Team Synergy

Lopunny is a excellent partner with Gengar. Together, they are able to hit everything for unresisted damage. Lopunny cleans up the mess Gengar created by spamming powerful unresisted High Jump Kicks + Frustration.
Another excellent partner for Gengar is a powerful and fast set up sweeper. Charizard-X, Mega Altaria, and Volcarona are great examples, as Gengar will be able to weaken the opposing team so said sweeper can clean up!

[Kamina]

This guide looks pretty good. Gengar is a really good pokemon to slap on a team because not many pokemon resist its stab moves + focus blast/will o wisp and it out speeds most of the meta. Bulky offensive teams especially have nothing to combat gengar (unless scarf t-tar) and usually have to sack/weaken something in the process of trying to check it. Other uncommon, but viable, moves that gengar can run are destiny bond (take out a slower pokemon when weakened), icy wind (for sp defensive gliscor/ lando-t/ dragon pokemon) and hp fire (scizor/ferrothorn switch ins).