NationalDex
gengar
#094

Gengar

Shadow Pokémon

GhostPoison

It hides in shadows. It is said that if Gengar is hiding, it cools the area by nearly 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Base Stats

HP 60
Attack 65
Defense 60
Sp. Atk 130
Sp. Def 75
Speed 110
Total 500

Type Effectiveness

Abilities

Held Items

Forms

Evolution Chain

haunter Haunter Lv. 25
gengar Gengar Trade

Moves

Details

Category Shadow Pokémon
Height 1.5 m
Weight 40.5 kg
Base Exp 225
Growth Rate Medium Slow
Capture Rate 45
Base Happiness 70
Gender 50% ♂ / 50% ♀
Habitat Cave
Egg Groups Indeterminate

Sprites

gengar Front Front
gengar Back Back
gengar Front Shiny Front Shiny
gengar Back Shiny Back Shiny
gengar Official Art Official Art
gengar Official Art (Shiny) Official Art (Shiny)

Competitive

Life Orb Attacker
Item
Life Orb
Nature
Timid
EVs
SpA 252
SpD 4
Spe 252

Strategy Overview

Gengar is a unique Pokemon in the STABmons metagame. Its Ghost / Poison typing and its ability, Levitate, provide it with resistances to three common types in Bug, Fairy, and Grass and immunities to three other types in Fighting, Normal, and Ground, making it a good switch-in to notable threats like Landorus-T and Excadrill. Its typing also allows it to have good neutral coverage with its STAB moves alone and perform as a switch-in to most Fake Out + Extreme Speed users; however, the prevalence of Scrappy Fake Out + Extreme Speed users such as Mega Lopunny and Stoutland makes it more difficult for Gengar to stay on the field for long periods of time. Sadly, Gengar has terrible 60 / 60 / 75 bulk, meaning that it will get KOed from almost any neutral hit. Not only that, it is extremely predictable, as it will always either attack or use its utility move. Gengar's Speed tier isn't the most impressive in a metagame where priority and Choice Scarf users are common; however, base 110 Speed lets Gengar outspeed non-Choice Scarf Keldeo and Landorus-T, as well as unboosted Kyurem-B, and Speed tie with Latios and Latias. Additionally, Gengar has the ability to run a coverage move such as Focus Blast to take care of a plethora of Pokemon that resist its STAB moves. It can also run a utility move, giving it some variety depending on what its team needs. Overall, Gengar faces little to no competition thanks to the lack of any other offensive Ghost-types in the STABmons metagame.

Competitive data from Smogon University via data.pkmn.cc