Competitive Information for Gengar [Black/White]
Ghost / Poison
Abilities:
This Pokemon is immune to Ground; Gravity/Ingrain/Smack Down/Iron Ball nullify it.
Disclaimer: All videos and opinions are owned by their respective creators and may not reflect our views.
Note: Pokemon with the Levitate ability are immune to Ground attacks.
Movesets for Singles
Looking for a competitive moveset for Gengar? These builds are optimized for Black/White Single Battles. The movesets and EVs are designed to maximize damage against common opponents and threats in the Black/White metagame. Check out the expert movesets below to boost your battle performance and dominate your opponents!
Meet Gengar, an exceptional Pokémon ready to dominate with its Ghost and Poison typing! It's a sight to see Gengar out in the 5th generation battlefield. It is weak to Dark, Ghost, Ground, and Psychic-typed attacks. Explore the movesets of Gengar below to understand its battle capabilities.
Item: Black Sludge / Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball / Destiny Bond
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
Gengar is an awesome Special Sweeper. It's purpose is to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Gengar from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to ground; gravity/ingrain/smack down/iron ball nullify it.
♦ Shadow Ball is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Ghost-type move (20% chance to lower the target's special defense by 1 stage).
♦ Destiny Bond is a status move (if an opponent knocks out your Gengar, it also faints).
♦ Substitute is a status move (Gengar takes 1/4 its max hp to put in a substitute).
♦ Will-O-Wisp is a status move (burns the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/gaa5e
Item: Life Orb / Poison Barb
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 92 Hp / 252 SpA / 164 Spe
Moveset:
- Sludge Wave / Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball / Ominous Wind
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
Gengar is an extraordinary Special Sweeper. This moveset attempts to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Gengar from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Gengar's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to ground; gravity/ingrain/smack down/iron ball nullify it.
♦ Sludge Bomb is a special STAB-boosted 90-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
♦ Shadow Ball is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Ghost-type move (20% chance to lower the target's special defense by 1 stage).
♦ Ominous Wind is a special STAB-boosted 60-base power Ghost-type move (10% chance to raise all stats by 1 stage (not acc/eva)).
♦ Thunderbolt is a special 95-base power Electric-type move (10% chance to paralyze the target).
♦ Psychic is a special 90-base power Psychic-type move (10% chance to lower the target's special defense by 1 stage).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/gba5e
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Moveset:
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball / Taunt
- Substitute
- Disable
Gengar is an extraordinary Special Sweeper. It's meant to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Gengar last longer regaining it's it's life every turn. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to ground; gravity/ingrain/smack down/iron ball nullify it. The goal of this build is so once they've taken down your Substitute, Disable ruins the move that likely had the best chance of getting Gengar out of the way. Substitute is to give you a buffer against Paralysis, Pursuit users, and make Disable far easier to pull off. It also helps ruin mono-attacking walls (such as Ferrothorn, Blissey, Chansey, etc) and offensive Pokemon that only have one or two coverage moves. Shadow Ball and Focus Blast give Gengar perfect neutral coverage (with Shadow Ball getting a nice STAB) making it all the easier to either cripple an opponent by removing it's only method of Gengar annihilation or KOing them with a powerful attack that is going to hit them for either normally effective or super effective damage.
♦ Shadow Ball is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Ghost-type move (20% chance to lower the target's special defense by 1 stage).
♦ Taunt is a status move (target can't use status moves its next 3 turns).
♦ Substitute is a status move (Gengar takes 1/4 its max hp to put in a substitute).
♦ Disable is a status move (for 4 turns, disables the target's last move used).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/gca5e
Item: Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Quiet (+SpA, -Spe)
EVs: 131 Hp / 124 Def / 252 SpA
Moveset:
- Hex
- Venoshock
- Dark Pulse
- Toxic
Gengar is a notable Special Tank. It's primary goal is to take a considerable amount of hits from special attacks while dealing some decent damage. Life Orb boosts the power of Gengar's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to ground; gravity/ingrain/smack down/iron ball nullify it.
♦ Venoshock is a special STAB-boosted 65-base power Poison-type move (power doubles if the target is poisoned).
♦ Dark Pulse is a special 80-base power Dark-type move (20% chance to flinch the target).
♦ Toxic is a status move (badly poisons the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/gda5e
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Mild (+SpA, -Def)
EVs: 57 Hp / 213 Atk / 240 SpA
Moveset:
- Focus Blast
- Mean Look
- Toxic
- Thunderbolt
Gengar is a phenomenal Mixed Tank. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Gengar last longer regaining it's stamina every turn. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to ground; gravity/ingrain/smack down/iron ball nullify it.
♦ Mean Look is a status move (prevents the target from switching out).
♦ Toxic is a status move (badly poisons the target).
♦ Thunderbolt is a special 95-base power Electric-type move (10% chance to paralyze the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/gea5e
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 152 Def / 252 SpA / 104 SpD
Moveset:
- Confuse Ray
- Dream Eater
- Hypnosis
- Toxic / Shadow Ball
Gengar is an extraordinary Special Tank. It's meant to take a substantial amount of hits from special attacks while dealing some decent damage. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Gengar last longer regaining it's stamina every turn. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to ground; gravity/ingrain/smack down/iron ball nullify it.
♦ Dream Eater is a special 100-base power Psychic-type move (Gengar gains 1/2 hp inflicted. sleeping target only).
♦ Hypnosis is a status move (causes the target to fall asleep).
♦ Toxic is a status move (badly poisons the target).
♦ Shadow Ball is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Ghost-type move (20% chance to lower the target's special defense by 1 stage).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/gfa5e
Movesets for Doubles
Need a strong doubles moveset for Gengar? These builds are perfect for VGC (Pokémon Video Game Championship) and other competitive Black/White Double Battles. The VGC is the ultimate test of strategy and skill, and these movesets and EVs are designed to excel against multiple opponents at once while providing essential support to your team. Dominate the Black/White metagame with these expert-crafted setups!
Item: Life Orb / Poison Barb
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 92 Hp / 252 SpA / 164 Spe
Moveset:
- Sludge Wave / Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball / Ominous Wind
- Icy Wind
- Thunderbolt
Gengar is a notable Special Sweeper. It's primary goal is to take down the opponent's team with high-damaging special attacks. Focus Sash helps protect Gengar from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out. Life Orb boosts the power of Gengar's damaging moves by 1.3x but it then loses 1/10 its max HP immediately after the attack. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to ground; gravity/ingrain/smack down/iron ball nullify it.
♦ Sludge Bomb is a special STAB-boosted 90-base power Poison-type move (30% chance to poison the target).
♦ Shadow Ball is a special STAB-boosted 80-base power Ghost-type move (20% chance to lower the target's special defense by 1 stage).
♦ Ominous Wind is a special STAB-boosted 60-base power Ghost-type move (10% chance to raise all stats by 1 stage (not acc/eva)).
♦ Icy Wind is a special 55-base power Ice-type move (100% chance to lower the foes speed by 1 stage).
♦ Thunderbolt is a special 95-base power Electric-type move (10% chance to paralyze the target).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/haa5e
Movepool
Want to know what moves Gengar can learn? Check out the full list of moves available in the Pokemon Black/White generation.
Sort and organize the learnset by type, category, accuracy, and power. Moves in bold get the same-type attack bonus (STAB) when used by Gengar.
Damage Modifiers:
Combo List
These are a list of several common move combinations Gengar can perform in Black/White. Not every combo going to be game-changing, but some can be pretty fun to play with. Sometimes these can be easily overlooked or forgotten, hence why we find and list them here. Discover what items, abilities, and moves this Pokemon can use in combination with each other to gain a strategic advantage in competitive battles.
Competitive BW Move and Ability Combos for Gengar
- Moves: Swagger + Foul play
- Moves: Swagger + Psych up
- Moves: Psych up + Haze
- Moves: Rain dance + Thunder
- Moves: Rest + Sleep talk
- Moves: Rest + Snore
- Moves: Substitute + Drain punch
- Moves: Perish song + Protect
- Moves: Pain split + Toxic
- Moves: Pain split + Will-o-wisp
- Move: Swagger + Item: Mirror Herb
- Move: Fling + Item: King's Rock
- Move: Facade + Item: Flame Orb
- Move: Facade + Item: Toxic Orb
- Item: Blunder Policy + Move: Dynamic Punch
- Moves with Priority: Endure, Protect, Snatch, Sucker Punch
- Moves that Break Screens: Brick Break
- Moves that inflict status (and combo with the move Hex): Hypnosis, Will-O-Wisp, Toxic
Moves that boost Gengar's stats
- Curse
- Ominous Wind
Most notable and possible best moves for Gengar
- Destiny Bond
- Focus Blast
- Focus Punch
- Knock Off
- Pain Split
- Protect
- Protect
- Rest
- Shadow Ball
- Sludge Wave
- Substitute
- Taunt
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Toxic
- Trick
- Will-O-Wisp
Common Effort Values for Gengar in Black and White
- Timid Nature ( 0/0/0/252/4/252/ )
- Timid Nature ( 4/0/0/252/0/252/ )
- Optimize Gengar's Defensive EV-spread for Pokemon Black and White
Usage Data
Explore the latest analytical usage data for this Pokémon from various VGC and online competitions. We use this data to develop our strategies and movesets. The data is categorized by competition and skill level: top-ranking trainers, mid-level players, and entry-level players.
THIS SECTION IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Some builds on this page have been hidden, click here to display them
Here are the best movesets for Gengar. Top rated Gengar Black/White movesets. You can find Gengar builds Black/White. Gengar movesets Black/White are listed here. VGC Gengar Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Gengar in Black/White along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution