Competitive Information for Gengar [Diamond/Pearl]
Ghost / Poison
Abilities:
This Pokemon is immune to Ground; Gravity/Ingrain/Iron Ball nullify it.
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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 Diamond/Pearl Single Battles. The movesets and EVs are designed to maximize damage against common opponents and threats in the Diamond/Pearl metagame. Check out the expert movesets below to boost your battle performance and dominate your opponents!
Meet Gengar, a marvelous Pokémon ready to dominate with its Ghost and Poison typing! It's a sight to see Gengar out in the 4th generation battlefield. It is weak to Dark, Ghost, Ground, and Psychic-typed attacks. Uncover the best movesets for Gengar below and optimize your gameplay!
Item: Life Orb / Black Sludge
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Moveset:
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Substitute
- Will-O-Wisp
When it comes to single battles, Gengar shines as a top-notch Special Sweeper. The intention of this moveset is to crush rivals using forceful special power. 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 damaging Ground-typed moves. Levitate also makes Gengar unaffected by the effects of Spikes, Arena Trap or Toxic Spikes. Keep in mind that Ingrain, Gravity and the Iron ball item will nullify Levitate's effect. With a Black Sludge equipped to it, each turn, if Gengar is a poison type, restores 1/16 max hp; loses 1/8 if not.
◆ 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).
◆ 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/eaa5e
Item: Focus Sash / Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 92 Hp / 252 SpA / 164 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Moveset:
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball / Ominous Wind
- Thunderbolt
- Psychic
Ready for single battles? Gengar is a stunning Special Sweeper. This setup is intended to take down the opponent's team with lethal special power. Focus Sash helps protect Gengar from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out (usually Ominous Wind to boost Gengar for the following turns). Choice Specs will increase the damage of Gengar's special moves by 1.5x but will lock you into the first move you pick. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to damaging Ground-typed moves. Levitate also makes Gengar unaffected by the effects of Spikes, Arena Trap or Toxic Spikes. Keep in mind that Ingrain, Gravity and the Iron ball item will nullify Levitate's effect.
◆ 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/eba5e
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 4 Hp / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Moveset:
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball / Taunt
- Substitute
- Disable
Gengar is a fabulous Special Sweeper to use for single battles. It's goal is to overwhelm foes with potent special power. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Gengar last longer regaining it's health points every turn. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to damaging Ground-typed moves. Levitate also makes Gengar unaffected by the effects of Spikes, Arena Trap or Toxic Spikes. Keep in mind that Ingrain, Gravity and the Iron ball item will nullify Levitate's effect. 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 (for 3-5 turns, the target can't use status moves).
◆ Substitute is a status move (Gengar takes 1/4 its max hp to put in a substitute).
◆ Disable is a status move (for 4-7 turns, disables the target's last move).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/eca5e
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Mild (+SpA, -Def)
EVs: 57 Hp / 213 Atk / 240 SpA
Moveset:
- Focus Blast
- Mean Look
- Toxic
- Thunderbolt
When it comes to single battles, Gengar shines as a superb Mixed Tank. Leftovers are always a great recovery option to ensure Gengar last longer regaining it's HP every turn. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to damaging Ground-typed moves. Levitate also makes Gengar unaffected by the effects of Spikes, Arena Trap or Toxic Spikes. Keep in mind that Ingrain, Gravity and the Iron ball item will nullify Levitate's effect.
◆ 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/eda5e
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 152 Def / 252 SpA / 104 SpD
Moveset:
- Confuse Ray
- Dream Eater
- Hypnosis
- Toxic / Shadow Ball
In single battles, Gengar's Special Tank role is an interesting. This moveset was created to take a mighty 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 life every turn. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to damaging Ground-typed moves. Levitate also makes Gengar unaffected by the effects of Spikes, Arena Trap or Toxic Spikes. Keep in mind that Ingrain, Gravity and the Iron ball item will nullify Levitate's effect.
◆ 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/eea5e
Movesets for Doubles
Need a strong doubles moveset for Gengar? These builds are perfect for VGC (Pokémon Video Game Championship) and other competitive Diamond/Pearl 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 Diamond/Pearl metagame with these expert-crafted setups!
Item: Focus Sash / Choice Specs
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
Nature: Timid (+Spe, -Atk)
EVs: 92 Hp / 252 SpA / 164 Spe
IVs: 0 Atk
Moveset:
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball / Ominous Wind
- Icy Wind
- Thunderbolt
In double battles, Gengar's Special Sweeper role is a noteworthy. This moveset is designed to crush rivals using powerful special moves. Focus Sash helps protect Gengar from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out (usually Ominous Wind to boost Gengar for the following turns). Choice Specs will increase the damage of Gengar's special moves by 1.5x but will lock you into the first move you pick. With Levitate, Gengar is immune to damaging Ground-typed moves. Levitate also makes Gengar unaffected by the effects of Spikes, Arena Trap or Toxic Spikes. Keep in mind that Ingrain, Gravity and the Iron ball item will nullify Levitate's effect.
◆ 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/faa5e
Item: Focus Sash / Poison Barb
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Quiet (+SpA, -Spe)
Nature: Modest (+SpA, -Atk)
EVs: 220 Hp / 36 Def / 252 SpA
Moveset:
- Sludge Bomb
- Shadow Ball / Ominous Wind
- Thunderbolt
- Trick Room
Gengar makes an a superb Offensive Trick Roomer in single battles. Focus Sash helps protect Gengar from being one-shotted and allowing it to atleast use a crucial move when brought out (usually Ominous Wind to boost Gengar for the following turns). With Levitate, Gengar is immune to damaging Ground-typed moves. Levitate also makes Gengar unaffected by the effects of Spikes, Arena Trap or Toxic Spikes. Keep in mind that Ingrain, Gravity and the Iron ball item will nullify Levitate's effect. With a Poison Barb equipped to it, Gengar's poison-type attacks have 1.2x power.
◆ 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).
◆ Trick Room is a status move (goes last. For 5 turns, turn order is reversed).
Link (click to copy):
https://hohoushome.com/b/fba5e
Movepool
Want to know what moves Gengar can learn? Check out the full list of moves available in the Pokemon Diamond/Pearl 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 Diamond/Pearl. 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 DP Move and Ability Combos for Gengar
- 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: Hypnosis, Will-O-Wisp, Toxic
Moves that boost Gengar's stats
- Curse
- Ominous Wind
Most notable and possible best moves for Gengar
- Destiny Bond
- Explosion
- Focus Blast
- Hidden Power Fire
- Knock Off
- Pain Split
- Protect
- Psychic
- Rest
- Shadow Ball
- Sleep Talk
- Substitute
- Taunt
- Thunderbolt
- Toxic
- Will-O-Wisp
Common Effort Values for Gengar in Diamond and Pearl
- Timid Nature ( 0/0/0/252/4/252/ )
- Timid Nature ( 4/0/0/252/0/252/ )
- Optimize Gengar's Defensive EV-spread for Pokemon Diamond and Pearl
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.
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Here are the best movesets for Gengar. Top rated Gengar Diamond/Pearl movesets. You can find Gengar builds Diamond/Pearl. Gengar movesets Diamond/Pearl are listed here. VGC Gengar Competitive Movesets can be found here. Find various EV spreads, find the best nature for Gengar in Diamond/Pearl along with competitive movesets. Basic info and Movesets for evolution