Gengar Moveset: Shadow Ball is Physical?! [Pokemon Silver Version]

[Ryan295]

I really like Gengar a lot since I usually picked Abra before I played Soul Silver, and I wanted to try something new. Now I'm re-playing Silver Version and I got a Gastly. The only Problem is that he's a Special Attacker and I'm afraid to teach him Shadow Ball since Ghost attacks are physical prior to Gen 4. What do you guys think?

Another problem is that he does't have the ability levitate so ground types can hit him with 2x damage.. :frown:

[Riolu Aura Sphere Now]

Shadow Ball is a Special Attack and not a Physical Attack.

[Ryan295]

Shadow Ball is a Special Attack and not a Physical Attack.

Uh sorry to say but ALL ghost type attacks are Physical up to generation 4, even though in Silver Version (gen 2) it lowers special defense which is a mistake.

[Tbird]

Gengar can still be cool. Psychic as a move lost its prowess in the second gen. However, Thunderbolt - Psychic - hypnosis and I believe it gets the elemtal punches, so Ice Punch Would work rather nicely.

Shadow ball though it packs stab really isn't worth it .

[wraith89]

I really like Gengar a lot since I usually picked Abra before I played Soul Silver, and I wanted to try something new. Now I'm re-playing Silver Version and I got a Gastly. The only Problem is that he's a Special Attacker and I'm afraid to teach him Shadow Ball since Ghost attacks are physical prior to Gen 4. What do you guys think?

Another problem is that he does't have the ability levitate so ground types can hit him with 2x damage.. :frown:

Yeah... and Dark moves are Special. Stuff like Crunch, Bite, Faint Attack, etc... can you believe their logic? Gengar still has other options in his movepool, such as Psychic, Hypnosis, Thunderbolt, Ice Punch, Fire Punch, etc. He's still versatile and can mess with his counters and defeat them all if they switch into the wrong move. I used a Haunter back in my Gold version... she served me very well and was one of my most powerful Pokemon. Don't give up on it!

Ground weakness... sucks. Period. But Gengar can outpace most of them who has STAB and hit them with Ice Punch or Giga Drain Rhydon for a OHKO or something. Gengar is still a tricky Pokemon to switch into, but it has such a great coverage...

Shadow Ball is physical, and all four ghosts of Gen II (Gastly/Haunter/Gengar/Misdreavus) cannot utilize it well despite receiving STAB. It's crazy... but it even lowers SpDef, not physical Def. They were intending on making it special... but they couldn't until Gen IV.

You know who to save your TM30 on? The underrated Flareon! Okay, I may sounds crazy, but with an attack score of 130 and a SpDef of 110, Flareon can serve as an anti-Psychic/Ghost Pokemon... and Shadow Ball is one of her strongest attacks to use (as crazy as it sounds). Unless you plan on directly taking Alakazam with Gengar (it's not going to happen), don't bother with Shadow Ball unless you're going for the novelty purpose of mixset... which Gengar can still pull off mind you, but 65 base attack is less than stellar.

EDIT:

The Alakazam Vs Gengar argument. Who is better? It depends on your tastes. Alakazam is a glass cannon... Gengar is the same. However, Gengar has immunity to Normal and Fighting moves (and Toxic), has a much larger movepool, and doesn't need to spam Psychic every time to win unlike Alakazam. Destiny Bond is an awesome move in itself and quite underrated, but can get you a free KO. Alakazam has higher Speed and SpA though, which is arguably more important for a special attacker... but go physical with it? You wish. It really depends on your tastes on who you get. In Gen I and Gen II, I'd say get both, but it's your call.

[Sel]

I actually used an Alakazam and Gengar on my 4th playthruogh of crystal. It worked pretty well. Gengar's toxic came in handy not only in game but also in link battles While thunderbolt punished A lot of foes. Alakazam Was bred to have Encore in order to make up for low defenses. It even had it's advantages when needing to switch to Gengar. In terms of which one is better? I can't decide. Depends on the situation. But Gengar in GenII is a rather good addition to any team in my opinion.