Physical
Sweeper
STier
110Speed · Fast

Stats & Training

The stat budget goes to damage. Sp. Atk and Speed carry the offense, HP doesn't even come close. A Shadow Pokemon on a 1.06M XP medium-slow curve, worth 3 Sp. Atk EVs per KO.

Base Stats
High
HP60
C
Attack65
C
Defense60
C
Sp. Atk130
A
Sp. Def75
C
Speed110
B
Total500
Details
Catch Rate
Challenging45 / 255
Growth Rate
Medium Slow1.06M XP
Height1.5 m
4'11"Average
Weight40.5 kg
89.3 lbsLight
Base XP250
High Yield
Abilities
Cursed Body
Has a 30% chance of Disabling any move that hits the Pokémon.
EV Yield
HPAtkDefSpA+3SpDSpe
Strong Special Attack training target
Pokedex Entries

Deep in the night, your shadow cast by a streetlight may suddenly overtake you. It is actually a GENGAR running past you, pretending to be your shadow.

Emerald

Gengar Weakness

Type-wise, Gengar takes extra damage from Ground, Psychic, Ghost, and Dark. Normal and Fighting moves do nothing thanks to a full immunity. At base 110 Speed, Gengar outspeeds most threats and doesn't need to tank what it can outrun.

Gengar Weakness and Resistance Chart
DamageTypes
2x (Weak)Ground, Psychic, Ghost, Dark
0.5x (Resist)Grass
0.25x (Resist)Poison, Bug
0x (Immune)Normal, Fighting
Type ChartGood
4Weak
3Resist
2Immune
Score+3
Gen III Type Chart
  • Dark and Steel types added — Fairy does not exist yet
  • Moves are Physical or Special based on type, not per move
4xCritical
None
2xWeak
GroundPsychicGhostDark
½xResist
Grass
¼xResist
PoisonBug
0xImmune
NormalFighting
STAB (3)
PsychicGhostGrass
How to Beat Gengar in Emerald (Best Counters)

In Emerald, Cloyster's Surf hits Gengar for 42-49%. Mantine deals 39-46% with Surf.

Cloyster
CloysterThreatens with Spikes, walls physical sets
WaterIce
B
Recommended Build
AbilityShellarmor
ItemLeftovers
NatureTimid
Moves
  • SpikesHazard
  • Explosion
  • SurfSTAB
  • Rapid Spin
Damage vs Gengar
Surf
42-49%
View Cloyster builds →

Emerald Evolution

Getting Gengar requires a trade, not just grinding levels. The chain starts at Gastly. Breed this form to get Gastly eggs (average hatch time). Sp.Def grew the most through evolution (+40 over Gastly), and Gengar peaks at 500 total stats. View every chain in the Evolution Chart.

How to Evolve

3 Forms
Gastly
#092Gastly
25
Level 25
Haunter
#093Haunter
Trade
Gengar
#094Gengar
Stat Comparison 3 Stages
Gastly
GhostPoison
Haunter
GhostPoison
Gengar
GhostPoison
HP
30
45+15
60+15
ATK
35
50+15
65+15
DEF
30
45+15
60+15
SP.ATK
100
115+15
130+15
SP.DEF
35
55+20
75+20
SPE
80
95+15
110+15
BST
310C-Tier
405C-Tier+95
500A-Tier+95
ROLE
Attacker
Cannon
Sweeper
TYPE
Special
Special
Special

Breeding

Very Easy

Breed with Gengar to get Gastly eggs easily using 22 partners from the Indeterminate egg group. Notable egg moves include Astonish, Explosion, Grudge and 4 more.

Egg Groups
Indeterminate
Gender
♂50.0%♀50.0%
Hatch Time
20 cycles·5,140 steps
Quick~5 min with Flame Body
Egg Moves
7moves
Breed With (best first)
gardevoirkirliacastformraltsmukweezingswalotmagcargohaunterwobbuffetkoffinggrimer
12 of 22·

Emerald Gengar Best Moveset

Levitate helps Gengar stick around while dealing real damage. Leftovers for passive recovery each turn, max Sp. Atk and Speed EVs for the right balance, and Thunderbolt as the main threat. Not the fastest, but it doesn't need to be.

Best Build

Highly recommended
Special Sweeper
Ability
Levitate
Item
LeftoversSUSTAIN
Best Nature for Gengar
Timid+SPE

Gengar best EVs are Sp. Atk and Speed

EVs

Special Sweeper Moveset

  • ThunderboltCoverage
  • Ice Punch
  • ExplosionCoverage
  • Will O Wisp

Recommended Teammates

Tyranitar
TyranitarGood
Skarmory
SkarmoryGood
Swampert
SwampertDecent

Moves

Breeding's the move. Astonish and Explosion give Gengar options it can't learn any other way, and coverage across 8 types already covers a decent range on top of Sludge Bomb and Shadow Ball. The egg moves push it further.

Level-Up Moves

Lv 1
Hypnosis
C—6020Psychic
Lv 1
Lick
D2010030Ghost
Lv 1
Spite
——10010Ghost
Lv 8
Spite
——10010Ghost
Lv 13
Mean Look
D——5Normal
Lv 16
Curse
C——10Ghost
Lv 21
Night Shade
D—10015Ghost
Lv 25
Shadow Punch
—60—20Ghost
Lv 31
Confuse Ray
D—10010Ghost
Lv 39
Dream Eater
—10010015Psychic
Lv 48
Destiny Bond
D——5Ghost

TM Moves

TM
TM45
Attract
——10015Normal
TM31
Brick Break
D7510015Fighting
TM32
Double Team
———15Normal
TM42
Facade
D7010020Normal
TM01
Focus Punch-3
C15010020Fighting
TM21
Frustration
——10020Normal
TM19
Giga Drain
B751005Grass
TM10
Hidden Power
—6010015Normal
TM15
Hyper Beam
B150905Normal
TM17
Protect+4
C——10Normal
TM29
Psychic
C9010010Psychic
TM18
Rain Dance
C——5Water
TM44
Rest
C——10Psychic
TM27
Return
D—10020Normal
HM06
Rock Smash
—2010015Fighting
TM43
Secret Power
—7010020Normal
TM30
Shadow Ball
B8010015Ghost
TM48
Skill Swap
———10Psychic
TM36
Sludge Bomb
B9010010Poison
TM49
Snatch+4
———10Dark
HM04
Strength
—8010015Normal
TM11
Sunny Day
C——5Fire
TM12
Taunt
B—10020Dark
TM46
Thief
D6010025Dark
TM25
Thunder
C1207010Electric
TM24
Thunderbolt
S9510015Electric
TM41
Torment
D—10015Dark
TM06
Toxic
C—8510Poison

Egg Moves

Egg
Egg
Astonish
—3010015Ghost
Egg
Explosion
A2501005Normal
Egg
Grudge
D——5Ghost
Egg
Haze
D——30Ice
Egg
Perish Song
C——5Normal
Egg
Psywave
——8015Psychic
Egg
Will-O-Wisp
A—7515Fire

Tutor Moves

Tut
Tutor
Body Slam
D8510015Normal
Tutor
Counter-5
D—10020Fighting
Tutor
Double-Edge
C12010015Normal
Tutor
Dream Eater
—10010015Psychic
Tutor
Dynamic Punch
D100505Fighting
Tutor
Endure+4
D——10Normal
Tutor
Explosion
A2501005Normal
Tutor
Fire Punch
B7510015Fire
Tutor
Ice Punch
S7510015Ice
Tutor
Mega Kick
—120755Normal
Tutor
Mega Punch
—808520Normal
Tutor
Metronome
D——10Normal
Tutor
Mimic
———10Normal
Tutor
Psych Up
D——10Normal
Tutor
Seismic Toss
D—10020Fighting
Tutor
Sleep Talk
D——10Normal
Tutor
Snore
—4010015Normal
Tutor
Substitute
C——10Normal
Tutor
Swagger
——9015Normal
Tutor
Thunder Punch
D7510015Electric

How to Get Gengar in Emerald

Gengar can't be caught in Emerald. Transfer Gastly from Red, Yellow, or FireRed and evolve through the 3-stage chain to get it. The step cards below map the full chain.

Trade Evolution Required — Requires trading with another player

How to Obtain Gengar in Emerald

  1. Gastly
    Step 1Obtain Gastly

    Catch in the wild in:

    FireRedWalking · Pokémon Tower

    Then trade to Emerald to continue the evolution chain.

    Also found in:

    RedYellowGoldCrystal
  2. Haunter
    Step 2Evolve into Haunter

    Catch in the wild in:

    FireRedWalking · Pokémon Tower

    Also found in:

    RedYellowGoldCrystal
  3. Gengar
    Step 3Gengar ✓

Gengar Guide

  • For Emerald, we rate Gengar S-Tier: one of the best picks in the Emerald meta. At 500 BST, it fits the sweeper role. Thunderbolt with Leftovers is the standard set.

  • Mega Evolution isn't available in Emerald, but Gengar does have a Mega form in Gen 6-7 games (X/Y, ORAS, Sun/Moon). Mega Gengar hits 600 BST.

  • In Emerald, Gengar's biggest threats include Golem (Ground), Starmie (Psychic), and Misdreavus (Ghost), all carrying super-effective STAB moves. Dark-type attackers are also a problem. Gengar's base 110 Speed lets it outpace many threats and strike first, which matters more than trying to tank hits.

  • Cursed Body is the go-to ability for Gengar. It has a 30% chance of Disabling any move that hits the Pokémon. It's Gengar's only ability.

  • Base 110 Speed lets it outrun most of the field. On offense, Gengar is a physical attacker with base 65 Attack. Best used as a sweeper.

Game Availability

Since debuting in Red & Blue, Gengar has appeared in 22 titles over 10 generations. Along the way, it received a Mega form in Generation 7 and a Gigantamax form in Generation 8, keeping it relevant across different competitive metas.

Click a game to view version-specific details

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