Gengar in SoulGold: Prankster at 75

Gengar is my favorite support ‘mon in SoulGold’s postgame. At level 75 it gets Prankster, and suddenly every annoying status move it has goes before the other side can blink. Catch a Gastly in Sprout Tower, keep it off the Ghostite, and get it to 75.

Why it’s broken

Prankster gives status moves +1 priority. Gengar already has 110 base Speed, but +1 means it moves first against things faster than it, Choice Scarf users included. The only rule is that Prankster status moves miss against Dark types. Put Nasty Plot and Will-O-Wisp on that and the opponent is playing on your schedule.

Gengar’s ability and innate ladder:

• Ability: Cursed Body (its only ability; no Levitate until 95)
• Lv 75: Prankster. Status moves get +1 priority. They miss against Dark types.
• Lv 85: Infiltrator. Its moves ignore Substitute, screens and Aura Shield.
• Lv 95: Levitate. Ground moves stop touching it.

Infiltrator at 85 is the second upgrade. Will-O-Wisp goes straight through an opposing Substitute, and Light Screen does nothing to soften your Shadow Ball.

Its stats are 60/65/60/130/75/110. That 60 HP is why you want to move first.

The set

Prankster sets up the turn, and Gengar’s 130 Sp. Atk finishes it.

Move	Why
Nasty Plot	Doubles your Sp. Atk at +1, so you boost before anything faster can hit you. Tutor.
Shadow Ball	Ghost STAB. Learned at Lv 48, or TM30 from the Ecruteak City Gym.
Sludge Bomb	Poison STAB, and it hits Fairy types hard. TM36, a gift at the Route 43 gate.
Will-O-Wisp	+1 burn halves a physical attacker before it swings. TM61, bought at the Ecruteak City Mart.

Prankster only speeds up status moves. Nasty Plot and Will-O-Wisp jump the queue, and Shadow Ball and Sludge Bomb run off Gengar’s own 110 Speed. I burn the physical threat first, Nasty Plot on whatever can’t touch me, then start firing.

Swaps I’ve used:

• Focus Blast (TM52, Vajra Desert East item ball) over Sludge Bomb if Dark types keep walling you. They resist Shadow Ball and dodge Prankster status moves.
• Hypnosis (Lv 1, from the move relearner on the summary screen) over Will-O-Wisp to put a special attacker to sleep first.
• Taunt (TM12, Burned Tower B1F item ball) to shut down setup and opposing support.
• Destiny Bond (Lv 54) at +1 with the Sash, so the hit that KOs you takes them down too.
• Substitute (TM90, Mahogany Town shop after the Rocket Hideout) or Thunder Wave (TM73, Route 41 item ball) if your team wants them.

Nasty Plot and Encore are both tutor moves. The Olivine City tutor is in the top-right house. It’s 44,444 once, and then you teach tutor moves from the summary screen whenever you want.

Item: Focus Sash. It guarantees Gengar lives through the Nasty Plot turn on 60 HP. There’s a one-time gift in the Kitakami Temple Training Room, and the Battle Pyramid lobby mart sells more in the postgame. If you’d rather hit harder, a Life Orb from Tin Tower 5F or Whirl Islands B1F works too.

Nature and EVs: I run Timid with 252 Sp. Atk, 252 Speed and 4 HP. Mints are sold at the beach café by Olivine, a house on Route 40.

Where to get Gengar

Gastly is your best start. Haunter and wild Gengar both show up later if you’d rather skip the early levels.

Pokémon	Where	Level	Rate
Gastly	Sprout Tower 2F and 3F	3-6	20%
Haunter	Tin Tower 3F to 9F	40-45	30%
Gengar	Vajra Pyramid floors 1 to 4	58-62	15%

1. Catch Gastly in Sprout Tower and level it to 25 for Haunter.
2. Pick up the Linking Cord. The Route 38 item ball is free. The Indigo Plateau mart, Game Corner and Safari Zone Gate mart also have it.
3. Use the Linking Cord on Haunter to get Gengar.

The Vajra Pyramid only opens after you’re Champion and you’ve traded a Tinkaton to the scientist in Rinto Village. I caught mine in Sprout Tower and carried it the whole way, because I’d already decided it was going on the team.

When Gengar comes online

Prankster turns on at level 75. The story caps you at 70 until you become Champion, so this is a postgame build. Infiltrator follows at 85 and Levitate at 95.

Every innate is on at any level in the Battle Tower, Factory, Pyramid and Café challenges. Gengar isn’t on the Classic ban list, so a level 50 Gengar has Prankster, Infiltrator and Levitate there from day one. I tested this set in the Battle Tower before I ever took it to Title Defense.

Title Defense and the Elite Four rematches are level 85. Get Gengar to at least 85 before you take it there, so Infiltrator is on too. On Hard those fights are doubles, which suits it. Gengar burns a physical attacker at +1 while your partner hits.

What beats Gengar

• Dark types. Prankster status moves miss against them and they resist Shadow Ball. Sludge Bomb or Focus Blast is all you have, so bring a partner that hits Dark hard.
• Dazzling, Queenly Majesty and Armor Tail. These block moves with raised priority aimed at them, so your +1 Will-O-Wisp just fails.
• Psychic Terrain. Grounded targets can’t be hit by priority moves while it’s up.
• Fire types. They don’t take Will-O-Wisp burns, so Nasty Plot and hit them instead.

Before 95, Gengar is still grounded and still weak to Ground. A fast Earthquake user that doesn’t care about burns will take it out. Next, pick a partner that covers Dark types in my best innate combos.