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Best moveset for Gengar in Pokémon Go

What moves should you teach Gengar?

While the stats of a Pokémon in Pokémon Go make a choice powerful, the types of attacks and movesets are unique to each choice. Not every Pokémon knows the same moves, limiting the attacks they can use in combat. Gengar is one of those Pokémon with several unique choices available to you, and you want it to use the best ones available. This guide covers the best moveset for Gengar in Pokémon Go.

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Best Gengar moveset

Gengar is a Ghost and Poison-type Pokémon. It has a maximum CP of 2,878, an attack of 261, a defense of 149, and stamina of 155. It has several resistances, making it a great counter to some of the more powerful Pokémon you regularly see in the Great and Ultra battle league. Gengar has a superb amount of attack, but it severely lacks any suitable defenses. You want to treat it as a counter Pokémon, preparing to use it to protect your first or final Pokémon. This is not a Pokémon you want to use as your final option against an opponent unless you don’t have a choice. When it comes to raiding, Gengar can do some serious damage to anything it can counter.

Related: The best moveset for Rhyperior in Pokémon Go

These are all of the moves Gengar and Mega Gengar can learn.

Fast moves

  • Hex (Ghost-type) – 6 damage, and 4 energy per turn (2 damage per turn)
  • Lick (Ghost-type) – 3 damage, and 3 energy per turn (3 damage per turn)
  • Shadow Claw (Ghost-type) – 6 damage and 4 energy per turn (3 damage per turn)
  • Sucker Punch (Dark-type) – 5 damage and 3.5 energy per turn (2.5 damage per turn)

Charge moves

  • Dark Pulse (Dark-type) – 80 damage and 50 energy
  • Focus Blast (Fighting-type) – 140 damage and 75 energy
  • Psychic (Psychic-type) – 90 damage and 55 energy (10 percent chance to lower the opponent’s defense by 1).
  • Shadow Ball (Ghost-type) – 100 damage and 55 energy
  • Shadow Punch (Ghost-type) – 40 damage and 35 energy
  • Sludge Bomb (Poison-type) – 110 damage and 65 energy
  • Sludge Wave (Poison-type) – 80 damage and 50 energy

Gengar has several options for its fast move, making your choice a bit complicated. Of the four choices, Shadow Claw and Hex provide the most energy per turn. They also do the most damage, but Shadow Claw will do more per turn, giving you the most bang for your buck. While Hex is a good secondary option, the superior choice is Shadow Claw.

When picking out the charged move, you have multiple options for Gengar to use. The best two options we’re going to recommend will be Shadow Ball and Shadow Punch. These two provide some solid attack power for Gengar to get the most of its natural stats. However, some players might prefer to swap these options for other attacks, such as switching Shadow Ball for Sludge Wave. Sludge Wave is an excellent Poison-type attack that you can use against particular choices for your Gengar, and there’s nothing wrong with it.

The best moveset to teach Gengar is the fast move Shadow Claw and the charged moves Shadow Ball and Shadow Punch. However, you can swap Shadow Ball and Sludge Wave.


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Zack Palm
Zack Palm is the Senior Writer of Gamepur and has spent over five years covering video games, and earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Oregon State University. He spends his free time biking, running tabletop campaigns, and listening to heavy metal. His primary game beats are Pokémon Go, Destiny 2, Final Fantasy XIV, and any newly released title, and he finds it difficult to pull away from any Star Wars game.