Pokemon Unite guide (September 2022): How to counter Gengar

Gengar is a Speedster character in Pokemon Unite that can be very frustrating to play against.

Gengar's attacking stats are enough to leave trainers cowering. The Pokemon is quick, has some of the most annoying moves in the game, and will have no problem wiping out teams on its way to scoring points.

Players who want to counter Gengar in Pokemon Unite need to stun it and take away its XP chances to prevent it from gaining strength.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinions of the writer.

What to expect from Gengar in Pokemon Unite

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Gengar can prevent enemies from escaping, even in the early stages of a Pokemon Unite match as Gastly and Haunter. There are several moves that either keep it on pace with the opposition or slow them down:

Lick: This low-level attack pulls enemy Pokemon towards the user while dealing damage.
Shadow Ball: When this move hits, the target's movement speed is greatly decreased.
Hex: Gengar can use Hex to essentially teleport ahead to a designated area with an attack added on at the end of teleportation.
Dream Eater: Dream Eater puts Pokemon to sleep if it lands.
Phantom Ambush: Gengar's Unite Move works similarly to Hex. It sees Gengar jump to a specified location and gives increased movement speed.

Players can expect to see a variety of combinations with these moves in place.

Gengar users are free to choose whatever lane they wish and dominate there. More than likely, they will farm XP as much as they can to evolve into Gengar as fast as possible.

The majority of Pokemon Unite players utilize Gengar in a hit-and-run style of play. They can use its attacks to retreat if they get overwhelmed or chase an enemy down for the final blow.

Tips to counter Gengar in Pokemon Unite

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As with any Pokemon in Pokemon Unite, the best way to counter Gengar is to put an end to what it does best. Keeping it from having space to move or escape and slowing down its evolution is a good place to start.

Given below are some tips on how to keep Gengar at bay:

Use crowd control moves to stun or disable Gengar, keeping it from using its speed.
Attack with no remorse while stunned as it does not have the highest defense stats and should not take long to KO.
Use Full Heal as a Battle Item to quickly negate the status effects of Gengar's moves, allowing the user to continue defending against attacks.
Gengar is very vulnerable as Gastly and Haunter, so try and suppress it early on the match. This is best done by determining what lane the Gengar player is taking, heading there with a counter Pokemon, and taking away its XP opportunities by defeating all of the wild Pokemon
Pokemon with high mobility or recovery moves can catch Gengar off-guard and keep up with it during intense battles.
Direct fights are perhaps Gengar's biggest weakness, so land combos efficiently and effectively to keep Gengar from gaining confidence.

Gengar can dish out huge damage and sweep unsuspecting Pokemon Unite teams. However, focusing on hitting it hard before it gets in the groove will throw a wrench into its plans.

The best Pokemon to use against Gengar in Pokemon Unite

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A good Pokemon Unite player can make Gengar the best Pokemon on the field. This makes it important for users to know which Pokemon can counter Gengar and leave its user scratching their head.

Players can choose one of the following Pokemon to make dealing with Gengar much easier:

Blissey: Safeguard can remove the debuffs from Gengar's attacks. Soft-Boiled allows it to recover HP and stay in the fight.
Wigglytuff: Dazzling Gleam and Double Slap both decrease the target's movement speed. Cute Charm, the passive ability, causes Pokemon that attack Wigglytuff to become infatuated. This forces them to stay near Wigglytuff.
Trevenant: Trevenant has great recovery abilities with its passive, Natural Cure, and attacks like Pain Split and Horn Leech.
Slowbro: Telekinesis prevents Gengar from escaping. Amnesia regains health, makes Slowbro immune to hindrances, and provides increased Defense and Special Defense for a short time.
Absol: Absol is very quick. It can pursue Gengar with dash moves such as Pursuit and finish off the Ghost-type Speedster with a move like Psycho Cut.
Lucario: The same can be said about Lucario with its speed. This is a great early-game counter due to Quick Attack and Meteor Mash's lunging. Bone Rush is a solid ranged attack to send at a retreating Gengar.

Being able to regain HP, chase down Gengar, or deliver an onslaught of powerful attacks will ensure victory against it at any stage of a match in Pokemon Unite.