Ghost-types are a very prominent presence in just about every tier, LU included. Besides that fact that many of them hold spooky appearances or aesthetics, they see use for two strong purposes: countering Fighting-types (which is nice, after all, BW is the Fighting-type generation!), and most importantly, the unique ability to spinblock. They as such find themselves on hazard teams, and also have their own uses. LU is a tier that is literally running amok with Ghost-types, possibly moreso than any other tier. Each and every viable Ghost-type has their own unique qualities to make them useful, and each one brings their own different niche in LU. This thread is here to discuss the relevant (and viable) Ghost-types in LU, and how each one performs in the current metagame. With that aside, let's take a look at all of the Ghost-types that haunt the LU tier. Spiritomb Type: Ghost / Dark Base Stats: 50 HP / 92 Atk / 108 Def / 92 SpA / 108 SpD / 35 Spe Abilities: Pressure Spiritomb is arguably the most prominent Ghost-type in LU as of now, and it definitely has a lot going for it. It has a rare combination of a Ghost / Dark typing, shared only with the UU Sableye. What this means is that Spiritomb has pretty much no weaknesses; and along with that usable bulk, Spiritomb certainly isn't going down quickly. It also has some cool tools in Sucker Punch and Pursuit, and its typing and bulk mean it is arguably a Psychic-type's worst enemy; all Sigilyph and Mesprit can only watch in despair as Spiritomb puts an end to them. Spiritomb also can use this to beat the prominent spinners with the exception of Hitmonchan. It can also run come other options such as a defensive set, since Pressure and the lack of weaknesses make it a great defensive spinblocker, and it has Will-O-Wisp and Foul Play too. CroTomb is also very good as a cleaner, since Spiritomb has a fair amount of bulk and a useful defensive typing; just be careful about Escavalier! Nonetheless, Spiritomb has a lot of great qualities, and is pretty useful on plenty of teams. Mismagius Type: Ghost Base Stats: 60 HP / 60 Atk / 60 Def / 105 SpA / 105 SpD / 105 Spe Abilities: Levitate The other "top Ghost-type", Mismagius is arguably the best offensive Ghost-type, as well as arguably one of the best Pokemon in the tier. It doesn't have much bulk like Spiritomb, but it's got a lot of speed and power to work with. It has Nasty Plot, and with awesome coverage in Shadow Ball, HP Fighting, and Thunderbolt, it can definitely pull off a sweep. Being faster than most of the metagame only sweetens the deal. It also can use Substitute and Will-O-Wisp over any of these moves to force a gamble against Spiritomb and Bisharp, which is pretty awesome. Calm Mind is also a possibility, as although it doesn't make Mismagius a massive threat as quickly as Nasty Plot, it makes it a pain to take down on the special side while breaking stall teams. It can also be a fast support Pokemon as well, with Will-O-Wisp, Taunt, and Thunder Wave all being excellent tools in its arsenal. That low Defense and vulnerability to Pursuit are surely some flaws, but it's a very powerful Ghost-type. Dusclops Type: Ghost Base Stats: 40 HP / 70 Atk / 130 Def / 60 SpA / 130 SpD / 25 Spe Abilities: Pressure Dusclops is more of a defensive Ghost-type, and a pretty solid one at that too. It's got some really good defenses, and the ability to use Eviolite is certainly cool too. Will-O-Wisp, Pain Split, and Curse are pretty sweet to the deal, and along with Pressure, Dusclops is a real example of a Pokemon built for stall. It can wear down its opponents between the three moves, Pain Split also recovering some of its HP, and it's got enough bulk that even at half HP it can take a hit. It can overall make a team severely weakened and overall be a complete nuisance when played right. Dusclops also has access to RestTalk to keep its HP up high throughout the match while repeatedly draining the PP of the opponent, or it can support its team with Trick Room; a massive advantage over the other Ghost-types, and is something the other Ghosts sure can't do as well. Its lack of offensive presence is a pretty big letdown, so it must rely on Night Shade or Seismic Toss, but nonetheless, Dusclops has what it needs to be useful. Rotom Type: Electric / Ghost Bast Stats: 50 HP / 50 Atk / 77 Def / 95 SpA / 77 Def / 91 Spe Abilities: Levitate Rotom isn't as prominent as Spiritomb or Mismagius, but it's a solid choice nonetheless. It stands out from Mismagius with a couple of useful traits; for one, it has a STAB Thunderbolt to deal more damage to Kabutops, but the other thing that makes it useful is its typing. Although it's very frail, Rotom has an excellent set of resistances, and can thus take on some offensive Pokemon somewhat well. Its STAB combo is also pretty useful, although unlike Mismagius, who has room for HP Fighting, Rotom-N is bait for threats such as Krookodile and Steelix, which can be very problematic. Play Rotom to its strengths, and it can be a nuisance. Misdreavus Type: Ghost Base Stats: 60 HP / 60 Atk / 60 Def / 85 SpA / 85 SpD / 85 Spe Abilities: Levitate I know what some of you might be thinking: "Why the hell would I ever want to use this when Mismagius is available?". The very unique thing about Misdreavus is that it is capable of functioning in the same tier as its own evolution; in fact, despite being in the same evolutionary line, Misdreavus and Mismagius function very differently. With the ability to use Eviolite, Misdreavus can bolster its bulk, to the point where unlike Mismagius, Misdreavus has some very good physical bulk to work with. It also has some good support moves in Will-O-Wisp, Pain Split, and Heal Bell to do some supporting roles, and overall be a useful spinblocker. Heal Bell is an advantage over Dusclops and Spiritomb as a defensive Ghost-type, but the main advantages it has are its actual offensive presence with its usable Special Attack and Shadow Ball, unlike Dusclops, while it has a Bug resistance to take on Scolipede, unlike Spiritomb. Misdreavus is certainly in some competition from other Ghost-types, especially Spiritomb and Dusclops, but play it to its strengths and it should prove useful. Drifblim Type: Ghost / Flying Base Stats: 150 HP / 80 Atk / 44 Def / 90 SpA / 54 SpD / 80 Spe Abilities: Unburden, Aftermath, Flare Boost Drifblim is really unique among the Ghost-types that reside in LU. It has the unique ability Unburden, as well as a Flying STAB in Acrobatics, plus a usable Attack stat. This, along with a Flying Gem, allow Drifblim to hit fairly hard while also becoming incredibly fast. Drifblim can support the team with Will-O-Wisp, as well as a fast Destiny Bond if it goes down; if Acrobatics packs enough power, Drifblim is usually getting at least two kills. It can also run SubCM, and although it's competing with Mismagius, Drifblim can run Unburden+Sitrus Berry to gain extreme Speed to work with. Drifblim also has weather support moves as well as Weather Ball, all really cool to use. Drifblim is overall an often overlooked, but nonetheless unique Ghost-type worth looking into in LU. Haunter Type: Ghost / Poison Base Stats: 45 HP / 50 Atk / 45 Def / 115 SpA / 55 SpD / 95 Spe Abilities: Levitate Haunter is an oddball, to say the very least. It has very stiff competition from Mismagius, but like Rotom, Haunter has a couple of things going for it. It has a higher Special Attack than Mismagius, so it delivers some harder blows than it. It also has Sludge Bomb, if that's what you're looking for. Haunter can also run SubDisable, to be incredibly annoying and disable whatever your opponent tries to throw at it. It can also run Hypnosis, which is excellent to also be the annoyance it is. Haunter is unortunately so fragile that any decent hit will reduce it to nothing. Nonetheless, Haunter can be useful when used to its strengths. Dusknoir Type: Ghost Base Stats: 45 HP / 100 Atk / 135 Def / 65 SpA / 135 SpD / 45 Spe Abilities: Pressure Dusknoir is really a jack-of-all-trades, master of none kind of Ghost-type, which isn't exactly a good thing in a tier literally running amok with Ghost-types. While Dusknoir was given a usable Attack and some good bulk to work with, it finds itself vastly outclassed in everything it tries to do. As a defensive Ghost-type, it is inferior to Spiritomb, Midreavus, and Dusclops, the former lacking any weaknesses while the latter two have greater overall bulk. While its Attack is solid, it has a laughable excuse for a STAB move, and Mismagius, Spiritomb, and Rotom are all better options offensively. It doesn't help that Dusknoir gets 2HKO'd by many powerful Attacks, and it can't put up much of a fight. Dusknoir is a very unfortunate case, and despite being LU, it should be left alone and forgotten in favor of the Ghost-types above, since they all do better to fulfill your Ghost-type needs. So that's that! Some questions to keep in mind when discussing these Ghost-types: What is the Ghost-type you have found most effective in LU? What sets for each Ghost-type have you found particularly effective What impact do you think Ghost-types have on LU? Discuss.
Actually the 'jack of all trades' aspect is what i really like in Dusknoir. Reaper (Dusknoir) (M) @ Leftovers Trait: Pressure EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def Adamant Nature (+Atk, -SAtk) - Substitute/Pain Split - Will-O-Wisp - Shadow Sneak - Focus Punch/Earthquake Max HP + Max Atk means he can hit hard + take hits well. His bulk is further bolstered by Will o Wisp which helps him set up substitutes. He has Focus Punch to demolish Clefable and generally hit anything that doesn't resist very hard. On top of that it has priority in Shadow Sneak, allowing it to finish off pokemon weakened by Focus Punch. It just brings together the good aspects of other Ghost pokemon into one nice package. You can also run EQ + Pain Split to add to survivability and allows you to hit things hard without having to set up a sub. I would love Dusknoir to drop to NU, but I still think it's a great and very viable mon in LU.
In the past, I've had tremendous success with Specs Rotom, at the suggestion of BR. Rotom @ Choice Specs Trait: Levitate EVs: 4 HP / 252 SAtk / 252 Spd Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Volt Switch - Shadow Ball - Thunderbolt / Hidden Power [Fighting] - Trick I personally lean to Thunderbolt more than HP Fighting, as the idea of Volt Switch as the only Electric-type STAB makes me wary, despite its useful applications. This thing hits like a truck full of bricks, and Trick is a nasty little gift for the opponent.
SubPunch Dusknoir <3 Anyway, I find bulky Rotom to be an excellent spinblocker and a nifty check to pokes that wield powerful flying and bug type attacks. Rotom @ Leftovers Trait: Levitate EVs: 252 HP / 180 Def / 76 Spd Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk) - Thunderbolt - Will-O-Wisp - Shadow Ball - Pain Split With enough speed investment to outrun Adamant Kabutops, the rest of the EVs go into HP and Defense. The moveset is fairly self-explanatory, but it still gets the job done against mons like Hitmonchan, Escavalier, Swellow, and the like.
I'll be honest the only Ghosts I've found problems with are Dusclops and Spiritomb, although a good Mismagius can be destructive. I don't think they're a huge threat in the metagame with so many dark types roaming around, especially Krook and Bisharp that just steamroll through teams with ghosts on them. Edit: How do you think Sableye would affect the LU Metagame?