Gengar Only - Pokemon Crystal

Rules:
1. Only my starter in battle
2. No items in battle, except held items
3. No glitches, exploits, save states, or RNG manipulation
4. No evasion moves before level 100*
Rule details:
-- *In gen1, evasion boosting is allowed if the Pokemon does it through means other than learning the move by level up or TM. For example, using Mimic or Mirror Move to boost evasion is allowed. (This exception is to keep ranking consistent with my legacy videos.)
-- I am allowed to manipulate my starter
-- I play the game at 4x game speed
-- For fair comparisons all my Pokemon have perfect (or near perfect) DVs / IVs
-- I am allowed to catch HM users - I can use all field moves
-- All in-battle glitches are allowed in generation 1
-- In generation 1, I'm allowed to skip Marowak with the Poke Doll
-- Surge's trash-can-puzzle is automatically solved
-- The bike is allowed in gen1, banned in gen2, and allowed for bypassing terrain in gen3
-- Saving between league members is allowed
-- If the solo Pokemon faints and I choose to blackout it counts towards my reset counter
-- I can pause the game and timer to take breaks
-- The footage is sped up / slowed down to match the pace of my narration
-- The ability Pickup can only be used if the starter has it
Patreon: / scottsthoughts
KZbin memberships:
/ @scottsthoughtspokemon
Twitter: / psychicflying
Twitch: / scottsthoughtspokemon
Illustrations by / sarinavail
Thumbnail art by / brianlsart
STAB: bulbapedia.bul...
DVs / IVs: bulbapedia.bul...
Damage Calculations: bulbapedia.bul...
Gen1 Stat Calculator: pycosites.com/...
Gen2 Stat Calculator: pycosites.com/...
Gen1 Crit Rates: www.smogon.com...
Learnsets: bulbapedia.bul...
Base Stats: bulbapedia.bul...)

[@harrysmith6191]

I LOVE the gengar art

[@marcoasturias8520]

More like Gengart

[@darnedchris]

​@marcoasturias8520 I'm struggling to like this... on one side I really want to, on the other side, I couldn't live with myself if I did 😅😅

[@et34t34fdf]

I mean, I like it, but at the same time it doesnt feel right that its so much smaller than its pre evo's.

[@input-latency2684]

hello person scrolling by, hope you have a good rest of your day. i prefer haunter visually over gengar, but either way excited to see how this goes. ghost type is definitely a contender for my favorite generally speaking.

[@alexpowell1184]

the most like-bait nothing comment ever posted.

[@KenLikeEh123]

@@alexpowell1184the most edge lord ever comment posted

[@input-latency2684]

@@alexpowell1184 no u

[@samzito8067]

i think on the attempt where karen was beaten the whirlwind was in your favor since it reset the accuracy drop! So funny how things like that work, love the video!!!!

[@ScottE-2]

My prediction was right. Funny that Dynamic Punch was the move that sorted out the Snorlax problem and the sheer luck in the second playthrough when you had only one left and it hit finishing it off. But I wonder how Gengar would perform in gen 1 starting right away with Headbutt and the elemental moves. Hilariously, Gastly can have the punches in gen 4 even though it doesn't have any hands. Reminds me of Wooper's ability to use Ice Punch. Though sadly they never kept Phanpy's egg move water gun. It was adorable. Solid run and quite the birthday gift. I turned 27 today.

[@mattiamerlo2688]

Happy birthday!

[@jaryant]

Love this video so when is beedrill gonna get a run in crystal

[@ScottE-2]

@@mattiamerlo2688Thank you.

[@mikkelsieburg89]

it wasn't that lucky to hit the last dynamic punch on snorlax. To miss 4 out of 5 coin flips would be rather unlucky. Happy birthday.

[@ScottE-2]

Thank you @DebbyHasKitties

[@perkypenguin1663]

I’ll admit, I was initially scared of how Falkner was gonna go, but then I remembered that Struggle doesn’t work the same way as it does nowadays. It stinks that Gengar has to deal with an iffy early game that holds back its time so much, but oh well. The interaction between Ghost and Normal has always been an interesting one to me.

[@okolo22000]

If you think Hypno got it bad; Chansey really got the shaft! She lost 70 special attack while Exeggutor lost 60 special defense. Tentacruel along with Hypno lost 40+ special attack whereas Victreebel, Cloyster, Seadra & Tangela lost 40 special defense.

[@Ectar2003]

I really appreciate editing in the Dragonaire sprites atop Lance's Dragonites; I had the video playing in the background when I heard the slip-up, rewound a bit, and watched it again. Gave me a good chuckle.

[@abrakadabra3390]

Scott you are an amazing narrator it fits perfectly with Pokemon 🏆🥇

[@devinbuettgenbach2941]

I'm happy you uploaded a run for my favourite early gen ghostmon. I'm sitting in my bed recovering from surgery so this is a perfect time to relax and see the tricky ghost take apart the world yet again.

[@MichaelSotoCE]

The Gengar sprite is incredible in this game

[@ULT_Ferrotarou]

Common gen 2 W

[@swagbear9965]

The backsprite is great too

[@GoikOShea]

The new Crystal hack gives Gastly an early buffed Smog which actually feels really good.

[@jackg93]

Which hack

[@sjacqVO21]

@@jackg93crystal legacy or sum. it was made by smithyplays

[@shirounshiroun7555]

Even if it ended up in this tier, I still see its performance in a very good light!! Its spot in the list isn't because of a bad "performance", as you said I'm sure it could have shaven off the time needed to get in A or S if it didn't have to rely on Struggle. It really shows that a tier list doesn't tell everything imo because it basically didn't struggle at all in the 2nd playthrough and yet its time is still held back by the early game slog Anyways I'm glad you got to take a break from awful mons lol love you Scott take care !!

[@Davidahle]

As always a great video, although I had hoped for Gengar to perform better. I recently saw that Smith Plays Pokemon have finished his optimized Crystal rom, fixing the midgame level curve with Pryce and the rockets as well as other bits to keep the challenge consistent, but still keeping as much of the original Crystal feeling as possible. And I thought it could be fun to see you have some of the top tier pokemon duke it out to see who earns the top spot in a challenge like that.

[@R-1988]

You might have actually had an easier battle against Red's Snorlax if you used Curse. The Ghost version of Curse doesn't go away until the Pokemon switches out, the battle ends or until you KO it. It would still effect Snorlax for the entire 3 turns it would take to wake up after 1 Rest and while it's awake. To recover your HP, you could use a Berry via held item and combine it with Giga Drain via TM19. You could use Giga Drain on Blastoise since Grass moves were all special in this generation. Great job on finishing the run.

[@Shawnzy1]

Can confirm , I did this

[@GensoBees]

Fitting that Dynamic Punch was the key to break through Red's Snorlax. Even in competitive gen 2, Gengar often brings it for some extra fire power against T-tar and King Snorlax.

[@shimmianNS]

Love the channel -- have been binging the live re-ranking vods while replaying Legends Arceus -- fantastic times

[@inventiveusername5191]

I'll be interested to see how gengar, dusclops and banette end up comparing with each other. I feel like Gengar should be substantially better, but he does only start with lick while the other two get night shade.

[@wiseguise5960]

The wall bonk counter, the MVP of this run!

[@boxytunic4143]

Thank you so much for doing Gengar!!! He’s my favorite Pokémon. Always has, always will be. Keep up the great work man. Your videos are so good

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Thanks so much!

[@boxytunic4143]

No way! I got a heart and a reply from Scott!!!

[@Byers2476.]

As always, great content. Love the thumbnail art! Spooky 👻.

[@Submissive-Soul]

still watching ur vids over a year later lots of ups and downs dying in the hospital waking up and first video watched was one from this channel makes you appreciate the little things like never being able to see the channel grow if i died

[@descouch21]

I was waiting for this! My fav pokemon in my fav game! Gengar is the GOAT!

[@michaelpritchard4791]

your content never gets as many likes as they deserve. keep up the great content!!

[@CelticGuardian7]

Gotta love how a ghost can learn every punching TM under the sun of Johto. =P

[@skateboardious]

I haven't seen a vid of your in a while and I'm impressed by how you've tracked the wall bonk difference is runs lol

[@paleoscinkus542]

Dynamic Miss came in clutch, you love to see it!

[@dragonknight1560]

The foreshadow at the start of the video was really funny. This was great!

[@pratyushsamal2167]

Is this a gengar vs victorious bell Edit : sike it's a crystal Hope the rematch for the throne comes sometime soon

[@nightfan1983]

It always cracks me up when you say "In case you wanna miss" to describe how awful a move's accuracy is XD

[@abrakadabra3390]

Look forward to the Alakazam run now😂

[@Penguindude1]

Wow, a rare instance of Dynamic Punch coming in handy.

[@TheLordVagrantWells]

One thing that I'm just realizing as you're talking about the elemental punches is that it would be nice to somehow display whether a move is physical or special in the ui. Digging the rapid fire uploads 😊🤘 love ya, man!

[@chrisdaignault9845]

Until gen 4 at least, all moves of a type are the same. All fire moves are special, all fighting moves are physical, etc.

[@MrVelyx]

"It was made by those who are Dead, and the Dead keep it" -Legolas Retrun of the King

[@busaif2322]

The venomoth jokes are brutal

[@ChaosWindScar99]

Gengar did a little worse than I expected (I thought it would get in the A tier) but that's the early game for you. Either way the dominance was impressive especially with no resets. Also I just want to point out that you froze Red's Venusaur both times, not that it matters it couldn't have done anything I just found that funny.

[@patonosequecosa]

Im exited about this because Gengar is my fav mon

[@marsella527]

I hope the Bonk Count becomes an official stat. Call it the "Puppet Pal Counter" (iykyk)

[@Colin1Moriarty]

Oh yeah it's time for my purple boi! Damn it did very well, wish I could know how well it performs if it didn't need to drain the pp to struggle through at the start. That'd save so much time! Another great vid Scott thanks!

[@CierraJohnson-bh4mc]

Great run. Gengar is my favorite ghost type next to Chandelure. ☺

[@drewhostetter1715]

The Lance fight editing had me going lol

[@thebandit6886]

I fucking love Gengar ❤ objectively the best ghost pokemon to ever exist

[@jaxthewolf4572]

Yep ❤

[@craftymage5996]

I spit my milkshake when I saw you put the dragonairs over the dragonites.

[@phyllotaxis]

Always loved Gengar after it carried me through the original Silver, even with physical shadow ball it was still a beast. Also its Gen 2 sprites were the best it's ever looked IMO.

[@kasumi5772]

putting the Dragonair sprite on top of the Dragonite sprites when you accidentally said Dragonair twice, made me laugh

[@Smileyrat]

Gengar: the Punching Fiend. Wasn't there another pokemon called that? ... Nope, nothing comes to mind.

[@RenaissanceManchild856]

Great run! Left me really curious how Gengar would perform with egg moves to get it around some of the early game hurdles! Would make an interesting stream or top ten list style thing down the track! I play a tonne of Gen 2 and love your crystal content! I know it can be a grind but I feel less alone trying to grind out round 2 stadium 2 on my old hardware 😅

[@Pepega580]

Man, you're right Lance entrance is the coolest!

[@TheMoogleKing93]

I'm amazed how often they messed around with some Pokemon's level 1 moves, whilst some pokemon have such super janky movesets

[@gmanz5]

MY FAVORITE FLUFFY SMILEY GHOST BOI!!!!!

[@gaminggoddess85]

Shoulda named that ghost Little Mac for all the punching it's doing

[@SmashMath151]

Sometimes it feels like DynamicPunch was made just for Red's Snorlax with it's surprisingly wide distribution. Certainly not the ideal first option, but nice to have in the bag for when it's faster to reset until you can hit twice rather than grind. Also, I really wish the early game wasn't such a Struggle so Gengar could reach it's full potential. It does learn Psywave as an egg move, which may or may not actually help.

[@frostbite2890]

Have you considered replacing Dynamic Punch with Curse and the Spell Tag with Leftovers for Red? Curse takes out Snorlax with little risk since it can't hurt you and Leftovers recovery keeps you safe from Blastoise and Charizard. I don't know if it's faster on average than punching, though.

[@tsawy6]

Wouldn't the Snorlax be able to rest past curse? You could uh, add in some damage to do that last quarter, but he will be amnesia'd to the nines

[@Joker22593]

He did use leftovers on red. It shows the text when he first loses to espeon.

[@thatponybro6940]

i honestly always found it interesting that Curse is the only move that i know of that has different effects depending of the Pokemon's type for its effect

[@MelodicTurtleMetal]

Pretty confident it's the only move

[@thatponybro6940]

@@MelodicTurtleMetal that's why i said that i know of, cause every new generation gets more and more confusing lol

[@MelodicTurtleMetal]

@@thatponybro6940 yeah - won't lie, i sat pondering what you wrote for a good 10 minutes. I kept thinking there was a grass move that felt familiar, but i think i was just thinking of synthesis being affected by sunny day.

[@SpecsJigglypuff]

It’s the only move that does this yeah

[@evawhite1144]

Well, I'm not sure yet, but Gengar might just dethrone Feraligatr for that first spot in the rankings. With the 3 elemental punches it's just too good. Pd: Also, I know it has nothing to do with the run, but in the HG/SS remakes, the rival's Feraligatr team is the best one. His Feraligatr finally gets a very good stab water move in waterfall, ice coverage in ice fang, dark coverage in crunch that is now physical, and slash which isn't the best thing in the world, but it's still a damn good normal move to hit things for neutral damage. So yeah. Pd2: Uff, turns out I was wrong, Gengar isn't as good despite its coverage, like B tier? And worse than Venusaur, too! I really didn't expect that result, I was convinced the goshtly boy was going to dethrone Feraligatr 😅😅

[@fortello7219]

In terms of Shadow Ball it's important to remember; The base power of moves is affected by your level. To simplify it it's a bit like your level is a percentage applied to the base power. So a move that's 100bp used by a level 20 is 20 power. Then that 20 is added to their attack. So at level 40, if Gengar had an attack of 70 and a special attack of 100; Shadow Ball would have a power of about 32, while the punches would have a power of only 30. Thus shadow ball does around 102 vs elemental punch's 130. And with stab that only adds 16 to shadow ball (32x1.5=48) making it's effective power 118, still below the elemental punches. With that in mind you can more easily see how much damage a move will do based on its base power, when combined with your stats.

[@fortello7219]

Honestly I wouldn't mind seeing the tracker account for this level multiplier on the base power of moves. As it is it is fairly clear to see the effects of stab but it doesn't always represent which moves are as powerful in the way you might think.

[@paulnewton2284]

Early Gen logic: Launching a ball of ghostly energy at the opponent: physical attack Punching them with your literal hands but enhanced with a bit of elemental magic: not a physical attack

[@reshawshid]

Just curious, do you ever think you'll consider adding Pokemon's stats to the damage calculations for moves in your overlay? As in, calculating the move's power with the Attack/Special Attack of your Pokemon and the Defense/Special Defense of the opponent's Pokemon in mind. It seems you do that to some extent with your calculations for your second runs, so I was wondering if that would eventually extend to the overlay.

[@Missingn0mast3r]

The problem with that is twofold. First, any shorthand method will be inaccurate(specifically favoring special by about 30% with your suggestion applied directly if i'm remembering that old math correctly), so he'd LITERALLY just be programming a damage calculator into his overlay which is a ton of effort. Secondly is that using a damage calculator is HEAVILY against the spirit of a first attempt. Which, all taken together, is why he only uses one when routing a second "optimized" playthrough, and why it's not part of the main overlay.

[@Deaf_Cat]

With Gengar's 130 base special att stat the Price badge boost for special defense actually came into play for the elite four. Rarely get to see that.

[@Sanisgillon]

I am here to cheer my boy 🎉🎉🎉 (Scott of course)

[@myzelf99]

Dynamic punch being the legit best option sent me.

[@lewisgregory1996]

Especially, when they made fun of it at the beginning

[@angelotirado3542]

And since it's an egg move, a run with d dance from the start would be insane

[@israelnevarez3118]

Imagine the alternate universe where ghost moves were special in the first three gens. Also dragon probably physical.

[@LovelyAlanna]

My prediction is Gengar is going to obliterate Johto Edit: I'm honestly surprise it didn't demolish johto, that lack of damaging moves is really bad

[@Spanky8402]

I can't believe I just heard someone being nervous about a Ratata. 😂

[@BugOnAChip]

Gen 2 Gengar sprite is the best pokemon sprite of all time. Change my mind.

[@KeyEveris]

I love watching your videos in the background while I work on stuff. I think it would be cool if you could do some runs with no TMs, in a situation like this I can't help but think most pokemon can learn the punches or flamethrower / ice beam / thunderbolt, and that kind of makes this gengar run seem a bit less special. I guess gengar only has 10 level up moves to choose from, which is limiting in it's own way. Maybe just include TMs from gym leaders?

[@sandman5834]

Can’t wait for the Dragon, bug, rock and steel type Armaldo tear up the Hoenn region next week

[@Anditeshordo]

Awesome play through. Can't wait for the nidos and rhydon

[@chefgrizz6284]

With Psychic so far away, this will be interesting

[@bananaspice1967]

Jenjar time! It is fast ghost, and can punch a lot

[@TheLeviathan1293]

Before starting: Gengar's weakness is that both of its types are physical. Gengar's strength is that it gets special moves of all sorts giving it a good coverage for the entire run. The exceptions are the early game in which it has hypnosis and anyways it's immune to normal (lots of tackle pokes early game).

[@male_maid5951]

the interesting part of whirlwind it that it removes the accuracy drops - it might be worth concid3ring requiring banking all pokemon to avoid that.

[@ashharkausar413]

I'm not sure if that was the first time I saw you use dynamic punch but that was brilliant usage! Also have you played crystal kaizo?

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Not yet. But I plan to!

[@hYRo144]

Gengar - the true Punching Pkmn Poor Hitmonchan

[@jadencory6169]

I love Gengar ❤.... you did my boi dirty Scott. 😢

[@reydragon2597]

Scott, I know it will take time, but considering the state of the Yellow tierlist maybe you could make a case for adding a Pryce tier to the Crystal list if or when the tiers start getting cluttered? He's the most Surge-y of the leaders from this gen.

[@justinsims655]

He's purple. He hovers. He can't learn Mud-Slap. Gengars are dead Gligars theory confirmed. Even the names are similar.

[@CierraJohnson-bh4mc]

Better than the lame Clefable theory

[@davidgardner6677]

Congrats on the personal growth to give up hypnosis!!

[@verymelonman12]

7:50 and this is why Crystal Legacy removed Gengar's access to all 3 punches.

[@no1bandfan]

Unfortunately ghost moves were calculated off the attack stat and not special stat till the physical/special split.

[@marklisowski6549]

In addition to Oddish in the forest, Paras, if bumped into, is a good choice from other videos I’ve watched. Also, is getting Sweet Scent any benefit to assist in addition to wild Pokemon training when feels prompted?

[@ScottsThoughtsPokemon]

Yeah, Paras is good just really rare. Sweet Scent is just a waste of time imo

[@maxspecs]

This run’s gonna be a struggle until you get those elemental punches in Goldenrod.

[@ZerglingOne1]

Big mistake not at least trying to use Curse on the Snorlax. It is incapable of damaging Gengar, and Curse will automatically do most of the work on damaging it and you still have super effective damage for Venusaur, Blastoise, Charizard, and Espeon. Time for a re-rank stream! Or at least a test on your end.

[@adcalzyy9990]

Gengar will always be my number 1

[@seedling345]

The wall bonk stat is necessary from here on out lol

[@rainerabt7911]

I would love a what If Video. You can choose 1 Attack to give your Pokemon which can Change the whole Run.

[@joeybricks8401]

I'm definitely getting a Gengar tattoo.

[@fsanmiguel666]

Should've put Hidden Power Fighting on Gengar so it could've taken care of Karen's Dark types and Red's Gengar without having to gamble on Dynamic Punch!

[@Scotia__]

You probably won't see this, but I was wondering if you could lower the bgm by maybe 10% or so during your playthroughs? The section around 5 mins in, where you mention Union Cave and Azalea Town & catch Oddish were alright, but I find in most sections the bgm is fighting your voice and making it hard to focus on what you're saying. Only bringing it up since I've noticed it in most of your gen2 vids and I absolutely love your content, but have too much trouble with that sound balance to be able to watch your videos like I used to 😢

[@zenitfan4life]

Hah, in the game where Scott didn't use hypnosis for once he went for dynamic punch)

[@Eddie-vi9om]

Gengar got a sub 30 minute video?? Ok yeah this Pokemon fs got S-tier

[@jeremyhubbard2908]

Hey it's my favorite Pokemon!!!!!! Well apart from the Piplup line in Diamond and Pearl

[@kirzuo1512]

The gen1 flashbacks for lance 😂

[@jptheflipper3825]

very nicely played Scott, although a shame Gengar couldn't start with a better move to get it through the early game a lot faster. I wish you luck with the fossils in Emerald, I've used Armaldo in Gen 3 and it plays beautifully, you'll love it I hope, Cradilly on the other hand might be painful. our mutual friend Eggceptional tried it in Fire red and had a hard time and Emerald is a far harsher game. in your video last week, you talked about back porting dark types and dark moves, I think it possible and there is a fair way to do it. Pursuit is not the strongest of moves but is usable and faint attack could be as well, yes it never misses like swift, but who is to say it stays that way, make it so it can Gen 1 miss and it will essentially be your bite; dark type, base 60 and special. I looked into crunch as well, no Gen 1 Pokemon in Gen 2 get it, Nidoqueen doesn't get it until Gen 3, only Dark types got it in Gen 2, so back porting that for houndoom or T-Tar could be fair to an extent

[@Shenaldrac]

Yeah, Gengar in gen 2 suffers the same fate as Mewtwo in gen 3. Fantastic pokemon but due to type immunities and its moveset and early mandatory trainers, it's just required to waste time spending PP to use struggle. It sucks, but that's just how it is.

[@trevor21241842]

I wonder how long it would’ve taken if he only used gengar instead of using other teammates to let him be swapped back and forth? Good win gengar only plus his five other homies

[@TJF588]

"My target level here is LV69." My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined. /s

[@johntarver5684]

I love October for these themed runs! Still waiting on Haunter tho!

[@luigiRobs14]

The Poison type being mostly unused until Gen 3 is the only minus for Gengar in early games, Gen 4 and beyond though its a true monster

[@bateltheassistant]

Gengar is a soild Pokémon in the Jhoto games. But the minor changes in game mechanics gave it the shortest stick, especially in the early game,which slows it up slightly. But in return it gets all of the punches , which can basically steam roll throughout the game with ease up it has to face Red's Snorlax. Snorlax is hard wall for most special attackers ,and for Gengar that is definitely a problem. It's a shame that it can't learn sludge bomb like in gen 3, because it could have been useful. But I guess that can try in theory nightmare if you'd keep hypnosis on your moveset,to make sure it would be damaged every turn it's a asleep. Or to use psych up(its tm 09 you'll get it by trading the abra line from gen 1 to gen 2 and after the trade they should hold it) and copy the Snorlax's stat changes. 🤔