Oglemi
Borf
http://www.smogon.com/rs/pokemon/haunter
[Overview]
Haunter has a major niche in the NU tier as one of only three Ghost-types, and the most offensive one of the three by far. With three immunities, all of which are typically Choice-locked moves in NU, getting Haunter onto the battlefield is actually far easier than its frailty would suggest. While Haunter sports no usable STAB moves due to its low Attack (if not using a Choice Band, anyway), its super high base 115 Special Attack, great base 95 Speed, and awesome movepool more than make up for it. As long as you keep in mind just how frail Haunter is it'll always pull its weight in a match, and it is a Pokemon to always keep on your radar when teambuilding.
[SET]
name: Substitute + 3 Attacks
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Thunderbolt
move 3: Hidden Power Fire / Hidden Power Ice
move 4: Psychic / Giga Drain
item: Leftovers / Petaya Berry
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Haunter fits best on offensive teams, and thanks to its three immunities, it's relatively easy to get it onto the battlefield, get behind a Substitute, and start blasting away at the opposition with the correct move. Thunderbolt + Hidden Power Fire gets great neutral and super effective coverage in the tier and destroys the Pokemon that Haunter likes to switch into. Hidden Power Ice offers more complete neutral coverage and perfect Speed IVs but misses out on super effective hits on Mawile, Metang, Glalie, Piloswine, and Shedinja. The last slot helps add on super effective coverage, depending on the targets that your team needs eliminated. Psychic is probably the more prudent option, as it allows Haunter to be a better answer to Hitmonchan, as well as Arbok, Swalot, and Seviper. Giga Drain is a good alternative and pairs very well with Hidden Power Fire to let Haunter remove Pupitar, Whiscash, and Graveler from play.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
Timid is chosen as the nature so that Haunter is as fast as possible, which is extra important considering Haunter is tied for the second fastest Pokemon in the tier. Modest is strictly not an option, as Haunter then fails to outspeed base 90s, as well as losing out on the tie with other Haunter and Plusle. Due to Haunter's super low base HP stat, Shell Bell is actually an option over Leftovers, as Haunter can actually gain a decent amount of HP back on the targets that Haunter can OHKO or 2HKO.
Haunter has a great movepool, so its options are definitely not limited to the ones listed above. The most prominent alternative is Hidden Power Dark, as Haunter normally lures in Chimecho pretty well and taking it out can open the door for a sweeper like Huntail. Hidden Power Water is a great move to deal a huge hit to Flareon which otherwise comfortably tanks Haunter's other moves. Explosion is an option in the last slot to deal huge damage to the specially defensive Pokemon likely to switch into Haunter, particularly Flareon and Kecleon. In the same vein, Destiny Bond is a fantastic option thanks to Haunter's Speed to ensure a KO against a Pokemon of your choosing, and it is made even better thanks to Haunter's immunity to Toxic and the priority available in NU. Torment can allow Haunter to royally screw over Choice attackers but is otherwise kind of hard to use due to Haunter's utter frailty making it susceptible to even most Pokemon's less-preferred move to hit it with. Finally, Psych Up can prevent Sableye and Chimecho from using Haunter as Calm Mind setup bait and turn the tables on them.
Haunter fits best on offensive teams where it can use its immunities to switch in and continually pressure the opponent. Spikes support will help in this endeavor and Glalie makes a great partner, as Haunter can patch up the weakness to Hitmonchan as long as Haunter avoids Hidden Power Ghost. There are a few Pokemon that can switch into this set without much fear, in particular Normal-type special walls like Kecleon, Lickitung, and Wigglytuff, as Haunter has nothing that can threaten them apart from the rare Explosion or Toxic. Hitmonchan thus makes a good offensive partner, as it can blow right through these walls as well as some other special walls that threaten Haunter like Flareon and Bellossom. Other good partners are those that can beat Calm Mind Chimecho and Sableye as they will otherwise use Haunter as setup bait. Strong attackers like Murkrow and Raticate can help in this regard, as well as other special attackers that don't fear these two like Flareon and Huntail.
[SET]
name: Substitute + Status
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Will-O-Wisp / Hypnosis
move 3: Thunderbolt
move 4: Hidden Power Ice / Hidden Power Fire
item: Leftovers
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 56 HP / 200 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
This set is designed to allow Haunter to more efficiently target and cripple certain Pokemon that Haunter otherwise has a difficult time beating one-on-one. This includes non-Choice Band Hitmonchan that will be able to otherwise take Haunter out with Hidden Power Ghost before Haunter can remove it with Psychic. A burned or sleeping Hitmonchan is much easier for Haunter's team to handle, letting Pokemon like Chimecho completely wall it. A statused Kecleon or Lickitung is also much easier for a special attacking teammate like Huntail to break through. Thunderbolt + Hidden Power Ice is the best available two-move coverage that Haunter has and Haunter can always cripple the Pokemon that give it the most trouble. However, Hidden Power Fire is a decent option still as it gains a few prominent super effective hits in the tier and Haunter is able to status the Pokemon that it misses out on like Graveler and Whiscash. Just beware of Pupitar if using Hidden Power Fire, as it can shrug off Will-O-Wisp thanks to Shed Skin.
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
The EVs are designed so that Haunter will always survive a Hidden Power Ghost from a burned Choice Band Hitmonchan, with Speed maximized to ensure that Haunter still ties with other Haunter and Plusle. Hidden Power Water is a great option in the last slot on this set as well, as it removes Flareon and prevents other Fire-types from being able to effectively answer Haunter as they are immune to Will-O-Wisp. Toxic is an option in the status slot as well, as it is Haunter's most effective option to cripple the specially defensive Pokemon that counter Haunter, in particular Chimecho and Sableye that will also use Haunter as setup bait.
This set fits best on balanced teams that need as many Pokemon on the opposing team crippled to make room for a setup sweeper like Dragon Dance Pupitar and Swords Dance Kingler to set up effectively. If not using Hidden Power Water, Flareon is a major blockade to the success of this set, making Water-types like Pelipper and Wailord good teammates. Diglett can also make a good partner with this set, as it can help in removing specific enemy threats like Flareon and allow a teammate to sweep, such as Sunny Day Bellossom.
[Other Options]
Haunter's movepool is pretty expansive, and honestly, most other move options can be easily fit anywhere on the sets above. One thing not explicitly mentioned so far is using Haunter's STAB moves on its sets, and this is due to Haunter's pitifully low Attack. However, with a Choice Band and max Attack, Haunter can at least hit decently hard, and due to the stat spreads in NU, most of the specially defensive Pokemon that are likely to switch into Haunter are going to take massive damage from any Choice Band-boosted attacks. In addition, a Choice Band-boosted Explosion is nothing to scoff at, making a set like this a great lure for a special attacking partner like Plusle or Huntail to sweep late-game.
As for other move options, Curse can be used to severely cripple the likes of Flareon, but unfortunately it is just canceled out by the opponent switching out immediately, and Haunter is simply just not bulky enough to make use of Mean Look. Haze is great to ensure Calm Mind Chimecho cannot set up on Haunter, but again Haunter's bulk kind of lets it down. Haunter can easily support weather sweepers with Rain Dance and Sunny Day and get off the field quickly with Explosion. Skill Swap is a funny move to really mess with something like Flareon, but it is pretty situational on the whole. Grudge can be used in place of Destiny Bond on any set, but a fellow KO is just more desired on Haunter. Finally, Taunt can be used to ensure Lickitung can't use Haunter to heal up and makes it much easier to remove throughout the match.
[Checks and Counters]
Because Haunter can essentially have an answer to everything, nothing in the tier outright fully counters Haunter. That said, specially defensive Wish Flareon fears very little from Haunter outside of the rare Explosion or Hidden Power Water and can easily toast Haunter with Fire Blast or Flamethrower. RestTalk Kecleon fears nothing apart from Explosion from Haunter and can easily eliminate it with Shadow Ball. Specially defensive Chimecho easily tanks everything Haunter can throw at it apart from Hidden Power Dark and OHKO back with STAB Psychic. Swalot can comfortably tank a Psychic from Haunter and wall it to kingdom come if it lacks Psychic. If Haunter lacks Giga Drain, Whiscash is an almost complete stop to Haunter and can blast it with Surf in return. Finally, most Pokemon in the tier with access to Shadow Ball or Hidden Power Ghost can tank at least one attack from Haunter and OHKO it back.
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