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Levitate
- The wielder is immune to Ground-type moves.
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Level 100 Statistics (see level 5, 50, 100)
|
Min- |
Min |
Max |
Max+ |
| HP |
60
|
- |
261 |
324 |
- |
| Atk |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
| Def |
60
|
140 |
156 |
219 |
240 |
| SpA |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| SpD |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
| Spe |
85
|
185 |
206 |
269 |
295 |
Overview
While Misdreavus may not have top-tier defensive stats, she has made a name for herself as the premier spinblocker in NU. The advent of Eviolite has been crucial to Misdreavus's success—when equipped with it, her longevity increases dramatically, making her nearly impossible to OHKO without a super effective attack. Misdreavus performs as an excellent defensive pivot, reliably dealing with many physical threats and assisting the team with various support moves such as Will-O-Wisp and Heal Bell. Levitate further supplements her defensive capabilities, granting her an immunity to Earthquake and the ability to avoid Spikes and Toxic Spikes. Misdreavus is also a fantastic set-up sweeper with good boosting moves in Calm Mind and Nasty Plot as well as enough defensive prowess to set-up with ease.
Misdreavus is not without her faults, however. Barring Rest, her only form of recovery is the semi-unreliable Pain Split. While splitting HP between Misdreavus and the opposing Pokemon may seem useful, it becomes difficult for Misdreavus to maintain high HP while she wears down the opponent. Misdreavus is also prone to powerful Fire-type attackers, such as Charizard, who get a free switch-in on Will-O-Wisp and threaten to KO Misdreavus with their STAB moves. Regardless, Misdreavus is not to be overlooked when building a team. No other Ghost-type is comparable to her versatility, bulkiness, and reliability.
Despite the fact that Misdreavus has higher a Special Defense stat than Defense, a physically defensive set is by far the most advantageous for Misdreavus because of her superb typing, which grants her immunities to Normal-, Ground-, and Fighting-type moves. Although Shadow Ball is fairly weak without investment, it is Misdreavus's most reliable STAB attack and allows her to deal with opposing Taunt users. Pain Split is her only form of recovery, which is essential on a defensive Pokemon. The choice between Will-O-Wisp and Toxic is a difficult one; while Will-O-Wisp can make opposing physical attackers, such as Sawk and Armaldo, even easier to handle, Toxic is critical for Misdreavus to handle the rare Wartortle. Heal Bell is usually the superior option in the fourth moveslot because Misdreavus has the bulk to repeatedly cure status, but Taunt can also be used to prevent Pokemon such as Lickilicky from using Wish, turning Misdreavus into an effective stallbreaker.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The EVs give Misdreavus maximum physical bulk, while maintaining 24 Speed EVs to allow Misdreavus to outpace and burn Adamant Torterra before it can attack. A specially defensive EV spread with a Calm nature is worth consideration to help Misdreavus tank hits from the likes of Gardevoir and Exeggutor; however, usually a physically defensive EV spread is better as it allows Misdreavus to beat Pokemon such as Sawk easier. Thunder Wave is an option over either of the status moves, and Misdreavus makes an excellent paralysis spreader for offensive teams. However, it leaves Misdreavus unable to inflict damage outside of an uninvested Shadow Ball. If Misdreavus is used on a stall team, Perish Song is also a viable choice to try and force out dangerous threats such as Calm Mind Duosion.
Entry hazards are essentially required when using Misdreavus because her primary role on a team is to block Rapid Spin. Garbodor and Cacturne are two of the limited options for Spikes, whereas Regirock is a superb Stealth Rock user. Packing a teammate to help Misdreavus deal with powerful special attackers, such as Gorebyss, would be a brilliant idea. Lickilicky deserves a special mention, as it can fend off assaults from those Pokemon and has excellent typing synergy with Misdreavus. Lickilicky can also provide Wish support, giving Misdreavus the reliable recovery she could only dream of. Bulky Fighting-types are excellent partners, as they can deal with a rogue Skuntank who can hammer Misdreavus with Night Slash. Throh is particularly notable, as it can use Circle Throw to abuse the entry hazards that should always come with Misdreavus.
Calm Mind Misdreavus is the perfect solution for a team looking for a spinblocker with both bulk and offensive presence. Misdreavus holds several advantages over her fellow Calm Mind users in NU: superb coverage in two moves, Taunt to prevent setup as well as status moves, remarkable bulk with Eviolite, and maintaining the ability to block Rapid Spin effectively. Calm Mind bolsters Misdreavus's solid Special Attack and Special Defense stats, allowing it to withstand an even greater degree of attacks. Shadow Ball is the strongest STAB move that Misdreavus can muster, and when coupled with Hidden Power Fighting, she attains perfect neutral coverage. Both Taunt and Substitute prevent status for Misdreavus, but each has their advantages; Taunt stops opposing Pokemon from setting up on her and prevents Roar and Whirlwind from phazing her boosts, whereas Substitute blocks Trick users more readily and eases prediction.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The EV spread gives Misdreavus maximum physical bulk, while still letting her outrun Adamant Torterra. There are very few reasons to deviate from this spread, as Misdreavus will be boosting her Special Attack and Special Defense with Calm Mind, and there aren't many other Pokemon important enough to outrun. Pain Split can be used over either Taunt or Substitute, but protection from status is far more important than recovery for Misdreavus. Incoming physical attackers, such as Skuntank, can be crippled with Will-O-Wisp, but it serves very little purpose otherwise. Entry hazards and Misdreavus synergize very well—not only does she prevent them from being removed via Rapid Spin, but after a few boosts and Spikes damage, Misdreavus can easily break through opposing walls.
Although the issue is lessened due to Calm Mind boosting her Special Defense, Misdreavus is still prone to many prominent special sweepers in the tier. Misdreavus must also avoid status at all costs, or else risk a sweep ending prematurely. Lickilicky makes for an excellent partner in this regard, handling special attacks with ease and curing status conditions with Heal Bell. Despite the investment in Defense, Skuntank can still shred Misdreavus apart with a boosted Crunch. Therefore, bulky Fighting-types who can dismantle Skuntank, such as Throh and Gurdurr, pair nicely with Misdreavus. Both Throh and Gurdurr have the Guts ability as well, so they have no issues switching into a Toxic. On her own, Calm Mind Misdreavus is capable of breaking through most common special walls, so teammates such as Gorebyss will have their paths cleared for an endgame sweep.
Nasty Plot is the most effective offensive approach that Misdreavus can take that involves spinblocking. It can still beat all of the NU Rapid Spin user one-on-one, but it has the added advantage of being able to come out on top against the usual checks to its defensive sets. Skuntank takes 56 - 66% from a +2 Thunderbolt, and Swellow can be OHKOed by the same after Stealth Rock damage. This set can reliably set up on Torkoal, and while it has trouble setting up on Armaldo, it can still beat Armaldo and stop it from using Rapid Spin. This set can effectively set up on and plow through most stall teams, as they often lack a reliable way to deal with it. It does struggle to be effective against some offensive teams, however, unless that team requires Rapid Spin to function.
Nasty Plot is the crux of the set, turning the commonly defensive Misdreavus into a powerful sweeper. Shadow Ball is the most powerful STAB option that Misdreavus has, thus making it a mainstay of the set. There are two options for the coverage move; Thunderbolt, which has decent neutral coverage with Shadow Ball and can also hit Swellow really hard, and Hidden Power Fighting, which gives Misdreavus perfect neutral coverage on top of hitting Lickilicky harder. Hidden Power Fighting also has the advantage of dealing more damage to Cacturne and Sawsbuck, two threats which aren't covered by Shadow Ball and Thunderbolt. The final moveslot is reserved for a support move. Misdreavus hates status of any kind, and with Substitute it can both block status as well as set up on a number of walls in NU that cannot break its Substitutes. For example, even without defensive investment there is a good chance that Torkoal's Lava Plume will not break Misdreavus's Substitute. Trapping Misdreavus with Pursuit is a common tactic to eliminate it, and Substitute can also be used to scout for Pursuit, making Misdreavus much harder to counter. The other option in this last slot is Taunt, which, on top of blocking status, can also prevent phazing attempts from the likes of Altaria and Flareon.
Team Options & Additional Comments >>>
The EV spread above uses maximum Speed in order to outspeed all Skuntank variants, which means Misdreavus can safely use Substitute to scout for Pursuit and avoid Sucker Punch. It also Speed ties with other base 85 Speed Pokemon, such as Sawk. An alternative EV spread of 68 HP / 252 SpA / 184 Spe with a Modest nature can also be used, as it ensures that Misdreavus will always outspeed Pokemon with 65 base Speed (Glaceon, Flareon) and keep its Substitute intact against Lava Plume from 0 Special Attack EVs Torkoal. However, it lacks the Speed of the first spread, and Misdreavus will not be able to deal with Skuntank as efficiently. Misdreavus has a plethora of support moves available, such as the ever-useful Will-O-Wisp. This can be used in place of Substitute or Taunt in order to cripple Armaldo and Skuntank, two common switchins to Misdreavus. Pain Split is yet another option which can wear down walls such as Lickilicky, but having an immunity to status is crucial for Misdreavus, so Taunt and Substitute are better options in general. This set can go even more offensive if need be, using a Life Orb over Eviolite. In this case, using both Thunderbolt and Hidden Power Fighting should be considered, as the drop in bulk means that the support moves become much less useful.
Entry hazard support—specifically Stealth Rock—is absolutely crucial for this set to work. Misdreavus thrives on setting up while the opponent attempts to pull off a Rapid Spin, and it can only achieve certain important KOs with Stealth Rock support. It should be obvious, then, that Misdreavus makes a good teammate for Pokemon that require entry hazards in order to be effective. A good example would be Swellow, who becomes much more threatening with Spikes up, and also has decent offensive synergy with Misdreavus. With no way of recovering HP outside of the unreliable Pain Split, Misdreavus highly appreciates having Wish support to give it multiple opportunities to set up. Lickilicky and Audino are both great teammates for this reason, as they have great defensive synergy with Misdreavus and can also provide Heal Bell support.
Other Options
Misdreavus can attempt to use a set with the combination of Perish Song and Mean Look to trap and KO targets, but Prankster Murkrow arguably pulls off the set much better than Misdreavus. She has access to Memento to provide setup opportunities for teammates, but often it isn't very effective compared to other sets, as Misdreavus has outstanding longevity and would prefer to not waste it. Torment is an interesting move; while it does force the opponent to choose different moves every turn, many of Misdreavus's common switch-ins, such as Charizard, have several moves that can break Misdreavus's substitutes. She also has access to two priority moves in Shadow Sneak and Sucker Punch, but they have minimal utility coming from a base 60 Attack stat.
Checks and Counters
Dark-types are the bane of Misdreavus's existence. Skuntank has no issue with whatever Misdreavus does sans Will-O-Wisp, and can KO with Crunch. Pokemon that absorb status moves have little to worry about when dealing with Misdreavus—Swellow in particular fears nothing, as it is bolstered by status because of Guts and is immune to Shadow Ball. Strong special attackers, such as Charizard, can switch in on a Will-O-Wisp and OHKO with Fire Blast. A faster Pokemon that can set up a Substitute will almost always have the upper hand against Misdreavus, as it can attack her without fear of Toxic or Will-O-Wisp. Substitute also blocks Pain Split, preventing any chances for Misdreavus to recover. Lastly, Trick and Knock Off both remove Eviolite from Misdreavus, drastically cutting both of her defenses and making her much easier to KO.
