[OVERVIEW]
Mismagius is one of the best Pokemon at preserving a team's entry hazards due to its Ghost typing to block Rapid Spin with, access to Taunt to block Defog with, and great Speed stat to ensure it can use the move well. Furthermore, its wide support movepool including Will-O-Wisp, Memento, Thunder Wave, Destiny Bond, and many other options lets it function as an unpredictable and potent stallbreaker on balanced and offensive teams. Its immunities to Ground-, Fighting-, and Normal-type attacks and good special bulk also give it some opportunities to switch in, but its low physical bulk makes it difficult to switch in against most offensive teams outside of Choice-locked attackers. Additionally, while Mismagius outspeeds threatening offensive Pokemon such as Charizard and Jynx, it's quite vulnerable to faster attackers such as Tauros and Archeops, and it strongly dislikes Speed ties with foes such as Scyther, which can OHKO it if they win. Mismagius also usually requires a Colbur Berry to avoid being Pursuit trapped or taken advantage of by Pokemon that use Knock Off as a coverage move, such as Hariyama, meaning it can easily be worn down without passive recovery, especially if it lacks Pain Split. Overall, while Mismagius has a solid Special Attack stat, its best niche over other Ghost-types such as Rotom and Haunter is a support-based set that makes the most of its better Speed tier and movepool, as it lacks the power or secondary STAB to be as offensively threatening as its competition.
[SET]
name: Bulky Support
move 1: Will-O-Wisp
move 2: Taunt
move 3: Hex
move 4: Pain Split / Thunder Wave
item: Colbur Berry / Leftovers
ability: Levitate
nature: Timid
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Will-O-Wisp can spread burns to the opponent's team and stop slower physical attackers such as Hitmonchan and Primeape from being a threat to Mismagius, letting it follow it up with a powerful Hex. Taunt forces its foes to attack Mismagius instead of setting up or removing entry hazards, using stat-boosting moves, restoring their HP, or removing status with Heal Bell or Rest, which makes Mismagius very difficult to deal with without attacking, given its Speed tier. Hex is a powerful STAB move when the foe is affected by status and is preferred to Shadow Ball due to Mismagius's uninvested Special Attack stat. However, it deals little damage to non-statused foes, although it is still usually enough to KO opposing Ghost-types without burning them first. Pain Split is inconsistent but provides Mismagius with somewhat reliable recovery and lets it cripple healthy Pokemon when at low HP, allowing it to stallbreak more consistently. Thunder Wave cripples offensive Pokemon that don't mind Will-O-Wisp as much such as Choice Specs Swellow, setup sweepers like Lilligant, and Fire-types such as Charizard and Pyroar. It also lets Mismagius fire off a status-boosted Hex on most of these targets afterwards, excluding Pyroar. Memento sacrifices Mismagius to provide setup opportunities for sweepers such as Barbaracle and Lilligant.
Set Details
========
Colbur Berry lets Mismagius survive a single Dark-type attack, allowing it to switch into attackers potentially carrying Knock Off as coverage such as Hariyama and Choice Scarf Scyther and letting it tank a Pursuit from Skuntank if it stays in, beating it one-on-one. Leftovers is an alternative to give Mismagius more recovery, which is more useful for variants that lack Pain Split when its team already has a solid switch-in to Knock Off and Pursuit users, such as Mega Audino. Maximum Speed EVs let Mismagius Speed tie with Scyther, with the remainder being put into HP and Defense for maximum bulk, letting it tank more physical attacks after burning Pokemon. Levitate provides Mismagius with a handy immunity to Ground-type attacks, Spikes, and Toxic Spikes, giving it more opportunities to switch in and stopping it from being worn down so easily or being poisoned by Toxic Spikes.
Usage Tips
========
Mismagius's role depends a lot on what move it runs in its last slot; Pain Split lets Mismagius act as a dedicated stallbreaker, while Thunder Wave and Memento are more useful for and against offensive teams, respectively. Early-game, Mismagius should aim to spread status to the opponent's team, and it should be led with if your team needs Mismagius's Taunt to keep entry hazards from setters such as Garbodor off the field. Taunt should also be used on Defog users such as Mantine and Pelipper if Mismagius can switch in before they use the move, as well as to stop Pokemon such as Mega Audino and Musharna from restoring HP or setting up. Memento should be used against offensive Pokemon that are either forced out by or helpless to stop a setup sweeper on your team, giving it a guaranteed free turn if the opponent lacks other means of stopping it, such as status or phazing. Mismagius should be switched into users of Rapid Spin if hazards need to be kept on your opponent's side. Even if they predict this, Mismagius can usually survive an Ice Punch from Hitmonchan or a Shadow Ball from Claydol and block the spin attempt even if it faints in the process. Even when heavily weakened, Mismagius still serves as a deterrent to Fighting- and Ground-type attackers such as Primeape and Rhydon using their main STAB attacks.
Team Options
========
Mismagius is the perfect partner for most entry hazard setters. Garbodor and Omastar can provide Spikes and either Toxic Spikes or Stealth Rock, respectively, while appreciating Mismagius's Ground-type immunity and matchup against Defog users. Toxic Spikes support in particular can be useful for letting Mismagius fire off boosted Hexes without using a status move first; Weezing is another good user of the move and provides its team with a sturdier Fighting-type check in general. Choice Scarf users such as Primeape and Jynx make for good partners, as they appreciate Mismagius wearing down bulky Pokemon for a late-game sweep as well as having the ability to revenge kill offensive threats that severely dent Mismagius such as Archeops and Tauros. Setup sweepers such as Barbaracle, Omastar, and Rhydon appreciate Memento support as well as Mismagius wearing the opposing team down with burns. Checking Fire-types such as Pyroar and Charizard that can beat Mismagius easily is also important. Samurott and Kabutops resist their STAB attacks and force them out with strong Aqua Jets, while Hariyama can use Thick Fat to check them well, especially if it runs Stone Edge. Fighting-types such as the aforementioned Hariyama and Hitmonchan can deal with the Dark-types that threaten Mismagius, such as Shiftry and Liepard.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Power Gem hits many Pokemon that normally deal with Mismagius, such as Charizard, Pyroar, Archeops, Swellow, and Scyther, for good damage as they switch in, but it requires Special Attack investment to be useful, and it still doesn't let Mismagius beat Assault Vest Magmortar without Nasty Plot. Hidden Power Ground hits Skuntank, one of Mismagius's best counters, for decent damage, but it can usually be beaten by Pain Split regardless if Skuntank lacks Crunch or Dark Pulse. Life Orb and maximum Special Attack investment can be used on the support set to boost the power of Hex and coverage attacks and to make Pain Split more effective in general, but this chips away at Mismagius's longevity as a spinblocker and stallbreaker. An offensive Nasty Plot set can be a decent late-game sweeper, but it requires a Life Orb to reliably get the KOs it needs, and it's quite vulnerable to faster threats such as Archeops and priority attackers such as Kangaskhan and Samurott. A Choice Specs set can hit decently hard and use Trick to cripple defensive responses or a coverage move such Thunderbolt or Energy Ball to surprise Mantine or Gastrodon, respectively, but it's usually outdone by Haunter due to its Poison-type STAB attacks and higher Special Attack. A Substitute + Calm Mind set has a decent matchup against special attackers but is again highly susceptible to physical attackers without defensive investment, and a defensive set is done better with Misdreavus.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Fire-types**: Fire-types such as Charizard, Pyroar, and Magmortar take little damage from Mismagius's Hex and are immune to Will-O-Wisp, giving them a free turn to fire off a powerful STAB attack. However, they fear switching into Thunder Wave.
**Dark-types**: Although threatened by Will-O-Wisp, Shiftry and Liepard take little from Hex and can hit Mismagius for massive damage, even through a Colbur Berry. Special variants of these Dark-types have even less to fear from Mismagius, as they are not crippled by Will-O-Wisp. Skuntank can also deal with Mismagius well if it runs Crunch or Dark Pulse, but sets with only Sucker Punch and Pursuit lose to it if Mismagius runs Pain Split.
**Faster Pokemon**: Though Mismagius has a high Speed stat itself, faster Pokemon, such as Archeops, Tauros, and Swellow, can easily revenge kill it if it fails to hit them with Thunder Wave as they switch in. Strong priority attacks such as Kabutops's Aqua Jet and Kangaskhan's Fake Out can also inflict significant damage.
**Bulky Special Attackers**: Powerful special attackers that can take a boosted Hex on top of burn damage, such as Aurorus, Articuno, and Lapras, can switch into Mismagius without many issues, KO it with their STAB attacks, and threaten switch-ins if Mismagius attempts to switch out after burning them.
**Status**: Mismagius relies on Taunt to prevent itself from being burned or poisoned when facing stall teams; moves such as Steelix's Toxic or Garbodor's Gunk Shot can hit Mismagius as it switches in and cripple it for the rest of the game, especially if it lacks Leftovers. Paralysis also severely cripples Mismagius, as it can no longer Taunt foes as effectively with its lowered Speed.
**Guts**: Pokemon such as Hariyama and Throh that can utilize Guts can switch into Will-O-Wisp or Thunder Wave and use the status to their advantage while threatening Mismagius back with a Guts-boosted Knock Off.
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