Musharna
[Overview]
<p>Musharna is one of those Pokemon who has the stats and movepool to be higher up on the tier list, but just happens to be outclassed in RU and UU. Not only does she have bulk comparable to Reuniclus in OU, but her support movepool stretches to the horizon. She's also surprisingly strong sitting at a respectable 107 base Special Attack. Its not all peaches for Musharna, however, as her subpar Psychic-typing leaves her vulnerable to the numerous strong Dark-types in the tier and gives her an iffy STAB attack. It does give her plenty of breathing room to switch into strong Fighting-types such as Sawk, though. The lack of good secondary offensive moves also leaves her relying on Hidden Power for coverage, which is never a good thing. Play her right, however, and she will always pull more than her fair share of weight for your team.</p>
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psychic / Stored Power
move 3: Moonlight
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting / Baton Pass
item: Leftovers
ability: Synchronize
nature: Bold
evs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Musharna makes for quite an excellent Calm Mind user, as her amazing bulk and few weaknesses give her the ability to set up easily once opposing strong Bug- and Dark-type attackers have been removed. Calm Mind is the crux of the set, allowing Musharna to sweep after increasing her power, as well as boosting her ability to take special hits. Psychic is her main STAB option because it lets Musharna do damage without needing to set up, which is useful early- and mid-game. Stored Power is also good, however, if you plan on using her solely to solely for a late-game sweep. Moonlight is for reliable recovery, allowing Musharna to come in multiple times throughout the game to tank hits, as her fantastic bulk gives her plenty of chances to use it. Hidden Power Fighting provides good neutral coverage with Psychic, as well as a super-effective hit on the many Dark-types in the tier, such as Absol.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Being one of the few BW Pokemon with access to Sleep Talk, Musharna can use it alongside Rest, over Moonlight and Hidden Power, with Stored Power. This will leave her unable to touch Dark-types, however. Regardless of whether she is using Rest or Moonlight, Musharna greatly appreciates Heal Bell support from the likes of Audino, Lickilicky, and Miltank, as status really hinders her ability to sweep. Synchronize is a fantastic ability for a slow stat-upper like this one, as it makes enemies think twice about using Toxic on Musharna. EVs hit a Leftovers number in HP, maximize Defense, and the rest goes in SpD to ease set up. Shadow Ball can be used for coverage, specifically against opposing Psychic-types, but it will leave Musharna unable to significantly damage Dark- and Steel-types, most notably Absol. Baton Pass is an interesting move on this set over Hidden Power Fighting, as Musharna is bulky and slow enough to take a hit and pass a Calm Mind or two to an appropriate teammate.</p>
<p>Although this set is quite a self-sufficient sweeper in its own right, it certainly appreciates support from Pokemon who can take Bug-, Dark-, and Ghost-type moves for it. Sawk does a good job at absorbing Bug- and Dark-type moves aimed at Musharna, and can also act as a revenge killer with a Choice Scarf attached. However, Sawk has trouble getting past Ghost-types, so pairing this duo with Skuntank or Absol is a good idea, as they can both use their STAB Pursuit to get rid of Ghost-types. Additionally, due to the nature of this set, a partner who can get rid of status through the use of Heal Bell or Aromatherapy, such as Altaria or Meganium, is greatly appreciated.</p>
[SET]
name: Support
move 1: Psychic / Psyshock
move 2: Moonlight
move 3: Thunder Wave / Toxic
move 4: Hidden Power Fighting
item: Leftovers
ability: Synchronize
nature: Bold
evs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set is best suited for defensive teams or teams which have trouble with strong Fighting-types. It's also an excellent option to spread status around the opponent's team. The choice between Psychic and Psyshock as STAB is up to whether you want Musharna to hit targets with lower Defense or Special Defense harder. Moonlight gives Musharna reliable recovery, greatly increasing her longevity. Hidden Power Fighting is for coverage, and also prevents her from being completely mauled by any Dark-type. Thunder Wave should be used if your team can take advantage of the paralysis, such as with slow, bulky sweepers, while Toxic can be used if your team has trouble taking down bulkier threats.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>Hypnosis is usable as a status option on this set, but it is less consistent due to its accuracy (or lack thereof) and unlike Toxic or Thunder Wave, can't be spread to multiple members of the opponent's team. Magic Coat can be used to catch opponents by surprise and play mind-games with status-inducing Pokemon and users of Taunt. Musharna's EVs are the same as in the previous set: they simply hit a Leftovers number in HP, maximize Defense, and have the rest thrown into SpD. Different EV spreads are also usable, however; for example, you can give Musharna more Special Defense and less Defense if your team is having trouble with special attackers. Synchronize is just as good here as it is on the Calm Mind set, as support Pokemon really dislike being hit with a Toxic. A partner with Heal Bell or Aromatherapy is still appreciated though, as status is a very significant annoyance to this set.</p>
<p>Aside from that, however, this set requires very little support, due to it being the one doing the supporting. As such, pairing Musharna with Pokemon who can take advantage of its resistances is generally a good idea. Miltank makes an excellent partner to this set, as she appreciates Musharna's Fighting-type resistance, can provide a good defensive pivot against Ghost-types, and has access to Heal Bell to get rid of any status Musharna might incur during the battle. Another solid teammate to Musharna is Emboar, as he can take advantage of Musharna's resistance to Psychic- and can switch into Dark- and Bug- moves in return.</p>
[SET]
name: Bulky Attacker
move 1: Psychic / Psyshock
move 2: Hidden Power Fighting
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Moonlight
item: Life Orb / Leftovers
ability: Synchronize
nature: Modest
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Def
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This set uses a more offensive approach to Musharna, taking advantage of her surprisingly large base 107 Special Attack. Psychic or Psyshock are Musharna's STAB options, and the choice is, once again, up to which targets you want to hit harder. Hidden Power Fighting and Shadow Ball provide coverage; with the former hitting Dark- and Steel-types and the latter hitting Psychic-types, all of which resist Musharna's STAB. Moonlight lets Musharna come in multiple times throughout the game and stay alive to throw her weight around.<p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs for this set are as simple as it gets: 252 Special Attack to maximize damage output, and 252 HP to optimize bulk. This set can make use of Thunder Wave over either of its coverage moves to become a self-sufficient sweeper, reminiscent of Tinkerbell Celebi in OU. This Musharna would aim to spread paralysis early-game and fire off strong attacks later; she would have imperfect coverage, however. Energy Ball hits Water-types hard, but it's less effective overall than the listed moves. Musharna's ability is a bit less important here, but Synchronize is still superior to either one of her other options. Life Orb is the main item choice as it gives Musharna some real sting behind her attacks, but Leftovers is still viable if you prefer survivability.</p>
<p>Much like the previous two sets, this Musharna also appreciates cleric support, which can be provided by teammates such as Miltank or Meganium. Additionally, due to the offensive nature of the set, pairing Musharna with other bulky attackers who have good defensive synergy with her is optimal. A good example of this is Machoke, as he can use his bulk to come in on the various Bug- and Dark- moves aimed at Musharna and proceed to fire off strong DynamicPunches. As a bonus, he also tends to lure out Ghost-types, and can proceed to weaken them with Payback so that Musharna has a much easier time sweeping later.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Due to her large support movepool, Musharna has plenty of other options she can viably use. Of these, the most notable ones are Baton Pass, which she can use alongside Calm Mind, Barrier, and perhaps Substitute. Trick Room can also be effective, which she can set up for her teammates or even take advantage of herself thanks to her good Special Attack. A dual screes set with Light Clay is also viable, as Musharna has more than enough bulk to set up both of them reliably. Aside from that, Rain Dance, Torment, Yawn, Hypnosis, and Magic Coat are all good support moves which could easily fit into her moveset if your team so requires.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Musharna's sheer bulk makes her very difficult to KO; however, there are a few things she needs to watch out for. Skuntank is public enemy #1, as he is immune to her STAB, is only hit neutrally by Hidden Power Fighting, and can threaten her with STAB Crunch and Pursuit. Absol, Zweilous, and Pinsir can all do a number on Musharna, but they need to weaken max Defense variants before they can KO it. Encore users can usually come in quite easily on Musharna and Encore a Calm Mind; Kadabra can also hit her hard with Shadow Ball. Taunt users, such as Misdreavus, will also halt a Musharna sweep pretty easily. If these options aren't available, you can always resort to damaging her with hard-hitters, such as Tauros, Swellow, and Samurott, and you should be fine.</p>
