Writing up Kiyo's skeleton with Bolts' approval.
[OVERVIEW]
Musharna stands out as one of the most physically bulky Pokemon in the tier, which in combination with reliable recovery in Moonlight makes it an excellent catch-all check to most physical attackers that can't hit it super effectively, such as Tauros and Hitmonchan. While Mesprit is often a better choice for many roles due to its larger movepool and higher Speed, Musharna is usually a better choice for a bulky Calm Mind sweeper because Mesprit lacks reliable recovery, and Musharna can also be a better choice for a slow pivot because its lower Speed lets it bring in teammates safely against foes such as Steelix and Piloswine that Mesprit normally outspeeds. Musharna can run many different variants of its signature Calm Mind set, each of which is stopped in different ways, making it incredibly deadly if the opponent has mispredicted Musharna's set and preserved the wrong checks, and it can wipe out teams from the very start of the game if the opponent lacks appropriate countermeasures. However, its extremely low Speed ensures that Musharna quickly becomes dead weight if it's significantly weakened, meaning it must heal often to sweep or pivot consistently, and Moonlight's low PP prevents it from stalling out foes indefinitely. Furthermore, if Musharna chooses to run support moves instead of coverage, it can be quite easily walled regardless of its boosts if the opponent packs a Dark-type, and unless it runs Heal Bell, Toxic poison shuts it down completely.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psyshock / Psychic
move 3: Moonlight
move 4: Signal Beam / Baton Pass
item: Leftovers / Colbur Berry
ability: Synchronize
nature: Bold
evs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Calm Mind lets Musharna beat strong special attackers such as Charizard, Pyroar, and Magmortar after some boosts and gives Musharna some offensive presence after even just one boost thanks to its solid Special Attack. Calm Mind can also be used against physical attackers that can't threaten Musharna back, such as Hitmonchan and Garbodor. Psyshock is usually the best choice for Musharna's STAB attack as it deals more damage to specially defensive targets such as Hariyama, Magmortar, and rival Calm Mind users such as Xatu and Mega Audino. Psychic is a good alternative that is more effective against physically defensive targets such as Rhydon and Weezing. Moonlight is Musharna's best means of recovery, allowing it to regain 50% of its HP against everything but Snow Warning Aurorus and letting it set up with impunity against weaker attackers. Signal Beam lets Musharna hit most Dark-types for good damage as they switch in or if Musharna has accrued enough boosts to stop specially offensive threats such as Defog Skuntank; the move is especially useful with Colbur Berry so that Musharna can take an attack and strike back. Baton Pass lets Musharna pass Calm Mind boosts to a teammate, setting up faster threats such as Swellow and Pyroar for sweeps. Alternatively, Baton Pass can be used without any boosts just to bring a teammate in safely, as Musharna will almost always use the move after its foe and take the resulting attack. Thunder Wave slows down the fast threats that Musharna is often faced with, can provide extra setup opportunities, and can provide extra turns of recovery when the foe is fully paralyzed. Heal Bell can be used to counteract Musharna's weakness to Toxic poison and to support its teammates, but its low PP makes it easy for checks such as Steelix to stall the move out, and it's generally best left to supportive sets.
Set Details
========
240 HP EVs provide Musharna with a Leftovers number, while the remaining EVs and a Bold nature are used to maximize Musharna's physical bulk, letting it counter physical attackers such as Hitmonchan and Garbodor and giving it more opportunities to set up Calm Mind boosts, which eventually supplements Musharna's lower Special Defense. 16 Speed EVs can be used to let Musharna outspeed Steelix and Baton Pass out before it can use Toxic. Synchronize is the best ability for this set because it punishes opponents that attempt to inflict status on Musharna to stop a sweep, such as Mantine and Pelipper. Leftovers gives Musharna some passive recovery that turns some 2HKOs into 3HKOs, such as Swellow's Boomburst and Floatzel's Hydro Pump, and reduces Musharna's reliance on Moonlight to tank hits, making its meager 8 PP stretch further. Colbur Berry is another great option that lets Musharna deal with Knock Off from Hariyama more easily as well as lure in usual checks such as Shiftry and Malamar and beat them with Signal Beam.
Usage Tips
========
In the early-game, if Musharna runs Baton Pass, it should generally be used as a pivot, threatening foes with the prospect of setup before giving a teammate a free switch in. Baton Pass also has the ability to avoid giving Pursuit users like Skuntank the damage boost from a switch. This can be great to get your offensive threats into favorable matchups. Otherwise, Musharna should be either used to lure in Dark-types such as Shiftry and Malamar and beat them with Signal Beam or conserved until late-game when its checks have been removed, taking setup opportunities when given but only if you feel it can sweep without any obstacles. A full-HP Skuntank, a Steelix known to have Toxic, and a number of other things can easily cut a sweep short. Musharna's HP should be conserved whenever possible so that it can switch into and avoid the 2HKO from strong physical attackers such as Archeops and Tauros before healing up with Moonlight. Musharna can easily get worn down throughout the course of a match, so keeping this in mind can be vital to your success. If Musharna runs Heal Bell or Thunder Wave, it has a stronger early-game presence that can be used to support its teammates at the cost of late-game utility.
Team Options
========
Fighting-types such as Hariyama, Primeape, and Hitmonchan are great for switching into and threatening the Dark-types that prevent Musharna from sweeping. This is important even if Musharna uses Signal Beam, as threats such as Skuntank can still get around it, and it relieves pressure on Musharna so that it can sweep more effectively. Similarly, Mega Audino is a good partner that can threaten most Dark-types and either provide Heal Bell support or act as a supplementary sweeper while also being able to pass Wishes and provide Musharna with more setup opportunities, in addition to being immune to Trick. Meanwhile, defensive threats that are weak to Fighting-type attacks, such as Ferroseed and Regice, highly appreciate Musharna's being a sturdy response to these attacks. Grounded Poison-types such as Garbodor and Skuntank are able to absorb Toxic Spikes, which also plagues Musharna, and are mandatory against teams that pack that entry hazard to ensure a late-game sweep. Pursuit trappers such as Skuntank and Liepard can deal with opposing Psychic- and Ghost-types that can either wall Musharna that lack Psyshock with their own Calm Mind boosts or hit it hard with status and super effective Hexes, such as Xatu and Mismagius. Packing good Baton Pass recipients is also a good idea if Musharna runs the move; fast special attackers such as Swellow, Floatzel, and Pyroar do well against offensive teams with a few boosts, while other physically defensive tanks such as Quagsire, Pelipper, and Weezing also appreciate the extra special bulk and offensive presence. Additionally, frail offensive Pokemon such as Zangoose and Jynx appreciate Baton Pass support for entering battle safely.
[SET]
name: Stored Power
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Barrier
move 3: Moonlight
move 4: Stored Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Synchronize
nature: Bold
evs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Calm Mind both boosts Musharna's Special Attack and Special Defense and raises the Base Power of Stored Power, rapidly increasing Musharna's offensive capability. Barrier makes Musharna almost impenetrable to physical attacks and also increases the Base Power of Stored Power, meaning that Musharna can inflict reasonable damage even without using Calm Mind if it is too pressured to do so. Moonlight gives Musharna a recovery option to help it succeed against Pokemon that can still deal significant damage to it after a few boosts, such as Choice Band Scyther, and it generally gives Musharna an easier time initially setting up boosts. Stored Power can hit anywhere between 20 and 360 Base Power depending on the number of boosts Musharna has. This can get scary pretty quickly if your opponent is not well equipped to deal with it, OHKOing almost any non-Dark-type after Musharna has maximized its Special Attack stat.
Set Details
========
240 HP EVs give Musharna a Leftovers number, while the remaining EVs and a Bold nature are used to make it as physically bulky as possible, letting it beat physical attackers such as Hitmonchan and Garbodor and set up Calm Mind boosts more easily, which eventually fix Musharna's lower Special Defense. While this is generally the most effective approach, as Calm Mind increases Musharna's Special Attack at the same time as it patches up its special bulk, a specially defensive spread can be used instead to let Musharna switch into special attackers such as Floatzel and Swellow more easily, with Barrier fixing Musharna's Defense as physical attackers switch in. 16 Speed EVs can be used to outspeed Steelix and grab an extra Calm Mind before it uses Toxic, potentially allowing Musharna to beat Steelix 1v1 with Stored Power. This can be useful if you have a Healing Wish user that can give Musharna another chance at a full sweep later in the match. Synchronize is the best ability for this set because it punishes foes that attempt to inflict status on Musharna to stop a sweep, such as Mantine and Pelipper. Leftovers gives Musharna some passive recovery so that it can rely less on Moonlight to stay healthy, making its pitiful 8 PP stretch further.
Usage Tips
========
This set should be played as a dedicated wincon, not being brought in until it has a high probability to sweep the opponent's team. As this set lacks other useful support options, such as Baton Pass and Heal Bell, or a coverage move such as Signal Beam, and it has no immediately powerful STAB attack to hit Fighting- and Poison-types with, it is generally much worse as a pivot, only being able to heal up with Moonlight or force something out with Barrier and then switch out, giving the opponent momentum. Removing Dark-types, Toxic Spikes, and any potential Toxic users on the opposing team is key to ensuring a clean sweep with Stored Power. However, it is possible to beat Dark-type Pokemon that Musharna cannot damage through means of passive damage such as Life Orb recoil, poison, and burn. Given the ease with which Musharna can boost its defensive stats, setting up on a Dark-type that is equipped with a Life Orb and either weakened or afflicted with damaging status can be plausible. Barrier should be used against physical attackers or when the opponent is likely to switch in a physical threat such as Choice Band Scyther to stop Musharna, while Calm Mind should be used when the opponent is likely to bring in a special attacker, such as Aurorus or a rival Calm Mind user, or just when Musharna has free turns in general. Moonlight should be used when Musharna is in range of being KOed by a surprise critical hit and a subsequent follow-up attack, to minimize the risk of critical hits disrupting Musharna's sweep. However, if Moonlight's PP is running low, it can be worth the risk to wait for longer before healing if Musharna's health would not fall below 50% after an attack. Generally speaking, Stored Power should only be used when it's strong enough to OHKO a foe to avoid giving it more turns to potentially land a critical hit; this means that Musharna should usually secure one or two Calm Minds regardless of how many Barrier boosts it has before attempting a KO. Going all the way to +6 Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense is generally unnecessary unless Musharna is your last Pokemon and the opponent has a dedicated Pokemon that resists Psychic-type attacks, such as Metang, due to Stored Power's ridiculous Base Power.
Team Options
========
For the most part, Dark-types absolutely have to be removed before Musharna can sweep. Fighting- and Bug-types such as Primeape, Hariyama, Scyther, and Pinsir can inflict heavy damage to most Dark-types, especially if they run Earthquake to deal with Skuntank reliably. Using a second Psychic-type with Signal Beam and Hidden Power Ground, such as Calm Mind Mesprit or Choice Specs Beheeyem, can be useful for luring in Dark-types such as Skuntank and securing the KO with their boosted coverage moves, with Explosion Shiftry also being a good lure for Skuntank in particular. This set is also extremely vulnerable to Toxic poison, so using grounded Poison-types such as Vileplume and Skuntank, potentially in combination with a reliable Defog user such as Pelipper, is important for removing the threat of Toxic Spikes. Heal Bell and Healing Wish users also greatly benefit Musharna by removing status after the fact and giving Musharna more chances to sweep, with Mega Audino being a good choice for either role due to its ability to take on Dark-types with its Fairy typing.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A pivot set can be used without Calm Mind, making room for an extra support move such as Heal Bell or Thunder Wave instead, sacrificing sweeping potential and offensive utility for more consistent team support. Alternatively, Musharna can use its low Speed to its fullest potential by running an offensive Trick Room set with maximum Special Attack EVs, a Quiet nature, and Life Orb, using coverage options such as Signal Beam, Shadow Ball, Hidden Power Ground, and Energy Ball KO specific targets that it lures in such as Malamar, Mismagius, Steelix, and Quagsire. Choice Specs can be used alongside the aforementioned coverage moves and Baton Pass to evade counters, but such a set is generally less consistent at wallbreaking than the likes of Beheeyem. Magic Coat can be used on the standard Calm Mind set to block status users and entry hazards with prediction, but generally doesn't help Musharna sweep more consistently, with Steelix, the most common response to Musharna, being immune to Toxic itself. Kee Berry can also be used to further increase Musharna's physical bulk as it stacks Calm Mind boosts, but the passive recovery from Leftovers is sorely missed. Finally, Musharna can use Curse alongside Baton Pass to pass boosts to physical attackers in a dedicated core, such as White Herb Drifblim and White Herb Liepard, making it difficult to stop their sweeps even with priority attackers, but this set lacks much utility outside of providing a one-off potential sweep for a teammate.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dark-type Pokemon**: Dark-type Pokemon such as Skuntank, Shiftry, and Liepard are immune to Musharna's STAB moves and can hit it for super effective damage. Skuntank and Pawniard only take neutral damage from Signal Beam, and Skuntank can shut Musharna down with Taunt, making it a reliable counter to most Musharna sets.
**Status**: Burn and poison decrease Musharna's longevity considerably and make it difficult for it to pivot into powerful attackers later in the game. Toxic poison can be one of the best checks to Stored Power Musharna due to the increasing damage per turn preventing it from stacking boosts reliably, with Steelix being a particularly dangerous user of the move due to its resistance to Psychic-type attacks and immunity from being poisoned by Synchronize.
**Taunt**: Pokemon such as Mismagius, Pyroar, and Skuntank that commonly run Taunt are able to shut down both Musharna's primary means of stat boosting and its primary means of recovery, making it fairly useless until it can switch out. Skuntank can also use Taunt to prevent Musharna from using Baton Pass to escape Pursuit.
**Trick**: Choice Scarf users such as Mesprit, Rotom, and Jynx can use Trick to give their items to Musharna and lock it into a single move, removing Musharna's passive recovery if it runs Leftovers and removing all of Musharna's sweeping capability unless it has already boosted.
**Powerful Wallbreakers**: Powerful wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Pyroar, Life Orb Samurott, and Work Up Tauros can be difficult for Musharna to deal with given any prior damage, especially considering Musharna will often have to use Moonlight multiple times to avoid a 2HKO from one of their attacks.
**Bug-type Pokemon**: Bug-types such as Pinsir and Scyther can boost their stats and hit Musharna for super effective damage; both Pinsir and Scyther often carry Choice Band and can deal huge chunks of damage to Musharna without a boost as well.
**Quagsire**: While Stored Power variants of Musharna can get past Quagsire because the move's Base Power is boosted regardless of Unaware, standard Calm Mind variants will struggle to break through Quagsire with boosting alone.
[OVERVIEW]
Musharna stands out as one of the most physically bulky Pokemon in the tier, which in combination with reliable recovery in Moonlight makes it an excellent catch-all check to most physical attackers that can't hit it super effectively, such as Tauros and Hitmonchan. While Mesprit is often a better choice for many roles due to its larger movepool and higher Speed, Musharna is usually a better choice for a bulky Calm Mind sweeper because Mesprit lacks reliable recovery, and Musharna can also be a better choice for a slow pivot because its lower Speed lets it bring in teammates safely against foes such as Steelix and Piloswine that Mesprit normally outspeeds. Musharna can run many different variants of its signature Calm Mind set, each of which is stopped in different ways, making it incredibly deadly if the opponent has mispredicted Musharna's set and preserved the wrong checks, and it can wipe out teams from the very start of the game if the opponent lacks appropriate countermeasures. However, its extremely low Speed ensures that Musharna quickly becomes dead weight if it's significantly weakened, meaning it must heal often to sweep or pivot consistently, and Moonlight's low PP prevents it from stalling out foes indefinitely. Furthermore, if Musharna chooses to run support moves instead of coverage, it can be quite easily walled regardless of its boosts if the opponent packs a Dark-type, and unless it runs Heal Bell, Toxic poison shuts it down completely.
[SET]
name: Calm Mind
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Psyshock / Psychic
move 3: Moonlight
move 4: Signal Beam / Baton Pass
item: Leftovers / Colbur Berry
ability: Synchronize
nature: Bold
evs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Calm Mind lets Musharna beat strong special attackers such as Charizard, Pyroar, and Magmortar after some boosts and gives Musharna some offensive presence after even just one boost thanks to its solid Special Attack. Calm Mind can also be used against physical attackers that can't threaten Musharna back, such as Hitmonchan and Garbodor. Psyshock is usually the best choice for Musharna's STAB attack as it deals more damage to specially defensive targets such as Hariyama, Magmortar, and rival Calm Mind users such as Xatu and Mega Audino. Psychic is a good alternative that is more effective against physically defensive targets such as Rhydon and Weezing. Moonlight is Musharna's best means of recovery, allowing it to regain 50% of its HP against everything but Snow Warning Aurorus and letting it set up with impunity against weaker attackers. Signal Beam lets Musharna hit most Dark-types for good damage as they switch in or if Musharna has accrued enough boosts to stop specially offensive threats such as Defog Skuntank; the move is especially useful with Colbur Berry so that Musharna can take an attack and strike back. Baton Pass lets Musharna pass Calm Mind boosts to a teammate, setting up faster threats such as Swellow and Pyroar for sweeps. Alternatively, Baton Pass can be used without any boosts just to bring a teammate in safely, as Musharna will almost always use the move after its foe and take the resulting attack. Thunder Wave slows down the fast threats that Musharna is often faced with, can provide extra setup opportunities, and can provide extra turns of recovery when the foe is fully paralyzed. Heal Bell can be used to counteract Musharna's weakness to Toxic poison and to support its teammates, but its low PP makes it easy for checks such as Steelix to stall the move out, and it's generally best left to supportive sets.
Set Details
========
240 HP EVs provide Musharna with a Leftovers number, while the remaining EVs and a Bold nature are used to maximize Musharna's physical bulk, letting it counter physical attackers such as Hitmonchan and Garbodor and giving it more opportunities to set up Calm Mind boosts, which eventually supplements Musharna's lower Special Defense. 16 Speed EVs can be used to let Musharna outspeed Steelix and Baton Pass out before it can use Toxic. Synchronize is the best ability for this set because it punishes opponents that attempt to inflict status on Musharna to stop a sweep, such as Mantine and Pelipper. Leftovers gives Musharna some passive recovery that turns some 2HKOs into 3HKOs, such as Swellow's Boomburst and Floatzel's Hydro Pump, and reduces Musharna's reliance on Moonlight to tank hits, making its meager 8 PP stretch further. Colbur Berry is another great option that lets Musharna deal with Knock Off from Hariyama more easily as well as lure in usual checks such as Shiftry and Malamar and beat them with Signal Beam.
Usage Tips
========
In the early-game, if Musharna runs Baton Pass, it should generally be used as a pivot, threatening foes with the prospect of setup before giving a teammate a free switch in. Baton Pass also has the ability to avoid giving Pursuit users like Skuntank the damage boost from a switch. This can be great to get your offensive threats into favorable matchups. Otherwise, Musharna should be either used to lure in Dark-types such as Shiftry and Malamar and beat them with Signal Beam or conserved until late-game when its checks have been removed, taking setup opportunities when given but only if you feel it can sweep without any obstacles. A full-HP Skuntank, a Steelix known to have Toxic, and a number of other things can easily cut a sweep short. Musharna's HP should be conserved whenever possible so that it can switch into and avoid the 2HKO from strong physical attackers such as Archeops and Tauros before healing up with Moonlight. Musharna can easily get worn down throughout the course of a match, so keeping this in mind can be vital to your success. If Musharna runs Heal Bell or Thunder Wave, it has a stronger early-game presence that can be used to support its teammates at the cost of late-game utility.
Team Options
========
Fighting-types such as Hariyama, Primeape, and Hitmonchan are great for switching into and threatening the Dark-types that prevent Musharna from sweeping. This is important even if Musharna uses Signal Beam, as threats such as Skuntank can still get around it, and it relieves pressure on Musharna so that it can sweep more effectively. Similarly, Mega Audino is a good partner that can threaten most Dark-types and either provide Heal Bell support or act as a supplementary sweeper while also being able to pass Wishes and provide Musharna with more setup opportunities, in addition to being immune to Trick. Meanwhile, defensive threats that are weak to Fighting-type attacks, such as Ferroseed and Regice, highly appreciate Musharna's being a sturdy response to these attacks. Grounded Poison-types such as Garbodor and Skuntank are able to absorb Toxic Spikes, which also plagues Musharna, and are mandatory against teams that pack that entry hazard to ensure a late-game sweep. Pursuit trappers such as Skuntank and Liepard can deal with opposing Psychic- and Ghost-types that can either wall Musharna that lack Psyshock with their own Calm Mind boosts or hit it hard with status and super effective Hexes, such as Xatu and Mismagius. Packing good Baton Pass recipients is also a good idea if Musharna runs the move; fast special attackers such as Swellow, Floatzel, and Pyroar do well against offensive teams with a few boosts, while other physically defensive tanks such as Quagsire, Pelipper, and Weezing also appreciate the extra special bulk and offensive presence. Additionally, frail offensive Pokemon such as Zangoose and Jynx appreciate Baton Pass support for entering battle safely.
[SET]
name: Stored Power
move 1: Calm Mind
move 2: Barrier
move 3: Moonlight
move 4: Stored Power
item: Leftovers
ability: Synchronize
nature: Bold
evs: 240 HP / 252 Def / 16 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Calm Mind both boosts Musharna's Special Attack and Special Defense and raises the Base Power of Stored Power, rapidly increasing Musharna's offensive capability. Barrier makes Musharna almost impenetrable to physical attacks and also increases the Base Power of Stored Power, meaning that Musharna can inflict reasonable damage even without using Calm Mind if it is too pressured to do so. Moonlight gives Musharna a recovery option to help it succeed against Pokemon that can still deal significant damage to it after a few boosts, such as Choice Band Scyther, and it generally gives Musharna an easier time initially setting up boosts. Stored Power can hit anywhere between 20 and 360 Base Power depending on the number of boosts Musharna has. This can get scary pretty quickly if your opponent is not well equipped to deal with it, OHKOing almost any non-Dark-type after Musharna has maximized its Special Attack stat.
Set Details
========
240 HP EVs give Musharna a Leftovers number, while the remaining EVs and a Bold nature are used to make it as physically bulky as possible, letting it beat physical attackers such as Hitmonchan and Garbodor and set up Calm Mind boosts more easily, which eventually fix Musharna's lower Special Defense. While this is generally the most effective approach, as Calm Mind increases Musharna's Special Attack at the same time as it patches up its special bulk, a specially defensive spread can be used instead to let Musharna switch into special attackers such as Floatzel and Swellow more easily, with Barrier fixing Musharna's Defense as physical attackers switch in. 16 Speed EVs can be used to outspeed Steelix and grab an extra Calm Mind before it uses Toxic, potentially allowing Musharna to beat Steelix 1v1 with Stored Power. This can be useful if you have a Healing Wish user that can give Musharna another chance at a full sweep later in the match. Synchronize is the best ability for this set because it punishes foes that attempt to inflict status on Musharna to stop a sweep, such as Mantine and Pelipper. Leftovers gives Musharna some passive recovery so that it can rely less on Moonlight to stay healthy, making its pitiful 8 PP stretch further.
Usage Tips
========
This set should be played as a dedicated wincon, not being brought in until it has a high probability to sweep the opponent's team. As this set lacks other useful support options, such as Baton Pass and Heal Bell, or a coverage move such as Signal Beam, and it has no immediately powerful STAB attack to hit Fighting- and Poison-types with, it is generally much worse as a pivot, only being able to heal up with Moonlight or force something out with Barrier and then switch out, giving the opponent momentum. Removing Dark-types, Toxic Spikes, and any potential Toxic users on the opposing team is key to ensuring a clean sweep with Stored Power. However, it is possible to beat Dark-type Pokemon that Musharna cannot damage through means of passive damage such as Life Orb recoil, poison, and burn. Given the ease with which Musharna can boost its defensive stats, setting up on a Dark-type that is equipped with a Life Orb and either weakened or afflicted with damaging status can be plausible. Barrier should be used against physical attackers or when the opponent is likely to switch in a physical threat such as Choice Band Scyther to stop Musharna, while Calm Mind should be used when the opponent is likely to bring in a special attacker, such as Aurorus or a rival Calm Mind user, or just when Musharna has free turns in general. Moonlight should be used when Musharna is in range of being KOed by a surprise critical hit and a subsequent follow-up attack, to minimize the risk of critical hits disrupting Musharna's sweep. However, if Moonlight's PP is running low, it can be worth the risk to wait for longer before healing if Musharna's health would not fall below 50% after an attack. Generally speaking, Stored Power should only be used when it's strong enough to OHKO a foe to avoid giving it more turns to potentially land a critical hit; this means that Musharna should usually secure one or two Calm Minds regardless of how many Barrier boosts it has before attempting a KO. Going all the way to +6 Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense is generally unnecessary unless Musharna is your last Pokemon and the opponent has a dedicated Pokemon that resists Psychic-type attacks, such as Metang, due to Stored Power's ridiculous Base Power.
Team Options
========
For the most part, Dark-types absolutely have to be removed before Musharna can sweep. Fighting- and Bug-types such as Primeape, Hariyama, Scyther, and Pinsir can inflict heavy damage to most Dark-types, especially if they run Earthquake to deal with Skuntank reliably. Using a second Psychic-type with Signal Beam and Hidden Power Ground, such as Calm Mind Mesprit or Choice Specs Beheeyem, can be useful for luring in Dark-types such as Skuntank and securing the KO with their boosted coverage moves, with Explosion Shiftry also being a good lure for Skuntank in particular. This set is also extremely vulnerable to Toxic poison, so using grounded Poison-types such as Vileplume and Skuntank, potentially in combination with a reliable Defog user such as Pelipper, is important for removing the threat of Toxic Spikes. Heal Bell and Healing Wish users also greatly benefit Musharna by removing status after the fact and giving Musharna more chances to sweep, with Mega Audino being a good choice for either role due to its ability to take on Dark-types with its Fairy typing.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A pivot set can be used without Calm Mind, making room for an extra support move such as Heal Bell or Thunder Wave instead, sacrificing sweeping potential and offensive utility for more consistent team support. Alternatively, Musharna can use its low Speed to its fullest potential by running an offensive Trick Room set with maximum Special Attack EVs, a Quiet nature, and Life Orb, using coverage options such as Signal Beam, Shadow Ball, Hidden Power Ground, and Energy Ball KO specific targets that it lures in such as Malamar, Mismagius, Steelix, and Quagsire. Choice Specs can be used alongside the aforementioned coverage moves and Baton Pass to evade counters, but such a set is generally less consistent at wallbreaking than the likes of Beheeyem. Magic Coat can be used on the standard Calm Mind set to block status users and entry hazards with prediction, but generally doesn't help Musharna sweep more consistently, with Steelix, the most common response to Musharna, being immune to Toxic itself. Kee Berry can also be used to further increase Musharna's physical bulk as it stacks Calm Mind boosts, but the passive recovery from Leftovers is sorely missed. Finally, Musharna can use Curse alongside Baton Pass to pass boosts to physical attackers in a dedicated core, such as White Herb Drifblim and White Herb Liepard, making it difficult to stop their sweeps even with priority attackers, but this set lacks much utility outside of providing a one-off potential sweep for a teammate.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dark-type Pokemon**: Dark-type Pokemon such as Skuntank, Shiftry, and Liepard are immune to Musharna's STAB moves and can hit it for super effective damage. Skuntank and Pawniard only take neutral damage from Signal Beam, and Skuntank can shut Musharna down with Taunt, making it a reliable counter to most Musharna sets.
**Status**: Burn and poison decrease Musharna's longevity considerably and make it difficult for it to pivot into powerful attackers later in the game. Toxic poison can be one of the best checks to Stored Power Musharna due to the increasing damage per turn preventing it from stacking boosts reliably, with Steelix being a particularly dangerous user of the move due to its resistance to Psychic-type attacks and immunity from being poisoned by Synchronize.
**Taunt**: Pokemon such as Mismagius, Pyroar, and Skuntank that commonly run Taunt are able to shut down both Musharna's primary means of stat boosting and its primary means of recovery, making it fairly useless until it can switch out. Skuntank can also use Taunt to prevent Musharna from using Baton Pass to escape Pursuit.
**Trick**: Choice Scarf users such as Mesprit, Rotom, and Jynx can use Trick to give their items to Musharna and lock it into a single move, removing Musharna's passive recovery if it runs Leftovers and removing all of Musharna's sweeping capability unless it has already boosted.
**Powerful Wallbreakers**: Powerful wallbreakers such as Choice Specs Pyroar, Life Orb Samurott, and Work Up Tauros can be difficult for Musharna to deal with given any prior damage, especially considering Musharna will often have to use Moonlight multiple times to avoid a 2HKO from one of their attacks.
**Bug-type Pokemon**: Bug-types such as Pinsir and Scyther can boost their stats and hit Musharna for super effective damage; both Pinsir and Scyther often carry Choice Band and can deal huge chunks of damage to Musharna without a boost as well.
**Quagsire**: While Stored Power variants of Musharna can get past Quagsire because the move's Base Power is boosted regardless of Unaware, standard Calm Mind variants will struggle to break through Quagsire with boosting alone.
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