Pokémon Mimikyu

[Dragontamer]

Obviously the way to deal with this thing is to just hit it. I didn't think I'd need to consider this Pokemon during teambuilding, but it currently wreaks my team (Mega-Metagross / Mandibuzz covers a lot, but just doesn't seem to cover Mimikyu). And its straight up impossible to take down this guy on just Hyper-offense alone. Outspeeding doesn't matter because of Disguise. And a Lum-berry always allows Mimikyu to just run through status.

Countering Mimickyu seems to demand a bulky-mon who can take +2 Shadow Claw AND +2 Shadow Sneak (Switchin on Swords Dance, +2 Shadow Claw as Disguise is Broken, then +2 Shadow Sneak afterwards). An alternative plan would be to find a Skill-Link Pokemon, like Mega-Heracross, to punch through the Disguise.

Lum Berry is good. Red Card is good (most Pokemon can't seem to handle +2 Mimikyu, even with the Disguise down). Ghostium Z is good, although Life Orb hits harder more consistently.

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The worst part is... Mimikyu isn't even that frail. Its weak size (Defense) is like Azelf... but its Special Side is comparable to Magnezone.

4 SpA Starmie Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mimikyu: 84-99 (33.4 - 39.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
4 SpA Starmie Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Magnezone: 94-112 (33.4 - 39.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

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252 Atk Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mimikyu: 222-264 (88.4 - 105.1%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

44 Atk Technician Scizor-Mega Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mimikyu: 230-272 (91.6 - 108.3%) -- 50% chance to OHKO

Only a chance for KO? Damn it. This thing's stats are "just good enough" to prove to be a headache.

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I'm thinking of running Porygon2 and/or Cloyster and/or Ditto just to deal with this damn thing. (Lol Trace + Immune to Ghost... or skill link through the Disguise)

 

[Pyukumu-kukuku]

I'm thinking of running Porygon2 and/or Cloyster and/or Ditto just to deal with this damn thing. (Lol Trace + Immune to Ghost... or skill link through the Disguise)

Pretty sure Disguise can't be traced. Your best option when going against Mimikyu is to hit it with a burn so it's offensive capabilities get shut down. If it's running Lum though you just got out played hard. Mimikyu's defensive/offensive typing is very hard to play around since between ghost and fairy the only pokemon that exists that walls both would be the normal/fire type Pyroar. Considering it's base stats it wouldn't wall it for very long though.

 

[Dragontamer]

Pretty sure Disguise can't be traced. Your best option when going against Mimikyu is to hit it with a burn so it's offensive capabilities get shut down. If it's running Lum though you just got out played hard. Mimikyu's defensive/offensive typing is very hard to play around since between ghost and fairy the only pokemon that exists that walls both would be the normal/fire type Pyroar. Considering it's base stats it wouldn't wall it for very long though.

It seems like a lot of Mimikyu are running Lum Berry. I was owned at least twice last night for example by Lum Berry Swords Dancers.

Lum Berry shuts down the most obvious avenue to attack Mimikyu: status. Red Card is full of troll, but against a team of setup sweepers, I can see it being useful.

 

[Unyubaby]

From my testing, Red Card is a lot better in 3v3 where your opponent's options are lesser. Though it still has uses in full battles, it's more likely that your opponent will have an answer. So for full battles, I'd definitely recommend Lum Berry. Life Orb has some good use too, though I personally usually have something else using it. I also found Ghostium Z to, surprisingly, be pretty good on Mimikyu as just a Ghostly nuke after Swords Dance. Not as good as the other options, but still something.

 

[tomtom5858]

252 Atk Tough Claws Metagross-Mega Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mimikyu: 222-264 (88.4 - 105.1%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

44 Atk Technician Scizor-Mega Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mimikyu: 230-272 (91.6 - 108.3%) -- 50% chance to OHKO

Only a chance for KO? Damn it. This thing's stats are "just good enough" to prove to be a headache.

If Megagross goes for the Bullet Punch over Meteor Mash and doesn't even have Rocks up, they deserve it.

+2 252 Atk Mimikyu Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Metagross-Mega: 144-170 (47.8 - 56.4%) -- 84.8% chance to 2HKO
0 Atk Technician Scizor-Mega Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mimikyu: 222-264 (88.4 - 105.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

 

[GaRgAnt]

Celesteela is usually a hard stop to Mimikyu, unless the Mimikyu is running Z-Ghostium after a SD specifically for walls like yourself.

...Which is more annoyingly common than it should be, but whatever.

 

[meowmeow418]

After seeing it at San Jose VGC regionals (on stream), I am curious as to how well a Z-Curse set on Mimikyu would perform in OU. It seems super situational in in OU, but I can see this having use against stat boosters like Pheromosa, Kartana, PorygonZ, and Charizard X, or super bulky walls like Celesteela, Toxapex, and Chansey. If memory serves me correctly, I think Curse is not blocked by Misty Terrain, so Tapu Fini wouldn't want to deal with it.
Like I said, it seems situational like crazy, but how useful would it be?

 

[GaRgAnt]

After seeing it at San Jose VGC regionals (on stream), I am curious as to how well a Z-Curse set on Mimikyu would perform in OU. It seems super situational in in OU, but I can see this having use against stat boosters like Pheromosa, Kartana, PorygonZ, and Charizard X, or super bulky walls like Celesteela, Toxapex, and Chansey. If memory serves me correctly, I think Curse is not blocked by Misty Terrain, so Tapu Fini wouldn't want to deal with it.
Like I said, it seems situational like crazy, but how useful would it be?

Z-Curse restores all of the user's HP upon execution, correct? It's indeed situational but it would be an incredible "fuck you" to every setup sweeper out there. Walls could probably just switch out (Especially Toxapex because of Regenerator) unless they were previously trapped, so in theory you could run a dedicated trapping duo of Mimikyu and Decidueye/Dhelmise/some user of a Mean Look variant specifically to kill walls and have Z-Curse ready for their setup.

Also, is the Ghost-type Curse effect passed with Baton Pass? That would make the combination even more sexy in theory.

 

[meowmeow418]

Z-Curse restores all of the user's HP upon execution, correct? It's indeed situational but it would be an incredible "fuck you" to every setup sweeper out there. Walls could probably just switch out (Especially Toxapex because of Regenerator) unless they were previously trapped, so in theory you could run a dedicated trapping duo of Mimikyu and Decidueye/Dhelmise/some user of a Mean Look variant specifically to kill walls and have Z-Curse ready for their setup.

Also, is the Ghost-type Curse effect passed with Baton Pass? That would make the combination even more sexy in theory.

Z-Curse from a Ghost Pokemon does fully restore HP and the curse does get Baton Passed. The strategy is way to cumbersome and requires a lot of circumstances to function.

 

[GaRgAnt]

Z-Curse from a Ghost Pokemon does fully restore HP and the curse does get Baton Passed. The strategy is way to cumbersome and requires a lot of circumstances to function.

Exactly- But if you were to carry it, it would probably be the death knell for any Baton Pass team or team centered around a set-up sweeper since the curse's application goes through Protect (Fuck you Scoliopede)

 

[Dragontamer]

If Megagross goes for the Bullet Punch over Meteor Mash and doesn't even have Rocks up, they deserve it.

+2 252 Atk Mimikyu Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Metagross-Mega: 144-170 (47.8 - 56.4%) -- 84.8% chance to 2HKO
0 Atk Technician Scizor-Mega Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mimikyu: 222-264 (88.4 - 105.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Redo that calculation with Disguise. Going up against a Swords Danced +2 Mimikyu with Disguise up is a pretty bad situation, and relatively common too. All Mimikyu has to do is switch in on a Choice-attack that its immune to, or come in to threaten a revenge kill on an important Pokemon.

IIRC, I was using a Mandibuzz to wall something scarier from the opponent, so I switched out to keep it healthy. But once I did I suddenly realized that I had basically no stop to a +2 with Disguise Mimikyu. It was a misplay on my part, I guess it would have been better to break the Disguise by sacrificing Mandibuzz.

In any case,it doesn't matter how much damage that Meteor Mash does, Mimikyu ignores the first one. Then it KO's Metagross on the 2nd hit.

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+2 252 Atk Mimikyu Never-Ending Nightmare (140BP) vs. 248 HP / 16+ Def Scizor-Mega: 238-282 (69.3 - 82.2%)

+2 252 Atk Mimikyu Shadow Sneak vs. 248 HP / 16+ Def Scizor-Mega: 69-82 (20.1 - 23.9%)

Yeah, Ghostium-Z Mimikyu beats Mega-Scizor if Disguise is up at +2, that's a pretty solid chance for a 2HKO between Never Ending Nightmare + Shadow Sneak. Its definitely a threat. Of course, Life-Orb Mimikyu would do less damage on these first two turns... so its a one-time nuke. Still, it demonstrates how hard it is to play around Mimikyu if you haven't figured out its item yet.

The real answer... is switch in a dedicated-sponge like Skarmory or Hippowdon to break the disguise. Then a later pokemon can take care of Mimikyu during a sweep. But as long as that Disguise is up, its rather hard to play against.

 

[meowmeow418]

Exactly- But if you were to carry it, it would probably be the death knell for any Baton Pass team or team centered around a set-up sweeper since the curse's application goes through Protect (Fuck you Scoliopede)

I did not know Curse goes through Protect. Curse gets so little usage so I never knew. Wow. That makes Z-Curse better than I thought. Still overly gimmicky, but better.

 

[GaRgAnt]

I did not know Curse goes through Protect. Curse gets so little usage so I never knew. Wow. That makes Z-Curse better than I thought. Still overly gimmicky, but better.

The only thing that technically stops the Ghost version of Curse is Crafty Shield, kekekekeke

 

[SunDriedRainbow]

It's probably not a super great competitive set, but I have a ton of fun with Focus Sash Mimikyu. It's so satisfying to switch in, Swords Dance on the disguise break, then Swords Dance again and take the Focus Sash, then Shadow Sneak and destroy everything.

 

[Unyubaby]

It's probably not a super great competitive set, but I have a ton of fun with Focus Sash Mimikyu. It's so satisfying to switch in, Swords Dance on the disguise break, then Swords Dance again and take the Focus Sash, then Shadow Sneak and destroy everything.

For fun I could see that being... well, fun. Might even do some good in Battle Tree (going to try it out there). Competitively though, yeah not as good since it means Mimikyu is open to status and entry hazards still bypass Disguise and would make Focus Sash useless.

 

[GyroNutz]

Honestly, its ability essentially gives it a free sd or maybe even a sub (never use z-splash, it's a noob trap) which gives it so much more presence. I thought game freak had done well with this literal pikachu clone of the generation (until togedemaru cursed us all).

 

[gauchoninja]

Does anyone know what happens when you use Destiny Bond against a Mimikyu while its Disguise is still up? Will Destiny Bond break the disguise, or will it KO Mimikyu? (Or will it somehow fail completely?)

 

[Yahooboo]

Does anyone know what happens when you use Destiny Bond against a Mimikyu while its Disguise is still up? Will Destiny Bond break the disguise, or will it KO Mimikyu? (Or will it somehow fail completely?)

It KOs Mimikyu.

 

[lordandro31]

This thing is ridiculously annoying in battle spot singles with swords dance and shadow sneak. This and minimize A-Muk gives your opponent a free gimmick win if your not prepared. Now I actually have to gameplan around both now because its becoming way to common in battle spot.

 

[Unyubaby]

This thing is ridiculously annoying in battle spot singles with swords dance and shadow sneak. This and minimize A-Muk gives your opponent a free gimmick win if your not prepared. Now I actually have to gameplan around both now because its becoming way to common in battle spot.

Luckily this is more for smogon than battle spot, so Minimize A-Muk is a non-issue (Minimize Chandelure is worse anyway). As for Mimikyu, it's annoying but not as annoying as other stuff since it's fairly straightforward how to get rid of Mimikyu.

 

[Psychobuzz]

Really the best Pokemon to take on Mimikyu is actually Klinklang. With Gear Grind hitting supereffectively twice and therefore breaking through Disguise, its presence will therefore threaten it out. It can also set up Shift Gear while Mimikyu's around. Unless the opposing team packs a Magnezone, Klinklang is one of your best options. It is pretty situational however, and Klinklang has bad coverage outside of its STAB, but I thought i would just mention if you're really desperate to take it out.

 

[Pokelatent5]

I ran one of my Mimikyu's with:
Jolly Nature: 31 IVs in Atk/Spd with 252 EVs in those stats, the rest were for Defense.
-Item: Ghostinium-Z
-Moves: Shadow Claw, Play Rough, Shadow Sneak/Swords Dance and Taunt.

I didn't run SD originally since I was running SD on a Baton Pass ally who would also BP buffs from DT as well for singles. I could run SD over Shadow Sneak. Shadow Claw and Play Rough are of course for STAB. I mentioned Taunt to cripple Status Opponents from making the poor Pokemon's day even worse as Burns really harm its' offensive power and Paralysis makes its' decent Speed go to bad. Taunt also prevents your opponent from using Rest or Bulk-Up on you if you're faster so they can't wall you while you set-up, since they can't set-up, they might just opt to do a force switch giving you a free turn to use SD if they can't break through your Disguise.

 

[Hitzel]

Really the best Pokemon to take on Mimikyu is actually Klinklang. With Gear Grind hitting supereffectively twice and therefore breaking through Disguise, its presence will therefore threaten it out. It can also set up Shift Gear while Mimikyu's around. Unless the opposing team packs a Magnezone, Klinklang is one of your best options. It is pretty situational however, and Klinklang has bad coverage outside of its STAB, but I thought i would just mention if you're really desperate to take it out.

Mold Breaker Excadrill's Iron Head goes through Disguise.

 

[Plasmirror98]

Mold Breaker Excadrill's Iron Head goes through Disguise.

I've been wanting to mention that, Mold Breaker is a way of getting around Disguise. Excadrill seems like the only one that could work as a check though, since the others are weak to Fairy STAB (Haxorus, Pangoro), have an Ability they prefer (Pinsir, Hawlucha?), or are generally outclassed (Rampardos, Basculin).
Tsareena might be worth mentioning though. She's immune to Shadow Sneak, might be able to take a Play Rough (I'll calc it later), and counteracts SD with Trop Kick.

 

[Siggu]

I've been wanting to mention that, Mold Breaker is a way of getting around Disguise. Excadrill seems like the only one that could work as a check though, since the others are weak to Fairy STAB (M-Gyarados, Haxorus, Pangoro especially), have an Ability they prefer (Pinsir, Hawlucha?), or are generally outclassed (Rampardos, Basculin).
Tsareena might be worth mentioning though. She's immune to Shadow Sneak, might be able to take a Play Rough (I'll calc it later), and counteracts SD with Trop Kick.

Mega Gyarados does not really care much about Mimikyu.

It does not get OHKOed by a boosted Play Rough and it can, in fact, Dragon Dance freely on it.

+1 252 Atk Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gyarados: 208-246 (62.8 - 74.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Then, it's a matter of mega evolving, as you now outspeed Mimikyu and Shadow Sneak does laughable damage.

+1 252 Atk Mimikyu Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Gyarados-Mega: 36-42 (10.8 - 12.6%) -- possible 8HKO