[OVERVIEW]
Mr. Mime separates itself from the other Psychic-types of the tier with its secondary Fairy typing and access to Healing Wish, as well as the ability to hit Steelix hard with Focus Blast, something that some other Psychic-types, such as Mesprit, cannot do. Mr. Mime can provide a lot of offensive utility to a team with Healing Wish and two great abilities in Soundproof and Filter, which let it block sound moves such as Hyper Voice and Boomburst and take less damage from super effective attacks, respectively. On the other hand, Mr. Mime's low physical bulk means it's vulnerable to strong physical attacks and gives it a worse matchup against certain Fighting-types because Knock Off will be doing a lot of damage. Its base 90 Speed stat also leaves it outsped by some offensive Pokemon such as Tauros, leaving it susceptible to getting revenge killed. Furthermore, it faces competition from other Psychic-types, which have either better defensive stats or better Special Attack.
[SET]
name: Special Attacker
move 1: Psychic
move 2: Dazzling Gleam
move 3: Focus Blast
move 4: Healing Wish / Baton Pass
item: Life Orb / Choice Specs
ability: Soundproof / Filter
nature: Timid
evs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Psychic is a reliable and powerful STAB move that hits Fighting- and Poison-types such as Throh and Weezing for big damage while also having great coverage alongside Dazzling Gleam. Dazzling Gleam hits Dark- and Dragon-types such as Liepard and Altaria for super effective damage and also is Mr. Mime's best way of hitting opposing Psychic-types. It also gives Mr. Mime a reliable way of beating Malamar, a problem for most other Psychic-types. Focus Blast hits Steel-types such as Steelix for big damage, and it also hits Normal-types such as Miltank, giving Mr. Mime perfect neutral coverage against most of the tier. Healing Wish is amazing on Mr. Mime to heal a teammate's HP and status, giving Mr. Mime a nice utility move to use when its job has been done. Baton Pass can be used over Healing Wish to gain momentum on switch-ins, which is very useful for Choice Specs Mr. Mime, and it also has further use in avoiding Pursuit + Sucker Punch mind games from Skuntank. Psyshock is an option over Psychic, as it does more damage against specially defensive targets such as Assault Vest Magmortar and Assault Vest Lanturn, but it can't hit physically defensive targets such as Weezing as hard as Psychic, which Mr. Mime can take heavy damage from. Taunt can be used over Healing Wish to disrupt bulkier Pokemon by preventing them from using their recovery moves, but Mr. Mime won't be beating them one-on-one without taking a lot of damage.
Set Details
========
Maximum Special Attack and Speed investment with a Timid nature augments Mr. Mime's offensive potential, and a Life Orb is used to increase Mr. Mime's power significantly. Choice Specs can be used to further increase Mr. Mime's power at the cost of being locked into a move. Soundproof is the preferred ability in order to switch into Boomburst from Choice Specs Swellow and Chatot, and it allows Mr. Mime to switch into Aurorus and Pyroar locked into Hyper Voice, giving Mr. Mime more utility. Alternatively, Mr. Mime can opt to use Filter, decreasing the damage done by super effective moves such as Hariyama's Bullet Punch and Rotom's Shadow Ball.
Usage Tips
========
Due to Mr. Mime's frailty, it does not want to be switched into attacks, so try to bring it in after a teammate has fainted or with a pivot move such as Volt Switch or U-turn. However, with Soundproof, it is immune to sound-based moves such as Swellow's Boomburst and Aurorus's Hyper Voice, so it can easily switch in on them and take momentum if they are locked into those moves. On the other hand, it can be risky to do this at times, as Swellow and Chatot have U-turn to pivot into a potential check to Mr. Mime. Once Mr. Mime is in safely, it can use its STAB moves and coverage to damage the opposing team with its decent power. Healing Wish should only be used if Mr. Mime or its teammate is weakened or crippled and its teammate has a better matchup against the opposing team. Due to it being one-time use, it is extremely important to use this on the right Pokemon.
Team Options
========
Pokemon that utilize Volt Switch or U-turn can be valuable by bringing Mr. Mime in safely, so Pokemon such as Scyther and Rotom are good partners. Scyther also appreciates Mr. Mime breaking down Steelix with Focus Blast, and the VoltTurn users all appreciate Healing Wish recovering them back up to full health. Mr. Mime using Baton Pass can also contribute to a VoltTurn core by pivoting out of its checks. Offensive Pokemon that appreciate being given a second chance to break the opposing team, such as Floatzel and Primeape, can make for good partners to Mr. Mime. A defensive backbone is good for Mr. Mime if it is being used on a more balanced team, as it can take the hits Mr. Mime can't, and Mr. Mime can use Healing Wish to restore its partners' HP if they're weakened; Steelix and Weezing can synergize very well with Mr. Mime. Dark-types such as Liepard and Skuntank can partner up well with Mr. Mime due to being able to break through the Psychic-types Mr. Mime can't. Mr. Mime returns the favor by checking Fighting-types like Hitmonchan. Wallbreakers such as Samurott and Kabutops can break down specially defensive walls that Mr. Mime has trouble hitting very hard, and they can benefit well from Healing Wish. Pokemon that rely on recoil moves to do damage, such as Kangaskhan and Wood Hammer Abomasnow, also make for good partners, as they get worn down easily and appreciate Healing Wish patching them up. Offensive teams with Mr. Mime want a good response to faster Pokemon such as Tauros that force Mr. Mime out, so Pokemon like Choice Scarf Rotom partner well with Mr. Mime to help out with this problem.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
A Nasty Plot set with dual STAB moves and Focus Blast can be used to turn Mr. Mime into a deadly sweeper or wallbreaker that can muscle through its specially defensive checks with brute force after a boost, but it has trouble setting up due to low bulk and forgoes the utility of Healing Wish, making it usually inferior. A Baton Pass set with Nasty Plot or Calm Mind is a decent option on Mr. Mime, as it can find surprisingly many opportunities to set up boosts and pass them due to Soundproof and its access to supportive moves such as Encore and Taunt. Soundproof also makes this set immune to Roar, giving it an edge over other Baton Pass users such as Ninjask. However, this means that Mr. Mime can only run one attacking move, compromising its coverage and offensive presence; the ability to make a Pokemon such as Pyroar even more powerful can be very worth it at times, however. A Choice Scarf set can be used to make Mr. Mime a decently powerful revenge killer with utility moves such as Baton Pass, Trick, or Healing Wish. However, it lacks the power of other Choice Scarf users such as Haunter, making it somewhat outclassed in this role outside of its offensive typing and utility. Mr. Mime's Technician ability can boost the power of many of its moves, such as Icy Wind, various Hidden Powers, and Charge Beam, but those cover very little of what Mr. Mime doesn't already handle, and it doesn't offer the defensive utility that Mr. Mime's other abilities have.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: If Mr. Mime is not running Nasty Plot, it runs the risk of being walled by prominent special walls such as Mega Audino, as it isn't powerful enough to break through some of them. However, it does have a good matchup against some walls such as Sliggoo and Miltank due to its unique STAB moves and coverage.
**Psychic-types**: Psychic-types such as Mesprit and Musharna can take any hit Mr. Mime throws at them due to their high base Special Defense stats and can attack Mr. Mime with moves like Signal Beam or set up Calm Mind on it. Musharna and Xatu also have recovery moves that make them even better checks to Mr. Mime. However, some of them, such as Musharna and Grumpig, struggle against Taunt variants of Mr. Mime, as they cannot use their recovery moves or Calm Mind.
**Priority**: Due to Mr. Mime's bad Defense, it is prone to being revenge killed by priority moves such as Skuntank's Sucker Punch and Hariyama's Bullet Punch. Kangaskhan can also KO Mr. Mime with the combination of Fake Out and Sucker Punch, making it a exceptional revenge killer against Mr. Mime. Other priority users, such as Shiftry and Samurott, are decent revenge killers, but Mr. Mime's 4x Fighting resistance at least means it isn't revenge killed by Mach Punch.
**Faster Pokemon**: Mr. Mime has a decent base Speed stat, but it is still prone to being revenge killed by the many Pokemon that outspeed it, such as Pyroar, Tauros, and Archeops. However, Pyroar has to be careful about using Hyper Voice on Mr. Mime due to the possibility of Soundproof.
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