[OVERVIEW]
Misdreavus is ADV UU's most defining spinblocker and a key defensive pivot, functioning as the linchpin of many offensive and defensive spike-stacking teams alike. Its coveted Ghost-typing accompanied by Levitate give it three immunities to Normal-, Fighting- and Ground-type moves, and two resistances to Poison- and Bug-type moves, giving it a very valuable defensive niche by being immune to Spikes and checking physical attackers such as Gligar and Scyther, as well as Kangaskhan, Granbull and Nidoqueen without Shadow Ball. Its good base Special Defense also lets it wall Tentacruel and Blastoise to spinblock them more reliably than the other Ghost-types, Haunter and Sableye. Misdreavus also provides other methods of defensive support with tools like Thunder Wave, Pain Split, and Perish Song, which makes it a solid stopgap to most forms of offense.
However, Misdreavus's defensive capabilities are also met with having issues with passivity. Its main way of dealing damage comes from relying on Spikes, Toxic, and hitting super effectively, as its neutral damage is very pitiful. Misdreavus also struggles at general hit-taking from stronger opponents that hit it neutrally due to its low base HP, which harm its matchups against Pokemon like Arcanine and Solrock. It also means untimely critical hits are annoying as Misdreavus tries to wall Tentacruel and Blastoise. While Misdreavus can situationally check Kangaskhan by virtue of PP stalling, the matchup is flipped if Kangaskhan is running Shadow Ball, and the same applies to other Pokemon Misdreavus would like to consistently check such as Granbull and Nidoqueen with Shadow Ball, forcing it to scout their coverage.
[SET]
Name: Defensive Utility
Move 1: Thunderbolt / Psychic
Move 2: Hidden Power Ice
Move 3: Thunder Wave / Toxic
Move 4: Pain Split / Rest
Item: Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Calm
EVs: 252 HP / 84 Def / 172 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Set Description
=========
With a defensive set, Misdreavus is able to make the most out of the things it checks, such as Scyther, Tentacruel, and Gligar, and be able to pester offensive Pokemon while keeping Spikes up. Since Misdreavus tends to check Pokemon that are Spikes immune, it can force Spikes damage onto many of its switch-ins and passively damage them.
Thunderbolt and Psychic are relatively interchangeable as both can hit Tentacruel, and Hidden Power Ice is needed if Misdreavus is used to check Gligar. Thunderbolt is Misdreavus's strongest neutral attack with PP advantages over Psychic in longer battles, and it allows Misdreavus to provide more immediate damage onto bulky Water-types such as Blastoise, Omastar, and Feraligatr. Thunderbolt is also able to threaten Scyther with a 2HKO, which avoids putting it in Swarm range unlike Hidden Power Ice and is more safe against Swords Dance variants with Lum Berry or Substitute. Psychic can be used for a super effective hit into Hitmontop to apply pressure back while it is using Hidden Power Ghost, and it's Misdreavus's best move into Kangaskhan through Special Defense drops which can force it out and rack up more Spikes damage on the opposing team, however it leaves Misdreavus unable to meaningfully damage Blastoise and has worse PP than Thunderbolt. Hidden Power Ice can OHKO Gligar and can 3HKO Altaria at minimum depending on what spread it's running. If Misdreavus doesn't need to be used as a Gligar check, Misdreavus can run both Thunderbolt and Psychic together to have better neutral coverage and threaten every Rapid Spinner. Thunder Wave is used to hinder the speed of Pokemon like Kangaskhan, Arcanine, Tentacruel, and Scyther to make them less effective at hitting Misdreavus while Misdreavus gains faster turns to use Pain Split and annoy them with full paralysis. Toxic can be used instead to put bulky Pokemon like Blastoise, Lanturn, and Cradily on a timer. Pain Split is a form of instant recovery and synergizes well with Misdreavus's low base HP to trade well with Kangaskhan. Rest is an alternative option to cure status while healing Misdreavus back to full health and helping in PP stall wars against Kangaskhan. Perish Song can be used alongside Hidden Power Ice to phaze bulky setup sweepers and force switches to rack up more Spikes damage.
Maximum HP and 84 Defense EVs allow Misdreavus to live Swords Dance Scyther's +2 Hidden Power Flying from full health. The rest is put into Special Defense in order to spinblock Tentacruel better. An alternative EV spread of 252 HP / 140 Def / 116 SpD can be used to take physical attacks like Hitmontop's Hidden Power Ghost better while still dodging a 3HKO from Tentacruel's Surf. 52 Special Attack EVs can be used to guarantee a consistent OHKO on Gligar with Hidden Power Ice, although it usually isn't worth taking out of your defensive EVs.
Team Options
=========
In order for Misdreavus's team to be effective at making progress, it has to be paired with Spikes that it can uphold by spinblocking common Rapid Spinners. Omastar is a great candidate to set Spikes as its massive physical defense allows it multiple opportunities to come in mid-game to lay Spikes against Kangaskhan, Scyther, Solrock, and Granbull, meaning Misdreavus doesn't have to be a sole check to these Pokemon. Misdreavus is also a cornerstone of Spikes paralysis spam teams, as its ability to keep Spikes on the field combined with Thunder Wave enables slow but dangerous wallbreakers such as Choice Band Solrock and Choice Band Golem. On these teams, Misdreavus is usually paired with Spikers such as bulky Qwilfish or Roselia, who can paralyze opponents with Thunder Wave and Stun Spore as well as providing other means of team support such as Self-Destruct and Aromatherapy. Misdreavus also pairs well with wallbreakers and late-game cleaners to provide a much-needed source of offense that takes advantage of Spikes chip on bulky foes. Pokemon like Arcanine, Feraligatr, Nidoqueen, Grumpig, and Swords Dance Tentacruel are all apt wallbreakers with Spikes that can break open holes for late-game cleaners like Choice Band Scyther to clean up.
Since Misdreavus is worn down by status and using Rest makes it more passive, it appreciates being paired with a cleric such as Ampharos, Vileplume, Lapras, or Granbull. Ampharos and Vileplume especially appreciate Misdreavus's ability to check Gligar. Defensive Kangaskhan is able to provide Misdreavus with Wish support so it isn't pressured as much to use Pain Split or Rest for recovery, and Kangaskhan can also take on special attackers that Misdreavus can't handle on its own such as Arcanine, Walrein, and bulky Electric-types such as Ampharos and Lanturn. Misdreavus can struggle against some physical wallbreakers that have coverage for it or hit it neutrally such as offensive Kangaskhan and Solrock, therefore physically defensive pivots such as Omastar, Granbull, and Hitmontop help against these threats. If Misdreavus isn't running Perish Song, it relies on other Pokemon to check bulky setup sweepers such as Slowking, Curse Muk, and Curse Lapras. Pokemon with Roar such as Blastoise and Lapras are phazers that pair beautifully with Misdreavus, as Roar also helps spread Spikes chip and pressures switches well.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Misdreavus can run Mean Look + Perish Song over its standard attacks as a surprise way to make progress by removing bulky targets that dont touch it hard such as Kangaskhan without Shadow Ball that would otherwise think it wins through walling Misdreavus. Protect can also be ran over a status move on this set to guard itself against stray attacks while the Perish Song counter goes down and gain more Leftovers recovery. Misdreavus can run an Imprison-focused set with Imprison, Shadow Ball, Toxic, and Rest to be able to stonewall every Kangaskhan variant once it sets up Imprison, and denying Kangaskhan from using Rest to cure itself from Toxic. This also applies to other Pokemon Misdreavus can wall that rely on Shadow Ball to hit it such as Granbull and Nidoqueen. However, this set isn't foolproof to beat Kangaskhan as it still doesn't like switching into Shadow Ball, and it gets outsped by Jolly variants before it can use Imprison. Secondly, its good matchup into Kangaskhan is offset by its terrible matchups into everything else, including Scyther and Gligar, as well as things it means to spinblock. Misdreavus can go the offensive route with a Substitute + Calm Mind set to avoid being statused by Kangaskhan's Toxic and using it as setup fodder, however Misdreavus's damage is still extremely weak even with boosts compared to other Calm Mind sweepers and is less consistent than standard defensive sets.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Kangaskhan**: Despite its immunities to Normal- and Fighting-type moves and resilience against Toxic when backed by cleric support, Misdreavus has faults into Shadow Ball variants of Kangaskhan which hit it meaningfully, forcing it into a defensive position while it struggles to break Kangaskhan by itself. Misdreavus also is extremely vulnerable to SubPunch Kangaskhan, as it can't rely on walling Kangaskhan with status and Pain Split, and can't break Kangaskhan's Substitute in one hit. Even without Shadow Ball, Misdreavus is walled by Kangaskhan and relies on PP stalling to win the interaction versus it long-term.
**Ampharos**: Ampharos isn't damaged meaningfully by Misdreavus while also being able to cure itself and its teammates from status Misdreavus throws out with Heal Bell, and it can retaliate with a strong Thunderbolt that can break past a potential Rest cycle.
**Ghost-type Coverage**: While Misdreavus can wall certain physical attackers, some of them can use Ghost-type coverage for Misdreavus that can pressure it in the forms of Shadow Ball and Hidden Power Ghost. Kangaskhan, Granbull, Nidoqueen, Nidoking, Hitmontop, Hitmonlee, and certain Swords Dance Tentacruel variants are all able to threaten Misdreavus and prevent it from walling them if they run Ghost-type coverage moves. This is especially important for Hitmontop which Misdreavus would be able to consistently spinblock otherwise.
**Calm Mind Users**: Without Perish Song, Misdreavus struggles against Calm Mind users even when it can hit them super effectively. They can also be apt at dodging status, as Slowking and Xatu use Rest, Grumpig and Lunatone can run Substitute, and Golduck can run Lum Berry. After the Calm Mind users have had opportunities to boost, Misdreavus struggles to take their hits and deal any meaningful damage back.
**Strong Special Attacks**: Although Misdreavus is formidable at taking weaker special attacks from the likes of Tentacruel and Blastoise, it struggles to take stronger hits that can overwhelm it quickly from the likes of Charcoal Arcanine, Rain Dance Omastar, and offensive Lapras.
[CREDITS]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/ellingtonreborn.619555/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/cookie.384/
Quality checked by:
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Grammar checked by:
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