[OVERVIEW]
Mienshao is a top Choice Scarf user in RU thanks to its great Speed tier, useful moves in U-turn and Knock Off, and Regenerator. Regenerator makes Mienshao significantly more difficult to wear down than most other Choice Scarf users, and most of the tier's best Fighting-resistant Pokemon, such Togekiss, Crobat, and Noivern, dislike Knock Off greatly. In addition, Fairy- and Flying-types such as Sylveon, Gardevoir, and Noivern can't take its potential coverage moves of Poison Jab and Stone Edge. Its ability to force out common Pokemon such as Zarude, Registeel, and Cobalion allows it to easily keep momentum with U-turn. The Choice Scarf set's utility is therefore valuable to the vast majority of balance and offensive playstyles. Mienshao's great Speed and offensive utility can also make it a dangerous wallbreaker that is capable of 2HKOing a large majority of the tier. However, Mienshao is quite frail; it can't comfortably take hits from powerful attackers like Zarude and Metagross. Mienshao also has annoying weaknesses to Flying-, Fairy-, and Psychic-type moves. Mienshao is capable of threatening most users of said moves with Knock Off or U-turn, but they can become an issue should Mienshao lock into Close Combat. Locking into Close Combat can also give opportunities to dangerous Pokemon such as Calm Mind Galarian Slowbro, Reuniclus, Necrozma, and Noivern. Additionally, Galarian Slowbro, one of the few Pokemon that don't care about much of what Mienshao throws at it, is incredibly common. Sets not utilizing a Choice Scarf are also quite easy to revenge kill, as they are outrun by tier staples such as Crobat, Noivern, and Raikou.
[SET]
name: Choice Scarf
move 1: Close Combat
move 2: U-turn
move 3: Knock Off
move 4: Stone Edge
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Regenerator
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Choice Scarf Mienshao's ability to force out common Pokemon like Zarude, Cobalion, Incineroar, and Obstagoon makes it adept at keeping up the pressure and giving its teammates free switches with U-turn. Knock Off allows Mienshao to cripple Flying-types such as Togekiss, Noivern, and Crobat, which rely heavily on their Heavy-Duty Boots to stay healthy throughout the match. It also hinders generally bulky Pokemon that might look to take a hit, such as Seismitoad, Milotic, Suicune, and Galarian Weezing. Stone Edge is the preferred last move to hit Flying-types such as Togekiss, Crobat, and Noivern. Poison Jab can be used instead to hit Fairy-types like Sylveon and Gardevoir while still hitting Togekiss, but it is a very bad move to be locked into and Mienshao would prefer to bring in an adequate response to said Fairy-types through U-turn most of the time. Regenerator allows Mienshao to stay healthy throughout a match and makes wearing it down via entry hazard damage an unviable option.
Mienshao is a good option for more balanced and offensive teams that are looking for a reliable revenge killer that is difficult to wear down. Mienshao is capable of threatening most Fighting-resistant Pokemon with Knock Off or a coverage move, but many of them eat Close Combat easily and force Mienshao to use U-turn more often than it would like. Take advantage of Mienshao pivoting out of these bad matchups by packing answers that can continuously force these Pokemon out. Galarian Slowbro is the bane of Mienshao's existence, and other bulky Psychic-types such as Reuniclus can annoy it as well. Ghost-types such as Alolan Marowak, Chandelure, and Mimikyu threaten enormous damage to these Psychic-types, therefore giving Mienshao more opportunities to use its STAB move. In the same vein, it is recommended that a team pack answers to Fairy-types such as Sylveon, Togekiss, and Gardevoir. Steel-types such as Steelix, Registeel, Metagross, and Klefki are capable checks to these threats and are also capable of setting Stealth Rock or Spikes, therefore making Mienshao more difficult to switch into. Hard-hitting wallbreakers appreciate Mienshao bringing them in safely via U-turn. Alolan Marowak, Toxtricity, and Zygarde-10% appreciate being brought into battle with less risk, and they are capable of threatening some of Mienshao's more common checks, such as Galarian Slowbro, Togekiss, and Galarian Weezing. Other pivoting teammates, such as Toxtricity, Darmanitan, and Zarude, can form a powerful VoltTurn core with Mienshao, constantly keeping up momentum.
[SET]
name: All-out Attacker
move 1: Close Combat / High Jump Kick
move 2: Knock Off
move 3: U-turn
move 4: Stone Edge / Poison Jab
item: Life Orb / Choice Band
ability: Regenerator / Reckless
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Mienshao's high offensive stats and good coverage lend themselves to running an all-out attacker set that only Galarian Slowbro and certain Fairy-types like Galarian Weezing can confidently switch into. Close Combat and Regenerator are preferred for their general reliability and giving Mienshao more longevity. High Jump Kick can be used with Reckless to achieve some truly titanic feats of strength. With Choice Band, Reckless High Jump Kick is capable of reliably 2HKOing bulky Noivern and doing over 50% to Sylveon, forcing Protect and therefore giving a teammate a free switch. However, the chance of missing and suffering extreme recoil, as well as common Pokemon such as Registeel and Sylveon commonly running Protect, make it a less consistent option. Knock Off hits Psychic- and Ghost-types such as Reuniclus, Galarian Slowbro, and Alolan Marowak. It also removes critical items from Flying-types such as Crobat and Togekiss. U-turn allows Mienshao to safely pivot out of poor matchups such as Galarian Weezing and Galarian Slowbro. Knock Off and U-turn together are capable of keeping up constant pressure on defensive teams, as Mienshao can't be chipped down via Rocky Helmet thanks to Regenerator. Stone Edge is capable of doing enormous damage to Togekiss and Golisopod. Poison Jab can be used to hit Fairy-types such as Sylveon and Gardevoir while still also hitting Togekiss. Life Orb is preferred and should ideally be used with Regenerator + Close Combat variants; this allows Mienshao to switch moves while also keeping itself healthy throughout the game. Reckless and High Jump Kick, meanwhile, is best used with a Choice Band. Choice Band, aside from the aforementioned calculations, allows Mienshao to do upwards of 75% to many extremely bulky foes, such as Seismitoad and Milotic, as well as having a chance to OHKO Heracross after Stealth Rock damage with High Jump Kick and potentially 2HKOing variants of Reuniclus lacking Colbur Berry with Knock Off.
Cleaners such as Shift Gear Toxtricity, Xurkitree, and Sharpedo appreciate Mienshao making it easier for them to clean up late-game. Mienshao's Speed tier can leave something to be desired at times, as foes such as Zygarde-10%, Raikou, and Noivern are capable of revenge killing it. Having a backbone behind Mienshao in order to sponge revenge killing attempts is therefore appreciated. Zarude is capable of foiling Zygarde-10%, while Flying-types like Noivern and Crobat are dealt with by a Steel-type teammate such as Registeel, Steelix, or Stakataka. These Steel-types are also capable of setting Stealth Rock, making Mienshao even more difficult to confidently switch into. Reckless Mienshao is much easier to wear down and therefore should be paired with reliable entry hazard removal from options like Togekiss, Volcanion, and Crobat in order to keep it healthy for as long as possible. Togekiss is especially helpful, as all-out attacker Mienshao is not a suitable Zarude answer. Galarian Slowbro, especially Colbur Berry variants, handles Mienshao extremely well, so having reliable counterplay to it is recommended. Ghost-types such as Alolan Marowak and Mimikyu are capable of forcing it out even if it uses Calm Mind as Mienshao switches out, and Ground-types such as Choice Band Rhyperior and Zygarde-10% are also capable of dealing with it as long as you've scouted for Shuca Berry beforehand.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Mienshao can use Swords Dance to potentially become devastatingly powerful, notably OHKOing Galarian Slowbro not running Colbur Berry at +2 with Knock Off, but such a set is rather easy to revenge kill and loses out on the pivoting that Mienshao's teammates appreciate.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Bulky Psychic-types**: Galarian Slowbro is Mienshao's nemesis; even Choice Band variants fail to OHKO it, therefore giving it opportunities to pivot out and use Regenerator to become healthy again. Galarian Slowbro can also viably carry Colbur Berry to make Mienshao even less of a factor. Reuniclus is also irritating, but its weakness to U-turn and frequent use of Assault Vest make it a fairly unreliable check. Other Psychic-types such as Gardevoir and Necrozma can tank Close Combat rather well but fall to Mienshao's coverage moves.
**Fairy-types**: Togekiss, Sylveon, and Gardevior are capable of sponging Close Combat easily, although Togekiss doesn't like taking Knock Off or Stone Edge, and they must watch out for Poison Jab. Sylveon is 2HKOed by Choice Band Reckless High Jump Kick, making it an unreliable answer at best to that set. Galarian Weezing is a notable stop to all Mienshao sets, and it can use Neutralizing Gas to prevent Mienshao from regaining health with Regenerator.
**Revenge Killing**: Strong priority from the likes of Zygarde-10% and Metagross is capable of revenge killing Mienshao, especially if Mienshao has been using Close Combat and lowering its defenses. Sets lacking Choice Scarf are open to revenge killing from common threats like Crobat, Raikou, and Noivern as well as from Choice Scarf users such as Xurkitree, Heracross, and opposing Mienshao.
[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Sputnik, 475916]]
- Quality checked by: [[EonX, 91480], [Natan, 321109]
- Grammar checked by: [[CryoGyro, 331519], [Estronic, 240732]]
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