QC Checks: scorpdestroyer, Montsegur, galbia
GP Checks: fleurdyleurse, frenzyplant
Overview
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Mightyena is a good cleaner that is hard to stop once it gets going; its access to STAB Sucker Punch and Moxie allow it to deal with faster Pokemon rather well, as well as letting it pose quite a threat once it has KOed a foe. Mightyena also has access to Play Rough, a great coverage move that can be an amazing asset in beating would-be counters, such as Poliwrath and Throh. Dark is also an strong offensive typing, having very little resistances. Unfortunately, Mightyena has very low base stats, with none of them being over 90. This means Mightyena needs a lot of entry hazard support to sweep, and it can be overly reliant on Sucker Punch and Moxie boosts to clean effectively. Also, Mightyena's frailty, in combination with Life Orb recoil, means that it can have trouble surviving for long.
Life Orb Cleaner
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name: Life Orb Cleaner
move 1: Crunch
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Play Rough
move 4: Ice Fang
ability: Moxie
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Crunch is Mightyena's main STAB move, hitting most offensive Pokemon that don't resist it hard. Sucker Punch is a powerful priority move that can pick off weakened or faster Pokemon. Play Rough complements Crunch very nicely, hitting Fighting- and Dark-types such as Poliwrath, Throh, and Mukrow super effectively. Ice Fang, while situational, is Mightyena's main option for breaking through Pokemon such as Torterra, Togetic, and physically defensive Roselia. However, it requires high damage rolls in order to beat the last two. Thunder Fang can also be used in the last slot to KO Pelipper while still hitting Togetic for super effective damage.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment with an Adamant nature makes Mightyena as powerful and fast as possible. A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed most Misdreavus variants but has little use otherwise and severely weakens Mightyena. Life Orb helps power up all of Mightyena's moves, helping it sweep much more easily. Moxie is a great ability that helps Mightyena to clean, making it stronger and harder to stop after each KO.
Usage Tips
========
Mightyena should be saved for late-game in order to clean through the opponent's weakened team and accumulate Moxie boosts. Don't try to sweep if one of Mightyena's checks or counters is healthy enough to reliably beat it, or else the sweep will be cut short. If an opposing Pokemon is faster and has a non-attacking move, the opponent might use this to try to stall out Sucker Punch's low PP. As such, be careful about wasting all of Mightyena's Sucker Punch PP, and don't be afraid to use Crunch if it seems your opponent is continually stalling.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard support is an absolute must, as it helps wear down opposing Pokemon to the point where Mightyena can KO them. Good Stealth Rock setters include Golem, Piloswine, and Marowak, while good Spikes and Toxic Spikes setters include Garbodor, Roselia, and Whirlipede. Additionally, Kricketune and Ariados can set up Sticky Web, with the latter also being able to set up Toxic Spikes to assist Mightyena in sweeping. Mightyena hates physical walls such as Garbodor, Avalugg, and Tangela, making special attackers such as Rotom-F, Ninetales, and Camerupt good teammates. Defensive Fighting-types such as Poliwrath and Throh can survive a Play Rough, making Flying-types such as Chatot, Scyther, and Dodrio good teammates to help deal with them. As Mightyena isn't very strong, powerful wallbreakers such as Sneasel and Flareon make for good partners to deal with opposing stall teams.
Other Options
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Fire Fang is an option to hit Grass-types hard, but Ice Fang does this while also hitting Togetic. Iron Tail is a great coverage move to help deal with Fairy-types, but it is illegal with Play Rough, making it not worth it most of the time. Substitute can be used on the switches Mightyena can force, allowing it to take a powerful hit, KO back, and get a free Moxie boost. Taunt and Toxic can help deal with the defensive Pokemon Mightyena hates, but they're hard to fit on the set and are generally inferior to the coverage options already listed. Finally, Howl can be used for an Attack boost, though Moxie is usually more efficient at doing this without wasting a moveslot.
Checks & Counters
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**Physical Walls**: Pokemon such as Garbodor, Avalugg, and Pelipper can all take hits from Mightyena relatively well. Garbodor can use Drain Punch, while Avalugg and Pelipper can heal themselves with Recover and Roost, respectively, and KO Mightyena with their STAB moves. However, Pelipper must be careful of the occasional Thunder Fang.
**Tanks**: Offensive Pokemon with good natural bulk such as Golem, Piloswine, and Gogoat can check Mightyena by taking a hit and KOing it back with their STAB attacks. Tangela is another tank that can use Sleep Powder to cripple Mightyena and has Regenerator and Synthesis to heal off any damage it has taken.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Togetic, Wigglytuff, and Clefairy can easily survive one of Mightyena's attacks, heal up, and use Seismic Toss or Moonblast to KO it back.
**Fighting-types**: Fighting-types such as Poliwrath and Throh can survive any of Mightyena's attacks at full health and KO it back with Circle Throw. However, depending on their EV spreads and the amount of entry hazards on the field, they can both be 2HKOed by Play Rough on the switch.
**Substitute Users**: Substitute users such as Simipour and Serperior can avoid Sucker Punch with Substitute and proceed to fire back with a powerful STAB attack.
**Faster Pokemon That Can Take a Sucker Punch**: Due to Mightyena's poor bulk, most Pokemon that can survive a Sucker Punch and outspeed it can deal with it well. These Pokemon include Scyther, Tauros, Rapidash, Sneasel, and many more.
GP Checks: fleurdyleurse, frenzyplant
Overview
########
Mightyena is a good cleaner that is hard to stop once it gets going; its access to STAB Sucker Punch and Moxie allow it to deal with faster Pokemon rather well, as well as letting it pose quite a threat once it has KOed a foe. Mightyena also has access to Play Rough, a great coverage move that can be an amazing asset in beating would-be counters, such as Poliwrath and Throh. Dark is also an strong offensive typing, having very little resistances. Unfortunately, Mightyena has very low base stats, with none of them being over 90. This means Mightyena needs a lot of entry hazard support to sweep, and it can be overly reliant on Sucker Punch and Moxie boosts to clean effectively. Also, Mightyena's frailty, in combination with Life Orb recoil, means that it can have trouble surviving for long.
Life Orb Cleaner
########
name: Life Orb Cleaner
move 1: Crunch
move 2: Sucker Punch
move 3: Play Rough
move 4: Ice Fang
ability: Moxie
item: Life Orb
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
nature: Adamant
Moves
========
Crunch is Mightyena's main STAB move, hitting most offensive Pokemon that don't resist it hard. Sucker Punch is a powerful priority move that can pick off weakened or faster Pokemon. Play Rough complements Crunch very nicely, hitting Fighting- and Dark-types such as Poliwrath, Throh, and Mukrow super effectively. Ice Fang, while situational, is Mightyena's main option for breaking through Pokemon such as Torterra, Togetic, and physically defensive Roselia. However, it requires high damage rolls in order to beat the last two. Thunder Fang can also be used in the last slot to KO Pelipper while still hitting Togetic for super effective damage.
Set Details
========
Maximum Attack and Speed investment with an Adamant nature makes Mightyena as powerful and fast as possible. A Jolly nature can be used to outspeed most Misdreavus variants but has little use otherwise and severely weakens Mightyena. Life Orb helps power up all of Mightyena's moves, helping it sweep much more easily. Moxie is a great ability that helps Mightyena to clean, making it stronger and harder to stop after each KO.
Usage Tips
========
Mightyena should be saved for late-game in order to clean through the opponent's weakened team and accumulate Moxie boosts. Don't try to sweep if one of Mightyena's checks or counters is healthy enough to reliably beat it, or else the sweep will be cut short. If an opposing Pokemon is faster and has a non-attacking move, the opponent might use this to try to stall out Sucker Punch's low PP. As such, be careful about wasting all of Mightyena's Sucker Punch PP, and don't be afraid to use Crunch if it seems your opponent is continually stalling.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard support is an absolute must, as it helps wear down opposing Pokemon to the point where Mightyena can KO them. Good Stealth Rock setters include Golem, Piloswine, and Marowak, while good Spikes and Toxic Spikes setters include Garbodor, Roselia, and Whirlipede. Additionally, Kricketune and Ariados can set up Sticky Web, with the latter also being able to set up Toxic Spikes to assist Mightyena in sweeping. Mightyena hates physical walls such as Garbodor, Avalugg, and Tangela, making special attackers such as Rotom-F, Ninetales, and Camerupt good teammates. Defensive Fighting-types such as Poliwrath and Throh can survive a Play Rough, making Flying-types such as Chatot, Scyther, and Dodrio good teammates to help deal with them. As Mightyena isn't very strong, powerful wallbreakers such as Sneasel and Flareon make for good partners to deal with opposing stall teams.
Other Options
########
Fire Fang is an option to hit Grass-types hard, but Ice Fang does this while also hitting Togetic. Iron Tail is a great coverage move to help deal with Fairy-types, but it is illegal with Play Rough, making it not worth it most of the time. Substitute can be used on the switches Mightyena can force, allowing it to take a powerful hit, KO back, and get a free Moxie boost. Taunt and Toxic can help deal with the defensive Pokemon Mightyena hates, but they're hard to fit on the set and are generally inferior to the coverage options already listed. Finally, Howl can be used for an Attack boost, though Moxie is usually more efficient at doing this without wasting a moveslot.
Checks & Counters
########
**Physical Walls**: Pokemon such as Garbodor, Avalugg, and Pelipper can all take hits from Mightyena relatively well. Garbodor can use Drain Punch, while Avalugg and Pelipper can heal themselves with Recover and Roost, respectively, and KO Mightyena with their STAB moves. However, Pelipper must be careful of the occasional Thunder Fang.
**Tanks**: Offensive Pokemon with good natural bulk such as Golem, Piloswine, and Gogoat can check Mightyena by taking a hit and KOing it back with their STAB attacks. Tangela is another tank that can use Sleep Powder to cripple Mightyena and has Regenerator and Synthesis to heal off any damage it has taken.
**Fairy-types**: Fairy-types such as Togetic, Wigglytuff, and Clefairy can easily survive one of Mightyena's attacks, heal up, and use Seismic Toss or Moonblast to KO it back.
**Fighting-types**: Fighting-types such as Poliwrath and Throh can survive any of Mightyena's attacks at full health and KO it back with Circle Throw. However, depending on their EV spreads and the amount of entry hazards on the field, they can both be 2HKOed by Play Rough on the switch.
**Substitute Users**: Substitute users such as Simipour and Serperior can avoid Sucker Punch with Substitute and proceed to fire back with a powerful STAB attack.
**Faster Pokemon That Can Take a Sucker Punch**: Due to Mightyena's poor bulk, most Pokemon that can survive a Sucker Punch and outspeed it can deal with it well. These Pokemon include Scyther, Tauros, Rapidash, Sneasel, and many more.
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