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Mienshao's niche lies in its solid Speed tier, powerful STAB option in Close Combat, and useful utility options like Knock Off and U-turn. Knock Off removes items from switch-ins like Toxapex and Intimidate Corviknight, notably ensuring that Mienshao doesn't take additional Rocky Helmet chip damage. U-turn pivots Mienshao out of counters it cannot wear down by itself, like Dauntless Shield Hippowdon, into a partner that can take advantage of them, which distinguishes it from other powerful wallbreakers like Terrakion and Heracross. High Jump Kick supplements Close Combat's meager eight PP, but it's risky to use when opponents have Ghost-types like Dhelmise. Poison Jab lets Mienshao fish for poison on Pokemon like Hippowdon, as well as revenge killing non-Triage Tapu Lele consistently. A Choice Band is recommended to make Mienshao a decently flexible wallbreaker, with Close Combat becoming hard to switch into, specifically 2HKOing all Tapu Fini and Zapdos. However, Mienshao can use a Choice Scarf to revenge kill important and fast threats like Tapu Koko and Barraskewda. Mienshao often struggles with physically defensive Pokemon like Toxapex and Mew, so it appreciates partners that can take advantage of them like Tapu Koko and Chandelure; in return, Mienshao forces out special walls like Blissey and Silvally-Dragon, or it removes their items with Knock Off and makes it easier for its partners to break through them. Choice Band Mienshao is flexible and can fit on offensive cores featuring Pokemon like Cinderace and Tapu Lele, which can wear down Mienshao's checks like Hippowdon. For Cinderace, Hippowdon is a shared check, so it and Mienshao can rack up damage together, while Tapu Lele can outright break past Hippowdon. Choice Scarf Mienshao hits a very important Speed tier that's hard to beat, and balance teams heavily appreciate it forcing out fast threats like Talonflame and Choice Scarf Genesect. Mienshao often wants both entry hazard setters and removers. Ferrothorn and Chansey are solid setters and switch into foes that force out Mienshao, like Azelf and Inteleon. Good Defoggers like Mandibuzz and Corviknight can additionally form a pivot core with Mienshao.

Moves Fake Out is essential on any Mienshao set, as it plays a huge role in VGC. Fake Out almost always causes the foe to flinch, allowing your Pokemon to set up, avoid a dangerous attack, and get rid of Focus Sashes. High Jump Kick is one of Mienshao's preferred STAB moves due to its high damage output. However, a major flaw of this move is that Mienshao loses 50% of its HP if it misses or if the foe uses Protect. Low Sweep is the second best physical STAB attack because it has a 100% chance to lower the opposing Pokemon's Speed, which can be very useful for outspeeding Pokemon. Rock Slide provides great coverage against Flying-types, but Knock Off gives Mienshao a great way to attack Psychic- and Ghost-types. Removing the target's item as well is a great bonus. Quick Guard can be used to stop Talonflame's deadly priority STAB Flying-type attacks and other priority moves. Also, Pokemon with Prankster will be stopped by Quick Guard. If you're having trouble dealing with attacks that affect all the Pokemon in the field, such as Earthquake, Rock Slide, Discharge, Surf, or Boomburst, you can replace Quick Guard with Wide Guard. Set Details 252 Attack and Speed EVs are used so Mienshao can hit as hard and fast as possible. 4 HP EVs are important because if Mienshao misses High Jump Kick two times without getting damaged, it will still have 1 HP remaining. Inner Focus works well to prevent Mienshao from getting flinched by Fake Out. Because Mienshao is so frail, it appreciates Focus Sash, which prevents it from being OHKOed by any attack. The nature is Jolly so Mienshao can outspeed anything below base 105 Speed, such as Mega Kangaskhan and Mega Charizard Y. Usage Tips This is a pretty standard offensive support set which allows Mienshao to hit hard and support the team as well. Focus Sash gives Mienshao a chance to take a free hit. Pokemon such as Garchomp, Zapdos, and Mega Charizard Y usually have spread moves, so keep Wide Guard in mind in these situations. Rock Slide and High Jump Kick allow Mienshao to KO Mega Charizard Y and Mega Kangaskhan, respectively. Mienshao can also help its teammates set up by using Fake Out on the first turn. Use Mienshao to check Bisharp, Mega Gyarados, Hydreigon, Liepard, Smeargle, Mega Charizard Y, Tyranitar, and Mega Kangaskhan for your team. Team Options Mienshao works great as a lead and can give your team an early advantage with Fake Out so its teammates can set up or freely attack. Wide Guard and Quick Guard shield the team from multi-hit and priority attacks, respectively. Wide Guard helps Pokemon such as Mega Charizard Y avoid Rock Slide, and Aegislash avoid Earthquake and Heat Wave. Quick Guard helps Pokemon that are weak to priority, such as Tyranitar against Mach Punch or Aegislash against Sucker Punch. If you need a fast physical attacker, Mienshao hits hard with its base 125 Attack and outspeeds many Pokemon with its base 105 Speed.

High Jump Kick is Mienshao's strongest move, dealing immense damage to targets that don't resist it. Stone Edge offers valuable coverage against threats like Victini and Zapdos that resist High Jump Kick. U-turn deals considerable damage to Psychic-types like Mew and Slowbro and allows Mienshao to effectively revenge kill Azelf. Additionally, U-turn acts as a valuable momentum grabber, which works in tandem with Regenerator to patch up any damage it has taken. Finally, Aerial Ace is Mienshao's best option in its last moveslot, allowing it to revenge kill Heracross, Virizion, and opposing Mienshao. Choice Scarf allows Mienshao to not only outspeed the entire unboosted metagame, but also most of the other common Choice Scarf users. Regenerator patches up any damage Mienshao takes through entry hazards and High Jump Kick misses, extending its longevity, while Reckless allows Mienshao to net KOs it otherwise wouldn't get by running Regenerator, including OHKOing Flygon and offensive Kingdra and 2HKOing bulky Zapdos lacking any Defense investment all after Stealth Rock damage. Choice Scarf Mienshao fits well on most balance and offense teams due to its self-sufficiency. Entry hazard setters like Rhyperior, Druddigon, Roserade, and Qwilfish help to deal crucial chip damage to Mienshao's switch-ins, opening up avenues for it to clean late-game. Pokemon such as Weavile and Togekiss can help break through some of Mienshao's best answers in Ghost-types and Gligar, so they are effective teammates. Other partners that appreciate being pivoted in, like Nidoking and Raikou, can help threaten Mienshao's checks. Finally, other U-turn and Volt Switch users such as Victini and Flygon allow Mienshao to come in more frequently and pick off targets.

High Jump Kick in conjunction with Life Orb dishes out severe damage to targets that aren't Ghost-types or physically defensive Fighting-resistant foes like Gligar, Slowbro, and Qwilfish. Stone Edge is able to immediately KO threats like Victini and Zapdos after Stealth Rock damage. U-turn chips away at Mienshao's switch-ins and gains momentum while also allowing Mienshao to recover HP lost from any recoil damage via Regenerator. Hidden Power Ice allows Mienshao to severely dent Gligar, which would otherwise wall it; it also has the added utility of picking off weakened targets like Zapdos, Nidoqueen, and Xatu without the risk of missing. On the other hand, Fake Out is a good tool to use if Gligar is not an issue for the team, allowing Mienshao to get off some chip damage, revenge kill faster foes with low health, and even stall rain turns. Regenerator synergizes well with this set, allowing Mienshao to heal off recoil damage upon switching out. Life Orb Mienshao works best on balance and offense teams that appreciate Mienshao's ability to break through a wide swath of the metagame. Bulky Pokemon like Rhyperior, Snorlax, and Bronzong are able to withstand strong attacks aimed at Mienshao and provide Stealth Rock support or powerful attacks of their own. Weavile, Kingdra, and Choice Scarf Heracross complement Mienshao's ability to break down their checks and set up endgames of their own, while U-turn and Volt Switch users such as Gligar, Flygon, and Raikou allow Mienshao to safely come in more often and wreak havoc.

Mienshao can fit on pretty much any team, although it is extremely useful on setup teams such as Tailwind. It can also function well as a counter to Trick Room users. Mienshao is one of the three users of Fake Out available, and is the only one that is immune to flinching itself. After using Fake Out, Mienshao has decent coverage with Rock Slide and a Fighting-type STAB move, either Drain Punch or High Jump Kick. Wide Guard allows Mienshao to be more of a support Pokemon, as it can cover both of the user's Pokemon at the same time, although this only works with multi-target moves. Protect is a staple move on VGC Pokemon and simply prevents Mienshao from taking a hit. High Jump Kick can be used over Drain Punch, but it can be extremely risky considering the number of Ghost-types and Protect users that are present in the metagame. Protect can be used over Wide Guard; although Protect is generally a more reliable move, it does not offer the same high reward that Wide Guard does. VGC 2011 has a large number of Protect users, and Mienshao can use Feint to bypass Protect and deal serious damage. Considering the fact that this is a doubles metagame, with correct prediction, both of the user's Pokemon can attack a Protect user thanks to Mienshao's Feint, making it a useful move to have in its arsenal. Tailwind users are good teammates to Mienshao, as they increase its already high Speed, and make it easier for it to deal damage by allowing it to outspeed several Pokemon. Other setup Pokemon make good teammates, as they enjoy the extra turn provided by Fake Out.

Mienshao's quirky movepool allows it to play a surprisingly effective offensive-support hybrid role. Wide Guard and Fake Out are great together, and form the supportive core of Mienshao's moveset. Flying Gem in tandem with Acrobatics allows Mienshao to KO other Fighting-types with ease, save for Focus Sash users and max HP Intimidate Hitmontop, to whom it does a crippling 96% maximum. If you want Mienshao on the field a little longer, Focus Sash is appreciated. Mienshao unfortunately does not receive moves such as Close Combat, and thus has to rely on Low Kick for its main STAB move. While Low Kick hits most of its targets hard, Politoed and Ninetales are exceptions, so Drain Punch is an alternative if you need more assurance against the two. Keep in mind, however, that Drain Punch misses out on the OHKO on Terrakion and Abomasnow, as well as the guaranteed OHKO on Chople Berry Tyranitar. If you want more power and consistency, Hi Jump Kick is the next best move Mienshao has to offer, OHKOing the aforementioned Chople Tyranitar 80% of the time and Ninetales and Politoed 100% of the time with minimal prior damage, which can be provided with Fake Out. Hi Jump Kick comes with a nasty drawback however; it chips off half of Mienshao's health if it misses or gets blocked by Protect. Pokemon that can take advantage of protection from Rock Slide and other spread moves appreciate Mienshao's support; Pokemon that can ward off Psychic- and Ghost-types also make excellent teammates. Such Pokemon include Chandelure, Metagross, and Yanmega. Hail teams love Wide Guard support and a check to Fighting-type Acrobatics users, roles that Mienshao can perform admirably. Sun teams also enjoy Wide Guard, and the absence of damaging weather makes Focus Sash a viable alternative.

This is a sample set. We aren't working on BW Monotype analyses at the moment, but check out BW Monotype resources for more information about the metagame.

With a Choice Scarf, Mienshao functions as a check to powerful boosting sweepers such as Volcarona, Thundurus, and Salamence as well as slower Choice Scarf users such as Genesect while retaining the ability to scout and pile up offensive pressure on the opponent. Unlike other Choice Scarf users such as Terrakion, the presence of entry hazards does not particularly impede Mienshao, as it can repeatedly switch in and scout the opponent with U-turn, healing off any damage taken with Regenerator upon switching out. This gives Mienshao valued longevity and thus allows it to function as a offensive pivot for the majority of the game, although it must be careful when switching in as it takes heavy damage at the very least from most neutral STAB moves. Running a Choice Band is also an option, as Mienshao can then function as a wallbreaker that muscles through physical walls such as Skarmory while retaining a high Speed stat thanks to its good base 105 Speed. High Jump Kick is this set's main attraction, and for good reason. Once bulky Ghost- and Psychic-types have been removed, Mienshao can sweep unhindered with High Jump Kick, or at the very least, weaken the opposition to a point where its teammates can clean up the remains. U-turn is, as always, a highly useful move to have on a Choice set, gaining momentum and allowing Mienshao to deal heavy damage to Psychic-types switching in to take High Jump Kick. Stone Edge OHKOes common Chandelure switch-ins while also allowing Mienshao to take out sweepers such as Dragonite (after Stealth Rock) and Volcarona. Hidden Power Ice is purely for taking out Gliscor as it switches in, allowing Mienshao to sweep with High Jump Kick later. It goes without saying that caution should be exercised when using Hidden Power Ice, as Chandelure can still come in after a KO and use Mienshao as setup bait. Once again, the EV spread maximizes Mienshao's Attack and Speed, with a Naive nature being used so that Hidden Power Ice is not weakened. While it might be tempting to use an Adamant nature, particularly with Choice Band, this is not advised as Mienshao will then be revenge killed easily by Choice Scarf users such as Garchomp. Reckless is an option over Regenerator if you run a Choice Scarf to achieve the OHKO on Keldeo after Spikes damage, but the loss of Regenerator will drastically reduce Mienshao's longevity. This set's inability to switch moves makes Ghost-types such as Chandelure potent counters, particularly with High Jump Kick's deadly side effect. Thus, team support is all the more crucial to Mienshao's success. Pursuit users such as Tyranitar and Scizor are once again great partners, as they can trap and eliminate the Ghost- and Psychic-types which act as roadblocks to Mienshao's sweep. Additionally, Tyranitar can set up Stealth Rock, enabling Mienshao to net the OHKO on Gliscor with Hidden Power Ice. Bulky physical walls such as Skarmory can also take a High Jump Kick and stall for a miss with Roost, meaning wallbreakers such as Salamence pair well with Mienshao. Dragon-types in general make good partners for this set, as they can take advantage of having the opponent's Steel-types removed and sweep with Outrage. Finally, entry hazard support is also highly useful, as it limits switching and weakens walls into Mienshao's KO range. Good candidates for this role include Forretress and Ferrothorn, who can take hits well with their excellent bulk, as well as Deoxys-S, if you are using Mienshao on an offensive team.

Mienshao makes for a fantastic scout, momentum grabber, and offensive pivot that can also check some of the top threats in the metagame. Though dedicated leads are rarely used because of Team Preview, Mienshao functions very well as a lead in particular, giving you valuable early-game momentum. This set can be a great addition to dedicated VoltTurn teams, but it also functions as a good team glue in general. What really sets Mienshao apart from other U-turn users such as Scizor, however, is its access to Regenerator, as it can repeatedly come in, Fake Out for some residual damage, scout the opponent's next move with U-turn, and bring in the appropriate counter, healing off Life Orb recoil and other residual damage with Regenerator. Mienshao is one of the few fast threats with access to both Fake Out and U-turn, and the combination of these two moves is a potent scouting tool. Fake Out allows Mienshao to inflict free damage on most threats and pick off weakened faster opponents, also revealing the presence (or absence) of Leftovers recovery. This eases prediction immensely, as you can now judge whether or not Mienshao should switch out or stay in and fire off a powerful High Jump Kick. U-turn shifts the momentum in your favor, allowing you to scout the opponent's move and switch to a counter. It also deals heavy damage to Psychic-types such as Starmie and Latias switching in to soak up High Jump Kick. High Jump Kick is Mienshao's most powerful STAB move: it has an incredible 195 Base Power after STAB, and can 2HKO most neutral foes easily. However, Mienshao will lose 50% of its health if the opponent uses Protect or switches in a Ghost-type, meaning prediction is key when using High Jump Kick. This is compounded by the presence of Shadow Tag Chandelure in the metagame, which can trap, outspeed, and OHKO Mienshao if it is running a Choice Scarf. Running Stone Edge in the last moveslot rectifies this issue, as this allows Mienshao to KO Chandelure as it switches in while also destroying threats such as Volcarona. However, if Gliscor is a more problematic foe to your team, you can run Hidden Power Ice instead of Stone Edge to OHKO it after Stealth Rock damage; Mienshao can still escape from Chandelure with U-turn, allowing a teammate such as Tyranitar to trap it with Pursuit. The EV spread maximizes Mienshao's Attack and Speed, with the 4 remaining EVs invested in Special Defense to ensure that Genesect doesn't obtain a Special Attack boost upon switching in. A Speed-boosting nature is used so that Mienshao gets the jump on threats such as Garchomp, Jirachi, and Genesect while tying with other positive-natured Mienshao. Naive is preferred if Hidden Power Ice is used as Mienshao can still take U-turn and some of the weaker physical priority moves, like Ice Shard; Jolly is used otherwise. Substitute might appear to be a good option for easing prediction, but Mienshao will then have to give up either a coverage move or Fake Out, which will detract from the effectiveness of this set. Mienshao badly needs bulky Ghost- and Psychic-types out of the way so that it can sweep unhindered with High Jump Kick. A strong Pursuit user can help trap and eliminate these checks; Tyranitar comes to mind immediately, as it can trap Chandelure and Jellicent while also dealing with Psychic-types such as Latias. Mienshao isn't bothered by the sand which Tyranitar sets up either, as it has Regenerator to heal off the residual damage. Scizor, while ineffective against Chandelure, destroys Gengar and also packs a powerful STAB U-turn for maintaining offensive pressure and dealing heavy damage to bulky Psychic-types. A fast Choice Scarf user such as Latios or Terrakion can help deal with threats such as Thundurus that outspeed and KO Mienshao; such teammates can also clean up late-game once Mienshao has sufficiently weakened the opposition. Finally, entry hazard users such as Forretress and Ferrothorn also make good teammates, as they can set up entry hazards to ease up several OHKOs and 2HKOs for Mienshao while sponging most powerful attacks from potential counters with their good bulk.