Mismagius

Mismagius, The Magical Pokémon. It appears as if from nowhere—muttering incantations, placing curses, and giving people terrifying visions. Mismagius have been known to cast spells to make people fall in love, so some people search for this Pokémon as if their life depended on it. Feared for its wrath and the curses it spreads, this Pokémon will also, on a whim, cast spells that help people. Its muttered curses can cause awful headaches or terrifying visions that torment others.

Overview

Being a pure Ghost and having stats on the Special side, Mismagius is a strong Pokémon in lower tier formats, having the ability to break common cores with ease. However, Mismagius has its share of problems, namely being frail with only base 60 HP and Defense which makes its otherwise decent 105 Special Defense pretty unimpressive. Its offenses are also very limiting for higher level formats as well, as 105 Special Attack is lacking for usual standards and 105 Speed isn't all that fast these days. Overall, Mismagius is a Pokémon to be aware of when team building in lower tier formats due to its raw power, but don't expect to see it in standard play.
Positives
Ghost movepool - Most Ghost-type Pokémon have nice movepools, having access to niche and interesting moves such as Pain Split and Will-O-Wisp allowing them to act in surprising ways. With these tricks, Mismagius has the ability to be surprisingly bulky which is a nightmare for unprepared teams due to its access to Nasty Plot.
Speed - In lower tier formats Mismagius is very fast, having good Speed even for higher tier standards. This allows Mismagius to tear through cores pretty easily as it can outpace and boost on a switch and apply immense pressure.

Negatives
Bulk - While Mismagius can become mitigate this somewhat thanks to Will-O-Wisp, Mismagius is naturally frail with only 60 base HP and Defense, meaning getting in can be a problem, especially since pure Ghost typing doesn't lend itself to many resistances.
Power - Access to Nasty Plot with base 105 Special Attack isn't that bad, but Mismagius relies heavily on boosting to be a major offensive threat. This is not a major flaw in the usual setting you'll see Mismagius, but it's a significant flaw that prevents it from seeing use in standard formats.

Abilities

Levitate - Grants immunity to Ground moves - Not a bad ability by any means, but Mismagius really wants some ability to help it keep up with the power creep as time passes. Most of the really dangerous Ground-types will have something to threaten Mismagius anyway.

Movesets

Nasty Plot Attacker

-Shadow Ball
-Dazzling Gleam
-Nasty Plot
-Taunt / Will-O-Wisp
Item Attached: Ghostium Z / Colbur Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs and Nature:
252 SpA /4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature

Nasty Plot is the major draw of Mismagius, getting a free +2 to Mismagius Special Attack is very nice. Shadow Ball is the main damaging move being very spammable due to Ghost-type providing excellent neutral coverage. Dazzling Gleam is a nice coverage option hitting Dark types for super effective damage, which would otherwise wall Mismagius. Taunt is a nice final option to stall break while Will-O-Wisp makes Mismagius a lot move durable and enables the use of Hex for more damage. Hex is generally used best on teams with a lot of ways to spread status though, otherwise stick to Shadow Ball.

A Timid nature is ideal because Mismagius wants to be as fast as possible in order to sweep, and its offensive stats are the only ones worth putting EV investment into. Ghostium Z provides a very powerful nuke when backed up by Nasty Plot and can help Mismagius break through an especially durable foe. However, Colbur Berry can be used instead of the Z-Move slot is already taken, giving Mismagius a chance to survive a Knock Off or otherwise handle a Dark-type hit.

Other Options and Partners

Rockium Z - Subbing in place of Taunt or Will-O-Wisp, Power Gem with Rockium Z allows Mismagius to break through Assault Vest Incineroar at +2 who is one of the best answers to Mismagius.
Choice Specs - While this gives up the Nasty Plot utility and limits the usefulness of its coverage moves such as Thunderbolt, Mystical Fire, and Energy Ball, Choice Specs can turn Mismagius into a more immediate wallbreaker. Its respectable Speed can make this an especially dangerous set on the right team, though generally less ideal.

Druddigon - With its decent bulk and typing, Druddigon can apply pressure on some of the Pokémon Mismagius brings in, such as Incineroar. Druddigon can also set up Stealth Rock and phase threats with Dragon Tail or just pressure foes with its good offensive presence.
Diancie - With its ability to check Dark-types with ease and ability to set up Stealth Rock, Diancie is a nice partner. Diancie brings in special walls as well and can slowly work on chipping them with Calm Mind to make it easier for Mismagius to break them later in the game.

Countering Mismagius

Incineroar - With an Assault Vest, Incineroar is one of the best counters to Mismagius due to taking neutral damage from Dazzling Gleam. This forces Mismagius to either run Power Gem or play very carefully around Incineroar. Thankfully, Incineroar does not have Pursuit so Mismagius isn't just ruined by the wrestling cat.

Absol - While lacking the defenses to constantly switch in, Absol can look for switch ins on Mismagius and apply a lot of pressure, especially if Mismagius lacks Will-O-Wisp to burn Absol on the switch in. Pursuit in particular makes it easier to checkmate Mismagius, while Sucker Punch prevents it from simply picking it off with Dazzling Gleam.

Locations in Games

Red/Blue/Yellow:
Not in game

Gold/Silver/Crystal:
Not in game

Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald:
Not in game

FireRed/LeafGreen:
Not in game

Colosseum/XD:
Not in game

Diamond/Pearl/Platinum:
Evolve Misdreavus (Pearl)
Trade from Pearl/HeartGold/SoulSilver (Diamond/Platinum)

HeartGold/SoulSilver:
Evolve Misdreavus

Black/White:
Evolve Misdreavus (White)
Trade from White/Black 2/White 2 (Black)

Black 2/White 2:
Evolve Misdreavus

X/Y:
Trade from Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire:
Evolve Misdreavus

Sun/Moon:
Evolve Misdreavus

Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon:
Evolve Misdreavus

Animé Appearences

Mismagius has made a few appearances in the anime. Most notably, it was used by Zoey in her Sinnoh Grand Festival campaign and Lusamine used one when in Ultra Space.

# -English Episode Name- -Jp. Episode Name- Pics
511 Malice in Wonderland! Mismagius! Escape From Nightmare! Pics
554 Arriving In Style! Hearthome Collection! Road To Becoming A Pokémon Stylist! Pics
561 Playing the Leveling Field The Dancing Gym Leader! Fantina Appears! Pics
569 Barry's Busting Out All Over! Rival Trainer Jun Appears! Pics
570 Shield with a Twist Hearthome Gym! VS Fantina! Pics
588 Not Aired Mysterious Creatures: Pokémon Pics
616 Try for the Family Stone! Misdreavus, Murkrow & the Dusk Stone! Pics
644 Coming Full Festival Circle! Semi-Final! Who is Heading to the Final!? Pics
645 A Grand Fight for Winning! Final! Dawn VS Zoey! Pics
M13 Zoroark - Master of Illusions Phantom Champion Zoroark Pics
796 Mystery on a Deserted Island! The Mystery of the Treasure! Adventure on an Uninhabited Island!! Pics
996 Rescuing the Unwilling! Hurry Up! Operation: Rescue Lusamine!! Pics
997 10,000,000 Reasons to Fight! Shine, Z-Power Ring! A Super Fully Powered 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt!! Pics
1037 A Haunted House for Everyone! Ghost Pokémon Everywhere! Everyone's Haunted House!! Pics
1089 Thank You, Alola! The Journey Continues! Thank You, Alola! Respective Departures!! Pics
PLA4 To be confirmed Arceus, the One Called a God: Radiance of a Miracle! The Sinnoh Legend!