#200, #429: Misdreavus & Mismagius

Yup. While Misdreavus is listed after Murkrow in the National Pokédex, Mismagius (#429) comes before Honchkrow (#430). So much for a certain order in the National Pokédex.

This drawing might be a little vague, but I actually like it!

Now, it's hard to determine Misdreavus's origin, because Misdreavus is a nocturnal Pokémon that likes to frighten people and there are a number of monsters/spirits/demons in several national folklores that share this trait. Yōkai are a class of Japanese monsters, spirits and demons and rokurokubi are such a type of spirits. There are two types of rokurokubi: those whose necks extend and those whose heads come off a fly about freely (nukekubi). As Misdreavus - a play on 'mischievous', 'to reave' and 'dread' or 'dreary' - kinda looks like a severed head, it is probably based on the latter. Nukekubi are said to perform bad deeds such as wailing at night to frighten humans, attacking said humans and drinking their blood. Misdreavus likes to watch frightened people and likes to play tricks on them, yank at or bite their hair, and sneak up on them and sob or shriek to scare them shitless. That sounds about right. There is also the Malaysian myth of the langsuyar, a type of vampire, that may or may not be depicted as a decpitated woman's head with the entrails and spine column still hanging from it, but as Misdreavus doesn't drink blood, I don't think it is actually based on this Malaysian creature. Although the wailing-and-screaming thing could also apply to the banshee, a creature from Gaelic folklore that is known for its unearthly and lethal screaming. It might be that you're familar with them, because popular fantasy TV series such as Charmed and Supernatural (and probably other shows as well) have covered this creature, most of them for only one episode. Heck, Alyssa Milano's character Phoebe Halliwell even became one in Charmed, even though it was just briefly.

Oh, one more thing: Misdreavus uses the red orbs around its neck to absorb people's fear for nourishment. It feeds on goddamn fear. Misdreavus is one sick motherfucker, lemme tell ya.

The big pointed hat and the tattered 'cloak' give Mismagius the
appearance of a witch or wizard. 

And when it evolves into Mismagius by use of a Dusk Stone? It becomes a witch. Or a wizard, because Misdreavus and Mismagius both have 50/50 gender ratio, but you probably get my point: the crest on its head looks like a witch's hat, while the foremost extensions on its lower body look tattered, giving Mismagius the appearance of wearing some kind of cloak. The fact that it can learn Mystical Fire by level-up (well, at level 1; you can give a Heart Scale to the Move Reminder to teach Mismagius that move, and more), a move that was Delphox's signature move in Pokémon X and Y, only enhances the presumption that it is based on a witch/wizard. DelphoxIt chants incantations that can cause misery and happiness alike, but people who hear them will usually receive headaches and hallucinations - this is where the banshee thing comes into play as well, as Mismagius's cries affect people much more than Misdreavus's do. As demonstrated in "Malice in Wonderland!", the 43th episode of the anime's tenth season, Mismagius puts Ash, Brock and Dawn to sleep and lets them enter a strange dream world without them actually noticing it, until Brock's Croagunk wakes him up with Poison Jab. Required to battle a Rayquaza to get out of that dream world, Ash's Pikachu, Brock's Croagunk and Dawn's Piplup suddenly become giant Pokémon being able to conquer Rayquaza, and defeating it knocks Mismagius out and causes the fellowship to wake up. As it was all a prank, it is obvious Mismagius still has a little bit of Misdreavus's personality in it.

But what is actually up with that Adam's apple, though? It looks like it just ate one of its gems. So weird.

Mismagius (left) and Delphox (right) engaging in sorcery around
a cauldron. Delphox is holding a bottle in the air with its wand.
Wingardium Leviosa! 

Anyway, on to Mismagius's competitive utility. Well, let me tell you that its HP, attack and defense are all a mediocre base 60 and its special attack, special defense and speed are all an excellent base 105. The latter half is where it's at, but unfortunately the low HP and defense mean it can't take any physical hits, so you should use a hit-and-run tactic. If you breed Nasty Plot onto Mismagius and manage to pull it off in battle, this Pokémon hits hard. And it learns a variety of special moves to go with it: Shadow Ball, Power Gem, Thunderbolt, Psychic, Energy Ball, Dazzling Gleam and Dark Pulse (which is actually a bit redundant, as dark and ghost cover the same types; Mismagius is better off with ghost-type moves anyway, because it is a pure ghost type itself). Hidden Power is a rather weak move and its type depends on the Pokémon's individual values (IVs), but it's also an option. A Life Orb to hold is a good idea, but if you don't like the recoil damage, you can also go with a Colbur Berry - a one-time use berry that weakens an incoming dark-type move - or the Choice Specs. In the latter case it will be impossible to run Nasty Plot, as the specs let Mismagius use only one move until it is switched out, but at least the immediate special attack boost is nice. There's also the stallbreaker tactic, which basically involves crippling physical attackers with Will-O-Wisp then do massive damage with Hex, a 50-power move that doubles the damage whenever the target has a status condition. This set also includes the hold item Leftovers and the moves Taunt and Pain Split, the former to prevent the opponent from setting up entry hazards or recovering and the latter to share each other's HP stat. It's the only reliable recovery Mismagius has and only works when it is at low HP (and the opponent at full or fuller HP).

Misdreavus looks more like a banshee in this picture. 

I absolutely love Mismagius. It looks awesome, with its pointed wizard's hat and ragged cloak, and I would very much like to use it in a playthrough once. The only thing is that Misdreavus are very hard to find and a Dusk Stone is never around the corner, either. Hopefully Pokémon Sun and Moon will provide me with an easy way to obtain a Misdreavus. (Disclaimer: Okay, Pokémon Pearl was always my permanent save file for my Pokémon collection, while I used Diamond to start new games over and over and over again. Misdreavus is exclusive to Pearl, while Murkrow is exclusive to Diamond, so that's why I have never been able to find Misdreavus. Forgive me my error.) Also, it's purple. And an interesting design/origin in combination with a purple color is always a good thing. That's why I award Mismagius a perfect rating of 5 stars!

Harry, Ron and Hermione will be proud.

Rating: 5/5