Mightyena is a dark-type Pokemon that resembles a hyena that was first introduced in Generation III. It evolves from Poochyena from level 18 onwards, with both forms existing as a staple for antagonist grunt Pokemon teams. Mightyena appears to be mainly based on a hyena, notably a brown hyena and also shares similarities with wolves and domestic breeds of dogs. It specifically resembles the German Shepherd and the Australian Kelpie dog breeds, since both breeds are heavily influenced by their owners.
About Mightyena
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire |
| First appearance in game | Ruby and Sapphire |
| Region | Hoenn |
| Evolution | N/A |
| 1st Evo level | N/A |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | Mightyena gives obvious signals when it is preparing to attack. It starts to growl deeply and then flattens its body. This Pokémon will bite savagely with its sharply pointed fangs. Mightyena travel and act as a pack in the wild. The memory of its life in the wild compels the Pokémon to obey only those trainers that it recognizes to possess superior skill. |
Mightyena Base stats
| HP | 70 |
| ATTACK | 90 |
| DEFENCE | 70 |
| SP. ATTACK | 60 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 60 |
| SPEED | 70 |
| TOTAL | 420 |
Appearance
Mightyena is a four-legged Pokemon based around a hyena. Its has a mostly grey coat and is short-haired, but its legs, tail, and two thick strips that extend from behind the eyes to the length of the body are covered with black, fluffy fur. It has a dark triangle stripe pattern under its eyes, which are red with yellow sclera. Their ears are diamond-shaped, with the inside of its ears being black. Mightyena also has a red nose, and grey paw pads.
Behavior
In the wild, Mightyena lives in packs and as a member of this group, it will follow its leader's orders and hunt down its prey with complete dedication. When Mightyena starts to attack, it sends a clear signal by growling deeply and lowering its body. Mightyena defeats the enemy with the help of its pack through perfectly coordinated teamwork. If its trainer is experienced, Mightyena will always obey their orders. As shown in the anime, Mightyena will sometimes lick the face of the person it likes, a trait which resembles a pet dog. This species of Pokemon lives within grasslands and savannas.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Mightyena has relatively high stats overall with its attack stat being its highest stat. However, its stats are low for a fully evolved Pokemon despite it potentially seeming to have decent stats at first glance. As a dark-type Pokemon, Mightyena is weak to fighting, bug, and fairy-type moves, immune to psychic-types, and resistant to ghost and dark-type moves.
Shiny Mightyena
Shiny Mightyena is a version of Mightyena which is brown and gold instead of black and grey. Shiny Mightyena is only aesthetically different from Mightyena’s usual form and Shiny Mightyena can be found in the same ways as other shiny Pokemon: by continuously breeding the Pokemon (or its evolutions/ pre-evolutions) until receiving a shiny variant. Furthermore, like all shiny Pokemon, Shiny Mightyena gains a starry animation when it enters battle, so keep an eye out.
Best moveset
Crunch is the main STAB (same-type attack bonus) move for Mightyena to deal physical damage, with Sucker Punch also serving as a STAB bonus move. It also has the bonus of it usually going first and can be used for revenge kills, especially if the Mightyena has the ability Moxie. That ability raises its attack stat if Mightyena hits and KOs a Pokemon which makes it great for dealing with weakened Pokemon. Finally, Play Rough and Iron Tail serve as type coverage with the bonus of the possibility of lowering the opponent’s attack and defence respectively.
| Crunch | Sucker Punch |
| Play Rough | Iron Tail |
How to catch Mightyena in Pokemon Go?
As a dark-type Pokemon, Mightyena can be found more often in places, like cemeteries, landmarks, and cinemas. It can also be found more often during foggy weather and evolves from Poochyena with 50 candies. Furthermore, Mightyena was available as a tier two raid boss in Pokemon Gyms while Poochyena hasn’t been made available as one.
Trivia
- Early artwork, notably Ken Sugimori's official artwork and some TCG art, shows Mightyena with a black nose instead of a red nose
- Mightyena and its pre-evolved form share their category as the Bite Pokemon with Drednaw
- Mightyena appears to be mainly based on a hyena, notably a brown hyena, as well as sharing similarities with wolves and domestic breeds of dogs. Mightyena specifically resembles the German Shepherd and the Australian Kelpie dog breeds, since both are breeds that are heavily influenced by their owners
- Mightyena may be a combination of mighty (possessing impressive power/ strength) and hyena.
FAQs
Is Mightyena a good Pokemon?
Mightyena’s stats are low for a fully evolved Pokemon despite it seeming to have decent stats at first glance and having STAB priority. It is outclassed by a variety of other dark-type Pokemon.
Is Mightyena a wolf?
Mightyena appears to be mainly based on a hyena, notably a brown hyena, as well as sharing similarities with wolves and domestic breeds of dogs.
Can you get Mightyena in Pokemon Sword?
Mightyena cannot be found in Pokemon Sword or Shield.
What does Mightyena evolve into?
Mightyena has no further evolutions after it evolves from Poochyena starting at level 18.
What can Mightyena breed with?
Mightyena is a member of the Field Egg Group, and can be bred with any other members of this Egg Group.
What animal is Mightyena?
Mightyena is a Pokemon that appears to be mainly based on a hyena, notably a brown hyena, as well as sharing similarities with wolves and domestic breeds of dogs.
Conclusion
Despite its cool and intimidating design, Mightyena has fallen out of favor among players due to its relatively low stats for a fully evolved Pokemon. Despite this, Mightyena’s position as a favorite among Pokemon antagonists has helped it maintain popularity.
