Pokemon GO Mightyena in PvP and PvE guide: Best moveset, counters, and more

Mightyena has appeared on the radars of many Pokemon GO players once again as the Halloween season draws closer. The monster has always been associated with the Halloween season thanks to its Dark typing and menacing design. It being such a prominent monster in the Hoenn region also means that many fans of the main series hold a sense of nostalgia for the beast.

However, Pokemon GO is a much different game compared to anything in the main series. As such, a particular monster's viability in the mobile title will differ from that in the main series. But do players have a reason to use Mightyena for battles in the mobile game? In what facet of battling does it excel?

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Is Mightyena good in Pokemon GO PvP?

The sad truth is that Mightyena has never been that good in Pokemon GO's PvP scene. Although Niantic tried to make it better through the introduction of its shadow form, it still missed the mark due to the terrible power creep present in the Great League. Since Mightyena has a low combat power cap, the Great League is the only place it can go.

With Scrafty, Medicham, Azumarill, and Carbink being four of the best picks in Great League, a pure Dark-type like Mightyena has no room to be used safely. If you truly want to use a Dark-type dog, taking Houndoom would be the much better option. Even then, Houndoom is terribly lackluster in the Great League for many of the same reasons.

If you still want to use Mightyena, it has a decent moveset with access to almost every Elemental Fang move. However, most players use Poison Fang and Cruch for its Charged Attacks. For its Fast Attack, players typically take whatever move they wish. However, most tend to opt for Fire or Ice Fang.

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Is Mightyena good in Pokemon GO PvE?

Mightyena as seen in the anime (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While giving players the choice to fight the exact opponents they want is a clever way to work around Mightyena's poor defenses, the pick still ultimately falls short. There are many worse options than Mightyena, but you won't be seeing it in any 5-star Raids.

Due to Mightyena's low stat spread, it is a very suboptimal choice for use as a pure Dark-type. In a world where Darkrai exists, there is no real reason for players to consider using Mightyena. Even other non-Legendary or Mythical Dark-types like Honchkrow and Weavile serve as much better attackers. However, if you are new to the game and only have access to Mightyena for a raid, you could still make do.

Since coverage tends to matter much less in PvE, you can double up on Dark-type damage if you truly want to use Mightyena. A moveset of Crunch and Bite will deal the most damage Mightyena can possibly do in raids and other PvE battles, thanks to the Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB).

Overall, Mightyena is a very underwhelming creature in both the PvP and PvE scenes of Pokemon GO. As such, players should avoid using it for any serious competitive play.