Moves
High Jump Kick is the preferred STAB move to grant Mienfoo a great deal of immediate power. U-turn turns Mienfoo into a stellar pivot, giving it the ability to gain momentum for its team just by switching out of a check. It also works well with Regenerator to keep Mienfoo healthy throughout a match. Knock Off allows Mienfoo to support itself and its team by removing items such as Eviolite and Berry Juice from foes to allow them to be more easily defeated. Mienfoo's final moveslot is less crucial to its success as a pivot, so the move choice can be tailored to support its team. Fake Out is Mienfoo's best 4th move option, allowing Mienfoo to get in chip damage notably against Weak Armor Vullaby, and scout for certain set variants based on how much damage Fake Out does. Mienfoo can also run Acrobatics to hit opposing Fighting-types and Foongus for super effective damage, which is made more effective by how often it is used as a Knock Off absorber during a match, meaning it frequently gets the damage boost. Poison Jab is an option to hit Fairy-types such as Spritzee and Snubbull super effectively. Taunt can be used to shut down slower hazard leads, to block Foongus' Spore, or to prevent Foongus or Mareanie from recovering HP.
Set Details
The given EV spread allows Mienfoo to hit 17 Speed and Eviolite numbers, outspeeding a decent majority of the metagame, notably Pawniard and Vullaby, and turning it into a better revenge killer and a slightly better switch-in to several key Pokemon such as Pawniard. An offensive spread of 236 Atk / 36 Def / 236 Spe with a Jolly nature significantly boosts the power of Mienfoo's High Jump Kick, notably allowing it to OHKO Vullaby after Stealth Rock damage. However, the given sets' Speed comes at the cost of special bulk and the ability to act as a slow pivot. An alternative spread of 76 HP / 196 Def / 196 SpD with an Impish nature is designed to take a variety of hits and keep its health up throughout a match. This gives it the ability to take a wide range of hits when holding an Eviolite such as Vullaby's Brave Bird, Focus Sash Abra's Psychic, and +2 Shellder's Icicle Spear after Stealth Rock. The lack of Speed investments would give Mienfoo 13 Speed, which is slower than a large portion of the metagame. This allows Mienfoo to take a hit before using U-turn to safely bring in a frailer ally.
Usage Tips
This Mienfoo set should be used as a pivot or a scout, coming in on resisted or weaker neutral hits throughout a battle and pivoting out when its health gets low. Regenerator comes in handy in doing this, as Mienfoo can regain health when it needs to just by coming out of battle. When Mienfoo is in battle, it should use Knock Off as much as possible to wear down the opposing Pokemon and remove items, especially to wear down Mienfoo's checks. Once it needs to recover health, or if a check is predicted to be coming into battle, Mienfoo can use U-turn to switch out while gaining momentum for its team. Its relatively slow U-turn is useful for bringing in frail allies as well. Be careful against opposing Flame Body users such as Ponyta and Larvesta, however, as Mienfoo relies on contact moves, which these Pokemon can come in on and potentially cripple Mienfoo with a burn.
Team Options
Mienfoo is weak to Flying-types, so good partners include Onix, Pawniard and Magnemite. The latter also forms a powerful VoltTurn core with Mienfoo, which can give a team offensive momentum. Checks to Fairy-types are also important when using Mienfoo, as they are its most threatening switch-ins and Poison Jab doesn't do significant damage to them. Foongus switches into most Fairy-types and forms a potent Regenerator core with Mienfoo, and Steel-types such as Pawniard and Magnemite can deal with Fairy-types offensively. Finally, frail attackers such as Abra and Gastly appreciate Mienfoo's slow U-turn, as it can bring them in safely, and they can force many of Mienfoo's checks out of battle.