Moves
Future Sight helps to overwhelm defensive checks to Musharna's teammates by combining with other attacks two turns later and generate momentum by forcing in Pokemon that resist it. Dazzling Gleam allows Musharna to hit Dark-type Pokemon such as Skuntank, Absol, and Alolan Persian, OHKOing the latter two, preventing them from easily Pursuit trapping Musharna or using it as setup bait. Healing Wish allows Musharna to sacrifice itself to fully restore a teammate and cure it of status, offering it another chance to sweep or break through the opposing team.
Set Details
128 HP EVs allow Musharna to avoid a 2HKO from Gurdurr's Knock Off after damage from Stealth Rock and one layer of Spikes, while 92 Speed EVs allow Musharna to outspeed Gurdurr. Maximum Special Attack ensures that Musharna hits as hard as possible, letting it OHKO Gurdurr with Future Sight and 2HKO Gurdurr with Dazzling Gleam. Psychium Z turns Future Sight into a powerful Shattered Psyche once per match, allowing Musharna to immediately threaten Pokemon such as Mudsdale, Eelektross, Lanturn, and Victreebel, as well as OHKOing Pokemon such as Carracosta and Omastar, preventing them from using Musharna as setup bait and swapping out before Future Sight hits them. It also allows Musharna to beat Audino, which would otherwise wall it, with Shattered Psyche followed by Future Sight. Colbur Berry is an alternative option if another Pokemon is holding a Z-Crystal, allowing Musharna to stay in against Alolan Persian and Choice Band Absol and remove them with Dazzling Gleam and offering a one-time damage reduction when switching out against Pursuit users such as Absol and Skuntank. Synchronize is the ability of choice, allowing Musharna to punish Pokemon such as Oricorio-E, Mudsdale, and Regirock for using Toxic against it.
Usage Tips
Musharna should aim to use Future Sight to help break down the opposing team by combining it with other attacks to overwhelm their Pokemon, due to it allowing two attacks to hit in a single turn. This can also help Musharna's team gain momentum from the opponent swapping to Psychic switch-ins such as Ferroseed and Skuntank in order to absorb the Future Sight hit. Due to its Psychic typing and decent physical bulk, Musharna acts as a strong Fighting-type check and should be brought in on Pokemon such as Hitmonchan and Gurdurr. It can also punish Primeape for locking into a move other than U-turn, but swapping Musharna into Primeape directly is risky due to said U-turn. As a Psychic-type, Musharna is weak to Pursuit trapping from Dark-type Pokemon such as Absol and Skuntank. If predicting the opponent to swap to Absol, it is often wiser to use Dazzling Gleam, as it will OHKO Absol; however, it is advisable to double switch if expecting Skuntank instead, as Dazzling Gleam does not 2HKO it. If Musharna is running a Colbur Berry, however, it can afford to stay in and can also beat Alolan Persian one-on-one. Musharna should prioritize staying healthy and conserving Moonlight PP in matchups where it is needed to check Pokemon such as Gurdurr due to it easily being worn down by chip damage from entry hazards and status.
If running Psychium Z, Musharna should prioritize using Shattered Psyche against targets that would otherwise use it as setup bait such as Oricorio-E and Oricorio-G, as the move is capable of KOing them after Stealth Rock damage even if they have used Calm Mind. Other setup sweepers such as Carracosta and Turtonator are capable of using Shell Smash against Musharna, attacking once, and then either switching out before Future Sight hits or claiming a second KO and fainting, which Shattered Psyche can prevent. In matchups lacking these sort of Pokemon, or if Musharna's teammates adequately deal with them, Musharna can instead aim to use Shattered Psyche to remove Pokemon that might be problematic for its team such as Victreebel and Mudsdale. Musharna should avoid using Healing Wish until it is necessary in order to win the match by fully restoring a wincon such as Kangaskhan or Gurdurr. Healing Wish is particularly valuable when used directly after Future Sight, as it offers the recipient Pokemon a free switch in on the turn that Future Sight hits, granting valuable momentum for Musharna's team. If Musharna is no longer necessary, has run out of Moonlight PP, or cannot find opportunities to heal itself anymore, it can be brought in against status users such as Mudsdale and Regirock on a predicted use of Toxic to cripple them via Synchronize.
Team Options
Musharna fits mainly on bulky offense teams, where it acts as a strong Fighting-type check and can help its teammates break through the opposing team thanks to Future Sight. Entry hazards have great synergy with Future Sight, punishing the enemy for switching in Psychic-resistant Pokemon such as Metang and Skuntank on the turn that Future Sight hits. Stealth Rock users such as Mudsdale and Regirock fit nicely, helping to deal with Skuntank, which is one of Musharna's best checks, although Mudsdale must watch out for Acid Spray variants. They also help to deal with strong physical attackers that can overwhelm Musharna such as Choice Band Dodrio and Stoutland. Spikes setters such as Qwilfish and Ferroseed appreciate Musharna's ability to switch in on Psychic- and Fighting-type attacks from Pokemon such as Claydol and Gurdurr. Musharna can also act as a Knock Off sponge for Ferroseed, which does not appreciate losing its Eviolite.
Kangaskhan pairs well with Future Sight Musharna, as Fake Out allows it to make opposing Pokemon flinch on the turn Future Sight hits. Future Sight also helps to punish common switch-ins to Kangaskhan such as Mudsdale, which is KOed by the combination of Double-Edge and Future Sight after one layer of Spikes; Regirock, which is 2HKOed by Earthquake after taking damage from Future Sight; and Gurdurr. Kangaskhan also greatly appreciates Musharna's Healing Wish due to the recoil damage from Double-Edge. Fighting-types such as Primeape, Hitmonchan, and Gurdurr punish Dark-types such as Absol and Skuntank for swapping in to absorb the Future Sight hit. In return, Future Sight helps them break past physically bulky Pokemon such as Mudsdale and Tangela, Poison-types such as Qwilfish and Victreebel, and Flying-types such as Oricorio-E and Oricorio-G. Hitmonchan can also provide entry hazard removal via Rapid Spin, while Gurdurr greatly appreciates the Healing Wish support provided by Musharna, giving it a second chance to sweep. Physical Skuntank sets can Pursuit trap consistent Future Sight switch-ins such as Bronzor and Metang, Ghost-types that can threaten Musharna such as Haunter, offensive Jellicent, and Oricorio-G, opposing Musharna with Calm Mind that may attempt to set up against Musharna, and threats that try to avoid getting hit by Future Sight. Skuntank also appreciates Future Sight hitting its switch-ins such as Regirock and Mudsdale and Musharna's ability to pivot into Fighting-types such as Gurdurr. Cryogonal and Alolan Sandslash can also offer Rapid Spin support to Musharna's team and appreciate Musharna being able to swap into Fighting-types such as Gurdurr and Hitmonchan. In return, Cryogonal can help beat Oricorio-E and Oricorio-G, which can freely set up on Musharna with Calm Mind if Musharna isn't running or has expended Psychium Z.