Mischievous Villains or Instigators are evildoers who are playful, misbehaved, disrespectful, and/or childish, as they do not always seek outright harm on others but like to cause trouble where ever they go. Their crimes are more harmless stuff like stealing and littering, which means they aren't real threats to society in the same way a heroic rapscallion can be. If they do cross the line, they are likely to feel remorseful instead of just sadistic. Examples are Dark Truder, Heinz Doofenshmirtz, Robbie Rotten and Megamind.

Mischievous villains are not meant to be taken too seriously (and don't even try to be); therefore, they cannot count as Pure Evil, even if Pure Evil characters act "mischievous" in a much more dangerous and lethal manner (e.g. Junko Enoshima, William Wharton, Henry Evans, Dimentio, Dr. Robotnik, Green Goblin, Bill Cipher, Lucas Baker, Ghirahim, Randall Boggs, Dick Hardly, Dr. James Sheridan, William Afton (Films), Aku, Professor Ratigan, and most versions of The Joker). If they're depicted in a more serious light, they should go under Faux Affably Evil, Tricksters, Sadists, Masterminds, Egotists, Abusers, Conspirators, and/or Thrill-Seekers categories instead.

However, mischievous villains can still be psychopaths/sociopaths or even have zero redeeming factors if they are at least partly serious, serve as a formidable antagonistic force and often engage in high mischief and misdemeanor action (e.g. Eric Cartman, Alie Peters, Chick Hicks, Spooky (Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion) and Baron Bomburst).

Even if they are not Pure Evil, please DO NOT add villains who simply make sneaky smiles a lot, taunt/mock/tease their foes in a silly way at times or come off with sinister prank surprises, as this DOES NOT automatically mean that they are mischievous by default (e.g. Black Hat, Jax, Oogie Boogie, Red Skull, Fawful, Dr. Kamikazi, Gallaxhar, Audrey II, Jevil, Loki, Chris McLean, Dr. Eggman, Jack O'Lantern, Azula and Spons) as some of them can commit crimes too heinous to fit in this category since they would be played for total horror instead of laughs.