Pokemon can evolve when certain conditions are met, and one of the effects of evolution is removing all Special Effects from that card
Despite how limited Strip Mine is in its use, just because of how strong it is, the card is always going to have value
The first ability to pump another creature you control pairs perfectly with Elvish Mystic, but even if you dont have an ideal draw, you can always play another creature before you attack so that the counter has somewhere to go
The full texts of these abilities are "At the beginning of the monarch's end step, that player draws a card" and "Whenever a creature deals combat damage to the monarch, its controller becomes the monarch." (2020-11-10) If the triggered ability that causes the monarch to draw a card goes on the stack and a different player becomes the monarch before that ability resolves, the first player will still draw the card
In the Pokemon TCG, Darkrai is just as cool with a unique, lore-accurate Move to give your opponent some nightmares