Katakiri
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The Trick Room Play-style in Gen VI
While many may still consider Trick Room a gimmick, the team style has benefited greatly from the generation shift. Bulky offense has stolen the show in generation VI so, with Trick Room historically being only 2nd to stall when it comes to bulk, it's easy to see why Trick Room may be on the rise. To add to it, the standard speed tiers have risen once again which means that Pokemon that were previously too fast for Trick Room might find that they are just slow enough to participate. With old Trick Room staples being buffed and plenty of new faces as well, let's discuss Trick Room in the OU metagame.
Overview
Trick Room teams are charactirized by having at least two Pokemon with the move Trick Room and a team of slow but powerful Pokemon that can abuse the Trick Room. Set-up Trick Room and abuse Trick Room; in practice, it really is that simple for a well-made Trick Room team but getting there from the team building process is the hard part.
Thinking that you can get Trick Room up right when you need it, every time is entirely impractical as are Pokemon that are only good in Trick Room. While a Trick Room team must be dominant in Trick Room, a Trick Room team must be prepared to work outside of Trick Room as well. That doesn't mean you should slap Mega Lucario or Greninja on a Trick Room team but it means that your team choices must be practical both in and out of Trick Room; things like Assault Vest Conkeldurr, CB Azumarril, Offensive Heatran, and Mega Mawile are examples of Pokemon that do not need Trick Room to function but are much more commanding during Trick Room and that is exactly what you want your team to be filled with. While this saying should not be taken too literally, "A Trick Room team should not look like a Trick Room team."
The Trick Room Setters
These Pokemon are the best of the best when it comes to setting up Trick Room.
Gourgeist-Super and Trevenant are largely interchangeable. Gourgeist-Super has immediate bulk and can wall set-up sweepers long enough to burn them and Trick Room but only has Leftovers and Leech Seed recovery. Trevenant can artificially extend its longevity with Harvest Sitrus Berry which makes it much harder to chip-away at than Gourgeist, but it may struggle with set-up sweepers and heavy-hitters with its lesser Defense. Regardless of which one you choose, their Ground-type resistance is a rarity among Trick Room setters and their Ghost-typing serve Trick Room teams well. Celebi shares a similar typing with Trick Room in its move-pool and can be both a wall and a powerhouse with Leaf Storm and Recover.
These two bring a Steel-typing to the table as well as covering both a teams Trick Room and Stealth Rock needs. Jirachi can opperate outside of Trick Room by not lowering its speed and be a threat to fast sweepers in Trick Room as well as slow sweepers outside of Trick Room with Iron Head. This is useful for dealing with slower foes that are preventing Jirachi from setting Trick Room up like Azumarril, Conkeldurr, & Goodra. Bronzong brings in Levitate and a powerful Gyro Ball to switch-in and start some trouble. Carbink is a new Pokemon that has the Trick Room/Stealth Rock combinations but it poses no threat to any Pokemon, very similarly to Shuckle, and should not be used.
The gummi bear Reuniclus is the shining example of an offensive Trick Room user. With both Magic Guard and Regenerator extending its longevity, Reuniclus is a solid choice for any Trick Room team. Cofagrigus and Slowking both pack the option of Nasty Plot as well as Trick Room, which can make them dangerous sweepers if they get set-up; this is especially true for Cofagrigus with the nerf to Steel leaving Ghost-types largely unchecked on a lot of teams. Victini packs a lot of raw power from V-Create & Bolt Strike while lowing its Speed with every V-Create and supporting itself and its team with Trick Room. Meloetta can bring a much-needed Ghost-type immunity to a team with high Special Attack & Special Defense as well as keeping Pokemon with Substitute from stalling out Trick Room turns via Hyper Voice's Substitute-piercing properties. Mew can run a variety of Trick Room sets but Nasty Plot, Stealth Rock, and Status-spreading variants are some of the best.
With the two new Ghosts around, Jellicent and Slowbro have even more stiff competition for a team slot. Jellicent of course has Recover, Slowbro has Regenerator, and they both hold Scald over their competitors. Their Fire, Steel, & Ice resistances allow them to set up on Heatran, Jirachi, Scizor and Slowbro can even get away with setting up on Mamoswine. The Knock Off buff hurt Porygon2 a bit but it's still a very reliable user of Trick Room that can dish out some damage via a Download boost or deal with Pokemon like Gliscor & Heatran via Trace.
While very different, these Pokemon serve a similar role on Trick Room teams. Ideally, they would come into battle late-game with full health, set up a nearly guaranteed Trick Room to rob the opponent of their momentum. Cresselia does this with her unrivaled bulk and Alakazam does this by utilizing a Focus Sash. That is where the similarities end. Cresselia; while pathetic offensively; again has immense defenses, a ground-type immunity to get into battle safely while minimizing hazard damage, and Lunar Dance which has beautiful synergy with Trick Room. On the other hand, Alakazam is best on teams that aren't full Trick Room due to its high Speed but it packs great offenses while Focus Sash lets Alakazam either revenge-KO an opponent, set up Trick Room, or (if the opponent is faster than Alakazam) both. It should also be noted that Reuniclus can pull off the strategy as Alakazam but struggles much more than Alakazam outside of Trick Room and is better off on a full Trick Room team.
Much like how Mr. Mime is never used outside of Baton pass teams, Aromatisse likely won't see use outside of Trick Room teams. Most Trick Room setters are weak to Dark but Aromatisse's pure-Fairy-typing breaks that standard and offers a Dark-type resistance instead. Aromatiss's movepool includes nice team support like Aromatherapy and Dual Screens on top of Trick Room but a simple Wish-passing set is its best shot in OU Trick Room with its base 101 HP; keeping teammates healthy to keep abusing the Trick Room. Its base 99 Special Attack isn't to be overlooked either for tossing out a super-effective Moonblast. Its ability, Aroma Veil, keeps Aromatisse from being Taunted by the likes of Sableye or Deoxys-D/S.
The Muscle
These Pokemon are the slow, bulky power-houses Trick Room is known for.
Veteran Trick Room heavy-hitters, Conkeldurr & Machamp, were graced with Assault Vest, greatly increasing their special bulk and overall longevity. Their Dark-type resistance is invaluable as most Trick Room setters, again, are weak to Dark-type attacks. But on the subject of Dark-type attacks, the Knock Off buff gave both of these Pokemon powerful Dark-type coverage in Trick Room; they did have Payback but, with their speed in Trick Room, Payback was only usually a meager 50 base power when Knock Off is nearly double that. Excadrill is also capable of running Assault Vest but is notable for its typing and Mold Breaker Earthquake which may best be used with Life Orb. Scizor is another bulky powerhouse that enjoys Trick Room and plays very well outside of it too. Mega Scizor is a great Swords Dance sweeper regardless of Trick Room but more dangerous when Trick Room is active. While not as bulky as the other Pokemon here, Breloom packs a fantastic set of resistances with a lot of raw power and priority with the bonus of Spore.
Trick Room sweepers often can't afford set-up turns other than Trick Room itself as that 5 turn counter just doesn't allow it. So Pokemon that are insanely powerful from the start are more than welcomed. When it comes to physical attackers in Trick Room, it's hard to get much stronger than these titans but in addition to that power, most of these Pokemon have priority to work with outside of Trick Room. While it lack the priority of the others, Mega Heracross boasts excellent defenses and typing on top of that insane Attack stat. Mega Tyranitar packs sky-high Defenses and equally high Attack with a Dark-typing that fits perfectly into a play-style that generally carries multiple Fighting-type resists or immunities.
While Rain may be nerfed, Choice Specs Politoed is still one of the hardest-hitting Special Attackers around and the Rain can even support teammates like Azumarill and Fire-weak Pokemon. Life Orb or Choice Specs Heatran packs that always welcomed defensive typing with a wicked Fire Blast. Magnezone gets pretty tough to deal with when it out-paces every Steel-type that could threaten it and is still a powerful Pokemon when no Steel-types are around. Mega Ampharos brings an excellent typing, both offensively and defensively, to any Trick Room team and hits hard with base 165 Special Attack and tanks hits very well with 90/105/110 defenses. Mega Abomasnow can wall-break with its potent mixed attacking stats, great defenses, and STAB Blizzard but it doesn't have the easiest time switching into battle due to its typing. The sheer power of Adaptability Dragalge's Draco Meteor is without rival while its high Special Defense can allow it to switch-in rather freely.
Closing
So as you can see from all these new faces, Trick Room got a massive boost in viability this Gen and yet the play-style remains largely unexplored but this thread aims to change that. Hopefully, by everyone sharing experiences, teams, sets, replays, and opinions, we can turn this thread into a full guide for Trick Room.
While many may still consider Trick Room a gimmick, the team style has benefited greatly from the generation shift. Bulky offense has stolen the show in generation VI so, with Trick Room historically being only 2nd to stall when it comes to bulk, it's easy to see why Trick Room may be on the rise. To add to it, the standard speed tiers have risen once again which means that Pokemon that were previously too fast for Trick Room might find that they are just slow enough to participate. With old Trick Room staples being buffed and plenty of new faces as well, let's discuss Trick Room in the OU metagame.
Overview
Trick Room teams are charactirized by having at least two Pokemon with the move Trick Room and a team of slow but powerful Pokemon that can abuse the Trick Room. Set-up Trick Room and abuse Trick Room; in practice, it really is that simple for a well-made Trick Room team but getting there from the team building process is the hard part.
Thinking that you can get Trick Room up right when you need it, every time is entirely impractical as are Pokemon that are only good in Trick Room. While a Trick Room team must be dominant in Trick Room, a Trick Room team must be prepared to work outside of Trick Room as well. That doesn't mean you should slap Mega Lucario or Greninja on a Trick Room team but it means that your team choices must be practical both in and out of Trick Room; things like Assault Vest Conkeldurr, CB Azumarril, Offensive Heatran, and Mega Mawile are examples of Pokemon that do not need Trick Room to function but are much more commanding during Trick Room and that is exactly what you want your team to be filled with. While this saying should not be taken too literally, "A Trick Room team should not look like a Trick Room team."
The Trick Room Setters
These Pokemon are the best of the best when it comes to setting up Trick Room.
Gourgeist-Super and Trevenant are largely interchangeable. Gourgeist-Super has immediate bulk and can wall set-up sweepers long enough to burn them and Trick Room but only has Leftovers and Leech Seed recovery. Trevenant can artificially extend its longevity with Harvest Sitrus Berry which makes it much harder to chip-away at than Gourgeist, but it may struggle with set-up sweepers and heavy-hitters with its lesser Defense. Regardless of which one you choose, their Ground-type resistance is a rarity among Trick Room setters and their Ghost-typing serve Trick Room teams well. Celebi shares a similar typing with Trick Room in its move-pool and can be both a wall and a powerhouse with Leaf Storm and Recover.
These two bring a Steel-typing to the table as well as covering both a teams Trick Room and Stealth Rock needs. Jirachi can opperate outside of Trick Room by not lowering its speed and be a threat to fast sweepers in Trick Room as well as slow sweepers outside of Trick Room with Iron Head. This is useful for dealing with slower foes that are preventing Jirachi from setting Trick Room up like Azumarril, Conkeldurr, & Goodra. Bronzong brings in Levitate and a powerful Gyro Ball to switch-in and start some trouble. Carbink is a new Pokemon that has the Trick Room/Stealth Rock combinations but it poses no threat to any Pokemon, very similarly to Shuckle, and should not be used.
The gummi bear Reuniclus is the shining example of an offensive Trick Room user. With both Magic Guard and Regenerator extending its longevity, Reuniclus is a solid choice for any Trick Room team. Cofagrigus and Slowking both pack the option of Nasty Plot as well as Trick Room, which can make them dangerous sweepers if they get set-up; this is especially true for Cofagrigus with the nerf to Steel leaving Ghost-types largely unchecked on a lot of teams. Victini packs a lot of raw power from V-Create & Bolt Strike while lowing its Speed with every V-Create and supporting itself and its team with Trick Room. Meloetta can bring a much-needed Ghost-type immunity to a team with high Special Attack & Special Defense as well as keeping Pokemon with Substitute from stalling out Trick Room turns via Hyper Voice's Substitute-piercing properties. Mew can run a variety of Trick Room sets but Nasty Plot, Stealth Rock, and Status-spreading variants are some of the best.
With the two new Ghosts around, Jellicent and Slowbro have even more stiff competition for a team slot. Jellicent of course has Recover, Slowbro has Regenerator, and they both hold Scald over their competitors. Their Fire, Steel, & Ice resistances allow them to set up on Heatran, Jirachi, Scizor and Slowbro can even get away with setting up on Mamoswine. The Knock Off buff hurt Porygon2 a bit but it's still a very reliable user of Trick Room that can dish out some damage via a Download boost or deal with Pokemon like Gliscor & Heatran via Trace.
While very different, these Pokemon serve a similar role on Trick Room teams. Ideally, they would come into battle late-game with full health, set up a nearly guaranteed Trick Room to rob the opponent of their momentum. Cresselia does this with her unrivaled bulk and Alakazam does this by utilizing a Focus Sash. That is where the similarities end. Cresselia; while pathetic offensively; again has immense defenses, a ground-type immunity to get into battle safely while minimizing hazard damage, and Lunar Dance which has beautiful synergy with Trick Room. On the other hand, Alakazam is best on teams that aren't full Trick Room due to its high Speed but it packs great offenses while Focus Sash lets Alakazam either revenge-KO an opponent, set up Trick Room, or (if the opponent is faster than Alakazam) both. It should also be noted that Reuniclus can pull off the strategy as Alakazam but struggles much more than Alakazam outside of Trick Room and is better off on a full Trick Room team.
Much like how Mr. Mime is never used outside of Baton pass teams, Aromatisse likely won't see use outside of Trick Room teams. Most Trick Room setters are weak to Dark but Aromatisse's pure-Fairy-typing breaks that standard and offers a Dark-type resistance instead. Aromatiss's movepool includes nice team support like Aromatherapy and Dual Screens on top of Trick Room but a simple Wish-passing set is its best shot in OU Trick Room with its base 101 HP; keeping teammates healthy to keep abusing the Trick Room. Its base 99 Special Attack isn't to be overlooked either for tossing out a super-effective Moonblast. Its ability, Aroma Veil, keeps Aromatisse from being Taunted by the likes of Sableye or Deoxys-D/S.
The Muscle
These Pokemon are the slow, bulky power-houses Trick Room is known for.
Veteran Trick Room heavy-hitters, Conkeldurr & Machamp, were graced with Assault Vest, greatly increasing their special bulk and overall longevity. Their Dark-type resistance is invaluable as most Trick Room setters, again, are weak to Dark-type attacks. But on the subject of Dark-type attacks, the Knock Off buff gave both of these Pokemon powerful Dark-type coverage in Trick Room; they did have Payback but, with their speed in Trick Room, Payback was only usually a meager 50 base power when Knock Off is nearly double that. Excadrill is also capable of running Assault Vest but is notable for its typing and Mold Breaker Earthquake which may best be used with Life Orb. Scizor is another bulky powerhouse that enjoys Trick Room and plays very well outside of it too. Mega Scizor is a great Swords Dance sweeper regardless of Trick Room but more dangerous when Trick Room is active. While not as bulky as the other Pokemon here, Breloom packs a fantastic set of resistances with a lot of raw power and priority with the bonus of Spore.
Trick Room sweepers often can't afford set-up turns other than Trick Room itself as that 5 turn counter just doesn't allow it. So Pokemon that are insanely powerful from the start are more than welcomed. When it comes to physical attackers in Trick Room, it's hard to get much stronger than these titans but in addition to that power, most of these Pokemon have priority to work with outside of Trick Room. While it lack the priority of the others, Mega Heracross boasts excellent defenses and typing on top of that insane Attack stat. Mega Tyranitar packs sky-high Defenses and equally high Attack with a Dark-typing that fits perfectly into a play-style that generally carries multiple Fighting-type resists or immunities.
While Rain may be nerfed, Choice Specs Politoed is still one of the hardest-hitting Special Attackers around and the Rain can even support teammates like Azumarill and Fire-weak Pokemon. Life Orb or Choice Specs Heatran packs that always welcomed defensive typing with a wicked Fire Blast. Magnezone gets pretty tough to deal with when it out-paces every Steel-type that could threaten it and is still a powerful Pokemon when no Steel-types are around. Mega Ampharos brings an excellent typing, both offensively and defensively, to any Trick Room team and hits hard with base 165 Special Attack and tanks hits very well with 90/105/110 defenses. Mega Abomasnow can wall-break with its potent mixed attacking stats, great defenses, and STAB Blizzard but it doesn't have the easiest time switching into battle due to its typing. The sheer power of Adaptability Dragalge's Draco Meteor is without rival while its high Special Defense can allow it to switch-in rather freely.
Closing
So as you can see from all these new faces, Trick Room got a massive boost in viability this Gen and yet the play-style remains largely unexplored but this thread aims to change that. Hopefully, by everyone sharing experiences, teams, sets, replays, and opinions, we can turn this thread into a full guide for Trick Room.
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