Team Twisted Dimensions
Introduction
Trick Room teams are one of the most hardest and challenging teams to master, but if one has built a successful Trick Room team, it can become relatively brutal. In this case, I liked the idea of constructing a hard-to-use team, so I took on the challenge and I ended up with a solid product from my past experiences using it. I'm proud to announce that I've designed one of the best Trick Room teams I've used that has given me a decent win/loss ratio of approximately 6 : 2.
Thought Process
When I wanted to make a Trick Room team, I made myself a set of guidelines to follow: 1, I need two Pokemon that set up Trick Room and switch out to the appropriate Pokemon; 2, I need two Pokemon that set up Trick Room and can sweep under it without switching; 3, I need one Pokemon that acts as a mixed wall breaker so I don't have to switch out of something I can't hurt, wasting my Trick Room time; and 4, I needed a powerful sweeper.
Since I needed two Pokemon that can set up Trick Room and switch out to the appropriate Pokemon, I immediately thought of two Pokemon that can do this well; Jirachi and Bronzong. Jirachi may seem ridiculous since it's quite fast, but that's the point. I needed something that can quickly set up Stealth Rock, attempt to use Trick Room, and have a slow U-turn so I can switch in my sweepers without hurting them. Jirachi fits that perfectly. On the other hand, Bronzong is bulky enough to almost always set up Trick Room and can either explode right away, or attack a few Pokemon here and there depending on the situation I'm in.
Following my second guideline, I needed two Pokemon that can set up Trick Room and sweep under it. This is when Porygon2 and Slowbro sprang in my mind. Porygon2 is a devastating sweeper once it has received a Special Attack boost from Download, and can put the hurt in many Pokemon. Slowbro is a special sweeper of mine, since I designed a unique set for him which he has used to sweep entire teams. Slowbro handles many important threats like Salamence.
Now I needed to find a mixed sweeper that's slow enough to move first and dent many threats. At first, this was quite troublesome for me to find such thing, but as I looked for decent mixed attackers, Nidoking stood out. It has all of the moves it needs to break down walls, so I immediately put it on the team.
And finally, a strong sweeper. Of course it would be Snorlax. Snorlax is a really strong Pokemon, and I love using him because he can switch into so many special attacks coming from things like Starmie and the Rotom formes.
The Team
Trick Room Users
Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 240 HP/160 Def/32 Spd/76 SDef
Impish nature (+Def, -SAtk)
- Trick Room
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Stealth Rock
Many Trick Room teams lead with either Bronzong or Porygon2, but I wanted to try something different. Nobody expects Jirachi to be setting up Trick Room, many people think it's either Scarfed, or on of those paralyzing variants. Jirachi can easily set up Stealth Rock and proceed to set up Trick Room quite easily. Depending on the lead, Jirachi can score a slow U-turn a lot of time, which leaves my incoming sweeper unharmed and ready to wreak havoc. Iron Head is there as a way for Jirachi to do some damage, and it's really fun when I use Iron Head on slower leads to flinch them, or when I use Trick Room on faster leads and attempt to flinch them from there. Jirachi almost always gets the match started in my favor.
Bronzong @ Life Orb
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/152 Atk/8 Def/96 SDef
Brave nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Gyro Ball
- Trick Room
- Explosion
- Earthquake
Bronzong is a fabulous Trick Room supporter, I must say. It's defensively bulky, but at the same time it can pack quite a punch. I chose Life Orb as an item because I tend to use Bronzong as one of those "suicidal" Pokemon I guess you could say. As in, I set up Trick Room and hurt as much as I can, then set up Trick Room again if I can and blow up to send in a sweeper. Bronzong is also a helpful answer against major threats that are trying to set up against me, like TauntDos for example. Since I no longer need Stealth Rock set up, Earthquake takes its place so I can nail Heatran and other things that are weak to it.
Trick Room Sweepers
Porygon2 @ Life Orb
Ability: Download
EVs: 252 HP/100 Def/156 SAtk
Quiet nature (+SAtk, -Spd)
- Trick Room
- Recover
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Porygon2 is a devastating sweeper under Trick Room, especially once it has achieved a Special Attack Download boost. It can really dent a ton of Pokemon trying to switch in on it. It is a reliable Trick Room supporter, and can Recover off any damage taken. Porygon2 is a great answer to Gyarados as it can survive a +1 Waterfall and can set up Trick Room and OHKO it since it will move first. It's also a good answer to all of the Dragons, Salamence in particular. I really enjoy this set, kudos to the person who came up with it.
Slowbro (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Own Tempo
EVs: 252 HP/252 Def/6 SDef
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Calm Mind
- Trick Room
- Slack Off
- Surf
The most under-looked sweeper in my opinion. This is a set I've designed to really surprise players. Not only does it become a tough cookie to take down, but it also becomes a deadly sweeper. This set functions almost like CroCune does, as it only has one attack, which is Surf. I switch it into things like Infernape and start to set up Calm Mind and Trick Room so I always set up first, heal first, and hit first. Slowbro is probably my MVP on this team since it can sweep entire teams that don't expect it.
Trick Room Abusers
Nidoking (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Poison Point
EVs: 120 HP/252 Atk/136 SAtk
Brave nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
- Megahorn
- Ice Beam
Nidoking is by far my most favourite Pokemon to use, and I'm happy it does really well on Trick Room teams. The worst thing that can happen to Trick Room teams is to lose Trick Room time from switching in and out of things. This is where Nidoking doesn't necessarily have to do that. Nidoking is an amazing wall-breaker and can hurt every single wall out there. Blissey gets 2HKOed by Earthquake, Tentacruel and Jirachi are OHKOed by Earthquake, Skarmory and Forretress are OHKOed by Fire Blast, Celebi is OHKOed by Megahorn, and Zapdos has a hard time surviving Ice Beam. As you can see, it can knock out a ton of walls that try to stall out my Trick Room time. The EVs are desinged to always OHKO Skarmory with Stealth Rock in play, and that's all I really need. The rest is dumped into Attack and HP. I originally had Ice Punch instead of Ice Beam, but all I was using it against was on Salamence and Zapdos. Instead of getting Attack drops from Intimidate and being stalled out from Zapdos, I ran Ice Beam to KO both of them so I don't have to worry about losing Attack power. Not only does Nidoking hurt, it also absorbs Toxic Spikes which my team suffers from.
Snorlax (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 156 HP/252 Atk/100 Def
Brave nature (+Atk, -Spd)
- Pursuit
- Earthquake
- Return
- Fire Punch
Snorlax is beastly. Being the slowest thing out there, Snorlax can destroy teams with ease. It has many, many chances to switch in on things and can then proceed to dent the opposing Pokemon or switch-in. Pursuit takes care of things trying to escape from Snorlax, like Starmie, Latias, and the Rotom formes. Earthquake eats up Heatran and friends, Return serves as a extremely powerful STAB attack, and Fire Punch eliminates things like Bronzong and Scizor.
Conclusion
Well, that's the team. If you haven't noticed already, I don't carry anything "fast". No Starmie, no Azelf, nothing. I feel that having a "fast" Pokemon is a complete waste and a bit... stupid. In order for this type of team to be successful, you need Pokemon that can work together to always set up Trick Room on the field. This is the reason why I have 4 Trick Roomers, you need to have a decent amount of Pokemon that can set it up so once Trick Room ends, you can set it up again fast.
Trick Room teams are really fun to use and there are endless possibilities to it. Even though it's relatively hard to build one, the end product is sure to surprise you.
