Over the course of talking about the DPP metagame with people, I have brought up on several occasions the fact that Diamond / Pearl is all about gimmicks. In general, the player who can best execute their gimmicks will usually be the winner. But doing this well requires a fair deal of skill, and hence I have made this thread to discuss the best ways to get people to fall for your tricks.
Now when I say "gimmicks", I am not referring to random stupid sets like SD Roserade or Magnet Rise Lucario or any kind of Shedinja. By "gimmicks" I mean little tricks you can throw into your team to help deal with a certain threat(s). These can come in the form of non-standard movesets, abilities, items, or EV Spreads.
So, for the porpoises of this thread, "gimmick" is defined as: "A non-standard moveset, ability, item, or EV spread which is designed to deal with a specific threat or set of threats". Please do not argue semantics in this thread; your opinion on the definition of gimmick is wholly irrelevant.
Why Use a Gimmick?
In general, the only reason to use a gimmick is to help your team deal with a certain threat. Breaking this description down into offensive and defensive components can be done, but that ignores the fact that your offensive and defensive goals are generally the same thing. Consider this set:
Metagross @ Expert Belt
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 204 Atk/252 Spd/52 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
This set may seem odd, but with proper play it can easily eliminate the opponent's Scizor, Forretress, Swampert, and other bulky Waters and Grounds, and still be a useful check against Latias and Salamence and a number of other things. And the beauty of it is that none of those Pokemon ever switch out of Metagross on a regular basis, which is, of course, why Metagross was chosen for the job. This set is useful if your team has trouble dealing with any of the above mentioned Pokemon, and is functional outside of that as well. However, note that gimmicks should be used only to deal with a specific threat or set of threats and should be custom made for your team. You must know what you need to eliminate, and how to draw it out.
Gimmicks are useful because they provide a way to "trap" Pokemon which can not be trapped by any conventional means, using Pokemon with no trapping ability or Pursuit. I would say that gimmicks are probably 90% as effect as a conventional trapper, and the freedom in Pokemon selection more than makes up for that 10%.
Selecting & Creating a Gimmick
In order to create a usable gimmick, you must have experience using your team. This may seem obvious to some people, but there is no substitute for experience gained through testing your team (still, as an RMT forum mod I am sure that people will ignore this). After testing your team out for some time, you will find that either: A.) Your team can deal with most common threats, or B.) Your team has trouble with one or more common threats. In case A, you obviously have nothing to worry about, but with case B — which accounts for the vast majority of situations — you will have some fixing to do.
The first question you must ask yourself is what Pokemon does my team have trouble with? This should be obvious after testing. Note that if too many common threats cause trouble for your team, a gimmick will not solve it; you will obviously need to completely rework your team (not post it in the RMT forum).
The next question you should ask is what Pokemon on my team will this threat never switch out of? While it is extremely helpful if the threat also switches into the member of your team, the gimmick will still be effective as long as the threat is not likely to switch out. It is very possible that there will be more than one Pokemon on your team which the threat will not switch out against; simply choose the one you feel will work out best (and you can obviously switch later).
Now that you have selected a Pokemon on your own team to be changed, you must look at what options it has to deal with the threat. Do not discount any options, no matter how odd they may seem on that particular Pokemon. Toxic, Hidden Power, Outrage, Mach Punch, Payback, even Shockwave — all these and more are your options against the target foe. If you need to EV it to survive a hit from the threat, then do so. If this is not an option, or if it has a significant negative impact on your Pokemon, then a type resisting berry may be in order. Probably the most important thing I can impart to you is that the type resisting berries are extremely powerful. This is especially the case against offensive teams, which often rely on revenge kills and fragile sweepers in order to defeat their opponents.
Finally, you must make your Pokemon useful, besides just dealing with the threat. If you need to stop Gyarados, you could probably manipulate any Pokemon on your team to stop it even after a Dragon Dance; the tricky part is creating a gimmick which has other applications as well. To take an extreme example, if your team has Breloom and Metagross as potential candidates for dealing with Gyarados, then it would be a much wiser decision to use Shuca Metagross than Yache Breloom, since the Shuca Berry will also aid Metagross against Salamence, Tyranitar, Metagross, and other high-level threats, whereas Yache Berry will only help Breloom against the Bulky Waters that it can easily switch into anyway, and it will take away the activation of Breloom’s Poison Heal.
Making your Gimmick Work
This is probably the most difficult part of using gimmicks, and it is the reason that so many people steer away from non-standard movesets and items and such altogether. In order to make your gimmicks work, you must be able to create a situation in which your opponent suspects that nothing is wrong, and you must be able to do it in a vast number of situations. If your opponent switches out of the gimmick, then he likely will see (or has already guess) whatever trick you are using. So, as a frequent user of these “trick sets”, I have some words of advice for all of you!
In addition to the previously mentioned Expert Belt Metagross, here are some of my favorite gimmick sets to get everyone on the right track:
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Once again, I ask that this not turn into a "definition of gimmick" thread. This also is not the place to simply list all your weird sets - there is already a thread for that.
Now when I say "gimmicks", I am not referring to random stupid sets like SD Roserade or Magnet Rise Lucario or any kind of Shedinja. By "gimmicks" I mean little tricks you can throw into your team to help deal with a certain threat(s). These can come in the form of non-standard movesets, abilities, items, or EV Spreads.
So, for the porpoises of this thread, "gimmick" is defined as: "A non-standard moveset, ability, item, or EV spread which is designed to deal with a specific threat or set of threats". Please do not argue semantics in this thread; your opinion on the definition of gimmick is wholly irrelevant.
Why Use a Gimmick?
In general, the only reason to use a gimmick is to help your team deal with a certain threat. Breaking this description down into offensive and defensive components can be done, but that ignores the fact that your offensive and defensive goals are generally the same thing. Consider this set:
Metagross @ Expert Belt
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 204 Atk/252 Spd/52 SAtk
Naive nature (+Spd, -SDef)
- Earthquake
- Ice Punch
- Grass Knot
- Hidden Power [Fire]
This set may seem odd, but with proper play it can easily eliminate the opponent's Scizor, Forretress, Swampert, and other bulky Waters and Grounds, and still be a useful check against Latias and Salamence and a number of other things. And the beauty of it is that none of those Pokemon ever switch out of Metagross on a regular basis, which is, of course, why Metagross was chosen for the job. This set is useful if your team has trouble dealing with any of the above mentioned Pokemon, and is functional outside of that as well. However, note that gimmicks should be used only to deal with a specific threat or set of threats and should be custom made for your team. You must know what you need to eliminate, and how to draw it out.
Gimmicks are useful because they provide a way to "trap" Pokemon which can not be trapped by any conventional means, using Pokemon with no trapping ability or Pursuit. I would say that gimmicks are probably 90% as effect as a conventional trapper, and the freedom in Pokemon selection more than makes up for that 10%.
Selecting & Creating a Gimmick
In order to create a usable gimmick, you must have experience using your team. This may seem obvious to some people, but there is no substitute for experience gained through testing your team (still, as an RMT forum mod I am sure that people will ignore this). After testing your team out for some time, you will find that either: A.) Your team can deal with most common threats, or B.) Your team has trouble with one or more common threats. In case A, you obviously have nothing to worry about, but with case B — which accounts for the vast majority of situations — you will have some fixing to do.
The first question you must ask yourself is what Pokemon does my team have trouble with? This should be obvious after testing. Note that if too many common threats cause trouble for your team, a gimmick will not solve it; you will obviously need to completely rework your team (not post it in the RMT forum).
The next question you should ask is what Pokemon on my team will this threat never switch out of? While it is extremely helpful if the threat also switches into the member of your team, the gimmick will still be effective as long as the threat is not likely to switch out. It is very possible that there will be more than one Pokemon on your team which the threat will not switch out against; simply choose the one you feel will work out best (and you can obviously switch later).
Now that you have selected a Pokemon on your own team to be changed, you must look at what options it has to deal with the threat. Do not discount any options, no matter how odd they may seem on that particular Pokemon. Toxic, Hidden Power, Outrage, Mach Punch, Payback, even Shockwave — all these and more are your options against the target foe. If you need to EV it to survive a hit from the threat, then do so. If this is not an option, or if it has a significant negative impact on your Pokemon, then a type resisting berry may be in order. Probably the most important thing I can impart to you is that the type resisting berries are extremely powerful. This is especially the case against offensive teams, which often rely on revenge kills and fragile sweepers in order to defeat their opponents.
Finally, you must make your Pokemon useful, besides just dealing with the threat. If you need to stop Gyarados, you could probably manipulate any Pokemon on your team to stop it even after a Dragon Dance; the tricky part is creating a gimmick which has other applications as well. To take an extreme example, if your team has Breloom and Metagross as potential candidates for dealing with Gyarados, then it would be a much wiser decision to use Shuca Metagross than Yache Breloom, since the Shuca Berry will also aid Metagross against Salamence, Tyranitar, Metagross, and other high-level threats, whereas Yache Berry will only help Breloom against the Bulky Waters that it can easily switch into anyway, and it will take away the activation of Breloom’s Poison Heal.
Making your Gimmick Work
This is probably the most difficult part of using gimmicks, and it is the reason that so many people steer away from non-standard movesets and items and such altogether. In order to make your gimmicks work, you must be able to create a situation in which your opponent suspects that nothing is wrong, and you must be able to do it in a vast number of situations. If your opponent switches out of the gimmick, then he likely will see (or has already guess) whatever trick you are using. So, as a frequent user of these “trick sets”, I have some words of advice for all of you!
- Scout and predict your opponent's team. U-Turn, Whirlwind, and anything that is generally threatening will cause your opponent to switch, and you can quickly learn what their likely plays will be.
- Double switches are your best friend. Once you have a decent idea of your opponent's team, try to get them to switch into the particular Pokemon which your gimmick is prepared for. For example, if my opponent is using Scizor, I will send out Latias to lure it out, and then double switch to the Metagross I mentioned earlier.
- Only let your opponent know what you want them to know. If your Pokemon is using Expert Belt, spam the same move over and over to bluff choice scarf. Even if your Latias runs surf, spam only Dragon Pulse to make the opponent think that Steels are a safe switch-in (obviously if you have an opportunity to take something out then do it; but if there isn't a lot to be gained from using Surf there is no point in revealing it). This will help you predict your opponent's switches.
- Try to make yourself appear desperate. This is mainly for if you are using a Resist Berry gimmick, but it has other applications as well. If it appears that you are grasping for straws, your opponent will likely play recklessly - so far not a single person has switched their +1 DD Gyarados or their Specs Lati@s out of my Passho Berry Claydol.
- Explosion is helpful. People will likely not suspect an Expert Belt Metagross or Jirachi to be sent out after a double-KO, and they will play recklessly. Use this to your advantage.
- Be patient. You absolutely cannot force your gimmicks. Switching a gimmick directly into its target is generally a bad idea (though it sometimes works), and if your opponent is playing cautiously, don't be afraid to spend several turns maneuvering them right into the place you want them.
In addition to the previously mentioned Expert Belt Metagross, here are some of my favorite gimmick sets to get everyone on the right track:
- Sub / Toxic Heatran: Used to stop Gyarados and bulky Waters, I originally paired this with Suicune. Suicune would stall out Gyarados as it took poison damage, and would then be able to set up on enemy Vaporeon.
- Expert Belt Jirachi: Most people assume scarf when they see Iron Hean, and will send out either a Water- or Steel-type Pokemon. Well, I am ready for them with an Expert Belt Grass Knot or Fire Punch! Pairs well with Tyranitar to deal with Rotom and Heatran.
- Passho Berry Lead Claydol: I use this on a team which has a heavy Gyarados weakness. Needs to be paired to Tyranitar to stop Rotom switch-ins, but it makes a fantastic OU lead.
- Babiri Berry DD Tyranitar: Protip: +1 Tyranitar OHKOes Scizor with Stone Edge. If you're uncomfortable with that, you can use Fire Punch. Also helps against Metagross.
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Once again, I ask that this not turn into a "definition of gimmick" thread. This also is not the place to simply list all your weird sets - there is already a thread for that.
