I was looking at new Pokémon and found one of particular interest, Shubarugo. It has huge base attack, but only 20 base speed. I was thinking of ways to incorporate that kind of Pokémon, and Trick Room came to mind. I decided to make a Trick Room team for DP to try and get a handle on the ins and outs of Trick Room now, so I’d have an advantage later. I've never run a team in the Trick Room environment before, so I looked over a lot of different teams past and tried to create a working strategy here.
Somehow, despite this being my first Trick Room team, it seems that I've become enamored with the environment and now find myself attempting to perfect this risky and underrated strategy.
The concept of this team is that there are three Trick Room users and three sweepers. They would typically alternate in battle in order to keep Trick Room running and get maximum attack effectiveness. That said, I also tried to get each member to do some sort of double-duty.
Of course, as with most Trick Room teams, the major issues are:
- Making sure Trick Room gets used consistently.
- Covering enough types with a more limited team.
I hope to have fostered this synergy and covered the two issues I mentioned above. Additionally, I hope to have gotten enough type coverage in my team--no easy feat with a Trick Room team, as you essentially have to cover all the types twice (once defensively amongst your Trick Room users and once offensively among your sweepers). If there's any way you think I could have done any of this better, let me know. I'm taking all advice. After all, I'm trying to perfect the Trick Room strategy.
This team definitely has struggled covering all types, but effective usage has helped overcome that.
The Team
Needless to say, every member of this team has 0 Spe IVs / EVs.
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Bronzong @ Lum Berry
Heatproof / Relaxed
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
- Trick Room
- Stealth Rock
- Gyro Ball
- Explosion
Bronzong is an excellent choice as a lead for this team because it offers up not only much-needed resistances against 8 types, but the ability to choose an additional immunity or resistance and the reliability to get down Trick Room when it's most necessary. While Bronzong can serve as a suicide lead, I often find myself switching it out instead of simply exploding, and letting it come back to set up Trick Room again and then explode later in the game. Bronzong's a good lead in any battle due not to its speed but its reliability, but once Trick Room gets down it becomes not only one of the most reliable leads, but one of the fastest Pokémon in the game.
Move Analysis:
Trick Room on my lead is self-explanatory; that's it's number one purpose. If all else fails, Bronzong has to get down Trick Room or it's wasted space.
Stealth Rocks is accessory; icing on the cake. If possible, Stealth Rocks goes down, but only after Trick Room.
Gyro Ball is absolutely massive offensively, getting STAB bonus and typically full 150 base power. Gyro Ball gets used if my opponent uses a Taunt lead, or before Explosion if I know my opponent has Protect.
Explosion is a great move for this particular Bronzong, letting it take out one of my opponent's Pokémon and give me a free switch-in to a sweeper (usually Marowak) with lower defenses.
Stealth Rocks is accessory; icing on the cake. If possible, Stealth Rocks goes down, but only after Trick Room.
Gyro Ball is absolutely massive offensively, getting STAB bonus and typically full 150 base power. Gyro Ball gets used if my opponent uses a Taunt lead, or before Explosion if I know my opponent has Protect.
Explosion is a great move for this particular Bronzong, letting it take out one of my opponent's Pokémon and give me a free switch-in to a sweeper (usually Marowak) with lower defenses.
VS. Other Leads (no calcs):
Aerodactyl: Gyro Ball on the taunt; OHKO or THKO at worse. Set up from there.
Azelf: Similar to Aerodactyl. Usually a THKO, though.
Bronzong: Awkward. Usually set up Stealth Rocks and then Trick Room the next turn, so if they do Trick Room for me on the first turn I can toss out Marowak and Fire Punch.
Gengar: Much rarer now than it once was. Try Trick Room first, hoping Hypnosis misses. From there, Gyro Ball if it doesn’t switch out.
Heatran: Very troublesome. STAB Fire Blast can hurt, but thanks to Heatproof should be survivable. It’s most important, in this instance, to get out Trick Room and explode if possible.
Infernape: Heatproof comes in handy once again, which is why I prefer it on a lead than Levitate. Methods are similar from there. Trick Room is the most important at that point.
Jirachi: Trick Room, Stealth Rocks, switch or explode.
Mamoswine: A Gyro Ball can OHKO it (bar Focus Sash), then set up as usual: Trick Room, Stealth Rocks, etc. If it has Focus Sash, Stealth Rocks handles it later on.
Metagross: Metagross aims to Explode, so let it. Just get Trick Room down first, then Stealth Rocks if possible. Bronzong will get taken out, but it would have to Explode on Metagross anyways.
Swampert: Bronzong loses out every time. Luckily, most Swampert leads wouldn’t try and waste an Earthquake on Bronzong, so there may be time to get out Trick Room and then explode.
Tyranitar: Now unpopular. Trick Room, Stealth Rocks, switch to something faster than it. Explode if necessary.
Azelf: Similar to Aerodactyl. Usually a THKO, though.
Bronzong: Awkward. Usually set up Stealth Rocks and then Trick Room the next turn, so if they do Trick Room for me on the first turn I can toss out Marowak and Fire Punch.
Gengar: Much rarer now than it once was. Try Trick Room first, hoping Hypnosis misses. From there, Gyro Ball if it doesn’t switch out.
Heatran: Very troublesome. STAB Fire Blast can hurt, but thanks to Heatproof should be survivable. It’s most important, in this instance, to get out Trick Room and explode if possible.
Infernape: Heatproof comes in handy once again, which is why I prefer it on a lead than Levitate. Methods are similar from there. Trick Room is the most important at that point.
Jirachi: Trick Room, Stealth Rocks, switch or explode.
Mamoswine: A Gyro Ball can OHKO it (bar Focus Sash), then set up as usual: Trick Room, Stealth Rocks, etc. If it has Focus Sash, Stealth Rocks handles it later on.
Metagross: Metagross aims to Explode, so let it. Just get Trick Room down first, then Stealth Rocks if possible. Bronzong will get taken out, but it would have to Explode on Metagross anyways.
Swampert: Bronzong loses out every time. Luckily, most Swampert leads wouldn’t try and waste an Earthquake on Bronzong, so there may be time to get out Trick Room and then explode.
Tyranitar: Now unpopular. Trick Room, Stealth Rocks, switch to something faster than it. Explode if necessary.
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[box]
Octillery @ Wave Incense
Sniper / Quiet
252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
- Water Spout
- Surf
- Energy Ball
- Ice Beam
Octillery is usually my first sweeper on the field, mostly because it's reliable to switch in. Octillery makes short work of opposing Swampert, who outlast Bronzong every time, and can handle the likes of Tyranitar, Flygon, and Dragonite with ease. Opponents rarely estimate Octillery's wide breadth of attack coverage, and hardly ever switch out, giving me the ability to exploit Octillery's Expert Belt fully.
Move Analysis:
Water Spout is the first attack Octillery should ever get off, resisting Pokémon notwithstanding. At full health, it has 150 Base Power, making it analogous to a Gyro Ball from Bronzong--but from an offensively-oriented Pokémon. Add in 3x super effectiveness on good predictions, and it's a guaranteed OHKO.
Surf is mostly for cleanup after Water Spout becomes useless, which can happen quickly if entry hazards get involved.
Energy Ball is my first check for those pesky Water-types that plague this team. It usually handles all with 1-2 hits, bar particularly bulky varieties of Vaporeon and Gyarados.
Ice Beam is to handle Dragon-types, none of which are particularly problematic to this team, but who can get annoying with their abundance of resistances.
Surf is mostly for cleanup after Water Spout becomes useless, which can happen quickly if entry hazards get involved.
Energy Ball is my first check for those pesky Water-types that plague this team. It usually handles all with 1-2 hits, bar particularly bulky varieties of Vaporeon and Gyarados.
Ice Beam is to handle Dragon-types, none of which are particularly problematic to this team, but who can get annoying with their abundance of resistances.
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Claydol @ Leftovers
Levitate / Brave
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
- Trick Room
- Rapid Spin
- Earthquake
- Explosion
Claydol is the second Trick Roomer, chosen for its ability to reliably switch in and lay down Trick Room more than once in a battle. Claydol is bulky defensively, and therefore can usually clear the field of entry hazards as well. Claydol finds its niche in being able to both set up Trick Room, Rapid Spin, and act as a viable attacker if need be.
Move Analysis:
Trick Room is self-explanatory, and Claydol can typically get it off reliably. It's not the end of the world if Claydol doesn't, but it's very rare that is the case; only on a bad prediction does it happen.
Rapid Spin comes into play here, getting rid of entry hazards that can really limit Marowak's longevity or the strength of Octillery's Water Spout, athough Octillery generally makes it out before Claydol.
Earthquake rears its head here, because what team doesn't have Earthquake? STAB Earthquake from Claydol has OHKO'd Magnezone and Scizor with ease, and is its standby move.
Explosion here does exactly what it does for Bronzong; it gets the Trick Room user out of the way while taking an opponent with it. This allows Octillery or Marowak, to switch in for free and start tearing apart my opponents.
Rapid Spin comes into play here, getting rid of entry hazards that can really limit Marowak's longevity or the strength of Octillery's Water Spout, athough Octillery generally makes it out before Claydol.
Earthquake rears its head here, because what team doesn't have Earthquake? STAB Earthquake from Claydol has OHKO'd Magnezone and Scizor with ease, and is its standby move.
Explosion here does exactly what it does for Bronzong; it gets the Trick Room user out of the way while taking an opponent with it. This allows Octillery or Marowak, to switch in for free and start tearing apart my opponents.
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Marowak @ Thick Club
Rock Head / Brave
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
- ThunderPunch
- Earthquake
- Double-Edge
- Fire Punch
Marowak is without a doubt the most powerful dedicated sweeper of this team, able to almost reliably OHKO every turn Trick Room is set up, even against Blissey. This makes it a favorite to work with conjunction to Bronzong or Claydol: set up Trick Room, get out of the way, let Marowak run through 3-4 of my opponent's Pokémon. Marowak is extremely rare in OU, so its varied moveset is generally underestimated by my opponents, which lets Marowak shrugs off Water- and Grass-type counters. Moreover, Marowak's 568 Attack stat means it can rip apart basically any of my opponent's Pokémon in the Trick Room environment.
Move Analysis:
Thunderpunch allows Marowak to reliably shrug off offensively-oriented Water counters, and do ~50-75% of damage to bulky Water-types.
Earthquake with STAB returns here, but through Marowak's attack stat it's almost incomparable with Claydol's. Earthquake rips through Scizor and Heatran with impunity.
Double-Edge with STAB and no recoil can OHKO pretty much any Pokémon that doesn't resist, and make short work of Blissey, especially if Stealth Rocks are still in place.
Fire Punch lets Marowak handle Grass-type counters and Special Defense oriented Skarmory that might cause it trouble otherwise.
Earthquake with STAB returns here, but through Marowak's attack stat it's almost incomparable with Claydol's. Earthquake rips through Scizor and Heatran with impunity.
Double-Edge with STAB and no recoil can OHKO pretty much any Pokémon that doesn't resist, and make short work of Blissey, especially if Stealth Rocks are still in place.
Fire Punch lets Marowak handle Grass-type counters and Special Defense oriented Skarmory that might cause it trouble otherwise.
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Porygon2 @ Leftovers
Trace / Quiet
252 HP / 120 Def / 136 SpA
- Trick Room
- Recover
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Beam
Porygon2 finds its niche as both a Trick Room user and an attacker, moreso than the other two Trick Roomers. Porygon's wide variety of moves and ability to instantly heal itself make it a viable and self-sufficient option for sweeping if need be, not needing to rely on other team members to set up Trick Room for it. BoltBeam coverage has almost no counters, and Porygon2's ability to trace an opponent's ability comes in especially handy against Intimidate users like Gyarados or Water Absorbers like Vaporeon.
Move Analysis:
Trick Room is, once again, self-explanatory.
Recover helps extend Porygon2's usefulness as a Trick Room user, letting it set up Trick Room and then self-heal as a counter switches in. Porygon2 is extremely hard to OHKO, so it is usually able to get a Recover off while it's out.
Thunderbolt gives more much-needed coverage against bulky Water-types, especially Gyarados, and in combination with Recover helps slowly-but-surely take out bulkier, defensively-oriented Vaporeon as Porygon2 out-bulks and out-attacks them.
Ice Beam rounds out Porygon2's moveset with some useful coverage against Dragon-types. Alongside Thunderbolt, only a small handful of Pokémon resist Porygon2's attacks.
Recover helps extend Porygon2's usefulness as a Trick Room user, letting it set up Trick Room and then self-heal as a counter switches in. Porygon2 is extremely hard to OHKO, so it is usually able to get a Recover off while it's out.
Thunderbolt gives more much-needed coverage against bulky Water-types, especially Gyarados, and in combination with Recover helps slowly-but-surely take out bulkier, defensively-oriented Vaporeon as Porygon2 out-bulks and out-attacks them.
Ice Beam rounds out Porygon2's moveset with some useful coverage against Dragon-types. Alongside Thunderbolt, only a small handful of Pokémon resist Porygon2's attacks.
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Dragonite @ Life Orb
Inner Focus / Quiet
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpA
- Superpower
- Draco Meteor
- Flamethrower
- ExtremeSpeed
Dragonite is arguably my most varied sweeper, with its ability to attack in or out of the Trick Room environment and still give my opponents trouble. The good thing about Dragonite is not only its varied moveset, but also that any counters to it essentially get the finger inside of Trick Room. Dragon-type counters rely on their speed to KO Dragonite, and counters harboring Ice-type become obvious as they switch in and can be well-handled by one of Dragonite's moves. Dragonite's many resistances also help it switch in with relative ease outside of Trick Room, take out a threat to one of the Trick Room users, and let them switch in and set up the environment.
Move Analysis:
Superpower is one of my least favorite moves in the entire metagame, because I hate how it basically requires you to switch out after one usage. However, it brings some much-appreciated coverage to this team, and it has come in handy to OHKO a few opponents, namely Tyranitar, and can make short work of Blissey.
Draco Meteor gets STAB bonus and is super-effective against Dragon-types, and is still devastating against any opponent that might give me trouble elsewhere on the team.
Flamethrower handles Grass-type threats like Shaymin with ease, and also OHKOs Scizor, Forretress, and opposing Bronzongs who might otherwise stall out my Trick Room.
ExtremeSpeed is useful late- and mid-game, when it is no longer easy or viable to set up Trick Room. This is what makes Dragonite so essential to this team; it can attack in or out of the Trick Room environment and still be devastating to the opponent. Priority helps it pull through when Dragonite might elsewhere fail.
Draco Meteor gets STAB bonus and is super-effective against Dragon-types, and is still devastating against any opponent that might give me trouble elsewhere on the team.
Flamethrower handles Grass-type threats like Shaymin with ease, and also OHKOs Scizor, Forretress, and opposing Bronzongs who might otherwise stall out my Trick Room.
ExtremeSpeed is useful late- and mid-game, when it is no longer easy or viable to set up Trick Room. This is what makes Dragonite so essential to this team; it can attack in or out of the Trick Room environment and still be devastating to the opponent. Priority helps it pull through when Dragonite might elsewhere fail.
Threat Checklists
I dissected both of the lists conveniently arranged and stuck to the RMT forum. Names in red are major threats; leave a reply if you have a way to deal with them.
[box]- Offensive Threats
Azelf: Not a big problem for this team as a whole. U-Turn gets annoying. No OHKO way to handle this, but it can be done in 2-3.
Breloom: Easily taken care of by Dragonite or Marowak. SubPunching gets annoying, but can be dealt with.
Celebi: Similar to Breloom; Dragonite or Marowak can OHKO it.
Dugtrio: Octillery can OHKO. If Arena Trapped, any team member can handle it one way or another.
Electivire: Claydol is immune to Electric attacks and Earthquake, can in return use Earthquake to KO it. Watch out for Cross Chop.
Empoleon: Pretty uncommon, but a definite threat. Superpower, Earthquake, and Thunderpunch are viable attacks.
Flygon: Not difficult to handle. Octillery, Dragonite, and Porygon have all OHKO’d one at some point.
Gengar: Ghost-types are some trouble. Nothing super-effective here, but a well-predicted Marowak (read: anything but Double-Edge) can hit it hard.
Glisgor: Some attacks are annoying. Octillery handles this pretty well.
Gyarados: Annoying, but doable. Depends on the team member out at the time; enough Electric-type attacks on my team can handle this.
Heatran: Easily beaten by an Earthquake or by Octillery. Not much of a threat here.
Heracross: Doable. Flamethrower from Dragonite or Fire Punch from Marowak can usually OHKO.
Infernape: Taken care of by Octillery or Earthquake from Marowak or Claydol.
Jirachi: Tough to handle, but Marowak or Dragonite can sometimes OHKO.
Kingdra: Needs Draco Meteor to defeat. If Dragonite isn’t out, under Trick Room, and ready, can be a huge problem.
Lucario: Earthquaked into oblivion. If not, Dragonite can Flamethrower.
Machamp: Usually seen as a lead. Bronzong can OHKO with Earthquake or at least hurt with Gyro Ball.
Magnezone: Very easily handled with Earthquake.
Mamoswine: Explodes on Gyro Ball contact. Pretty much any team member can handle it.
Metagross: Earthquake or Fire Punch is my best bet here. Not terribly problematic.
Ninjask: Taken care of pretty easily by Fire Punch, Flamethrower, Thunderpunch, or Thunderbolt. Substitutes get really annoying, but it’s decimated in Trick Room.
Porygon-Z: Superpower from Dragonite does well.
Rhyperior: Cries when Octillery shows up to the party. Cries more when Porygon2 gangs up on it as well.
Roserade: Handled by any variety of Ice- and Fire-type moves on my team.
Rotom-A: Tough one. Typically a THKO, but with nothing super effective and no OHKO’s to be had.
Scizor: Typically beaten by any variety of moves on my team.
Snorlax: Tough but not impossible. Best bet is Superpower or letting Marowak have its way with it.
Starmie: Tough again, but THKO’d by Porygon’s Thunderbolt, perhaps better with Marowak’s Thunder Punch.
Suicune: Very bulky and hard to deal with. Thunderpunch is the best bet, as my strongest Electric-type attack, but it has to be done in the Trick Room environment or Suicune will make short work of my team.
Togekiss: OHKO’d by Thunderpunch.
Tyranitar: OHKO’d by Water Spout.
Weavile: Rare but difficult. Fire Punch or Superpower are best bets. More easy if Trick Room is up.
Yanmega: Speed Boost ability shoots Yanmega in the foor with Trick Room up. Any variety of moves can take it out.
Zapdos: Once again, Trick Room solves most of this problem. Nothing super-effective, but can be Earthquaked on Roost or taken out easily after Stealth Rock damage.
Breloom: Easily taken care of by Dragonite or Marowak. SubPunching gets annoying, but can be dealt with.
Celebi: Similar to Breloom; Dragonite or Marowak can OHKO it.
Dugtrio: Octillery can OHKO. If Arena Trapped, any team member can handle it one way or another.
Electivire: Claydol is immune to Electric attacks and Earthquake, can in return use Earthquake to KO it. Watch out for Cross Chop.
Empoleon: Pretty uncommon, but a definite threat. Superpower, Earthquake, and Thunderpunch are viable attacks.
Flygon: Not difficult to handle. Octillery, Dragonite, and Porygon have all OHKO’d one at some point.
Gengar: Ghost-types are some trouble. Nothing super-effective here, but a well-predicted Marowak (read: anything but Double-Edge) can hit it hard.
Glisgor: Some attacks are annoying. Octillery handles this pretty well.
Gyarados: Annoying, but doable. Depends on the team member out at the time; enough Electric-type attacks on my team can handle this.
Heatran: Easily beaten by an Earthquake or by Octillery. Not much of a threat here.
Heracross: Doable. Flamethrower from Dragonite or Fire Punch from Marowak can usually OHKO.
Infernape: Taken care of by Octillery or Earthquake from Marowak or Claydol.
Jirachi: Tough to handle, but Marowak or Dragonite can sometimes OHKO.
Kingdra: Needs Draco Meteor to defeat. If Dragonite isn’t out, under Trick Room, and ready, can be a huge problem.
Lucario: Earthquaked into oblivion. If not, Dragonite can Flamethrower.
Machamp: Usually seen as a lead. Bronzong can OHKO with Earthquake or at least hurt with Gyro Ball.
Magnezone: Very easily handled with Earthquake.
Mamoswine: Explodes on Gyro Ball contact. Pretty much any team member can handle it.
Metagross: Earthquake or Fire Punch is my best bet here. Not terribly problematic.
Ninjask: Taken care of pretty easily by Fire Punch, Flamethrower, Thunderpunch, or Thunderbolt. Substitutes get really annoying, but it’s decimated in Trick Room.
Porygon-Z: Superpower from Dragonite does well.
Rhyperior: Cries when Octillery shows up to the party. Cries more when Porygon2 gangs up on it as well.
Roserade: Handled by any variety of Ice- and Fire-type moves on my team.
Rotom-A: Tough one. Typically a THKO, but with nothing super effective and no OHKO’s to be had.
Scizor: Typically beaten by any variety of moves on my team.
Snorlax: Tough but not impossible. Best bet is Superpower or letting Marowak have its way with it.
Starmie: Tough again, but THKO’d by Porygon’s Thunderbolt, perhaps better with Marowak’s Thunder Punch.
Suicune: Very bulky and hard to deal with. Thunderpunch is the best bet, as my strongest Electric-type attack, but it has to be done in the Trick Room environment or Suicune will make short work of my team.
Togekiss: OHKO’d by Thunderpunch.
Tyranitar: OHKO’d by Water Spout.
Weavile: Rare but difficult. Fire Punch or Superpower are best bets. More easy if Trick Room is up.
Yanmega: Speed Boost ability shoots Yanmega in the foor with Trick Room up. Any variety of moves can take it out.
Zapdos: Once again, Trick Room solves most of this problem. Nothing super-effective, but can be Earthquaked on Roost or taken out easily after Stealth Rock damage.
Defensive Threats:
Blissey: Taken care of by a Superpower from Dragonite or, well, anything from Marowak.
Bronzong: Definitely a threat, even though I have one; best bet is Fire Punch, Heatproof notwithstanding, or full-power Water Spout.
Celebi: Taken care of easily with Flamethrower or Fire Punch.
Cradily: Rare, handled by Ice Beam, Gyro Ball, or Superpower.
Cresselia: No real counter. That said, not much of a threat. Taken care of with relative ease...after about 7-8 turns.
Crobat: Ruined by Trick Room, then Fire Punch or Flamethrower do the rest.
Donphan: Octillery makes it shake with fear. Bronzong can explode if necessary.
Drapion: Earthquake handles this pretty well.
Dusknoir: Tough to deal with. Best choice is a good strong 1x-effectiveness attack from Marowak or Octillery during Trick Room.
Empoleon: Discussed in offensive threats as well. Earthquake is the best option.
Forretress: Dealth with swiftly by Flamethrower or Fire Punch.
Gliscor: Ice Beam does the job relatively well. Anything by Octillery can handle it.
Hariyama: No real counter, and Hariyama laughs at the Trick Room environment. Best bet is full-power Water Spout or Earthquake from Marowak.
Heatran: Discussed in offensive threats. Earthquake or Octillery can do the job.
Hippowdon: Octillery, once again.
Jirachi: Discussed in offensive threats. Flamethrower or Fire Punch do okay, and have OHKO’d it before.
Latias: Draco Meteor or Ice Beam are the best bets; fortunately, Trick Room is quite unkind to Latias.
Ludicolo: Faints of its own awkwardness. Who the hell designed Ludicolo in the first place?
Machamp: Discussed in offensive threats. Can be exploded upon or hit with a full-power Water Spout.
Magnezone: Discussed in offensive threats. Earthquake OHKOs.
Mesprit: No real counter. Full-power Water Spout or Double-Edge do the job.
Metagross: Discussed in offensive threats. Earthquake, Flamethrower, and Fire Punch are all viable options.
Milotic: Octillery’s Energy Ball or a good Thunderpunch do the trick. Still tough to deal with.
Miltank: Very rare. Superpower should do the job pretty well.
Porygon2: Superpower does the job. If two Porygon2s battle, is it like when you look in a mirror facing another mirror and see into infinity? Do they keep Trace going forever?
Regirock: Water Spout Murder Party.
Registeel: STAB Earthquake from Marowak should do it.
Rhyperior: Discussed in offensive threats. Octillery has no problem with this.
Rotom-A: Discussed in offensive threats. Takes a few hits. Still beatable.
Salamence: Now banned. Outclassed entirely by Dragonite if Trick Room is up.
Scizor: Discussed in offensive threats. Any variety of ways to handle Scizor are on my team.
Shaymin: From experience, Flamethrower or Fire Punch can OHKO.
Shuckle: Does anyone actually use Shuckle? Any of my Rock-, Steel-, and Water-type attacks should suffice after a few turns.
Skarmory: Discussed in offensive threats. Flamethrower does the trick.
Slaking: Nobody uses Slaking. It’s broken in the bad way. Superpower might be able to handle it.
Slowbro: Definite threat. Thunderpunch or Thunerbolt are good options. Trick Room actually helps Slowbro out, unfortunately.
Snorlax: Discussed in offensive threats. Superpower, full-power Gyro Ball, Water Spout, and STAB Earthquake are the hardest hitting.
Spiritomb: No weaknesses. Once again, the hard-hitting attacks do well: Gyro Ball, Water Spout, Earthquake.
Starmie: Discussed in offensive threats. A threat, but not a big one. THKO’d by Thunderbolt.
Suicune: Discussed in offensive threats. Best bets are Energy Ball, Thunderbolt, and ThunderPunch; Trick Room is a big help here.
Swampert: Almost impossible. If Octillery can’t get off an Energy Ball, the whole team is doomed here.
Tentacruel: Thunderbolt and ThunderPunch here.
Togekiss: Discussed in offensive threats. Thunderbolt and ThunderPunch again.
Tyranitar: Discussed in offensive threats. Any variety of moves can take it out: Water Spout, Surf, Energy Ball, Ice Beam, etc.
Umbreon: Frightening but not impossible. Superpower is a good bet.
Vaporeon: Needs to go extinct. Someone help me out here. (Can I like make this red and bold it and underline it and italicize it all at once, or is that too much?)
Walrein: Rare. Pops like a balloon if Gyro Ball gets used.
Weezing: Not impossible. Marowak is a good bet here, especially in Trick Room. They still have a secret grudge left from RBY, like in Kill Bill or something.
Zapdos: No real counter, but with Stealth Rocks out and Trick Room up, it’s not a threat.
Bronzong: Definitely a threat, even though I have one; best bet is Fire Punch, Heatproof notwithstanding, or full-power Water Spout.
Celebi: Taken care of easily with Flamethrower or Fire Punch.
Cradily: Rare, handled by Ice Beam, Gyro Ball, or Superpower.
Cresselia: No real counter. That said, not much of a threat. Taken care of with relative ease...after about 7-8 turns.
Crobat: Ruined by Trick Room, then Fire Punch or Flamethrower do the rest.
Donphan: Octillery makes it shake with fear. Bronzong can explode if necessary.
Drapion: Earthquake handles this pretty well.
Dusknoir: Tough to deal with. Best choice is a good strong 1x-effectiveness attack from Marowak or Octillery during Trick Room.
Empoleon: Discussed in offensive threats as well. Earthquake is the best option.
Forretress: Dealth with swiftly by Flamethrower or Fire Punch.
Gliscor: Ice Beam does the job relatively well. Anything by Octillery can handle it.
Hariyama: No real counter, and Hariyama laughs at the Trick Room environment. Best bet is full-power Water Spout or Earthquake from Marowak.
Heatran: Discussed in offensive threats. Earthquake or Octillery can do the job.
Hippowdon: Octillery, once again.
Jirachi: Discussed in offensive threats. Flamethrower or Fire Punch do okay, and have OHKO’d it before.
Latias: Draco Meteor or Ice Beam are the best bets; fortunately, Trick Room is quite unkind to Latias.
Ludicolo: Faints of its own awkwardness. Who the hell designed Ludicolo in the first place?
Machamp: Discussed in offensive threats. Can be exploded upon or hit with a full-power Water Spout.
Magnezone: Discussed in offensive threats. Earthquake OHKOs.
Mesprit: No real counter. Full-power Water Spout or Double-Edge do the job.
Metagross: Discussed in offensive threats. Earthquake, Flamethrower, and Fire Punch are all viable options.
Milotic: Octillery’s Energy Ball or a good Thunderpunch do the trick. Still tough to deal with.
Miltank: Very rare. Superpower should do the job pretty well.
Porygon2: Superpower does the job. If two Porygon2s battle, is it like when you look in a mirror facing another mirror and see into infinity? Do they keep Trace going forever?
Regirock: Water Spout Murder Party.
Registeel: STAB Earthquake from Marowak should do it.
Rhyperior: Discussed in offensive threats. Octillery has no problem with this.
Rotom-A: Discussed in offensive threats. Takes a few hits. Still beatable.
Salamence: Now banned. Outclassed entirely by Dragonite if Trick Room is up.
Scizor: Discussed in offensive threats. Any variety of ways to handle Scizor are on my team.
Shaymin: From experience, Flamethrower or Fire Punch can OHKO.
Shuckle: Does anyone actually use Shuckle? Any of my Rock-, Steel-, and Water-type attacks should suffice after a few turns.
Skarmory: Discussed in offensive threats. Flamethrower does the trick.
Slaking: Nobody uses Slaking. It’s broken in the bad way. Superpower might be able to handle it.
Slowbro: Definite threat. Thunderpunch or Thunerbolt are good options. Trick Room actually helps Slowbro out, unfortunately.
Snorlax: Discussed in offensive threats. Superpower, full-power Gyro Ball, Water Spout, and STAB Earthquake are the hardest hitting.
Spiritomb: No weaknesses. Once again, the hard-hitting attacks do well: Gyro Ball, Water Spout, Earthquake.
Starmie: Discussed in offensive threats. A threat, but not a big one. THKO’d by Thunderbolt.
Suicune: Discussed in offensive threats. Best bets are Energy Ball, Thunderbolt, and ThunderPunch; Trick Room is a big help here.
Swampert: Almost impossible. If Octillery can’t get off an Energy Ball, the whole team is doomed here.
Tentacruel: Thunderbolt and ThunderPunch here.
Togekiss: Discussed in offensive threats. Thunderbolt and ThunderPunch again.
Tyranitar: Discussed in offensive threats. Any variety of moves can take it out: Water Spout, Surf, Energy Ball, Ice Beam, etc.
Umbreon: Frightening but not impossible. Superpower is a good bet.
Vaporeon: Needs to go extinct. Someone help me out here. (Can I like make this red and bold it and underline it and italicize it all at once, or is that too much?)
Walrein: Rare. Pops like a balloon if Gyro Ball gets used.
Weezing: Not impossible. Marowak is a good bet here, especially in Trick Room. They still have a secret grudge left from RBY, like in Kill Bill or something.
Zapdos: No real counter, but with Stealth Rocks out and Trick Room up, it’s not a threat.
Team Options / Alternates
I've included this team as a link for download below, and anyone who wants to use it is welcome to. That said, there are a few different versions of this team you can use, but you'll have to prepare them yourself. These options come without a move analysis.
[box]- First Option: Exeggutor
Exeggutor @ Leftovers
Chlorophyll / Quiet
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Sp.A
-Trick Room
-Leaf Storm
-Sleep powder
-Explosion
This Exeggutor, as proposed by Thunda-Moo, takes the place of Claydol above and cures this team's issues with bulky Water-type Pokémon like Vaporeon. Like Claydol and Bronzong, it can reliably set up Trick Room and then get out of the way, or it can stay in and handle a few threats if need be. That said, Exeggutor's typing is pretty terrible, Sleep Powder is unreliable, and you lose a Rapid Spinner when putting this in the team. Plus, a lot of Water-types are packing Ice-type moves. It's a bit of a lose-lose situation; have a trouble with Water-types or lose a Rapid Spinner.
- Second Option: Magnezone
Magnezone @ Leftovers
Magnet Pull / Quiet
120 HP / 252 SpA / 136 Atk
- Thunderbolt
- Flash Cannon
- Hidden Power Ice (64)
- Explosion
This Magnezone replaces Dragonite on the team as a late- to mid-game sweeper to function when Trick Room is on or off. Magnezone seems like a good alternative to handle bulky Water-types, with STAB Thunderbolt and Flash Cannon. However, most Water-types flee Magnezone, who can easily be OHKO'd by an Earthquake. The only way Magnezone can really function on this team effectively is as a last ditch effort to clear the field of Water-types, as it's forced to rely on sweeping them when they're the only thing left. Magnezone's type coverage is pretty horrible, and three exploders on one team is a bit drastic; unless they're Trick Room users, there is no point in sacrificing half your team. You could try and fit Magnezone in elsewhere, but you either lose a Trick Room user or have only one really slow Trick Room sweeper, at which point you might as well put together an entirely different, non-Trick Room team.
- Third Option: Breloom
Breloom @ Toxic Orb
Poison Heal / Brave
252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
- Substitute
- Focus Punch
- Spore
- Seed Bomb
Like Magnezone, Breloom would take the place of Dragonite. Breloom does a relatively good job taking care of bulky Water-types, but can be somewhat of a tough fit here. Too fast for really good Trick Room effectiveness, but too slow to work outside the environment, it has to rely on Spore and Substitute here more than ever; Dragonite, in a similar speed position, has higher defenses and access to a good-fitting priority move. It does an adequate job with STAB Seed Bomb and STAB Focus Punch, but can be a bit inferior to Dragonite, especially in type coverage. All-in-all, Breloom is definitely your best option here, and if you're planning on building a new Trick Room team based on this model, that's where I'd start.
Team Development
I started out by looking at members of my general OU team, and I picked Bronzong and Scizor as potential Trick Room teammates, knowing they work pretty well together. I converted Bronzong to a lead position by adding Trick Room and Stealth Rocks and simply moved around the EVs on Scizor to remove Speed.
I added in Claydol and Porygon2 next, after looking at a lot of different Trick Room users. I chose them mostly for type coverage, with Bronzong primarily offering Steel, Claydol Ground, and Porygon2 a variety of attacks.
Next, I added in Tyranitar and Marowak as sweepers, having used Tyranitar before with Ninjask and being a huge fan of a speedier Tyranitar.
Something didn’t really sit well here with type coverage--there was too much Rock/Ground, and any alternative types like Scizor weren't working as I wanted. I replaced Marowak with Octillery and Scizor with Dragonite, as Octillery had a good variety of moves and Dragonite could function elegantly in and out of Trick Room better than a forced-slow Scizor.
For added punch I added Rhyperior in place of Tyranitar, although they offered similar type coverage. Rhyperior was slower and stronger than Tyranitar, and seemed like a better option.
Finally, I replaced Rhyperior with Marowak for much the same reason I replaced Tyranitar with Rhyperior. More Attack power and more type coverage came with Marowak, even if I risked Defenses.
*
*I mixed up the order to put Dragonite towards the end as it functions primarily late-game. This is purely aesthetic for this post.
I added in Claydol and Porygon2 next, after looking at a lot of different Trick Room users. I chose them mostly for type coverage, with Bronzong primarily offering Steel, Claydol Ground, and Porygon2 a variety of attacks.
Next, I added in Tyranitar and Marowak as sweepers, having used Tyranitar before with Ninjask and being a huge fan of a speedier Tyranitar.
Something didn’t really sit well here with type coverage--there was too much Rock/Ground, and any alternative types like Scizor weren't working as I wanted. I replaced Marowak with Octillery and Scizor with Dragonite, as Octillery had a good variety of moves and Dragonite could function elegantly in and out of Trick Room better than a forced-slow Scizor.
For added punch I added Rhyperior in place of Tyranitar, although they offered similar type coverage. Rhyperior was slower and stronger than Tyranitar, and seemed like a better option.
Finally, I replaced Rhyperior with Marowak for much the same reason I replaced Tyranitar with Rhyperior. More Attack power and more type coverage came with Marowak, even if I risked Defenses.
*I mixed up the order to put Dragonite towards the end as it functions primarily late-game. This is purely aesthetic for this post.
Team Edits
Any changes I make due to your suggestions will be labeled in blue above. (Red reminds me of being graded on tests. Ick.) Additionally, I'll acknowledge any contributions that I use here.
[box]Switched Leftovers for Lum Berry on Bronzong, as per Thunda-Moo's suggestion.
Switched Rhyperior back to Marowak, also on Thunda-Moo's suggestion.
Swapped out Dragonite's Roost for ExtremeSpeed, also because of Thunda-Moo.
Switched Psychic for Explosion, because Thunda-Moo keeps helping.
Special thanks go out to Wynought as well, for fostering discussion and getting me to try new things (even if I didn't use any of them, it's very much appreciated).
Wynought also suggested Magnezone and Breloom, both under the Team Options heading.
Traded out Expert Belt for Wave Incense on Thunda-Moo's suggestion.[/box]
Conclusion
Thanks in advance for reading about and rating my team! Once again, I welcome any advice or criticism.
Download
Download this team as a Team Builder file for Shoddy Battle / Pokélab here. Test it out, have fun with it, make changes, whatever. You're welcome to it. I keep this link current with this thread; if a suggestion hasn't been updated above, it won't be in the file and vice versa.
