[OVERVIEW]
Cofagrigus carves itself a niche among other bulky Ghost-type Trick Room setters, valued for their immunity to Fake Out, with its access to a plethora of interesting support moves and an ability unique to it that cripples contact attackers reliant on their abilities. If considering Cofagrigus for your team, however, you should be confident that you're taking proper advantage of those niches, as there are alternatives that are bulkier, such as Dusclops, and more offensive, such as Chandelure and Jellicent.
[SET]
name: Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Shadow Ball / Night Shade
move 4: Ally Switch / Protect / Disable
item: Mental Herb / Sitrus Berry
ability: Mummy
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SpD
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Trick Room supports slow teammates by allowing them and Cofagrigus to move before faster foes. Will-O-Wisp neuters the damage output of physical attackers and inflicts residual damage. Shadow Ball is an offensive option that generally deals more damage than Night Shade; however, Night Shade's fixed damage is better against Dark-types and foes with high Special Defense. Ally Switch helps minimize the damage both Cofagrigus and its partner take by causing the foe's moves to mistarget. Protect shields Cofagrigus from a threat, allowing its partner to eliminate the threat or switch into a teammate with a more favorable matchup. Disable prevents a foe from using their most recently used move, which is especially potent against Choice-locked Pokemon.
Set Details
========
The given EV spread with a Relaxed nature allows Cofagrigus to, 93.7% of the time, survive Life Orb Bisharp's Knock Off as well as Aegislash's Shadow Ball. Mental Herb is used primarily to stop Taunt from preventing Cofagrigus from setting up Trick Room. If Taunt is unconcerning, Sitrus Berry can be used instead to improve Cofagrigus's longevity. Attack and Speed IVs of 0 are used to minimize both Foul Play and confusion damage and make Cofagrigus as fast as possible under Trick Room, respectively.
Usage Tips
========
Cofagrigus should mostly be used in the lead position alongside a Fake Out user in order to provide the greatest chance of setting up Trick Room. Will-O-Wisp is pretty spammable and should be used liberally. Shadow Ball or Night Shade should generally only be used to drop a foe into KO range for a partner or to break a Substitute. Frequent use of Ally Switch may be tempting, but it shouldn't be overly relied upon in case your opponent catches on and starts to predict its use.
Team Options
========
Hariyama and Scrafty can use Fake Out to help Cofagrigus set up Trick Room and, as Fighting-types, can handle Dark-types that threaten Cofagrigus. Fairy-types such as Sylveon, Mega Mawile, and Azumarill are also effective at dealing with Dark-types. Using a Dark-type of your own such as Scrafty, Tyranitar, or Bisharp can be worthwhile as well to help deal with opposing Ghost-types. Users of redirection moves, such as Rage Powder Amoonguss, can redirect super effective hits to help Cofagrigus set up Trick Room. Spread attackers that can take quick advantage of Trick Room's limited turns such as Mega Camerupt, Heatran, and Abomasnow also make for potent allies. Hariyama and Heatran are especially notable teammates, as their abilities, Guts and Flash Fire, respectively, are activated by Cofagrigus's Will-O-Wisp.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Safety Goggles blocks Spore, aiding Cofagrigus in setting up Trick Room and helping it check Amoonguss once the field condition is active. Fake Tears gives Cofagrigus more offensive presence and can support a specially attacking teammate. Hex is an alternative to Shadow Ball that deals more damage to targets burned by Will-O-Wisp. Pain Split provides recovery and works well with Cofagrigus due to its base low HP. Hidden Power Fighting can help check Dark-types such as Bisharp and Tyranitar, although it can't OHKO either of them without Special Attack investment, which isn't recommended because Cofagrigus needs its bulk. Imprison prevents foes from reversing Trick Room and using Shadow Ball. After You allows faster teammates to move earlier under Trick Room, allowing for more flexible semi-Trick Room teams. Safeguard protects both Cofagrigus and its teammates from status conditions. Magic Coat reflects back status moves, including Taunt, preventing it without forcing Cofagrigus to run a Mental Herb.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dark-types**: Dark-types deal super effective damage to Cofagrigus and resist Shadow Ball. Physical Dark-types such as Bisharp, Scrafty, and Tyranitar make for good checks, although they should be wary of Will-O-Wisp, which reduces their damage output. Tyranitar can also utilize a special attacking set, which will 2HKO Cofagrigus with Dark Pulse. Hydreigon can OHKO Cofagrigus with Dark Pulse when holding either Life Orb or Choice Specs.
**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types can hit Cofagrigus with their super effective STAB moves. Aegislash is particularly threatening, as two of its common item choices, Life Orb and Weakness Policy, allow it to OHKO Cofagrigus with Shadow Ball. Chandelure can activate Flash Fire by switching into Will-O-Wisp and can also OHKO Cofagrigus with Shadow Ball when holding a Life Orb. Jellicent trades positively with Cofagrigus provided that it is running minor Special Attack investment.
**Special Attackers**: Special attackers target Cofagrigus's weaker Special Defense stat and can't be neutered offensively by Will-O-Wisp. Sylveon takes little damage from Shadow Ball due to its high Special Defense and can 2HKO Cofagrigus with both Shadow Ball and Hyper Voice when holding either Life Orb or Choice Specs. Heatran can switch in on Will-O-Wisp and 2HKO Cofagrigus with its Flash Fire-boosted Heat Wave. Mega Charizard Y can OHKO Cofagrigus with Overheat.
**Spore Users**: Spore users such as Amoonguss and Breloom can completely shut down Cofagrigus not holding Safety Goggles by putting it to sleep, which prevents Trick Room from being set up.
**Taunt**: While Mental Herb is a common item choice for Cofagrigus, consecutive uses of Taunt from Pokemon such as Prankster Thundurus will still majorly shut down Cofagrigus, as it's reliant on its support moves to function.
Cofagrigus carves itself a niche among other bulky Ghost-type Trick Room setters, valued for their immunity to Fake Out, with its access to a plethora of interesting support moves and an ability unique to it that cripples contact attackers reliant on their abilities. If considering Cofagrigus for your team, however, you should be confident that you're taking proper advantage of those niches, as there are alternatives that are bulkier, such as Dusclops, and more offensive, such as Chandelure and Jellicent.
[SET]
name: Trick Room
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Will-O-Wisp
move 3: Shadow Ball / Night Shade
move 4: Ally Switch / Protect / Disable
item: Mental Herb / Sitrus Berry
ability: Mummy
nature: Relaxed
evs: 252 HP / 116 Def / 140 SpD
ivs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Trick Room supports slow teammates by allowing them and Cofagrigus to move before faster foes. Will-O-Wisp neuters the damage output of physical attackers and inflicts residual damage. Shadow Ball is an offensive option that generally deals more damage than Night Shade; however, Night Shade's fixed damage is better against Dark-types and foes with high Special Defense. Ally Switch helps minimize the damage both Cofagrigus and its partner take by causing the foe's moves to mistarget. Protect shields Cofagrigus from a threat, allowing its partner to eliminate the threat or switch into a teammate with a more favorable matchup. Disable prevents a foe from using their most recently used move, which is especially potent against Choice-locked Pokemon.
Set Details
========
The given EV spread with a Relaxed nature allows Cofagrigus to, 93.7% of the time, survive Life Orb Bisharp's Knock Off as well as Aegislash's Shadow Ball. Mental Herb is used primarily to stop Taunt from preventing Cofagrigus from setting up Trick Room. If Taunt is unconcerning, Sitrus Berry can be used instead to improve Cofagrigus's longevity. Attack and Speed IVs of 0 are used to minimize both Foul Play and confusion damage and make Cofagrigus as fast as possible under Trick Room, respectively.
Usage Tips
========
Cofagrigus should mostly be used in the lead position alongside a Fake Out user in order to provide the greatest chance of setting up Trick Room. Will-O-Wisp is pretty spammable and should be used liberally. Shadow Ball or Night Shade should generally only be used to drop a foe into KO range for a partner or to break a Substitute. Frequent use of Ally Switch may be tempting, but it shouldn't be overly relied upon in case your opponent catches on and starts to predict its use.
Team Options
========
Hariyama and Scrafty can use Fake Out to help Cofagrigus set up Trick Room and, as Fighting-types, can handle Dark-types that threaten Cofagrigus. Fairy-types such as Sylveon, Mega Mawile, and Azumarill are also effective at dealing with Dark-types. Using a Dark-type of your own such as Scrafty, Tyranitar, or Bisharp can be worthwhile as well to help deal with opposing Ghost-types. Users of redirection moves, such as Rage Powder Amoonguss, can redirect super effective hits to help Cofagrigus set up Trick Room. Spread attackers that can take quick advantage of Trick Room's limited turns such as Mega Camerupt, Heatran, and Abomasnow also make for potent allies. Hariyama and Heatran are especially notable teammates, as their abilities, Guts and Flash Fire, respectively, are activated by Cofagrigus's Will-O-Wisp.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Safety Goggles blocks Spore, aiding Cofagrigus in setting up Trick Room and helping it check Amoonguss once the field condition is active. Fake Tears gives Cofagrigus more offensive presence and can support a specially attacking teammate. Hex is an alternative to Shadow Ball that deals more damage to targets burned by Will-O-Wisp. Pain Split provides recovery and works well with Cofagrigus due to its base low HP. Hidden Power Fighting can help check Dark-types such as Bisharp and Tyranitar, although it can't OHKO either of them without Special Attack investment, which isn't recommended because Cofagrigus needs its bulk. Imprison prevents foes from reversing Trick Room and using Shadow Ball. After You allows faster teammates to move earlier under Trick Room, allowing for more flexible semi-Trick Room teams. Safeguard protects both Cofagrigus and its teammates from status conditions. Magic Coat reflects back status moves, including Taunt, preventing it without forcing Cofagrigus to run a Mental Herb.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Dark-types**: Dark-types deal super effective damage to Cofagrigus and resist Shadow Ball. Physical Dark-types such as Bisharp, Scrafty, and Tyranitar make for good checks, although they should be wary of Will-O-Wisp, which reduces their damage output. Tyranitar can also utilize a special attacking set, which will 2HKO Cofagrigus with Dark Pulse. Hydreigon can OHKO Cofagrigus with Dark Pulse when holding either Life Orb or Choice Specs.
**Ghost-types**: Ghost-types can hit Cofagrigus with their super effective STAB moves. Aegislash is particularly threatening, as two of its common item choices, Life Orb and Weakness Policy, allow it to OHKO Cofagrigus with Shadow Ball. Chandelure can activate Flash Fire by switching into Will-O-Wisp and can also OHKO Cofagrigus with Shadow Ball when holding a Life Orb. Jellicent trades positively with Cofagrigus provided that it is running minor Special Attack investment.
**Special Attackers**: Special attackers target Cofagrigus's weaker Special Defense stat and can't be neutered offensively by Will-O-Wisp. Sylveon takes little damage from Shadow Ball due to its high Special Defense and can 2HKO Cofagrigus with both Shadow Ball and Hyper Voice when holding either Life Orb or Choice Specs. Heatran can switch in on Will-O-Wisp and 2HKO Cofagrigus with its Flash Fire-boosted Heat Wave. Mega Charizard Y can OHKO Cofagrigus with Overheat.
**Spore Users**: Spore users such as Amoonguss and Breloom can completely shut down Cofagrigus not holding Safety Goggles by putting it to sleep, which prevents Trick Room from being set up.
**Taunt**: While Mental Herb is a common item choice for Cofagrigus, consecutive uses of Taunt from Pokemon such as Prankster Thundurus will still majorly shut down Cofagrigus, as it's reliant on its support moves to function.
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