XY Doubles The Trickiest Room - A Doubles Experiment

[Hailshine]

As I really hope you've gathered, this team is a
TRICK ROOM DOUBLES TEAM

Through playing Doubles a bunch, I found that the only strategy I've been able to succeed with is Trick Room, but there are many flaws to my team. I'm looking mostly for some help with those flaws which I will bring up after the other stuff!

The boxes go in the following way: I will explain the team and the team-building process, I'll list and describe the sets, and then I'll go over all the threats I've come up with and the help that I'm looking for. There will also be an importable team set at the end! Without further ado:

The Trickiest Room

Team and Team-Building

Well, who the frick-frack did you think was first? Cresselia is obviously the best support-mon for Trick Room (or so I thought, more on that later) and as such was naturally picked first. However, you can't win without offensive presence (at least, not in Trick Room) so the Moon Goddess needed some help.

The TR core of Cresselia/Scrafty really is a major threat. Scrafty provides the super-necessary Fake Out support so that Cress can get the Room going, but sometimes he isn't enough. I knew I'd need an alternate starting point if I saw something like a Kangaskhan or (on the low ladder) an Ambipom, so we needed a quick Fighting-Type.

Enter the majesty that is Keldeo-R (I just think Resolute looks cooler.) He's here for one thing and one thing only: to kill.
"Oh no, I'm out of Trick Room Turns and Mega-Kanga is gonna ruin me!"
"Oh, shoot, is that a (insert Fake Out that is faster than Scrafty)?!"
Have no fear, citizens, for the mighty warrior Keldeo is here!
Keldeo is my only real offensive presence outside of TR, and is one of really only two safety nets (we'll get to the other one later.)

Every Trick Room team needs an overpowered hunk of destruction, right? If a slow, unpredictable monster with spread moves is what you need, Mega-Abomasnow is definitely your guy. Under Trick Room, Mega-Snow ties Ferrothorn for the position of Fastest viable Pokemon, as both sit comfortably at 20 Base Speed. That means that (due to TR and Snow Warning) you now have the fastest Pokemon in the game with a 100% accurate 120 BP spread move with good priority and the capability to go Mixed, so you never really know what's gonna happen (except that you're gonna die.) However, take away the Trick Room, and he's useless, right? WRONG.

"Oh no, Trick Room just went down but Mega-Snow is still out there! He's gonna get ripped apart! If only I had a bulky Fairy/Flying with Follow Me support!"
Did somebody say bulky support? Here enters Togekiss, the premier bulky Fairy/Flying with Follow Me support! What? You mean it's the only bulky Fairy/Flying with Follow Me support? Well, I'll be darned. Anyway, though, Togekiss is my second safety net due to the Follow Me support it provides for the slowies that make up the rest of my team! I could've chosen Amoonguss, sure, but then all I've got is another slowie and no Helping Hand!
That pretty much takes care of my team oH WAIT HAHA NOPE

...

But wait, who's this?

That's right biatch, it's mothafudgin Diancie!

Every good team needs at least two TR setters, and from what I've found, this little lady right here might even be better than Cresselia! What, you may ask, makes some new-fangled legendary better than Old Tried-and-True? I'll tell ya now. Diancie possesses two things that Cresselia only wishes for: a good Defensive typing (actually, it's freaking fantastic) and a powerful spread move coming off of decent Attack. Also, Diancie is slower, which helps in TR. Really the only things that make Cress better are Helping Hand support and no 4x weakness. Otherwise, they function basically the same, though I usually lead with it and Scrafty now as opposed to with Cress.

Sets and Set-Building

Abomasnow (M) @ Abomasite
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Blizzard
- Wood Hammer
- Protect
- Ice Shard
Mega-Snow is set up to do as much damage as possible with his Blizzards, and only relies on Wood Hammer when, say, a Rotom-W shows up. I'd love some suggestions to make his EVs more effective at stopping certain things that threaten him, but for now he sits at a standard 252/252.

Togekiss (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Air Slash
- Helping Hand
- Follow Me
Togekiss is designed to support with Follow Me and Helping Hand so that Mega-Snow (and, to a lesser extent, Scrafty) can kill as much stuff as possible. The Air Slash is there for when I need a flinch, as many things are "slower" than an uninvested Togekiss in TR. Roost is, of course, there to promote longevity. Once again, as with all of my EV spreads, I'm not 100% sure and need some help. What this spread does is completely even out Togekiss' defenses with a max HP investment. Also, even with full Defense investment, there will always be at least a 33.8% chance for Mega Scizor to 2HKO with Bullet Punch, unless, of course, one of my setters has acquired his ability, which brings me to:

Cresselia (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Helping Hand
- Psychic
- Skill Swap
Ah, Skill Swap, how I love thee so! There is nothing more fun than Trick Rooming and then swapping a Mega-Khan's Parental Bond for my cruddy Levitate! (Strangely enough though, it never actually allows Cress to hit twice, which may be a bug.) There are endless possibilities for this move, whether it be Skill Swapping my Scrafty to further Intimidate, taking away a Gliscor's Poison Heal and watching it slowly kill itself, or making Mega-Medicham useless by SSing its Pure Power! The fun never ends!
Psychic is there to stop Cress from being complete and utter Taunt bait, and Helping Hand is there for whenever somebody else needs a little bit more power to net a crucial KO. However, I feel my EV spread may not be on point. Once again, I have evened out Cresselia's bulk on either side and maximized HP. The 0 Speed IV is obvious (or at least it should be.)

Keldeo-Resolute @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Protect
- Quick Guard
Whenever I see an Ambipom, I know it's gonna lead, so out comes Keldeo-R with his fabulous Quick Guard so that the other guy can do whatever the other guy needs to do! Hydro Pump and Secret Sword are the mandatory STABs, and Focus Blast is not there for the plain and simple reason that 70% accuracy is not worth an extra 35 BP. Keldeo-R here is designed to outspeed and destroy as many things as possible.

Scrafty (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fake Out
- Crunch
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch
This guy and Diancie are my usual leads. He provides the Fake Out support while she provides the Trick Room, and then they work together to pick apart the enemy team. Scrafty is set up to cover as many types as possible, only lacking Neutral coverage on Marill and Azumarill. He's not complicated, nor is he difficult to use. All he's meant to do is attack, attack, attack!

Diancie @ Light Clay
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 56 Def / 196 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Diamond Storm
- Skill Swap
- Reflect
Diancie is basically just a better typed, stronger version of Cresselia, and they do roughly the same thing. What I really don't get is why Diamond Storm isn't listed under Usable Moves. Even though they go by usable Singles moves, it'd be a more accurate version of Stone Edge with a 50% chance to boost Defence! Tell me, what isn't usable about that?
Once again, I've slapped Skill Swap on, because it really is so much freaking fun! Reflect is there because most of my team defends Special attacks better than Physical ones, and with the Light Clay, it'll basically be up the whole match once I get it up.
At first glance, the EV spread may appear quite random, and guess what? It mostly is. :D

Threats (and Threat-Building :D)

There are two glaring weaknesses I've experienced while using this team (currently sitting at about 1300 using only this team) and they both have to do with my defensive capabilities:

• Steel Types
• Fairy Types

As you have no doubt noticed, these two types of attacks punch enormous holes in my team. My only Steel resist is Keldeo, but what happens when Trick Room is up and out comes Mega-Mawile or Mega-Scizor? The answer: get absolutely screwed over, that's what. My team experiences an overall 8x weakness to Steel, factoring Mega-Snow's 2x weakness, Togekiss' 2x weakness, Keldeo's 1/2x resist, and Diancie's 4x weakness.

Also, I have absolutely no Fairy resist. My team experiences an overall 8x weakness to Fairy, factoring Keldeo-R's 2x weakness and Scrafty's motherfudging 4x weakness.

Another absolutely destructive threat to my team is Mega-Venusaur. The one time I've encountered it so far, it took out Diancie and Scrafty single-handedly before I was finally able to get Togekiss in to stop it. Sleep Powder is a bitch, I tell you.

SPOILER ALERT: Some key points I need help with:

• Maximizing potential of EV spreads
• Replacing either Togekiss or Keldeo-R if a replacement would better defend weaknesses or cover additional threats
• Stopping Mega-Venusaur

Thank you for the rates!

Importable

Abomasnow (M) @ Abomasite
Ability: Snow Warning
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Blizzard
- Wood Hammer
- Protect
- Ice Shard

Togekiss (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 156 Def / 100 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Roost
- Air Slash
- Helping Hand
- Follow Me

Cresselia (F) @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Helping Hand
- Psychic
- Skill Swap

Keldeo-Resolute @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Hydro Pump
- Secret Sword
- Protect
- Quick Guard

Scrafty (M) @ Assault Vest
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fake Out
- Crunch
- Drain Punch
- Ice Punch

Diancie @ Light Clay
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 56 Def / 196 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Diamond Storm
- Skill Swap
- Reflect

EDITS SO FAR:

• Togekiss is now a Heatran
• Cresselia's EV spread has been optimized to minimize hail damage and to ensure only a 3HKO from Tyranitar's Crunch and now has a Mental Herb
• Scrafty now has Knock Off over Crunch

 

[Hailshine]

Uh oh, looks like a bump.

 

[Fangame10]

Hey, pretty decent Semi-Trick room team you got here. I've noticed some flaws with it though
You have 4 pokemon that are weak to steel, and the 2 most common threats to Trick room, Heatran and Bisharp.
Diancie has a bad overall typing and will not output much damage, it usually will get 2hko'd due to it's typing as a result.
Replace Diancie with a strong sweeper setter like Reuniclus, or Chandilure, also give them a focus sash. Starting off with a pokemon like Diancie without a focus sash will make you a ohko target for Bisharp and any pokemon paired with mega kangaskhan. Leading to an ultimate loss.
Keldo is a good choice, resisting both Bisharp and Heatran's STAB. But since you made it you're speed sweeper pokemon, You'll have to ko them outside of Trick room.
If you use your Cressilia first to survive a bisharp's knock off however it may die quickly in that scenario if it's double targeted, using scrafty's intimidate will make it even more unlikely to survive a bisharp's knock off due to defiant. losing cressilia, the bulkiest TR pokemon, means you're other more frail setter, Diancie, will not likely survive.
Your Team is open to spore attacks by Amoongus, the only pokemon that can stop it is abomasnow, who is weak to it's sludge bomb attack as well as being weak to common steel, poison, fire, bug, rock, flying and fighting types moves, all which are present on teams attempting to counter Trick room.
put more and sleep measure on the team, like cressilia with safety goggles or safe-guard.
As a whole. Abomasnow is your only major sweeper, all other pokemon are support or in the case of keldo, out of Trick room sweepers.
Abomsnow is strong, but Commonly walled and ohko'd by a lot of steel, fire, bug, rock, flying, poison and fighting types types types like: Bisharp, Heatran, Genesect, Scizor, Tyranitar(changes weather), Hitmontop(can use wide guard and ohko), Conkledurr, other scrafty, other keldo, Charizard Y, Chandelure, Talonfalme(WILL ALWAYS KILL YOU) Mega-Gengar(Poison type can kill outside of TR). all which are common in this meta so you need another Trick room sweeper to help out Abomasnow.
Togekiss while bulky is basically dead weight, all it's there for is to flintch with serene grace and use follow me, It will easily be walled by heatran if paired with abomsnow and bisharp and other steel types
Replace Togekiss since it's basically dead weight with a pokemon that provides coverage for Abomasnow like: Rhyperior(kills steel, rock, flying and other poison types) Chandelure(kills: Steel, bug, grass, psychic and ghost types) Heatran(kills: steel, bugs, rock, fairies, ice and grass types) Conkledurr(kills rock, steel, dark, and ice types [Guts makes it immune to Amoongus if you give it a fire/toxic orb]) and Azumarill(kills Dark, fighting, Dragon, Fire, ground, and rock types).
So that's my opinion on your team. It's okay, but it needs work. Replace Diancie, possibly keldo unless you want to keep Semi-TR, and Togekiss.
hopefully this will help you :]

 

[Hailshine]

My whole thing with Diancie is that nobody expects it to be a Trick Room setter, and with proper Fake Out support from Scrafty, she will never be double targeted, and is much more of an offensive presence than you'd think!

Generally, if Talonflame comes out as a lead (for Quick Guard or an early sweep) it will not win. Scrafty will Fake it Out, then Diancie sets up TR. I can then either Diamond Storm it to death or Skill Swap away the Gale Wings (usually the first one.) I often have ample time to set up a Reflect, at which point Diancie's

I think that replacing Togekiss with Heatran would be a great idea for my team, though. He would provide a solid switch-in for both Steel and Fairy type attacks while also being slower than most of the metagame. Do you have a set you'd recommend?

EDIT: I'm also considering replacing Ice Shard on Mega-Snow because I literally never use it. Should I replace it with Rock Slide or Earthquake? both can hit the Fire-Types, but other than that I'd prefer not to hit my teammates. Thoughts?

 

[Arcticblast]

My whole thing with Diancie is that nobody expects it to be a Trick Room setter, and with proper Fake Out support from Scrafty, she will never be double targeted, and is much more of an offensive presence than you'd think!

I don't understand this. Your team is clearly TR from team preview and Trick Room setting is literally the only thing Diancie does (apart from shitty CM sets).

Also, backing up fangame in that you have a problem with bulky Steels - Mega Scizor and Aegislash pretty much walk all over this team (Cress and Diancie can't Skill Swap if they're dead) and both only really have one check on your team. Replacing Togekiss with Heatran is definitely a solid idea since it not only gives you an answer to these Pokemon (watch out for Wide Guard Aegislash) and Amoonguss but also gives you another bruiser under Trick Room.

 

[KyleCole]

Doubles RMT: The Trickiest Room video rate
Importable in the video description

 

[Hailshine]

Doubles RMT: The Trickiest Room video rate
Importable in the video description

I've been trying to play with your suggestions, but I've yet to win once after 5 battles. It may be because I'm bad, but I think it's because the team just sorta doesn't function the same way. By adding Heatran, I'm rectifying both of my team's 8x weaknesses and adding "another bruiser under Trick Room"

 

[Arcticblast]

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogondoubles-147904090
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogondoubles-147904876
game 3 - opponent left in team preview
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/smogondoubles-147905984

First 4 battles I played, try to play like this

Don't just say "play like this." Everyone has different styles that they feel comfortable with. A team you make top 10 with could just not feel right to somebody else.