Trick Room - An Underestimated Archetype in OU
Part 1: The Setters / Intro
Part 1: The Setters / Intro
So in the wake of everyone clamoring about the woes of hyper-offense, the death of balance, and so many other things in this unsteady metagame, I figured I would shine a spotlight on something that I've been trying on a number of different Pokemon teams lately, Trick Room. It allows a whole host of Pokemon normally unviable to be used and allows for some specific teams to handle otherwise nasty threats. So today we're going to focus on a variety of Trick Room setters, some standard, some more unconventional to showcase the variety brought forward by this playstyle. Three setters to be specific, and I will list other Pokemon that can learn Trick Room below as well.
Stakataka
Stats: 61 / 131 / 211 / 53 / 101 / 13
(Sample Set)
Stakataka @ Leftovers
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room
- Gyro Ball
- Rock Slide
Stakataka is one of the few Pokemon without a Psychic typing to gain access to Trick Room and can be an absolute menace if you play to its strengths. The abundance of Fighting-type spam almost necessitates partnering Stakataka with a Ghost, but in this current meta, that's not an issue. Compressing Rocks and Trick Room onto one set is an absolute blessing and one of the main reasons to use Stakataka as a sweeper. Gyro Ball and Rock Slide coming off of 131 attack, monstrously slow speed, and Brave with 252 investment will dent just about anything and also places some much needed offensive pressure on key threats.
Audino
Stats: 103 / 60 / 83 / 60 / 83 / 50
(Sample Set)
Audino @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Sassy Nature
- Trick Room
- Knock Off
- Encore
- Wish / Toxic
Now you're probably thinking "Audino, really?" The answer is yes for one main reason. It is the only Pokemon in the entire game with the following combination (Regenerator, Ghost Immunity, Trick Room). It also has access to unique moves like Knock Off, Encore, Wish, etc, it's an incredibly flexible Pokemon. Other Trick Room setters with a Ghost immunity like Porygon2 may look appealing in comparison, but they're prone to being worn down and have to dedicate a moveslot to Recover, if they even have Recover at all.
Slowking-Galar
Stats: 95 / 65 / 80 / 110 / 110 / 30
(Sample Set)
Slowking-Galar @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Eerie Spell
- Fire Blast
- Ice Beam
- Trick Room
Slowking-Galar is a great offensively inclined Trick Room setter and attacker for multiple reasons. Having Regenerator promotes additional longetivity alongside Eerie Spell wearing down opponent's PP slowly. In addition to having a nice defensive typing that quad-resists Fighting and also resists key types such as Fairy and Grass, it also gets a wide array of coverage moves. When Trick Room is up, pokemon such as Lando-I and Lando-T cannot switch in without the threat of being OHKO'd by Ice Beam, Ferrothorn has to be wary of Fire Blast at all times, etc. Slowking's movepool is unpredictable and the extra Special stat points make all the difference.
Other Pokemon that can learn Trick Room (along with specific advantages they might have):
Porygon 2 (Trick Room, Eviolite Bulk, Ghost Immunity, Access to Recover)
Articuno-Galar (Access to Recover, Strong Special Attack)
Hatterene (Access to Magic Bounce, Strong Special Attack)
Necrozma (Prism Armor helps Longevity, Varied Movepool, Solid Stats)
Magearna (Fantastic Typing and Movepool, Strong Offensive and Defensive Stats, Soul Heart Ability)
Calyrex (Resists Earthquake, Access to Encore and Leech Seed) [Super Niche]
Cresselia (Immunity to Ground via Levitate, Access to Screens, Massive Bulk)
Slowbro-Galar (Access to Shell-Side Arm to punish dedicated Special Walls, Regenerator)
Mew, Jirachi, Celebi, Victini: (100 Base Speed makes them hard to work, but each have unique advantages) [Niche]
Additional Setters that I haven't tested:
Alakazam, Azelf, Carbink, Diancie, Mesprit, Uxie, Chandelure, Mimikyu, Porygon-Z, Starmie, Reuniclus, Indeedee, Sigilyph, a lot of RU - below PU Pokemon
If you have finished reading Part One, please move ahead to Part Two - https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...cussion-thread-v7.3672210/page-9#post-8640853
Porygon 2 (Trick Room, Eviolite Bulk, Ghost Immunity, Access to Recover)
Articuno-Galar (Access to Recover, Strong Special Attack)
Hatterene (Access to Magic Bounce, Strong Special Attack)
Necrozma (Prism Armor helps Longevity, Varied Movepool, Solid Stats)
Magearna (Fantastic Typing and Movepool, Strong Offensive and Defensive Stats, Soul Heart Ability)
Calyrex (Resists Earthquake, Access to Encore and Leech Seed) [Super Niche]
Cresselia (Immunity to Ground via Levitate, Access to Screens, Massive Bulk)
Slowbro-Galar (Access to Shell-Side Arm to punish dedicated Special Walls, Regenerator)
Mew, Jirachi, Celebi, Victini: (100 Base Speed makes them hard to work, but each have unique advantages) [Niche]
Additional Setters that I haven't tested:
Alakazam, Azelf, Carbink, Diancie, Mesprit, Uxie, Chandelure, Mimikyu, Porygon-Z, Starmie, Reuniclus, Indeedee, Sigilyph, a lot of RU - below PU Pokemon
If you have finished reading Part One, please move ahead to Part Two - https://www.smogon.com/forums/threa...cussion-thread-v7.3672210/page-9#post-8640853
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