Greetings fellow Smogonites! It’s been a little while since gen 9’s release, and I’ve been hard at work in the builder ever since. None of the teams I built struck me as particularly RMT worthy… until I tried my hand at Magic Room, leading me to reach my peak elo for the gen! Without much else to say, let’s jump right in! Special thanks to my friends in OU chat for helping me theorycraft this team before I went into the builder, and special special thanks to LT83AQ Lou (aka zReptar) for helping me lab and refine the team throughout the building process.
LINK TO POKEPASTE
Gatekeep (Klefki) (F) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 SpD / 2 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magic Room
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Spikes
First things first: the Magic Room setter. In gen 9, the only fully-evolved Pokemon to learn Magic Room are
and 
. I used along with originally, but was really bad at it’s job, so I ended up with just going mono . It should be able to get the job done with Prankster Magic Room and Revival Blessing support just in case. Dual screens are used in order to facilitate the setup-sweeping Magic Room abusers and to ease switching out so isn’t a total momentum sink. Spikes is preferred over Thunder Wave or an attack like Steel Beam thanks to Magic Room’s ability to turn off the opponent’s Heavy Duty Boots, a particularly useful trait versus fatter teams. Tera ghost is used in case it is absolutely necessary to keep up Spikes and for one reason or another going 
isn’t an option, but realistically you’re not going to be tera-ing . Tera ghost can also be used to break free from 
’s Whirlpool if need be. 24 EVs in SpD is for tanking Choice Specs 
Flamethrower from full.
Strawman (Gholdengo) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 112 HP / 184 SpA / 2 SpD / 212 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Make It Rain
- Recover
- Nasty Plot
Next is. This Pokemon is wildly useful on dual screens due to its ability to block Defog, and it’s a fine Magic Room abuser to boot. You can Nasty Plot in Magic Room, stall as many turns as needed with Recover, and have a strong, spammable Shadow Ball with a Choice Scarf once Magic Room is over. Tera ghost is used to further bolster Shadow Ball’s spammability, as well as improve ’s matchup versus tera water 
, 
, and 
. 112 HP is to live a Shadow Ball from opposing max SpA guarenteed, 212 is to outspeed +speed , and the rest is invested into SpA.
Slippery Slope (Dragonite) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 144 HP / 252 Atk / 2 SpD / 112 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
is probably this team’s most potent Magic Room abuser. With tera normal and Choice Band, Extreme Speed is already a killer. Factor in one or two Dragon Dance boosts and it kills everything that isn’t a ghost. Thunder Punch and Earthquake are the coverage moves of choice on this set, Earthquake to hit steels, and Thunder Punch to hit 
. Thunder Punch is used over Fire Punch on this set because Thunder Punch is generally more spammable than Fire Punch in my experience, and it can catch switching in with a quick 50% depending on the EV spread with Choice Band intact. 112 Spe is just the calc set for bulky , I’m not exactly sure what it does but it’s not too far off from the speed needed to creep max speed 
, and I figured that whoever made the calc set had some idea of what they were doing so I just went with it.
Gaslight (Pawmot) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Natural Cure
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 2 HP / 192 Atk / 64 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Close Combat
- Double Shock
- Grass Knot
- Revival Blessing
I added
to the team after I removed , knowing that since I only have one Magic Room setter, Revival Blessing support would be greatly appreciated, especially since doesn’t need to be healthy to set up Magic Room thanks to Prankster, so being revived to 50% HP will do. Grass Knot is used over Ice Punch in order to 2HKO defensive 
, which can be annoying for your own . It also allows for the ability to run Natural Cur instead of Iron Fist, which comes in handy for Will-o-Wisps from 
and 
, and Spores from 
and occasionally 
. Double Shock in tangent with Tera Electric is very potent in some matchups, as you can Double Shock over and over again without ever burning your electric typing. Close Combat rounds out the set because fighting stab is practically mandatory. 64 SpA is to always 2HKO defensive after Leftovers recovery.
Girlboss (Quaquaval) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Moxie
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 2 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Step
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Ice Spinner
is the team’s secondary dedicated Magic Room abuser. With a Choice Band, tera water, and a few attack boosts, everything dies to Aqua Step. Under Magic Room, Swords Dance into Ice Spinner takes out many key threats, such as chipped , , and . Once these threats are out of the picture, everything is perfect for an Aqua Step sweep once Magic Room is up. also helps with the 
matchup, as it resists both of its stabs and can force it to tera, leaving it open to ’s Extreme Speed.
Ad Hominem (Great Tusk) @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Atk / 2 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Headlong Rush
- Ice Spinner
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
Finally, the team is rounded out with speed boosting. ’s Rapid Spin is already hard to block as is, but with a speed boost it becomes borderline impossible. A reliable Rapid Spin is greatly appreciated on this team, preserving both ’s Focus Sash and ’s Multiscale/HP. also functions as the team’s Stealth Rock setter, and often finds itself in the lead slot in a lot of matchups. Ice Spinner is used instead of the traditional Knock Off due to this team’s weakness to lead , as well as hitting other key targets such as and (without lowering defenses, which can be harmful in the 1v1). Tera ground is used in order to boost Headlong Rush in the few situations where it matters, such as killing after Stealth Rocks/Spikes chip. 4 Atk is invested to hit 299 attack, one point lower than ’s speed stat in order to be as strong as possible while still having Protosynthesis boost speed.
And that’s the team! I must say it’s been a little hard to build some high-functioning heat in gen 9, but building this squad was a blast. Thoughts? Feedback? Let me know in the replies! See you guys next time!
PROOF OF PEAK:
REPLAYS:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1838908709 vs
HO
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1838894917 vs HO
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1837501964 vs
Offense
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1837422769 vs Sun (forgot about sleep clause lmao)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1838816134-hwfw91w1wmtihu7ffqkouw7mh4ohtxhpw vs
BO
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1837436150-91kq88qilhrprkf63s2w0gh8zxgt5brpw vs Will-o-Wisp
BO
LINK TO POKEPASTE
Gatekeep (Klefki) (F) @ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 248 HP / 236 Def / 24 SpD / 2 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Magic Room
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Spikes
First things first: the Magic Room setter. In gen 9, the only fully-evolved Pokemon to learn Magic Room are
and . I used along with originally, but was really bad at it’s job, so I ended up with just going mono . It should be able to get the job done with Prankster Magic Room and Revival Blessing support just in case. Dual screens are used in order to facilitate the setup-sweeping Magic Room abusers and to ease switching out so isn’t a total momentum sink. Spikes is preferred over Thunder Wave or an attack like Steel Beam thanks to Magic Room’s ability to turn off the opponent’s Heavy Duty Boots, a particularly useful trait versus fatter teams. Tera ghost is used in case it is absolutely necessary to keep up Spikes and for one reason or another going isn’t an option, but realistically you’re not going to be tera-ing . Tera ghost can also be used to break free from ’s Whirlpool if need be. 24 EVs in SpD is for tanking Choice Specs Flamethrower from full.Strawman (Gholdengo) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Ghost
EVs: 112 HP / 184 SpA / 2 SpD / 212 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Shadow Ball
- Make It Rain
- Recover
- Nasty Plot
Next is
. This Pokemon is wildly useful on dual screens due to its ability to block Defog, and it’s a fine Magic Room abuser to boot. You can Nasty Plot in Magic Room, stall as many turns as needed with Recover, and have a strong, spammable Shadow Ball with a Choice Scarf once Magic Room is over. Tera ghost is used to further bolster Shadow Ball’s spammability, as well as improve ’s matchup versus tera water , , and . 112 HP is to live a Shadow Ball from opposing max SpA guarenteed, 212 is to outspeed +speed , and the rest is invested into SpA.Slippery Slope (Dragonite) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Multiscale
Tera Type: Normal
EVs: 144 HP / 252 Atk / 2 SpD / 112 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Extreme Speed
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
is probably this team’s most potent Magic Room abuser. With tera normal and Choice Band, Extreme Speed is already a killer. Factor in one or two Dragon Dance boosts and it kills everything that isn’t a ghost. Thunder Punch and Earthquake are the coverage moves of choice on this set, Earthquake to hit steels, and Thunder Punch to hit . Thunder Punch is used over Fire Punch on this set because Thunder Punch is generally more spammable than Fire Punch in my experience, and it can catch switching in with a quick 50% depending on the EV spread with Choice Band intact. 112 Spe is just the calc set for bulky , I’m not exactly sure what it does but it’s not too far off from the speed needed to creep max speed , and I figured that whoever made the calc set had some idea of what they were doing so I just went with it.Gaslight (Pawmot) (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Natural Cure
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 2 HP / 192 Atk / 64 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Close Combat
- Double Shock
- Grass Knot
- Revival Blessing
I added
to the team after I removed , knowing that since I only have one Magic Room setter, Revival Blessing support would be greatly appreciated, especially since doesn’t need to be healthy to set up Magic Room thanks to Prankster, so being revived to 50% HP will do. Grass Knot is used over Ice Punch in order to 2HKO defensive , which can be annoying for your own . It also allows for the ability to run Natural Cur instead of Iron Fist, which comes in handy for Will-o-Wisps from and , and Spores from and occasionally . Double Shock in tangent with Tera Electric is very potent in some matchups, as you can Double Shock over and over again without ever burning your electric typing. Close Combat rounds out the set because fighting stab is practically mandatory. 64 SpA is to always 2HKO defensive after Leftovers recovery.Girlboss (Quaquaval) (F) @ Choice Band
Ability: Moxie
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 2 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Aqua Step
- Close Combat
- Swords Dance
- Ice Spinner
is the team’s secondary dedicated Magic Room abuser. With a Choice Band, tera water, and a few attack boosts, everything dies to Aqua Step. Under Magic Room, Swords Dance into Ice Spinner takes out many key threats, such as chipped , , and . Once these threats are out of the picture, everything is perfect for an Aqua Step sweep once Magic Room is up. also helps with the matchup, as it resists both of its stabs and can force it to tera, leaving it open to ’s Extreme Speed.Ad Hominem (Great Tusk) @ Booster Energy
Ability: Protosynthesis
Tera Type: Ground
EVs: 248 HP / 4 Atk / 2 Def / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Headlong Rush
- Ice Spinner
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
Finally, the team is rounded out with speed boosting
. ’s Rapid Spin is already hard to block as is, but with a speed boost it becomes borderline impossible. A reliable Rapid Spin is greatly appreciated on this team, preserving both ’s Focus Sash and ’s Multiscale/HP. also functions as the team’s Stealth Rock setter, and often finds itself in the lead slot in a lot of matchups. Ice Spinner is used instead of the traditional Knock Off due to this team’s weakness to lead , as well as hitting other key targets such as and (without lowering defenses, which can be harmful in the 1v1). Tera ground is used in order to boost Headlong Rush in the few situations where it matters, such as killing after Stealth Rocks/Spikes chip. 4 Atk is invested to hit 299 attack, one point lower than ’s speed stat in order to be as strong as possible while still having Protosynthesis boost speed.And that’s the team! I must say it’s been a little hard to build some high-functioning heat in gen 9, but building this squad was a blast. Thoughts? Feedback? Let me know in the replies! See you guys next time!
PROOF OF PEAK:
REPLAYS:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1838908709 vs
HOhttps://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1838894917 vs
HOhttps://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1837501964 vs
Offensehttps://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1837422769 vs Sun (forgot about sleep clause lmao)
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1838816134-hwfw91w1wmtihu7ffqkouw7mh4ohtxhpw vs
BOhttps://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen9ou-1837436150-91kq88qilhrprkf63s2w0gh8zxgt5brpw vs Will-o-Wisp
BO
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