Monotype Hoopa (Ghost) QC: [3/3] GP: [2/2] (Written)

[Namranan]

[OVERVIEW]

Ghost
========

Hoopa's high Special Attack, low Speed, and access to Trick Room allow it to act as a wallbreaker and dismantle opposing teams as a functional member of the niche Trick Room Ghost archetype. Hoopa's additional Psychic typing allows Ghost teams to threaten bulky Poison-types like Toxapex and Mega Venusaur. Along with its decent STAB moves in Shadow Ball and Psychic, other coverage moves like Thunderbolt and Focus Blast improve Hoopa's overall coverage, hitting Pokemon like Mandibuzz, Gyarados, and Hydreigon. While Hoopa's abysmal physical bulk leaves it susceptible to strong priority moves like Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch even inside Trick Room, its outstanding Special Defense allows it to find setup opportunities in front of common special attackers like Keldeo, Rotom-W, and Tapu Koko. However, its typing also is its greatest weakness, as Hoopa is 4x weak to Dark- and Ghost-type moves. This means that it is weak to commonly used moves like Knock Off, Shadow Ball, Shadow Sneak, and Dark Pulse, which also makes it harder for it to find opportunities to set up. This also means that Hoopa is extremely susceptible to getting Pursuit trapped by opposing Pokemon. Hoopa also does not fit onto any other archetype of Ghost, as its low Speed leaves it outclassed by faster special attackers such as Blacephalon and Gengar when not used on Trick Room.


[SET]
name: Trick Room Attacker (Ghost)
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Focus Blast / Thunderbolt
item: Life Orb
ability: Magician
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Trick Room allows Hoopa to utilize its low Speed to dismantle fast offensive teams and support its slower teammates. Psychic is Hoopa's primary STAB move, which hits Poison- and Fighting-types such as Mega Venusaur, Keldeo, Kommo-o, and Toxapex super effectively. Shadow Ball is Hoopa's main Ghost-type STAB move that hits Psychic-type Pokemon such as Jirachi and Slowbro and other Ghost-types like Blacephalon. Thunderbolt can be useful coverage against Water- and Flying-type Pokemon like Greninja, Mantine, Celesteela, and Mandibuzz. Focus Blast is also helpful to help deal with Dark- and Steel-type Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Excadrill, and Heatran.


Set Details
========

Maximum HP investment is used to maximize Hoopa's survivability in battle. Life Orb along with maximum Special Attack investment and a Quiet nature maximizes Hoopa's total damage output. A Quiet nature also slows down Hoopa even more to make it faster under Trick Room.

Usage Tips
========

Due to Hoopa working best under Trick Room, it must either come in while Trick Room is active or set it up itself on a predicted switch against a slow wall like Toxapex. It should be noted that Hoopa's Special Defense stat is very good, so use this to your advantage in front of common special attackers like Latios, non-Dark Pulse Greninja, and Thundurus-T to set up Trick Room. Be wary of known Pursuit users like Mega Aerodactyl during the match. This is because due to Hoopa's typing and lack of bulk, it will almost always be OHKOed by an opposing Pursuit user, sometimes even if it stays in. Try to refrain from letting those Pokemon, as well as physical attackers in general, switch into Hoopa, as it will be forced out and causes you to make a hard switch. Refrain from taking chip damage, as it will make it harder for Hoopa to be usable in the match, since it needs to be healthy to try and set up Trick Room. Avoid getting affected by any status condition, as it will hinder Hoopa's ability to be useful in the match, whether it be through the chip damage that being poisoned or burned provides or the potential stun chance from paralysis.


Team Options
========

Golurk is important for all Trick Room Ghost teams, as it can effectively use its powerful Dynamic Punch to scare off most opposing Dark-types and sets Stealth Rock, which can chip down the opposition. Cofagrigus is an excellent partner for Hoopa due to it also being a Trick Room setter and having an easier time setting it up thanks to its superior bulk. It can also support Hoopa by using Z-Memento under Trick Room so that Hoopa can come in for free and wreak havoc with full HP. Alolan Marowak is also a solid teammate on Trick Room Ghost due to its ability to wallbreak with ease thanks to Swords Dance and its Thick Club, allowing it to break past many walls that Hoopa struggles with, such as Chansey and Alolan Muk after a Swords Dance. Hoopa supports Alolan Marowak by providing another Trick Room setter. Mega Sableye is able to support Hoopa by reflecting any incoming status moves and entry hazards that may be directed towards it thanks to its Magic Bounce ability. Aside from that, it can also take hits from most Ghost- and Dark-type moves for it thanks to its bulk and further support Hoopa by crippling opposing Pokemon with Will-O-Wisp or removing their item with Knock Off. Mimikyu is able to take down Dark-type threats to Hoopa such as Alolan Muk and Tyranitar, as well as be a good assisting wallbreaker thanks to its access to Swords Dance and a Z-Move. On Trick Room teams, Mimikyu is also a good Trick Room setter for the type, which is helpful for Hoopa and the other Pokemon that can take advantage of Trick Room. Gengar and Blacephalon both help keep faster foes in check outside of Trick Room that can pick off fast threats to Hoopa such as Choice Scarf Excadrill and Choice Scarf Landorus-T. Gengar specifically helps more with Fairy-types like Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu, while Blacephelon helps more with Steel-types like Mega Scizor.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Ghost
--------

Hoopa does not have any other viable options.

Checks and Counters
===================

Ghost
--------

**Pursuit**: Mega Aerodactyl, Krookodile, and Heracross all threaten Hoopa with their access to Pursuit, shutting it down outside of Trick Room due to its poor bulk and disadvantageous typing.

**Ghost- and Dark-types**: Pokemon like Tyranitar, Alolan Muk, and Decidueye all threaten Hoopa with their STAB moves and can outspeed it due to Hoopa being very slow.

**Physical Attackers**: Many common physical attackers such as Excadrill, Tapu Bulu, and Landorus-T, can easily overwhelm Hoopa offensively due to its abysmal Defense.

**Priority**: Pokemon like Mega Scizor, Azumarill, and Mimikyu can all use their strong priority moves in Bullet Punch, Aqua Jet, and Shadow Sneak to threaten Hoopa due to its poor physical bulk even inside of Trick Room.

**Setup Sweepers**: Due to the lack of a boosting move, some setup sweepers like Mega Scizor can ignore Hoopa's offensive attempts and proceed to use it as setup bait.

**Status**: Any status ailment from Pokemon like Toxapex, Celesteela, Mega Sabeleye, and Chansey can lead to Hoopa's demise very easily due to its lack of recovery and general frailty. Being poisoned or burned causes too much chip damage and the stun chance that paralysis can cause can be devastating if Hoopa is trying to sweep in Trick Room and gets stunned.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Namranan, 353292]]
- Poison analysis by: [[Namranan, 353292]]
- Quality checked by: [[<Misaka Mikoto>, <240969>], [<Maroon>, <305839>], [<Decem>, <362454>]]
- Grammar checked by: [[<deetah>, <297659>], [<The Dutch Plumberjack>, <232216>]]

 

[Eien]

Namranan can we get this done by the end of the weekend

 

[Namranan]

I will try my best but this is a tough one, I will let you know if I can't do it.

 

[Namranan]

Sorry for the delay, but I hope this will suffice.

Ready for QC

 

[Misaka Mikoto]

Why not tackle these while I'm at it, would be a shame not to complete this.

[OVERVIEW]

* Hoopa's unique Psychic and Ghost typing allows it to act as a wallbreaker and dismantle some defensive cores that Ghost teams tend to struggle with.
- A Pokemon's typing doesn't have them act as a wallbreaker, its Base 150 Special Attack is; the offensive presence is what does. You should talk about how its Psychic typing helps Ghost. How does Ghost benefit form Hoopa having a Psychic typing?
* While this niche is usable for Ghost teams, most of the time it is outclassed by Jellicent or Decidueye as these Pokemon can stallbreak or trap opposing Pokemon effectively, respectively.
- Jellicent and Decidueye do two different things to Hoopa so you really can't compare their roles to it. Since Hoopa is a Trick Room setter explain how it's outclassed by other Trick Room setters instead, otherwise remove this piece.
* Hoopa also does not easily fit onto a team due to its niche nature, poor defensive qualities, and generally better options in Decidueye, Jellicent, and even Cofagrigus.
- Same as what I said above in terms of the roles they play.
- Talk about its bulk as well.

Set Details:
* Expert Belt or Life Orb are used along with Maximum Special Attack EV's and a Quiet nature to maximize Hoopa's total damage output.
- Compare the two, what makes Expert Belt a good choice and what also would make Life Orb a good choice over it?
- You can just remove Magician. Discussing this ability is very useless because Hoopa is never surviving a Knock Off.

Usage Tips:
* Due to Hoopa working best in Trick Room, it must either come in while Trick Room is active or set it up itself on a predicted switch. This allows it to not be a sitting duck for any incoming attacks.
- Maybe give an example of a predicted switch so that Hoopa can be safe to set up Trick Room.

Checks and Counters:
*Super-effective Coverage**: Any Pokemon with a Dark- or Ghost-type move can easily OHKO Hoopa, and it doesn't help that moves like Knock Off, Shadow Ball, Sucker Punch, and Shadow Sneak are very common in the metagame.
- Honestly, I really don't like this super effective coverage bullet being a thing. Besides, Hoopa is only weak to two types in Ghost and Dark. You should might as well make Dark- and Ghost-types a bullet instead.

QC 1/3

 

[Namranan]

Implemented, read for next check!

 

[maroon]

add comments remove

Overview
* Hoopa's base 150 Special attack allows it to act as a wallbreaker and dismantle some defensive cores that Ghost teams tend to struggle with.
* Its access to Trick Room also allows Hoopa to be a functional member of the niche Trick Room Ghost archetype, which allows Ghost to disrupt and dismantle most offensive teams.
- merge these two lines. it being a trick room attacker is its only role on Ghost teams and should be at the top of the overview.
* Along with its decent STAB moves in Shadow Ball and Psychic, Hoopa also has access to moves like Thunderbolt and Focus Blast to improve its overall coverage.
- why are these coverage useful for ghost teams, add examples of what these target (mandibuzz, gyarados, tyranitar)
* Its main role on this archetype is one of a wallbreaker, as its impressive 150 base Special Attack stat strikes fear into many opposing defensive Pokemon such as Mega Venusaur and Jirachi.
- this is repetitive and does not add anything new to the overview
* Its typing also is its greatest weakness as it has a relatively poor defense stat and is 4 times weak to commonly used moves like Knock Off, Shadow Ball, and Dark Pulse.
* Hoopa's paper-thin defense stat also makes it extremely weak to Knock Off, a common move in the metagame. This also makes it harder for it to find opportunities to set up.
- merge these 2 lines and rephrase them. talk about its type weaknesses directly of dark and ghost being 4x supereffective.
* Hoopa does not have any form of recovery, making it extremely susceptible to any form of chip damage from hazards, weather, or status.
- this is irrelevant for a trick room attacker
* Hoopa also does not easily fit onto a team due to its niche nature, poor defensive qualities, and generally better option in Cofagrigus.
- this does not make sense and really does not fight for a spot on trick room ghost teams, you could say hoopa is exclusively viable on tr here if you want

Set
name: Trick Room Attacker (Ghost)
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Focus Blast / Thunderbolt
item: Life Orb
ability: Magician
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD

change the set order to this, as trick room is its most important move that enables it to do its job. I also removed Expert Belt because that seemed kind of random here.

Moves
* Shadow Ball is Hoopa's main Ghost STAB move that hits Psychic-type Pokemon such as Jirachi and Slowbro.
- shadow ball is also against other ghost-type pokemon
* Thunderbolt can be useful coverage against Water- and Flying-type Pokemon like Mantine, Celesteela, Mandibuzz, and Greninja.
- added mandibuzz as an example of what tbolt hits

reorder the moves section to fit with how i re-ordered the set

Set Details
* Expert Belt or Life Orb are used along with Life Orb alongside maximum Special Attack EV's and a Quiet nature to maximize Hoopa's total damage output. Life orb allows you to do more damage in general at the cost of your health, while Expert belt allows you to hit most targets very hard but does not sacrifice your health.
- took out the fluff and ebelt talk

Usage Tips
* Add a tip about avoiding common Pursuit users such as Mega Aerodactyl

Team Options
* Golurk is the main Stealth Rock setter for Trick Room Ghost teams
* Cofagrigus is one of the main tr setters on tr ghost
* Jellicent is a fantastic special wall that aids Hoopa by taking neutral special hits for it since it lacks recovery. It also assists with stallbreaking slower Pokemon such as Toxapex and Celesteela, who can pose a threat to Hoopa due to their status moves.
- trick room setter
* Not only does Alolan Marowak support Hoopa by setting Stealth Rock, but it also appreciates Hoopa's ability to set Trick Room as it can abuse its wallbreaking power without worrying about speed.
- remove mentions of stealth rock alolan marowak, golurk is the only pokemon that should sr on tr ghost. main reason being is so alolan marowak can abuse swords dance.

Checks & Counters
**Pursuit**: add common fast pursuit users in monotype

**Ghost- and Dark-types**: you did not implement this from misakas check

Please put a space between each bullet of the checks & counters section

This was alot, so tag me here when you have it fully implemented before I give QC 2/3!

Edit: QC 2/3

 

[Namranan]

Thank you for the check Maroon, it has been implemented and written up. Ready for final QC check!

 

[mushamu]

add / comments

This is quite a lot for a check, so lets discuss this on discord later since we talk all the time anyways.

[OVERVIEW]

Ghost
========

- Hoopa's base 150 Special attack allows it to act as a wallbreaker and dismantle some defensive cores that Ghost teams tend to struggle with. Its access to Trick Room also allows Hoopa to be a functional member of the niche Trick Room Ghost archetype, which allows Ghost to disrupt and dismantle most offensive teams.
Merge these together like maroon said.

- Along with its decent STAB moves in Shadow Ball and Psychic, Hoopa also has access to other coverage moves like Thunderbolt and Focus Blast to improve its overall coverage which allows it to hit Pokemon like Mandibuzz, Gyarados, and Hydreigon.

- Its typing also is its greatest weakness as Hoopa has a relatively poor defense stat and is 4 times weak to Dark- and Ghost-type moves.
Take the point about Hoopa's poor Defense stat out and put it before talking about its typing. You should talk about Hoopa's good Special Defense stat and why thats good for it, and you can use its poor Defense as a transition to Hoopa's cons.

- This means that it is weak to commonly used moves like Knock Off, Shadow Ball, Shadow Sneak and Dark Pulse, which also makes it harder for it to find opportunities to set up.
If you're going to talk about its typing you might as well how easily it gets Pursuit trapped because of it.

- Hoopa also does not fit onto any other archetype of Ghost, as it is too slow for hyper offense and requires too much support for balance. It is exclusively used on the Trick Room archetype.
Reword this entire thing. Talk about how it doesn't fit on any archetype other than Trick Room Ghost, and talk about how it is outclassed by other special attackers on Ghost otherwise due to its poor speed. I'll pm you over discord to talk about it.

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

- Trick Room allows Hoopa to move first before most offensive Pokemon.
Describe how Trick Room makes up for Hoopa's poor Speed and support Hoopa's other slow teammates.

- Psychic is Hoopa's primary STAB move, which hits Poison- and Fighting-types such as Mega Venusaur, Keldeo, and Toxapex super effectively.
Use Kommo-O as an example here.

- Shadow Ball is Hoopa's main Ghost STAB move that hits Psychic-type Pokemon such as Jirachi and Slowbro and other Ghost types like Gengar.
Use Blacephalon as an example over Gengar if you really want to talk about Ghost types with Shadow Ball. Psychic hits Gengar fine.

Set Details
========

- Life Orb along with Maximum Special Attack EV's and a Quiet nature maximizes Hoopa's total damage output.
Mention why Quiet is good for Trick Room.

Usage Tips
========

- It should be noted that Hoopa's special defense stat is quite notable, so use this to your advantage in front of walls with special attacks to set up Trick Room.
Please talk about how Hoopa's Special Defense stat allows it to set Trick Room against common special attackers and give examples. You should add in a bit about physical attackers too since Hoopa hates those. Put the entire thing after Trick Room being active since setting Trick Room goes hand in hand.

Team Options
========

- Golurk is important for all Trick Room Ghost teams as it sets Stealth Rock and can effectively use its powerful Dynamic Punch to scare off most opposing Dark types.
Stealth Rock is good for chipping down the opposition.

- Cofagrigus is an excellent partner for Hoopa due to it also being a Trick Room setter and having an easier time setting it up due to its superior bulk.
Talk about how Cofagrigus can support Hoopa with Z-Memento too.

- Mega Sableye is able to support hoopa by reflecting any incoming status moves that may be directed towards it thanks to its Magic Bounce ability. Aside from that, it can also take hits from most Ghost- and Dark-type moves for it thanks to its bulk, and further support hoopa by crippling opposing Pokemon with Will-o-Wisp or using Knock Off to remove their item.
Talk about hazards that chip down Hoopa's health too being reflected by Mega Sableye.

- Mimikyu is able to take down Dark-type threats to Hoopa such as Alolan Muk and Tyranitar, as well as be a good assisting wallbreaker thanks to its access to Swords Dance and a Z-move.
Mimikyu can also set Trick Room for Hoopa.

- Jellicent is a fantastic special wall that aids Hoopa by taking neutral special hits for it since it lacks recovery and also sets Trick Room. It also assists with stallbreaking slower Pokemon such as Toxapex and Celesteela, who can pose a threat to Hoopa due to their status moves.
Trick Room Jellicent is pretty bad compared to other Trick Room setters because it can't abuse Trick Room itself. Cofagrigus is also like this, but can preserve turns using Memento. Taunt Jellicent isn't something I would use on Trick Room Ghost so I would remove Jellicent as a whole especially since the two examples of Pokemon Jellicent break for Hoopa are ones that Hoopa can threaten by itself.

- Alolan Marowak is also a solid teammate on Trick Room Ghost due to it being able to wallbreak with ease thanks to Swords Dance and its Thick Club allowing it to break past many walls that Hoopa struggles with, such as Celesteela and Toxapex after a Swords Dance. Hoopa supports Alolan Marowak by also being a Trick Room setter so that it can proceed to abuse its wallbreaking power.
Put Alolan Marowak higher, its one of the most important abusers of Trick Room. Also, this Hoopa set has tools to hit both Celesteela and Toxapex, so talk about breaking specially bulky Pokemon like Chansey and Alolan Muk for Hoopa instead, because thats huge for it.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Ghost
--------

Hoopa does not have any other viable options
* Optional, but Nasty Plot could be a cool for setup.

Checks and Counters
===================

Ghost
--------

**Priority**: Pokemon like Mega Scizor, Azumarill, and Mimikyu can all use their strong priority moves in Bullet Punch, Aqua Jet, and Shadow Sneak, respectively, to OHKO threaten Hoopa due to its poor physical bulk even inside Trick Room.
Not necessarily, but for certain priority users like unboosted Azumarill and Mega Scizor can also threaten Hoopa if its chipped enough, which hazards + Life Orb + setting up Trick Room can cause it to be.

**Offensive Pokemon**: Most Pokemon with an offensive presence such as Excadrill, Tapu Bulu, and Kyurem-Black, can easily overwhelm Hoopa offensively and can take an attack from it even in Trick Room.
I would just rename this bullet to physical attackers and go from there. Hoopa can set up Trick Room against a lot of special attackers so thats good while most physical attackers can beat it with minimal / no chip.

QC 3/3

 

[Namranan]

This check has been implmented, waiting for final approval from Decem on discord before putting into GP.

 

[Namranan]

Chekced with Decem this is now ready for GP!

 

[deetah]

Add Remove Comments (AC) = Add Comma (RC) = Remove Comma (AH) = Add Hyphen (AP) = Add Period (RP) = Remove Period

GP 1/2

Hoopa

[OVERVIEW]

Ghost
========

Hoopa's high Special Attack, low Speed, and access to Trick Room allows it to act as a wallbreaker and dismantle opposing teams as a functional member of the niche Trick Room Ghost archetype. Hoopa's additional Psychic typing allows Ghost teams to threaten bulky Poison-types like Toxapex and Mega Venusaur. Along with its decent STAB moves in Shadow Ball and Psychic, Hoopa also has access to other coverage moves like Thunderbolt and Focus Blast to improve its overall coverage, (AC) which allows it to hit Pokemon like Mandibuzz, Gyarados, and Hydreigon. Hoopa's physical bulk is very abysmal, (RC) and is why it is susceptible to strong priority moves like Mega-Scizor's Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch even inside Trick Room. However, its outstanding Special Defense allows it to find setup opportunities in front of common special attackers like Keldeo, Rotom-Wash, and Tapu Koko. Its typing also is its greatest weakness, (AC) as Hoopa is 4 times 4x weak to Dark- and Ghost-type moves. This means that it is weak to commonly used moves like Knock Off, Shadow Ball, Shadow Sneak, (AC) and Dark Pulse, which also makes it harder for it to find opportunities to set up. This also means that Hoopa is extremely susceptible to getting Pursuit trapped by opposing Pokemon. Hoopa also does not fit onto any other archetype of Ghost, (AC) as its low Speed leaves it outclassed by faster special attackers such as Blacephalon and Gengar when not used on Trick Room.


[SET]
name: Trick Room Attacker (Ghost)
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Focus Blast / Thunderbolt
item: Life Orb
ability: Magician
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Trick Room allows Hoopa to utilize its low Speed to dismantle fast offensive teams and support its slower teammates. Psychic is Hoopa's primary STAB move, which hits Poison- and Fighting-types such as Mega Venusaur, Keldeo, Kommo-o, and Toxapex super effectively. Shadow Ball is Hoopa's main Ghost-type STAB move that hits Psychic-type Pokemon such as Jirachi and Slowbro and other Ghost-(AH)types like Blacephalon. Thunderbolt can be useful coverage against Water- and Flying-type Pokemon like Greninja, Mantine, Celesteela, and Mandibuzz, and Greninja. (Reorded examples to match the order of types listed) Focus Blast is also helpful to help deal with Dark- and Steel-type Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Excadrill, and Heatran.


Set Details
========

Maximum HP EV's are investment is used to maximize Hoopa's survivability in battle. Life Orb along with Maximum Special Attack EV's investment and a Quiet nature maximizes Hoopa's total damage output. A Quiet nature also slows down Hoopa even more to make it faster in under (I think "under" sounds better than "in" in this scenario, but this one is up to you) Trick Room.

Usage Tips
========

Due to Hoopa working best in under Trick Room, it must either come in while Trick Room is active or set it up itself on a predicted switch such as when the opponent puts in a slow wall like Toxapex. It should be noted that Hoopa's Special Defense stat is very good, so use this to your advantage in front of common special attackers like Latios, non-Dark Pulse Greninja, and Thundurus-T to set up Trick Room. Be wary of known Pursuit users like Mega Aerodactyl during the match. This is because due to Hoopa's typing and lack of bulk, it will almost always be OHKO'd OHKOed by an opposing Pursuit user, sometimes even if you stay in. Try to refrain from letting those Pokemon, as well as physical attackers in general, switch into Hoopa, (AC) as it will be forced out and causes you to make a hard switch. Refrain from taking chip damage, (AC) as it will make it harder for Hoopa to be usable in the match, (AC) as since (Repetition) it needs to be healthy to try and setup set up Trick Room. Avoid getting affected by any status condition, (AC) as it will hinder Hoopa's ability to be useful in the match. (RP) (AC), whether it be the chip that Poison and Burn being poisoned or burned provides or the potential stun chance from paralysis wearing down its usability.


Team Options
========

Golurk is important for all Trick Room Ghost teams, (AC) as it can effectively use its powerful Dynamic Punch to scare off most opposing Dark-types and sets Stealth Rock, (AC) which can chip down the opposition and can effectively use its powerful Dynamic Punch to scare off most opposing Dark types. Cofagrigus is an excellent partner for Hoopa due to it also being a Trick Room setter and having an easier time setting it up due thanks (Repetition) to its superior bulk. It can also support Hoopa by using Z-Memento in under Trick Room so that Hoopa can come in for free and wreck wreak havoc with full HP. Alolan Marowak is also a solid teammate on Trick Room Ghost due to it being able to wallbreak with ease thanks to Swords Dance and its Thick Club, (AC) allowing it to break past many walls that Hoopa struggles with, such as Chansey and Alolan Muk after a Swords Dance. Hoopa supports Alolan Marowak by also being a Trick Room setter so that it can proceed to abuse utilize (Abuse means "to mistreat" or "to cause harm", it is not equal to "to take advantage of") its wallbreaking power. Mega Sableye is able to support Hoopa by reflecting any incoming status moves and field entry hazards that may be directed towards it thanks to its Magic Bounce ability. Aside from that, it can also take hits from most Ghost- and Dark-type moves for it thanks to its bulk, and further support Hoopa by crippling opposing Pokemon with Will-O-Wisp or using Knock Off to remove their item. Mimikyu is able to take down Dark-type threats to Hoopa such as Alolan Muk and Tyranitar, as well as be a good assisting wallbreaker thanks to its access to Swords Dance and a Z-Move. On Trick Room teams, Mimikyu is also a good Trick Room setter for the type, which is helpful for Hoopa and the other Pokemon that can take advantage of Trick Room abusers. Gengar and Blacephelon Blacephalon both help act as speed control outside of Trick Room that can pick off fast threats to Hoopa such as Choice Scarf Excadrill and Choice Scarf Landorus-T. Gengar specifically helps more with Fairy-types like Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu, (AC) while Blacephelon helps more with Steel-(AH)types like Mega Scizor.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Ghost
--------

Hoopa does not have any other viable options. (AP)

Checks and Counters
===================

Ghost
--------

**Pursuit**: Mega Aerodactyl, Krookodile, and Heracross all threaten Hoopa with their access to Pursuit, (AC) shutting it down outside of Trick Room due to its poor bulk and disadvantageous typing.

**Ghost- and Dark-types**: Pokemon like Tyranitar, Alolan Muk, and Decidueye all threaten Hoopa with their STAB moves and can outspeed it due to Hoopa being very slow.

**Physical Attackers**: Many common physical attackers such as Excadrill, Tapu Bulu, and Landorus-T, (RC) can easily overwhelm Hoopa offensively due to its abysmal physical Defense.

**Priority**: Pokemon like Mega Scizor, Azumarill, and Mimikyu can all use their strong priority moves in Bullet Punch, Aqua Jet, and Shadow Sneak, respectively, to threaten Hoopa due to its poor physical bulk even inside of Trick Room.

**Setup Sweepers**: Due to the lack of a boosting move, some setup sweepers like Mega Scizor can ignore Hoopa's offensive attempts and proceed to use it as setup bait.

**Status**: Any status ailment from Pokemon like Toxapex, Celesteela, Mega Sabeleye, and Chansey can lead to Hoopa's demise very easily due to its lack of recovery and its general frailty. Toxic and Burn provide Being poisoned or burned causes too much chip damage and Paralysis' the stun chance that paralysis can cause can be devastating if its Hoopa is trying to sweep in Trick Room and gets stunned.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Namranan, 353292]]
- Poison analysis by: [[Namranan, 353292]]
- Quality checked by: [[<Misaka Mikoto>, <240969>], [<Maroon>, <305839>], [<Decem>, <362454>]]
- Grammar checked by: [[<username1>, <userid1>], [<username2>, <username2>]]

 

[Namranan]

Check added, sorry that took so long I literally didn't see this.

Ready for final check!

 

[Lumari]

remove add / fix (comments); (AC=add comma; RC=remove comma; SC=semicolon)
GP 2/2

check

[OVERVIEW]

Ghost
========

Hoopa's high Special Attack, low Speed, and access to Trick Room allows allow it to act as a wallbreaker and dismantle opposing teams as a functional member of the niche Trick Room Ghost archetype. Hoopa's additional Psychic typing allows Ghost teams to threaten bulky Poison-types like Toxapex and Mega Venusaur. Along with its decent STAB moves in Shadow Ball and Psychic, Hoopa also has access to other coverage moves like Thunderbolt and Focus Blast to improve its Hoopa's overall coverage, which allows it to hit hitting Pokemon like Mandibuzz, Gyarados, and Hydreigon. While Hoopa's abysmal physical bulk is very abysmal and is why it is leaves it susceptible to strong priority moves like Mega Scizor's Bullet Punch even inside Trick Room. However, its outstanding Special Defense allows it to find setup opportunities in front of common special attackers like Keldeo, Rotom-W, and Tapu Koko. However, its typing also is its greatest weakness, as Hoopa is 4x weak to Dark- and Ghost-type moves. This means that it is weak to commonly used moves like Knock Off, Shadow Ball, Shadow Sneak, and Dark Pulse, which also makes it harder for it to find opportunities to set up. This also means that Hoopa is extremely susceptible to getting Pursuit trapped by opposing Pokemon. Hoopa also does not fit onto any other archetype of Ghost, as its low Speed leaves it outclassed by faster special attackers such as Blacephalon and Gengar when not used on Trick Room.


[SET]
name: Trick Room Attacker (Ghost)
move 1: Trick Room
move 2: Psychic
move 3: Shadow Ball
move 4: Focus Blast / Thunderbolt
item: Life Orb
ability: Magician
nature: Quiet
evs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD

[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========

Trick Room allows Hoopa to utilize its low Speed to dismantle fast offensive teams and support its slower teammates. Psychic is Hoopa's primary STAB move, which hits Poison- and Fighting-types such as Mega Venusaur, Keldeo, Kommo-o, and Toxapex super effectively. Shadow Ball is Hoopa's main Ghost-type STAB move that hits Psychic-type Pokemon such as Jirachi and Slowbro and other Ghost-types like Blacephalon. Thunderbolt can be useful coverage against Water- and Flying-type Pokemon like Greninja, Mantine, Celesteela, and Mandibuzz. Focus Blast is also helpful to help deal with Dark- and Steel-type Pokemon such as Tyranitar, Excadrill, and Heatran. (order of mentions doesn't reflect slash order)


Set Details
========

Maximum HP investment is used to maximize Hoopa's survivability in battle. Life Orb along with maximum Special Attack investment and a Quiet nature maximizes Hoopa's total damage output. A Quiet nature also slows down Hoopa even more to make it faster under Trick Room.

Usage Tips
========

Due to Hoopa working best under Trick Room, it must either come in while Trick Room is active or set it up itself on a predicted switch such as when the opponent puts in against a slow wall like Toxapex. It should be noted that Hoopa's Special Defense stat is very good, so use this to your advantage in front of common special attackers like Latios, non-Dark Pulse Greninja, and Thundurus-T to set up Trick Room. Be wary of known Pursuit users like Mega Aerodactyl during the match. This is because due to Hoopa's typing and lack of bulk, it will almost always be OHKOed by an opposing Pursuit user, sometimes even if you stay it stays in. Try to refrain from letting those Pokemon, as well as physical attackers in general, switch into Hoopa, as it will be forced out and causes you to make a hard switch. Refrain from taking chip damage, as it will make it harder for Hoopa to be usable in the match, since it needs to be healthy to try and set up Trick Room. Avoid getting affected by any status condition, as it will hinder Hoopa's ability to be useful in the match, whether it be through the chip damage that being poisoned or burned provides or the potential stun chance from paralysis wearing down its usability.


Team Options
========

Golurk is important for all Trick Room Ghost teams, as it can effectively use its powerful Dynamic Punch to scare off most opposing Dark-types and sets Stealth Rock, which can chip down the opposition. Cofagrigus is an excellent partner for Hoopa due to it also being a Trick Room setter and having an easier time setting it up thanks to its superior bulk. It can also support Hoopa by using Z-Memento under Trick Room so that Hoopa can come in for free and wreak havoc with full HP. Alolan Marowak is also a solid teammate on Trick Room Ghost due to it being able its ability to wallbreak with ease thanks to Swords Dance and its Thick Club, allowing it to break past many walls that Hoopa struggles with, such as Chansey and Alolan Muk after a Swords Dance. Hoopa supports Alolan Marowak by also being providing another Trick Room setter so that it can proceed to utilize its wallbreaking power. Mega Sableye is able to support Hoopa by reflecting any incoming status moves and entry hazards that may be directed towards it thanks to its Magic Bounce ability. Aside from that, it can also take hits from most Ghost- and Dark-type moves for it thanks to its bulk (RC) and further support Hoopa by crippling opposing Pokemon with Will-O-Wisp or using Knock Off to remove removing their item with Knock Off. Mimikyu is able to take down Dark-type threats to Hoopa such as Alolan Muk and Tyranitar, as well as be a good assisting wallbreaker thanks to its access to Swords Dance and a Z-Move. On Trick Room teams, Mimikyu is also a good Trick Room setter for the type, which is helpful for Hoopa and the other Pokemon that can take advantage of Trick Room. Gengar and Blacephalon both help act as speed control keep faster foes in check outside of Trick Room that can pick off fast threats to Hoopa such as Choice Scarf Excadrill and Choice Scarf Landorus-T. Gengar specifically helps more with Fairy-types like Tapu Koko and Tapu Bulu, while Blacephelon helps more with Steel-types like Mega Scizor.


[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============

Ghost
--------

Hoopa does not have any other viable options.

Checks and Counters
===================

Ghost
--------

**Pursuit**: Mega Aerodactyl, Krookodile, and Heracross all threaten Hoopa with their access to Pursuit, shutting it down outside of Trick Room due to its poor bulk and disadvantageous typing.

**Ghost- and Dark-types**: Pokemon like Tyranitar, Alolan Muk, and Decidueye all threaten Hoopa with their STAB moves and can outspeed it due to Hoopa being very slow.

**Physical Attackers**: Many common physical attackers such as Excadrill, Tapu Bulu, and Landorus-T, can easily overwhelm Hoopa offensively due to its abysmal Defense.

**Priority**: Pokemon like Mega Scizor, Azumarill, and Mimikyu can all use their strong priority moves in Bullet Punch, Aqua Jet, and Shadow Sneak, respectively, to threaten Hoopa due to its poor physical bulk even inside of Trick Room.

**Setup Sweepers**: Due to the lack of a boosting move, some setup sweepers like Mega Scizor can ignore Hoopa's offensive attempts and proceed to use it as setup bait.

**Status**: Any status ailment from Pokemon like Toxapex, Celesteela, Mega Sabeleye, and Chansey can lead to Hoopa's demise very easily due to its lack of recovery and general frailty. Being poisoned or burned causes too much chip damage and the stun chance that paralysis can cause can be devastating if Hoopa is trying to sweep in Trick Room and gets stunned.

[CREDITS]
- Written by: [[Namranan, 353292]]
- Poison analysis by: [[Namranan, 353292]]
- Quality checked by: [[<Misaka Mikoto>, <240969>], [<Maroon>, <305839>], [<Decem>, <362454>]]
- Grammar checked by: [[<deetah>, <297659>], [<username2>, <username2>]]

 

[Namranan]

Implemented check, thanks TDP! This is now ready for upload

 

[Moosical]

Uploaded