Other Metagames [Inheritance] The Art of Trick Room

[9destra]

This is my first post here, so I know this might suck, but here goes: According to many people in the OM room in PS, TR teams are terrible in Inheritance. I was determined to prove that I could somehow make it work. And I think succeeded in doing just that with this seemingly bizarre team. This team has achieved a 70.9 GXE in the ladder, which some might consider a miracle for a TR team.

Escavalier (Swoobat) @ Macho Brace
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Gyro Ball
- U-Turn
- Knock Off
- Trick Room

Escavalier makes good use of its low Speed, high bulk and high Attack in this seemingly bizarre set. The Macho Brace in conjunction with min Speed lets Escavalier hit a blazing 20 Speed. Unaware makes Escavalier even bulkier and allows it to take on many of the ESpeeders under Trick Room. [1] Gyro Ball is Escavalier's most powerful attack, reaching 150 BP on anything with at least 120 Speed, which is virtually the entire metagame. [2] U-Turn is there for STAB and helps keep the momentum going. I found that momentum is a must in TR teams in Inheritance. [3] Knock Off takes the third moveslot for taking care of Ghost-Types like Aegislash and Doublade. It also helps greatly against Chansey. [4] Escavalier has the bulk to set up TR, so why not take advantage of that? Escavalier can even abuse its own Trick Room, which saves precious turns.

Rotom-Wash (Mew) @ Leftovers
Ability: Synchronize
EVs: 152 HP / 252 Def / 104 SpA
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Volt Switch
- Trick Room
- Defog

104 Special Attack EVs secure the OHKO against Terrakion. Rotom-W also resists the Flying-Type, which makes Aerilate abusers much easier to deal with. [1] Scald takes the first slot with its 30% Burn chance and ability to OHKO Terrakion. [2] Volt Switch is there to keep the momentum going and it also provides a decent Electric STAB attack. [3] Trick Room is there to help keep it up for our washing machine's teammates. [4] Defog is here for hazard control, as very few Pokémon with TR even get any form of hazard control. This keeps the teammates that weren't fortunate enough to receive Magic Guard alive for longer.

Heatran (Azelf) @ Expert Belt
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Fire Blast
- Thunderbolt
- U-turn
- Trick Room

Heatran has excellent defensive synergy with Rotom-W and great offensive synergy with Escavalier. The EV set is straight-forward, maximum bulk and POWAH. [1] Fire Blast is there for a powerful STAB attack to nail those pesky Steel-Types. [2] Thunderbolt might seem like an odd choice, but it helps check powerful threats like Primordial Sea Greninja and Suicune. Primarily the latter. [3] U-Turn lets Heatran let another Pokémon take over for it without wasting valuable turns. It also lets Heatran escape from the occasional Perish Trapper, letting it live to fight another turn. [4] Heatran can take a hit, so its bulky enough to be a good TR user with Azelf's Levitate ability.

Hoopa (Alakazam?) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 20 HP / 236 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Psyshock
- Focus Blast
- Trick Room

Hoopa hits hard with a Life Orb and a whopping 438 Special Attack. The EVs might seem oddly placed, but I mathematically calculated that the best way to increase bulk with 256 EVs on one side is actually to have 236 in a defensive stat and 20 in HP. This allows Hoopa to avoid so many OHKOs and 2HKOs I don't even have room to list them all. Magic Guard protects Hoopa from passive damage, which helps it live longer, most notably avoiding damage from its Life Orb. Hoopa is also my best match-up against the 10 billion Suicune out there in Inheritance and the best Ghost-Type for the team. [1] Shadow Ball hits Ghost-Types like Doublade and Gengar and Psychic-Types like Metagross and Cresselia. [2] Psyshock is there to provide a strong STAB attack to nail Chansey, special walls like Snorlax and Fighting-Types like Virizion and Terrakion. [3] Focus Miss Blast provides perfect coverage in conjunction with Shadow Ball and helps deal with bulky Steel-Types. [4] Trick Room takes the last slot for Hoopa and its teammates to take advantage of.

Snorlax (Reuniclus?) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Facade
- Knock Off
- Trick Room
- Recover / Superpower

Snorlax here is a great check to many of the weather abusers out there. With Magic Guard and a Toxic Orb, Snorlax makes for a great status absorber as well. [1] Façade is an insanely powerful STAB attack that hits 140 BP while Snorlax is poisoned, which is almost certain with team support and the Toxic Orb. [2] Knock Off lets Snorlax actually be able to do something against Ghost-Types and Chansey. [3] Trick Room takes the third slot because Snorlax is bulky and can abuse Trick Room for itself if it needs to. [4] Recover or Superpower takes the last slot. I change between the two frequently. I find that Recover gives Snorlax more staying power but Superpower gives Snorlax more offensive capabilities.

Altaria (Entei) @ Altarianite
Ability: Pressure
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Extreme Speed
- Sacred Fire
- Return
- Substitute

Altaria provides some much-needed -ateSpeed spam priority for the team. Altaria helps support the team by being able to function outside of Trick Room just in case its teammates can't get it up. [1] Extreme Speed is here to provide -ateSpeed spam a strong priority STAB attack. [2] Sacred Fire is the very reason why I chose Entei as a donor over Rayquaza and Lucario. It has a 50% chance to burn its checks and counters and even helps wear down walls. Sacred Fire also provides amazing coverage with the Fairy-Type and it doesn't lower your stats like V-Create does. [3] Return provides a powerful STAB with Pixilate if you don't need to go first and it helps cover for Extreme Speeds low PP. [4] Substitute helps protect Altaria from status since the team lacks a Heal Bell user. Altaria's teammates can handle whatever Altaria can't.