Please Discuss, any recommendations / changes are welcomed.
Introduction
Welcome to the Trick room guide, here are some ideas to get you started and what to expect.
Trick room teams are generally hyper offensive but instead of using hard hitting quick and usually frail pokemon, you're using hard hitting slow pokemon most of which are decently bulky with a few exceptions.
Expect most rick room teams to carry 3 trick room summoners and 3 trick room sweepers. Some pokemon can play more then one specific roles on a team so mix and match and test out what best suits you.
I hope you enjoy reading this guide and please post any new creative ideas and sets, although most of the viable pokemon have been already been posted on this guide. It never hurts to try something different because it does get boring, playing with the same pokemon and it's always fun playing against the odds.
Trick room Support
One of the most used pokemon in the tier, Capable of filling almost any role on the trick room team, from full support to sweeper, although it's main attraction is U-turn and Healing wish. U-turn gives you the momentum when switching out and Healing wish allows one of your trick room sweepers to be healed up and sweep again at full health for another 3 turns.
The two things that stand out on Exeggutor's stats are it's magnificent base 125 Special Attack and poor 55 speed. The Poor speed is prefect in trick room allowing Exeggutor to do double duty of Trick room summoner and sweeper. He also has Access to sleep powder to allow you to set trick room up again
How you ask me?
on the final turn of trick room (after 4 turns including the turn you set up trick room) use sleep powder to take out one pokemon and set up trick room again.
He also has explosion if you want to go down the suicide route allowing one of your sweepers to come in unharmed.
With her impressive 116/85/95 bulk and access to moonlight, Mushurna is the reliable go to pokemon to set up trick room time and time again and she's no Slouch either with a decent base 107 Special Attack, although not the strongest, she can deal some decent damage and break substitutes.
The bulky ghost of NU, Misdreavus has the bulk to set up trick room and hasa myriad of options to support your team such as will-o-wisp to burn those pesky dark types attempting to pursuit your dark weak trick room Brethren. Pain-split for recovery (although unreliable) and taunt to stop those walls attempting to stalll out trick room like wish/protect lickylicky and Audio. Momento and Destiny Bond to suicide, allowing one of your sweeper to come in unharmed
With access to Nasty plot Misdreavus can attempt to sweep similar to Cofagrigus in RU with Shadow ball and Hidden Power - Fighting for perfect coverage. Misdreavus base special attack is only 10 points lower then Cofagrigus so it can be pulled off if the conditions are right
One of the few useful non psychic or ghost types capable of setting up trick room. Which means porygon doesn't suffer from a weakness to dark types unlike the other trick room users except for stantler, spinda, Kecleon & Audio.
Porygon is more useful anyway, out of the 6 normal-type trick room users in the tier (Girafarig is normal/psychic), because it has access to recover, allowing Porygon to come in multiple times to set up trick room
Access to magic coat to bounce back support moves, because players love to toxic porygon and set up hazards on it because it usually doesn't hit very hard.
I personally recommend Download over trace, although trace is a useful ability on paper, all the good abilities have been taken and used in the higher tiers, things like water absorb laparas and lightning rod raichu are not common enough to warrant the use of trace.
You can benefit more from Download on the other hand as the tier is general physicial bulk orientated allowing your special atttacks to hit harder.
Natu craves out a niche for itself as a trick room user. It has the significant ability to block and bounce back Trick room's biggest enemy TAUNT and PHASING (I don't use american english sorry)
Taunt, roar and whirlwind are trick room's biggest enemies because trick room always goes last so if your opponent has a pokemon with one of those moves, trick room is effectively stopped, there's obviously phasing moves that deal damage like dragon tail and circle throw but their distribution in the lower tiers are scarce.
Being able to Set up trick room without being stopped by taunt. roar and whirlwind is a major plus for Natu, give an evolite and bulk investment and it's bulkier then you expect, access to roost and u-turn allow Natu to do it's job, round out the set with night shade allowing natu to do enough damage to break substitutes that aren't 101 HP.
Banette is the very definition of a suicide lead Trick room user.
Low base stats in bulk and speed and a high Attack stat allows Banette to fit into a very niche role of lead suicide trick room summoner.
Banette's main weakness last generation were taunt leads and with team preview, taunt users could switch into lead position and force Banette out before the battle even starts but not anymore as the 5th generation gave Banette a very useful tool, with the upgrade to magic coat, Banette can now block and reflect taunt if predicted correctly.
Now instead Banette suffers from 4 move slot syndrome between trick room, taunt, magic coat, shadow claw and destiny bond.
If you're feeling risky, you can bluff a focus sash and carry a mental herb instead to cure taunt and set up Trick room unhalted, but generally focus sash is the better item.
One of the top special walls in the tier, Audino also has the part time job of Trick room summoner. With the highly useful regenerator ability, Audino can come in multiples times to set up trick room and switch out and immediately regain health.
If your trick room team suffers from a major ghost or dark type weakness and Evolite Porygon doesn't appeal to you for what ever reason. Audino is your next best option.
Although she doesn't have as much bulk as evolite Porygon and she doesn't hit as hard. She is different enough to warrant using over Porygon. She'd not forced to use evolite like Porygon, although most set are likely to use leftovers further increasing her longevity.
She also has a selection of useful support moves with Wish, Encore, Heal Bell Yawn and the rare healing wish. The Trick room and Healing wish combination is only shared with 2 other pokemon, Mespriit has already been mentioned above, while Gardeviour has too much competition with others on this list that can do the job better.
Besides Misdreavus, Beheeyem is the only other Trick room user in the tier that can pull off a Trick Room + Nasty Plot Set and have neutral coverage with two moves Psychic & Thunderbolt.
Beheeyem probably does this set better with the shear power of his stats alone, base 125 SpA and base 40 Speed means he'll out speed and smack everything in the tier silly, just be careful of priority users, especially sucker punch.
A set with Trick room and 3 attacks with a life orb works just as well, if you're having trouble setting up Nastyplot.
Reuniclus Version 2
Despite being the pre-evolved version of Reuniclus. Duosion still keeps it's amazing base 125 SpA. Magic Guard should generally be the only real reason to use Duosion as a Trick room summoner over the others on this list as an immunity to passive damage to status, entry hazards and life orb recoil means Duosion will last longer then other Trick room sweepers, as long as she doesn't get hit.
Being a pre-evolved pokemon means Duosion has low defences and more vulnerable then the others. If the low bulk is unappealing, Duosion can carry an evolite and run recover to tank hits and stick around a little bit longer.
After an evolite and maximum investment, it is physically bulkier then Slowbro. Regenerator and Slack off give it further longevity and has a monopoly on the Trick room Belly Drum combination. Don't ever underestimate this guy or he'll make you regret it.
*Testing & Work in Progress*
Trick Room Sweepers
Remember trick room sweepers need to be slow and hit hard immediately, you only have 3 turns of speed advantage, sometimes wasting 1 turn to boost your offences may be wasteful, if you can use that extra turn to eliminate one of your opponent's pokemon instead
Why 3 turns?
Setting up trick room counts as one turn, and switching out to your sweeper counts as another turn, so your sweeper effectively only have 3 turns.
With access to guts and stab Facade, Ursaring hits like a Tank and with access to great coverage in Close combat and Crunch to take out ghost, steels and rocks. Nothing but priority and smart switching/stalling can stop this beast. Just slap on a Toxic Orb and watch your guts boosted Ursaring run through the team in a rampage.
At first glance (at least for me) Emboar doesn't seem like a effective trick room sweeper. but when you look at it as a mixed sweeper or wall breaker and realize you only have 3 turns to effectively use trick room. Emboar is actually an effective trick room wall breaker.
High Power Dual stabs allow you to catch your opponent off guard if they're expecting you to run pure physical or special.
Super power (base 120) and Overheat (base 140) allow you break a team and round off coverage with either wild charge or Grass knot in the third slot. The last slot is filler, I personally run flame thrower if I'm not use what to use first because of smart switching by my opponent.
I know using super power and overheat only takes up 2 turns, I usually use the last turn to suicide emboar with Wild charge + life orb recoil, or If I Can save him, switch in a resist and set up trick room again.
You probably heard this already, but Zweilous has the strongest Outrage in the game. If you haven't? NOW YOU KNOW.
Zweilous is slow and can sweep effectively in trick room. If you can somehow switch this guy in (most likely after a suicide) Slap on a choice band and Zweilous will destory everything in sight but the shakey 80% accuracy from hustle maybe a big turn off. You can run an evolite if you want Zweilous to take a hit in case you miss because of hustle.
With the highest attack in the tier (heck 2nd highest in the entire game, only beaten by Deoxy-A) a base 150 STAB in head smash and a speed low enough to take advantage of. Rampardos fits right at home on a Trick room team. Good luck finding a way to switch him in, as he's relatively frail.
With Mold breaker and Earthquake, this guy really only needs two moves for coverage. The last two slots are generally considered filler. Some niche moves can be used to take out specific rare counters. Stone Edge can be used on the same set if you want you want to keep Rampardos in a little bit longer if Head Smash + Life Orb recoil has taken it's toll.
Or just maximise Rampardos's power with a choice banded Head Smash, The majority of the tier won't come out alive (ie be either OHKO or 2HKO) unless he misses of course (head Smash is only 80% accurate).
With a Thick Club Item and a Adamant nature Marawak's attack reaches 568
To put this in perspective. An adamant max attack deoxy (base 150) with life orb reach 569.4, while a adamant max attack Haxorus (base 147) reaches 561.6.
That's a lot of fire power power Marowak is carrying in that club. Professor Oak should test it some day, I swear it must be some kind Nuclear Warhead inside :P.
This pokemon also has the move pool to leverage it's amazing attack too with Recoiless Double Edge With Rock Head, the elemental punches and much much more.
If you're feeling risk you can run sword dance or Belly drum to ramp up it's destructive capability but remember you only have 3 turns to take advantage it, well 2 turns if you set up.
Absol is actually the Fastest Trick room sweeper on the list with base 75 speed, uninvested with 0 IVs and a Negative Nature, he only reaches 167 speed, which means in trick room, anay pokemon that has a base 65 speed uninvested will out speed him in trick room.
Under normal circumstances he would be considered slow, in the NU tier, most players believe average to be around base 85, which would make Absol's speed middling which would be a major down fall for a Trick room sweeper.
BUT Absol has a few of things going for it, base 130 attack, Stab Priority Sucker punch and Neutral coverage with two moves in Super power and Night Slash combined with the hax potential Super luck gives Absol the opportunity to break through any wall with a little bit of luck. Access to X-scissor and Psycho Cut gives it some moving room to take down particular threats such as Tangela and Gurdurr attempting to wall or scare it away. Finally Sword dance make this guy really dangerous, inside or outside of trick room as Stab +2 Sucker punch hurts.
Just remember your speed tiers both inside and outside of trick room, knowing when to use Sucker punch and when not to use it and also remember the odd Substitute user and you should be fine with this guy
With base 115 Offensive Stats on both sides of the Spectrum, Dual Stab and being the only mixed sweeper with access to Priority Sucker punch. Cacturne has some staying power outside of trick room being able to hit faster threats.
This generation also gave Cacturne a new toy in the ability, Water Absorb but at the cost of losing key moves such as Giga drain and Dark pulse because they are generation 4 tutor moves.
With an amazing move pool, Cacturne is capable of running multiple sets with access to sword dance, nasty plot, and even choice sets (has access to Switcheroo). Even Support moves such as Destiny Bond and the lesser extent Spikes, keep the offensive up and makes your opponent guessing what kind of move set you really have?
Personally my most successful set has been a Mixed set attempting to hit everything possible in the tier, sometimes finishing off the opponent with a surprising Destiny Bond, Spikes can be used in the lead to Bluff a Support set only for your opponent to find out later in the match that Cacturne can carry it's weigh. Just be sure to carry a ghost to block those rapid spins.
On the surface it may look like Emboar Outclasses Camerupt with an immediate higher damage output with great mixed offensive stats and high powered stabs but there's a couple of things Emboar would kill for that Camerupt has.
Eruption combined with a slight higher Special Attack, should generally be the main reason to use Camerupt over Emboar. Slap on a pair of classy choice Specs and anything that doesn't resist or have an immunity to it will be burnt to a crisp. Combined with a reliable Stab in Earth Power and a choice between Overheat or Fire Blast as an alternative once Eruption's power has been diminished and you portable Volcano capable of turning a team into Goo.
Alternatively you can carry an expert belt and run a mixed set with Earthquake which hits harder then earth power and Stone Edge for neutral Coverage, and you'll never have to worry about burns.
Add on to the fact that Solid rock allows Camerupt to take a Super effective hit (not water) and being a common Magmotar switch in. Camerupt has plenty of chances to reck havoc.
Octillery is more or less in the same boat as Camerupt above, as the main reason you should use it for is Water Spout, Which is basically a water type Eruption. Combined with it's insanely massive offensive move pool, Octillery has an answer to almost everything, if only it has move move slots.
The other minor reasons to use it would be better bulk beacuse his only other water type competition Clampearl and the ability Suction Cups if your team starts out on the back foot unable to set up trick room because of a phaser.
Glaceon's main niche is being the only ice type on this list and having a massive base 130 special attack with neutral coverage in only 2 moves
Sadly the good news end there, being stealth rock weak and having a poor move pool forces basically every Glaceon set to be exactly the same.
Ice beam
Hidden Power - Electric
Shadow ball
Filler
Is basically the move set every Glaceon is likely to be running, although the last move is generally unimportant.
Personally to me it's a toss up between Sleep talk, Substitute
If you're running Choice Specs, Sleep talk should be used as it allows you to absorb sleep from the likes of Tangela, Exeggcutor and Jynx while Substitute on Life Orb sets allows you to dodge Suckerpunch from the likes of Absol and make Prediction easier.
I wouldn't recommend Baton Pass even for scouting because of the prevalence Stealth rock everywhere lowering Glaceon's Longevity .
Don't be fooled by Clamperl's baby face and charms; she's one of the most deadly Pokemon in UU. DeepSeaTooth doubles her Special Attack stat, giving her more immediate power than even the feared Deoxys-A. However, without her signature item, Clamperl is essentially useless. Clamperl also has awful Speed, making Trick Room a necessity to her success. If you can provide adequate support for her, Clamperl will be a dangerous addition to your team.
Although Clamperl is slow and frail, she hits like a truck. When Trick Room is in effect, Clamperl becomes one of the fastest Pokemon in the game. Additionally. DeepSeaTooth doubles Clamperl's Special Attack to an insane 542, turning her into a dangerous threat when used correctly. Surf provides reliable STAB, Ice Beam hits Grass-types, and Hidden Power Grass is for rival Water-types, like Quagsire. Finally, Brine deals more damage to weakened opponents, which is especially helpful against Lickylicky and Audino, while Toxic cripples defensive Pokemon who are difficult to get past. Keep in mind that when using Clamperl, it is very important that you switch her in unscathed, as her defenses are very low.
* The Above was copied from Clampearl's Smogondex from generation 4*
Obviously, nothing much has changed for Clampearl in trick room, she works just as well this generation as last generation with the exact same set. The only exception I would recommend is to use Substitute in the last slot to dodge Sucker punch from the likes of Absol while in trick room and it make prediction easier if your opponent tries to double and triple switch attempting to stall out trick room.
Ever been in the position where your trick room sweeper had been stopped and KO'ed leaving you with one turn of trick room left, where you had to decide between revenging your opponent with one of your sweepers or switching in a trick room Summoner, having to stall for one turn in order to set up trick room again?
Well Eelektross fills that roll perfectly with access with both U-turn and Volt Switch allowing your team to keep up the offensive momentum while allowing you to switch in the correct counter/checks to your opponent to set up trick room again.
With Great mixed offences with Base 115 Attack and base 105 Special Attack, reasonable 85/80/80 bulk and poor base 50. Eelektross makes his home in the trick room team as a momentum stealer with Volt-turn and still reliably sweep with great offensive power, add in his diverse offensive move pool with access to moves like flame thrower and grass knot and there aren't many safe switch ins even if they can safely switch in Volt-turn will allow Eelektross to switch out while still dealing damage.
Although Eelektross doesn't need the diverse move pool with great coverage in two moves in Thunderbolt & Hidden Power - Ice, the extra coverage does help, especially grass knot hitting Quagsire. although it isn't really necessary if you can switch out with U-turn then come with a threatening grass type or a user of a grass move.
Personally my best Eelektross sets have either been purely Special or mixed sets. Although he can run a physical set because his physical attack is higher then his Special Attack, Eelektross physical move pool is limited in terms of coverage compared to his special move pool, add on to the fact that Wild Charge has a lower base power then thunderbolt and causes recoil make a physical set quite unappealing to me.
With a great base 125 attack stat and low base 45 speed, dual stab bug/rock stab. Armaldo fits the roll of a trick room sweeper quite well, if it weren't for the fact that Rampardo classes it in terms of pure power in rock stab and it's bug typing brings it a Stealth rock weakness so even it's bulk is brought in question with 25% less health every time you switch in while rocks are up.
But there is an up side to Armaldo, Rapid Spin. Although most trick room teams don't need Spin support as much as other teams due to it's hyper offensive nature and most pokemon abusing trick room don't have a stealth rock weakness. It is a significant point worth examining as some trick room users such as Natu and Trick room sweepers such as Galceon and the lesser extent Camerupt and Octillery (Eruption and Water Spout) benefit from a battle field clear of hazards.
Armaldo is probably the only pokemon in the tier that can fulfil the role of both rapid spinner and trick room sweeper with it's move pool and offensive stats.
The Fighting Type with the highest Attack Stat (base 100) , access to Guts and Stab Close Combat. Machoke can fulfil the role as a fighting type guts abuser in trick room and check Absol at the same time(although a relatively unreliable check).
Machoke fulfils the Trick room Sweeper role relatively well but is out classed by Ursaring if you're only looking for a guts abuser but if you're looking for a little bit more, such as different typing and access to priority (bullet punch) Machoke is the alternative.
Toxic Orb is the item of choice for this Machoke, Evolulite should not be considered because Trick room is a hyper offensive playstyle and you want to be getting those key OHKOs, 2HKOs. If you want a better Absol check, you're better off using Emboar (above) or evolulite Gurrdur (in the Paragraph below under Honourable mentions).
Another Guts user worth Mentioning, Electric/Normal Coverage in Wild Charge and Facade hits everything in the tier neutrally except Golem, Cradily and Golett and we all know how common the latter two are. Wild Charge Recoil combined with Toxic Damage decreases Luxray's longevity but a lot of people use Swellow in the tier which suffers the same fate, as long as you can do enough damage to your opponent, Luxray would have fulfilled his job.
*Testing & Work in Progress*
The only Mixed Water type with good bulk (unlike clampearl) and access to Hydro pump allowing him to use Life orb (unlike Ocillery who doesn't like recoil). Aqua Jet and Megahorn warrant enough of a niche to give him a spot.
*Testing & Work in Progress*
Base 115 SpA allows him to hit harder then Eelektross but his ability Static is more of a nuisance to the team because it makes your opponent faster in trick room, While Running his Dream World ability "plus" forces him to miss out on useful support moves like heal bell and magnet rise.
*Testing & Work in Progress*
Threats
Absol is the bane of all trick room team that you should prepare for. If unprepared for this pokemon it's more or less GG, expect this guy to tear your team apart piece by piece but there are ways around him.
If Trick room isn't in effect, NEVER EVER give this guy a chance to set up sword dance, he is likely to break everything in your team with the exception of specific counters such as Gurrdur.
If trick room is in effect and Absol is likely attempt to revenge you with priority, substitute is your best friend as a significant portion of the trick room sweepers are likely to carry substitute such as Marowak, Clampearl, Glaceon, Rampardos and evolite Zweilous but your opponent can always out predict you.
In Trick Room, Amoonguss out speeds anything that has a Base Speed higher then 51 and will take out one of your team member with Spore.
Out side of sleep inducing one of your pokemon Amoonguss isn't really that dangerous but being down 5-6 can eventually contribute to your eventual defeat.
Ways to around Amoonguss would be to switch in poekmon status induced such has guts users like Guts Ursaring and Machoke. Sleep Talk user can also absorb sleep like Galceon can work too.
But if your have to lose one of your pokemon to sleep, use your own judgement. I personally try to keep my trick room team balanced by having the same number of trick room summoners and sweeper on my team.
Not as significant as the other major threats Musharna can be very intimidating especially if you let it get some clam mind boost.
With her immense bulk, Musharna can take hits and recover, and in trick room being so slow. Musharna is likely to Recover first before a significant number of your trick room sweeper hit her, basically tying with any pokemon with a base 50 speed with a negative nature and 0 IVs. The only Base 50 speed pokemon on the trick room sweeper list is Eelektross but usually carries 2 IVs in order to maximise the damage output of Hidden Power - Ice.
The best way to take down Musharna is to hit her as hard as possible (if possible with a super effective move) before she can boost with calm mind. If that isn't possible because she can outspeed you, then you'll have to rely on some heavy hitters on the physical side, hopefully putting enough offensive pressure on her until trick room stalls out and hitting her when you out speed her.
Alternative options if you have them are to taunt her with pokemon like Misdreavus, or status her with toxic or sleep like Exeggcutor. if you out speed her, Destiny bond users can surprise your opponent.
Muk and other Curse users in the Tier can be problematic especially in trick room where they would out speed you because they've lowered their speed and raised their physical bulk making it more difficult for your physical sweepers to break through.
Muk appearing to be easily countered due to the massive number of Psychics to use on your team but be weary of Shadow sneak and shadow punch because Muk is capable of using it. It is also very bulky usually having a full investment in HP and Special Defence which Muk could easily 2hko your counter with a heavy attack then finish you off with shadow sneak if it survives a OHKO
With curse users in general, it's probably best to keep up offensive pressure until trick room stalls out then hit them on their weaker side, just be careful of priority as most curse user will usually carry a priority move.
Honourable Mentions
Trapinch has a very rare niche on a trick room team because he can't outright be considered a sweeper with his decent base 100 attack stat but is less then desired for a trick room sweeper but he does fill the role as a revenger being able to trap and eliminate opposing pokemon if trick room is in effect, some examples are Magmotar, Exeggcutor, Camerupt etc.... he can obviously also take down weakness bulky threats like Regirock and Tangela.
Base 100 attack and Stab Earthquake means he hits harder then Dugtrio. Rockslide to hit Flying types and Crunch to Hit levitating Psychics and ghost, rounds out the coverage perfectly, throw in Quick Attack in the last slot for Priority means Trapinch isn't a sitting duck outside of trick room.
As a Revenger he works best with a Choice band or Life-Orb, Choice Band gives him the role of a pure revenger while Life-Orb gives him some flexibility to switch moves.
Being a Not Fully Evolved without an Evolite means he's a very frail pokemon so switch him in with discretion, being a ground type means he can switch into electric moves with immunity but he is unlikely to survive neutral or even resisted hits even with a fully invested HP so his best bets are switching in after something else on your team is KO-ed.
Absol being one of the biggest threats to trick room teams and one of the most used pokemon in the NU tier. Trick room team builders look towards a check or counter to Absol (who could potentially be a team killer) and can still work well on a trick room team.
Gurrdur is that pokemon. After an evolite and the right investment, Gurdurr can tank hits, bulk up and recover health with Drain punch.
He works exactly the same both outside and inside of trick room, the only real difference is hitting first with drain punch and recover some health, extending his longevity.
The main reason Gurrdur should be on any trick room team is to check the common Absol. Gurrdur is likely to beat every Absol with the exception of cirictial hits and the very few that carry Psycho Cut. Absol suffers from 4 Move Slot Syndrome so if he' carrying Psycho cut he's likely has inferior coverage or be choice locked, if he's carrying a choice item so in that case your trick room team can play around him in both cases.
Mental Herb
Generation 5 introduced a new item that could potentially be a game changer on every trick room team.
Mental Herb Cures the effects of Disable, Encore, Torment and most importantly of all Taunt, basically Mental herb will give your pokemon a one time the opportunity to set up trick room without being stopped by taunt.
This is very important if your opponent's main strategy of countering your trick room team is by Taunting your trick room summoners, if you can just set up trick room once, your opponent is on the back foot and you get a 3-4 turns to attack first. This is especially a huge advantage if your opponent's team is a hyper offensive team full of fast and frail pokemon, they would have to rely on smart switching to stall out trick room's affect.
Although the item is considered gimmicky as there are better items to consider such has leftovers, it is worth examining if your team needs it because trick room teams are considered hyper offensive, if you can reliably set up trick room regardless of what your opponent can do to counter it, the 3-4 turns of trick can determine the winner.
The item is probably best used on Bulky Defensive pokemon such as Musharna and Mespirit. Musharna also has reliable recover, although the extra leftovers recovery is beneficial, you can't deny the value of a one time taunt immune trick room allowing a you early game advantage.
Welcome to the Trick room guide, here are some ideas to get you started and what to expect.
Trick room teams are generally hyper offensive but instead of using hard hitting quick and usually frail pokemon, you're using hard hitting slow pokemon most of which are decently bulky with a few exceptions.
Expect most rick room teams to carry 3 trick room summoners and 3 trick room sweepers. Some pokemon can play more then one specific roles on a team so mix and match and test out what best suits you.
I hope you enjoy reading this guide and please post any new creative ideas and sets, although most of the viable pokemon have been already been posted on this guide. It never hurts to try something different because it does get boring, playing with the same pokemon and it's always fun playing against the odds.
Trick room Support
One of the most used pokemon in the tier, Capable of filling almost any role on the trick room team, from full support to sweeper, although it's main attraction is U-turn and Healing wish. U-turn gives you the momentum when switching out and Healing wish allows one of your trick room sweepers to be healed up and sweep again at full health for another 3 turns.
The two things that stand out on Exeggutor's stats are it's magnificent base 125 Special Attack and poor 55 speed. The Poor speed is prefect in trick room allowing Exeggutor to do double duty of Trick room summoner and sweeper. He also has Access to sleep powder to allow you to set trick room up again
How you ask me?
on the final turn of trick room (after 4 turns including the turn you set up trick room) use sleep powder to take out one pokemon and set up trick room again.
He also has explosion if you want to go down the suicide route allowing one of your sweepers to come in unharmed.
With her impressive 116/85/95 bulk and access to moonlight, Mushurna is the reliable go to pokemon to set up trick room time and time again and she's no Slouch either with a decent base 107 Special Attack, although not the strongest, she can deal some decent damage and break substitutes.
The bulky ghost of NU, Misdreavus has the bulk to set up trick room and hasa myriad of options to support your team such as will-o-wisp to burn those pesky dark types attempting to pursuit your dark weak trick room Brethren. Pain-split for recovery (although unreliable) and taunt to stop those walls attempting to stalll out trick room like wish/protect lickylicky and Audio. Momento and Destiny Bond to suicide, allowing one of your sweeper to come in unharmed
With access to Nasty plot Misdreavus can attempt to sweep similar to Cofagrigus in RU with Shadow ball and Hidden Power - Fighting for perfect coverage. Misdreavus base special attack is only 10 points lower then Cofagrigus so it can be pulled off if the conditions are right
One of the few useful non psychic or ghost types capable of setting up trick room. Which means porygon doesn't suffer from a weakness to dark types unlike the other trick room users except for stantler, spinda, Kecleon & Audio.
Porygon is more useful anyway, out of the 6 normal-type trick room users in the tier (Girafarig is normal/psychic), because it has access to recover, allowing Porygon to come in multiple times to set up trick room
Access to magic coat to bounce back support moves, because players love to toxic porygon and set up hazards on it because it usually doesn't hit very hard.
I personally recommend Download over trace, although trace is a useful ability on paper, all the good abilities have been taken and used in the higher tiers, things like water absorb laparas and lightning rod raichu are not common enough to warrant the use of trace.
You can benefit more from Download on the other hand as the tier is general physicial bulk orientated allowing your special atttacks to hit harder.
Natu craves out a niche for itself as a trick room user. It has the significant ability to block and bounce back Trick room's biggest enemy TAUNT and PHASING (I don't use american english sorry)
Taunt, roar and whirlwind are trick room's biggest enemies because trick room always goes last so if your opponent has a pokemon with one of those moves, trick room is effectively stopped, there's obviously phasing moves that deal damage like dragon tail and circle throw but their distribution in the lower tiers are scarce.
Being able to Set up trick room without being stopped by taunt. roar and whirlwind is a major plus for Natu, give an evolite and bulk investment and it's bulkier then you expect, access to roost and u-turn allow Natu to do it's job, round out the set with night shade allowing natu to do enough damage to break substitutes that aren't 101 HP.
Banette is the very definition of a suicide lead Trick room user.
Low base stats in bulk and speed and a high Attack stat allows Banette to fit into a very niche role of lead suicide trick room summoner.
Banette's main weakness last generation were taunt leads and with team preview, taunt users could switch into lead position and force Banette out before the battle even starts but not anymore as the 5th generation gave Banette a very useful tool, with the upgrade to magic coat, Banette can now block and reflect taunt if predicted correctly.
Now instead Banette suffers from 4 move slot syndrome between trick room, taunt, magic coat, shadow claw and destiny bond.
If you're feeling risky, you can bluff a focus sash and carry a mental herb instead to cure taunt and set up Trick room unhalted, but generally focus sash is the better item.
One of the top special walls in the tier, Audino also has the part time job of Trick room summoner. With the highly useful regenerator ability, Audino can come in multiples times to set up trick room and switch out and immediately regain health.
If your trick room team suffers from a major ghost or dark type weakness and Evolite Porygon doesn't appeal to you for what ever reason. Audino is your next best option.
Although she doesn't have as much bulk as evolite Porygon and she doesn't hit as hard. She is different enough to warrant using over Porygon. She'd not forced to use evolite like Porygon, although most set are likely to use leftovers further increasing her longevity.
She also has a selection of useful support moves with Wish, Encore, Heal Bell Yawn and the rare healing wish. The Trick room and Healing wish combination is only shared with 2 other pokemon, Mespriit has already been mentioned above, while Gardeviour has too much competition with others on this list that can do the job better.
Besides Misdreavus, Beheeyem is the only other Trick room user in the tier that can pull off a Trick Room + Nasty Plot Set and have neutral coverage with two moves Psychic & Thunderbolt.
Beheeyem probably does this set better with the shear power of his stats alone, base 125 SpA and base 40 Speed means he'll out speed and smack everything in the tier silly, just be careful of priority users, especially sucker punch.
A set with Trick room and 3 attacks with a life orb works just as well, if you're having trouble setting up Nastyplot.
Reuniclus Version 2
Despite being the pre-evolved version of Reuniclus. Duosion still keeps it's amazing base 125 SpA. Magic Guard should generally be the only real reason to use Duosion as a Trick room summoner over the others on this list as an immunity to passive damage to status, entry hazards and life orb recoil means Duosion will last longer then other Trick room sweepers, as long as she doesn't get hit.
Being a pre-evolved pokemon means Duosion has low defences and more vulnerable then the others. If the low bulk is unappealing, Duosion can carry an evolite and run recover to tank hits and stick around a little bit longer.
After an evolite and maximum investment, it is physically bulkier then Slowbro. Regenerator and Slack off give it further longevity and has a monopoly on the Trick room Belly Drum combination. Don't ever underestimate this guy or he'll make you regret it.
*Testing & Work in Progress*
Trick Room Sweepers
Remember trick room sweepers need to be slow and hit hard immediately, you only have 3 turns of speed advantage, sometimes wasting 1 turn to boost your offences may be wasteful, if you can use that extra turn to eliminate one of your opponent's pokemon instead
Why 3 turns?
Setting up trick room counts as one turn, and switching out to your sweeper counts as another turn, so your sweeper effectively only have 3 turns.
With access to guts and stab Facade, Ursaring hits like a Tank and with access to great coverage in Close combat and Crunch to take out ghost, steels and rocks. Nothing but priority and smart switching/stalling can stop this beast. Just slap on a Toxic Orb and watch your guts boosted Ursaring run through the team in a rampage.
At first glance (at least for me) Emboar doesn't seem like a effective trick room sweeper. but when you look at it as a mixed sweeper or wall breaker and realize you only have 3 turns to effectively use trick room. Emboar is actually an effective trick room wall breaker.
High Power Dual stabs allow you to catch your opponent off guard if they're expecting you to run pure physical or special.
Super power (base 120) and Overheat (base 140) allow you break a team and round off coverage with either wild charge or Grass knot in the third slot. The last slot is filler, I personally run flame thrower if I'm not use what to use first because of smart switching by my opponent.
I know using super power and overheat only takes up 2 turns, I usually use the last turn to suicide emboar with Wild charge + life orb recoil, or If I Can save him, switch in a resist and set up trick room again.
You probably heard this already, but Zweilous has the strongest Outrage in the game. If you haven't? NOW YOU KNOW.
Zweilous is slow and can sweep effectively in trick room. If you can somehow switch this guy in (most likely after a suicide) Slap on a choice band and Zweilous will destory everything in sight but the shakey 80% accuracy from hustle maybe a big turn off. You can run an evolite if you want Zweilous to take a hit in case you miss because of hustle.
With the highest attack in the tier (heck 2nd highest in the entire game, only beaten by Deoxy-A) a base 150 STAB in head smash and a speed low enough to take advantage of. Rampardos fits right at home on a Trick room team. Good luck finding a way to switch him in, as he's relatively frail.
With Mold breaker and Earthquake, this guy really only needs two moves for coverage. The last two slots are generally considered filler. Some niche moves can be used to take out specific rare counters. Stone Edge can be used on the same set if you want you want to keep Rampardos in a little bit longer if Head Smash + Life Orb recoil has taken it's toll.
Or just maximise Rampardos's power with a choice banded Head Smash, The majority of the tier won't come out alive (ie be either OHKO or 2HKO) unless he misses of course (head Smash is only 80% accurate).
With a Thick Club Item and a Adamant nature Marawak's attack reaches 568
To put this in perspective. An adamant max attack deoxy (base 150) with life orb reach 569.4, while a adamant max attack Haxorus (base 147) reaches 561.6.
That's a lot of fire power power Marowak is carrying in that club. Professor Oak should test it some day, I swear it must be some kind Nuclear Warhead inside :P.
This pokemon also has the move pool to leverage it's amazing attack too with Recoiless Double Edge With Rock Head, the elemental punches and much much more.
If you're feeling risk you can run sword dance or Belly drum to ramp up it's destructive capability but remember you only have 3 turns to take advantage it, well 2 turns if you set up.
Absol is actually the Fastest Trick room sweeper on the list with base 75 speed, uninvested with 0 IVs and a Negative Nature, he only reaches 167 speed, which means in trick room, anay pokemon that has a base 65 speed uninvested will out speed him in trick room.
Under normal circumstances he would be considered slow, in the NU tier, most players believe average to be around base 85, which would make Absol's speed middling which would be a major down fall for a Trick room sweeper.
BUT Absol has a few of things going for it, base 130 attack, Stab Priority Sucker punch and Neutral coverage with two moves in Super power and Night Slash combined with the hax potential Super luck gives Absol the opportunity to break through any wall with a little bit of luck. Access to X-scissor and Psycho Cut gives it some moving room to take down particular threats such as Tangela and Gurdurr attempting to wall or scare it away. Finally Sword dance make this guy really dangerous, inside or outside of trick room as Stab +2 Sucker punch hurts.
Just remember your speed tiers both inside and outside of trick room, knowing when to use Sucker punch and when not to use it and also remember the odd Substitute user and you should be fine with this guy
With base 115 Offensive Stats on both sides of the Spectrum, Dual Stab and being the only mixed sweeper with access to Priority Sucker punch. Cacturne has some staying power outside of trick room being able to hit faster threats.
This generation also gave Cacturne a new toy in the ability, Water Absorb but at the cost of losing key moves such as Giga drain and Dark pulse because they are generation 4 tutor moves.
With an amazing move pool, Cacturne is capable of running multiple sets with access to sword dance, nasty plot, and even choice sets (has access to Switcheroo). Even Support moves such as Destiny Bond and the lesser extent Spikes, keep the offensive up and makes your opponent guessing what kind of move set you really have?
Personally my most successful set has been a Mixed set attempting to hit everything possible in the tier, sometimes finishing off the opponent with a surprising Destiny Bond, Spikes can be used in the lead to Bluff a Support set only for your opponent to find out later in the match that Cacturne can carry it's weigh. Just be sure to carry a ghost to block those rapid spins.
On the surface it may look like Emboar Outclasses Camerupt with an immediate higher damage output with great mixed offensive stats and high powered stabs but there's a couple of things Emboar would kill for that Camerupt has.
Eruption combined with a slight higher Special Attack, should generally be the main reason to use Camerupt over Emboar. Slap on a pair of classy choice Specs and anything that doesn't resist or have an immunity to it will be burnt to a crisp. Combined with a reliable Stab in Earth Power and a choice between Overheat or Fire Blast as an alternative once Eruption's power has been diminished and you portable Volcano capable of turning a team into Goo.
Alternatively you can carry an expert belt and run a mixed set with Earthquake which hits harder then earth power and Stone Edge for neutral Coverage, and you'll never have to worry about burns.
Add on to the fact that Solid rock allows Camerupt to take a Super effective hit (not water) and being a common Magmotar switch in. Camerupt has plenty of chances to reck havoc.
Octillery is more or less in the same boat as Camerupt above, as the main reason you should use it for is Water Spout, Which is basically a water type Eruption. Combined with it's insanely massive offensive move pool, Octillery has an answer to almost everything, if only it has move move slots.
The other minor reasons to use it would be better bulk beacuse his only other water type competition Clampearl and the ability Suction Cups if your team starts out on the back foot unable to set up trick room because of a phaser.
Glaceon's main niche is being the only ice type on this list and having a massive base 130 special attack with neutral coverage in only 2 moves
Sadly the good news end there, being stealth rock weak and having a poor move pool forces basically every Glaceon set to be exactly the same.
Ice beam
Hidden Power - Electric
Shadow ball
Filler
Is basically the move set every Glaceon is likely to be running, although the last move is generally unimportant.
Personally to me it's a toss up between Sleep talk, Substitute
If you're running Choice Specs, Sleep talk should be used as it allows you to absorb sleep from the likes of Tangela, Exeggcutor and Jynx while Substitute on Life Orb sets allows you to dodge Suckerpunch from the likes of Absol and make Prediction easier.
I wouldn't recommend Baton Pass even for scouting because of the prevalence Stealth rock everywhere lowering Glaceon's Longevity .
Don't be fooled by Clamperl's baby face and charms; she's one of the most deadly Pokemon in UU. DeepSeaTooth doubles her Special Attack stat, giving her more immediate power than even the feared Deoxys-A. However, without her signature item, Clamperl is essentially useless. Clamperl also has awful Speed, making Trick Room a necessity to her success. If you can provide adequate support for her, Clamperl will be a dangerous addition to your team.
Although Clamperl is slow and frail, she hits like a truck. When Trick Room is in effect, Clamperl becomes one of the fastest Pokemon in the game. Additionally. DeepSeaTooth doubles Clamperl's Special Attack to an insane 542, turning her into a dangerous threat when used correctly. Surf provides reliable STAB, Ice Beam hits Grass-types, and Hidden Power Grass is for rival Water-types, like Quagsire. Finally, Brine deals more damage to weakened opponents, which is especially helpful against Lickylicky and Audino, while Toxic cripples defensive Pokemon who are difficult to get past. Keep in mind that when using Clamperl, it is very important that you switch her in unscathed, as her defenses are very low.
* The Above was copied from Clampearl's Smogondex from generation 4*
Obviously, nothing much has changed for Clampearl in trick room, she works just as well this generation as last generation with the exact same set. The only exception I would recommend is to use Substitute in the last slot to dodge Sucker punch from the likes of Absol while in trick room and it make prediction easier if your opponent tries to double and triple switch attempting to stall out trick room.
Ever been in the position where your trick room sweeper had been stopped and KO'ed leaving you with one turn of trick room left, where you had to decide between revenging your opponent with one of your sweepers or switching in a trick room Summoner, having to stall for one turn in order to set up trick room again?
Well Eelektross fills that roll perfectly with access with both U-turn and Volt Switch allowing your team to keep up the offensive momentum while allowing you to switch in the correct counter/checks to your opponent to set up trick room again.
With Great mixed offences with Base 115 Attack and base 105 Special Attack, reasonable 85/80/80 bulk and poor base 50. Eelektross makes his home in the trick room team as a momentum stealer with Volt-turn and still reliably sweep with great offensive power, add in his diverse offensive move pool with access to moves like flame thrower and grass knot and there aren't many safe switch ins even if they can safely switch in Volt-turn will allow Eelektross to switch out while still dealing damage.
Although Eelektross doesn't need the diverse move pool with great coverage in two moves in Thunderbolt & Hidden Power - Ice, the extra coverage does help, especially grass knot hitting Quagsire. although it isn't really necessary if you can switch out with U-turn then come with a threatening grass type or a user of a grass move.
Personally my best Eelektross sets have either been purely Special or mixed sets. Although he can run a physical set because his physical attack is higher then his Special Attack, Eelektross physical move pool is limited in terms of coverage compared to his special move pool, add on to the fact that Wild Charge has a lower base power then thunderbolt and causes recoil make a physical set quite unappealing to me.
With a great base 125 attack stat and low base 45 speed, dual stab bug/rock stab. Armaldo fits the roll of a trick room sweeper quite well, if it weren't for the fact that Rampardo classes it in terms of pure power in rock stab and it's bug typing brings it a Stealth rock weakness so even it's bulk is brought in question with 25% less health every time you switch in while rocks are up.
But there is an up side to Armaldo, Rapid Spin. Although most trick room teams don't need Spin support as much as other teams due to it's hyper offensive nature and most pokemon abusing trick room don't have a stealth rock weakness. It is a significant point worth examining as some trick room users such as Natu and Trick room sweepers such as Galceon and the lesser extent Camerupt and Octillery (Eruption and Water Spout) benefit from a battle field clear of hazards.
Armaldo is probably the only pokemon in the tier that can fulfil the role of both rapid spinner and trick room sweeper with it's move pool and offensive stats.
The Fighting Type with the highest Attack Stat (base 100) , access to Guts and Stab Close Combat. Machoke can fulfil the role as a fighting type guts abuser in trick room and check Absol at the same time(although a relatively unreliable check).
Machoke fulfils the Trick room Sweeper role relatively well but is out classed by Ursaring if you're only looking for a guts abuser but if you're looking for a little bit more, such as different typing and access to priority (bullet punch) Machoke is the alternative.
Toxic Orb is the item of choice for this Machoke, Evolulite should not be considered because Trick room is a hyper offensive playstyle and you want to be getting those key OHKOs, 2HKOs. If you want a better Absol check, you're better off using Emboar (above) or evolulite Gurrdur (in the Paragraph below under Honourable mentions).
Another Guts user worth Mentioning, Electric/Normal Coverage in Wild Charge and Facade hits everything in the tier neutrally except Golem, Cradily and Golett and we all know how common the latter two are. Wild Charge Recoil combined with Toxic Damage decreases Luxray's longevity but a lot of people use Swellow in the tier which suffers the same fate, as long as you can do enough damage to your opponent, Luxray would have fulfilled his job.
*Testing & Work in Progress*
The only Mixed Water type with good bulk (unlike clampearl) and access to Hydro pump allowing him to use Life orb (unlike Ocillery who doesn't like recoil). Aqua Jet and Megahorn warrant enough of a niche to give him a spot.
*Testing & Work in Progress*
Base 115 SpA allows him to hit harder then Eelektross but his ability Static is more of a nuisance to the team because it makes your opponent faster in trick room, While Running his Dream World ability "plus" forces him to miss out on useful support moves like heal bell and magnet rise.
*Testing & Work in Progress*
Threats
Absol is the bane of all trick room team that you should prepare for. If unprepared for this pokemon it's more or less GG, expect this guy to tear your team apart piece by piece but there are ways around him.
If Trick room isn't in effect, NEVER EVER give this guy a chance to set up sword dance, he is likely to break everything in your team with the exception of specific counters such as Gurrdur.
If trick room is in effect and Absol is likely attempt to revenge you with priority, substitute is your best friend as a significant portion of the trick room sweepers are likely to carry substitute such as Marowak, Clampearl, Glaceon, Rampardos and evolite Zweilous but your opponent can always out predict you.
In Trick Room, Amoonguss out speeds anything that has a Base Speed higher then 51 and will take out one of your team member with Spore.
Out side of sleep inducing one of your pokemon Amoonguss isn't really that dangerous but being down 5-6 can eventually contribute to your eventual defeat.
Ways to around Amoonguss would be to switch in poekmon status induced such has guts users like Guts Ursaring and Machoke. Sleep Talk user can also absorb sleep like Galceon can work too.
But if your have to lose one of your pokemon to sleep, use your own judgement. I personally try to keep my trick room team balanced by having the same number of trick room summoners and sweeper on my team.
Not as significant as the other major threats Musharna can be very intimidating especially if you let it get some clam mind boost.
With her immense bulk, Musharna can take hits and recover, and in trick room being so slow. Musharna is likely to Recover first before a significant number of your trick room sweeper hit her, basically tying with any pokemon with a base 50 speed with a negative nature and 0 IVs. The only Base 50 speed pokemon on the trick room sweeper list is Eelektross but usually carries 2 IVs in order to maximise the damage output of Hidden Power - Ice.
The best way to take down Musharna is to hit her as hard as possible (if possible with a super effective move) before she can boost with calm mind. If that isn't possible because she can outspeed you, then you'll have to rely on some heavy hitters on the physical side, hopefully putting enough offensive pressure on her until trick room stalls out and hitting her when you out speed her.
Alternative options if you have them are to taunt her with pokemon like Misdreavus, or status her with toxic or sleep like Exeggcutor. if you out speed her, Destiny bond users can surprise your opponent.
Muk and other Curse users in the Tier can be problematic especially in trick room where they would out speed you because they've lowered their speed and raised their physical bulk making it more difficult for your physical sweepers to break through.
Muk appearing to be easily countered due to the massive number of Psychics to use on your team but be weary of Shadow sneak and shadow punch because Muk is capable of using it. It is also very bulky usually having a full investment in HP and Special Defence which Muk could easily 2hko your counter with a heavy attack then finish you off with shadow sneak if it survives a OHKO
With curse users in general, it's probably best to keep up offensive pressure until trick room stalls out then hit them on their weaker side, just be careful of priority as most curse user will usually carry a priority move.
Honourable Mentions
Trapinch has a very rare niche on a trick room team because he can't outright be considered a sweeper with his decent base 100 attack stat but is less then desired for a trick room sweeper but he does fill the role as a revenger being able to trap and eliminate opposing pokemon if trick room is in effect, some examples are Magmotar, Exeggcutor, Camerupt etc.... he can obviously also take down weakness bulky threats like Regirock and Tangela.
Base 100 attack and Stab Earthquake means he hits harder then Dugtrio. Rockslide to hit Flying types and Crunch to Hit levitating Psychics and ghost, rounds out the coverage perfectly, throw in Quick Attack in the last slot for Priority means Trapinch isn't a sitting duck outside of trick room.
As a Revenger he works best with a Choice band or Life-Orb, Choice Band gives him the role of a pure revenger while Life-Orb gives him some flexibility to switch moves.
Being a Not Fully Evolved without an Evolite means he's a very frail pokemon so switch him in with discretion, being a ground type means he can switch into electric moves with immunity but he is unlikely to survive neutral or even resisted hits even with a fully invested HP so his best bets are switching in after something else on your team is KO-ed.
Absol being one of the biggest threats to trick room teams and one of the most used pokemon in the NU tier. Trick room team builders look towards a check or counter to Absol (who could potentially be a team killer) and can still work well on a trick room team.
Gurrdur is that pokemon. After an evolite and the right investment, Gurdurr can tank hits, bulk up and recover health with Drain punch.
He works exactly the same both outside and inside of trick room, the only real difference is hitting first with drain punch and recover some health, extending his longevity.
The main reason Gurrdur should be on any trick room team is to check the common Absol. Gurrdur is likely to beat every Absol with the exception of cirictial hits and the very few that carry Psycho Cut. Absol suffers from 4 Move Slot Syndrome so if he' carrying Psycho cut he's likely has inferior coverage or be choice locked, if he's carrying a choice item so in that case your trick room team can play around him in both cases.
Mental Herb
Generation 5 introduced a new item that could potentially be a game changer on every trick room team.
Mental Herb Cures the effects of Disable, Encore, Torment and most importantly of all Taunt, basically Mental herb will give your pokemon a one time the opportunity to set up trick room without being stopped by taunt.
This is very important if your opponent's main strategy of countering your trick room team is by Taunting your trick room summoners, if you can just set up trick room once, your opponent is on the back foot and you get a 3-4 turns to attack first. This is especially a huge advantage if your opponent's team is a hyper offensive team full of fast and frail pokemon, they would have to rely on smart switching to stall out trick room's affect.
Although the item is considered gimmicky as there are better items to consider such has leftovers, it is worth examining if your team needs it because trick room teams are considered hyper offensive, if you can reliably set up trick room regardless of what your opponent can do to counter it, the 3-4 turns of trick can determine the winner.
The item is probably best used on Bulky Defensive pokemon such as Musharna and Mespirit. Musharna also has reliable recover, although the extra leftovers recovery is beneficial, you can't deny the value of a one time taunt immune trick room allowing a you early game advantage.
