Hello all. I'm hoping for some help/pointers with this PU trick room team. I wanted to include Luxray, Runerigus, Walrien and Trevenant since they're favorites of mine that I can't really use anywhere. Carracosta and Aramatisse are just filling in the gaps so to speak.
Luxray @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Facade
- Superpower
- Wild Charge
Luxray is meant to be my main wallbreaker/sweeper. Superpower isn't typically enough on its own to take out threats like rhydon, aggron, etc but it takes a hefty chunk out of them, typically enough to scare them out or clean them up. Facade is pretty solid damage and coverage across a lot of staple mons which makes it a fairly safe option when I dont want to wear luxray down to fast with wild charge. Crunch is there to handle ghost and psychic mons on the bulkier side. Luxray also has the added benefit of being able to 'tank' status effects. I invested in attack for obvious reasons, but choice HP over speed to give it some added bulk, since the speed would work against Trick Room. That added bulk lets it take an extra hit in some fairly clutch moments and eek out one last kill.
Runerigus @ Leftovers
Ability: Wandering Spirit
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Destiny Bond
- Stealth Rock
- Body Press
Runerigus is the first of my trick room setters and a fairly bulky mon in its own right. Body press is fairly useful against a number of the mons it can switch in on, aggron, sandslash-alola, etc, which can help it do damage and get a kill here or there. Destiny bond is there to help it take out sweepers that aren't on the lookout for it, and to get it out of the way for a mon that can take advantage of trick room better. Stealth rock is there for utility and potentially to deal with any scarves, and to threaten mons like scyther and charizard and some of the other flying mons. Doesnt do so well against Xatu, but doesn't take too much damage from it, and I have some safe switch ins against it. Maxed defense lets it get reliable switch ins and TR's off. Leftovers because they're always handy, and I couldn't think of anything better.
Walrein @ Choice Specs
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Rock Tomb
- Hydro Pump
- Frost Breath
Walrein is basically my only special attacker, and it doesn't have the best coverage though with specs and a decent predict it does its job quite well. Its also my primary Magmortar check. It MIGHT get 3HKO'd by specs fire blast, and with some predict game, I have other mons to handle thunderbolt etc. I've only faced one magmortar on the ladder, so Im not confident my assessment is on the money exactly. Dry skin pokemon like toxicroak and heliolisk give it some trouble, but ice beam still does solid damage to both, so they mainly limit my move options. Rock tomb is to take out charizard during sun. Thick fat also means it can handle most ice attacks, which helps patch that weakness in my team. Frost breath is there to handle calm mind and other defensive set ups, as crits will pop right through that.
Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Power-Up Punch
- Horn Leech
I love Trevenant. Substitute and Leech Seed can de hefty damage to teams that aren't prepared to handle it. It can get set up in trick room pretty easily. Harvest plus sitrus berry, and leech seed give it incredible longevity, making it a pain for other teams to get through. This helps it to weaken the other team, sometimes leading to lots of switches. With stealth rocks up, this is very useful for letting walrien or luxray clean up the pieces later on. Its ev's were just the teambuilder recommendation given its set. I haven't experimented as much with them yet, but its been working well for me so far. The o speed IV's of course are to help it function in trick room.
Aromatisse @ Leftovers
Ability: Aroma Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
- Trick Room
Aromatisse is my second trick room setter. Wish lets it heal itself and allies, which is quite helpful since they're all fairly bulky. Protect helps it recover a bit with wish or leftovers. Moonblast gives it good stab and also helps it take out scrafty and other fighting and dark types. Toxicroak is a slight concern, but there are plenty of safe switch ins. Its incredibly low speed also means it almost always goes first in trick room. (A lot of high usage mons in the tier have fairly low speed stats which can be annoying to deal with) Aroma Veil is also nice since it cant be taunted or encored.
Carracosta @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Aqua Jet
- Stone Edge
- Curse
- Liquidation
Carracosta is currently filling my 6th slot. I had tried guzzlord and Armaldo beforehand as set up sweepers, but they didn't quite seem to fit. I needed priority and a setup sweeper, while still being slow and bulky. Carracosta gave me all of that, while also giving me another ice and fire resist, and another check to magmortar. I wanted to give it swords dance, but that's not an option, and I worried that shell smash might be counterproductive in TR, so I settled for solid rock with weakness policy. Curse is there to help it set up potentially even more. I choice not to include earthquake since it seemed a bit redundant given its current coverage. Stone edge and liquidation give it fairly good coverage, and high damage given its stab.
Other Stuff
I don't have a lot of fire coverage. So mixed steel types concern me a bit. I can deal with ferroseed with some predicts since it doesnt tend to have reliable recovery. Walrein does solid damage to it, and Trevenant can handle leech seed. I dont have any hazard control which could pose to be an issue for luxray since it gets worn down constantly. I also don't have a poison type, so no way to absorb toxic spikes. Hasn't been an issue so far, but that may be because I'm still relatively low ladder. Dunno how prevalent hazard game is in PU anyways though.
Would appreciate any feedback y'all are willing to offer on this :)
Luxray @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Crunch
- Facade
- Superpower
- Wild Charge
Luxray is meant to be my main wallbreaker/sweeper. Superpower isn't typically enough on its own to take out threats like rhydon, aggron, etc but it takes a hefty chunk out of them, typically enough to scare them out or clean them up. Facade is pretty solid damage and coverage across a lot of staple mons which makes it a fairly safe option when I dont want to wear luxray down to fast with wild charge. Crunch is there to handle ghost and psychic mons on the bulkier side. Luxray also has the added benefit of being able to 'tank' status effects. I invested in attack for obvious reasons, but choice HP over speed to give it some added bulk, since the speed would work against Trick Room. That added bulk lets it take an extra hit in some fairly clutch moments and eek out one last kill.
Runerigus @ Leftovers
Ability: Wandering Spirit
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Destiny Bond
- Stealth Rock
- Body Press
Runerigus is the first of my trick room setters and a fairly bulky mon in its own right. Body press is fairly useful against a number of the mons it can switch in on, aggron, sandslash-alola, etc, which can help it do damage and get a kill here or there. Destiny bond is there to help it take out sweepers that aren't on the lookout for it, and to get it out of the way for a mon that can take advantage of trick room better. Stealth rock is there for utility and potentially to deal with any scarves, and to threaten mons like scyther and charizard and some of the other flying mons. Doesnt do so well against Xatu, but doesn't take too much damage from it, and I have some safe switch ins against it. Maxed defense lets it get reliable switch ins and TR's off. Leftovers because they're always handy, and I couldn't think of anything better.
Walrein @ Choice Specs
Ability: Thick Fat
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Ice Beam
- Rock Tomb
- Hydro Pump
- Frost Breath
Walrein is basically my only special attacker, and it doesn't have the best coverage though with specs and a decent predict it does its job quite well. Its also my primary Magmortar check. It MIGHT get 3HKO'd by specs fire blast, and with some predict game, I have other mons to handle thunderbolt etc. I've only faced one magmortar on the ladder, so Im not confident my assessment is on the money exactly. Dry skin pokemon like toxicroak and heliolisk give it some trouble, but ice beam still does solid damage to both, so they mainly limit my move options. Rock tomb is to take out charizard during sun. Thick fat also means it can handle most ice attacks, which helps patch that weakness in my team. Frost breath is there to handle calm mind and other defensive set ups, as crits will pop right through that.
Trevenant @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Harvest
EVs: 244 HP / 12 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Substitute
- Leech Seed
- Power-Up Punch
- Horn Leech
I love Trevenant. Substitute and Leech Seed can de hefty damage to teams that aren't prepared to handle it. It can get set up in trick room pretty easily. Harvest plus sitrus berry, and leech seed give it incredible longevity, making it a pain for other teams to get through. This helps it to weaken the other team, sometimes leading to lots of switches. With stealth rocks up, this is very useful for letting walrien or luxray clean up the pieces later on. Its ev's were just the teambuilder recommendation given its set. I haven't experimented as much with them yet, but its been working well for me so far. The o speed IV's of course are to help it function in trick room.
Aromatisse @ Leftovers
Ability: Aroma Veil
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Moonblast
- Wish
- Protect
- Trick Room
Aromatisse is my second trick room setter. Wish lets it heal itself and allies, which is quite helpful since they're all fairly bulky. Protect helps it recover a bit with wish or leftovers. Moonblast gives it good stab and also helps it take out scrafty and other fighting and dark types. Toxicroak is a slight concern, but there are plenty of safe switch ins. Its incredibly low speed also means it almost always goes first in trick room. (A lot of high usage mons in the tier have fairly low speed stats which can be annoying to deal with) Aroma Veil is also nice since it cant be taunted or encored.
Carracosta @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Aqua Jet
- Stone Edge
- Curse
- Liquidation
Carracosta is currently filling my 6th slot. I had tried guzzlord and Armaldo beforehand as set up sweepers, but they didn't quite seem to fit. I needed priority and a setup sweeper, while still being slow and bulky. Carracosta gave me all of that, while also giving me another ice and fire resist, and another check to magmortar. I wanted to give it swords dance, but that's not an option, and I worried that shell smash might be counterproductive in TR, so I settled for solid rock with weakness policy. Curse is there to help it set up potentially even more. I choice not to include earthquake since it seemed a bit redundant given its current coverage. Stone edge and liquidation give it fairly good coverage, and high damage given its stab.
Other Stuff
I don't have a lot of fire coverage. So mixed steel types concern me a bit. I can deal with ferroseed with some predicts since it doesnt tend to have reliable recovery. Walrein does solid damage to it, and Trevenant can handle leech seed. I dont have any hazard control which could pose to be an issue for luxray since it gets worn down constantly. I also don't have a poison type, so no way to absorb toxic spikes. Hasn't been an issue so far, but that may be because I'm still relatively low ladder. Dunno how prevalent hazard game is in PU anyways though.
Would appreciate any feedback y'all are willing to offer on this :)
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