I'm back with another team, except this type it is different from my previous single battle teams in the sense that it doesn't rely on weather or my favorite Dragonite-Jirachi Parahax combo. This time, I decided to go for my favorite strategy of all time that I have been trying to make for a while- Trick Room. It took me a while to decide that it may be possible (for me) to make a Trick Room team that would win in the metagame. In all the testing I did with this team, after I got a hang of it and fixed all the problems, I haven't lost once yet. Although, there have been many close calls, I have always managed to pull ahead and win, even if it was just a centimeter ahead, it was enough to tilt the game in my favor. So, without wasting anymore time, here is my RMT and I hope you like it and provide good rates!
Same End, Different Means
About the title:When I came up with this title, I had the story of the tortoise and the hare in mind, however I realized that it didn't fit too well. The tortoise won by taking advantage of the hare's arrogance and confidence in the thought that it would win no matter what since the tortoise was so slow. However, since it took a nap, the tortoise won. My team, although it aims at using slower Pokemon to beat the faster Pokemon, doesn't rest on the idea that faster Pokemon take their speed for granted, but rather in the fact that, although being fast has its perks, it doesn't guarantee a win. The general idea of the story differed but I liked the thought that the slower Pokemon win but not by the story's means, so I made the name "Same Ends, Different Means" to show how the story is slightly related with this Trick Room team's dependence on the assumption that most people have fast Pokemon on their team than slow Pokemon.
Team Building Process
For my first Trick Room user, I chose to start off with Slowbro since it had nice bulk and decent offensive capabilities. On top of that, it was blessed with Regenerator, which made Slowbro a great Trick Room inducer because it could be recycled.
Next, I decided to look for some Trick Room abuser who would complement Slowbro well and I came upon Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn had great synergy with Slowbro, taking Ghost-, Dark-, Bug- and Grass-type attacks for Slowbro while Slowbro took Fire- and Fighting-type attacks with ease.
After that duo, I looked for another Trick Room setter and I decided to go with Porygon2. It had such great bulk with Eviolite that it seemed impossible for it to die before setting up Trick Room.
I, once again, looked for good synergy and came upon Dusclops. It could switch onto Fighting-type attacks for Porygon2 while Porygon2 could take Ghost-type attacks for it for no damage.
Next, I needed my third Trick Room setter and I decided to go with Reuniclus. It had both great defensive and great offensive capabilities thanks to its HP and Special Attack.
For my last Pokemon, I needed someone who, as usual, had great synergy with Reuniclus so I decided to go for a Fighting-type. Conkeldurr jumped to mind but Machamp seemed like a better option thanks to No Guard.
I, after some testing, realized that I needed at least one Pokemon who could operate outside of Trick Room, to clean up whatever is left or to work if all my Trick Room setters are down. I decided to run Salamence due to its great late game sweeping ability. So, I threw out Dusclops, who didn't hit too hard anyway, and replaced it with Salamence.
In-Depth Look
Slowbro @ Mental Herb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 244 HP / 108 SDef / 156 SAtk
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Scald
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Trick Room
Purpose
Slowbro is meant to be the foolproof Trick Room setter because of its Mental Herb, which all the other Trick Room setters on this team lack. It can also function as an effective sweeper thanks to its two STAB moves and extra coverage move that is good against many common walls.
Moves and Items Explained
Mental Herb is the key to Slowbro's Trick Room setting because it can ensure that I get a Trick Room set up even if the opponent predicts the move and uses Taunt. Although Leftovers seem like a better option, Regenerator takes care of HP due to the fact that this team switches a lot.
Scald is Slowbro's primary STAB move that is meant to hit anything that can't be hit for super effective damage by the other moves. It also comes in very handy in weakening the opponent if they get burned, making better use of the five Trick Room Turns.
Psychic is Slowbro's second STAB move and it, once again, aims to hit Pokemon that resist the other two moves.
Flamethrower is mainly for coverage against Pokemon such as Scizor, Ferrothorn, Forretress and Genesect. Although these Pokemon can be a huge threat if Trick Room isn't set up, they can be easily dealt with if Slowbro switches in when Trick Room is already in effect.
Bronzong @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Trick Room
Purpose
Bronzong is the second of three Trick Room setters and it will, in most cases, set up first if I know that there is a Dark-, Bug- or Ghost-type attacker that is strong enough or has the potential to OHKO Slowbro or Reuniclus. After setting up Trick Room it can serve as a Physical attacker, however it will rarely OHKO anything that isn't much faster than it, thanks to Gyro Ball.
Moves and Items Explained
Leftovers allow for Bronzong to stay out longer and possibly set up Trick Room multiple times. The main reason for having Leftovers as opposed to some more offensive item is that Bronzong is easier to kill so its in my interest to keep it healthy for as long as possible.
Stealth Rock helps my team in general by discouraging switch outs by my opponent, allowing for worse match ups for them. Also, if my opponent does switch, they only make it easier for me to kill their Pokemon as it is already weakened.
Earthquake is absolutely necessary on here for two reasons- Fire-types and Steel-types. Fire-types can threaten Bronzong greatly so it is necessary for me to run this move to possibly OHKO them before they do the same to me. Also, the likes of Jirachi are incredibly hard for my team to OHKO, especially in the Rain, so Earthquake is a nice counter against them.
Gyro Ball is Bronzong's primary attack due to the fact that it does huge damage thanks to its STAB boost. Also, many Pokemon nowadays are really fast, so Gyro Ball can usually ensure an OHKO on them, and before they deal damage if Trick Room is in effect.
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
Purpose
Reuniclus is the last of the three Trick Room setters and it is the most offensive of the three. It uses Magic Guard in combination with Life Orb to provide it with great offensive capability to put to use after setting up Trick Room. Magic Guard also allows it to negate the damage of entry hazards and status conditions, making it a good switch in.
Moves and Items Explained
Life Orb is mainly there to allow Reuniclus to function outside of the role of a Trick Room setter. It can now also function as a Special sweeper so as to deal with Physical walls that do not predict that Reuniclus is offensive and not defensive, as is commonly the case for set up versions of Reuniclus.
Psychic is the main choice for Reuniclus when attacking if all other attacks are not effective or deal no damage to the opponent's Pokemon because of the punch it packs due to the STAB it receives from its user's Psychic-typing.
Focus Blast is for Normal-, Steel-, Rock- and Ice-types, all of which are commonly seen, although Normal-type is seen less than the others. Also, it allows Reuniclus to hit what Psychic cannot, Dark-types, who also pose a threat to Reuniclus due to their capability to hit Reuniclus for super effective damage.
Shadow Ball is reserved for Ghost-types, namely Gengar and Jellicent, that can be pesky outside of Trick Room. The latter of the two can be especially annoying since some variants carry Toxic and Taunt, an annoying duo for my team.
Scizor @ Iron Plate
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 96 Atk / 164 SDef
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Brick Break
- Bug Bite
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
Purpose
Scizor abuses Trick Room well because it can use the turns of reversed speed to set up and then use priority moves after it wears off. Also, it has great synergy with Slowbro, so it can switch onto Bug-, Ghost- and Grass-type attacks targeting Slowbro while it can switch out of Fire-type attacks that Slowbro can laugh off.
Moves and Items Explained
Iron Plate helps ensure that Bullet Punch does the maximum amount of damage after some Swords Dance boosts. This allows Scizor to functione effectively even after Trick Room has worn off.
Brick Break is Scizor's primary coverage move, which allows it to hit Steel-type Pokemon that attempt to wall it for super effective damage. Also, it can be used against Dark-type Pokemon that attempt to OHKO Slowbro. Although it doesn't receive a Technician boost, it can still do decent damage after a Swords Dance.
Bug Bite is Scizor's primary STAB move, aiming to hit Psychic-type and Grass-type Pokemon for super effective and possibly OHKO them with Technician.
Bullet Punch is Scizor's second STAB move, but it is used in most cases when nothing hits for super effective damage. It also allows Scizor to function outside of Trick Room, with devastating power with Technician, STAB and Iron Plate boosts. This allows Scizor to aid Salamence in cleaning up weakened Pokemon outside of Trick Room.
Swords Dance helps Scizor sweep both with and without Trick Room in effect. Since people often switch to better deal with threats, I can easily pull of at least one or two Swords Dance boosts.
Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef
IVs: 0 Spd
Brave Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Mach Punch
- Stone Edge
- Facade
Purpose
Conkeldurr's main purpose is to be a physical sweeper when Trick Room is in place. Using Guts, it can do this effectively thanks to its Attack boost. Apart from this, Conkeldurr can function well outside of Trick Room thanks to Mach Punch, which allows its Speed to be ignored.
Moves and Items Explained
Flame Orb is only there to activate Conkeldurr's Guts, to make sweeping much easier since it boosts Conkeldurr's Attack stat so that it is impressively high.
Hammer Arm is Conkeldurr's primary attacking move as it deals huge damage with STAB and Guts. Also, it allows me to deal with common irritants, such as Ferrothorn, who can be slower than most of what I am using.
Mach Punch serves two main purposes, one while Trick Room is in effect and one when it is not. While Trick Room is in effect, Mach Punch allows for immediate devastating power to clean up slower threats. Outside of Trick Room, Conkeldurr can aid Salamence in cleaning up whatever remains from the other Trick Room abusers work.
Stone Edge is mainly here to deal with Flying- and Fire-type threats. Against an unprepared opponent, Volcarona can Quiver Dance until Trick Room is over and then sweep, preventing me from setting up another Trick Room. To deal with this, Conkeldurr can either use Stone Edge of scare Volcarona away by merely switching in, causing Volcarona to forfeit any accumulated boosts.
Facade is reserved for anything that I can't hit harder with other moves. This also allows Flame Orb to serve another purpose, allowing for an additional move to hit for heavy damage.
Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
Purpose
Although Salamence may appear a bit out of place here, with its full Speed and Choice Scarf, it isn't meant to be used while Trick Room is in effect. Rather, it is meant to function as a late game sweeper, to clean up what is left. So, it will rarely if ever come out when I still have Trick Room users that are functioning unless my opponent only as one or two Pokemon that I know I can clean up with Salamence.
Moves and Items Explained
Choice Scarf is to aid in sweeping so that Salamence can pile up Moxie boosts while taking the least amount of damage due to its average base speed.
Outrage is Salamence's primary sweeping move due to the fact that it receives STAB that further increases its already large base power.
Dragon Claw is the backup sweeping move when I don't want to risk confusion ruining my sweep for whatever reason, such as an opponent that is stalling.
Fire Blast is primarily used if my opponent has mainly Steel-type Pokemon, such as Scizor or Ferrothorn, left and I don't want to risk them not being killed right off the bat.
Earthquake is Salamence's wide coverage move, used when I have a lot of Pokemon that either resist the other attacks or would be killed faster with this attack. Also, it comes in handy against Heatran and the like who laugh of any of the other moves in Salamence's arsenal.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it and like the team. I'd appreciate if you left a Luvdisc to show how you felt and thanks again!
Same End, Different Means
About the title:When I came up with this title, I had the story of the tortoise and the hare in mind, however I realized that it didn't fit too well. The tortoise won by taking advantage of the hare's arrogance and confidence in the thought that it would win no matter what since the tortoise was so slow. However, since it took a nap, the tortoise won. My team, although it aims at using slower Pokemon to beat the faster Pokemon, doesn't rest on the idea that faster Pokemon take their speed for granted, but rather in the fact that, although being fast has its perks, it doesn't guarantee a win. The general idea of the story differed but I liked the thought that the slower Pokemon win but not by the story's means, so I made the name "Same Ends, Different Means" to show how the story is slightly related with this Trick Room team's dependence on the assumption that most people have fast Pokemon on their team than slow Pokemon.
Team Building Process
For my first Trick Room user, I chose to start off with Slowbro since it had nice bulk and decent offensive capabilities. On top of that, it was blessed with Regenerator, which made Slowbro a great Trick Room inducer because it could be recycled.
Next, I decided to look for some Trick Room abuser who would complement Slowbro well and I came upon Ferrothorn. Ferrothorn had great synergy with Slowbro, taking Ghost-, Dark-, Bug- and Grass-type attacks for Slowbro while Slowbro took Fire- and Fighting-type attacks with ease.
After that duo, I looked for another Trick Room setter and I decided to go with Porygon2. It had such great bulk with Eviolite that it seemed impossible for it to die before setting up Trick Room.
I, once again, looked for good synergy and came upon Dusclops. It could switch onto Fighting-type attacks for Porygon2 while Porygon2 could take Ghost-type attacks for it for no damage.
Next, I needed my third Trick Room setter and I decided to go with Reuniclus. It had both great defensive and great offensive capabilities thanks to its HP and Special Attack.
For my last Pokemon, I needed someone who, as usual, had great synergy with Reuniclus so I decided to go for a Fighting-type. Conkeldurr jumped to mind but Machamp seemed like a better option thanks to No Guard.
I, after some testing, realized that I needed at least one Pokemon who could operate outside of Trick Room, to clean up whatever is left or to work if all my Trick Room setters are down. I decided to run Salamence due to its great late game sweeping ability. So, I threw out Dusclops, who didn't hit too hard anyway, and replaced it with Salamence.
In-Depth Look
Slowbro @ Mental Herb
Trait: Regenerator
EVs: 244 HP / 108 SDef / 156 SAtk
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Scald
- Psychic
- Flamethrower
- Trick Room
Purpose
Slowbro is meant to be the foolproof Trick Room setter because of its Mental Herb, which all the other Trick Room setters on this team lack. It can also function as an effective sweeper thanks to its two STAB moves and extra coverage move that is good against many common walls.
Moves and Items Explained
Mental Herb is the key to Slowbro's Trick Room setting because it can ensure that I get a Trick Room set up even if the opponent predicts the move and uses Taunt. Although Leftovers seem like a better option, Regenerator takes care of HP due to the fact that this team switches a lot.
Scald is Slowbro's primary STAB move that is meant to hit anything that can't be hit for super effective damage by the other moves. It also comes in very handy in weakening the opponent if they get burned, making better use of the five Trick Room Turns.
Psychic is Slowbro's second STAB move and it, once again, aims to hit Pokemon that resist the other two moves.
Flamethrower is mainly for coverage against Pokemon such as Scizor, Ferrothorn, Forretress and Genesect. Although these Pokemon can be a huge threat if Trick Room isn't set up, they can be easily dealt with if Slowbro switches in when Trick Room is already in effect.
Bronzong @ Leftovers
Trait: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SDef
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Gyro Ball
- Trick Room
Purpose
Bronzong is the second of three Trick Room setters and it will, in most cases, set up first if I know that there is a Dark-, Bug- or Ghost-type attacker that is strong enough or has the potential to OHKO Slowbro or Reuniclus. After setting up Trick Room it can serve as a Physical attacker, however it will rarely OHKO anything that isn't much faster than it, thanks to Gyro Ball.
Moves and Items Explained
Leftovers allow for Bronzong to stay out longer and possibly set up Trick Room multiple times. The main reason for having Leftovers as opposed to some more offensive item is that Bronzong is easier to kill so its in my interest to keep it healthy for as long as possible.
Stealth Rock helps my team in general by discouraging switch outs by my opponent, allowing for worse match ups for them. Also, if my opponent does switch, they only make it easier for me to kill their Pokemon as it is already weakened.
Earthquake is absolutely necessary on here for two reasons- Fire-types and Steel-types. Fire-types can threaten Bronzong greatly so it is necessary for me to run this move to possibly OHKO them before they do the same to me. Also, the likes of Jirachi are incredibly hard for my team to OHKO, especially in the Rain, so Earthquake is a nice counter against them.
Gyro Ball is Bronzong's primary attack due to the fact that it does huge damage thanks to its STAB boost. Also, many Pokemon nowadays are really fast, so Gyro Ball can usually ensure an OHKO on them, and before they deal damage if Trick Room is in effect.
Reuniclus @ Life Orb
Trait: Magic Guard
EVs: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Psychic
- Focus Blast
- Shadow Ball
- Trick Room
Purpose
Reuniclus is the last of the three Trick Room setters and it is the most offensive of the three. It uses Magic Guard in combination with Life Orb to provide it with great offensive capability to put to use after setting up Trick Room. Magic Guard also allows it to negate the damage of entry hazards and status conditions, making it a good switch in.
Moves and Items Explained
Life Orb is mainly there to allow Reuniclus to function outside of the role of a Trick Room setter. It can now also function as a Special sweeper so as to deal with Physical walls that do not predict that Reuniclus is offensive and not defensive, as is commonly the case for set up versions of Reuniclus.
Psychic is the main choice for Reuniclus when attacking if all other attacks are not effective or deal no damage to the opponent's Pokemon because of the punch it packs due to the STAB it receives from its user's Psychic-typing.
Focus Blast is for Normal-, Steel-, Rock- and Ice-types, all of which are commonly seen, although Normal-type is seen less than the others. Also, it allows Reuniclus to hit what Psychic cannot, Dark-types, who also pose a threat to Reuniclus due to their capability to hit Reuniclus for super effective damage.
Shadow Ball is reserved for Ghost-types, namely Gengar and Jellicent, that can be pesky outside of Trick Room. The latter of the two can be especially annoying since some variants carry Toxic and Taunt, an annoying duo for my team.
Scizor @ Iron Plate
Trait: Technician
EVs: 248 HP / 96 Atk / 164 SDef
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spd
- Brick Break
- Bug Bite
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
Purpose
Scizor abuses Trick Room well because it can use the turns of reversed speed to set up and then use priority moves after it wears off. Also, it has great synergy with Slowbro, so it can switch onto Bug-, Ghost- and Grass-type attacks targeting Slowbro while it can switch out of Fire-type attacks that Slowbro can laugh off.
Moves and Items Explained
Iron Plate helps ensure that Bullet Punch does the maximum amount of damage after some Swords Dance boosts. This allows Scizor to functione effectively even after Trick Room has worn off.
Brick Break is Scizor's primary coverage move, which allows it to hit Steel-type Pokemon that attempt to wall it for super effective damage. Also, it can be used against Dark-type Pokemon that attempt to OHKO Slowbro. Although it doesn't receive a Technician boost, it can still do decent damage after a Swords Dance.
Bug Bite is Scizor's primary STAB move, aiming to hit Psychic-type and Grass-type Pokemon for super effective and possibly OHKO them with Technician.
Bullet Punch is Scizor's second STAB move, but it is used in most cases when nothing hits for super effective damage. It also allows Scizor to function outside of Trick Room, with devastating power with Technician, STAB and Iron Plate boosts. This allows Scizor to aid Salamence in cleaning up weakened Pokemon outside of Trick Room.
Swords Dance helps Scizor sweep both with and without Trick Room in effect. Since people often switch to better deal with threats, I can easily pull of at least one or two Swords Dance boosts.
Conkeldurr @ Flame Orb
Trait: Guts
EVs: 120 HP / 252 Atk / 136 SDef
IVs: 0 Spd
Brave Nature
- Hammer Arm
- Mach Punch
- Stone Edge
- Facade
Purpose
Conkeldurr's main purpose is to be a physical sweeper when Trick Room is in place. Using Guts, it can do this effectively thanks to its Attack boost. Apart from this, Conkeldurr can function well outside of Trick Room thanks to Mach Punch, which allows its Speed to be ignored.
Moves and Items Explained
Flame Orb is only there to activate Conkeldurr's Guts, to make sweeping much easier since it boosts Conkeldurr's Attack stat so that it is impressively high.
Hammer Arm is Conkeldurr's primary attacking move as it deals huge damage with STAB and Guts. Also, it allows me to deal with common irritants, such as Ferrothorn, who can be slower than most of what I am using.
Mach Punch serves two main purposes, one while Trick Room is in effect and one when it is not. While Trick Room is in effect, Mach Punch allows for immediate devastating power to clean up slower threats. Outside of Trick Room, Conkeldurr can aid Salamence in cleaning up whatever remains from the other Trick Room abusers work.
Stone Edge is mainly here to deal with Flying- and Fire-type threats. Against an unprepared opponent, Volcarona can Quiver Dance until Trick Room is over and then sweep, preventing me from setting up another Trick Room. To deal with this, Conkeldurr can either use Stone Edge of scare Volcarona away by merely switching in, causing Volcarona to forfeit any accumulated boosts.
Facade is reserved for anything that I can't hit harder with other moves. This also allows Flame Orb to serve another purpose, allowing for an additional move to hit for heavy damage.
Salamence @ Choice Scarf
Trait: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SAtk / 252 Spd
Hasty Nature
- Outrage
- Dragon Claw
- Fire Blast
- Earthquake
Purpose
Although Salamence may appear a bit out of place here, with its full Speed and Choice Scarf, it isn't meant to be used while Trick Room is in effect. Rather, it is meant to function as a late game sweeper, to clean up what is left. So, it will rarely if ever come out when I still have Trick Room users that are functioning unless my opponent only as one or two Pokemon that I know I can clean up with Salamence.
Moves and Items Explained
Choice Scarf is to aid in sweeping so that Salamence can pile up Moxie boosts while taking the least amount of damage due to its average base speed.
Outrage is Salamence's primary sweeping move due to the fact that it receives STAB that further increases its already large base power.
Dragon Claw is the backup sweeping move when I don't want to risk confusion ruining my sweep for whatever reason, such as an opponent that is stalling.
Fire Blast is primarily used if my opponent has mainly Steel-type Pokemon, such as Scizor or Ferrothorn, left and I don't want to risk them not being killed right off the bat.
Earthquake is Salamence's wide coverage move, used when I have a lot of Pokemon that either resist the other attacks or would be killed faster with this attack. Also, it comes in handy against Heatran and the like who laugh of any of the other moves in Salamence's arsenal.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it and like the team. I'd appreciate if you left a Luvdisc to show how you felt and thanks again!
