Ladies and gentlemen, step right up step right up!
Is substitute Heatran setting your defensive cores ablaze? Are you finding Marowak-A impossible to switch into? Does Chansey make you want to pull your hair out?
Well, look no further! I bring you the next generation of Trademarked memes; one pokemon and one set that can make all your dreams come true!
I present, Trick Assault vest Tapu Fini!
View attachment 176269
Tapu Fini @ Assault Vest
Ability: trick
EVs: 248 HP / 64 Def / 12 SpA / 176 SpD / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Defog
- Scald
- Nature's Madness
- Taunt
Alright alright, I'll stop now.
Trick Tapu Fini was inspired by a switcheroo Noivern I saw on the ladder. Tapu Fini has a couple things over most of the other trick users, like Mew/Victini/Togekiss etc. mainly its excellent water/fairy typing alongside its natural bulk and access to defog/taunt and other utility moves. The set is very standard and is nothing out of the ordinary so I won't spend much time explaining it (12 SpA for the guranteed 2HKO on offensive Heatran and 8 speed for speed creeps)
Trick in the current metagame
Trick is
shockingly effective against the metagame right now. Most teams on the ladder are built around a combination of two or more of these five playstyles; wish-sub cores, hazard dominance, stall, trick room and volt-turn. If you use Tapu Fini right you can cripple all of these playstyles.
Note: Tapu Fini wont break these cores alone, it's not a wall or stallbreaker - it's meant to cripple your opponents team by throwing a wrench, or in this case Assault vest, in their plan.
Wish Chansey
Tapu Fini is one of the few ways to reliably decimate Chansey cores. If your pokemon is faster than Chansey you can hard switch into Tapu Fini and swap its eviolite out with your Assault Vest - essentially neutralising Chansey as a
reliable wish passer for the rest of the game. It can't use protect, status you or heal up in a prolonged fight.
Substitute
Here I'm mainly referring to Heatran, Excadrill, Celesteela and Marowak-A. The first three function best when they can use their status moves. Taunt for Heatran, Rocks for Excadrill and Leech seed for Celesteela. Without access to these mons they're significantly easier to handle. Chansey can 1v1 Heatran without Taunt, Excadrill can't toxic or put up rocks and Celesteela can't sit behind a substitute leeching of your team. Give them a gift and watch your opponent try to win without their stallbreaker or hazard setter. Marowak-A is the most fun though, not only will you prevent them from Swords dancing up but Trick removes their Thick Club - making them laughably weak. Adamant Flare Blitz only has a 6% chance to 3HKO Chansey.
Unfortunately you won't really beat the rest of the sub users, Buzzwole and Tyranitar don't care if they have assault vest or not.
Volt-turn & Hazard dominance
With some insight into your opponents team and who their hazard controllers are, for example Defog Zapdos/Landours-Therian/Koko, a well placed trick can shift the hazard domain into your hands. Usually they have either defog or recovery/stealth rock/reflect as their TM, Assault vest will either prevent them from defogging outright or recovering more health.
Trick Room
Probably the worst match up for this mon, but Trick Room can still be used effectively to neutralise powerful wallbreakers like Marowa-A, Specs Xurkitree, Primarina and Stakataka. You can also Trick Assault Vest to their secondary Trick Room setter to prevent them from setting up more Trick Rooms.
Stall
Here is where Tapu Fini can really shine. I've added a replay of me using the set against SamHPLs stall team below to showcase how Tapu Fini can cripple your opponent. Stall applies less offensive pressure which allows you to really stock around your opponents items over a long game. A lot of the stall teams use Assault Vest Magearna and that's great news, now you can give your assault vest to their Chansey and then take Magearnas Assault Vest and pass it along to their Heatran or Pursuit trapper. Tapu Fini also has Nature's madness and taunt which is even more annoying to stall.
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7trademarked-914233533 (Facing off versus
SamHPL s stall-team)
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7trademarked-914277363 (Another stall team)
