Trick Room Discussion

[Carl]

If I had realized it sooner, I would have altered the Swagger strategy I use in 2v2 ubers with Lugia/Groudon to use Trick Room for the Gamestop thing on Saturday. It would have worked similarly to Obi's above idea except that my Groudon would most likely be at full health after 2 turns so Extremespeed doesn't ruin it.

The thing about Trick Room in 1v1 is that it is essentially a weather inducing move. Sunny Day/Hail/Rain Dance/Sandstorm find very little use in normal 1v1 play because they last 5 turns and one turn is wasted using the move. Same applies for Trick Room. One turn to set it up, another turn to switch if the environment isn't suitable... and soon enough the move expires and you have to do it all over again. 2v2 lacks this problem because some battles last little more than double the amount of turns Trick Room is in effect. Not only that, more than one pokemon benefits at once from the effects and more than one pokemon can be hindered by it.

 

[c l e a r]

In 2v2, Bronzong using Trick Room w/ Explosion is insane. But I usually don't lead with Trick Room users. I lead with something suprising in a sense (it's actually standard, but no one expects it first turn). Then I just walk in with Bronzong or Dusknoir and use Trick Room and take advantage of slow Pokemon and use Curse.

Off-topic a little, so Explosion is not included in the 75% butcherery where Earthquake and Surf saw?

 

[Ikaeru]

Specifically, I'm curious about TR usage in singles. I beleive that it is a viable team-killer, FOR the specific reason that it seems "less-useful" in singles.
Azelf seems to be another good example, as it can sweep well with high speed and then TR/explode (focus sash) when all is done, sending in either a slower pokemon capable of doing high damage, IE: sub/salac magnezone, as mentioned before, specifically because, whilethough 360 speed isn't all that much, it's likely that they're going to attempt to counter a speedy azelf with their fastest... who will likely end up dying... leaving moderate/high speedsters able to deal with the rest of the team once TR ends. The team itself doesn't have to entirely be focused around TR either. Having one/two specific pokemon meant to be used endgame, outside of TR seems somewhat decent as well...
I stress these issues mainly because with DP's many variables and super-offensive strategies, counters to specific things are becoming less common, and really, the key to winning is setting up your sweep before your opponent does. The nice thing about TR singles, is that if used correctly, can entirely destroy the opponent's opportunity to set up, while simultaneously setting up your own.

I know it's a wonderful move, especially in 2v2, I won't disagree on that, but I strongly believe that it has massive potential for singles as well.