Introduction to Trick Room:
Trick Room is a 5 PP move that essentially reverses the speed tiers. The slower the Pokemon is outside of Trick Room, the faster it will be in Trick Room. Trick Move does have -7 priority, so it will always be the last move used in a turn. Finally, not only does Trick Room last only 5 turns, if you, or your opponent, were to use Trick Room while the first instance is still active, it would be cancelled out.
Style:
There is no definitive style, or approach, to Trick Room. Some say it is imperative to have a faster Pokemon that can perform outside of Trick Room. Others say you don’t need that fast Pokemon. I personally lean more towards not needing that faster Pokemon, but the beauty of Trick Room is that it doesn't matter. Trick Room is simply a method of Speed Control, much like the moves Quash, Thunder wave, and Tailwind. It really falls onto your own personal style and what you want to achieve with Trick Room.
Pointers:
1. Be wary of Taunt. No matter how fast you are, Trick Room will always go last. Some Trick Room setters can avoid Taunt, and the use of the item Mental Herb can be very useful.
2. Don’t create your team thinking Trick Room will be up constantly. You can’t rely on it, as you can’t rely on a single move in any other strategy. Your Pokemon should excel inside and outside of Trick Room.
3. Try to avoid frail Trick Room setters. There isn't a whole lot wrong with a frail setter, however, since the move goes last, it will be difficult to survive hits long enough to get Trick Room started. Do not get me wrong though. If you can effectively set up Trick Room with a frailer Pokemon, by all means, do it!
4. I’d recommend using at least 2-3 Trick Room setters on your team. This way you aren't relying on a single Pokemon who might not have a good match-up against your opponent.
Users of Trick Room:
In this section I'll give a brief description of each Pokemon that has access to Trick Room and is allowed in a standard Nintendo VGC tournament. We won't be going by VGC 2014 rules, but rather just what Pokemon Nintendo would allow if they allowed most of the Pokedex. This bars event and cover legendaries. I'll also avoid giving move sets as that is completely dependent on your team and there is no definitive move set for each Pokemon.
Slowbro is one of the more popular Trick Room setters, having access to loads of support moves and also being fairly bulky. One of the better reasons to use Slowbro is its access to Oblivious, making it immune to Taunt. It also has quite a diverse movepool, allowing a lot of flexibility for your team.
Gengar is fast and has very little bulk. However, it does have a few things Alakazam doesn't. For starters, it’s Mega is a little bit more suited for support. With Shadow Tag, Gengar has the ability to trap Pokemon. It also has a wide array of support moves, such as; Disable and Will-o-Wisp.
Hypno marks the return to slower users of Trick Room. However, Hypno is basically a slower, bulkier Alakazam. Its attacking stats aren't the greatest, but it does have access to a few boosting moves, such as; Nasty Plot, Power Up Punch and Meditate. It also has access to a lot of support moves, such as; Light Screen, Reflect, Disable, Switcheroo and Hypnosis.
Exeggutor is a slower Trick Room setter that has a decently good offensive typing. However, its defenses aren't the greatest and it has too many weakness to effectively wall. However, Harvest and Sitrus Berry does give it a bit more survivability.
Starmie is in the same boat as Gengar, however it doesn’t have as much support options as they do. 60/85/85 Defenses aren’t terrible and it does have access to Cosmic Power. With Analytic and its already good Special Attack stat, it has potential.
Mr. Mime is a fairly good Trick Room user. It has a wide array of support moves, such as: Wide Guard, Quick Guard, Encore, Safeguard and Misty Terrain, to name a few. It also has access to Filter, an ability that reduces super effective damage by 25%. Mr. Mime has the potential to be fairly bulky.and Toxic.
Xatu has the ability Magic Bounce, which is very useful in getting Trick Room up and avoiding status moves. It also has access to good support moves such as: Confide, Feather Dance, Haze, Wish and Simple Beam.
Much like Xatu, Espeon also has Magic Bounce. Espeon is also about on par with Xatu in terms of defenses. In terms of support moves, Espeon has access to: Helping Hand, Charm and Wish.
Slowking is very similar to Slowbro. They both have basically the same movepool and access to Oblivious. The distinct difference is that Slowking has superb Special Defense, compared to Slowbro's defense.
With Eviolite attached, Porygon 2 can be devastatingly bulky. It also has access to Magic Coat, working a Magic Bounce-like move. Porygon 2 also has a wide array of special moves and can easily fit on most teams.
Gardevoir is fairly fast for a Trick Room team, but it does have quite a lot of options. All of its abilities (Trace, Sychronize and Telepathy) have use. It also has an incredibly diverse movepool with attacks and support. On top of that it has good bulk and Special Attack. Finally, it has the ability to Mega Evolve, further increasing its bulk and power.
Claydol has great bulk and below average offensive capabilities. It has access to Safeguard, Reflect, Light Screen and Heal Block, to name a few. It has the potential to be very supportive of a team.
Kecleon is an interesting Pokemon. With its two abilities, Color Change and Protean, it can change its typing. This makes Kecleon the most unique Trick Room user. In addition, it has great Special Defense and average attack.
Banette and Mega Banette do not have the best of stats. However, their abilities makes them very useful. Banette has Frisk and Cursed Body while Mega Banette has Prankster. Finally, they also have monstrous attack stats.
Dusclops is our second Eviolite user and probably the bulkiest. It carries 40/130/130 defenses without Eviolite. Being a Ghost type, it doesn't have many weaknesses and a large support movepool.
Bronzong is a very bulky Pokemon. In addition to its wide movepool, two of its abilities (Levitate and Heatproof) basically negate one of its four weaknesses.
Gallade provides good physical prowess and some great special bulk. Much like Gardevoir, he has many support moves.
Dusknoir is not as defensive as Eviolite Dusclops, but doesn't require Eviolite to function completely. Not only does Dusknoir have 45/135/135 (5 more per stat than Dusclops), but Dusknoir also has a potent 100 base attack. It has a fantastic movepool with various support moves and attacks.
Cresselia is the first legendary on the list and is quite the defensive monster. Cresselia rocks 120/120/130 defenses and has a large support movepool. There is a reason it was used extensively in the VGC '13 format.
Musharna is also another bulky Pokemon, just like Cresselia. It has 115/85/95 defenses, which may not be as great as Cresselia, but it is still pretty good. On top of that, Musharna does have base 107 SpAtk, so it isn't just a supporting Pokemon
Audino takes the role of Trick Room supporter. It has access to Healer for its ability and a vast array of supportive moves. It is also fairly defensive with 103/86/86 defenses.
Whimsicott has a lot of options in the support area. However, it isn't the bulkiest Pokemon and it is fairly fast. That doesn't mean Whimsicott is useless in Trick Room. It can support your team with Prankster.
Sigilyph is another fast user of Trick Room. The interesting part about Sigilyph is its abilities Wonder Skin and Magic Guard, as well as it's access to Psycho Shift and Cosmic Power. Sigilyph has the potential to be quite the Trick Room tank.
Cofagrigus is another Trick Room tank. It has good defenses (58/145/105) and average SpAtk (95). What Cofagrigus brings is some useful support moves (Will-o-Wisp, Night Shade, etc) and its unique ability, Mummy.
Gothetelle does what Mega Gengar does, but better. It has better overall defenses and it definitely more suited to the supportive role. However, that isn't all. Gothetelle also gains the ability Competitive, which can be very useful in an Intimidate infested format.
Reuniclus is another Trick Room tank, but has a variety of options. All of its abilities (Magic Guard, Overcoat and Regenerator) are useful. It has solid defenses and very good SpAtk. It has access to many support moves as well.
Jellicent is a fantastic Trick Room user. It has great defensive typing, good defenses and overall a wide movepool to choose from. In addition, its abilities (Cursed Body and Water Absorb) are very useful.
Klinklang is an oddity on this list, being the only pure steel type. However, it does have great resistances and defense. It doesn't get a whole lot more, but it is does give a good chance for Trick Room to be set up.
Beheeyem doesn't have the greatest defenses, but it has some useful support options. In addition to that, its SpAtk is fairly high. It also has access to three useful abilities.
Chandelure is an offensive powerhouse. Its bulk isn't the best, but it does bring a wide array of support moves. It has three very useful abilities as well.
Delphox is the first starter on this list. It has viable defenses and good SpAtk. Delphox also has a lot of good choices for support moves.
Meowstic comes two ways: Male or Female. For the purpose of setting up Trick Room, Male Meowstic is your best bet. It has access to a large amount of support moves and with Prankster, it really gets good usage of them.
Aromatisse comes with its own, unique ability: Aroma Veil. This makes Aromatisse an excellent supporter, alongside its fantastic defenses and great movepool.
Malmar isn't as bulky or powerful as many Pokemon on this list, but it does have its place. A combination of Contrary and Superpower means that this Pokemon has staying power. However, it does have many weaknesses and isn't all that bulky.
Carbink is an oddity. It had good defenses (50/150/150) but terrible attacking stats (50/50). It does have good support moves, as well as good resistances.
Trevenant isn't the bulkiest Pokemon on this list, but with Harvest and Sitrus Berry, it can provide some pseudo-bulk. Add that to its good attack stat, Trevenant is a good Trick Room user.
Gourgeist-Super may have the exact same typing as Trevenant, but they play completely different roles. Gourgeist-Super (the form that should be run) has fantastic defenses and support moves. It also boasts good attack.
That is the end of the Trick Room User list. There are a few more Pokemon that get Trick Room, but unfortantely they are mostly gimmicks. You would be hard pressed to actually be able to set up Trick Room with them.
Abusers of Trick Room:
Since this section has the potential to be incredibly long, I'm not going to list out the Pokemon. Just use this list and sort by speed:
Pokemon by Base Stat. There are literally hundreds of options. Don't be afraid of gimmicks too. There are many Pokemon on that list that might surprise you.
And that's what I got for you guys for this article. Hope you learned something. As I continue to journey through my own Trick Room experiences, I'll report back here with more information!
~Ryan
