My Trick Room Team

[Bostonl1]

As I was battling on the servers with teams that had lackluster results, I began to think of new ideas for a brand new team. And then I decided on a Trick Room team. A Trick Room team is something I have never came across before and wondered just how well it would work. So I began searching the forums for some ideas and finally created my team, and oh how well it worked. I was surprised with the results, as the team took down my foes and sometimes even dismantled teams while it barely left a scratch on my team. But it is important to not settle for above average. I want this team to reach higher levels than it is now, and for that to happen, I need the help of others. With this being said, here is my team:


Jirachi @ Leftovers
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Relaxed Nature (+Def/-Spe)
IVs: 0 Spd
- Stealth Rock
- Fire Punch
- Trick Room
- Iron Head

Jirachi is my lead, and is utterly amazing at its job. It first sets up stealth rocks, then trick room, and then with whatever life it has left it attacks until it is used up. And it most deffinitly gets this job done and more. Most leads outside of Heatran do not match up well with Jirachis typing. Thus, to combat this, opponents will have to switch out to a better suited pokemon. But by the time this is done, i would have already set up trick room or stealth rocks, so one job is done. Then I attack with whatever attack best hurts the enemy, and with Serene Grace, Fire Punch and Iron Head become dangerous if I get lucky. Jirachi is so good as a lead he has single-handedly taken down entire teams. But sometimes the exact opposite happens. When the lead stops Jirachi from setting up trick room, stealth rocks, or both, my team struggles greatly, typically ending in a loss. So success greatly depends on Jirachi, but so far, he has borne the weight well.


Conkeldurr (M) @ Toxic Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk/-Spe)
IVs: 0 Spd
- Hammer Arm
- Mach Punch
- Ice Punch
- Toxic

My change-of-pace Pokemon, he takes advantage of any type mismatches. The toxic orb/guts combo hits very hard, but it only allows him to be out just for a short while. This means he needs to take out an enemy fast for it to be any use. This means that trick room needs to be set up before he is sent out, so it is pretty common for me to send him out after Jirachi or whenever trick room is still available after another pokemon faints. He hasn't disappointed in his role, as he at least takes out one enemy before he is defeated. Ice punch is very useful, as it being fighting type, sending it out against a flying type will give the opponent a false sense of security. With trick room still active, he uses his high attack plus the toxic/ guts combo to take out the flying type and gets one pokemon down. It is a strategy I have used multiple times and hasn't failed me yet.


Victini @ Life Orb
Ability: Victory Sta
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Brave Nature (+Atk/-Spe)
IVs: 0 Spd
- V-create
- Fusion Bolt
- Trick Room
- Final Gambit

This is just pure power. With good type coverage and final gambit to deal with a bad type matchup, it will always take down at least one enemy, but it can deffinetly take more. Trick Room makes the stat drops from v-create turn into a good thing, as lower speed means faster attacks. He also, as with Jirachi, have taken down teams all by himself. you honestly cant go wrong with him on the team. he is also quite surprisinngly expendable, as just by setting up trick room before he faints he has just assited in Conkuldure and Mega-Ampharos in becoming powerful nightmares. overall, victini is powerful. only issue is typing, but that is pretty minor, just as long as he moves first using trick room.


Ampharos (F) @ Ampharosite
Ability: Static
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 SDef
Quiet Nature (+SpA/-Spe)
- Protect
- Thunderbolt
- Dragon Pulse
- Focus Blast

The only thing that ever held Ampharos back from being amazing is her terrible speed, which makes her a great addition to a trick room team. throw in the mega stone and she gets even better. She doesn't set up Trick Room herself, so she is going to need someone else to set it up for her. honestly, Mega-Ampharos struggles more than anyone on the team. even with trick room she struggles with type coverage. But that doesnt mean she isnt a threat to the other team. she will take down maybe one opponent, but she has the potential to take out more. on a side note, the reason Ampharos is sporting Protect is mainly as a scouting tactic. it works, but it does take up a trick room turn, so i really only can use it when there is more than one turn left for trick room or when there is no trick room at all.

Reuniclus (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Guard
EVs: 192 HP / 64 Def / 252 SAtk
Quiet Nature (+SpA/-Spe)
IVs: 0 Spd
- Trick Room
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball

Reuniclus is my ace-in-the-hole. he takes out the majority of the oppisition. with his great bulk, he can take a hit to set up trick room, then with his sky-high Special Attack and great type coverage moves, he destroys anything and everything in his path. he typically lasts all five turns of the trick room, in which he takes down anywhere form 2-4 enemies. his ability is just amazing, removing any fear of toxic, entry hazards, weather etc., all of which are common problems for the rest of the team. he is just made for a trick room team.

Terrakion @ Life Orb
Ability: Justified
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spe/-SpA)
- Swords Dance
- Earthquake
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge

Say hello to the odd one out. His maxed out speed doesn't exactly go with a trick room team, but he is by far the most necessary member of my team. when it comes down to my final pokemon and I have no trick rooms left and I am up against 3 more enemies, do i really want to have a slow behemoth taking up the rear? Of course not. So this is my closing sweeper, made to hit really hard really fast. It doesn't work perfectly but he is my last resort. Saddly, I have never won with him. typically I win before I have to resort to such desperate measures. but I need a closing sweeper on this team in case I get into a 3-vs-1 situation. I know Terrakion can get the job done, but he so far hasn't.




Thank You for investing your time to help me out.
-Bostonl1

 

[Timpsu]

Hey there! I think your TR team has been built in an interesting way, I decided to drop by and give some thoughts, although I'm no TR expert. The way I understood it is that you like to use your Jirachi as a suicide lead, is this correct? If Jirachi is filling the place of a suicide lead, I would probably switch leftovers to another item, such as Mental Herb, that avoids Taunt, or Focus Sash, to make sure that he gets up Trick Room, which is mandatory for your team. Also, one thing I see as a fault is that after you've put down SR and TR, you're just kinda waiting on Jirachi to get murdered, so that you can actually abuse your powerful, slow attackers. That's not good, as you lose valuable momentum, and fail to use the TR turns to the fullest. One way to remedy this is that you use a lead that can use Explosion, so that you can use the TR turns to the fullest. Bronzong is an example of a Pokemon who can use all of SR + TR + Explosion, and is bulky enough to be fairly reliable in its job. You can max out HP and Attack to give Explosion as much oomph as possible. There might be other good leads, but Bronzong is slow and bulky enough to be a reliable setter. I guess Mew can also fill that niche. Then you need, ofc a backup TR setter, and you've chosen Reuniclus for the job. I think it would be important to use a Pokemon with a different type as another setter, for the sake of variety. Cofagrigus could be a good option, as he can also work as an attacker with Nasty Plot + Shadow Ball. The most important thing, for me atleast, is that you'll use atleast 1 Pokemon that isn't Psychic type as a TR setter. While I have no doubt that Conkeldurr hits damn hard, I'm just wondering if there could be even better ways to abuse this bulky attacker, because with Toxic Orb, you do wear out rather quickly. I would probably give Leftovers + Bulk up set a try, since with that, you can have quite a presence even if TR happened to wear down. Also, I'd try other abilities too outside of Guts. Guts is normally the best ability, as Conkeldurr is slow it's bound to draw status moves, but in TR he usually moves first, making his other abilities much more viable. Sheer Force + Life Orb give your moves immense strength, and with STAB options such as Drain Punch and Force Palm, and coverage moves such as Rock Slide, Ice Punch, Poison Jab, ThunderPunch and Fire Punch, Conkeldurr is bound to hit hard anything it would possibly want. Iron Fist is also a good ability, making Hammer Arm ridiculously strong, and it also boosts all of the elemental punches. The pro of using other abilities is that you can use an item that gives you more longevity, such as Life Orb + Sheer Force set, or Iron Fist + Leftovers (Life Orb could also be possible, but it somewhat detracts from the longevity point). Also, don't use Toxic on Conkeldurr, there are much better moves you should be using.

I'm a bit doubting on Final Gambit as a move on Victini. Although it does function to the same way as Explosion, I'm wondering if Victini should just Attack, as he has some formidable power. Brick Break is a good option, so is Zen headbutt. Also, you don't want to use Protect on Ampharos. He doesn't need it, as the type change takes effect immediately. Also, it wastes TR turns. You should just go all-out with Thunderbolt / Dragon Pulse / Focus Blast and a filler. Heal Bell could be a decent option, as it would give you means to support your team. Signal Beam is an option, but that's mainly for Celebi, asi it's otherwise too weak to be useful. I can see how Terrakion is a good cleaner, but I'm doubting if he's fast enough. Odds are, also your opponent is trying to save his fastest Pokemon in order to retaliate after TR turns end, and I wonder if Terrakion can combat whatever's left on opponent's team. Deo-S could be worth a shot, as there are no faster Pokemon, and with 4 attacks you can cover just about everything. Talonflame could also be an option, he can work inside TR, and also be a strong attacker outside TR. Weavile and Greninja can also be decent options, Weavile working as a powerful attacker and Greninja getting nifty STABs on all of its moves. I think that's all, good luck with the team!

 

[Mango Smoothie]

Hey there, trick room teams are always fun to use and hopefully I can help you with the team.

I personally dont suggest jirachi as a suicide lead, and Bronzgong could be suited for a similar role, exploding once its set hazards, guaranteeing you get to bring in a sweeper (that things explosions hit hard, especially off of normal gem). From how you describe it, Victini actually could function as a suicide lead, with final gambit and the like V-Create spamming. On a similar note, I second Timpsu's comment on the type variety for setters, all of yours have psychic typing. Physically Defensive Cofagrigus could work well on your team, being able to handle Talonflame switch-ins better than reuniclus or Victini.

252 Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Cofagrigus: 118-141 (36.8 - 44%) -- 99.5% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 192 HP / 64+ Def Reuniclus: 228-268 (55.7 - 65.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252 Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Victini: 214-253 (52.9 - 62.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO​

Conkeldurr's special defense is pretty bad, and actually needs special investment if you want it to live any special hits. a 140/252/116 spread was pretty standard last gen, and can still hold up against pretty powerful special attackers. In fact, a 4/252/252 spread doesnt compromise too much physical bulk, but you do benefit from the added physical bulk for out of TR situations. Also, Conkeldurr would appreciate Facade over toxic since it turns into a real nightmare for anything nonresistant. Lastly, I'd recommend Drain Punch over Hammer Arm for longevity sake.

Mega ampharos should get something over Protect, but thats mostly filler. he could get volt switch for momentum, or a hidden power of choice. Power Gem is an option for dealing with volcarona, talonflame, and mega pinsir under Trick Room, and .

252+ SpA Mold Breaker Mega Ampharos Power Gem vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Talonflame: 620-732 (208 - 245.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ SpA Mold Breaker Mega Ampharos Power Gem vs. +1 4 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 292-348 (93.5 - 111.5%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO (even after a quiver dance you still take out most of its HP, and it can't OHKO you at +1)
252+ SpA Mold Breaker Mega Ampharos Power Gem vs. 4 HP / 0 SpD Mega Pinsir: 500-592 (183.8 - 217.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO​

Finally, you already get fighting coverage with Conkeldurr, so I would suggest running a different late-game cleaner than Terrakion. You could always go with a mixed Deoxys-S, but that stacks weaknesses with your setters. I would have to say, if your team handles scizors/Fighting-types well, you might benefit from a mixed Kyu-B, who adds quite a bit of coverage and respectable speed in base-95. You pack powerful physical attackers, and could benefit from a bit of specially offensive pokemon.

 

[Bostonl1]

I would like to thank you for giving advice on my team. I have applied many of your suggestions that you made and tried them out, and are a few comments I would like to make on my team.

First, while my description of Jirachi may seem like I am using him as a suicide lead, this was never my intention. While he can faint pretty quickly depending on the lead, this isn't a very common occurrence. I did give him a Focus Band, which has saved me a couple of times. Once trick room is set up, I can skip stealth rocks if necessary and go with the attacks. Jirachi can be quite lethal with trick room active. Stealth Rocks is not a necessity nor a priority, but it can definitely be helpful, especially to deal with the above mentioned Talonflame.

Second, the three psychic-type tick room users has not been a problem as of yet. This is probably because, with Trick Room up, the three are fast and strong enough to dish out the necessary damage. Also, Jirachi's and Victini's second typing covers some of psychic's weakness'. But I will most definitely keep the Cofagrigus suggestion in mind if this becomes a prominent problem.

Thirdly, the Conkeldurr discussion. I was probably going to change his ability away from Guts until I became aware of Facade. That thing hits like a truck. Thanks for making me aware of that.

Fourthly, I did change Ampharos protect to Volt Switch, but I plan on changing that considering that I already have thunderbolt and the only time I would switch her out is when she is up against a ground type. That wouldn't work to well. If only she could learn Ice Beam, but I'll settle with Signal Beam.

Finally, my closer. I considered all the options you gave and my own backup plan of Choice Salamence, but I settled on Kyurem-Black. And I can't thank you enough for that one. While it isn't good enough for the ubers, I almost feel guilty using it as it is almost to good for OU. It has destroyed so many teams and It has turned what used to be a loss into a victory. The first time I used it, things weren't going well, as I had only him left and I was up against Jolteon, Espeon, Rotom-W, Deoxys-S, and one other Pokemon that I can't remember, and I sent him in with a full 4 Rounds of TR still up, which is bad considering that he has a boosted speed. This would have been a lost, but not with this guy. Luckily the first two he sent out just happened to be faster than me, which means TR actually helped. Used up all of TR just in time for the slower opponents. He sent out Rotom-W, thinking that Levitate would stop him. Nope. Not with Teravolt. the next two fell just as easily. And just like that, I sweeped 5 Pokemon with my closer. So I give credit for that one to you, Mango Smoothie.

Once again, thank you for your excellent suggestions. As the saying goes, "It takes a village to raise a Pokemon Team." (Or something like that)