Some Trick Room setters are exceptions to this bulky/offensive split. Hatterene and Reuniclus are some of the best examples of Offensive Trick Room setters. Then there are offensive Trick Room setters - these Pokémon often need some support in order to get Trick Room up, but once set up they are able to function as a strong offensive threat, allowing immediate offense without need for repositioning. Pokémon like Cresselia, Dusclops, and Porygon2 fall into this category. A bulky Trick Room setter trades offense for survivability - it’s a Pokémon whose primary goal is to get Trick Room up, and then offers some support once it goes up. They typically fall into one of two categories: bulky setters, or offensive setters. The only requirement of a Trick Room setter is that it knows the move Trick Room. Note that not every Trick Room team needs all three categories.Įvery Trick Room team needs a Pokémon that knows the move Trick Room- a “setter”. There are three major categories: Trick Room Setters, Trick Room Helpers, and Trick Room Sweepers. These are general classifications that appear across generations and formats. There are certain consistent roles that Pokémon on Trick Room teams tend to fall into. It’s even possible for a mid-speed team to make good use of Trick Room with only one slow Pokémon. Some teams that utilize Trick Room can have as little as two Pokémon that make use of it, but still maintain the strategy as an option. There’s no real hard and fast rules when it comes to building Trick Room teams. Players will run fast Pokémon even on the most dedicated Trick Room teams. To circumvent this, some dedicated Trick Room teams make use of an alternative mode in case they can’t get Trick Room up. This style of team (called a hard Trick Room team) is typically strong if Trick Room goes up, and much less strong otherwise. One to two Pokémon to help Trick Room get set up ( helpers)Īnd one to two Pokémon to deal the bulk of the damage in Trick Room ( sweepers) Two Pokémon that set Trick Room ( setters) It has won seven of the twelve World Championships, which is highly consistent.

Trick Room is much stronger in VGC than it is in Singles– you have twice the amount of Pokémon to take advantage of each Trick Room turn compared to Singles.Īdditionally, Trick Room has been not only a good option but a dominant one in every VGC format historically.

Trick Room Pokémon very often don’t invest at all into their Speed stat, giving them extra EVs (stat points) compared to a Pokémon that has invested in speed while still being able to move first. Trick Room turns a large negative into a huge positive.įurthermore, most non-Trick Room Pokémon will want to invest in their Speed stat in order to move before other Pokémon. Some strong Pokémon have low Speed stats as a counterbalance to their high offensive and defensive stats. Even though technically Trick Room lasts for five turns, because it always is set up last, it’s effect is only relevant for four turns. Trick Room itself has a -7 priority, which is the lowest priority an attack can be, meaning it is (almost) always the last move used (unless there’s some trickery with other moves that affects the move order). Trick Room does not affect move priority. Under the effect of Trick Room, the Pokémon with the lowest Speed stat moves first, then the second lowest, then the second highest, then the highest. Trick Room is a move that reverses the order in which the Pokémon move for 5 turns.

Pokemon showdown team