I've always been fascinated with Trick Room teams, and the rarity of the playstyle has always intrigued me. I don't get much enjoyment out of making standardized teams. As a result, many of my concoctions are shit. But after taking a month-long break from the game, I was able to throw something together that kind of works!
Team Building
Whenever I make a team, I choose an uncommon or obscure pokemon/core and when building this one, I really wanted to see what Tangrowth was capable of in UU. With this 'mon I was able to add a semi-reliable check to two of the most threatening pokes in the tier in Suicune and Feraligtr.
I knew that I wanted to make this a Trick Room team, and Slowking was the perfect fit with Tangrowth, as it synergizes well and soaks up some of the special hits that Tangrowth cannot. This bulky regenerator core provides my team with longevity and the capability to set up and break walls numerous times throughout a game, while still keeping heavy offensive pressure due to the nature of their movesets. Also serves as another Suicune check. You can never have too many of those.
My generic formula when building TR is Sash Lead - 2 TR Setup Mons - 2 TR Wallbreakers- Late Game Cleaner. Mamo was the Sash Lead I chose. I wanted to get near guaranteed bet at getting my rocks up while still having the potential to poke holes through a team and having late game utility. Mamo was perfect for the role and it has not disappointed
After having my main TR core in place, it was time to add the late game cleaner that would appreciate the TR cores wallbreaking abilities. Tyrantrum was my pokemon of choice because I think it's dope. I opted for a Rock Polish set to get a 1 turn setup and outspeed the entire unboosted tier.
After setting up my initial core to build around, I needed to add an obnoxiously powerful wallbreaker that can KO steel types and lure in the bulky waters that may hinder a Tyrantrum sweep. The power behind Reckless Eboar is nothing to be taken lightly. Boar smashed opposing teams to pieces.
At this point, I just needed another reliable TR setter that synergized alright with the team. Offensive Porygon fit that role perfectly as it has the ability to tank hits from numerous threatening ‘mons such as Hydriegon, M-Bird, Mence, Krook, etc. and it provides my team with a much needed immunity to ghost, so I can play around Chandelure, which otherwise, would dismantle my team.
Tyrantrum just wasn’t getting the job done, as it has a myriad of weaknesses that make setting up difficult for it, so instead I opted to use M-Swampert. With massive bulk, great typing, and the ability to set up a pseudo-Rock Polish with Rain Dance + Swift Swim, Swampert filled the gap nicely and I see a sharp rise in the team’s success.
The Team
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Endeavor
- Earthquake
Oblivious Mamoswine almost never fails to get rocks up, and can usually do a nice chunk of damage with EQ or Endeavor before being taken out. Ice Shard gives it some late game utility if I see that the opposition has a mon like M-Sceptile or Salamence sitting in the back to clean up my team late game. However, I find that Mamoswine leads have trouble with Forretress and M-Blastoise, as they can bring Mamo down to its Sash with Gyro Ball or Scald, respectively and get a slow rapid spin to KO Mamo, while also getting rid of Stealth Rocks, and in such cases, Mamo can be more of a liability than an asset to the team. Especially if I don't ay attention during team preview.
Tangrowth @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Offensive Tangrowth has been nothing short of excellent for my team. Few pokemon can come in on it safely, and if they can, they still don’t appreciate having their item Knocked Off. Knock Off is used primarily for Porygon 2 which can give my team some trouble if it steers clear of my Emboar. Leaf Storm is a powerful STAB move that does a hell of a lot to just about anything that wants to switch in. Earthquake is for fire & steel types like Chandy, Arcanine, Entei, Coballion, Lucario, etc. that think they are safe to come in. HP Ice is there primarily to catch Mence unexpectedly and also puts a hurt of grass & flying type switch-ins.
Slowking @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Nasty Plot
- Scald
- Psyshock
This standard Slowking set has single-handedly won me numerous games, and I feel it is, generally, the most valuable member on my team. It is my only switch-in to fighting types (and it’s a shaky one at that) and it reliably gets up TR throughout the match. It is also a surefire counter to non-roar variants of Suicune. And once it gets off a Nasty Plot, the opposing team acts similar to a stack of dominoes, falling one by one.
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Recover
- Trick Room
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Porygon 2 acts as the glue of this team. Standard Bolt-Beam coverage allows me to hit this ice-weak meta extremely hard, especially when coupled with a download boost. It is also my only reliable answer to Mandibuzz, which can otherwise wall my team. Recover allows me to back up its bulk with some longevity and Trick Room supports my slow, offensively inclined team.
Emboar @ Choice Band
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge
- Superpower
- Sleep Talk
Emboar is the wrecking ball of this team. I often times make double switches into this monster to shift momentum and put my opponent into a bad position by catching a Emboar vs Forretress matchup, or something of the sort. Flare Blitz and Superpower are high-power STAB moves, and Wild Charge is there to hit water types such as Slowking Suicune, Tentacruel, etc. and also hits Chandy which is immune to Emboar’s STAB combo. Emboar didn't have any coverage moves that screamed at me, so I threw Sleep Talk on, just to absorb status from Roserade or Amoonguss, but looking at it now, Head Smash has some appeal for its ability to OHKO Chandy and Salamence...
Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rain Dance
- Ice Punch
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
Swampert gets setup opportunities on a good 80% of the meta, and once its checks have been weakened, it just tears through teams. Standard Ice/Water/Ground coverage is used to spam powerful STAB attacks and to hit grass types with a super-effective Ice Punch. Swampert is also a nice fit on this team as a late-game sweeper because, without rain, it can outspeed a large portion of the meta under Trick Room and can tear through teams on the opposite spectrum of speed, effectively giving it -utility that not all late game sweepers have on Trick Room builds.
Replays:
Importable:
Swampert-Mega @ Swampertite
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rain Dance
- Ice Punch
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
Slowking @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Nasty Plot
- Scald
- Psyshock
Tangrowth @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Recover
- Trick Room
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Emboar @ Choice Band
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: null Spe
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge
- Superpower
- Sleep Talk
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Endeavor
- Earthquake
Ability: Swift Swim
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Rain Dance
- Ice Punch
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
Slowking @ Leftovers
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Nasty Plot
- Scald
- Psyshock
Tangrowth @ Life Orb
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
- Knock Off
- Leaf Storm
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Ice]
Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Ability: Download
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Recover
- Trick Room
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt
Emboar @ Choice Band
Ability: Reckless
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: null Spe
- Flare Blitz
- Wild Charge
- Superpower
- Sleep Talk
Mamoswine @ Focus Sash
Ability: Oblivious
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Ice Shard
- Endeavor
- Earthquake
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