Battle Spot: Aromatissse Trick Room and Doubles Strategy

Build set as of Gen 6

Ability – Aroma Veil
Stats – HP (252), Special Attack (252), Special Defence (4)

Nature – Quiet/Modest
Item – Safety Goggles

Moveset – Moonblast (stab), Trick Room, Thunderbolt/Psychic, Protect

Judging by the stats and Aroma Veil ability, Aromatisse is a great Trick Room abuser not because of its bulky HP and massive Special Attack but also for its move versatility. Not forgetting for being a pure Fairy-type, that alone is strong enough against to stand on its own. Aside from being a Trick Room user, it can also do a full offence role in a Trick Room environment, certainly making it one of best ones to have in a team.

Strength
The ability Aroma Veil is chosen for obvious reasons, it can protect itself from Taunt or Encore after activating Trick Room, but it's not safe from Fake Out users and Sleepers, though; with this, Safety Goggles is a good item to consider to protect from Sleep status or Rage Powder. 

Healer ability isn't so bad either, which has a 30% chance to heal allies and comes in quite handy at times. Although Healer cannot heal Aroma from its status problem, but can still do so for its allies even if it’s still sleeping (awesome). 

As aforementioned, it can also learn a bunch of moves too. More on that later.

Weakness
Being slow is quite obvious, but it can take some hits thanks to its good defence spread and Fairy-type. However, because of its role, it can be too predictable for opponents to read you. In fact, 90% of opponents will know your Aromatisse is the default Trick Room setter, and they will do anything to stop it such as Fake Out, or literally double team to kill off your Aromatisse. 

Ok, maybe the Defence stat is just alright, strong physical Poison and Steel-type Pokemon will surely OHKO it. Which is why in this case, trainers would usually fully pump the Defence stat.

Moveset

Dazzling Gleam itself is not a bad move since its power is just 5 points difference from Moonblast (80 * STAB 1.5 * 75% spread = 90), if there’s one thing that Moonblast have any advantage of it is that Dazzling Gleam will revert back to 80 base power if there’s only one Pokemon left so that’s something to keep in mind. 

Aside from that, it can also learn Thunderbolt, Psychic and Energy Ball (least popular). Thunderbolt is a better secondary option as the rest of the moves can’t hit Steel-type very well, and Psychic is great for countering those nasty Poison-type Pokemon (stating the obvious, aren't I lol)

If you want some supportive moves, it can also learn Heal Pulse, Aromatherapy, Wish, Helping Hand and others. 

Closing thoughts

Fantastique Aromatisse by Jitterladybug

Any slow Pokemon will benefit being with Aromatisse, it's no doubt as being one of the best Trick Room users in the current metagame. But because I still have my Cofagrigous, I used Aromatisse as a full Trick Room offence Pokemon instead and it also worked marvellously, sending confusion to opponents on which one was the real Trick Room user and able to destroy most Pokemon that are weak to Moonblast, as well as with Thunderbolt and Psychic. 

So Aromatisse, I choose you. Glhf!

Battle Spot: Sudowoodo Trick Room and Doubles Strategy

Build set as of Gen 6

Ability – Rock Head

Stats – HP (252), Attack (252), Defense (6)

Nature – Adamant 

Item – Focus Sash

Move set – Rock Slide, Wood Hammer, Sucker Punch, Protect

Ah, Sudowoodo, who could forget this tree wannabe during the Gold/Silver era. Many got fooled thinking it was a Grass-type but turned out to be pure Rock-type. Many trainers won't consider using this imitator for a good reason, being pure Rock-type is a really bad idea in the current metagame, as it faces off many weaknesses and it's super slow too. But does it work well in a Trick Room team?

Strength

To start off, Sudowoodo has two useful abilities - Rock Head and Sturdy, both are viable options but for me, I'd usually go for Rock Head because it negates recoil from recoil moves, like Wood Hammer which we will get to that later. If one chooses not to use Wood Hammer, then by all means, go for Sturdy. 

Another strong point is its Attack and Defense base stats, which are pretty high standing at 100 and 115 respectively.

Weakness

On the other hand, Sudowoodo has very low Special Defense which poses a big issue. As a pure Rock-type as aforementioned, being weak to five types (Fighting, Water, Ground, Grass, and Steel) is like being Bad Luck Brian in the metagame, but luckily you have Sturdy for that or a Focus Band.

Not only that, it's lacking quite a few useful moves, and the only two moves that are useful for Rock Head ability is Wood Hammer and Double Edge. 

Moveset

Having Rock Slide (or Stone Edge) is a must as this is its best STAB move for obvious reasons. The question remains is what other moved should it learn after that. With Rock Head ability at its disposal, this prompts Wood Hammer a must have to counter Water and Ground-type Pokemon, although Double Edge also benefits from the ability, this Normal-type move is out of place and it’s not super effective against anything. 

Sucker Punch is great to compensate its slow stat speed. Last but not least, Protect is a no brainer. Low Kick is also a move worth mentioning as it deals with Steel-type Pokemon, but that would mean you have to sacrifice one move slot for it.

Closing thoughts

My experience using Sudowoodo has not been that great, honestly speaking. Sometimes I do get to fool players who have never seen one thinking it was Grass-type, but when they don't, they tend to deal with it accordingly. What's more, Wood Hammer couldn't really OHKO most Water and Ground-type Pokemon as they tend to have respectable Defense base stats.

Choosing a pure Rock-type has never been recommended due to its glaring 5 weaknesses, not to mention there are always better options out there like Barbaracle if you want a kickass Rock Slide user with STAB. Oh well, it was nice knowing you.

So Sudowoodo, I don't choose you. Sorry :(

Battle Spot: Druddigon Trick Room and Doubles Strategy

Build set of Gen 6

Ability – Sheer Force

Stats – HP (252), Attack (252), Special Defense/SpD (4)

Nature – Brave

Item – Life Orb

Move set – Dragon Claw (stab), Fire Punch, Iron Head/Gunk Shot, Protect

When it comes to dragons, it's one of the most favourite Pokemon types to use because of its sheer power and great defensive resistance. However, not many would consider using Druddigon due to its abysmal speed, nonetheless this thorny dragon has incredible 120 Attack stat. So in other words, its sole purpose is to kill everything it touches in Trick Room. 

Strength 

The only reason that you'd want to use Druddigon is for Sheer Force, combining it with Life Orb item, it could obliterate most Pokemon and not to mention, it has tons of moves at its disposal. 

Druddigon’s other two ability Rough Skin and Mold Breaker are also good, a defensive build should make use of Rough Skin + Rocky Helmet and maximizing Defense to the max. Mold Breaker on the other hand is the "least" useful which can be used too I guess, but I sure won't want to waste that 120 Attack stat away. 

Weakness

Being a pure Dragon-type, that makes it weak to Fairy, Ice and of course, Dragon. There's nothing much to say about its weakness, really, the defensive spread is good enough so it's quite a tough one to take down since HP stat is maxed. 

Oh wait, Dragon Claw cannot be utilized by Sheer Force. Oh well. 

Moveset

With the power of Sheer Force and Life Orb, it grants Fire Punch and Iron Head higher bonus power and it’s sure to go in for the kill immediately. Fire Punch is much needed to handle those steel type Pokemons, since Dragon Claw is weak against it. And Iron Head will decimate every single Fairy except Azumarill. Gunk Shot is also a worthy move to replace Iron Head to counter Fairy-type but its 80% accuracy says otherwise. 

Other than that, it also has many other moves to benefit from Sheer Force + Life Orb combo, depending on what your team lacks it can also learn Crunch, Thunder Punch, Rock Slide and Sucker Punch (ok, I know this move doesn't gain anything but it's to compensate for being slow).

Closing thoughts

Indirectly, Druddigon is the physical embodiment of Dragalge and these are the only two Pokemon Dragons that can OHKO Sylveon easily. A Trick Room Druddigon should never be messed around as this build's sole purpose is to kill everything it touches, it did well in my Trick Room team but eventually it got replaced because I have a better Fire alternative (Mega Camerupt) compared to the boosted Fire Punch, as well as a stronger Dragon-type like Dragalge, but it's still a good Pokemon to use for Trick Room. 

So Druddigon, I choose you! Glhf!

Battle Spot: Cacturne Trick Room and Doubles strategy

Build set as of Gen 6

Ability – Sand Veil

Stats – Attack (252), Special Attack/HP (252), Defence/Special Defence (4)

Nature – Brave/Quiet
Item – Focus Sash

Moveset – Seed Bomb/Energy Ball (stab), Sucker Punch (stab), Destiny Bond, Spiky Shield

Much like Maractus, Cacturne is also quite unpopular due to its poor stats spread, but this is also why it's perfect for Trick Room since it's slow. What's more, with high Attack and SpA stats in its hands and two useful abilities, Cacturne has the potential of going two different builds and fit in four different kinds of playstyle, giving it much flexibility. With the correct build, you can give a scare to your opponent with fear. 

Strength

First, it has Sand Veil as its first ability and Water Absorb as the hidden ability. These two builds can be used in either a Sand or Rainy Team and both abilities are useful, but in my experience, I prefer using Sand Veil. 

Sand Veil works marvellously with Focus Sash item, so if you happen to face a Sand Team (or if you're one), Cacturne would be in paradise, being in the Sandstorm will give him a 20% chance of evasion and also granting it immunity to the Sandstorm pelts every round so your Focus Sash won't be wasted, not to mention, it adds on to the opponent's accuracy rate as well, like Fire Blast (85% accuracy) for example, awesome. 

Or, if you prefer Water Absorb then it's fine too. Having Water Absorb ability obviously works best in a Rainy Team or if your partner has Surf, this is because Water Absorb will absorb any incoming water type attack and heal its HP by 25% (too bad it’s not Storm Drain though). This also shuts opponents with Water-type Pokemon who uses Surf too, but most of the time they would just use Ice Beam to take it down. Also, your HP recovery is just 25% only, ain't helping much because it's incredibly fragile.  

Weakness

Talking about being fragile, Cacturne is one of the Pokemon that has the most weaknesses in the game. Being Grass/Dark-type makes it vulnerable to Fighting, Flying, Poison, Fairy, Fire, Ice and Bug (x4!), but on the bright side, at least it's resistant against many other types as well (Water, Grass, Ground, Electric, Dark and Ghost) 

Another minor issue is that for having high SpA, it lacks a lot of SpA moves to take advantage of it except for Energy Ball and Dark Pulse, Sucker Punch is most preferred, though, for speed compensation.

Moveset

Your moveset will determine your EV spread, so if you're going for a mix build, it's best to have Energy Ball and Sucker Punch as your main STAB with Quiet nature in order; if not, then you should go for a Physical set with Brave nature, switching SpA stat for HP and Energy Ball for Seed Bomb. Seed Bomb is a viable choice as most Water-type Pokemon tend to have lower Defence stat, as for those Rock and Ground-type, most of them have both of those types so it's a x4 weakness there. 

As for the third move slot, my persona favourite is Destiny Bond because of Focus Sash item. Once it's ready to faint, it can activate Destiny Bond and take down the opponent down with it. This of course, works splendidly well under Trick Room. 

For a non-Trick Room environment, it could learn Low Kick or Drain Punch which works well with your partner spamming Surf. Poison Jab is a nice move to have too for countering Fairies, and lastly, Spiky Shield is a great addition to harm opponents who uses physical contact moves.

Closing thoughts

(image credit to Heather R)

With my Sand Veil Cacturne build, it's a darling under the Sandstorm which occurs occasionally in the current metagame. Like its cousin, it's not seen around much so opponents are very likely to look down that will give you an advantage for a surprise attack. I actually did consider it to be one of my main Trick Room member but it loses out to Maractus in the end because of Storm Drain, well, really good Pokemon to have under Trick Room and Sand Team.

So Cacturne, I choose you! Glhf!

Battle Spot: Escavalier Trick Room and Doubles strategy

Build Set as of Gen 6

Ability – Overcoat

Stats – HP (252), Atk (252), SpD (4)

Nature – Brave

Item – Lum Berry

Moveset – Megahorn (stab), Iron Head (stab), Drill Run/Knock Off, Protect

This little fella is no push over as it stands as one of the most powerful Bug/Steel-type Pokemon. With its snail-like speed, it screams for Trick Room and any Pokemon that are weak to bug and steel will instantly faint (even the bulky Cresselia) to it. This is quite a straight forward build for Trick Room so this won't take long. 

Strength
The best thing about this Pokemon is its Overcoat ability, since Overcoat got a nice buff in Gen 6, the ability allows it to easily face those pesky Spore/Sleep Powder users, as well as Rage Powder. However, it's too bad that prior to Gen 6, it's quite difficult to obtain the hidden ability because it's non-existent in the Pokemon Safari and ORAS. So the only way to get it is to transfer via Pokebank from Dreamworld (Gen 5). 

Tough luck to those who doesn't have Black & White 2, the next best ability is probably Shell Armor that resists critical hits which seem to be quite common these days. 

Besides that, it has amazing Attack and defensive stats overall. Its full EV pump Attack stat can OHKO a bulky Cresselia aforementioned, even those who are neutral against it are gonna get hit like a truck.  

Weakness
Aside from the obvious slow speed movement, it has a serious 4x weakness to Fire and Fire-type moves are super common in the metagame, so with that, you will need a good Water/Rock/Ground-type partner that deals with it.

Another way to counter this is using a Pokemon that has Flash Fire ability, you can always make a surprise switch and get a nice Fire boost. This also works for opponents who wants to use Will-O-Wisp on your bug knight, but watch out for Pokemon with Intimidate ability. 

Moveset

Although the bug knight is ridiculously strong, it lacks a wide variety of moves which makes it predictable. The two main STAB moves are Mega Horn and Iron Head by default, Protect is also needed to fend off incoming Will-O-Wisp or Fire-type moves. 

For the third attacking move slot, you can either go for Drill Run or Knock Off. Drill Run can counter Fire-type Pokemon nicely, but it is an egg move from another Pokemon that can only be obtained in Black and White Move Tutor. 

Knock Off is also a good option with the recent buff, with its already high Attack stat, it is likely to OHKO anything that moves, if not, at least it will “Knock Off” the item away. 

If you're thinking of Quick Guard, I guess you can consider it to stop those who has Prankster ability or those with priority moves, but it’s better off destroying when in Trick Room.

Closing thoughts

Had a blast using Escavalier, but it's unfortunate that I don't have any way of getting Overcoat ability or else it would have been one of my most important Trick Room members. Oh well...you can't have everything sometimes.

So Escavalier, I choose you! Glhf

Battle Spot: Octillery Trick Room and Doubles strategy

Build set as of Gen 6

Ability – Sniper 
Stats – HP (252), Special Attack/SpA (252), Special Defence/SpD (4)

Nature – Quiet
Item – Focus Sash

Moveset – Hydro Pump (stab), Fire Blast, Ice Beam, Protect

Similarly to Seviper's case, Octillery also suffers the same problem with average HP, defensive capabilities and horrendous Speed. On the other hand, its Attack and SpA stats are quite good, making it ideal for a Trick Room candidate wrecking destruction with a wide array of moves. Let's take a look of how the octopus should be used. 

Strength

As mentioned earlier, both Attack and SpA stat are high enough to cause damage to your opponent, that also makes your movepool vast and you have many options to choose from there. Staying true to its name, Octillery's role is just simply an artillery in your Trick Room and use it to your heart's content when the move is activated. Pretty straight forward here. 

If you're brave enough, you could let loose Protect and slot in another attacking move then give it Assault Vest boosting its SpD. As a pure Water-type, its two weakness Electric and Grass (not forgetting the rare Freeze Dry Ice-move) are usually SpA-based so that makes it tougher to take it down.

Weakness

Aside from the obvious poor defensive capabilities, Octillery’s abilities are somewhat less desired. It has Sniper, Sticky Feet and Moody. Sticky Feet is the most useless one and Moody is too random. So it’s better off with Sniper since critical hits in the current metagame seems to be appearing more now for some reason.

Also, since you're better off with all SpA-based moveset. That pretty much means the Attack stat is rendered useless, quite a pity to be honest, unless if you really want Gunk Shot then it's only recommended to max both Attack and SpA. Speaking of moves...

Moveset

Hydro Pump should be Octillery's main STAB move for good reasons, but Surf can do too if you have a Pokemon that benefits from it like Maractus. Your second move should be Fire Blast to get rid of those pesky Grass-type Pokemon, and Ice Beam as well for wide coverage.

If you already have a Pokemon that has a Fire or Ice move, Octillery still has plenty of moves left. Namely Gunk Shot, Seed Bomb, Scald, Energy Ball, Sludge Bomb, Flamethrower, Psychic, Waterfall and Flash Cannon. So many choices!

One interesting thing to note is it can learn Focus Power too, and if it wears a Scope Lens item it can easily OHKO most Pokemon 99% of the time with critical hit since it's compatible with Sniper ability. But in order for that to work, Trick Room is not the right choice and you'd need a Fake Out Pokemon for Octillery to setup, that would also mean you'd have to sacrifice Focus Sash and make way for Scope Lens, just be wary of offensive physical attackers. 

Closing thoughts

(image credit to _Absol_'s Bucket)

Generally, it’s a much better idea to go with the SpA build as it can learn a wide variety of TMs (and SpA TMs have higher power). If you want to go for a physical set, that's ok too but it will lack the artillery power compared to SpA. Had some fun with Octillery, but in the end, there are better Trick Room Water-type Pokemon out there such as Clawitzer and others. 

So Octillery, I choose you! Glhf!

Batte Spot: Seviper Trick Room and Doubles strategy

Build set as of Gen 6

Ability – Infiltrator

Stats – Attack (252), Special Attack (252), HP (4)

Nature – Brave

Item – Focus Sash

Moveset – Poison Jab (stab), Knock Off, Flamethrower/Aqua Tail/Earthquake, Protect

If a trainer was forced to choose between Seviper and Arbok, most of them would probably go for Arbok because of Coil + Gunk Shot combo. Stats-wise, Seviper is an inferior option compared to Arbok, but it doesn't change the fact that its natural high Attack and SpA stats are undeniably attractive. Also, the low Speed stat makes it an exssssscellent Trick Room member as a fearsome sweeper. Let's explore what this slow snake can do in Trick Room shall we? 

Strength
Seviper's ability Infiltrator is a good one as it allows the snake to penetrate those pesky Pokemon behind a Substitute, not many trainers have experience facing Seviper so this would totally catch them off-guard.

What's more, having the same 100 stat for both Attack and SpA, this makes Seviper one of those few Pokemon who can abuse moves from each side, which also means it can learn a wide variety of moves from its movepool. We will get to its moveset later on.

Weakness
For having respectable offensive powers, the other stats aren't that great so defensively it's frail like a worm. From my experience, it's pretty pointless if you pump the HP fully, so it doesn't matter if it's resistant to Fairy, Bug, Grass, Fighting and even Poison, powerful offensive Pokemon running around in the current metagame would likely crush it. So that's why it's better off being a mixed attacker and a Focus Sash is the default item.

Moveset

In this build, I prefer it to focus mainly on Attack with Brave nature because most Fairy and Grass-type Pokemon are defensively weak. So with this, Poison Jab is the perfect main STAB move since it has a 30% chance of poisoning which is quite handy. If you prefer it to be more specialize in SpA, then Sludge Bomb is great too, but then again, it won't be able to OKHO most Fairies since their SpD is high. 

Knock Off is nice to have to compliment the Attack stat since it got a nice buff in Gen 6, it's also counter Psychic (and Ghost, since they're resistant against Poison) Pokemon. It'd be nice if the current or next Move Tutor can teach Sucker Punch to compensate for its slow Speed, if you really need one, you'll need to transfer it out all the way back from Diamond/Pearl version. Crunch and Dark Pulse is viable too.

My favourite third attacking slot is Flamethrower, which gets the power from SpA. It’s to get rid of the overused Ferrothorn and Spore users, and even without the use of Trick Room; it can OHKO several Mega-evolved Pokemon instantly like Mega Scizor, Mega Mawile, Mega Abomasnow, Mega Aggron, and Mega Venusaur. 

The rest of the moves is entirely up to you, Giga Drain is also recommended as it counter Ground-type Pokemon and can regain its HP, it can also learn Aqua Tail and Earthquake. So learn either one of those moves from what your team is lacking.

Closing Thoughts

(image credit to livinlovindude)

You should never look down on a Seviper if it appears in a Trick Room team, as mentioned in the moveset above, the Flamethrower alone can melt away several threats like Mega Mawile and Mega Venusaur and it certainly took my opponents by surprise. Not to mention, Poison Jab is lethal against Fairy-type Pokemon, but I don't really remember if it can OHKO a Sylveon or not like Dragalge. So there's that, a straight forward build of a killer from the shadows of Trick Room. 

So Seviper, I choose you! Ghlf!

Battle Spot: Mega Banette Trick Room and Doubles strategy

Build as of Gen 6

• Ability – Frisk → Prankster
• Stats – Attack (252), HP (252), Special Defence (4)
• Nature – Adamant
• Item – Banettite Stone
• Move set – Phantom Force (stab), Sucker Punch, Knock Off, Destiny Bond

When Banette was announced to have a mega evolution, I was quite curious on how much it would be improved. It certainly got a massive Attack stat boost and Prankster ability, making it more useful and a threat when used correctly, but its overall defences and Speed say otherwise so it's still quite fragile. So that being said, using Mega Banette is really difficult and really need good support from its partner to stay on the battlefield. And with the given stats, it can go either a Prankster-centric or full offense Pokemon, which I prefer. 

Strength

With Prankster at its disposal, the marionette has full of tricks up its sleeves (literally). It has access to many great status moves such as Curse, Grudge, Torment, Confuse Ray, Pain Split, Disable, Taunt, Toxic, Will-O-Wisp and Thunder Wave. If you're going for a full Prankster build, you could surprise your opponent and keep them guessing with those moves. 

Speaking of ability, you would also want to get your Banette with Frisk ability over Insomnia because it helps to identify who are holding mega stones or other important items like Life Orb, Leftovers and etc. 

Ah, how can we forget the 165 Attack stat upgrade and a new move Phantom Force which seriously badass and truly monstrous, more on that later.

Weakness

Although it's granted Prankster ability, it’s also noted that Mega Banette does not get Prankster ability on the first round upon mega-evolving which is quite and a bit unfair honestly since Mega Sableye automatically gets Magic Bounce on first-turn after all. To add on to that, there are actually better Prankster Pokemon than Mega Banette like Sableye and Whimsicott.

As for the stat build, it’s recommended to pump in HP fully instead of Speed it’s because even if gets maxed it will still get outspeed by many Pokemon regardless and be very vulnerable. Maximizing your HP is your only chance of keeping it alive for as long as possible, especially from strong physical attackers.

Moveset

Phantom Force is the strongest move and I prefer it over Shadow Claw for a pretty good reason. Although it works like Dig and Dive, what makes Phantom Force special is that it also ignores Protect, Detect, King’s Shield, Spiky Shield and Mat Block which is the highlight, but still can’t touch Normal-type, of course. Using Phantom Force also indirectly shields Mega Banette from incoming attacks from slower Pokemon.

To compensate for its average Speed stat, Sucker Punch should be included and it’s actually stronger than Shadow Sneak even with STAB. In addition, Knock Off is fantastic with Frisk and does quite an amount of damage especially on other Trick Room users which usually resulting OHKO'ing them.

Lastly, among all the support moves (as mentioned in Strength), Destiny Bond is probably the best support move for Prankster as it can surprise and bring down key threatening Pokemon whenever it's ready to faint, but it will be quite predictable over time to trainers who remember. Nonetheless, trainers can be forgetful sometimes so when they gleefully take down Mega Banette, you also get to bring your opponent down with you to hell.

Closing thoughts

With such huge Attack stat boost, I simply couldn't ignore that gift so that's why I think it should go for an all-out attack despite its many supportive moves. Similarly to Malamar, Mega Banette can be in both Trick Room or mixed Doubles to cause a great disturbance with Prankster. A perfect partner for the doll is one who can abuse Rage Powder or Follow Me since it's so fragile, along with a Fighting or Fairy Pokemon that can deal with Dark-types, or even better, switch in a Pokemon who has Justified ability like Terrakion. 

So Mega Banette, I choose you! Glhf!

Battle Spot: Malamar Trick Room and Doubles strategy

Build set as of ORAS

• Ability – Contrary
• Stats – HP (252), Attack (252), Defence (4)
• Nature – Adamant/Brave
• Item – Lum Berry
• Moveset – Psycho Cut (stab), Knock Off (stab), Superpower, Protect/Topsy-Turvy

Malamar is one of those Pokemon that seems to be in the middle, the stats distribution are quite balanced overall and so because of this, you are allowed to come up with a few builds for it like a Careful Malamar, Speedster Supporter, Assault Malamar and others. In this build, we will see how well Malamar is used in a Trick Room setting and Doubles.

Strength
The only reason you want to use this jelly penguin is for its Contrary ability. Oh, the opponent has Intimidate? Throw that thing in there and it will get an Attack boost by one stage. Not only that, it will automatically increase any stat by a stage if it gets hit by a move that decreases any of the stats. For example, if it gets hit by Icy Wind then it will boost its Speed instead of being nerfed and so on. I think if you can set up a partner that can spam stat reduction moves like Baby-Doll Eyes or Fake Tears, you can really abuse this ability to the max and set terror.

Pumping the Speed stat is alright I guess but it's more beneficial with HP so that it can benefit from Superpower's Defence boost, as for its nature this is a tricky one because there are times you won't be able to pull off a Trick Room safely, so in this case, I went with Adamant nature.

In addition, Dark/Psychic typing is truly unique and it's only weak to Bug and Fairy.

Weakness
That being said though, the weakness to Bug is actually x4 and it hurts really bad. Although Bug-type moves are not that common, but U-Turn is and a lot of fast Pokemon such as Thunderous and Talonflame are known for using U-Turn. So know thy enemy, because sometimes you can get caught off guard. 

The second problem is facing Fairies, Superpower and Knock Off aren't gonna do a scratch on a Fairy-type Pokemon and your only chance is using Psycho Cut which does subliminal damage when crit is not coming out. Strong Special Attackers are a threat too since its Special Defence are just average

Malamar users don't really need to be afraid of an Unaware Pokemon, since only two Pokemon use that ability - Clefable (basically an anti-Malamar, although trainers would rather use Magic Guard ability) and Quagsire (a rarity). 

Oh yeah, Lum Berry is a must have to cure burn status as it's a popular target for Will o' Wisp users. 

Moveset
To make the best out of Contrary, Superpower is a must have as it will certainly boost both Attack and Defence by 1 stage. In a long-term battle, it will become a powerful physical tanker and attacker due to its respectable HP, Attack and Defence stats.

Psycho Cut is its main stab move for obvious reasons. And Knock Off was chosen over Night Slash because thanks to the Gen-6 move mechanic improvement, making it one of the best opening Dark-type moves to have in the metagame;  not only you get to 'knock off' important items from your opponent, it's also great on targeting Psychic and Ghost-type Pokemon who plans to use Trick Room as generally, their Defences are quite low. 

There is one more move that is worth mentioning too, which is its signature move Topsy-Turvy. Topsy-Turvy is a very interesting move because it’s designed to troll players who attempt to set up. For example, if you meet an opponent who does Sword Dance; using Topsy-Turvy on it will reverse the effect, meaning it will become -2 instead of +2. I've used Topsy-Turvy a couple of times and it should never be underestimated, when used effectively it can turn the tide of the game. It should be also noted that it can reverse your allies’ stat change as well, such as Draco Meteor users #winkwink but then again, I like to play safe so I prefer Protect. 

Closing thoughts

(image credit to gndillustrations)

Malamar is definitely a decent Pokemon that can be used in any kind of team build like Trick Room or a mixed Doubles (better for a mixed Doubles from my experience), and I have a lot of fond memories using it. One of its greatest wins was using Topsy_Turvy on a Mega Mawile who already used Sword Dance, it couldn't switch out due to the lack of partners, so I just Superpowered it into oblivion and became ridiculously strong. Ah, glorious.

So Malamar, I choose you! Glhf!

Battle Spot: Parasect Trick Room and Doubles strategy

Build set as off Gen 6

• Ability – Dry Skin
• Stats – HP (252), Defence (126), Special Defence (126), Attack (4)
• Nature – Brave
• Item – Focus Sash
• Moveset – Leech Seed (stab), Bug Bite (stab), Spore, Protect

In the Pokemon kingdom, Spore users reign terror on every trainer because of that 100% sleep accuracy. There are currently three Pokemon that can learn Spore. First, we have the overused tank Amoongus. Secondly, the 'grass' cannon Breloom who possesses an extremely high Attack stat and is capable of dealing massive damage with Technician ability combining with Bullet Seed. Thheeennnn, we have Parasect. 

#cricketsound

Parasect is largely ignored for good reasons. It’s as slow as Amoongus, but between the two, Parasect has several type weaknesses due to its Bug/Grass type and a not-so-impressive HP, Defence and SpD stats. Even its respectable Attack stat remains inferior to Breloom. Despite these, it’s still usable as long as it has a compatible partner(s), a Focus Sash, and being in Trick Room...or does it?

Nope, Parasect is just not cut out for a Trick Room team. And I'll tell you why.

Strength

Assuming we're going for a Trick Room build, Parasect is best used against physical attackers due to its ability Effect Spore, I've used it a couple of times against Mega Kangaskan when it Fake Out twice, causing it to cripple with either Paralyze, Sleep or Poison. What's more, it has some good resistance against Fighting, Water, Grass, Electric and especially Ground (x4). 

Ah, of course, there's Spore as well. Scary af. Not to mention, it's immune to Rage Powder and Spore too so that's nice. Not so shabby there, huh?

Weakness

Now for its weakness...oh boy, how do I even begin? Although it does 'ok' against physical attackers, its dual typing also opens a glaring 6 weaknesses - Fire (x4), Flying (x4), Poison, Rock, Ice and Bug. Also, the stats distribution between HP, Defence and SpD is just BAD. So bad, and even worst against Special Attackers which Effort Spore can't be used.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how horrible Parasect is, defensively. So because of this, it's easily replaceable by other better bulky Grass-types like Amoongus, Tangrowth, even Vileplume and many others. 

Moveset
In addition, for a Trick Room attacker, it lacks several options and its only best moves are Seed Bomb (which you must learn from a move tutor) and X-Scissors. 

For the third move, there's nothing much to consider actually. Bug Bite is not strong enough, Cross Poison? Uhh...Brick Break could do something I guess, even Flail doesn't do much damage with Focus Sash equipped (because it's a normal-type move). So that leaves Knock Off for some support damage or Spore which I prefer. 


Speaking of Spore, Parasect actually possesses a lot of supporting moves, like Wide Guard (egg move), Leech Seed, Synthesis, Worry Seed, Rage Powder, Aromatherapy, Poison and Stun Powder. 

Closing thoughts

Honestly, Parasect is best used in a Rainy Team due to Dry Skin ability + Leech Seed, along with your partner spamming Surf all round. It does a much better role in supporting rather than in an offensive Trick Room team, if only its dual typing changes to just Bug-type then it might still have its usefulness, but oh well...it is what it is. 

So Parasect, I choose you (for a Rainy Team in Doubles)! Glhf.

Battle Spot: Ariados Trick Room and Doubles strategy

Build set as of Gen 6

• Ability – Insomnia
• Stats – HP (252), Attack (252), Defence (4)
• Nature – Adamant 
• Item – Life Orb/Focus Sash
• Moveset – Megahorn (stab), Poison Jab (stab), Sucker Punch, Protect

With just slightly below average stats and a mediocre Attack stat, this is one Pokemon that many players do not have in mind. BUT, thanks to Trick Room, new Fairy-type preys, Steel-type defense nerf (to Sucker Punch), and new egg moves; this eight four-legged freak case file is revisited once again. Ariados can be divided into two builds, one is for stalling and another for Trick Room offense, but offense is more favored due to its Attack stat and slowness so better take advantage of that.

Strength
With Amoongus, Breloom and Smeagle running around putting Pokemon to sleep, Insomnia ability is a much-preferred choice as it prevents sleep status 24/7, while Sniper only activates when crit hits.

Sniper may look like an ideal ability to have now that the crit hit ratio formula changed in Gen 6 (a stage 2 crit-hit ratio is now 50% instead of 25%), it matches well with Scope Lens item along with crit-hit moves such as Cross Poison and Night Slash which it can learn. But the non-crit damage output is rather horrendous, so wearing a Scope Lens is out of the question. Even if Scope Lens is replaced with Life Orb or Choice Band, the 12.5% chance of crit is still too low so it's always better to do 100% constant damage with Poison Jab and Sucker Punch. 

It also got some new sweet move like Sticky Web, Rage Powder and Megahorn (especially Megahorn, thank you, Gamefreak). Lastly, being a Bug/Poison-type, it has some "decent" defensive physical resistance to Fighting, Fairy, Grass, Poison and Bug-types. But then again...

Weakness
Talonflame, the sole enemy of the spider so perhaps, in this case, you might need a Focus Sash to survive the heat or Brave Bird, but you won't want to lose that Life Orb power boost now do you? Probably best to sit Ariados out if that bird is around, or you can come up with a partner that can cover its weakness, preferably a Pokemon that can throw a rock at it.

Speaking of rock, it's also afraid of Rock-type moves that are seen around occasionally. Same goes to Psychic-types, It also definitely has a problem facing Steel-type too due to Bug resistance and Poison immunity, so with 4 common weaknesses, you're kinda forced to come up with at least 3 Pokemon to cover up the weakness, you don't need to worry about Psychic type that much because of Sucker Punch.

Moveset
The best part of Gen 6 is that Ariados has been blessed with a new egg move - the sweet and mighty Megahorn. This 120 base power Bug move combined with full Attack EV + Adamant nature can instantly super effectively OHKO many Psychic (like Cresselia), Dark and Grass-type Pokemon and nearly over killing others who are defensively neutral against it, and this is excluding the power boost from the Life Orb. The downside of having such power though, is that it has only 85% accuracy, X-Scissors is another alternative if Megahorn's accuracy is a turn off but it's not wise to give up such powerful move. 

Poison Jab can also OHKO many Fairy-type Pokemon, if not, then a 30% chance of poisoning is nice too. And as mentioned earlier, Sucker Punch is to counter Psychic-type Pokemon and to compensate for being slow, Shadow Sneak is good too but the power is too low.

As for the last move slot, if you don't feel like using Protect (why won't you?). There are other moves to consider, Hone Claws can be added so it can boost its Attack further and Megahorn's accuracy which is nice. It can learn Dig too to counter Fire and Rock-type Pokemon but it's not that reliable since smart trainers can just switch out to counter. 

Closing thoughts

Many trainers don't have any experience facing Ariados and they are sure to underestimate it, you can use this to your advantage in a Trick Room team. Under the right circumstances, your Ariados can be a surprise winner thanks to Megahorn, I imagined my opponent jaw-dropped after I OHKO his Cresselia with it, so that's really fun, and not forgetting 'Poison Jabbing' the Fairies with content. Just remember to be careful with it because it's not meant to come out all the time, especially when Talonflame is around.

So Ariados, I choose you! Glhf!

Battle Spot: Umbreon Doubles strategy

Build set as of Gen 6

• Ability – Inner Focus
• Stats – HP (252), Special Defence/SpD (252), Defence (4)
• Nature – Sassy
• Item – Mental Herb
• Move set – Helping Hand, Foul Play (stab), Heal Bell/Taunt, Toxic

Umbreon in Trick Room? Nope, I'll be taking a break from Trick Room setting for awhile. So in this entry, I'll explain about how Umbreon can be used in Doubles format from my experience. Usually, Umbreon guides online are based on 1v1 because it's hard to use it in Doubles, and it is, because Doubles format is too fast for its cleric support role. But ah, there's a way.

Strength

Umbreon has one of the best defensive stats especially its SpD (130!), and even the Defence isn't that shy as well (110!). It's an amazing tank, so it's ideal to use it against many offensive-type Pokemon and you don't even need to invest in Attack because it has Foul Play and has a ton of support moves, more on that later.

It also has two useful abilities which are Inner Focus and Synchronize, personally, I personally recommend Inner Focus because as a supporter, it's essential not to get flinched especially when it's kinda slow. On the other hand, Synchronize is useful too, as it can simply “Synchronize” burn, poison and paralyzed status back to the enemy and heal itself with a Heal Bell (or a Lum Berry, if you like). However, the Gen 6 mechanic indirectly made the ability less awesome since Fire-types can’t be burn, Electric-types from being paralyzed, and same goes to Poison status to Poison-types. Oh, as a supporter a Mental Herb is important too.

Weakness

Back then, it only had to be worried of Fighting-type Pokemon in Battle Spot. But now that the game has Fairies running around, you're forced to add in another partner to cover up that weakness. Plus the occasional Bug-type weakness, having an Umbreon as a core in your Doubles team could easily require around 2-3 Pokemon to cover up its weakness. Shucks, choose wisely. 

Not only that, Taunt and Trick Pokemon users are an annoyance too especially the latter. Veterans will force you to waste a round to change your Umbreon with another teammate if you want to use another move, so keep an eye out as there are only a few who can learn that move, particularly Rotom-W. 

Moveset

Ah, I almost forgot. The only reason you should use Umbreon in Doubles is because of only one move - Helping Hand. Why Helping Hand? Well as I said earlier, Doubles is too fast for a slow cleric like Umbreon to execute the moves; besides, Helping Hand has a +5 priority to compensate for its slow Speed. Thus, the best type of partners to pair with Umbreon is an offensive Pokemon that knows a spread move (Earthquake, Heatwave, Blizzard, etc).

Foul Play is also commonly used, so sometimes it's good to provide some assistance instead of supporting all the time. A partner with Swagger move is quite ideal and this could prove annoying to the opponent who has a SpA-focus Pokemon. To add on to that, it's not wise to make Umbreon learn Payback or Assurance move; the Attack stat is too low to consider, even if you boost it with Curse, you're wasting too much time setting up. 

Heal Bell is another fantastic move to have as it cures everyone in the team from Burn, Sleep, Freeze, Poison and Paralyzed status, Taunt isn't so bad too so that depends on your preference.  

Speaking of curing your team, Snatch is a quite interesting move because it functions like a +4 priority Taunt (very useful since Umbreon is slow). The only problem, though, is you really need to be good in mind reading to predict what your opponent would do. Snatch will steal any status move (except Status moves, Taunt and Encore). For example, if the opponent uses Tailwind and you used Snatch in the same round; Tailwind will be stolen and Umbreon will cast Tailwind instead. It's too bad that it can't steal Status moves, Taunt and Encore, or else it would've been really beneficial.

Lastly, Toxic is another way of assisting your partner especially on other tanky Pokemon such as Suicune itself. Yawn is another good move to shut down threats in the next round, but this won’t stop them from waking up with Lum Berry and Safeguard. 

Closing thoughts

Using Umbreon in Doubles is not easy, if you really want it to be part of your Doubles team, you'll need a lot of trials and errors to get it right (especially if it's a core Pokemon). But once you get the correct ingredients, your team will actually be almost unbeatable taken if you take advantage of Helping Hand, and not many opponents have experience facing a mix Doubles team which will keep them on a wild guess.

So Umbreon, I choose you! Glhf!

Battle Spot: Dragalge Trick Room and Doubles strategy

Build set as of Gen 6

• Ability – Adaptability
• Stats – HP (252), SpA (252), SpD (4)
• Nature – Modest/Quiet 
• Item – Life Orb
• Move set – Draco Meteor (stab), Sludge Bomb (stab), Hydro Pump/Thunderbolt, Protect

When Dragalge was discovered in XY, I knew it was another perfect candidate for Trick Room but it didn't have Adaptability ability yet. So I had to wait until ORAS came around and it finally got the hidden ability, verdict? It kicks so-much-ass. 

Strength

Adaptability, the ability to boost power STAB moves from the usual 1.5 to 2 which makes a LOT of difference. Combined with Life Orb, it would almost always OHKO a Pokemon that is neutral against Draco Meteor or Sludge Bomb. Adaptability + Life Orb combo is also guaranteed to OHKO a Sylveon (the highest SpD among all fairies) with Sludge Bomb, and that's a huge bonus given how annoying that fairy is. 

The first ever Dragon/Poison type is special too as it gets neutral damage from Fairies, not to forget its high SpD stat too that complements Fire, Water, Electric and Grass resistance even more, making it a tank favourite against SpA Pokemon. But then again...

Weakness

That also means it's weak to both Ground and Ice, which are everywhere in the metagame. Also, its Defence stat is just alright so physical attackers have a greater chance of taking it down. 

Dragalge users should also be wary of Psyshock users, as it focuses on Pokemon's Defence stat instead of SpD. 

Another major problem it has is facing a Steel-type Pokemon, Dragon-type moves won't do much, and Sludge Bomb won't have any effect. That's where you have to rely on your third move...

Move set

Fortunately, Dragalge can learn some decent third SpA moves from its move pool. It can learn Focus Blast, Shadow Ball, Hydro Pump and Thunderbolt. I'd opt for either Hydro Pump or Thunderbolt for coverage and consistent power, not really a fan of Focus Blast because of that low accuracy. Well, depend what your team is lacking really.

You could consider Dragon Pulse if you want more consistency, but Draco Meteor is the way to go for good reasons. Sure, Draco Meteor will drop the SpA sharply but you'd most prolly OHKO that Pokemon 90% of the time anyway. Remember you have Adaptability + Life Orb combo, Draco Meteor still kinda hurt even after using it once. 

Another thing, Sludge Bomb is preferred over Sludge Wave because of the 30% chance of poisoning a Pokemon, Sludge Wave only has 10% chance and it won't OHKO Sylveon either.

Closing thoughts

(image credit to foxeaf)

Dragalge is an excellent wallbreaker and has been a staple in my Trick Room team ever since ORAS was released, if it wasn't for Adaptability, I'm not sure which Pokemon I can rely on for playing the anti-Sylveon role (yes, I really hate facing Sylveon, but like using it as well haha). 

There you have it, a terrifying S-Class Trick Room Pokemon. So Dragalge, I choose you! Glhf!