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!