To put it simply, I've always loved Trick Room. I've always thought the idea of slow, bulky nukes moving faster than OU's typical speed demons and annihilating them is just so much fun to me. So as soon as Pokemon Sword and Shield dropped and I was looking for ideas of teams to build, I came up with a relatively simple team built around Stealth Rock/Trick Room/Explosion Bronzong getting off a Trick Room and allowing my slow, hard hitters to turn everything to dust. However, Showdown quickly updated, and Explosion was removed from Sword and Shield OU. This left me with my best lead option, and what I think is the second best Trick Room lead we have thus far, Runerigus. This is my team, and I hope you enjoy it.
Runerigus (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Wandering Spirit
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room
- Taunt
- Memento
This set is my typical Trick Room lead. It's sole purpose is to be the first Pokemon sent out, set up Stealth Rock/Trick Room, and use Memento to send in another Pokemon to take advantage of the 2-3 turns of Trick Room on the field. Runerigus's bulk and typing usually lets it setup Stealth Rock and Trick Room vs just about every Pokemon in the tier, with the exception of a few, such as Dracovish and Banded Darmanitan-Galar, although if Darm is Scarfed you will live it with at most 1% left. The EVs let Runerigus live the previously mentioned Darm-G's non Banded Icicle Crash, but it also lets it take 2 EQs from Jolly Life Orb Excadrill unboosted, and spinblocks it as well, which is nice, although its not as important for this team as say, Spikes stacking teams, and you'll see why later. The Mental Herb lets you set up Trick Room vs Taunt users (especially Grimmsnarl), and Taunt them back so they can't stop Trick Room from going up. The gameplan using this thing is simple: click Stealth Rock and Trick Room, and Memento if you get both up, although you'll only really have the chance to do this if you use Trick Room and then Memento immediately after.
Runerigus Art by SilverStarNeko on Twitter (https://twitter.com/SilverStarNeko1/media)
Cursola (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Perish Body
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Earth Power
- Power Gem
- Calm Mind
This is one of the most underrated Pokemon in all of Sword and Shield, and is ironically disliked more than its pre-evolution. But underestimate Cursola, and you'll fall victim to its wrath. Cursola was literally designed to be used in Trick Room; its base Speed is a mere 30, but it has a crazy high Special Attack of 145, tying with Vikavolt and Chandelure, but it functions better in Trick Room due to its very low Speed and great Special Defense, tying with Hoopa of all Pokemon. Under Trick Room, Cursola will usually OKHO just about every non-Dynamaxed Pokemon/very sturdy special wall in front of it, especially after a Calm Mind. Its unique Ability, Perish Body, lets it use Perish Song if it gets hit by a physical attack, which can be a game changer; every smart Pokemon player switches out a Pokemon under the effects of Perish Song on the last turn, so that last turn of Perish Song could be a crucial turn to let me set up Trick Room later in the game. I would highly recommend trying Cursola, most of the time, you won't be disappointed.
Image by Gobstop123 on DeviantArt (https://www.deviantart.com/gobstop123/art/Cursola-819095849)
Hatterene (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire
Hatterene is probably the best Offensive Trick Room setter in the game; it is the only Pokemon with Magic Bounce that also gets Trick Room other than Xatu and Natu, which of course don't have Hatterene's stats, typing and movepool. This Pokemon is actually so much fun to use, Psychic/Fairy is easily one of the best types in the game, and having Magic Bounce and great Special Attack as well as Trick Room will make it so easy to get Trick Room off many times in a game and do something while Trick Room is up. Although its movepool is fairly bad (it doesn't even get Moonblast why GameFreak), Mystical Fire is very useful, as it OKHOes Ferrothorn and Excadrill, two very important threats to this team. Hatterene unfortunately can't set up Trick Room on nearly as many things as Runerigus, but what would a Trick Room team be without other things to use Trick Room? Let's continue shall we? (also respect the hat)
Image by Dobolkin on DeviantArt (https://www.deviantart.com/dobolkin/art/Hatterene-819298556)
Mimikyu (F) @ Babiri Berry
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Play Rough
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Trick Room
To be completely honest, I was having trouble looking for Trick Room users. Every Pokemon I could find that could use it was either not bulky enough, not strong enough, or just snapped entirely. Then I remembered this thing exists. Mimikyu is probably the most useful member of this team; Disguise basically lets Mimikyu set up Trick Room vs basically everything that doesn't have Mold Breaker, Stalwart, Roar, Whirlwind, or Taunt. And since most of those things are basically non-existent, Mimikyu can guarantee a free Trick Room almost every game. Originally, I ran Mental Herb on this thing, but it was getting OKHOed by Excadrill's Iron Head, so Babiri Berry lets me live an Iron Head and get up a Trick Room if it doesn't flinch. It also lets me live an unboosted Steel Beam from Duraludon, which is the other relevant Mold Breaker/Stalwart user in this gen. I used to have Swords Dance on Mimikyu as well, but I never used it at all, so I replaced it with Shadow Sneak and called it a day. Just use this thing carefully, and it won't let you down.
Image by Redzombie204 on DeviantArt (https://www.deviantart.com/redzombie204/art/Mimikyu-fanart-By-Wolfen-C-644938986)
Copperajah-Gmax (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Iron Head
- Heat Crash
- Bulldoze
- Rock Slide
Copperajah is easily my favorite new Pokemon added to Sword and Shield, period. This thing has won me so many games, and I love it for that. Copperajah is an absolute nuke; Sheer Force boosted Iron Head decimates Pokemon that don't resist it, and its coverage destroys everything that resists Iron Head. The reason I'm using its Gmax form is simple: when Copperajah Gmaxes, its Steel type attacking moves turn into G-Max Steelsurge, which sets up Steel type Stealth Rock. Having basically 2 layers of Stealth Rock on the opponent's side of the field makes breaking so much easier with this mon and my other attackers. Since I typically use this thing after I kill Pokemon like Excadrill and Corviknight, there is nothing left on the opponent's team that can remove hazards, which means Steelsurge stays for the rest of the game. Copperajah's other moves beat everything Iron Head doesn't. Heat Crash beats Ferrothorn, Bulldoze beats Toxapex, Excadrill, and Toxtricity, and Rock Slide beats Gyarados, Charizard, and Centiskorch. I used to run Substitute over Rock Slide and Play Rough over Heat Crash, but everything that Play Rough beat Iron Head beat as well, and I put Heat Crash over it as soon as I learned it could get it. Rock Slide was added because I really couldn't deal with Gyarados and Charizard, and because Showdown was updated so that Substitute wouldn't work with Dynamax/Gigantamax. I also use Bulldoze over Earthquake because of the lack of Life Orb recoil thanks to Sheer Force, and because of the fact that Bulldoze basically OKHOes/2HKOes everything Earthquake would, making the extra power irrelevant. Seriously, try this Pokemon out, it is so much fun to use.
Image courtesy of Reddit ( )
Musharna (F) @ Kasib Berry
Ability: Forewarn
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Def / 176 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Healing Wish
- Psychic
- Moonlight
When I was building this team, I had just found out that Gengar got Nasty Plot, and I was very scared of it, so I wanted a way of at least getting up Trick Room vs one. This slot was originally going to be a female Indeedee, as it was a new Pokemon and it has Psychic Surge, but it didn't actually learn Trick Room, nor did it learn the move I want to use, Healing Wish. That's where the idea of Kasib Berry Musharna came in. This EV spread guarantees that it will live a +2 Life Orb boosted Shadow Ball from Gengar and Modest Polteageist after Rocks, which can be really crucial for a team so weak to Ghost. Unfortunately, it doesn't live a +2 Life Orb boosted G-Max Terror from Gmax Gengar even with 252 HP / 252 SpDef and no Rocks, so that's unfortunate, but it unfortunately can't be helped. The moveset is literally ripped straight from standard Trick Room Cresselia from previous gens, but with Healing Wish instead of Lunar Dance. Musharna is the Pokemon that I think should be replaced if there was something that could replace it, but I don't think anything else has Trick Room and Healing Wish that isn't as bulky as Musharna.
Image by Crystal-Kaiju on DeviantArt (https://www.deviantart.com/crystal-kaiju/art/Musharna-2017-789274377)
Threats:
Haven't run into one yet, but if I did, it would easily 6-0 my whole team, enough said.
Excadrill isn't too much of a problem when Trick Room is up, as basically every one of my Trick Room attackers other than Mimikyu can OKHO it, but outside of Trick Room it basically can ravage through my team, as all of my Trick Room setters other than Runerigus (which is meant to die) and Musharna (which can only take one Earthquake) are all Fairies, which mean they both get OKHOed by Iron Head. My way of dealing with it is sacking a Pokemon and hoping for no flinch with Mimikyu. Considering adding Earthquake to Runerigus to kill it, but losing out on the ability to set up Trick Room on Grimmsnarl with Mental Herb Taunt is too important for me.
As you can probably tell just by looking at this team, I don't really have a Ghost resist. Although my Trick Room setters are bulky enough to take one Shadow Ball, they certainly cannot take two, and any form of setup on a Ghost spells death, especially if Musharna is weakened, or has lost its Berry. Aegislash is also a big problem, as King's Shield stalls out important Trick Room turns, and can run Shadow Sneak to OKHO Cursola, but only boosted Aegislashes can OKHO, even after Rocks. Best Aegi answer is Copperajah, but Cursola can deal with non-Shadow Sneak variants/defensive variants. Every other Ghost is dealt with by my attackers OKHOing them under Trick Room, as they are quite frail.
Ferrothorn basically walls just about everything, although its managable sometimes due to me having Fire coverage on literally everything, but Leech Seed + Protect variants basically screw this team over if I don't predict properly. It also sets up a million layers of hazards if it has Gyro Ball, as it does massive damage to Hatterene, which is my only real hazard denial method on this team. If it leads, Runerigus can Taunt it, which can help, but if it uses Power Whip, that's no good.
So that's my team! I really like Trick Room, so any advice to make this team better would really make me happy, as I would love to be able to improve this team. Thank you, RMT forums, and have a good day!
Runerigus (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Wandering Spirit
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room
- Taunt
- Memento
This set is my typical Trick Room lead. It's sole purpose is to be the first Pokemon sent out, set up Stealth Rock/Trick Room, and use Memento to send in another Pokemon to take advantage of the 2-3 turns of Trick Room on the field. Runerigus's bulk and typing usually lets it setup Stealth Rock and Trick Room vs just about every Pokemon in the tier, with the exception of a few, such as Dracovish and Banded Darmanitan-Galar, although if Darm is Scarfed you will live it with at most 1% left. The EVs let Runerigus live the previously mentioned Darm-G's non Banded Icicle Crash, but it also lets it take 2 EQs from Jolly Life Orb Excadrill unboosted, and spinblocks it as well, which is nice, although its not as important for this team as say, Spikes stacking teams, and you'll see why later. The Mental Herb lets you set up Trick Room vs Taunt users (especially Grimmsnarl), and Taunt them back so they can't stop Trick Room from going up. The gameplan using this thing is simple: click Stealth Rock and Trick Room, and Memento if you get both up, although you'll only really have the chance to do this if you use Trick Room and then Memento immediately after.
Runerigus Art by SilverStarNeko on Twitter (https://twitter.com/SilverStarNeko1/media)
Cursola (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Perish Body
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Shadow Ball
- Earth Power
- Power Gem
- Calm Mind
This is one of the most underrated Pokemon in all of Sword and Shield, and is ironically disliked more than its pre-evolution. But underestimate Cursola, and you'll fall victim to its wrath. Cursola was literally designed to be used in Trick Room; its base Speed is a mere 30, but it has a crazy high Special Attack of 145, tying with Vikavolt and Chandelure, but it functions better in Trick Room due to its very low Speed and great Special Defense, tying with Hoopa of all Pokemon. Under Trick Room, Cursola will usually OKHO just about every non-Dynamaxed Pokemon/very sturdy special wall in front of it, especially after a Calm Mind. Its unique Ability, Perish Body, lets it use Perish Song if it gets hit by a physical attack, which can be a game changer; every smart Pokemon player switches out a Pokemon under the effects of Perish Song on the last turn, so that last turn of Perish Song could be a crucial turn to let me set up Trick Room later in the game. I would highly recommend trying Cursola, most of the time, you won't be disappointed.
Image by Gobstop123 on DeviantArt (https://www.deviantart.com/gobstop123/art/Cursola-819095849)
Hatterene (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire
Hatterene is probably the best Offensive Trick Room setter in the game; it is the only Pokemon with Magic Bounce that also gets Trick Room other than Xatu and Natu, which of course don't have Hatterene's stats, typing and movepool. This Pokemon is actually so much fun to use, Psychic/Fairy is easily one of the best types in the game, and having Magic Bounce and great Special Attack as well as Trick Room will make it so easy to get Trick Room off many times in a game and do something while Trick Room is up. Although its movepool is fairly bad (it doesn't even get Moonblast why GameFreak), Mystical Fire is very useful, as it OKHOes Ferrothorn and Excadrill, two very important threats to this team. Hatterene unfortunately can't set up Trick Room on nearly as many things as Runerigus, but what would a Trick Room team be without other things to use Trick Room? Let's continue shall we? (also respect the hat)
Image by Dobolkin on DeviantArt (https://www.deviantart.com/dobolkin/art/Hatterene-819298556)
Mimikyu (F) @ Babiri Berry
Ability: Disguise
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 Def
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Play Rough
- Shadow Claw
- Shadow Sneak
- Trick Room
To be completely honest, I was having trouble looking for Trick Room users. Every Pokemon I could find that could use it was either not bulky enough, not strong enough, or just snapped entirely. Then I remembered this thing exists. Mimikyu is probably the most useful member of this team; Disguise basically lets Mimikyu set up Trick Room vs basically everything that doesn't have Mold Breaker, Stalwart, Roar, Whirlwind, or Taunt. And since most of those things are basically non-existent, Mimikyu can guarantee a free Trick Room almost every game. Originally, I ran Mental Herb on this thing, but it was getting OKHOed by Excadrill's Iron Head, so Babiri Berry lets me live an Iron Head and get up a Trick Room if it doesn't flinch. It also lets me live an unboosted Steel Beam from Duraludon, which is the other relevant Mold Breaker/Stalwart user in this gen. I used to have Swords Dance on Mimikyu as well, but I never used it at all, so I replaced it with Shadow Sneak and called it a day. Just use this thing carefully, and it won't let you down.
Image by Redzombie204 on DeviantArt (https://www.deviantart.com/redzombie204/art/Mimikyu-fanart-By-Wolfen-C-644938986)
Copperajah-Gmax (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Iron Head
- Heat Crash
- Bulldoze
- Rock Slide
Copperajah is easily my favorite new Pokemon added to Sword and Shield, period. This thing has won me so many games, and I love it for that. Copperajah is an absolute nuke; Sheer Force boosted Iron Head decimates Pokemon that don't resist it, and its coverage destroys everything that resists Iron Head. The reason I'm using its Gmax form is simple: when Copperajah Gmaxes, its Steel type attacking moves turn into G-Max Steelsurge, which sets up Steel type Stealth Rock. Having basically 2 layers of Stealth Rock on the opponent's side of the field makes breaking so much easier with this mon and my other attackers. Since I typically use this thing after I kill Pokemon like Excadrill and Corviknight, there is nothing left on the opponent's team that can remove hazards, which means Steelsurge stays for the rest of the game. Copperajah's other moves beat everything Iron Head doesn't. Heat Crash beats Ferrothorn, Bulldoze beats Toxapex, Excadrill, and Toxtricity, and Rock Slide beats Gyarados, Charizard, and Centiskorch. I used to run Substitute over Rock Slide and Play Rough over Heat Crash, but everything that Play Rough beat Iron Head beat as well, and I put Heat Crash over it as soon as I learned it could get it. Rock Slide was added because I really couldn't deal with Gyarados and Charizard, and because Showdown was updated so that Substitute wouldn't work with Dynamax/Gigantamax. I also use Bulldoze over Earthquake because of the lack of Life Orb recoil thanks to Sheer Force, and because of the fact that Bulldoze basically OKHOes/2HKOes everything Earthquake would, making the extra power irrelevant. Seriously, try this Pokemon out, it is so much fun to use.
Image courtesy of Reddit ( )
Musharna (F) @ Kasib Berry
Ability: Forewarn
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Def / 176 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Healing Wish
- Psychic
- Moonlight
When I was building this team, I had just found out that Gengar got Nasty Plot, and I was very scared of it, so I wanted a way of at least getting up Trick Room vs one. This slot was originally going to be a female Indeedee, as it was a new Pokemon and it has Psychic Surge, but it didn't actually learn Trick Room, nor did it learn the move I want to use, Healing Wish. That's where the idea of Kasib Berry Musharna came in. This EV spread guarantees that it will live a +2 Life Orb boosted Shadow Ball from Gengar and Modest Polteageist after Rocks, which can be really crucial for a team so weak to Ghost. Unfortunately, it doesn't live a +2 Life Orb boosted G-Max Terror from Gmax Gengar even with 252 HP / 252 SpDef and no Rocks, so that's unfortunate, but it unfortunately can't be helped. The moveset is literally ripped straight from standard Trick Room Cresselia from previous gens, but with Healing Wish instead of Lunar Dance. Musharna is the Pokemon that I think should be replaced if there was something that could replace it, but I don't think anything else has Trick Room and Healing Wish that isn't as bulky as Musharna.
Image by Crystal-Kaiju on DeviantArt (https://www.deviantart.com/crystal-kaiju/art/Musharna-2017-789274377)
Threats:
Haven't run into one yet, but if I did, it would easily 6-0 my whole team, enough said.
Excadrill isn't too much of a problem when Trick Room is up, as basically every one of my Trick Room attackers other than Mimikyu can OKHO it, but outside of Trick Room it basically can ravage through my team, as all of my Trick Room setters other than Runerigus (which is meant to die) and Musharna (which can only take one Earthquake) are all Fairies, which mean they both get OKHOed by Iron Head. My way of dealing with it is sacking a Pokemon and hoping for no flinch with Mimikyu. Considering adding Earthquake to Runerigus to kill it, but losing out on the ability to set up Trick Room on Grimmsnarl with Mental Herb Taunt is too important for me.
As you can probably tell just by looking at this team, I don't really have a Ghost resist. Although my Trick Room setters are bulky enough to take one Shadow Ball, they certainly cannot take two, and any form of setup on a Ghost spells death, especially if Musharna is weakened, or has lost its Berry. Aegislash is also a big problem, as King's Shield stalls out important Trick Room turns, and can run Shadow Sneak to OKHO Cursola, but only boosted Aegislashes can OKHO, even after Rocks. Best Aegi answer is Copperajah, but Cursola can deal with non-Shadow Sneak variants/defensive variants. Every other Ghost is dealt with by my attackers OKHOing them under Trick Room, as they are quite frail.
Ferrothorn basically walls just about everything, although its managable sometimes due to me having Fire coverage on literally everything, but Leech Seed + Protect variants basically screw this team over if I don't predict properly. It also sets up a million layers of hazards if it has Gyro Ball, as it does massive damage to Hatterene, which is my only real hazard denial method on this team. If it leads, Runerigus can Taunt it, which can help, but if it uses Power Whip, that's no good.
So that's my team! I really like Trick Room, so any advice to make this team better would really make me happy, as I would love to be able to improve this team. Thank you, RMT forums, and have a good day!
Runerigus (M) @ Mental Herb
Ability: Wandering Spirit
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room
- Taunt
- Memento
Conkeldurr (M) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Close Combat
- Facade
- Earthquake
- Mach Punch
Hatterene (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire
Crawdaunt (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
Copperajah (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Iron Head
- Heat Crash
- Bulldoze
- Power Whip
Musharna (F) @ Kasib Berry
Ability: Forewarn
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Def / 176 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Healing Wish
- Psychic
- Moonlight
Ability: Wandering Spirit
EVs: 252 HP / 108 Def / 148 SpD
Relaxed Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Stealth Rock
- Trick Room
- Taunt
- Memento
Conkeldurr (M) @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Close Combat
- Facade
- Earthquake
- Mach Punch
Hatterene (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Magic Bounce
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpA
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Psychic
- Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire
Crawdaunt (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Adaptability
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Swords Dance
- Crabhammer
- Knock Off
- Aqua Jet
Copperajah (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Sheer Force
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD
Brave Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Iron Head
- Heat Crash
- Bulldoze
- Power Whip
Musharna (F) @ Kasib Berry
Ability: Forewarn
EVs: 248 HP / 84 Def / 176 SpD
Sassy Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Trick Room
- Healing Wish
- Psychic
- Moonlight
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