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Spicy Meme III : Trick Room Normal
Introduction
Notes on precedence:
As an archetype, Trick Room Normal was mentioned three times before on Smogon with different lists : Here in 2016, here and here in 2017. We still consider it to be an extremely fringe Normal team worthy of being called a meme.
The Serene Grace Blissey set is a trickier issue. It was also mentioned three times with different moves: Here in 2007 and here in 2012, both running Ice Beam; and here in 2020 with a CM Shadow Ball set for 1v1. The new and improved set found in this thread was tried last year in Official Tournaments with such unexpected success that an opponent wrote something like "guess I'm using this now". Therefore, it's possible that you've seen it before; but since nobody has posted it on Smogon yet, perhaps this thread can be used to claim a relation with that one specific set. We share it hoping that its popularity will increase.
Once again, the main objectives when building this team were as follow:
Abusing Trick Room - TR would probably be pretty scary if it got a 5-turn item, but it's still great, and we've seen TR teams of other types peak at #3 or 4 on the ladder recently. The current meta being extremely offensive, it's a nice time to reverse everybody's speed. To make the most of it, this team here is on the slow side, with 210 speed on average.
Being fun to play - Sometimes, playing the ladder gets frustrating and you just want to have some fun dropping a meta list for a meme one. Embrace it.
Being unexpected - In a relatively rigid meta filled with staple threats and sets, it's nice to bring something surprising, as it tends to throw your opponent off their game. This specific tactical tool sometimes seems underused on Showdown.
Being competitive - This list went through a arduous process of trial and error and should satisfyingly hold its own in any kind of venue.
Being memorable - The team's gimmicks will make for some quirky matches. Surely your opponent will appreciate facing something a bit different.
Teambuilding Process
The team is built around our highly abusable Blissey set.
Let's give Blissey Trick Room support.
We board Drampa as a strong TR sweeper.
Bewear will be both the physical wall to Blissey's special bulk and another TR sweeper.
Obstagoon is brought in to bust Ghost.
Diggersby will help against Rock and Steel.
The Team
Blissey @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Def / 248 SpA / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Charge Beam
- Water Pulse
- Tri Attack
- Soft-Boiled / Aromatherapy
With or without Trick Room support, this Blissey is a pain to deal with.
Here we abuse Serene Grace with a pick of three moves:
-- Charge Beam for 100(140)% chance to raise Blissey's special attack, preventing your opponent from setting up on it, unless it's a Ground or Volt Absorb pokémon.
-- Stab Tri Attack for a 40% chance to either Burn, Freeze or Paralyze your foe, preventing your opponent from efficiently switching in.
-- Water Pulse to complete its coverage, with a 40% chance to confuse your foe, stacking on top of any Tri Attack status.
We picked Blissey over Chansey for the special attack raise (35 base stat to 65) and of course its ability to carry Boots that makes its stalling strategy easier to execute. In the same logic, we give Blissey a Bold nature with maxed Def.
Its SpA investment over the usual HP will serve our gimmicky strategy.
If you feel uncomfortable with Charge Beam's 90% accuracy, Calm Mind can be an option, but it reduces Chansey's offensive pressure, making it a bit easier to set up on it.
Indeedee @ Focus Sash
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Trick Room
- Mystical Fire
- Energy Ball
Indeedee serves as our Trick Room setter.
TR support makes sweeping with Expanding Force much easier, but we have better stuff in store.
Mystical Fire and Energy Ball are added for needed coverage.
Modest nature is used to make sure it won't get out-sped after setting up TR.
Drampa @ Leftovers / Choice Specs
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 HP / 248 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Defog
- Hyper Voice
With Trick Room support, Drampa goes from niche to staple, and is our main TR sweeper, with 69 speed (base 36).
Either Meteor or Hyper Voice are used for the KOs, Fire Blast being used for coverage.
It also doubles are our defogger. Its rare Cloud Nine ability can certainly be useful, although we're not yet sure how.
Specs can be used for the meme value, but with its bulk and suboptimal coverage, we felt Leftovers was a better pick that still allowed Drampa to be an efficient bulky sweeper.
Bewear @ Leftovers / Choice Band
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Darkest Lariat
- Drain Punch
- Double-Edge
- Close Combat / Earthquake
Bewear will be both a strong Trick Room sweeper and our physical tank.
Stab Drain Punch synergies extremely well with Bewear's bulk and should be abused alongside stab Double-Edge.
Darkest Lariat is added to hit Ghost if Obstagoon is busy.
Like Drampa, we favor Leftovers over a Choice item for easier use of Bewear's coverage, as it won't prevent it from sweeping.
Obstagoon @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- Facade
- Obstruct
Obstagoon is both an excellent lead and our shield against Ghost teams, which get new toys every generation now.
Leading with Taunt will help Indeedee with keeping its Sash intact, making sure we'll get at least one Trick Room out.
Hazards aren't as common as when this list was first written, but Obstagoon still feels like an extremely strong addition to any Normal team.
It's our least meme-y set here, but perhaps this will catch your opponent by surprise as well!
Being a bit slow with 317 speed, Obstagoon won't hate our TR support either, but we still go with Jolly to fit its lead role.
Diggersby @ Focus Sash
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
We use Diggersby to make sure we have something faster than Bewear to hurt Steel and Rock.
Diggersby also brings a strong stab Quick Attack in case your opponent kept its Scarf and speed-boosted pokémons out of our Trick Room window.
Since we're already making sure our Sashes don't break with both a Taunt lead and a Defogger, we go with a Sash SD set.
At only 280 maxed speed, Diggersby will also make good use of TR support; we pick Jolly here as well so it can still attempt a sweep without TR.
Conclusion
The team's goal is to set up enough Trick Rooms to sweep with any of its slow-ish pokémons. The main trouble the team will have is keeping up its 3 turns of Trick Room often enough for its sweepers to work their magic, but they should work outside of TR as well.
Type-wise, Normal faces the usual hassle of Ghost teams being immune to its only stab and Steel being almost always top tier.
However, the Ghost handicap is symmetrical and Rock isn't exactly common.
Like on many other types, we bring as many Fire moves as possible to fight Steel, but be careful of Ferrothorn's own synergy with TR.
We also have to manage our few Dark moves to hit Ghost effectively.
Overall, stab Normal moves still hit most of the meta neutrally, a signature advantage pushed further by TR support effectively giving us free hits.
A few pokémons were tried on this team but didn't make the final cut for various reasons.
Porygon 2 is always a strong meta pick but quickly felt redundant with the specific Blissey we're running.
Snorlax was given a try as a TR sweeper but didn't feel as useful as Bewear and its more physical bulk.
Heliolisk is good but synergies badly with a TR team.
Exploud and Porygon-Z were considered but Drampa felt like a stronger TR special sweeper.
As a potential TR setter, Oranguru just doesn't feel like a good pick compared to Indeedee.
Spicy Meme III : Trick Room Normal
Introduction
Notes on precedence:
As an archetype, Trick Room Normal was mentioned three times before on Smogon with different lists : Here in 2016, here and here in 2017. We still consider it to be an extremely fringe Normal team worthy of being called a meme.
The Serene Grace Blissey set is a trickier issue. It was also mentioned three times with different moves: Here in 2007 and here in 2012, both running Ice Beam; and here in 2020 with a CM Shadow Ball set for 1v1. The new and improved set found in this thread was tried last year in Official Tournaments with such unexpected success that an opponent wrote something like "guess I'm using this now". Therefore, it's possible that you've seen it before; but since nobody has posted it on Smogon yet, perhaps this thread can be used to claim a relation with that one specific set. We share it hoping that its popularity will increase.
Once again, the main objectives when building this team were as follow:
Abusing Trick Room - TR would probably be pretty scary if it got a 5-turn item, but it's still great, and we've seen TR teams of other types peak at #3 or 4 on the ladder recently. The current meta being extremely offensive, it's a nice time to reverse everybody's speed. To make the most of it, this team here is on the slow side, with 210 speed on average.
Being fun to play - Sometimes, playing the ladder gets frustrating and you just want to have some fun dropping a meta list for a meme one. Embrace it.
Being unexpected - In a relatively rigid meta filled with staple threats and sets, it's nice to bring something surprising, as it tends to throw your opponent off their game. This specific tactical tool sometimes seems underused on Showdown.
Being competitive - This list went through a arduous process of trial and error and should satisfyingly hold its own in any kind of venue.
Being memorable - The team's gimmicks will make for some quirky matches. Surely your opponent will appreciate facing something a bit different.
Teambuilding Process
The team is built around our highly abusable Blissey set.
Let's give Blissey Trick Room support.
We board Drampa as a strong TR sweeper.
Bewear will be both the physical wall to Blissey's special bulk and another TR sweeper.
Obstagoon is brought in to bust Ghost.
Diggersby will help against Rock and Steel.
Blissey @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Def / 248 SpA / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Charge Beam
- Water Pulse
- Tri Attack
- Soft-Boiled / Aromatherapy
With or without Trick Room support, this Blissey is a pain to deal with.
Here we abuse Serene Grace with a pick of three moves:
-- Charge Beam for 100(140)% chance to raise Blissey's special attack, preventing your opponent from setting up on it, unless it's a Ground or Volt Absorb pokémon.
-- Stab Tri Attack for a 40% chance to either Burn, Freeze or Paralyze your foe, preventing your opponent from efficiently switching in.
-- Water Pulse to complete its coverage, with a 40% chance to confuse your foe, stacking on top of any Tri Attack status.
We picked Blissey over Chansey for the special attack raise (35 base stat to 65) and of course its ability to carry Boots that makes its stalling strategy easier to execute. In the same logic, we give Blissey a Bold nature with maxed Def.
Its SpA investment over the usual HP will serve our gimmicky strategy.
If you feel uncomfortable with Charge Beam's 90% accuracy, Calm Mind can be an option, but it reduces Chansey's offensive pressure, making it a bit easier to set up on it.
Indeedee @ Focus Sash
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Trick Room
- Mystical Fire
- Energy Ball
Indeedee serves as our Trick Room setter.
TR support makes sweeping with Expanding Force much easier, but we have better stuff in store.
Mystical Fire and Energy Ball are added for needed coverage.
Modest nature is used to make sure it won't get out-sped after setting up TR.
Drampa @ Leftovers / Choice Specs
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 HP / 248 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Draco Meteor / Dragon Pulse
- Fire Blast
- Defog
- Hyper Voice
With Trick Room support, Drampa goes from niche to staple, and is our main TR sweeper, with 69 speed (base 36).
Either Meteor or Hyper Voice are used for the KOs, Fire Blast being used for coverage.
It also doubles are our defogger. Its rare Cloud Nine ability can certainly be useful, although we're not yet sure how.
Specs can be used for the meme value, but with its bulk and suboptimal coverage, we felt Leftovers was a better pick that still allowed Drampa to be an efficient bulky sweeper.
Bewear @ Leftovers / Choice Band
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Darkest Lariat
- Drain Punch
- Double-Edge
- Close Combat / Earthquake
Bewear will be both a strong Trick Room sweeper and our physical tank.
Stab Drain Punch synergies extremely well with Bewear's bulk and should be abused alongside stab Double-Edge.
Darkest Lariat is added to hit Ghost if Obstagoon is busy.
Like Drampa, we favor Leftovers over a Choice item for easier use of Bewear's coverage, as it won't prevent it from sweeping.
Obstagoon @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- Facade
- Obstruct
Obstagoon is both an excellent lead and our shield against Ghost teams, which get new toys every generation now.
Leading with Taunt will help Indeedee with keeping its Sash intact, making sure we'll get at least one Trick Room out.
Hazards aren't as common as when this list was first written, but Obstagoon still feels like an extremely strong addition to any Normal team.
It's our least meme-y set here, but perhaps this will catch your opponent by surprise as well!
Being a bit slow with 317 speed, Obstagoon won't hate our TR support either, but we still go with Jolly to fit its lead role.
Diggersby @ Focus Sash
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
We use Diggersby to make sure we have something faster than Bewear to hurt Steel and Rock.
Diggersby also brings a strong stab Quick Attack in case your opponent kept its Scarf and speed-boosted pokémons out of our Trick Room window.
Since we're already making sure our Sashes don't break with both a Taunt lead and a Defogger, we go with a Sash SD set.
At only 280 maxed speed, Diggersby will also make good use of TR support; we pick Jolly here as well so it can still attempt a sweep without TR.
Conclusion
The team's goal is to set up enough Trick Rooms to sweep with any of its slow-ish pokémons. The main trouble the team will have is keeping up its 3 turns of Trick Room often enough for its sweepers to work their magic, but they should work outside of TR as well.
Type-wise, Normal faces the usual hassle of Ghost teams being immune to its only stab and Steel being almost always top tier.
However, the Ghost handicap is symmetrical and Rock isn't exactly common.
Like on many other types, we bring as many Fire moves as possible to fight Steel, but be careful of Ferrothorn's own synergy with TR.
We also have to manage our few Dark moves to hit Ghost effectively.
Overall, stab Normal moves still hit most of the meta neutrally, a signature advantage pushed further by TR support effectively giving us free hits.
A few pokémons were tried on this team but didn't make the final cut for various reasons.
Porygon 2 is always a strong meta pick but quickly felt redundant with the specific Blissey we're running.
Snorlax was given a try as a TR sweeper but didn't feel as useful as Bewear and its more physical bulk.
Heliolisk is good but synergies badly with a TR team.
Exploud and Porygon-Z were considered but Drampa felt like a stronger TR special sweeper.
As a potential TR setter, Oranguru just doesn't feel like a good pick compared to Indeedee.
Drampa @ Leftovers
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 HP / 248 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Defog
- Hyper Voice
Indeedee @ Focus Sash
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Trick Room
- Mystical Fire
- Energy Ball
Obstagoon @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- Facade
- Obstruct
Diggersby @ Focus Sash
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
Bewear @ Leftovers
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Darkest Lariat
- Drain Punch
- Double-Edge
- Close Combat
Blissey @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Def / 248 SpA / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Charge Beam
- Water Pulse
- Tri Attack
- Soft-Boiled
Ability: Cloud Nine
EVs: 252 HP / 248 SpA / 8 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Draco Meteor
- Fire Blast
- Defog
- Hyper Voice
Indeedee @ Focus Sash
Ability: Psychic Surge
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Expanding Force
- Trick Room
- Mystical Fire
- Energy Ball
Obstagoon @ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Taunt
- Knock Off
- Facade
- Obstruct
Diggersby @ Focus Sash
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake
- Body Slam
Bewear @ Leftovers
Ability: Fluffy
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Atk / 8 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Darkest Lariat
- Drain Punch
- Double-Edge
- Close Combat
Blissey @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Def / 248 SpA / 8 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Charge Beam
- Water Pulse
- Tri Attack
- Soft-Boiled
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