Trick Room: The Ultimate Speed Equalizer
Trick Room is a Psychic-type move that reverses the Speed order for all Pokemon for 5 turns. Under Trick Room, the Pokemon with the lowest Speed acts first instead of last, which transforms Pokemon like Conkeldurr, Ursaluna, and Marowak-Alolan from slow, cumbersome attackers into devastating first-movers who can KO opponents before they get a turn.
The beauty of the Trick Room archetype in Pokemon Champions is that it completely invalidates the opponent's investment in Speed. Choice Scarf users become liabilities. Tailwind support becomes counterproductive. Any opponent who has built their team around Speed advantage finds themselves attacking last for five turns while your slow, high-powered attackers move first.
Trick Room requires careful team building because the archetype has specific requirements that differ from every other competitive strategy. Every Pokemon on a Trick Room team should either be setting the Trick Room, maintaining it for multiple turns, or capitalising on it with the lowest possible Speed stat.
Trick Room reverses Speed priority for 5 turns, making the slowest Pokemon act first
Best Trick Room Setters
Porygon2 is the most durable Trick Room setter in Pokemon Champions. Its Eviolite hold item gives it substantial bulk in both defenses, allowing it to survive almost any two-move combination and set Trick Room reliably even against aggressive leads. Porygon2 has access to Recover for self-sustain and can reset Trick Room when the five turns expire.
Hatterene is both a Trick Room setter and a Trick Room sweeper in its own right. Its base 29 Speed is extremely low even without investment, ensuring it moves last in normal conditions and first under Trick Room. Magic Bounce prevents opponents from using Taunt to stop Trick Room, addressing one of the archetype's most common counters. Its high Special Attack makes it a genuine offensive threat once Trick Room is established.
Indeedee is the Doubles-specific Trick Room setter, using Follow Me to redirect attacks away from Hatterene or Porygon2 while those setters establish Trick Room. The combination of Follow Me support and Psychic Terrain, which boosts Psychic moves and prevents priority moves from hitting grounded Pokemon, creates an extremely safe setup environment for the team's Trick Room strategy.
Best Trick Room Sweepers
Conkeldurr is the quintessential Trick Room sweeper. With base 45 Speed and massive base 140 Attack, Conkeldurr under Trick Room is one of the most threatening physical attackers in the game. Its access to Guts means status moves that would normally cripple other attackers actually boost Conkeldurr's damage output, creating a Pokemon that improves when opponents try to counter it.
Ursaluna is a newer option that performs similarly to Conkeldurr with different typing advantages. Its Normal and Ground typing with Earthquake and coverage options handles a different set of defensive Pokemon, providing Trick Room teams with two distinct physical attacking packages that opponents cannot prepare for simultaneously. Earth Power provides Special Attack coverage for physical Ursaluna sets when needed.
Reuniclus operates as the special attacking Trick Room sweeper. With base 30 Speed, base 125 Special Attack, and access to Calm Mind setup, a Trick Room Reuniclus that gets even one Calm Mind is extraordinarily difficult to KO while dealing enormous damage. Magic Guard prevents passive damage from entry hazards, weather, and status conditions, making it extremely durable throughout extended matches.
Maintaining Trick Room Across Turns
Trick Room lasts exactly five turns and then expires, reverting to normal Speed order. The most common Trick Room win condition involves setting Trick Room, dealing as much damage as possible in five turns, and then either resetting Trick Room when it expires or sweeping completely within the initial five turns.
Multiple Trick Room setters on a single team is a reliable way to ensure Trick Room can be reset when it expires. Having both Porygon2 and Hatterene means even if the opponent KOs one setter, the other can re-establish the effect. This redundancy is particularly important against teams with Brick Break, which removes both Light Screen and Reflect but does not affect Trick Room.
Be aware that the opponent can use their own Trick Room to cancel your Trick Room mid-activation. When Trick Room is used while Trick Room is already active, both cancel each other and Speed returns to normal order. This is a key counterplay that experienced opponents will use, so protecting your setter from fainting in the turns before Trick Room expires is critical.
Anti-Trick Room Strategies and Counters
As a Trick Room player, your biggest enemy is Taunt, which prevents your setter from using Trick Room entirely. Pokemon with Prankster Taunt like Murkrow and Whimsicott can use Taunt before your setter gets a turn, requiring you to either outspeed the Taunt user (which goes against Trick Room team building) or carry a faster Taunt user of your own as a lead.
Redirection moves like Fake Out and Follow Me targeting your setter on the turn you attempt to set Trick Room create another layer of counterplay. In Doubles specifically, positioning both your setter and a redirection support Pokemon as your lead creates the safest Trick Room setup environment by drawing attacks away from the setter.
The most reliable counter to Trick Room teams is understanding when five turns will expire and maintaining pressure so the setter cannot safely reset the effect. If you are playing against a Trick Room team, count turns carefully and keep your fastest Pokemon healthy for when normal Speed order resumes. The expiration of Trick Room without a reset is the opponent's best window for a comeback.
