Arguably, the most important stat in competitive Pokemon is Speed. The faster your Pokemon is, the more likely it is to move first. So if you want your team to move before the others, you've gotta make like Sonic and go fast.
Or do you? Slower Pokemon seem to have a trick up their sleeves. More specifically, a whole Trick Room. The move Trick Room completely reverses the turn order. That means that the slower you are, the sooner you'll move. But unlike weather and terrain, there isn't a Pokemon that can automatically set up Trick Room. So if you're going to want to take advantage of Trick Room's effects, these Pokemon will be your best choice.
Updated November 7, 2022, by Jeremy Hanna: As Pokemon Scarlet and Violet loom on the horizon, it's important to look back on effective strategies that could become prominent in new competitive formats. So five more entries have been added looking at the best Trick Room Pokemon from throughout the franchise. These are all great places to start if you want to build a Trick Room team.
15 Jellicent
Believe it or not, the most important part of setting up Trick Room is actually setting it up. There are two important things a Pokemon needs to be a successful setter: Fake Out immunity and bulk. And Jellicent has those in spades.
Because of its Ghost-typing, Jellicent is completely immune to Fake Out. But that's not all, Jellicent also has an immunity to the incredibly common Water-type attacks due to its Water Absorb ability. Combine this with great bulk and awesome support moves like Will-O-Wisp and Jellicent makes a great choice to start this list off.
14 Reuniclus
Reuniclus is a Pokemon that was built for Trick Room. It has a ton of health, a massive Special Attack stat, and almost no Speed. But does this make it a better sweeper or setter? Well, why not both?
Reuniclus is one of the rare Pokemon that is meant to set up for itself. It can recover its own health, hit almost all Pokemon with Psychic and Focus Blast, and prevent extra damage with the Magic Guard ability. And, if you just want a bulky setter, try its pre-evolution Duosion with an Eviolite.
13 Dusknoir
Dusknoir is another great example of a Pokemon that can set up Trick Room and take advantage of it because of its decent base 100 Attack stat. It also gets great coverage with access to Earthquake and all of the elemental punches. Plus, Dusknoir gets that Normal-type immunity that comes with all Ghost-type Pokemon.
The only real downside to Dusknoir is that its pre-evolution, Dusclops, fits the Trick Room setting role better while providing incredible support. But if you need a Trick Room user that can hold their own in battle, Dusknoir is a great option.
12 Oranguru
Oranguru easily fills in the bulky quotient a Trick Room setter needs with stats similar to Jellicent. It also has that Fake Out immunity because of its ability Inner Focus which prevents flinching. So what sets it apart from other bulky Trick Room Pokemon?
That would be its signature move, Instruct. Instruct forces a Pokemon to use the last move it used a second time. For example, if you Eruption with Torkoal, Oranguru could make it use it a second time. That's immensely powerful and can easily start taking out your opponent.
11 Dawn Wings Necrozma
Ultra Moon introduced the Pokemon world to Dawn Wings Necrozma, a powerful legendary with a massive base stat total of 680. In Sword and Shield, that's only surpassed by six other Pokemon. This is emphasized with a 109 base Defense, 127 Special Defense, and a massive 157 Special Attack.
However, there is a downside to Dawn Wings Necrozma. While its ability Prism Armor is great, it only reduces damage from Super Effective moves by a quarter instead of by half. This means that four times Super Effective attacks are still incredibly powerful. So if you hit Dawn Wings Necrozma with a Dark-type attack, it'll still take a ton of damage. But if you have ways to work around this, Dawn Wings Necrozma is a great option.
10 Runerigus/Cofagrigus
Both Runerigus and Cofagrigus make for fantastic Trick Room setters because of their bulk, Ghost-typing, and supportive move pool. But what makes them stand out is their access to Body Press, a move that uses Defense instead of Attack, and their unique abilities.
Cofagrigus has Mummy, which can be used to turn an opponent's ability into Mummy as well, while Runerigus continues to swap abilities with whichever Pokemon makes contact with it. Both of these can really mess up an opponent's team synergy, especially if they rely on weather-based strategies.
9 Stakataka
If you're looking for a bulky and slow Pokemon that can hit hard, look no further than Stakataka. Not only does this Ultra Beast have high Attack and Special Defense, but it boasts one of the highest Defenses in all of Pokemon. So while it may not be able to avoid flinching with Fake Out, it doesn't need to because of its bulk.
What separates it from everything else on this list is its Speed which is the lowest in the entire series. Seriously, Stakataka only has a base 13 Speed stat, meaning it will almost always go first when Trick Room is up. So whether you want it as a setter or sweeper, Stakataka is a necessity on Trick Room teams.
8 Bronzong
Because of its Steel-typing, Bronzong takes the idea of a bulky Trick Room setter to a whole new level. This is especially true since it has a whopping nine resistances. It also has two immunities, assuming that you opt for its Levitate ability variant.
Bronzong also has a ton of unique support moves like Skill Swap, Gravity, both screens, and Safeguard. Bronzong may not be the flashiest Trick Room option, but it definitely gets the job done.
7 Hatterene
Hatterene is another great option for a combination setter and sweeper since it has a terrifying 136 base Special Attack stat and great coverage moves like Mystical Fire and Giga Drain. But there are some other tricks it has up its witchy sleeves that can't be ignored.
The first is Magic Bounce, an ability that sends status moves back at the opponent. That means Hatterene can be a great setter to bring in later in a match. The other is that it's usually paired with female Indeedee, another great Psychic-type that automatically summons Psychic Terrain. Not only does this prevent priority moves, but it makes Psychic-type moves even stronger. This duo can easily make their way through just about any team.
6 Cresselia
For a long time, Cresselia was considered the best Trick Room setter in all of Pokemon. And while its effectiveness has dipped in recent years, it is still a great choice that can catch your opponents off guard.
First of all, it has incredible bulk with a 120 base HP and Defense and a 130 base Special Defense as well as an immunity to Ground-type attacks with Levitate. Cresselia can also guarantee that it will stick around for a while because of Moonlight. But if you want to be extra cheeky, teach it Calm Mind, Stored Power, and Moon Blast to become a dangerous special sweeper.
5 Mimikyu
Mimikyu might seem like an odd choice since it actually has a decent 96 base Speed, but its Disguise ability and solid bulk mean that it can easily stick around to make sure that Trick Room is set up. What's really cool about Mimikyu as a setter is that it can dish out serious damage while also supporting its teammates.
Sure, it can use Will-O-Wisp and Taunt, but it can also hit hard with Play Rough and Shadow Claw. It can even use Shadow Sneak to make sure it can get the first attack even when slower Pokemon are out.
4 Lunala
It might seem odd to see Lunala so much higher than its Dawn Wings counterpart, especially since it's faster and has less Defense and Special Defense. But Lunala stands out because of its much higher HP stat, great support move pool, and amazing ability.
Shadow Shield makes it so that when Lunala is hit with a Super Effective move at full health, it only takes half damage. While this sounds like it's only helpful once, this still guarantees that Lunala can get off Trick Room once while reactivating its ability with Moonlight. It can also help its teammates with Will-O-Wisp and Wide Guard to guarantee their longevity.
3 Dusclops
Trick Room allows a lot of Pokemon you normally wouldn't think about to shine, including many middle evolutions. One of the best examples of this is Dusclops, who can be an incredible support Pokemon.
While most of its stats are low, its Defense and Special Defense are high even before Eviolite is equipped. This means that Dusclops can use this to set up Trick Room and help out its teammates with moves like Will-O-Wisp, Pain Split, and Ally Switch. It can even do some decent damage since it learns Night Shade, a move that always deals damage equal to the user's level. Because of all this, Dusclops is always an excellent choice for Trick Room Teams.
2 Calyrex-Ice
Here we have the greatest Trick Room setter and sweeper hybrid, Calyrex-Ice. It has everything! Awesome Attack, incredible bulk, great typing. Heck, it even gets two abilities. But what really sets it apart is its move pool.
Calyrex-Ice can learn Glacial Lance, a move with 130 base power and 100 percent accuracy. Combine this with High Horsepower, and you're hitting over half of all Pokemon for Super Effective Damage. Calyrex-Ice is a beast, but even with all of this, it isn't the best Trick Room setter.
1 Porygon2
There's an old adage that says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." This definitely applies to Porygon2. Having been around since the second generation, it would be easy for it to be outclassed. Yet, Porygon2 has been the premier Trick Room setter since 2012.
This is because of its bulk after Eviolite combined with reliable health recovery. Not only that, but Porygon2 gets access to great support moves like Thunder Wave, Eerie Impulse, and Teleport. It also has a decent Special Attack and can defend itself with Ice Beam, Tri-Attack, and Foul Play. Combine all of this with only one weakness, and you have the best Trick Room Pokemon since the move was invented.