With the releases of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet at the end of 2022, the competitive landscape has drastically changed. Yet some strategies still persist, with Trick Room teams still running the show. Trick Room is a frustrating but clever move that makes it so that the Pokémon with the lower Speed stats move first, making some of the naturally slow but powerful species, incredibly viable. It can be a tricky setup to counter in competitive play, but that doesn't mean it is impossible.
It is important to note that most Trick Room users are either Psychic, Ghost, or Fairy-types, with popular choices including the likes of Indeedee and Hatterene. These often have a negative priority, meaning that defeating them quickly is an effective option to stop Trick Room being used. Finding a way to stop Trick Room being activated, or quickly nullifying it, can render these Trick Room teams essentially useless.
Updated on January 16th, 2023 by Tom Steel: Scarlet & Violet have changed the landscape of competitive Pokémon since their arrival, with the Terastal phenomenon leading the way. Every strategy now has counters and ways to defend against them, but in-turn it encourages new and exciting strategies to emerge. Through it all however, Trick Room persists. This list has been updated to include Pokémon from the 400-strong Gen IX roster, that can counter this devious move and strategy.
10 Murkrow Can Taunt & Tailwind To Ruin A Trick Room User's Day
Players should know by now that the move Taunt can ruin opposing strategies on the first turn. The premise of a Trick Room team is to switch the battlefield, so the slowest Pokémon can control the play, but Murkrow can flip that on its head with Taunt to stop Trick Room from being activated, and then Tailwind to boost its own team's Speed.
Few players saw Murkrow's viability coming in Gen IX's competitive scene, but armed with the Ability Prankster and often the held item Eviolite, it has become a mainstay on many players' teams. A Trick Room player can still counter Murkrow, with the likes of Hatterene's Magic Bounce, the held item Mental Herb and the dastardly move Follow Me all stopping Taunt from landing, but Murkrow or other Taunt users can still work in most situations.
9 Pawmot Can Outspeed Most Follow Me Users & Hit Fake Out
Fake Out Pokémon have been proven to be valuable assistants to ensure Trick Room is set up, but it can also be used to stop that protection from happening in the first place. If a Fake Out user is fast enough, it can move before a Pokémon that is using Follow Me. This causes the protector to flinch, while the user's other Pokémon can hit the Trick Room Pokémon and try to knock them out before Trick Room can take hold.
Pawmot is a prime example of a fast Fake Out Pokémon with exceptional physical Attack to make this plan work. If it fails to knock out the Trick Room user, it will have at least done a decent amount of damage.
8 Farigiraf Can Either Set Up Or Disrupt Trick Room
Farigiraf is one of the latest Gen IX evolutions to arrive for an existing Pokémon, Girafarig. While Girafarig never possessed any value or viability on the competitive scene, Farigiraf brings choice and opportunity. With a dual Normal/Psychic-typing, it only has to worry about Bug and Dark-type moves, which can then be rectified accordingly with an appropriate Tera type.
Farigiraf offers the defensive support of Reflect and Light Screen, but when it comes to dealing with Trick Room users, it can also help out. Farigiraf can have a Trick Room of its own, but with the addition of Imprison, which stops an opponent from using a move that the user has, in this case Trick Room. Farigiraf's Armor Tail Ability can also be a foil for Pokémon using priority moves, which is often a tactic to support a Trick Room user in the doubles format.
7 Toedscruel Can Excel In Very Specific Circumstances
Toedscruel is one of the most bizarre Pokémon to be introduced in Scarlet & Violet. It is a convergent species of the classic Tentacruel that everybody knows and loves, but is a forest-dwelling Ground/Grass-type. Toedscruel can take Trick Room-stopping moves in Taunt and Spore, but its Mycelium Might Ability is problematic.
Mycelium Might makes Toedscruel move last if using status moves, despite the Woodear Pokémon having an impressive base Speed stat. Toedscruel's Spore may move after its opponents, but it can still scupper opposing plans for their next turn if it lands, especially with the added bonus that the Ability allows status moves to hit those normally safe from them, such as Garganacl and Gholdengo. Toedscruel can even run Trick Room itself, readying it to quickly reverse the effects an opposing Trick Room user.
6 Gholdengo's Make It Rain Is Too Powerful For Many Trick Room Users
Gholdengo has quickly become one of the most beloved new additions to the roster in Scarlet & Violet. This bizarre Ghost/Steel-type has an impeccable Signature Ability in Good As Gold, which leaves it unaffected by status moves, which is a huge help when it needs to target a Trick Room user.
Another hugely important aspect of the Coin Entity Pokémon however, is its signature move Make It Rain. This powerful Steel-type move brings damage to both opponents in the doubles format, bypassing Follow Me, which is so often the perfect way to protect a Trick Room user.
5 Maushold Does Its Best To Distract & Disrupt
Maushold may well be one of the cutest new additions to the roster in Scarlet & Violet, but players have quickly come to realize its worth in competitive Pokémon. The Family Pokémon can either play support or hit for surprisingly deadly offense in certain circumstances.
When facing a Trick Room team however, Maushold has many moves that it can use. Follow Me can distract opposing Pokémon trying to defend their Trick Room ally, while using Encore into the Trick Room user could simply get them to reverse the effects instantly. Maushold's base Speed of 111 may cause this to fail on the first turn, but it still has potential. Maushold can even run Taunt and some impressive offensive moves such as the signature Population Bomb.
4 Barraskewda Can Hit Follow Me Users Hard
Barraskewda is rarely considered to be competitively viable, but with Follow Me and Rage Powder users being so common in Trick Room teams, the Skewer Pokémon may have its uses in specific situations. Barraskewda has the Propeller Tail Ability, allowing it to ignore Follow Me or Rage Powder, and instead target the opposing Pokémon that is looking to activate Trick Room.
Barraskewda isn't exactly renowned for being a sweeper or physically imposing Pokémon, but of its 490 total base stats, its 123 Attack and 136 Speed should get opponents worried. Barraskewda can use STAB boosted Water-type moves to quickly knock out Trick Room Pokémon like Armarouge, or with a smart Tera type change to Dark, a Crunch could hit many Ghost and Psychic-type Pokémon hard.
3 Male Indeedee Can Imprison That Trick Room
Female Indeedee gets a bonus for being able to learn Follow Me, but Male Indeedee gets to be superior in countering Trick Rooms as it gets the Imprison move. Male Indeedee can also benefit from its Hidden Ability Psychic Surge, with Psychic Terrain protecting it from priority moves, which is often a way of guaranteeing Trick Room in the doubles format.
The great thing is due to the fact it's a Psychic/Normal-type, it tends to be useful at withstanding the types of Pokémon that would likely be using Trick Room against it. Male Indeedee can also have Encore in its arsenal, which could even be used to get the Trick Room user to use it again, reversing its effects. Male Indeedee is at least a great stall and prepper for other teammates to come in swinging.
2 Arcanine Has A Great Moveset For It
Arcanine, is a very fast Pokémon with a wide range of biting moves to be super effective against a range of opponents and brings the useful Ability Intimidate to the table. In addition to reducing an opponent's Attack stat upon entry, Arcanine can also utilize Roar to get rid of any dastardly Trick Room users until later.
If nothing else Arcanine is a massive stall, forcing the other trainer to cycle through their team members so a strategy against them can be quickly planned. It also has the stats to back up its attacks, making it relatively popular in competitive play.
1 Garganacl Can Take Advantage Of Trick Room's Effects
While trying to stop a Trick Room user from setting up in the first place is often the best counter strategy, sometimes it is best to just let it happen. Taking a slow Pokémon that can also make good use of Trick Room is a valid option, perhaps even using the setup turn to prepare with a move like Substitute, leaving it in good stead as the effects of Trick Room kick in.
Garganacl has a base Speed stat of 35, which should leave it high up in the order within Trick Room. Many Trick Room users get greedy with moves that hit damage to both opponents, from Armarouge's Expanding Force in Psychic Terrain to Farigiraf's Dazzling Gleam. The tanky Garganacl has Wide Guard, which gives the user's team protection against such moves.