Skill Improvement: Mega Required for Hard TR Team
Hi all,
I’ve been working on a Pokémon Champions Reg M-A hard Trick Room team and I’d really appreciate some thoughts on the Mega slot, as well as the team structure more generally.
The team originally started as Farigiraf + Tyranitar + Mega Steelix, with the idea of using Farigiraf to get Trick Room up safely, Tyranitar to control weather and support Steelix with sand, then Mega Steelix as the main slow win condition. That version has been fun, but I’ve found that Milotic has been one of my favourite parts of the team, so I’m now wondering whether there’s a better Mega that works with this kind of structure.
Farigiraf is the main Trick Room setter. Armor Tail has been excellent into priority-heavy teams and makes it much harder for opponents to stop Trick Room with things like Fake Out pressure, Sucker Punch, Aqua Jet, Extreme Speed or Prankster disruption. I bring Farigiraf pretty much every game and I’d say have only failed at getting TR up two or three times. Mental Herb is mostly there for non-priority Taunt. I’m using a physically defensive spread because I mainly need Farigiraf to survive and set Trick Room, not deal huge damage.
Tyranitar has been one of the most useful members so far. Sand is very helpful into Charizard-Y and other weather teams, and Rock Slide gives strong spread pressure once Trick Room is up. Knock Off is useful into Ghost and Psychic types, and Low Kick helps into opposing Tyranitar, Kingambit and similar targets. Chople Berry has felt necessary because Fighting coverage is everywhere.
Conkeldurr is mainly here for Wide Guard and Fighting pressure. Wide Guard has been very useful into Rock Slide, Heat Wave, Earthquake, Muddy Water and Blizzard. Drain Punch gives it staying power, Ice Punch gives some extra coverage, and Mach Punch is useful once Trick Room expires or when I need to pick something off. I love using it, but it’s probably the Pokémon that I bring least.
Milotic is probably the Pokémon I’m enjoying most on the team. Competitive makes Intimidate cycling much less easy, especially from Incineroar, and the Coil set gives the team a slower win condition that can actually grind games out. Coil + Hypnosis is a bit horrible, but it has been useful once Trick Room is up. I know no Protect is risky, but I’ve liked having Coil, Scald, Hypnosis and Recover together.
Armarouge is the newest test slot. I wanted a special Fire attacker because Grass types were more annoying than expected, and the team was starting to feel too physical. Armor Cannon/White Herb has worked pretty well in erasing a Sinistcha or M-Meganium as well, and then using Psychic for the other threats. It also gives me a second Trick Room setter, though obviously not quite as reliable as something like Mimikyu.
The Mega slot is the big question.
The first option that I’ve been running is Mega Steelix with some decent success. It fits the Tyranitar sand mode, is super-slow, and gives the team a very clear hard Trick Room win condition. My concern is that it makes the team even more physical and can feel awkward into Water-heavy teams, although Milotic helps a lot there.
The second is Mega Meganium, which has worked a little less well than Steelix but has still been pretty decent. Obviously the big worry is that Charizard is still sorta everywhere, and even though it can run well against most of the meta I’m still suffering a little there.
Other Megas I’ve considered:
Mega Camerupt: probably the most natural hard Trick Room Mega. It gives huge special Fire and Ground pressure, but I’m worried about Water matchups and whether it overlaps too much with Armarouge.
Mega Ampharos: interesting as a slower special attacker that could pair well with Milotic. It gives Electric pressure and a different offensive angle, but I’m not sure if it does enough compared with the other Mega options.
Mega Crabominable: fits Trick Room well and hits extremely hard, but if I use this then I probably need to rethink Conkeldurr and the Wide Guard slot.
Mega Golurk: looks interesting as a Ground/Ghost attacker with good Trick Room potential, but I haven’t tested it and I’m not sure how consistent it would be.
Matchups that have felt good:
- Whimsicott and Tailwind teams usually feel manageable. If they Tailwind and I get Trick Room up, that normally works in my favour.
- Charizard teams have been better than expected because Tyranitar can remove sun and threaten Rock Slide. Conkeldurr’s Wide Guard also helps a lot into Heat Wave turns.
- Incineroar teams feel much better with Milotic. Competitive makes Intimidate cycling much riskier, and Milotic can sometimes become the main win condition.
Matchups that still concern me:
- Grass-types have been more awkward than I expected, which is one reason Armarouge is on the team.
- Basculegion and other strong Water/Ghost pressure can get scary if I don’t position Tyranitar well or if Trick Room runs out at the wrong time.
- I’m also worried the team might be too physical if I go with Mega Steelix, especially into Intimidate or burn-heavy teams.
Main questions:
- Which Mega would you choose for this kind of structure?
- Is Mega Steelix still the best fit with Farigiraf + Tyranitar, or would something like Mega Camerupt, Mega Meganium or Mega Ampharos make more sense with Milotic?
- Is Armarouge worth keeping as the secondary setter and Fire coverage, or would this slot be better as Mimikyu, Hatterene or something else?
- Would you change any moves or items on the current five, or change any of them out entirely?
I’m not trying to make the most standard team possible, but I do want it to be genuinely competitive rather than just cute. Any advice would be appreciated.