Which Trick Room setter is more viable? - Porygon2 vs Cresselia?

Question

FORMAT: VGC 2021 DOUBLES

Porygon2 has recently picked up in popularity and I was wondering whether Cresselia could potentially challenge it for its recently-obtained fame.

Cresselia has always been known to be extremely bulky, slacking in its offensive presence but can provide speed control with icy wind, can set up trick room and can also helping hand. Its ability could potentially be nice for switch ins and stalling dynamax turns.

Porygon2 requires eviolite in order to be bulky but Analytic allows it to be a frightening offensive AND defensive mon, skyrocketing it’s typical base 105 sp.Atk stat to deal frightening damage if the opponent plays too passively. Ice Beam and Tri Attack are good coverage/stab moves. It can also set up trick room and has access to reliable recovery with recover.

It seems as though Porygon2 should be crowned the next most feared trick room setter. Is there anything I have missed? Or are there any scenarios where Cresselia could be considered superior compared to Porygon2?

Comments

You'll probably get a better answer if you ask here: https://www.smogon.com/forums/threads/vgc-ask-a-simple-question-get-a-simple-answer.3588172/

Answer 1

You've pretty much got it summed up- Porygon2 is generally better than Cresselia for a multitude of reasons. For one, it is slightly bulkier with the eviolite. It does have more of an offensive presence, although since it provides its own speed control, Analytic is not very common. However, Download is very scary, potentially giving you a free choice specs, so It certainly doesn't have "all my friends are dead syndrome;" in fact, it can often be a win-con, since oftentimes your opponent can't do enough damage to p2 before it recovers in the endgame. One thing you didn't mention is that Porygon2 has a better matchup into Urshifu-Single Strike, one of the most dominant mons in the format. Although Cresselia does have the option of using a Colbur berry, this only affects one turn, and you can't protect it with Intimidate or Reflect because of Wicked Blow. Even though Porygon2 doesn't have "room" for a chople berry, it's a lot easier to protect against Urshifu's close combat with intimidate and screens (and ghost switch-ins, as it's worth noting that nothing is immune to Wicked Blow). Finally, Porygon2 is slower than Cresselia, allowing it to utilize trick room a little bit better.

So, after all this, why would you use Cresselia, right? Well, the main answer is that Cresselia is more versatile and unpredictable. To start, a whopping 80% of Cresselia carry ally switch, causing the ultimate mind games, especially when it has an immunity. This adds to the fact that Cresselia is more supportive in general, usually it's a trick room setter with ally switch and helping hand + one coverage move, as opposed to the two you see Porygon2 running. It also has a variety of items that it can utilize well, from mental herb to a resist berry to a recovery item. The final thing that Cresselia has that P2 doesn't is have a variety of movesets. I mentioned its "standard" set and variety of items already, but I've seen a Dynamax Cresselia (you could potentially give it a Weakness Policy + use brutal swing, it takes practically no damage when maxed), dual screens, although it's not the best screens setter by far, skill swapping levitate onto heatran, and even Calm Mind + Stored Power + Moonlight (yes, it does have recovery, although it's not as good as recover).

So, generally, Porygon2 is more "splashable" as a reliable trick room setter, but Cresselia is a niche pick that can fill a few different roles, and is usually best when using a niche or surprising move to catch your opponent off guard.

I hope this helps!