This is one of the many teams I'm building around my favourite Pokemon Chandelure, to help bring out its full potential in Battle Stadium (Singles). This particular Chandelure set is a Trick Room set, making this a semi-Trick Room team.
THE TEAM
Chandelure (Female) @ Life Orb
Ability: Infiltrator
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
Quiet Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Energy Ball
- Trick Room
The MVP. The idea is to set up Trick Room whenever it is safe to do so, and ideally dynamax the following turn to wreck havoc. Chandy's STAB moves are self-explanatory and Energy Ball is its best coverage move. Fire Blast is chosen over Flamethrower because time is not on your side once Trick Room is set up, so you either have to go big or go home.
Tyranitar (Male) @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Sand Stream
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 128 Atk / 128 Def
IVs: 0 Spe
Brave Nature
- Stone Edge
- Crunch
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
Tyranitar takes full advantage of Trick Room in the event that Chandelure faints while it is still up. Tyranitar isn't just here for raw power, but to threaten some annoying Pokemon like Gyarados, Togekiss, Excadrill and Dragapult that all disrupt Chandelure.
Excadrill (Female) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Tomb
- Stealth Rock
Speak of the devil. Excadrill is a reasonably speedy teammate providing Stealth Rock support to hopefully put more targets into Chandelure's KO range. It's also an insurance attacker for outside of Trick Room and threatens some of Chandelure's checks, most notably Mimikyu due to its Disguise and being able to bypass Trick Room with the commonly run Shadow Sneak.
Rotom-Wash @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Nasty Plot
Rotom-W is a good teammate for Chandelure because its typing and ability allows it to switch into Ground & Water type attacks easily, all the while threatening the aforementioned Gyarados and Togekiss. I initially wanted to go for a bulky set with Will-o-Wisp, Discharge & Volt Switch, but upon seeing most of my team isn't particularly fast, I'm now considering an offensive route via Nasty Plot instead.
Clefable (Female) @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Moonblast
- Teleport
- Toxic / Thunder Wave
- Wish
I really want to try out Clefable because I heard that Teleport is actually useful now. The new mechanics make it an excellent defensive pivot, allowing it to bring in Chandelure or whoever else safely. This set is designed to overcome stat boosters, hence the Unaware ability. Most notably Mimikyu and Hydreigon, who heavily threaten Chandelure. This might also be useful against other stat boosters, like Gyarados and Togekiss, who can be crippled with Toxic or Thunder Wave. Wish provides recovery for itself or teammates. The reason why this set is physically defensive is because I'm a bit more worried about Mimikyu than Hydreigon, plus it helps against Gyarados better. To be honest I'm struggling to decide whether or not I should add Calm Mind, Protect or other moves somewhere instead.
Darmanitan-Galar (Male) @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Gorilla Tactics
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Ice Punch
- Flare Blitz
- Earthquake
- U-turn
Finally, we have the cleaner. Tell me if I'm wrong but I'm not really missing out on any KOs by choosing the more accurate Ice Punch over Icicle Crash. Not much else to say here.
THOUGHTS???
Any thoughts or suggestions? Should I replace Galarian-Darminatan with another cleaner? Is physically defensive Clefable worth it, would Calm Mind be better, and is Toxic or Thunder Wave better? Should I go for defensive Rotom-W instead of offensive? I'm actually considering Ferrothorn over Excadrill for entry hazard support, any other ideas? Keep in mind that Chandelure is the only one going to be setting Trick Room, so I don't want to make the team any slower without good enough reason.
Let me know all your thoughts!
Thank you for reading!
