Regardless of the format, Trick Room has always been a prevalent feature of the VGC meta games; the ability to create a scenario where the Pokémon with the slowest speed stats on the field become the quickest opens the door for many Pokémon which wouldn’t usually see the light of day in competitive play. With the discovery of many new, slow Pokémon in Alola, Trick Room is just much of a threat as it has been in recent seasons with many Pokémon able to abuse Trick Room and a fairly wide variety of Trick Room setters.

These next few Pokémon analysis articles will focus on a few potential setters ranging from the obvious to the obscure with sets and spreads to trial, so without further ado…

Mimikyu!

When Mimikyu was announced, I was preaching to anyone who’d listen that – with a sufficient move pool and decent stat distribution – Mimikyu would be the BEST Trick Room setter in the format. The disguise ability acts almost as a free substitute, allowing Mimikyu to take any one hit before its HP comes under threat. This, combined with the Fake Out immunity a ghost typing provides, makes it very difficult to prevent Mimikyu from setting Trick Room. Add the mental herb into the mix – allowing Mimikyu to ignore any taunts or even encores – and Mimikyu has the potential to set Trick Room without any partner support.

Unfortunately, at base 96 Speed, Mimikyu is surprisingly quick. Whilst this could become useful to pick off slower targets once Trick Room expires, you’ll (for the most part) be wanting to use a -Spe nature.

Set 1: Offensive Trick Room

Mimikyu @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Disguise
Level: 50
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def/ 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
– Shadow Claw
– Play Rough
– Taunt
– Trick Room

Simple offensive set for Mimikyu, outspeed Tapu Lele, Ohko it with Z Shadow Claw, chunk other threats and set Trick Room, I only cover this set as Gavin Michaels used this to win a Regional Championship.

252 Atk Mimikyu Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Lele: 116-140 (65.5 – 79%) — guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Mimikyu Never-Ending Nightmare (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Lele: 236-278 (133.3 – 157%) — guaranteed OHKO 

252 Atk Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 126-150 (68.8 – 81.9%) — guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 146-174 (85.3 – 101.7%) — 6.3% chance to OHKO

Set 2: The Great Wall of Mimikyu

Mimikyu @ Mental Herb
Ability: Disguise
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 16 Atk / 156 Def / 108 SpD
Relaxed Nature
– Pain Split
– Trick Room
– Will-O-Wisp
– Play Rough/Shadow Claw

Okay, “Great wall” might be an exaggeration but this set can take some punishment, set Trick Room, disrupt opposing physical attackers and slowly chip away at HP.

Mental herb, coupled with disguise allows Mimikyu to set Trick Room without the need of a fake out user next to it.

The moves are fairly simple, Pain Split offers a recovery option while chunking away at opposing Pokémon’s HP, Will-O-Wisp to cripple physical attackers and Play Rough or Shadow Claw allows Mimikyu to chip away at opponents and secure some decent damage on super effected targets.

Physical Defensive Damage Calcs:

252 Atk Garchomp Earthquake vs. 228 HP / 156+ Def Mimikyu: 58-69 (36.4 – 43.3%) — guaranteed 3HKO

252 Atk Garchomp Tectonic Rage (180 BP) vs. 228 HP / 156+ Def Mimikyu: 141-166 (88.6 – 104.4%) — 31.3% chance to OHKO

252 Atk Kartana Smart Strike vs. 228 HP / 156+ Def Mimikyu: 140-168 (88 – 105.6%) — 25% chance to OHKO

252+ Atk Gyarados Hydro Vortex (160 BP) vs. 228 HP / 156+ Def Mimikyu: 133-157 (83.6 – 98.7%) — guaranteed 2HKO

 

252+ Atk Arcanine Inferno Overdrive (190 BP) vs. 228 HP / 156+ Def Mimikyu: 144-171 (90.5 – 107.5%) — 50% chance to OHKO

 

-1 252+ Atk Thick Club Marowak-Alola Shadow Bone vs. 228 HP / 156+ Def Mimikyu: 140-168 (88 – 105.6%) — 25% chance to OHKO

 

252+ Atk burned Muk-Alola Gunk Shot vs. 228 HP / 156+ Def Mimikyu: 44-52 (27.6 – 32.7%) — guaranteed 4HKO

SpDef Damage Calcs:

252+ SpA Life Orb Tapu Lele Psychic vs. 228 HP / 108 SpD Mimikyu in Psychic Terrain: 142-169 (89.3 – 106.2%) — 37.5% chance to OHKO

 

252 SpA Choice Specs Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. 228 HP / 108 SpD Mimikyu in Electric Terrain: 121-144 (76.1 – 90.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO

 

252 SpA Nihilego Sludge Bomb vs. 228 HP / 108 SpD Mimikyu: 66-78 (41.5 – 49%) — guaranteed 3HKO

 

Offensive Damage Calcs:

16 Atk Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Garchomp: 102-120 (55.4 – 65.2%) — guaranteed 2HKO

 

16 Atk Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Salamence: 116-138 (67.8 – 80.7%) — guaranteed 2HKO

 

16 Atk Mimikyu Shadow Claw vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Lele: 92-110 (51.9 – 62.1%) — guaranteed 2HKO

16 Atk Mimikyu Shadow Claw vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Raichu-Alola: 128-152 (94.1 – 111.7%) — 62.5% chance to OHKO

Set 3: Destiny Disruption

Mimikyu @ Ghostium Z
Ability: Disguise
Level: 50
EVs: 228 HP / 16 Atk / 156 Def / 108 SpD
Relaxed Nature
– Trick Room
– Will-O-Wisp
– Destiny Bond
– Shadow Claw

Yep – The same set as above, with a couple of key tweaks. Ghostium Z allows Mimikyu to act as a check under Trick Room to Tapu Lele. Gavin Michael’s regional winning team utilised a max attack/max speed Mimik to get a ohko onto Tapu Lele, however just 16 Attack investment guarantees the knock out!

16 Atk Mimikyu Never-Ending Nightmare (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Tapu Lele: 186-218 (105 – 123.1%) — guaranteed OHKO

Destiny Bond also has a wonderful side effect when used with the Z crystal – acting as a follow me for one turn whilst retaining its usual effect. Standard Destiny Bond can also act as a support to set another Trick Room – you use Destiny Bond on the final turn of the current Trick Room, then attempt to set Trick Room next turn. As destiny bond only wears off once you make your next attack, and by using Trick Room you’re guaranteeing yourself to move last, your opponent can either prevent the Trick Room and lose a Pokémon, or allow it to be set.

Mimikyu is an interesting Trick Room setter; it has a decent movepool with offensive and supportive moves, an acceptable stat distribution with the only real drawbacks being its base 55 HP (which is made up for by the disguise ability) and a base 96 Speed which is very high for a standard Trick Room Pokémon. I feel it plays a different role to other popular Trick Room setters in the meta to merit giving Mimikyu a spot on your team!