Frosmoth Analysis for Series 10 (VGC 2021)

Series 10 marks the first time since Generation IV that players saw an unadulterated format: Generation V saw the short-lived spike of Type Gems, Generation VI introduced Mega Evolution, Generation VII followed that up with Z Crystals, while Generation VIII saw fit to replace all that with Dynamax. Outside of the 1 Restricted Legendary (as was the case in Series 8), players are now forced to rely on the raw skill sets of each individual Pokemon available before then.

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While Kyogre and Shadow Rider Calyrex hasn’t swept the metagame by force, the damage threat posed by their spread moves is still not something to laugh at. Wide Guard has therefore been seen as a valuable commodity for the early days of Series 10. Of all the eligible Pokemon, would a candidate like Frosmoth be worth a shot?

• Ice Scales
  • Ice Scales, Frosmoth’s signature Ability, halves the damage that it takes from Special moves. This effectively acts as the souped-up version of the Assault Vest that doesn’t prevent Frosmoth from using status moves. How powerful is Ice Scales, you ask? Imagine being able to survive a +2 Moonblast from Xerneas without needing a Type Resistance or much investment. Even the typical 4 SpA Volcarona will fail to OHKO a 4x Weak Frosmoth with Heat Wave.
• Good Damage Output
  • At 125, Frosmoth has the second-highest Base Special Attack of all eligible unrestricted Ice Type Pokemon. This gives it great firepower whether it be through STAB or coverage moves. While it ain’t exactly sweeping material, Frosmoth can still reliably pick off chipped targets or put them within KO range of a follow-up.

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While Frosmoth has appealing strengths, it still has operational shortcomings that prevent it from being more popular. Players should have a better understanding of its shortcomings and troublesome opposition to not waste a precious team slot.

• Rock Type and/or Fire Type Pokemon
  • 4x Type Weaknesses are problematic for any Pokemon, Frosmoth is no exception.
    • Rock Type moves typically exist in Physical form through Rock Slide from the likes of both Landorus forms. Fortunately for Frosmoth, it can learn Wide Guard to stifle the threat posed by the Abundance Pokemon. 
    • Fire Type moves are not usually fixed to one spectrum, with common threats existing in the form of Incineroar’s Flare Blitz and Volcarona’s Heat Wave. Frosmoth’s Wide Guard is able to ward off the latter, though it still has to watch out for Fiery Dance. Then there is also Ho-Oh and its Sacred Fire, a restricted powerhouse that Frosmoth struggles badly against.
• Physical Moves
  • While Ice Scales may be able to make Frosmoth decently bulky on the Special spectrum, it does nothing for the Frost Moth Pokemon’s below-average Base Defense. As such, Physical strikers become tough nuts to withstand for Frosmoth. 
    • Galarian Zapdos’ Defiant makes it particularly hard to wall. The Strong Legs Pokemon is naturally faster than Frosmoth outside of Tailwind and can KO easily with either of its STAB options.
    • Crowned Zacian is fast and resists much of what Frosmoth can muster against it while retaliating for super effective damage with STAB Behemoth Blade.
• Poor Base Speed
  • Frosmoth’s Base Speed of 65 is markedly poor. Too slow to really be reliable with Tailwind, but simultaneously too fast against dedicated Trick Room teams. Sure it outspeeds Incineroar and Celesteela, but outside of a specific niche, the Frost Moth Pokemon ain’t liking the matchup.

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Now that we know Frosmoth’s strengths and limitations, we can move on to devising a set for it to showcase its skills in Series 10. A sample construction template is provided below:

Frosmoth @ Adrenaline Orb
Ability: Ice Scales
Level: 50
EVs: 92 HP / 252 SpA / 164 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Bug Buzz / Air Slash / Hurricane
– Ice Beam
– Tailwind / Protect / Air Slash / Hurricane / Weather Ball
– Wide Guard / Protect

• Hold Item
  • Adrenaline Orb allows Frosmoth to outspeed Life Orb Landorus Therian when led against Intimidate with help from the curated Speed investment.
• Moves
  • Wide Guard’s importance has doubled in Series 10, with Frosmoth capable of using it to shut down most Kyogre, Landorus Therian, and Shadow Rider Calyrex builds. However, players may find this tech less important as the metagame develops. In that case, players can opt to drop it for Protect to give the Frost Moth Pokemon one additional slot for either utility or coverage.
  • Bug Buzz’s Frosmoth’s primary Bug STAB option. However, much of the Dark Type Pokemon prevalent in Series 10 only take neutral damage from it thanks to their secondary typing, and Frosmoth’s Ice Type STAB already covers most Grass Type foes. Hence, if players are adequately equipped for Psychic Type foes like Gothitelle and Indeedee, they could opt to drop it for a Flying Type move for better coverage.
    • Air Slash is the typical Flying Type coverage, doing moderate damage with a decent chance to flinch.
    • Hurricane is a better fit for teams that have Rain support since the Weather condition nullifies Hurricane’s accuracy check.
  • There are two other moves that players can consider if players opt to drop both Frosmoth’s Bug Type STAB and Protect.
    • Tailwind’s reduced accessibility makes its setters more valuable, particularly in the era of dynamic Speed. While Frosmoth isn’t the best equipped for it, its teammate would appreciate the Speed boost.
    • Weather Ball is a niche move that is only meant for teams that have Rain support, allowing Frosmoth to surprise Volcarona, Incineroar, as well as Rock Type adversaries with a 100 BP, Rain boosted blow. Players could also run Frosmoth with Sun to snipe Crowned Zacian, though that requires a lot of Speed support like Tailwind to even pull off.

Damage Calculation

252+ SpA Frosmoth Ice Beam vs. 36 HP / 0- SpD Landorus through Light Screen: 291-347 (172.1 – 205.3%) — guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Frosmoth Hurricane vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 198-234 (113.1 – 133.7%) — guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Frosmoth Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Zapdos-Galar: 180-212 (109 – 128.4%) — guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Frosmoth Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zacian-Crowned in Sun: 164-194 (98.2 – 116.1%) — 87.5% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Frosmoth Weather Ball (100 BP Water) vs. 204 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona in Rain: 178-210 (95.6 – 112.9%) — 75% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Frosmoth Weather Ball (100 BP Water) vs. 236 HP / 236+ SpD Incineroar in Rain: 144-170 (72 – 85%) — guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Frosmoth Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Rillaboom-Gmax: 146-174 (70.5 – 84%) — guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery

252+ SpA Frosmoth Hurricane vs. 204 HP / 0 SpD Volcarona: 130-154 (69.8 – 82.7%) — guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Frosmoth Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 156+ SpD Amoonguss: 152-180 (68.7 – 81.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO

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252+ Atk Rillaboom-Gmax Grassy Glide vs. 92 HP / 0 Def Frosmoth in Grassy Terrain: 63-74 (40.1 – 47.1%) — guaranteed 3HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery

252+ SpA Mystic Water Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 92 HP / 0 SpD Ice Scales Frosmoth in Rain: 114-135 (72.6 – 85.9%) — guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 92 HP / 0 SpD Ice Scales Frosmoth: 118-139 (75.1 – 88.5%) — guaranteed 2HKO

4 SpA Volcarona Fiery Dance vs. 92 HP / 0 SpD Ice Scales Frosmoth: 128-152 (81.5 – 96.8%) — guaranteed 2HKO

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Frosmoth @ Expert Belt / Focus Sash
Ability: Ice Scales
Level: 50
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
– Bug Buzz / Hurricane / Weather Ball
– Ice Beam
– Quiver Dance
– Wide Guard / Protect

• Hold Item
  • Expert Belt gives Frosmoth that extra bit of damage without compromising its already average bulk (pre-Ice Scales).
  • Focus Sash allows Frosmoth to survive a powerful hit as it sets up Quiver Dance.
• Moves
  • The key difference to this set lies in Quiver Dance, which sees Frosmoth being utilized in a more offensive role. However, this does also result in only 2 slots for damaging moves as players accommodate either one of Wide Guard or Protect.

Damage Calculation

+1 252+ SpA Frosmoth Weather Ball (100 BP Fire) vs. 236 HP / 148+ SpD Celesteela in Sun: 214-254 (105.9 – 125.7%) — guaranteed OHKO

+1 252+ SpA Frosmoth Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Assault Vest Rillaboom-Gmax: 218-258 (105.3 – 124.6%) — guaranteed OHKO

+1 252+ SpA Frosmoth Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 156+ SpD Amoonguss: 224-266 (101.3 – 120.3%) — guaranteed OHKO

+1 252+ SpA Frosmoth Bug Buzz vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Gothitelle: 168-198 (94.9 – 111.8%) — 62.5% chance to OHKO

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Frosmoth, while unassuming, does have a workable niche that players can build upon in Series 10. However, it is not impervious to requiring team support to perform. Good teammate candidates to consider are listed in the section below:

• Kyogre
  • Arguably the best Restricted partner to Frosmoth. Drizzle helps to reduce the threat posed by Fire Type moves from the ilks of Ho-Oh, Volcarona, and Incineroar, while boosting Kyogre’s STAB against adversaries like Landorus. In return, Frosmoth helps the Sea Basin Pokemon eliminate troublesome Grass Type Pokemon like Amoonguss, Tsareena and Rillaboom.
• Regieleki
  • Frosmoth’s Wide Guard support is a great asset for Regieleki to stand firm against an incoming Earthquake or opponents who try the Tailwind Water Spout strategy. As a Bug Type Pokemon, Frosmoth’s natural resistance to Ground Type moves makes it a great switch in on Earth Power. The Electron Pokemon’s STAB is much appreciated for dealing with Flying Type threats like Galarian Zapdos and Celesteela, particularly the latter since it walls many Pokemon with its Type combination. 
• Rapid Strike Urshifu
  • Players looking to pilot a different Restricted Legendary should definitely look towards picking up Rapid Strike Urshifu as a replacement. STAB Surging Strikes has this nice bonus of ignoring Intimidate, seeing the Wushu Pokemon outspeed and KO offenders like Landorus Therian and Incineroar with ease. As a multi-hit move, Surging Strikes is also great for breaking Substitute on Crowned Zacian.

Sableye Analysis for Series 10 (VGC 2021)

Series 10 marks the first time since Generation IV that players saw an unadulterated format: Generation V saw the short-lived spike of Type Gems, Generation VI introduced Mega Evolution, Generation VII followed that up with Z Crystals, while Generation VIII saw fit to replace all that with Dynamax. Outside of the 1 Restricted Legendary (as was the case in Series 8), players are now forced to rely on the raw skill sets of each individual Pokemon available before then.

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In a metagame where matches are decided by the finest of margins, a good support Pokemon that can weave in and out to either disrupt foes or support the team becomes an important asset. Much of these revolve around priority moves, whether that be through Fake Out or Prankster. As a representative of the latter category, Sableye makes for an interesting pick. But why should players even be considering it for Series 10?

• Immunity to Fake Out
  • The loss of Dynamax means a return to the days where Fake Out reigns supreme for their invaluable flinching capabilities. As a Ghost Type Pokemon, Sableye’s natural immunity to Fake Out makes it highly appealing as players look towards having it disrupt or cripple foes before they can move.
• Immunity to Prankster
  • A common way to deal with Prankster has largely been to have a faster Prankster Taunt user to shut down the adversary. However, as a Dark Type Pokemon, Sableye is unaffected by Taunt from the likes of Prankster Whimsicott, Tornadus Incarnate, and Thundurus Incarnate.

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While Sableye can be a nuisance to deal with, it is not infallible. Players should have a better understanding of its shortcomings and troublesome opposition to not waste a precious team slot.

• Psychic Terrain / Queenly Majesty
  • The sheer dominance of priority moves in Generation VI, which Prankster falls under, has resulted in GameFreak introducing not one, but two field conditions that nullify it, namely Psychic Terrain and Queenly Majesty.
    • Psychic Terrain blocks all cross-field priority moves for grounded Pokemon while it is active. The two main setters (through Psychic Surge) are Tapu Lele and Indeedee. While the Sableye ignores the latter’s STAB combination, it is susceptible to Tapu Lele’s Fairy Type STAB. Fortunately, players can suppress it through a Terrain setting teammate like Tapu Koko and Rillaboom.
    • Tsareena’s Queenly Majesty prevents all cross-field priority for the user’s side of the battlefield. As long as the Fruit Pokemon is active, Sableye becomes largely ineffective.
• Dark Type Pokemon
  • Dark Type Pokemon are naturally immune to Prankster since Generation VII. The biggest threat usually lies in Grimmsnarl, whose Fairy Type STAB strikes Sableye for super effective damage.
• Fairy Type Pokemon
  • Sableye’s sole Type Weakness is to Fairy Type moves, so Pokemon that carry those moves are definitely threats to the Darkness Pokemon.
    • Whimsicott is a faster Prankster Pokemon that commonly carries either STAB Moonblast or Dazzling Gleam to snipe Single Strike Urshifu.
    • Xerneas is a definite feature of this section as the headline for Fairy Type Pokemon in VGC. Fairy Aura boosted Moonblast is enough to OHKO (pre-Geomancy) Sableye sets that do not carry the Roseli Berry.

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Now that we know Sableye’s strengths and limitations, we can move on to devising a set for it to showcase its skills in Series 10. A sample construction template is provided below:

Sableye @ Roseli Berry / Lagging Tail
Ability: Prankster
Level: 50
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Impish Nature
– Feint / Sunny Day / Taunt
– Foul Play / Night Shade
– Quash / Trick
– Will-O-Wisp

• Hold Item
  • Roseli Berry helps Sableye survive a Moonblast from unboosted Xerneas.
  • Lagging Tail combines with Trick to force the victim to move last in its priority bracket regardless of Speed.
• Moves
  • Prankster Quash is Sableye’s signature, helping it force the target (who hasn’t moved yet) to move last in the turn. This is crucial for managing opposing Speed control like Tailwind and Trick Room, as well as allow Sableye’s teammate to snipe a faster foe like Regieleki, Shadow Rider Calyrex and Crowned Zacian.
    • This move can be replaced by Trick + Lagging Tail, though it can only work on one target per match. However, players could also use Trick to rid important Hold Items off its target, such as a Power Herb from Xerneas.
  • Will O Wisp is the other staple, as Sableye is one of the most consistent Pokemon that can inflict the Burn on Crowned Zacian before the latter can set up Substitute.
  • To prevent Sableye from being completely shut down by Taunt, Psychic Terrain, and Queenly Majesty, a suitable damaging move is necessary. Examples would include:
    • Foul Play is great for punishing Swords Dance users and Physical attackers. Much of the Restricted Legendary Pokemon also tend to have a high Base Attack, so Sableye can still do decent damage to them even if they have minimal Physical investment.
    • Night Shade is the guaranteed damage move (outside of Normal Type foes).
  • The rest of the moves are determined by the team’s needs.
    • Feint helps to lift Protect and Wide Guard, which is particularly important for certain sweepers like Kyogre and Shadow Rider Calyrex.
    • Sunny Day is an interesting measure to immediately weaken the damage output of opposing Kyogre by overriding the Weather. This could also help teammates maintain damage against Fire weak foes like Amoonguss, Ferrothorn, and Celesteela.
    • Taunt instantly shuts down problematic play like Geomancy, Substitute, and Trick Room; as well as denying future disruption like Ally Switch and Follow Me.

Damage Calculation

252 Atk Zacian-Crowned Behemoth Blade vs. 252 HP / 4+ Def Sableye: 120-142 (76.4 – 90.4%) — guaranteed 2HKO

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252 SpA Mystic Water Kyogre Water Spout (150 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Sableye in Sun: 64-76 (40.7 – 48.4%) — guaranteed 3HKO

252 SpA Fairy Aura Xerneas Moonblast vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Roseli Berry Sableye: 111-132 (70.7 – 84%) — guaranteed 2HKO

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Sableye is strictly a supportive/disruptive presence. However, its skills aren’t all-encompassing, so only some Pokemon synergize well with it and vice versa. Good teammate candidates to consider are listed in the section below:

• Rillaboom
  • Slow Grassy Terrain setter to help override Psychic Terrain. Early Series 10 has seen it being used more as a pivoting Pokemon to recycle both Fake Out and Intimidate. With Sableye’s assistance like Quash, Will O Wisp, and Feint, Rillaboom could be played a lot more offensively.
• Crowned Zacian
  • A powerful Restricted Legendary whose most common moves help eliminate threats to Sableye. It also greatly appreciates Quash support to outspeed faster threats like Regieleki, Shadow Rider Calyrex and Xeneas post Geomancy, as well as mirror matches. Sableye’s combination of skills, like Night Shade, Will O Wisp, and Taunt all help Crowned Zacian manage much of the metagame.
• Charizard
  • While losing Gigantamax and G Max Wildfire has really cut into its power output, Charizard’s Fire Type STAB is still an important tool against much of the metagame. Sableye helps out through manual Sunny Day and Quash. The former helps override Rain against Kyogre + Tornadus Incarnate leads, while the latter is important for allowing Charizard to steal the march against Crowned Zacian.

Mimikyu Analysis for Series 10 (VGC 2021)

Series 10 marks the first time since Generation IV that players saw an unadulterated format: Generation V saw the short-lived spike of Type Gems, Generation VI introduced Mega Evolution, Generation VII followed that up with Z Crystals, while Generation VIII saw fit to replace all that with Dynamax. Outside of the 1 Restricted Legendary (as was the case in Series 8), players are now forced to rely on the raw skill sets of each individual Pokemon available before then.

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With the metagame likely to be dominated by the speedy juggernauts like Xerneas, Crowned Zacian, and Shadow Rider Calyrex, Trick Room has become even more important as a reliable countermeasure. Mimikyu is one such user, but why should players use it over other Trick Room setters?

• Disguise
  • Effectively Substitute as an Ability. If the opponents’ main way of stopping Trick Room is to KO the setter, this means that the burden now falls onto the second striker. When coupled with Wide Guard and/or redirection, it becomes near impossible to eliminate Mimikyu before it sets up Trick Room.
• Flexible Speed
  • Mimikyu has a usable Base Speed of 96. It can be problematic when players realize that there are quite a lot of troublesome foes on Base Speed 97, like Solgaleo, Lunala, and both Urshifu. However, this is where the “awkwardness” of its Speed shines. Players can switch between Trick Room mode and regular mode depending on the opposition since Mimikyu is faster than powerhouses like Kyogre and Groudon.

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Mimikyu’s niches give it quite a bit of versatility. However, players still need to understand the kind of opposition that would give it trouble, so as to let the Disguise Pokemon perform as intended.

• Ability Ignoration
  • Disguise is the main contributor to Mimikyu’s value in Series 10. As such, Pokemon that can hit through Disguise will end Mimikyu’s journey prematurely, something players definitely want to avoid.
    • Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist Beam both ignore Disguise to hit for super effective damage. With Solgaleo and Lunala both naturally faster than Mimikyu, these candidates become extra threatening to the Disguise Pokemon.
    • Certain Abilities, namely Mold Breaker, Teravolt, and Turboblaze allows Pokemon to strike Mimikyu through its Disguise with any move (bar Normal and Dragon Type ones due to immunity).
      • Mold Breaker – Excadrill
      • Turboblaze – Reshiram
• Multi Hit Moves
  • Disguise only protects the first hit, so moves that hit more than once can be an annoying proposition to deal with.
    • 252 Atk Urshifu-Rapid-Strike Surging Strikes (3 hits) vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mimikyu on a critical hit: 126-147 (96.1 – 112.2%) — approx. 81.3% chance to OHKO – Each hit does about 32% – 37.4% to frail Mimikyu builds, so after factoring in Disguise, the move does about 76.5% to 87.3%, which leaves Mimikyu in KO range for a follow-up strike. Throw in Rain and it is a clean KO.
    • Triple Axel is another triple strike move, though it is more inconsistent in terms of accuracy. The most likely sources of Triple Axel in Series 10 would be Hitmontop, Weavile, and Tsareena.
• Status Conditions
  • Disguise doesn’t block against Status inflicting moves, so foes can still disturb Mimikyu with moves like Spore and Will O Wisp. However, this is not the aim of this section. While Disguise blocks damage (from the first hit), it doesn’t nullify the secondary effects that would be caused by that hit. Hence this section will focus more on moves that can both break Disguise and induce unwanted Status afflictions.
    • Burning Jealousy inflicts a Burn on targets that received a stat boost that turn, meaning that attempts to set up Swords Dance in the face of Burning Jealousy users will be for nought.
    • Nuzzle causes Paralysis, which could immobilize Mimikyu and thereby prevent it from setting up Trick Room. The Speed drop from Paralysis also opens Mimikyu up to powerhouses that it used to outrun, like Kyogre and Groudon.
    • Fling, when paired with the King’s Rock or Razor Fang, flinches Mimikyu. However, this strategy is admittedly rare, so players can afford to ignore it during team building and play.

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Now that we know Mimikyu’s strengths and limitations, we can move on to devising a set for it to wreak havoc unhindered in Series 10. A sample construction template is provided below:

Mimikyu @ Mental Herb
Ability: Disguise
Level: 50
– Hone Claws / Destiny Bond / Protect
– Play Rough
– Protect / Shadow Sneak
– Trick Room

• Hold Item
  • Mental Herb prevents foes from shutting down Trick Room with Taunt.
• Coverage Moves
  • Despite the weak Base Power, Shadow Sneak is arguably the most useful Ghost Type STAB option. Priority is rather useful for picking off faster and weakened targets, particularly those that just had their Focus Sash triggered.
    • The preferred fallback option is Shadow Claw, which has an increased Critical Hit ratio.
  • The filler move, if not reserved for Protect, is usually awarded to a tech move. As this set serves to be a balanced representation, the options below are curated to reflect the role this Mimikyu is supposed to play:
    • Hone Claws is a bit less effective than Swords Dance, but the accuracy boost that it offers is great for making Play Rough more reliable. This is especially important if Play Rough is the only damaging move that players go with their Mimikyu. Hone Claws also provides Shadow Sneak with the power boost necessary to OHKO Shadow Rider Calyrex.
    • Destiny Bond is an interesting tech for forcing trades, made more effective by Mimikyu’s awkward Speed tier. Opponents tend to double into Mimikyu as a way to deal with Disguise, so players could use that to punish the second hitter (hopefully a powerhouse like Kyogre or Rillaboom).
      • If Mimikyu isn’t knocked out, players can then “force” a trade by going for Trick Room, which brings the Disguise Pokemon down to the bottom of the priority order. Mimikyu either brings a Pokemon down with it or successfully set Trick Room up.

Damage Calculation

12 Atk Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mienshao: 144-170 (102.1 – 120.5%) — guaranteed OHKO

+1 68 Atk Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Zapdos-Galar: 168-198 (101.8 – 120%) — guaranteed OHKO

+1 156 Atk Mimikyu Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Calyrex-Shadow: 180-216 (102.8 – 123.4%) — guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 Atk Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Regieleki: 154-183 (99.3 – 118%) — 93.8% chance to OHKO

+1 252 Atk Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Yveltal: 188-224 (93.5 – 111.4%) — 62.5% chance to OHKO

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Mimikyu @ Life Orb / Lum Berry
Ability: Disguise
– Play Rough
– Shadow Sneak
– Swords Dance
– Wood Hammer / Trick Room / Shadow Claw

• Hold Item
  • Life Orb is the most reliable way to increase the damage numbers of Shadow Rider Calyrex
  • Lum Berry helps neutralize one unwanted Status affliction, whether it be Burn, Sleep, or Paralysis.
• Coverage Moves
  • Swords Dance is the basis of this set. Mimikyu can rely on the “safety” afforded by Disguise to set up Swords Dance, then proceed to sweep the board as much as possible. Trick Room variants will definitely want to run Brave Nature on this set.

Damage Calculation

+1 252 Atk Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 182-216 (104 – 123.4%) — guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 Atk Mimikyu Wood Hammer vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyogre: 176-208 (100.5 – 118.8%) — guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 Atk Mimikyu Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Groudon: 160-190 (77.2 – 91.7%) — guaranteed 2HKO

252 Atk Life Orb Mimikyu Shadow Sneak vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Calyrex-Shadow: 172-203 (98.2 – 116%) — 75% chance to OHKO

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Yveltal: 244-291 (104.7 – 124.8%) — guaranteed OHKO

+1 252 Atk Life Orb Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tornadus: 156-185 (101.2 – 120.1%) — guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Fairy Aura Xerneas: 218-257 (108.4 – 127.8%) — guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Mimikyu Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Groudon: 208-247 (100.4 – 119.3%) — guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 Atk Life Orb Mimikyu Play Rough vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Kyogre: 172-203 (98.2 – 116%) — 87.5% chance to OHKO

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Regardless of what role Mimikyu is asked to perform, it needs the support of its allies to beat down difficult matchups or to excel in its job. Good candidates to consider are listed in the section below:

• Alcremie
  • While Alcremie may be similarly weak to Steel Type moves like Mimikyu, its inclusion here is still an inspired one. Aroma Veil blocks Taunt and Encore, relieving Trick Room setting Mimikyu of the need to run Mental Herb. That is not the only job that Alcremie does, however. Through Decorate, it can quickly double the Attack (and Special Attack) of Mimikyu and the team’s Trick Room or slower sweepers.
• Dusk Mane Necrozma / Araquanid
  • Two great Trick Room sweepers players could consider pairing with Mimikyu’s Trick Room.
    • Dusk Mane Necrozma can set up its own Trick Room, forcing the foe into mind games. Prism Armor helps it filter damage, while Mimikyu can use Shadow Sneak to trigger a held Weakness Policy. Mimikyu’s Fairy Type STAB is also great for dealing with Dark Type adversaries like Yveltal.
    • Araquanid can learn Wide Guard, in addition to boasting resistances to Crowned Zacian’s Behemoth Blade and Sacred Sword. Water Bubble helps make Liquidation a scarily powerful move, especially against popular Intimidate Pokemon like Landorus Therian and Incineroar, or redirectors like Volcarona. Bug Type STAB, on the other hand, helps eliminate Rillaboom.
• Regieleki
  • The fastest Pokemon ever is a great ally to have for a Pokemon that struggles in an awkward Speed tier. Thanks to Electroweb, which has the nice effect of breaking Focus Sash, Mimikyu can then outspeed Single Strike Urshifu and neuter it with STAB Play Rough.