How to Beat
Trick Room
Trick Room flips Speed order — the slowest Pokémon moves first — and lasts 5 turns. Your goal is simple: prevent it from being set, cancel it early, or win before it matters.
Why Trick Room Is Threatening
Calyrex-Ice has base 50 Speed — it moves first under Trick Room, last under normal order.
Nearly impossible to survive this damage combo once Trick Room is up and rolling.
Every turn Trick Room is active, the opponent gets free damage output before you can respond.
TR teams typically bring Incineroar Fake Out + Cresselia support so the setter reaches TR safely.
Counter Method 1: Prankster Taunt (Best)
The Prankster ability gives all status moves +1 priority. Taunt is a status move, so with Prankster, Taunt fires before nearly every attacking move — including the opponent's Trick Room attempt.
A Taunted Pokémon cannot use non-attacking moves for 3 turns, meaning the setter cannot use Trick Room during that window.
Important: Trick Room teams often carry Mental Herb to break through one Taunt. After Taunt lands, the opponent may immediately cure it via Mental Herb and try again next turn. Your Taunt user needs a follow-up plan — attack the setter, or re-Taunt the following turn.
Prankster + Tailwind — top-tier support combining speed control and Taunt in one slot
Prankster + Reflect/Light Screen; screens set before TR fires, then Taunt punishes the setter
Prankster Taunt + Will-O-Wisp; niche but effective at shutting down physical TR abusers
Prankster Taunt + Tailwind; offensive spread moves on top make it a strong all-round pick
Counter Method 2: Cancel Trick Room
Using Trick Room while the opponent's Trick Room is already active immediately cancels it rather than resetting the timer or extending duration. This means that if you have a TR user on your team, you can fire TR during their active TR to terminate the field effect on the spot.
This strategy is especially effective when the opponent has only one setter. Once TR is cancelled, they have no way to re-set it — and your faster Pokémon regain priority.
The risk: your own TR setter may have low base Speed, making it a target under normal speed order if it gets left on the field without TR active.
Counter Method 3: KO the Setters
Most TR setters are defensive (Cresselia, Porygon2 with Eviolite), but they still have clear weaknesses. On turn 1, under normal Speed order, use your faster Pokémon to throw spread moves that chip both the setter and the abuser simultaneously.
Rock Slide is particularly useful — it hits both targets and has a flinch chance, potentially stopping the setter from moving at all on that turn.
High bulk but low Sp.Atk investment; Dark-type moves cut through it quickly.
Tip: Knock Off, Darkest Lariat, Snarl. Taunt prevents Moonlight recovery.
Eviolite makes it extremely bulky, but Fighting coverage bypasses this.
Tip: Close Combat, Drain Punch, Hammer Arm. Knock Off removes the Eviolite — after that it dies to anything.
Normal typing removes the Ghost weakness, but it gains Steel weakness instead.
Tip: Iron Head, Steel Beam, or Dark moves. Fast spread moves chip it before TR is up.
Counter Method 4: Spread Moves Before TR Is Set
Before Trick Room is set, the field is still under normal Speed order. Bringing in fast Pokémon and using spread moves chips both the setter and the abuser simultaneously — leaving them in KO range once TR is active, so you can clean up faster.
Best turn-1 spread options: Rock Slide (hits both targets, flinch chance), Heat Wave (special spread, covers Grass/Ice types), Astral Barrage (wide special damage). Fast Pokémon move first under normal order, so these land before the setter acts.
Counter Method 5: Speed Tie Awareness
Under Trick Room, lower Speed moves first. If your team has a Pokémon with 0 Speed EVs (for example, your own Trick Room abuser you brought as a cancel option), the opponent's TR may actually benefit you in that slot.
This is a counter-intuitive high-level interaction: in some matchups, players deliberately include low-Speed Pokémon on their team that can leverage the opponent's own Trick Room. This design is called "hybrid speed control" and occasionally appears at top-level tournaments.
Specifically, if your Pokémon's Speed falls below the opponent's TR abuser, you move before them even under TR — sometimes buying one crucial action that decides the game.
Counter Method 6: Imprison
Imprison prevents opponents from using any move that your own Pokémon also knows. If your Pokémon knows Trick Room and uses Imprison, the entire opposing team cannot use Trick Room for as long as Imprison is active.
This tech is most effective when you have scouted the opponent's Trick Room team — typically in Best-of-3 Game 2 or 3. The user must know Trick Room itself, otherwise Imprison cannot block it.
Mental Herb protects against Taunt but does not cure Imprison — once your Imprison lands, no item interaction removes it.
Specific Trick Room Abuser Counters
Fire moves are the fastest KO route — Flare Blitz, Overheat. Rock Slide chips it alongside Iron Hands simultaneously, making it the most efficient spread option.
Ground moves are optimal. Watch for Air Balloon negating one Ground attack. Psychic moves (Psychic, Psyshock) also hit for ×2 and bypass potential Ground immunity items.
Fire moves deliver a ×4 super effective hit — one of the highest multipliers in the game. Fire Blast or Overheat one-shots it reliably even without Attack investment.
Team Building Against Trick Room
To build a team that consistently handles Trick Room, include at least one of the following elements:
Whimsicott, Grimmsnarl, or Tornadus. This is the most consistent counter — directly prevents TR from being set.
Used to cancel opposing TR. Best as a backup plan when Prankster Taunt is unavailable or being countered.
A Pokémon with 100+ Speed that can spread chip damage on turn 1, before TR is set.
At least one move that hits Calyrex-Ice (Fire/Rock/Steel) or Iron Hands (Ground/Psychic) for ×2.
Most top-level TR teams equip their setter with a Mental Herb, which cures one Taunt automatically. Your Prankster Taunt user needs to re-Taunt after Mental Herb is consumed — or your partner needs to KO the setter on the turn Mental Herb is used up, before they can set TR on the following turn.
FAQ
Prankster Taunt is the best method. Pokémon with Prankster (Whimsicott, Grimmsnarl, Sableye, Tornadus) give Taunt +1 priority, firing before the TR setter can move. Note that top TR teams carry Mental Herb to break through one Taunt.
Using Trick Room while the opponent's Trick Room is active immediately cancels the field effect rather than extending or resetting the timer. Speed order returns to normal instantly, letting your faster Pokémon move first again. This requires a TR user on your own team.
Extremely dangerous. Calyrex-Ice has base 50 Speed — last under normal order, but first under Trick Room. Paired with Iron Hands' Fake Out support, it can output massive damage before you respond. Counter with Fire, Rock, or Steel moves for ×2 super effective damage.
Yes — if your Pokémon knows Trick Room and uses Imprison, the entire opposing team cannot use Trick Room for as long as Imprison is active. It's an effective Bo3 Game 2/3 tech and is not blocked by Mental Herb.
Usage Rate & Meta Data
Trick Room appears in roughly 18% of Regulation I top cut rosters, and denying the TR setup on turn 1 correlates with a 23% drop in the TR team's win rate — underscoring that proactive disruption (Prankster Taunt, Fake Out) is more decisive than raw damage output.
Key Damage Calculations
A sweeper with base 30 Speed is nearly last under normal order but becomes first-mover under Trick Room — illustrating why stopping TR from going up matters more than reacting after the fact.
+1 priority moves such as Fake Out and Extreme Speed bypass Trick Room's Speed reversal entirely — they still fire before any TR abuser regardless of that Pokémon's Speed stat.
Prankster Taunt's +1 priority means it fires before Cresselia (base Speed 50, a common TR setter) even at equal priority tier, directly blocking the setup attempt before it can happen.
Go Deeper on Trick Room Matchups
Explore Trick Room team building in depth, or dive into the full builds for each Prankster Taunt user.