Porygon2 Moveset - Utility (Trick Room Setter)

[ScottyThunder]

VGC17 - TRICK ROOM PORYGON2 SET & ANALYSIS

 

Art by crayon-chewer

Good afternoon, ladies and germs! Since I haven't seen one around here, I decided I'd take the liberty of writing my first VGC Moveset thread about what in my opinion is one of the best Pokemon in the current Meta. Today we will be looking at a Pokemon that has become the very definition of Speed Control, and has been a staple of many top cut teams in this VGC season. This Pokemon is none other that the OG Polymon himself, Porygon2. His great offensive bulk and type coverage with attacks like Thunderbolt and Ice Beam make him a viable threat to the ever popular weather teams and Pokemon like Garchomp and Salamence. Add an Eviolite into the mix and he becomes quite the little Devil with a Defense of 143 and a Special Defense of 123. But his potential truly lies within his ability to setup Trick Room with ease, and be able to hold his own if being faced by a threat that would negate or stall the TR. So, without further ado, let's get started with some base stat analysis!

Type: Normal
Base Stats: 85 HP / 80 Attack / 90 Defense / 105 Special Attack / 95 Special Defense / 60 Speed 
Weaknesses: Fighting (x2)
Resistances: None
Immunities: Ghost (x0)
Abilities: 
Download - Raises either the Attack or Special Attack stat by one stage any time it switches in
Trace - Changes the Ability of the user to whatever the Ability of the opponent is. Since VGC is in doubles format, the opponent it Traces is random

Analysis: Looking at Porygon2's stats, some things to take note of are his single weakness to Fighting and how well rounded his stats are with 85/90/95 in defenses and 80/105 in attack. In this generation, there aren't really any strong Fighting Type threats, so Porygon2 doesn't have much to worry about aside from Hariyama. His immunity to Ghost eliminates Gengar and Mimikyu from the equation. Since his primary objective is to set up TR, having the ability to survive a turn 1 onslought from a wary opponent is key to gaining the advantage. His incredible defensive bulk plus his 105 base Special Attack make him quite a force to be reckoned with. Add a raised Special Attack stat from Download, and you've got one bad mammajamma once Trick Room goes up.

Now, for those of you who don't know what Trick Room is, allow me to explain: Trick Room is a Psychic Type move that can quickly turn the tables in any battle. For 5 turns, Trick Room makes it so that Pokemon with the lowest speed stat go first, and those with highest speed go last. Now, with the amount of slow Pokemon in this generation, Porygon2 can easily take advantage of the strong slow Pokemon like Hariyama, Drampa or Torkoal and turn them into killing machines, while at the same time taking Pokemon like Timid Koko and making them completely vulnerable. SO!! Now that I've explained some key points to using Porygon2 in this meta, let's get into our build!

Porygon2 @ Eviolite
Nature: Relaxed
Ability: Download
IVs: 0 Spe 0 Atk
EVs: 252 HP/156 Def/36 SpAtk/60 SpDef
Moves:
Ice Beam
Recover
Thunderbolt
Trick Room

The Setup: Let's break this build down one thing at a time. Since Porygon2 can still evolve, Eviolite is probably the best item for him, as it boosts his already bulky 143 Defense and 123 Special Defense by 50% making him quite the tank, able to take hits from just about anything in this Meta rotation with a now insane defensive split of 214/184. We want the least amount of speed investment possible since this is a Trick Room setup, and 0 IVs in Attack incase he gets confused. With a Relaxed nature we can achieve that low speed stat of just 58 with no IVs, and the extra Defense is a plus. I went with Download for the possible raise in Special Attack, since Trace isn't very reliable in this format, and the amount of outcomes it entails is too risky for my tastes. This EV Spread may look a bit odd, but I did a lot of calculating and have come up with some pretty great findings:

Defensive:
252+ Atk Tapu Bulu Wood Hammer vs. 252 HP / 156 Def Eviolite Porygon2 in Grassy Terrain: 106-126 (55.2 - 65.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
252+ Atk Thick Club Alolan Marowak Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 156 Def Eviolite Porygon2: 102-120 (53.1 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Life Orb Tapu Koko Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 60 SpD Eviolite Porygon2: 79-95 (41.1 - 49.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Offensive:
+1 36 SpA Porygon2 Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Garchomp: 248-296 (135.5 - 161.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+1 36 SpA Porygon2 Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 76 SpD Pelipper: 136-164 (41.9 - 50.6%) -- 2% chance to 2HKO

As you can see, with this spread, Porygon2 can survive just about anything with at least 40% HP after the hit, making a turn one Trick Room possible under almost any circumstance. With the defensive capabilities he posesses, he can easily take a Moonblast from Tapu Lele, Bloom Doom from Tapu Bulu, wall Garchomp or Metagross, and definitely give your opponent a bad time. His moveset is pretty straightforward- Recover to self heal when in a bad spot, Ice Beam for Garchomp or Salamence, Thunderbolt for Pelliper weather teams, Trick Room for Speed Control. However, Thunderbolt and Ice Beam can be swapped out for moves like Protect, Shadow Ball for Alolan Marowak, or Toxic and Tri Attack for status inflicting offensive strategies.

Weaknesses: There are still some things you want to watch out for when running a team based around Porygon2 TR. Opposing Trick Room teams are a real problem, since a setup from either side will benefit both teams, allowing either you or the opponent to gain the advantage. The most prevelant thing that tends to happen under these circumstances is Trick Room repeatedly being turned off and on as one team tries to throw the other off to gain the upper hand. This can be very frustrating, and there isn't much more you can do than fight as hard as you can to take out thier setter and push the advantage from then. Another thing to look out for is moves that run Toxic, since Porygon2 doesn't have a way to cure itself. While it does have a way to stall the Poison with Recover, it still puts you in a high-pressure situation since you are now running on a clock. A recommendation is to run at least one or two Sweepers that don't require Trick Room to function, because once Porygon2 goes down, the slow members of your team won't stand a chance against the fast hard hitters like Tapu Koko, Arcanine, Garchomp, and others that make use of their speed to take down foes before they can react. Aside from these, Porygon2 can give most of the meta a good run for their money.

Final Thoughts: Overall, I feel that Porygon2 is the BEST Trick Room setter, not only in the VGC format, but in this generation. He has great bulk, a great ability in Download, only a single weakness to Fighting, nice offensive options with great type coverage, and all around incredible defensive capabilities. I have done a lot of testing with Porygon2 Trick Room teams on Showdown, and have run into very few problems, since we have great options for sweepers in this generation due to the amount of low speed, high attack Pokemon like Hariyama, Torkoal, Celesteela, and many others. Porygon2 can setup Trick Room easily against almost any team, and can certainly do well in high pressure situations. He has been a member of many Top Cut teams from this season, and rightfully so, and I have no doubt in my mind he will continue to shine in this meta, even when PokeBank releases later this month.
This ends my analysis, and I hope it can help you form a great TR team and rek some faces!

If you would like to test out a free similar Porygon2 set, there is currently a giveaway by a good friend of mine going on here. The Trick Room tm can be obtained by talking to Kahili in the Hano Resort Hotel after becoming champion. Goodluck, and see you later!