One-eyed...tree? Well it looks cool I guess, and it's a tree that can control forests! It's a TREE! Oh but with six legs...and it moves.
[OVERVIEW]
While Trevenant is by no means a bad Pokemon, it faces a lot of competition from other Grass-types such as Virizion, Tangrowth, and Venusaur, all of which offer more utility than Trevenant. Furthermore, it has middling bulk, limiting its defensive capabilities, which is worsened by its weakness to the ever-common Knock Off. Trevenant is also very slow, which makes it relatively easy to revenge kill or force out. However, Trevenant bears a high Attack stat, along with strong STAB moves in Wood Hammer and Shadow Claw, which makes it a strong physical Ghost-type and wallbreaker. Thanks to its rare ability Natural Cure combined with its resistance to Water, Trevenant also has the niche of being one of the best switch-ins to Scald in RU, making it a good answer to common Water-types such as Jellicent, Slowking, and Alomomola. Its typing notably makes it a solid answer to Virizion, as well as a decent sponge against Volt Switch and a fairly solid spinblocker, boasting an incredibly good matchup against both Hitmontop and Blastoise. Overall, Trevenant shouldn't be your first pick for a Grass-type, but it bears distinctive qualities that give it a relatively unique niche in RU.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Wood Hammer
move 2: Shadow Claw
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Horn Leech / Rest
item: Choice Band
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Adamant
evs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Wood Hammer is Trevenant's main STAB move and hits extremely hard against any foe that doesn't resist it. Shadow Claw serves as Trevenant's secondary STAB attack and hits Pokemon that resist Grass, such as Fletchinder, Virizion, and Venusaur, quite hard. Earthquake is used to hit Pokemon such as Drapion, Emboar, and Aggron harder than Trevenant's other moves. Lastly, Horn Leech is a backup STAB move that is considerably weaker than Wood Hammer but also provides an option to restore Trevenant's HP, possibly allowing it to heal off the damage it sustains from Wood Hammer recoil. Alternatively, Rest is a viable option to completely heal Trevenant's HP in a pinch: Natural Cure will ensure that it is awake the next time it enters battle. However, this risks giving the opponent a free turn when Trevenant switches out. Rock Slide is a viable option in the last slot because it hits Mega Abomasnow, Fletchinder, and Braviary quite hard, but Trevenant's other moves are more important overall. Poison Jab is also viable to hit Tangrowth harder than Trevenant's other moves, and when combined with its poison chance, it can turn Trevenant's matchup against Tangrowth in its favor. Poison Jab also hits Togetic and Aromatisse hard without inflicting recoil. Finally, Trick is a viable alternative over Horn Leech or Rest to lock support Pokemon such as Aromatisse into undesirable moves, hindering their capability in battle.
Set Details
========
The EV spread provides enough into Speed to outspeed Alomomola, while the remainder is invested into Attack and HP for added bulk and power. Natural Cure is vital, as it encompasses one of Trevenant's main niches in RU as a Scald absorber that can negate the burns from the move. Trevenant's Speed EVs can be altered to outspeed certain threats depending on your team: 120 Speed EVs let it outspeed Alomomola, Choice Band Scrafty, and Hitmontop, while 148 Speed EVs let it outspeed Seismitoad. However, these investments cut into Trevenant's bulk.
Usage Tips
========
Trevenant is best used as a wallbreaker, which means it should come in early- or mid-game to put dents in the opponent's team with Wood Hammer, paving the way for late-game cleaners later on. Take advantage of Trevenant's typing to switch it into a bulky Water-type such as Blastoise or a Pokemon such as Rhyperior, Rotom-C, or Virizion safely and respond properly. Trevenant should also be used more conservatively when the opponent has a Rapid Spin user, as it can also be used to keep entry hazards up thanks to its ability to block Rapid Spin. It is also advised to use Trevenant's Natural Cure ability effectively to allow it to use Rest when its health is low and switch out in order to recover. Similarly, Trevenant can switch into common status-inducing moves such as Scald and Toxic, so it is advised to use Trevenant to absorb common status moves.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard support is advised in order to help Trevenant wallbreak more effectively. Both Diancie and Rhyperior are good options for this role, and they also have the luxury of being able to take on Fletchinder and Houndoom, two common threats to Trevenant, while it can in return threaten Water- and Ground-types. Mega Steelix is also a viable candidate that can slightly take on common Dark-types such as Absol, Sneasel, and Drapion. Garbodor and Qwilfish both provide Spikes support, while Trevenant resists Earthquake and provides spinblocking. Late-game sweepers that appreciate Trevenant's wallbreaking ability, such as Tyrantrum, Jolteon, and Durant, also make for effective teammates, and all of them can additionally deal with some of the Pokemon that threaten Trevenant. Water-types such as Seismitoad, Poliwrath, Slowking, and Alomomola can handle the Fire-types that give Trevenant trouble. Poliwrath in particular makes for a very effective Knock Off switch-in that deals with Sneasel, Absol, and Drapion extremely well. Special wallbreakers such as Houndoom, Sigilyph, and Mega Camerupt are also useful to handle some of the Pokemon that check Trevenant, such as Tangrowth and Venusaur.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
A set with Substitute, Leech Seed, Will-O-Wisp, and a move such as Horn Leech or Curse can be used in tandem with a Sitrus Berry and the ability Harvest in order to stall opponents while proving an incredible annoyance, but this set tends to be overall gimmicky and unreliable due to Trevenant's weaknesses and lack of speed. Such a role is also performed better by Gourgeist-XL, having more physical bulk and reliable recovery in Synthesis. Another interesting set that is usable is a set with Substitute, Phantom Force, Horn Leech, and Earthquake with a Starf Berry and Harvest, allowing Trevenant to become an offensive threat that at low HP can sharply boost a random stat by two stages, making it very annoying to deal with, but such a set is extremely reliant on luck to succeed. Trevenant can also run Trick Room and has low enough Speed to use it effectively on a dedicated Trick Room team.
Checks and Counters
========
**Dark-types** Dark-types such as Absol, Sneasel, Drapion, and Spiritomb pose a large threat to Trevenant, as they can easily take it down with Knock Off or Pursuit, with the latter move especially being a threat since Trevenant is often forced out and can be OHKOed while switching out. However, all of them barring Drapion must be careful about switching into Wood Hammer.
**Fire-types** Delphox, Houndoom, and Emboar pose a threat to Trevenant, as they are all faster and can threaten Trevenant with their respective STAB moves.
**Ice-types**: Mega Glalie can revenge kill Trevenant with a Refrigerate-boosted Double-Edge and potentially force it out, while Abomasnow resists both Wood Hammer and Earthquake, and has enough bulk to tank a Shadow Claw, and can OHKO Trevenant with Blizzard.
**Flying-types**: Fletchinder can remove Trevenant from play with Acrobatics and also safely switch into Wood Hammer and Horn Leech. Sigilyph can OHKO Trevenant with Air Slash, while Braviary resists Wood Hammer, is immune to Shadow Claw and Earthquake, and revenge kills Trevenant with Brave Bird. Togetic and Golbat can both check Trevenant with the right defense investment and easily wear it down. The former can also freely use Nasty Plot against it.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon that Resist Grass**: Venusaur, Escavalier, and Tangrowth all resist Wood Hammer and have enough bulk to take a Shadow Claw well, while they can retaliate with their own moves to wear down Trevenant. All three of them also have access to Knock Off, which both heavily damages and cripples Trevenant.
[OVERVIEW]
While Trevenant is by no means a bad Pokemon, it faces a lot of competition from other Grass-types such as Virizion, Tangrowth, and Venusaur, all of which offer more utility than Trevenant. Furthermore, it has middling bulk, limiting its defensive capabilities, which is worsened by its weakness to the ever-common Knock Off. Trevenant is also very slow, which makes it relatively easy to revenge kill or force out. However, Trevenant bears a high Attack stat, along with strong STAB moves in Wood Hammer and Shadow Claw, which makes it a strong physical Ghost-type and wallbreaker. Thanks to its rare ability Natural Cure combined with its resistance to Water, Trevenant also has the niche of being one of the best switch-ins to Scald in RU, making it a good answer to common Water-types such as Jellicent, Slowking, and Alomomola. Its typing notably makes it a solid answer to Virizion, as well as a decent sponge against Volt Switch and a fairly solid spinblocker, boasting an incredibly good matchup against both Hitmontop and Blastoise. Overall, Trevenant shouldn't be your first pick for a Grass-type, but it bears distinctive qualities that give it a relatively unique niche in RU.
[SET]
name: Choice Band
move 1: Wood Hammer
move 2: Shadow Claw
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Horn Leech / Rest
item: Choice Band
ability: Natural Cure
nature: Adamant
evs: 180 HP / 252 Atk / 76 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Wood Hammer is Trevenant's main STAB move and hits extremely hard against any foe that doesn't resist it. Shadow Claw serves as Trevenant's secondary STAB attack and hits Pokemon that resist Grass, such as Fletchinder, Virizion, and Venusaur, quite hard. Earthquake is used to hit Pokemon such as Drapion, Emboar, and Aggron harder than Trevenant's other moves. Lastly, Horn Leech is a backup STAB move that is considerably weaker than Wood Hammer but also provides an option to restore Trevenant's HP, possibly allowing it to heal off the damage it sustains from Wood Hammer recoil. Alternatively, Rest is a viable option to completely heal Trevenant's HP in a pinch: Natural Cure will ensure that it is awake the next time it enters battle. However, this risks giving the opponent a free turn when Trevenant switches out. Rock Slide is a viable option in the last slot because it hits Mega Abomasnow, Fletchinder, and Braviary quite hard, but Trevenant's other moves are more important overall. Poison Jab is also viable to hit Tangrowth harder than Trevenant's other moves, and when combined with its poison chance, it can turn Trevenant's matchup against Tangrowth in its favor. Poison Jab also hits Togetic and Aromatisse hard without inflicting recoil. Finally, Trick is a viable alternative over Horn Leech or Rest to lock support Pokemon such as Aromatisse into undesirable moves, hindering their capability in battle.
Set Details
========
The EV spread provides enough into Speed to outspeed Alomomola, while the remainder is invested into Attack and HP for added bulk and power. Natural Cure is vital, as it encompasses one of Trevenant's main niches in RU as a Scald absorber that can negate the burns from the move. Trevenant's Speed EVs can be altered to outspeed certain threats depending on your team: 120 Speed EVs let it outspeed Alomomola, Choice Band Scrafty, and Hitmontop, while 148 Speed EVs let it outspeed Seismitoad. However, these investments cut into Trevenant's bulk.
Usage Tips
========
Trevenant is best used as a wallbreaker, which means it should come in early- or mid-game to put dents in the opponent's team with Wood Hammer, paving the way for late-game cleaners later on. Take advantage of Trevenant's typing to switch it into a bulky Water-type such as Blastoise or a Pokemon such as Rhyperior, Rotom-C, or Virizion safely and respond properly. Trevenant should also be used more conservatively when the opponent has a Rapid Spin user, as it can also be used to keep entry hazards up thanks to its ability to block Rapid Spin. It is also advised to use Trevenant's Natural Cure ability effectively to allow it to use Rest when its health is low and switch out in order to recover. Similarly, Trevenant can switch into common status-inducing moves such as Scald and Toxic, so it is advised to use Trevenant to absorb common status moves.
Team Options
========
Entry hazard support is advised in order to help Trevenant wallbreak more effectively. Both Diancie and Rhyperior are good options for this role, and they also have the luxury of being able to take on Fletchinder and Houndoom, two common threats to Trevenant, while it can in return threaten Water- and Ground-types. Mega Steelix is also a viable candidate that can slightly take on common Dark-types such as Absol, Sneasel, and Drapion. Garbodor and Qwilfish both provide Spikes support, while Trevenant resists Earthquake and provides spinblocking. Late-game sweepers that appreciate Trevenant's wallbreaking ability, such as Tyrantrum, Jolteon, and Durant, also make for effective teammates, and all of them can additionally deal with some of the Pokemon that threaten Trevenant. Water-types such as Seismitoad, Poliwrath, Slowking, and Alomomola can handle the Fire-types that give Trevenant trouble. Poliwrath in particular makes for a very effective Knock Off switch-in that deals with Sneasel, Absol, and Drapion extremely well. Special wallbreakers such as Houndoom, Sigilyph, and Mega Camerupt are also useful to handle some of the Pokemon that check Trevenant, such as Tangrowth and Venusaur.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
========
A set with Substitute, Leech Seed, Will-O-Wisp, and a move such as Horn Leech or Curse can be used in tandem with a Sitrus Berry and the ability Harvest in order to stall opponents while proving an incredible annoyance, but this set tends to be overall gimmicky and unreliable due to Trevenant's weaknesses and lack of speed. Such a role is also performed better by Gourgeist-XL, having more physical bulk and reliable recovery in Synthesis. Another interesting set that is usable is a set with Substitute, Phantom Force, Horn Leech, and Earthquake with a Starf Berry and Harvest, allowing Trevenant to become an offensive threat that at low HP can sharply boost a random stat by two stages, making it very annoying to deal with, but such a set is extremely reliant on luck to succeed. Trevenant can also run Trick Room and has low enough Speed to use it effectively on a dedicated Trick Room team.
Checks and Counters
========
**Dark-types** Dark-types such as Absol, Sneasel, Drapion, and Spiritomb pose a large threat to Trevenant, as they can easily take it down with Knock Off or Pursuit, with the latter move especially being a threat since Trevenant is often forced out and can be OHKOed while switching out. However, all of them barring Drapion must be careful about switching into Wood Hammer.
**Fire-types** Delphox, Houndoom, and Emboar pose a threat to Trevenant, as they are all faster and can threaten Trevenant with their respective STAB moves.
**Ice-types**: Mega Glalie can revenge kill Trevenant with a Refrigerate-boosted Double-Edge and potentially force it out, while Abomasnow resists both Wood Hammer and Earthquake, and has enough bulk to tank a Shadow Claw, and can OHKO Trevenant with Blizzard.
**Flying-types**: Fletchinder can remove Trevenant from play with Acrobatics and also safely switch into Wood Hammer and Horn Leech. Sigilyph can OHKO Trevenant with Air Slash, while Braviary resists Wood Hammer, is immune to Shadow Claw and Earthquake, and revenge kills Trevenant with Brave Bird. Togetic and Golbat can both check Trevenant with the right defense investment and easily wear it down. The former can also freely use Nasty Plot against it.
**Physically Bulky Pokemon that Resist Grass**: Venusaur, Escavalier, and Tangrowth all resist Wood Hammer and have enough bulk to take a Shadow Claw well, while they can retaliate with their own moves to wear down Trevenant. All three of them also have access to Knock Off, which both heavily damages and cripples Trevenant.
