This build lets Trevenant dominate in Pokemon Unite

Trevenant has arrived in Pokemon Unite and the spooky Pokemon can have a big presence with the right build.

Trevenant is the latest defender in Pokemon Unite. It’s a surprising addition to the lineup given its relative lack of popularity and how sparingly its been used across various Pokemon media. Its relative strength in the Pokemon TCG and prominence in 2021’s Season of Mischief event in Pokemon GO may have boosted its relevance for the Pokemon Unite development team.

The spooky appearance of Trevenant inspired the creators to give it a particularly vicious set of skills. Instead of healing or various crowd control tools, Trevenant instead punishes opponents for attacking it. This style has made it one of the stronger Pokemon in the game today and a potentially strong option in competitive settings.

Don't go out in the woods alone! Trevenant is on its way to #PokemonUNITE, and it’s a Defender you need to see to be-leaf! pic.twitter.com/4y1q4oibgu

— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) January 13, 2022

This unique style for Trevenant requires an interesting build. Here are the best items and abilities to use for Trevenant.

Best move build for Trevenant in Pokemon Unite

The ideal Trevenant move build in Pokemon Unite revolves around Curse and Pain Split. Though it has the choice to be a standard-issue bulky bruiser with Horn Leech and Wood Hammer, the better option is putting Trevenant front and center as an untouchable monster. 

Branch Poke

Branch Poke is the preferred starting move for Phantump. The move offers quicker camp clears and a bit more oomph against enemies. As usual, it’s not disastrous if Will-o-Wisp is chosen, but the optimal build for Trevenant in Pokemon Unite starts with Branch Poke.

Curse

For Trevenant’s upgraded moves, it’s best to go with the ghost-type options starting with Curse. Curse creates an AOE around Trevenant that deals damage. While Curse is active, a meter charges above Trevenant and increases when the Pokemon either takes or deals damage. The player can re-activate Curse during this time to release a burst of AOE damage. If the meter is full when this is activated, the cooldown for Trevenant’s other attack is reset.

Pain Split

Pain Split links Trevenant with an opposing Pokemon and reflects back a percentage of any damage it receives to that linked Pokemon. The percentage of damage that is reflected to that Pokemon increases as Trevenant’s health goes down.

Combined with Curse, Trevenant can effectively put an enemy player into a no-win situation. Either it will be forced to sit around and endure attacks from Trevenant or they can return fire and take even more damage themselves. This is a deadly combination for glass cannons like Cinderace.

Trevenant Unite Move

Trevenant’s Unite Move is Phantom Forest. It creates an AOE that deals damage to enemies, bashes them, and lowers their defenses for a time. It also gives Trevenant a barrier based on how many enemies were impacted.

Best Trevenant item build in Pokemon Unite

The best items for this Trevenant build are ones that increase its HP and ability to recover from an engagement. Though items that boost its damage can hypothetically work, Curse and Pain Split both rely on it being able to absorb damage as well. The best Trevenant item options are as follows:

• Buddy Barrier
• Score Shield
• Focus Band
• Eject Button

The combination of Buddy Barrier and Score Shield gives Trevenant an enormous boost of HP as well as utility for both scoring and team fights around Zapdos. This makes Trevenant able to deal more damage indirectly through Pain Split and Curse.

Focus Band is a strong choice for a third item, but not the only one. Focus Band gives a boost to both defense and special defense and gives increased HP regeneration based on Trevenant’s health. This is good as it allows Trevenant to better survive prolonged engagements and also recover health more quickly after winning them. Muscle Band is always catch-all option, and Rocky Helmet is actually a solid choice for anyone that bothered to level it.

Though Eject Button is the default Battle Item option for almost any Pokemon, it’s particularly important on Trevenant. Because it’s a melee attacker who relies on self-centered AOE attacks, it needs to be able to get close to opponents and stay close for as long as it can.