Tropius Movesets & Competitive Sets

Moves Leech Seed recovers health with each turn while slowly wearing down the foe or forcing switches. Substitute protects Tropius from status and brings it to Sitrus Berry range. Air Slash allows Tropius to hit other Grass-types such as Tangela and Leafeon, which are immune to Leech Seed, as well as Monferno, the most common Fire-type. Protect racks up Leech Seed damage while providing an extra turn to acquire a Sitrus Berry through Harvest. Toxic can be used to wear down bulkier foes such as Audino and Grumpig, which Tropius struggles with, as well as setup sweepers such as Beheeyem. Set Details 248 HP EVs maximize Tropius's bulk while minimizing Stealth Rock damage. Maximum investment in Defense along with a Bold nature gives Tropius added physical bulk to better handle Pokemon such as Cacturne and Leafeon. Harvest is the preferred ability, as it gives Tropius a 50% chance to recover its Sitrus Berry after it has been used. Sitrus Berry is Tropius's main form of recovery, as it restores its health when it gets low and can be reused thanks to Harvest. 72 EVs in Speed could be run to outspeed uninvested base 60s such as Tangela, which Tropius can then 2HKO with Air Slash before it can 2HKO Tropius with Hidden Power Ice. Usage Tips Use Protect as a means to scout your foe's attack and get another turn to recover Tropius's Sitrus Berry or recover health from Leech Seed, but make sure sweepers don't use Tropius as setup bait. Switch Tropius in on a move it resists, an example being Leafeon's Leaf Blade. From there, Tropius can proceed to set up Substitute as the opponent switches out or use Protect to see if the foe carries super effective coverage moves against it. Be mindful of switching Tropius in on neutral attacks, as it can get worn down easily even with Sitrus Berry and Harvest, with strong physical attackers such as Stoutland being able to 2HKO it. Using Leech Seed is Tropius's main priority, but you must be careful of using it on Pokemon that are immune to it, namely the likes of Clefairy and Sap Sipper Zebstrika. If running Toxic, it should be used early to cripple bulkier foes and setup sweepers that Tropius has trouble with, such as Beheeyem. Keep Tropius as healthy as possible, as being inflicted with status will hinder Tropius for the duration of the match. Team Options Entry hazard support from Pokemon such as Roselia, Golem, and Monferno helps Tropius wear down foes faster. Toxic Spikes is especially helpful, as it aids Tropius in wearing down bulkier foes such as Audino and Grumpig. Pokemon that can handle Grass- and Steel-types for Tropius, such as Rotom-F, Magnet Pull Probopass, Monferno, and Bronzor, make it easier for Tropius to function. Cleric support from Pokemon such as Grumpig and Audino can rid Tropius of burn and poison, which would otherwise hinder it. These Pokemon can also check special attackers that Tropius has trouble with. Setup sweepers and wallbreakers such as Floatzel and Ursaring appreciate Tropius's ability to wear down foes with Leech Seed. Rapid Spin support from Cryogonal can remove Stealth Rock, making it easier for Tropius to function.

With this set, Tropius supports its team with Leech Seed, spreading recovery to teammates whilst forcing switches. With Substitute, Tropius can wall many Pokemon by repeatedly using Substitute until Leech Seed KOes the opponent. This is possible because Harvest grants Tropius extra recovery through multiple Sitrus Berries. In addition, one of the greatest reasons to use Tropius over other SubSeed users is its Flying typing, which allows Tropius to threaten most Grass-type Pokemon attempting to switch in and absorb Leech Seed with a STAB Air Slash. Protect is an option so Tropius can stall longer and gain more chances to regain Sitrus Berries. However, Toxic can be used to dispose of the opponent more quickly. The 116 Speed EVs allow Tropius to outspeed Alomomola and Tangela before they can use a crippling status move. Tropius can use its good bulk in a specially defensive set similar to this one, walling threats such as Gardevoir and Musharna. However, Tropius's weaknesses to Fire- and Ice-type moves really hinder its ability to wall special attackers. Metang is a good partner for Tropius because it can take all of the Poison-, Ice-, Flying-, and Rock-type attacks aimed at Tropius as well as gaining valuable recovery from Leech Seed. Water-types such as Samurott and Seismitoad cover Tropius's Fire- and Ice-type weaknesses and appreciate the recovery as well. Entry hazard support is also very important to Tropius because of the many switches it forces. Toxic Spikes support from Roselia or Garbodor is the most crucial because it limits the amount of times a Pokemon can stay in on Tropius, allowing it to safely use Substitute more often. Lastly, good offensive partners for Tropius are Braviary, Charizard, and Swellow, which can eliminate the Grass-types that tend to annoy Tropius.

If Sunny Day is up, this Tropius's Special Attack raises to 546 with Choice Specs (600 with a Modest Nature). Leaf Storm will OHKO a lot of Pokemon, such as Milotic, Lanturn, Slowking, Regirock, and Slowbro. Solar Beam is a great attack on a Sunny Day Sweeper, and it's more reliable than Leaf Storm. However, if the sun fades, Energy Ball is much better since it doesn't require a charging turn. Air Slash is a good secondary STAB, and it's great against Grass-types such as Venusaur and Tangrowth, almost always OHKOing them with the Solar Power boost. It's also your best bet against Flash Fire Pokemon such as Houndoom and Arcanine. In the sun, Hidden Power Fire 2HKOs 252/252 Registeel and Regice after Stealth Rock damage with a Life Orb boost. The EV spread lets Tropius outspeed Jolly Aggron, neutral nature 0 Speed Rotom and most defensive Pokemon. If you run a Modest nature on Tropius, it will be unable to outspeed the aforementioned Aggron and Rotom, neutral max Speed Torterra, or Cacturne, but Tropius will be much more powerful. For instance, Modest enables Tropius to to OHKO Spiritomb with Leaf Storm. If using a Modest nature, run 252 EVs in Special Attack and in Speed. To show you the strength of this Tropius, here are some damage calculations assuming a Timid Nature and Life Orb with Sunny Day up: Leaf Storm vs. 252/116+ Spiritomb: 76% - 89.8% Leaf Storm vs. 252/0 Uxie: 67.8% - 79.9% Leaf Storm vs. 252/0 Mesprit: 79.4% - 94% Leaf Storm vs. 4/252+ Chansey: 32.9% - 38.8% Solar Beam vs. 252/0 Milotic: 100% Solar Beam vs. 212/252+ Slowking: 90.6% - 106.8% Solar Beam vs. 252/252+ Regirock: 100 % Solar Beam vs. 252/116+ Spiritomb: 65.1% - 77% Solar Beam vs. 252/252+ Steelix: 68.9% - 81.4% Air Slash vs. 136/252+ nature Tangrowth: 94.4% - 110.9% Air Slash vs. 216/144 Meganium: 91.3% - 108.2% Air Slash vs. 252/252+ Venusaur: 64.3% - 75.8% Hidden Power Fire vs. 252/252+ Steelix: 79.7% - 94.4% Hidden Power Fire vs. 252/252+ Registeel: 44.5% - 52.7% Hidden Power Fire vs. 0/0 Magneton: 100% Don't use this set without Sunny Day support, as it would then be outclassed by many other offensive Pokemon, especially by Venusaur and Moltres. Mesprit, Moltres, and Clefable are good options to set Sunny Day up. Stealth Rock support is also very important, as it allows Tropius to score some more KOs. Remember that Solar Power Tropius is very slow, and Flamethrower or Ice Beam can ruin you. Because of this, you can Baton Pass Agility to Tropius from Pokemon like Ambipom and Lopunny; paralysis support can be good too.

With Swords Dance, Tropius becomes a fearsome sweeper if Sunny Day is up. Leaf Blade's power after a Swords Dance is awesome, OHKOing almost every Pokemon that doesn't resist it. After a Swords Dance, Aerial Ace always OHKOes Scyther and destroys most Venusaur and Meganium after Stealth Rock damage. Roost is also a viable option to recover HP thanks to Tropius's great bulk. Earthquake OHKOes Magneton and Aggron, and 2HKOes Steelix after a boost. Sunny Day Support is needed for this set to succeed, as it allows Tropius to reach 402 Speed, which is enough to outspeed +2 Aggron, +2 Rhyperior, Alakazam, and Dugtrio. Uxie, Clefable, Jumpluff, Chansey, and Porygon2 are all great partners to provide Sunny Day support. If Sunny Day isn't up, Tropius still outruns Adamant Aggron and Tangrowth and can attack them with Earthquake or Aerial Ace. It's worth noting that this Tropius isn't outclassed by other Chlorophyll Swords Dance users such as Victreebel and Shiftry because of its bulk and access to Earthquake, Roost, and STAB Aerial Ace. Rapid Spin support is something you must remember to include when using Tropius. Blastoise is a fantastic teammate for Tropius, as it resists Fire- and Ice-Type attacks and can also use Rapid Spin. Like all offensive Pokemon, entry hazards are fantastic to net Tropius more KOs. Omastar is a great teammate for Tropius because it can take Fire-, Poison-, Ice-, and Flying-type attacks with ease; it can also set up all the entry hazards.

Tropius's defenses are actually very good, making Tropius quite difficult to KO even with some super effective attacks. Roost is used to recover HP while also removing some of Tropius's weaknesses temporarily. Toxic is a fantastic support option, and this Tropius can use it effectively thanks to its bulk. Energy Ball and Air Slash are good offensive options, and give Tropius something do to should it get Taunted, but Whirlwind is a very useful phazing move that can keep Tropius from being set up on by the likes of RestTalk abusers. The EV spread given maximizes Tropius's ability to tank hits. Provided Stealth Rock is not on the field, Tropius is even able to take an Ice Beam from defensive Milotic, and will never be 2HKOed by a maximum Attack Donphan's Ice Shard. Scenarios such as these are all very common, therefore Rapid Spin support will help Tropius perform its tanking duties admirably. Steel- and Poison-type Pokemon wall this set badly, because they are immune to Toxic and resist Tropius's STAB attacks. Registeel, Weezing, Steelix, and Muk are examples of Pokemon that resist this set perfectly. For these two reasons, Donphan makes a great teammate for Tropius, as it can switch in on most Rock-, Steel-, and Poison-types and threaten them with its STAB Earthquake. Donphan is also able to use Rapid Spin quite effectively. You usually need a Psychic-type attacker for Weezing, because of that pesky Levitate. If you are using Whirlwind, entry hazards on your opponent's side will be greatly beneficial. Toxic Spikes support from Pokemon like Nidoqueen or Qwilfish is also awesome, as it frees up a moveslot for Tropius. Stealth Rock support is also recommended as it is for every other Pokemon in the game. Omastar is an awesome partner to supply entry hazards including Stealth Rock, as it resists many of Tropius's weaknesses, while Tropius helps to cover those of Omastar. Substitute can be used to protect Tropius from status and provide a buffer against incoming attacks. Tropius's Substitutes are also quite sturdy due to its good defenses and HP, but with Tropius's Speed, you won't be able to avoid poison and other negative status, effectively halving its potential uses. You can also use Leech Seed in this set instead of one of the attacking moves to drain your opponent's HP, especially when Tropius is behind a Substitute. With Sunny Day support, Tropius's Speed will double thanks to Chlorophyll, effectively making Substitute a viable option. Unfortunately, without any Speed investment, Tropius still fails to outspeed max Speed positively natured base 80s, such as Venusaur, and neutral natured base 90s, such as Moltres.

Sunny Day makes Synthesis recover two-thirds of Tropius's HP as well as causing Solar Beam to only take one turn. Hidden Power Fire stops Steel-types like Skarmory from ruining Tropius's fun and is also boosted by sun. Add in the fact that Tropius's ability is Chlorophyll, and this makes for the best moveset it can run. However, Exeggutor still does this a lot better. Tropius's Special Attack is no where near Exeggutor's, so lower Special Defense Pokemon like Skarmory can sit and take its Solar Beams like nothing. Petaya Berry is an option because Tropius could use all the Special Attack boosts it can get, and with Synthesis recovering 66.7% in the Sun, there's not as much of a need for Leftovers. Hidden Power Ice does less to Steel- and Grass-types (as it doesn't get the weather boost), but Salamence is probably the safest switch-in to Tropius, so why not get it with Hidden Power Ice? It also hits other Flying-types harder than Solar Beam and Hidden Power Fire would.

Tropius will have trouble sweeping anything without the Speed boost from Chlorophyll because it is pretty damn slow, which is why Salac Berry is an option. For the last slot, Substitute could be good if Tropius was faster, and Synthesis isn't going to do too much good with Tropius's many weaknesses and the fact that there is no sun to boost it. There are definitely better Pokemon to Swords Dance with than Tropius.