Introduced in generation five, with the Pokemon Black and White games, Trubbish is a monotype poison Pokemon. It is the base evolution of Garbodor and is not known to evolve from any other Pokemon. Trubbish is classified by the Pokedex as the “Trash Bag Pokemon” which is a nod to its general design. This guide will showcase Trubbish’s capabilities in battle, its appearances in the anime, as well as other general facts about Trubbish.
About Trubbish
As a generation five Pokemon, Trubbish first appeared in the Black and White season of the anime in the episode Here Comes the Trubbish Squad!. It was befriended by a group of preschoolers in this episode, but was belittled for its stench. The Pokedex states that Trubbish was created through industrial waste and garbage bags causing a chemical reaction. Trubbish will evolve into Garbodor upon reaching level 36.
| First appearance in anime | Pokemon the Series: Black and White Here Comes the Trubbish Squad! |
| First appearance in game | Pokemon Black and White |
| Region | Unova |
| Evolution | Evolves into Garbodor, not known to evolve from any other Pokemon |
| 1st Evo level | 36 |
| 2nd Evo level | N/A |
| Pokedex Entry | The combination of garbage bags and industrial waste caused the chemical reaction that created this Pokémon. |
Trubbish Base Stats
| HP | 50 |
| ATTACK | 50 |
| DEFENCE | 62 |
| SP. ATTACK | 40 |
| SP. DEFENCE | 62 |
| SPEED | 65 |
| TOTAL | 329 |
Appearance
Trubbish appears to be a split open garbage bag with trash coming out of its sides. This trash forms its arms and there is a small face on the front. Its teeth appear to be made out of broken glass shards, and the two handles for the tied up garbage bag resemble ears. Trubbish walks around on two stubby feet and is even seen igniting garbage to fly across the air. It is short, even for a Pokemon, at 2 feet, or 0.6 meters, tall.
Behavior
Trubbish are typically found near waste dumps as it prefers unsanitary places. They are also known to follow people who litter, consuming the garbage that people leave behind. The Pokedex mentions that they are capable of belching poison gas that can put you in bed for a week. As a Pokemon born from piles of trash, it is likely the developers were attempting to make a comment about the growing levels of trash throughout the world in industrial areas.
Strengths and Weaknesses
As a base evolution Pokemon, there are not many strengths to be found in Trubbish. It does have a decent speed stat for a base evolution Pokemon, and its defensive stats are respectable for this stage. However, it is not too capable of dealing large amounts of damage and resorts to status inflicting moves instead. As a monotype poison Pokemon, Trubbish is 2x weak to ground and psychic type moves, has no immunities but is resistant to fighting, poison, bug, grass, and fairy type moves.
Shiny Trubbish
It is very easy to distinguish between a Shiny Trubbish and a regular Trubbish. Shiny Trubbish trades the green trash bag for a black one and the little rocks or debris found its arms turn yellow from pink. Not much else changes between the regular and Shiny Trubbish variants, but it seems to have changed almost every color in its color palette. Like all shiny Pokemon, Shiny Trubbish gains a starry animation upon entering battle.
Best Moveset
As a base evolution Pokemon, Trubbish is exclusively limited to LC (Little Cup) brackets of competitive play. In this format, it only has to face other base evolution Pokemon which can level the playing field. For Trubbish, it will typically deal damage through setting up hazards on your opponent’s side of the field. Consider running Spikes, Recycle, Gunk Shot, and Drain Punch. Spikes can add a lot of chip damage throughout the battle, Recycle seeks to keep Trubbish healthy by constantly recycling Berry Juice, as a held item, Gunk Shot benefits from STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) while also having a high chance to poison, and finally Drain Punch can be used as type coverage.
| Spikes | Recycle |
| Gunk Shot | Drain Punch |
How to Catch Trubbish in Pokemon Go
If you would like to obtain a Trubbish in Pokemon Go, there are a few ways of doing so. Trubbish spawns in the wild at a boosted rate near marshes, wetlands, and industrial areas. It can also be hatched from 5 and 12 km eggs, and has also appeared as a tier one raid boss in Pokemon Gyms. There are many different ways to obtain a Trubbish, you just need to take the first opportunity that comes your way. To evolve your Trubbish into a Garbodor, you will need 50 Trubbish candies.
Trivia
- Trubbish shares many similarities with Grimer and Koffing. All three are poison type Pokemon with a two stage evolution and they all represent different kinds of pollution with Trubbish representing land pollution.
- The name Trubbish is a combination of the words trash and rubbish.
- The inspiration for Trubbish’s design is likely based on plastic bags filled with garbage, but it also resembles a dust bunny.
Video
FAQ
Is Trubbish any good?
Neither Trubbish or its evolution are particularly powerful in a competitive environment. They both suffer from a fully balanced stat distribution making it difficult to excel in any form of battle. It is best to consider hazard/status inflicting strategies with Trubbish, but even then it can sometimes fall short.
How many evolutions does Trubbish have?
Trubbish is part of a two stage evolution, it makes up one part and Garbodor being its final evolution. You can only evolve a Trubbish once and while this does improve upon its base stats quite a bit, it still seems to fall flat regardless of which form you prefer. To evolve your Trubbish, you just need to have it reach level 36.
How do you evolve a Garbodor?
Garbodor is the final evolution in its line. You cannot evolve it further and there are no special conditions to evolve its pre-evolution. Once Trubbish reaches level 36, you just need to allow its evolution animation to play without pressing the “B” button. However, there is no evolution you need to seek after Garbodor.
Conclusion
Congratulations, you now know just about everything there is to know about this “Trash Bag Pokemon”. While Trubbish and its evolution line has not had much impact on the competitive environment, it is a fairly remarkable Pokemon as it reminds the players to care about their environment. Even though it is not particularly powerful, it carries an important message to younger generations of Pokemon players. Reserve a slot on your team for Trubbish if you want a Pokemon that has balanced stats all around.
