Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: 7-Star Pikachu Tera Raid Guide

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s 7-star Pikachu Tera Raid has been officially announced by Nintendo. The high-leveled activity will feature a Water Tera-type Pikachu, allowing players to battle it and, in case they are successful, capture one copy of it. The event period is between February 24 and February 27. Unlike the 7-star raids before it, this exclusive Water Tera -type Pikachu may be limited to only one period, as opposed to the regular two separate runs for this type of activity.

7-star Tera Raids have constantly been added to the Nintendo Switch games since December 2022, a little time after their release. Most recently, players faced a 7-star Greninja in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Until now, the standard was only popular starter’s evolutions, but with the 7-star Pikachu arriving to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Tera Raids, this is bound to change and open up many new possibilities moving forward.

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Water Tera Type Pikachu’s Weaknesses

As pointed out by Serebii on Twitter, the 7-star Pikachu featured in the limited-time Tera Raid event will have a Water Tera type. In Tera Raids, the opponent’s Tera type overrides its normal typing, possibly significantly changing its weaknesses and resistances.

Therefore, a Water TTera-typePikachu in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Tera Raid event, which would normally be weak against Ground-type moves, will now be hit normally by them. Additionally, the creature will get hit by super-effective moves when they are of either Electric- or Grass-types.

Water Tera Type Pikachu’s Trick

The 7-star Pikachu Tera Raid will likely have a small trick that may deceive unsuspecting players. One of Pikachu’s two possible Abilities is called Lightning Rod. This Hidden Ability attracts Electric-type moves and makes the user immune, and boosts its Special Attack stat whenever an Electric-type attacks it. So theoretically, while the Water Tera type Pikachu has two weaknesses, only one is truly effective due to its Ability.

It is important to note that the 7-star Pikachu’s Ability in the limited-time Tera Raid event has not yet been confirmed. As such, it can have the Ability called Static, which paralyzes any Pokémon it makes contact with. Nonetheless, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Cinderace Raids and other 7-star Tera Raids have proven these activities are full of tricks, so there is a bigger chance of it having Lightning Rod as its Ability, which will narrow down the possible options to counter it in battle.

Best Counters Against Water Tera-Type Pikachu

This Pokémon Scarlet and Violet 7-star Tera Raid’s Pikachu will likely know Thunderbolt, its main signature move, Iron Tail, and an extra Electric-type move. In addition to that, it will probably also know the Water-type Surf move, which would reflect its special Water Tera-type. As such, it will be able to super-effective hit Pokémon with Rock-, Fairy-, Ground-, and Flying-types, for instance. Players should be wary about this when choosing their counters for any 7-star Tera Raid event: getting super-effective moves in while resisting the broadest range of the opponent’s possible moveset.

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With this in mind, players will have to look to strong and reliable Grass-type Pokémon. Even if the Water Tera-type Pikachu does not land super-effective hits, 7-star raid creatures tend to hit quite hard, meaning Trainers must take resistant Pokémon with healing capabilities or both. Simply using Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Shell Bell or Leftovers, for example, is not enough.

Best Arboliva Build For Water Tera Type Pikachu

Some of the best Pokémon to use in Scarlet and Violet’s 7-star Water Pikachu raids are Arboliva and Appletun. While Arboliva does not boast the best stats in the game, it can counter Pikachu. Its Seed Sower Ability will set a Grassy Terrain when it is hit. This, in turn, boosts Grass-type attacks by 50% while also restoring HP across the field. Sunny Day makes Solar Beam hit without charging, and Giga Drain is a great STAB (Same-type attack bonus) spammable to recover HP. Additionally, Growth is good for increasing its Special Attack stat.

Best Appletun Build For Water Tera Type Pikachu

The other option is using Appletun, Applin’s evolution in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. This Generation 8 Pokémon is a dual Grass- and Dragon-type, which grants it 4x resistances against 7-star Pikachu’s Water- and Electric-type moves. Appleton also has good defensive properties, making it a tank. Mixing its Ability Ripen with a Sitrus Berry as a Held Item, it can double the Berry’s restoration power to 50%. Its signature move, Apple Acid, is an excellent Grass-type STAB spammable, which lowers Pikachu’s Special Defense, while its other moves, Amnesia, Recover, Growth, or Giga Drain, can focus on stat boosting and damage mitigation.

Using some of the best Grass-type Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet is the key to beating the Water Tera type Pikachu raid event. Trainers should be ready, however, to drop traditionally heavy-hitting Pokémon, such as Meowscarada or Brute Bonnet. While these may actually work, their survivability rates are much lower than those of Arboliva and Appletun, for example. Regardless of the choice, 7-star Tera Raids in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet tend to be challenging and surprising activities, and Pikachu’s raid will likely put Trainers to the test.

More: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Starter Evolutions: Pros & Cons Of Meowscarada

Source: Serebii/Twitter