How to solo Water Pikachu 7-star Tera Raid in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's latest black crystal Tera Raid features a Water Tera Type Pikachu from July 11-25, 2024. As trainers dive into raid dens to battle it, you may be wondering if this Pikachu raid boss can be defeated solo. Fortunately, with the right built, and well-trained Pokemon at your side, this Water-type Pikachu boss should be easy to beat, although a one-hit KO may not be feasible.

Multiple strategies can be employed to beat this Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raid boss solo. However, with the right Grass-type Pokemon, you can effectively counter and take down this boss with plenty of time left on the raid timer.

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Water Pikachu's strengths and weaknesses in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raids

This Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raid boss will only have one exploitable weakness due to its ability (Image via The Pokemon Company)

• Tera Type: Water
• Ability: Lightning Rod
• IVs: 31 IVs in every stat
• Usable Moves: Surf, Rain Dance, Thunder, Play Rough, Iron Tail

As a Terastallized Water-type Pokemon, this Pikachu raid boss will have two weaknesses. One will be non-exploitable due to its Lightning Rod ability that increases its Special Attack stat and absorbs Electric-type moves. That leaves Grass-type moves/Pokemon as the only counter that can get the job done.

Moreover, as a Water-type raid boss, this Pikachu will resist the following elements and reduce damage from them:

• Fire
• Ice
• Steel
• Water

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Best counter to solo Water Pikachu in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raids

Arboliva is perfectly suited to soloing this Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raid (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While many solo strategies have developed for this raid, Arboliva has risen to be one of the best options thanks to its ability Seed Sower, which can combo very well into its move Terrain Pulse. Access to moves like Giga Drain will also ensure Arboliva keeps its health topped off and it can also negate Pikachu's Rain Dance and weaken its Water-type moves with the move Sunny Day.

Below, you can find the build that should give you great solo success against this raid boss:

• Tera Type - Grass
• Ability - Seed Sower
• Moveset - Giga Drain, Terrain Pulse, Sunny Day, Energy Ball
• Nature - Modest
• EV Point Distribution - 252 Sp. Atk, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Def
• Held Item - Covert Cloak

It's also recommended that for your NPC teammates, two of the picks should be Bellibolt and Arboliva to Paralyze Pikachu and set up Grassy Terrain early, respectively.

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How to beat 7-star Water Pikachu in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raids

Arboliva should be able to effectively handle Water Pikachu raids on its own in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Before diving into this Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raid, it's best to know how Water Pikachu's move/effect patterns operate so you can prepare for them accordingly. Below, you can find the steps that this raid boss will follow:

• Raid Start: Pikachu activates Rain Dance and its Tera Energy shield and will attack with Surf.
• 80% Raid Time: Reduces the raiding party's Tera Orb charge. Pikachu will also reset its stat changes and remove status effects.
• 65% Raid Time: Pikachu reduces the party's Tera Orb charge again.
• 65% Boss HP: Pikachu resets its stat changes and removes any status effects.

You can use Arboliva to beat this Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Tera Raid boss with the following steps:

1. On Turns 1-3, utilize Energy Ball to deal damage to Pikachu and build Tera Orb charge. Thanks to Energy Ball's functionality with Terastallization, Arboliva's Tera Orb charge will remain if it gets knocked out. You can also use Sunny Day if you so choose to reduce the damage of Pikachu's Surf move and remove its Rain Dance effect. When hit, Arboliva will also activate Grassy Terrain thanks to Seed Sower which will also boost its Grass-type damage.
2. At roughly Turn 4, Terastallize into a Grass-type and use Terrain Pulse to deal great super effective damage to Water Pikachu. If your health gets low, use Giga Drain to both deal damage and heal, but the Terrain Pulse and Grassy Terrain combo will be your main damage dealer.

If followed correctly, Water Pikachu shouldn't be capable of dealing much damage and Arboliva can take this Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raid boss down with plenty of time left on the raid timer.