Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Water Pikachu 7-star Tera Raid guide: Counters, weaknesses, and more

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's latest 7-star Tera Raid (July 11-25, 2024) features a Water Tera Type Pikachu for trainers to take down and capture. However, as a 7-star Tera Raid boss, this Electric Mouse Pokemon will be much tougher than its counterparts. Still, when considering the right counters and matchups, this boss should be easy to defeat, though a one-hit knockout doesn't appear to be possible.

This Pikachu holds the Mightiest Mark for a reason. However, with the right critters who have been well-EV-trained, leveled, and outfitted with moves, held items, natures, and more, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players should be able to beat this boss effectively.

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

Pikachu as it appears in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Pokedex (Image via The Pokemon Company)

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

As a Water Tera Type, this Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raid boss discards its weakness to Ground-type moves and gains a new set of weaknesses. Specifically, this Pikachu is weak to the following attack elements:

• Electric (Can't be used because of Lightning Rod)
• Grass

Meanwhile, as a Water Tera Type, this 7-star raid Pikachu will resist the following types and reduce damage from them:

• Fire
• Ice
• Steel
• Water

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Best counters to Water Pikachu in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raids

Arboliva can serve very well in this Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raid (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Due to this Pikachu's Lightning Rod ability, the counters that will perform the best are Grass-type Pokemon that can circumvent Lightning Rod while also resisting the boss' Water-type attacks like Surf. Fortunately, several options for counters fit this mold, including the picks below:

Pokemon	Ability	Tera Type	Nature	Moveset	Held Item	EV Points
Arboliva	Seed Sower	Grass	Modest	Giga Drain Energy Ball Sunny Day Terrain Pulse	Covert Cloak	252 Sp. Atk, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Def
Lurantis	Contrary	Grass	Modest	Leaf Storm Synthesis Sunny Day Solar Beam	Shell Bell	252 Sp. Atk, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Def
Lilligant	Leaf Guard	Grass	Modest	Quiver Dance Giga Drain Energy Ball Sunny Day	Shell Bell	252 Sp. Atk, 252 HP, 4 Sp. Def

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How to beat Water Pikachu in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raids

Arboliva's Terrain Pulse is a fantastic counter to Water Pikachu in Scarlet and Violet (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Below, trainers can find the tentative strategies to beat Water Pikachu raids with the loadouts listed above:

• Arboliva: On the first three turns, use Energy Ball to build Tera Orb charge. Arboliva's Seed Sower ability will naturally activate whenever Arboliva is hit, creating Grassy Terrain for five turns. Once you have enough charge, Terastallize and utilize Giga Drain and Terrain Pulse to deal damage, though the latter is preferred as Giga Drain is more vital for healing. Sunny Day is also added to the moveset to reduce the power of Pikachu's Surf move and negate its Rain Dance when necessary.
• Lilligant: On Turn 1, use Sunny Day to weaken Pikachu's Water-type moves and trigger Lilligant's Leaf Guard ability. For the next three turns, utilize Giga Drain to keep high HP and deal damage while building Tera Orb charge. By Turn 8, you should be able to Terastallize and use Energy Ball until Pikachu is defeated.
• Lurantis: On Turn 1, use Sunny Day to weaken Pikachu's Water-type moves and remove Rain Dance. This will also boost Synthesis' healing just in case. Use Leaf Storm until Pikachu has lost six stages of its Sp. Atk stat. Using Synthesis when healing is necessary until you can Terastallize. Then, do so and use Solar Beam to nuke the raid boss.

With these strategies, players should be able to keep their health high while dealing heavy Grass-type damage to Water Pikachu, creating effective strategies to farm this raid boss for its rewards.