The Cinderace Tera Raids have arrived in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. However, as players discovered ways to defeat this tough, seven-star challenge, strategies revolving around the Water/Psychic Pokemon called Slowbro began to emerge as the go-to method of defeating Cinderace. The strategies with Slowbro took off, and many Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players took to Reddit to post their success stories as well as which builds they used for their Slowbro to claim victory over Cinderace the Unrivaled.
As one of the original 151 Pokemon, Slowbro is the Hermit Crab Pokemon that evolves from Slowpoke starting at level 37. In the past, Slowbro had a mega evolution in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, as well as a regional variant in Pokemon Sword and Shield: Isle of Armor. Compared to its evolutionary counterpart of Slowking, which is focused more on offense, Slowbro is considered one of the best tanks in the Pokemon series. With high defense, special defense, and HP, Slowbro is often used to stall out opponents and bolster their stats via moves such as Curse, Iron Defense, and Amnesia. It can then use moves such as Stored Power to take advantage of the stat changes.
One of these stat-bolstering builds was the crux behind many posts on the r/pokemon subreddit concerning the Cinderace raids. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players quickly realized that this would not be an Azumarill sweep for Cinderace, since Bulk Up and Iron Head would take out most Fairy-type Pokemon in one or two hits. With Cinderace the Unrivaled being a Tera-Fighting Pokemon, this made it vulnerable to Psychic, Flying, and Ghost attacks. This is where Slowbro came into the fray, as players discovered that having high defenses and HP, along with moves to offset Cinderace's kit, were the key to victory.
However, there are multiple ways that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players could customize their Slowbro for taking on the Cinderace Tera Raid. A suitable defense stat is required to endure Cinderace's onslaught after it uses Bulk Up at the start of the battle. One of the most common builds utilizes a Slowbro with a Modest nature, a Tera-Psychic type, and some Hyper Training in Special Attack and HP to complement its high defenses. With stat-buffing moves like the ones listed before, and other moves such as Psychic Terrain, Rain Dance, Psychic, and Chilled Water as alternatives, Slowbro can endure most of Cinderace's attacks and counter with super-effective Psychic attacks.
As for items, Slowbro can hold items such as the Shell Bell, Leftovers, or the Terrain Extender depending on the build. Between passive healing, extending Psychic Terrain, or bolstering Slowbro's stats, there are several ways to make a Slowbro build. Players that miss a chance to get Cinderace this weekend will have another opportunity in two weeks. Whether Cinderace returns to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet afterward as a Tera Raid boss remains to be seen.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
