Though the next seven-star Tera raid battle is not running yet, that has not stopped some dedicated Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players from formulating potential strategies in advance. Several Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players have begun making preliminary choices for what could work against Greninja once the battle event begins.
Last night, news broke that the next seven-star raid event will feature Greninja, the Ninja Pokemon that first appeared in Pokemon X and Y for the Nintendo 3DS. Usually, a Water and Dark dual-type Pokemon, Greninja the Unrivaled will have Poison as its Tera-type when the raid event commences. Like Cinderace and Charizard before it, the Greninja raids will have two runs on two separate weekends. Greninja the Unrivaled will be at level 100, but its ability and move pool is inconclusive at the time of writing. Despite the lack of definitive answers, dedicated Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raiders have come up with four possible contenders to take down the Ninja Pokemon.
The next raid event in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet runs from January 27 to 29. It will have a second run two weeks later, from February 10 to 12. On the r/PokemonScarletViolet subreddit, a Reddit user named lorlor3737 posted an information graphic of four Pokemon that they believe could contend with Greninja the Unrivaled. They are Vaporeon, Clodsire, Gastrodon, and Quagsire, with three of these Pokemon having the Ground-type as their Tera-type, and Vaporeon was granted the Steel-type as a potential Tera-type. Two of these Pokemon would hold Soft Sand as an item and use Ground-type attacks such as Earthquake and Earth Power to take advantage of Greninja having the Poison-type as its Tera-type.
In the past, Greninja's stat distribution focused on attack, special attack, and speed, making it both a mixed sweeper and a glass cannon. With these suggested Pokemon each boasting strong defenses, and with three of them having the Water Absorb ability to counter Greninja's potential moves such as Water Shuriken, it may create an opening for coordinated raid teams to take advantage of.
However, prospective raiders will have to ensure that they have unlocked seven-star raid battles in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. After finishing the main story of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, players will need to win the Academy Ace Tournament, and host enough five-star Tera raid battles to receive a phone call in the game that confirms six-star raid battle dens have spawned on the world map. Once six-star raids are available, this automatically grants players access to host and participate in seven-star Tera raids when they are active.
Furthermore, if a Pokemon's Tera-type is not one of the types suited for a particular battle or team composition, players can change the Tera-type of their Pokemon by collecting 50 Tera Shards of a specific type and speaking to a chef in Medali to begin the process. Between that and some hyper training, trainers can have their Pokemon ready to go when Greninja the Unrivaled arrives next weekend.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
