Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has announced the next 7-Star Tera Raid Event will feature its iconic mascot Pikachu for trainers to battle and catch. This Pikachu will have the Water Tera Type and know the special move Surf, in reference to the classic Surfing Pikachu featured in both the Pokemon Anime and TCG. While this announcement may seem underwhelming compared to the previous 7-Star Tera Raid Event for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet that featured Greninja, there are other factors to point to this event being a precursor to something bigger coming on Pokemon Day.
The past iterations of these events have been an exciting way for players to get certain monsters otherwise unavailable in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, such as Charizard, Cinderace, and Greninja. However, Pikachu is already widely available within the Gen 9 games, and while it is the series' mascot, giving it Surf doesn't really add anything particularly special or useful to the critter outside of the small reference to Surfing Pikachu. While many fans were expecting something more exciting to coincide with the series' anniversary on February 27, the best may still be announced as part of the special Pokemon Presents showcase airing on the same day.
Signs Point Towards a Bigger Event Being Announced on Pokemon Day
Prior to the announcement of Pikachu being the spotlight creature for the 7-Star Tera Raid Event, many were speculating on other potential mons that could be featured during the event to match the likes of previously featured mons. The Hisuian Forms of the starters from Pokemon Legends: Arceus were a common suggestion given that their data is in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, but they are unavailable until Pokemon Home compatibility is added. Even Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo were frequently thrown around as potential raid bosses for the upcoming event.
While Pikachu is a fitting choice given the even overlap's with Pokemon's anniversary, it's a rather disappointing decision given the past mons that have been featured. However, this event is different from other 7-Star Tera Raid Events in that it doesn't end at midnight UTC like previous ones have. Instead, it ends an hour after the Pokemon Presents showcase airs on February 27, suggesting that perhaps Game Freak is saving the main event for reveal during this special presentation.
It's not clear what kind of event could be announced during this presentation, whether it is related to 7-Star Tera Raids or not, but there are a variety of things that could be announced that would warrant a special Tera Raid Event. The announcement of Pokemon Home compatibility would be a great opportunity to feature Hisuian mons in Tera Raid Battles, and Kalos DLC could warrant Xerneas, Yveltal, or Zygarde as featured mons as well. This is only speculation, but the timing of this event is too suspicious to just be coincidental and given the track record for announcements on Pokemon Day, it's not much of a stretch to believe another event could be in the works.
The Water Tera Type Pikachu 7-Star Tera Raid Event is likely more so filler than anything so that the pattern of consistent, monthly events isn't broken by delaying the event a week until after Pokemon Day. This way, players still can take part in a raid event in February while potentially having another big event right at the beginning of March as well. Hopefully this scenario is indeed the case, as it would be the best of both worlds for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet players eager to add new, unique monsters to their teams.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now for Nintendo Switch.
