Get ready to prep your Tera Raid Pokémon because it’s time for another 7-Star Tera Raid Battle Event! Pokémon Scarlet & Violet trainers will have a chance to catch a Bug Tera Samurott.
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Samurott is the final evolution of the Water starter, Oshawatt. Introduced in Generation V, Samurott has made an appearance in Pokémon Legends: Arceus and has a Hisuian form. Though we now have Hisuian Zorua in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, Hisuian Samurott won’t make an appearance for this raid.
Starting on Friday, March 31 at 12am UTC, Samurott will be available to battle until Sunday, April 2 at 11:59pm UTC.
| March 31 Starting Time | April 2 Ending Time |
| 7pm EDT | 6:59pm EDT |
| 8pm CDT | 7:59pm CDT |
| 9pm MDT | 8:59pm MDT |
| 10pm PDT | 9:59pm PDT |
Expected Moves & Ability
Water Move
Since Samurott’s base type is Water, it should have at least one Water-type move from its typical move set.
Samurott can learn Water Gun, Razor Shell, Water Pulse, Aqua Jet, Aqua Tail, and Hydro Pump by leveling up. Samurott has pretty even Attack and Sp. Atk stats, so it’s hard to predict if Samurott will have a Physical or Special Water move. Most likely, Samurott will have one of each. Expect for the Samurott to know Hydro Pump or Razor Shell.
Bug Move
As a Bug Tera, Samurott will have at least one Bug-type move. It can learn Megahorn and Fury Cutter by leveling up, and X-Scissor by TM. All three moves are Physical moves, though Fury Cutter has a much lower Power value. You can expect either Megahorn or X-Scissor.
Super Effective Move
Since the game developers like to make these Raid Battle Events difficult, they tend to counter the weaknesses to the new Tera Type. So we’ll start with the moves Samurott can legally learn that would be super effective against a type that Bug is weak to.
The main contenders are Fire, Flying, and Rock. Samurott’s Water move will take care of any Fire or Rock Pokémon, so that leaves us with Flying.
Through TMs, Samurott can learn Dark, Flying, Ground, Ice, Fighting, Steel, and Grass moves. Most likely, we can expect to see an Ice move, which will either be Ice Beam or Blizzard.
Status Move
Finally, Samurott will likely know a Status move, just to make our lives difficult. Usually, if a Pokémon can learn Sword Dance, the game will give it Sword Dance. Samurott can learn Sword Dance at Level 58. Expect Sword Dance.
Ability
Most likely, Bug Samurott will have the Shell Armor Hidden Ability. Normally, Samurott would have Torrent. But based on the previous 7-Star Raid events, the Raid Pokémon will have its Hidden Ability.
Shell Armor negates critical hits. This even applies to moves with guaranteed critical hits, such as Frost Breath. Essentially, Shell Armor guarantees that all moves you use against Samurott will never have a chance of landing a critical hit.
Best Pokémon to Use
Bug is weak to Fire, Flying, and Rock. But keep in mind that Water is super effective against Fire and Rock. In order to get the STAB effect, your Pokémon should consist of one of those types, but have another type that weakens the super effectiveness of Water.
Water is not very effective against Water, Grass, and Dragon-type Pokémon. Having one of these types should lower Samurott’s Water-type move to regular effectiveness. Since Ice isn’t a STAB move for Samurott, Dragon/Flying types will be considered.
Out of all the possible combinations of types, these are the Pokémon available in Scarlet & Violet that fit what we’re looking for:
| Pokémon | Type |
| Pelipper | Water/Flying |
| Drednaw | Water/Rock |
| Tropius | Grass/Flying |
| Gyarados | Water/Flying |
| Noivern | Flying/Dragon |
| Scovillain | Grass/Fire |
| Dragonite | Dragon/Flying |
| Altaria | Dragon/Flying |
| Salamence | Dragon/Flying |
But remember your Abilities! Pokémon with Water Absorb are not affected by Water-type moves. Instead, Water moves will restore the Pokémon’s HP. Vaporean and Clodsire may both possess this Ability.
Building Your Pokémon
If possible, make your Pokémon’s Tera Type Flying. This will give you the STAB effect when using a Flying move while preserving your Pokémon’s original STAB moves. For example, if you use Drednaw and Terastallize, Drednaw’s Water, Rock, and Flying moves will retain the normal STAB rate.
This is also where Tera Blast can come in handy. Drednaw can’t legally learn any Flying moves, so having it learn Tera Blast will fill that gap.
Do not use critical hit boosting moves or items. Shell Armor will completely negate these effects. Instead, focus on status moves and HP restoration.
If you choose to try being a support Trainer, make sure your Pokémon know the right moves. Reflect, Light Screen, and Wide Guard will help your team the most, especially if you’re joining random online battles. Since they’re not status-raising moves, they shouldn’t be affected by Samurott resetting your team’s stats.
Finally, equip an item to your Pokémon! Below are some suggestions for this Tera Raid Event.
Single-Use Items
| Item | Effect |
| Luminous Moss | Boosts Sp. Def if the holder is damaged by a Water-type move. |
| Absorb Bulb | Boosts Sp. Atk if the holder is damaged by a Water-type move. |
| Passho Berry | Halves damage taken from a super effective Water-type move. |
| Tanga Berry | Halves damage taken from a super effective Bug-type move. |
| Power Herb | Allows the holder to immediately use a move that normally requires a turn to charge. Includes moves like Fly and Dig. |
| Mirror Herb | Allows the holder to mirror an opponent’s stat increases to boost its own stats. |
Other Items
| Item | Effect |
| Charcoal | Boosts the power of Fire-type moves. |
| Sharp Beak | Boosts the power of Flying-type moves. |
| Hard Stone | Boosts the power of Rock-type moves. |
| Expert Belt | Boosts the damage of super effective moves. |
| Metronome | Boosts the power of a move used consecutively by the holder. Resets if the holder uses a different move and breaks the chain. |
| Muscle Band | Boosts the power of Physical moves. |
| Wise Glasses | Boosts the power of Special moves. |
| Clear Amulet | Protects holder from having its stats lowered by moves used against it or by other Pokémon’s Abilities. |
| Bright Powder | Lowers the accuracy of the opposing Pokémon’s moves. |
| Zoom Lens | Boosts holder’s accuracy when the holder acts after its target. |
| Wide Lens | Slightly boosts the accuracy of moves. |
| King’s Rock | May cause the target to flinch whenever the holder successfully inflicts damage. |
