Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: How to Beat 7-Star Water Pikachu

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet announced four seasonal events to beat the heat! Currently, the Pikachu and Friends event is active until Thursday, July 25, 2024 at 4:59pm PDT. Players can challenge a special Water-Tera Type Pikachu with the Mightiest Mark while hunting Pikachu, Raichu, Alolan Raichu, Pichu, and Mimikyu in special Mass Outbreaks across Paldea, Kitakami, and Blueberry Academy.

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Like past 7-Star Tera Raid events, this Pikachu can only be caught once per save file. The event crystal will only spawn in Paldea, so you don’t need the DLC to participate. However, having access to the DLC Pokémon will make this raid easier. Plus, Alolan Raichu will only spawn in Blueberry Academy during the event period.

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Summary

Tera Type – Water

With a Water Tera Type, Pikachu is no longer weak to Ground-type moves. However, Pikachu has the Lightning Rod ability, making it immune to Electric-type moves. Grass-type is the way to go for this one!

Unlike many previous 7-Star raids, Pikachu will immediately generate a Tera Raid Shield that covers its full HP, use Rain Dance, and then hit all participants with Surf. After this devastating Turn 0, Pikachu will follow the usual Tera Raid schedule.

Nature – Quiet

Pikachu will have a Quiet nature. This nature boosts a Pokémon’s Sp. Atk at the expense of its Speed. Even with the Speed disadvantage, most Pokémon will not out-Speed Pikachu.

Ability – Lightning Rod

This Ability completely removes the Electric weakness that Water Pikachu would have had. Lightning Rod is Pikachu’s Hidden Ability and shares that status with Plusle, Pichu, and Raichu.

Lightning Rod allows the Pokémon to absorb Electric-type moves and boost its Sp. Atk by one stage. Avoid using Electric-type Pokémon or pairing with NPCs that use Electric-type attacks.

Held Item – Light Ball

The Light Ball is a special item made for Pikachu! When held by a Pikachu, it doubles Attack and Sp. Atk. For any other Pokémon, it may as well be a stress ball. In Scarlet & Violet, wild Pikachus have a 5% chance of holding one!

Moves

Pikachu will start the encounter with a one-two punch of Rain Dance and Surf. Rain Dance will increase the power of Surf, so make sure that your Pokémon either has high Sp. Def or a way to restore HP. 

Name	Type	Category	Description
Surf	Water	Special	The user attacks everything around it by swamping its surroundings with a giant wave.
Thunder	Electric	Special	A wicked thunderbolt is dropped on the target to inflict damage. This may also leave the target with paralysis.
Play Rough	Fairy	Physical	The user attacks by playing rough with the target. This may also lower the target’s Attack stat.
Iron Tail	Steel	Physical	The target is slammed with a steel-hard tail. This may also lower the target’s Defense stat.
Rain Dance	Water	Status	The user summons a heavy rain that falls for five turns, powering up Water-type attacks. The rain also lowers the power of Fire-type attacks.

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Best Counter Strategies

Many factors contribute to making this Pikachu particularly formidable. However, most of these factors can be undone, ultimately giving you the advantage.

First, your only choice for this raid should be using a Grass-type Pokémon. Aside from Surf, Pikachu’s entire moveset will deal normal damage.

Second, you can either change the weather or remove the Light Ball. If you decide to use Sunny Day, bring a Pokémon that can learn Synthesis – this will effectively take care of HP restoration. If you want to get rid of Pikachu’s Light Ball, using Knock Off is the most effective option.

Finally, focus on increasing your stats instead of lowering Pikachu’s. The Tera Raid Shield gives Pikachu full immunity to status moves, so moves like Screech or Charm will not work.

Pokémon	Tera Type	Nature	Ability	Held Item	Moveset
Arboliva	Grass	Modest	Seed Sower Turns the ground into Grassy Terrain when the Pokémon is hit by an attack.	Covert Cloak / Big Root	Sunny Day Giga Drain Energy Ball Terrain Pulse
Lurantis	Grass	Modest	Contrary Reverses any stat changes affecting the Pokémon so that attempts to boost its stats instead lower them – and attempts to lower its stats will boost them.	Covert Cloak	Sunny Day Synthesis Grassy Terrain Leaf Storm
Leafeon	Grass	Adamant	Leaf Guard Prevents status conditions in harsh sunlight.	Heat Rock	Sunny Day Synthesis Swords Dance Leaf Blade
Meowscarada	Grass	Adamant	Overgrow Powers up Grass-type moves when the Pokémon’s HP is low.	Grassy Seed / Shell Bell	Hone Claws Knock Off Grassy Terrain Flower Trick
Ogrepon (DLC)	Grass	Adamant	Defiant If the Pokémon has any stat lowered by an opposing Pokémon, its Attack stat will be boosted sharply.	Miracle Seed / Big Root	Swords Dance Horn Leech Ivy Cudgel Grassy Terrain / Knock Off

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