Following Blaziken, instead of another Gen 3 starter we start on Gen 4 with another bird. This is pretty familiar territory after the Iron Bundle at least.
Blissey will return on the 2nd run like Blaziken.
7-star Tera Ice Empoleon raid event (February 2-4/9-11)
- Thread starter doipy hooves
- Start date
Following Blaziken, instead of another Gen 3 starter we start on Gen 4 with another bird. This is pretty familiar territory after the Iron Bundle at least.
Blissey will return on the 2nd run like Blaziken.
This one could be tricky for a solo, all the Intimidates will just start powering up Competitive a lot.
Could be a tricky raid in general, Empoleon's got quite the movepool.
also for fun I've put together a graphic of the starters we still have to go. I put the gen 9 starters there just in case; I could see them being saved for the end of SV's support or something.
Could be a tricky raid in general, Empoleon's got quite the movepool.
also for fun I've put together a graphic of the starters we still have to go. I put the gen 9 starters there just in case; I could see them being saved for the end of SV's support or something.
Soloing Empoleon is going to be extremely challenging. Every single Intimidate, Charm, Leer or Scary Face will result in a Competitive boost. Only 7 out of 18 AI partners do not have a stat debuffing move. And some of those 7 could still activate Competitive through a 10% unlucky secondary effect proc.
This looks like the scariest to me since Mewtwo. I won't theorize yet given the abundance of options, but outch.
Maybe Scovillain can remove the ability with Worry Seed, Debuff the defense with Spicy Extract then sweep with Temper Flare? That requires a couple of ifs
Maybe Scovillain can remove the ability with Worry Seed, Debuff the defense with Spicy Extract then sweep with Temper Flare? That requires a couple of ifs
Went through the movepool to try and pick out notable moves it could bring
Special Moves:
Special Moves:
- Ice Beam
- Flash Cannon
- Hydro Pump/Surf/Water Pledge
- Vacuum Wave
- Air Slash
- Blizzard - probably a "hit everyone at this %/Time" move
- Swords Dance if it wants to go Mixed
- Swagger, the most effective disruption especially if you want to bring Fighting types or something
- Mist. Probably won't happen since it'd get in the way of Competitive, but worth keeping in mind for maybe a 50% type thing?
- Snowscape! To get that defense boost.
- Rain Dance. I don't see this as likely, but it would boost the water moves and get rid of the fire weakness.
- Agility. It also has Scary Face but that opens it up to Mirror Armor AI abuse
- Metal Sound, because obviously Competitive is just not enough.
- Wave Crash!! Very scary, especially if it decides to set up rain.
- Drill Peck
- Ice Spinner
- Shadow Claw
- Brick Break
- Throat Chop
- Earthquake
Standard support debuff options do seem to be a bad bet for this. I can imagine it would use Snowscape, so a weather setter would be useful. Probably Sandstorm or Sun would be best as Rain would just make its water moves stronger. Clear Smog would be useful for those team mates, and Life Dew and Light Screen seem good as well.
Edit: Please for a hit everyone move have it be Icy Wind. Blizzard sounds nasty to deal with, especially on an unlucky freeze.
Edit: Please for a hit everyone move have it be Icy Wind. Blizzard sounds nasty to deal with, especially on an unlucky freeze.
Mew @ Shell Bell
Ability: Synchronize
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 SpD
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Skill Swap
- Acid Spray
- Aura Sphere
- Nasty Plot / Struggle Bug
Skill Swap to remove and steal Competitive. Not only can you debuff the boss now with no repercussions, but since Mew now has Competitive, it can get +2 in SpA alongside the Acid Sprays if the boss has debuff moves of its own. Fun fact, if Empoleon has Icy Wind and the boss is neutral nature, 0 Speed Mew hits 157 Speed at -1, just one point faster than Empoleon's 156.
Slowking-Galar @ Light Clay
Ability: Regenerator
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Skill Swap
- Acid Spray
- Light Screen
- Sunny Day
Bulkier support version of the above Mew set.
So realistically speaking, is there ever a reason you don't want a Water type here.
Resists all 3 "stabs", so that on its own is a plus.
If you want to get spicy, Empoleon itself sounds like a potential hardcounter to Empoleon, as funny as it sounds. Resists all 3 stabs (in fact, quad resists two), may need to worry of a potential Vacuum Wave... let's be real that does no damage.
Empoleon @ Leftovers / Covert Cloak / Shell Bell / honestly whatever
Ability: Competitive
Tera Type: Water / Stellar
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Roost
- Aqua Ring
You also have various support options like Haze to clear buffs, Steel Beam for big chonky nuke since you have metric craptons of recovery, Helping Hand if you want a support set, even Body Slam if you want to fish for paras.
Cannot provide Skill Swap but you can have some random Slowking or Blissey do that.
If you want another funny dmg + support options, look no further than lord and savior Bronzong
Bronzong @ Aguav Berry
Ability: Levitate / Heavy Metal
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
- Iron Head
- Metal Sound
- Skill Swap
- Recycle
You can also run lefties instead of Recycle, you have multiple options for moveset like IDBP (if the mon for whatever reason is phisical), plus a plethora of supportive options I'm not going to list since Bronzong is your standard psychic type with screens and debuffs.
Resists all 3 "stabs", so that on its own is a plus.
If you want to get spicy, Empoleon itself sounds like a potential hardcounter to Empoleon, as funny as it sounds. Resists all 3 stabs (in fact, quad resists two), may need to worry of a potential Vacuum Wave... let's be real that does no damage.
Empoleon @ Leftovers / Covert Cloak / Shell Bell / honestly whateverAbility: Competitive
Tera Type: Water / Stellar
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Roost
- Aqua Ring
You also have various support options like Haze to clear buffs, Steel Beam for big chonky nuke since you have metric craptons of recovery, Helping Hand if you want a support set, even Body Slam if you want to fish for paras.
Cannot provide Skill Swap but you can have some random Slowking or Blissey do that.
If you want another funny dmg + support options, look no further than lord and savior Bronzong
Bronzong @ Aguav BerryAbility: Levitate / Heavy Metal
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD
- Iron Head
- Metal Sound
- Skill Swap
- Recycle
You can also run lefties instead of Recycle, you have multiple options for moveset like IDBP (if the mon for whatever reason is phisical), plus a plethora of supportive options I'm not going to list since Bronzong is your standard psychic type with screens and debuffs.
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Empoleon does NOT get Calm Mind, and it doesn’t double-resist Water, just regular. Steel doesn’t resist Water, but Water resists Steel. I also wouldn’t rely on Flash Cannon unless you know for sure you’ll have Skill Swap / Worry Seed / Gastro Acid support since it can drop SpDef and activate Competitive.So realistically speaking, is there ever a reason you don't want a Water type here.
Resists all 3 "stabs", so that on its own is a plus.
If you want to get spicy, Empoleon itself sounds like a potential hardcounter to Empoleon, as funny as it sounds. Resists all 3 stabs (in fact, quad resists all three), may need to worry of a potential Vacuum Wave... let's be real that does no damage.
Ability: Competitive
Tera Type: Water / Stellar
EVs: 248 HP / 252 SpA / 8 Spe
Modest Nature
- Flash Cannon
- Calm Mind
- Roost
- Aqua Ring
You also have various support options like Haze to clear buffs, Steel Beam for big chonky nuke since you have metric craptons of recovery, Helping Hand if you want a support set, even Body Slam if you want to fish for paras.
Cannot provide Skill Swap but you can have some random Slowking or Blissey do that.
You could try a physical Empoleon since it gets Swords Dance. 86 Atk is lame but the typing matches super well into boss Empoleon. Also not as reliant on Skill Swap support and hits Empoleon on the weaker Defense stat (unless it sets Snow, so you might want a weather setter or something)
Empoleon @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Torrent
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Roost
- Tera Blast
- Metal Claw
Getting rid of Competitive seems really important for solo play, or Empoleon could very easily scale out of control. We don't really have any suitable Unaware users either, since Quagsire and Dondozo both get smacked by Grass Knot, and everything else is weak to one of Water, Steel, or Ice (or more than one).
In other news, my deep dives into the Paldean Pokedex once again reveal some very weird-shaped fruit.
Grumpig @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 76 HP / 184 SpA / 248 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Simple Beam
- Calm Mind
- Snarl
- Stored Power
This set probably has to take an early death, especially if Empoleon ends up with a Competitive boost somehow, but the combination of Simple Beam and Snarl is just too cute to pass up. The HP hits a Leftovers number and I took a point out of Special Defense because it doesn't change the Hydro Pump calc (I am greedy). If you can successfully get Empoleon to -6 and then click a single Calm Mind, only one Hydro Pump damage roll out of 16 can even out-heal Leftovers, and since you're using both Snarl and Calm Mind to reduce its damage, you should be relatively safe from the wipes. Thick Fat should have it clicking Hydro Pump instead of Blizzard, which has a miss chance, or potentially a weaker Water move or Flash Cannon, which is also good for Grumpig. Skill Swap / Amnesia / Nasty Plot / Stored Power is an option too.
In the event of a turn 0 Icy Wind, Grumpig can run 160 EVs in Speed to remain faster than Empoleon.
Swalot @ Shell Bell
Ability: Sticky Hold
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 212 SpA / 252 SpD / 44 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Gastro Acid
- Amnesia
- Acid Spray
- Tera Blast
Galarian Slowking does this better, but Galarian Slowking isn't in the Paldea dex, and probably smells funny. Amnesia + Acid Spray is kind of like clicking six Calm Minds, except you actually spend your time fighting Empoleon instead of clicking a setup move, so it's a bit more engaging. Tera Steel gives you an Ice resist so you don't have to lose as much time to the Tera flair animation. The Speed EVs outrun Empoleon.
Slowking-Galar @ Shell Bell
Ability: Own Tempo
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 16 SpA / 248 SpD / 244 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Acid Spray
- Amnesia
- Skill Swap
- Tera Blast
Own Tempo is a fine ability to give to Empoleon. You don't want Curious Medicine because it will wipe your allies' stat boosts if you happen to faint (or they're using Zacian for some reason). Once again, the Speed EVs outrun Empoleon.
Blissey @ Metal Coat
Ability: Healer
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 SpA / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tera Blast
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled / Life Dew
- Skill Swap
blob.
The nightmare scenario is Empoleon has a turn 1 shield and all of these anti-ability strategies don't work, but I don't think that one's happening.
In other news, my deep dives into the Paldean Pokedex once again reveal some very weird-shaped fruit.
Grumpig @ Leftovers
Ability: Thick Fat
Tera Type: Psychic
EVs: 76 HP / 184 SpA / 248 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Simple Beam
- Calm Mind
- Snarl
- Stored Power
This set probably has to take an early death, especially if Empoleon ends up with a Competitive boost somehow, but the combination of Simple Beam and Snarl is just too cute to pass up. The HP hits a Leftovers number and I took a point out of Special Defense because it doesn't change the Hydro Pump calc (I am greedy). If you can successfully get Empoleon to -6 and then click a single Calm Mind, only one Hydro Pump damage roll out of 16 can even out-heal Leftovers, and since you're using both Snarl and Calm Mind to reduce its damage, you should be relatively safe from the wipes. Thick Fat should have it clicking Hydro Pump instead of Blizzard, which has a miss chance, or potentially a weaker Water move or Flash Cannon, which is also good for Grumpig. Skill Swap / Amnesia / Nasty Plot / Stored Power is an option too.
In the event of a turn 0 Icy Wind, Grumpig can run 160 EVs in Speed to remain faster than Empoleon.
Swalot @ Shell Bell
Ability: Sticky Hold
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 212 SpA / 252 SpD / 44 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Gastro Acid
- Amnesia
- Acid Spray
- Tera Blast
Galarian Slowking does this better, but Galarian Slowking isn't in the Paldea dex, and probably smells funny. Amnesia + Acid Spray is kind of like clicking six Calm Minds, except you actually spend your time fighting Empoleon instead of clicking a setup move, so it's a bit more engaging. Tera Steel gives you an Ice resist so you don't have to lose as much time to the Tera flair animation. The Speed EVs outrun Empoleon.
Slowking-Galar @ Shell Bell
Ability: Own Tempo
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 16 SpA / 248 SpD / 244 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Acid Spray
- Amnesia
- Skill Swap
- Tera Blast
Own Tempo is a fine ability to give to Empoleon. You don't want Curious Medicine because it will wipe your allies' stat boosts if you happen to faint (or they're using Zacian for some reason). Once again, the Speed EVs outrun Empoleon.
Blissey @ Metal Coat
Ability: Healer
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 SpA / 212 SpD / 44 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Tera Blast
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled / Life Dew
- Skill Swap
blob.
The nightmare scenario is Empoleon has a turn 1 shield and all of these anti-ability strategies don't work, but I don't think that one's happening.
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Kingambit @ Shell Bell
Ability: Defiant
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 172 SpD / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Sandstorm
- Torment / Thunder Wave / Taunt
I chose Kingambit because it's able to resist Empoleon's Ice, Grass and Steel moves, whilst having the bulk to deal with Empoleon's neutral attacks. Swords Dance + Iron Head is explanatory, as its high attack will deal huge damage to the penguin.
The reason I chose it is because of Sandstorm. It's likely that Empoleon would set up Rain Dance to increase its water moves, or Snowscape to increase its defense. With Sandstorm, it will nullify Empoleon's indirect buffs, whilst dealing indirect damage. Torment may be used to force Empoleon to use resisted moves. Taunt could also be used to stop Empoleon from buffing itself through Agility or Iron Defense.
Defiant would help Kingambit, as any attempts for Empoleon to debuff the opponent through Metal Sound or the attack drops would boost Kingambit instead.
The EVS invested are necessary to outspeed Neutral Empoleon, whilst giving it as much needed bulk to take on Empoleon.
Hariyama @ Punching Glove
Ability: Thick Fat
Tera Type: Fighting
EVs: 252 Atk / 172 SpD / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Belly Drum
- Drain Punch
- Sunny Day
- Fake Out
This set is similar to the one I used in the Iron Bundle Raid, except this Hariyama set is invested in Speed to outpace Empoleon. Thick Fat will weaken Empoleon's Ice moves.
The strategy would be to use Fake Out, then use Sunny Day to weaken Empoleon's STAB water moves and get rid of its indirect buffs from Snow. Then, use Belly Drum and heal with Drain Punch.
If there are any questions regarding these sets, please let me know.
Polteageist @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Weak Armor
Tera Type: Water
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Skill Swap
- Light Screen
- Aromatic Mist
- Foul Play
The support Polteageist from the Inteleon raid makes a comeback. Skill Swapping Weak Armor on Empoleon allows your physically attacking allies to go wild. Naturally Light Screen and Aromatic Mist allow for you to boost up your team's Special Defense on top of that.
The last slot is filler. You can opt for Foul Play to contribute to Weak Armor, but you can also use Strength Sap or Rest for recovery. Of course, you can also focus on being a cheer bot in the late part of the raid.
Good partners include the likes of Iron Hands, Annihilape and other physical attackers.
Ooooooops i must have fatfingered on it while going through the calculator. Fixed it
I have thought of Polteageist myself as I have a shiny one I use for the Skill Swap cheese, however I am worried that it won't be able to facetank hits hard enough.....
...then I realized that like Gallade, Polteageist has an actually surprisingly high special bulk. Definitely worth considering.
That said I still think that assuming you have someone else doing Skill Swap (which realistically, you should online) Empoleon is still the safest damage option due to just matching super well into any move the boss can have except maybe some arbitrary ground or phisical coverage.
Also useless to say but if the boss does not have Grass Knot, Quagsire / Gastrodon stonks go up
Umbreon seems like a safe support option with Skill Swap, Snarl and Mud Slap
Tera raid bosses can’t be flinched, so Fake Out is useless here.
Perrserker @ Shell Bell
Ability: Steely Spirit
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 Atk / 172 SpD / 84 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sunny Day / Screech
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Amnesia / Screech
I can see Steel Cat working pretty well as an offensive support. Steely Spirit boosts the power of allied Steel moves along with its own, and it has Sunny Day and Amnesia to weaken the boss’s moves (Amnesia is a bit selfish tbf but it’s not like Perrserker has much else), as well as bring its Defense back to +0 if it sets Snow. Screech is slashed in the event someone can remove Competitive.
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I don't know why I always seem to be bringing up this mon for raids, because it's super mid in terms of power, and it's not even a favorite pokemon of mine lol. But, it's got a unique kit and I've got a couple of different ones in my box, so for 7* Empoleon I'll probably experiment with a variation of this guy:
Golduck @ Lefties / Light Clay / etc
Tera Type: Water / Stellar / Fighting
Ability: Cloud Nine
Careful Nature
- Clear Smog / Simple Beam
- Light Screen / Amnesia
- Screech
- Cross Chop / Low Kick
I think dealing with Competitive is going to be a top priority in both solo and random online play. In both raid metas it will be impossible to prevent an NPC or a random idiot noob from trying to debuff the boss -- and Competitive boosts will get this raid out of control fast when that happens. We've seen it time and again in raids that when the boss gets its attacking stat boosted, it's nearly impossible to win.
Golduck has two rare and super-valuable weapons in its arsenal to help with this. Golduck is one of the very few types that resists Empoleon's three STABs and gets Clear Smog, and I think it will be useful here. Also it gets Simple Beam as an egg move, and by virtue of Latios being available now from Snacksworth, you no longer need to go through the hassle of transferring anything from Gen 8 to teach it to Golduck. If Empoleon doesn't get a boosting move (God help us if it has Competitive and boosting moves) then Simple Beam could be huge in turning a big problem (players debuffing the boss) into a big wincon.
Golduck's Cloud Nine will be nice to deal with presumed weather-setting by Empoleon, whether it be Snow (that's my bet) or Rain.
Maybe Amnesia for survival, but probably Light Screen for overall team support, yada yada.
Since physical attackers will likely be preferred, Screech could be a big help, depending on the timing of the shield and whether Competitive has been removed or not.
I'm penciling in some Fighting moves to potentially help with damage, and depending on non-STAB coverage (Grass sure seems likely, although maybe not a regular moveslot) maybe even Tera Fighting to make Golduck neutral to all attacks. Otherwise, I'd prolly go with Tera Stellar if I want to optimize, and if I feel like burning Stellar shards for one raid lol
Golduck @ Lefties / Light Clay / etc
Tera Type: Water / Stellar / Fighting
Ability: Cloud Nine
Careful Nature
- Clear Smog / Simple Beam
- Light Screen / Amnesia
- Screech
- Cross Chop / Low Kick
I think dealing with Competitive is going to be a top priority in both solo and random online play. In both raid metas it will be impossible to prevent an NPC or a random idiot noob from trying to debuff the boss -- and Competitive boosts will get this raid out of control fast when that happens. We've seen it time and again in raids that when the boss gets its attacking stat boosted, it's nearly impossible to win.
Golduck has two rare and super-valuable weapons in its arsenal to help with this. Golduck is one of the very few types that resists Empoleon's three STABs and gets Clear Smog, and I think it will be useful here. Also it gets Simple Beam as an egg move, and by virtue of Latios being available now from Snacksworth, you no longer need to go through the hassle of transferring anything from Gen 8 to teach it to Golduck. If Empoleon doesn't get a boosting move (God help us if it has Competitive and boosting moves) then Simple Beam could be huge in turning a big problem (players debuffing the boss) into a big wincon.
Golduck's Cloud Nine will be nice to deal with presumed weather-setting by Empoleon, whether it be Snow (that's my bet) or Rain.
Maybe Amnesia for survival, but probably Light Screen for overall team support, yada yada.
Since physical attackers will likely be preferred, Screech could be a big help, depending on the timing of the shield and whether Competitive has been removed or not.
I'm penciling in some Fighting moves to potentially help with damage, and depending on non-STAB coverage (Grass sure seems likely, although maybe not a regular moveslot) maybe even Tera Fighting to make Golduck neutral to all attacks. Otherwise, I'd prolly go with Tera Stellar if I want to optimize, and if I feel like burning Stellar shards for one raid lol
I am genuinely surprised no one has mentioned this yet
Volcanion @ Leftovers/Clear Amulet/Ability Shield
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk (in case of Swagger but minor consideration)
Tera Type: Fire
Modest Nature
- Sunny Day
- Flamethrower
- Weather Ball
- Substitute/Haze/Mist
This will probably depend on what shenanigans it pulls as a Raid boss, but Volcanion has a 4x resist/Immunity to every Special move mentioned here except Air Slash, assuming that's what Empoleon will focus on or be a concern for because of Competitive, and thanks to Water Absorb can Tera Fire and retain that Immunity + 2x Resistance when it wants to get damage rolling. Volcanion needs no investment to outspeed 0+ Speed Empoleon, and Sunny Day pulls double duty weakening Water attacks on others while powering up its Same-STAB Tera DPS.
4th Move and Item choice is down to preference or partners. Leftovers ensures some recovery to avoid a Faint even from Attrition, and to stay healthy if using Substitute or for the Ability Wipe turn. Shield serves a similar purpose and is probably even more significant if Competitive stays on to ensure you don't take a +6 Hydro Pump the one turn it can hurt you. Clear Amulet, Haze, and Mist are all different flavors of mitigating stat shenanigans like Metal Sound or Icy Wind, while Substitute is a way to have a 1-turn buffer against the Buff-Wipe turn if using Leftovers or such.
Main shortcoming is lack of further debuff options or boosting, but it makes a good Solid attacker to use if others are bringing the Support stuff like Acid Spray Hoodra or the next thing I post, it's a good beatstick that won't take much maintenance to keep alive.
Tentacruel @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
Tera Type: Water
Calm Nature
- Acid Spray
- Screech
- Aqua Ring
- Surf
More straight forward assuming someone deals with Competitive. Aqua Ring to Regen, debuff the relevant Stat for partners/until Tera, and then Chip with Tera Water Surf if contributing your own damage.
My hot take before the fight drops is that a set using ability neutralization moves will probably still require the same amount of initial AI resetting as one without them, because either way you mainly want to avoid the 3 Intimidate NPCs from boosting it T0, unless you have Neutralizing Gas. This arguably applies to online too but usually the bad players aren't the ones racing to set up debuffs and sets can afford to be full support there.
Overall I'm pretty fine with most of the AI options too. Toxapex has 2 stronger attacking moves it usually prefers, Arboliva is just 10%s, Bellibolt can set Light Screen and possibly para if it doesn't go for Mud Shots, Dudunsparce is safe, Drifblim is a 10% off Shadow Ball, Umbreon is a 10% off Psychic, Gardevoir is safe, Corviknight is more likely to hit SE Iron Head than Scary Face, Sylveon is probably bad, Heracross is safe, Garganacl is kind of a toss up with Rock Tomb and other strong SE options, Mudsdale has 50% Rock Smash but will probably use up its stronger move PP first, Weavile is a toss up on if it will Leer or attack neutrally, Haxorus is unlikely to Scary Face when it's faster and will probably die to the ice move, and Clodsire is safe. We'll see how these predictions age in practice.
Overall I'm pretty fine with most of the AI options too. Toxapex has 2 stronger attacking moves it usually prefers, Arboliva is just 10%s, Bellibolt can set Light Screen and possibly para if it doesn't go for Mud Shots, Dudunsparce is safe, Drifblim is a 10% off Shadow Ball, Umbreon is a 10% off Psychic, Gardevoir is safe, Corviknight is more likely to hit SE Iron Head than Scary Face, Sylveon is probably bad, Heracross is safe, Garganacl is kind of a toss up with Rock Tomb and other strong SE options, Mudsdale has 50% Rock Smash but will probably use up its stronger move PP first, Weavile is a toss up on if it will Leer or attack neutrally, Haxorus is unlikely to Scary Face when it's faster and will probably die to the ice move, and Clodsire is safe. We'll see how these predictions age in practice.
No one’s mentioning it likely because not a lot of people have a Volcanion. I don’tI am genuinely surprised no one has mentioned this yet
Volcanion @ Leftovers/Clear Amulet/Ability Shield
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
IVs: 0 Atk (in case of Swagger but minor consideration)
Tera Type: Fire
Modest Nature
- Sunny Day
- Flamethrower
- Weather Ball
- Substitute/Haze/Mist
That’s not a hot take tbh. That’s just the reality of the situation regardless if you’re playing solo or not. We need the debuff moves to make fast progress, so ability nulling will be a necessity.
Weezing @ Shell Bell / Sitrus Berry
Ability: Neutralizing Gas
Tera Type: Stellar / Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Acid Spray
- Sunny Day
- Flamethrower / Tera Blast
- Taunt / Stockpile
Could be bad online alongside Pokemon that NEED their abilities, but Neutralizing Gas Weezing could be the solo solution, nulling the boss’s ability before Intimidates can even go off. Tera Stellar Flamethrower in Sun hurts like hell even without investment, while Tera Steel with Tera Blast gives you a better defensive typing vs Steel and Ice-type moves, while Sun nerfs Water. 4 Speed lets you outpace Empoleon.
Ceruledge gets one shot by Hydro Pump.
Empoleon Hydro Pump vs max SpDef Ceruledge in the Sun does like 30%
Swords Danced Ceruledge Bitter Blade in the Sun vs Tera Ice Empoleon does a boatload and recovers HP
I’m not saying Ceruledge is gonna be a good play in this raid, but your quip that seems to imply it’s gonna be one-shot fodder is just not true.
That assumes it'll get the Sun off before Empoleon attacks. If it doesn't, it won't matter because a Hydro Pump in no weather and then a Sun weakened one still kills a max Sp. Def Ceruledge. And if Empoleon sets the rain turn 0, Ceruledge just dies. Same if Empoleon crits immediately.
Ceruledge has to set the sun first, then try and set up. And even under the sun, if it gets even a single Competitive boost Ceruledge just gets two shot even under sun.
Unless you get a real person who can remove Competitive you won't have time to set up. Because you can't remove it with solo Ceruledge and none of the CPUs can either.
Like I explicitly said — I’m not saying Ceruledge is gonna be a good play in this raid. And I said that because I’m not sure Ceruledge will be able to do all it needs to do in enough time in order to sustain. And yeah, there’s other stuff that might be in this raid that makes Ceruledge a really bad play. But the set that McGrrr posted pretty clearly took a big special water attack into account, and isn’t just insta-dead because of something like Hydro Pump by itself. We’re all theorymonning right now on what may or may not be viable, and Ceruledge could turn out to be viable.
I've used Ceruledge in enough Tera Raids to know what it can do. It's zero effort and ready to go as my first solo attempt at Empoleon. If Ceruledge is faster, then I have very decent odds to not need a second/third attempt. If e.g. Empoleon uses Agility before turn 1, I'll consider other options. Clear Smog is obviously there to counter Competitive/Agility/Swords Dance, so I don't understand why you've reacted so strongly in your replies to my suggestion. FWIW +2 BB in Sun might be a necessary brute force without trying to setup +6.
Ceruledge @ Charcoal
Ability: Flash Fire
Tera Type: Fire
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Bitter Blade
- Clear Smog
- Sunny Day
- Swords Dance