January 12-14 - 7* Flying Blaziken

[Original Dragon Arkvelza]

So, in other words, the only mons that will actually benefit from Stellar in raids are Contrary mons. Ie Enamorus, Serperior, Malamar, and Lurantis. It is a very good thing Stellar Tera Blast finally gave Enamorus something to boost her SpA since, before, she was the only of these 4 who had no way to boost the higher offensive stat.

(Edit) Scratch that, I didn't know Lurantis lost Superpower.

 

[McGrrr]

I'm a basic bitch. MRW when I see a flying/water raid:

 

[Worldie]

Mud Slap's a Ground move.

Good point, I need to stop writing while having my brain off

So, in other words, the only mons that will actually benefit from Stellar in raids are Contrary mons

Not necessarly, depending on the raid, you may not want to give up your defensive type. Expecially supportive mons that don't really do much damage anyway can have Stellar tera to do a bit extra damage to the shields without having to become Poison, Water or whatever support move you're using.
A simple example were the Zapdos / Rotom mentioned earlier, if the boss has Earthquake or Scorching Sands you'd much rather keep the Electric/Flying typing than get that bit of extra damage.

Also some mons can be repurposed for many raids and having Stellar Tera simply saves you to change all the time. Mainly Arceus and Mew tbh, but heh, it's a thing.

 

[Nokocchi]

(Edit) Scratch that, I didn't know Lurantis lost Superpower.

They added it to Fomantis' Egg Move list in the Teal Mask update, so it got it back.

 

[Original Dragon Arkvelza]

Oh, I just realized something.


Shell Bell
Tera Stellar
252 Def / 252 Atk / 6 HP (If mixed, change Def to SpD)
Impish Nature

Temper Flare
Breaking Swipe
Burning Bulwark
Morning Sun

 

[Vinc2612]

The issue with Stellar tera in raid is that you don't get the tera modifier against shield so you're still doing reduced damage compared to regular one.
Basically it's like if you tera Steel but are using Electric attacks.

It's not necessarly relevant on every raid, but would be particulary troublesome on raids like idk Pikachu's or Eevees where you had a massive difference between 70% shield dmg if tera boosted and 30% if not tera boosted

Thanks for the rectification, it makes sense and I'll keep it in mind.

Oh, I just realized something.


Shell Bell
Tera Stellar
252 Def / 252 Atk / 6 HP (If mixed, change Def to SpD)
Impish Nature

Temper Flare
Breaking Swipe
Burning Bulwark
Morning Sun

I love that idea and hope it can work, although Bulwark might be unreliable if the coverage is Earthquake or Stone Edge (or if the fourth move is a boosting one). I'd also run Howl over something, not sure which move.

 

[Worldie]

Can you Manipulate Raid Boss items in anyway, actually?

I forgot to answer to this: yes you can knock them off iirc (Knocking off Pikachu's Light Ball was a thing I believe), but I don't think you can actually give them a item, otherwise Trick Flame/Toxic Orb, Ring Target and Iron Ball would have been more or less all over the place by now.

 

[Vengeance417]

Aight, lemme try this again.

Speed Boost? LMAO


Mew @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Synchronize
Tera Type: w/e
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def
Bold Nature
- Trick Room
- Charm
- Life Dew
- Attack-lowering move (Chilling Water, Lunge, etc) / Acid Spray / Helping Hand / Coaching

Depending on how t0 and Speed Boost interact, you can Charm t1 to neuter any potential t0 Swords Dance, otherwise Trick Room to then Charm next turn. Beyond that, Life Dew to heal your team, then your choice of an Attack-lowering move, Acid Spray, Helping Hand, etc for the last slot.

 

[Original Dragon Arkvelza]

How do you guys think Skill Swap Stored Power Kantonian Slowbro would do? Granted, he suffers heavily from 4mss since you'll have to get rid of something important if you want Slack Off, but of all the Skill Swap mons I can't think of any others that could prove effective.

 

[Worldie]

How do you guys think Skill Swap Stored Power Kantonian Slowbro would do? Granted, he suffers heavily from 4mss since you'll have to get rid of something important if you want Slack Off, but of all the Skill Swap mons I can't think of any others that could prove effective.

Well honestly you have a huge toolset, the problem is you can't exactly fit it all so you have to pick

Slowbro @ Leftovers / Rocky Helmet / Covert Cloak / healing Berry (pick what you prefer, i'd go Rocky Helmet honestly if you run Slack Off)
Ability: Regenerator (tbh any works but may as well give it a useless one)
Tera Type: Electric probably though may as well not tera at all
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Chilling Water
- Slack Off
- Skill Swap
- x

x can honestly be any of Iron Defense, Rain Dance, Trick Room, Heal Pulse, you can even opt to run Scald instead of Chilling water but considering there'll be a lot of paralysis spammer that doesn't seem a good plan.

 

[Chou Toshio]

Honestly I’m ready for another Decidueye— I kinda hope it’s an easy Miraidon one shot and farm machine. And it would be hilarious if arguably the strongest starter in history got soooo farmed.

 

[Worldie]

And it would be hilarious if arguably the strongest starter in history got soooo farmed.

Sir you may be mistaken this is not a Incineroar raid

 

[pika pal]

Sir you may be mistaken this is not a Incineroar raid

This is not VGC Doubles, good sir, he knows what he said.

That said we already fought Rillaboom

 

[Pax_Unda]

Theory-crafted a set for Iron Bundle, even if it's not an optimal pick:

Iron Bundle @ Leftovers / Shell Bell
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Water / Stellar
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA or 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Blizzard
- Snowscape
- Aurora Veil
- Chilling Water / Electric Terrain

Set options on the left are for a defensive build, while options on the right are for offensive builds.

For the defensive build, obviously sticking with Water/Ice is going to problematic in case of Fighting moves, but thankfully those trend physical and hopefully means any Close Combats won't be the end of the world given IB's good physical bulk. Snow will boost IB's defense even further for the pre-Tera phase and further again once Veil is set up (with the added benefit of helping the rest of the team and sticking around post-Tera). Chilling Water is there for attack control. Water Tera will remove the weakness to Fighting and give it a resistance to Fire. Unfortunately it can't run Icy Rock due to needing reliable recovery.

For the offensive build, bulk is de-prioritized in the EV spread, but still important. Everything regarding Snowscape and Veil is the same here. Electric Terrain boosts IB's SpA and also powers up any Bellibolts or Iron Hands in your party (and you may ask "why not just Miraidon at this point?" but I find it boring for how easily it could mulch this fight). Stellar is for the 1.5x boost to Blizzard (and thus more HP from Shell Bell) without opening up a new weakness to Fire.

 

[Chou Toshio]

Sir you may be mistaken this is not a Incineroar raid

FSG is the only true Pokémon history

 

[Worldie]

FSG is the only true Pokémon history

Ok, you win this time sir, but be careful, my revenge will be terrifying...

 

[Chou Toshio]

Theory-crafted a set for Iron Bundle, even if it's not an optimal pick:

Iron Bundle @ Leftovers / Shell Bell
Ability: Quark Drive
Tera Type: Water / Stellar
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA or 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Blizzard
- Snowscape
- Aurora Veil
- Chilling Water / Electric Terrain

Set options on the left are for a defensive build, while options on the right are for offensive builds.

For the defensive build, obviously sticking with Water/Ice is going to problematic in case of Fighting moves, but thankfully those trend physical and hopefully means any Close Combats won't be the end of the world given IB's good physical bulk. Snow will boost IB's defense even further for the pre-Tera phase and further again once Veil is set up (with the added benefit of helping the rest of the team and sticking around post-Tera). Chilling Water is there for attack control. Water Tera will remove the weakness to Fighting and give it a resistance to Fire. Unfortunately it can't run Icy Rock due to needing reliable recovery.

For the offensive build, bulk is de-prioritized in the EV spread, but still important. Everything regarding Snowscape and Veil is the same here. Electric Terrain boosts IB's SpA and also powers up any Bellibolts or Iron Hands in your party (and you may ask "why not just Miraidon at this point?" but I find it boring for how easily it could mulch this fight). Stellar is for the 1.5x boost to Blizzard (and thus more HP from Shell Bell) without opening up a new weakness to Fire.

On this note Alolan Ninetales sounds really cool to use.

Ninetales-A
Bold
Light Clay
Tera Water
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
-Aurora Veil
-Chilling Water
-Ice Beam / Blizzard (Blizzard assumes you don’t need PP because of Chilly Water reliance)
-Nasty Plot / Charm / Helping Hand / Snowscape

Outspeed Blaziken first turn and get up Aurora Veil, then behind Snow+Veil go for Debuffs, boosts, or damage. Tera Water and debuff more with Chilling Water as main attack.

Probably only need Nasty Plot for Solo while use other options for online.

 

[Pax_Unda]

On this note Alolan Ninetales sounds really cool to use.

Ninetales-A
Bold
Light Clay
Tera Water
252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
-Aurora Veil
-Chilling Water
-Ice Beam / Blizzard (Blizzard assumes you don’t need PP because of Chilly Water reliance)
-Nasty Plot / Charm / Helping Hand / Snowscape

Outspeed Blaziken first turn and get up Aurora Veil, then behind Snow+Veil go for Debuffs, boosts, or damage. Tera Water and debuff more with Chilling Water as main attack.

Probably only need Nasty Plot for Solo while use other options for online.

I was actually thinking about A-Ninetails when writing the defensive portion, but then I realized the combination of its poor physical bulk and weakness to Fire pre-Tera might hurt it's viability as a defensive support. I suppose it will work though.

 

[Worldie]

I was actually thinking about A-Ninetails when writing the defensive portion, but then I realized the combination of its poor physical bulk and weakness to Fire pre-Tera might hurt it's viability as a defensive support. I suppose it will work though.

Eh don't underestimate A-tales bulk, under snow it's actually pretty solid since the snow buffs.

0+ Atk Blaziken Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Ninetales-Alola in Snow with an ally's Aurora Veil: 96-114 (27.4 - 32.5%) -- guaranteed 4HKO

...that said I don't like the strat, you're instadead if anything crits within the first 4 turns. Which obviously isn't necessarly happening but may happen.

While workable you could just... use Arceus or Bellibolt or Miraidon or Slowbro or another bunch of pokemon that do the same without having a weak starting matchup.

 

[doipy hooves]

Also notable from the announcement is that the rerun next week will bring back the Blisseys.

During the later half of this event—from Friday, January 19, 2024, at 00:00 UTC to Sunday, January 21, 2024, at 23:59 UTC—Blissey will be appearing more frequently in 5-star Tera Raid Battles. These Blissey will have various Tera Types, so prepare wisely before challenging them! Defeating Blissey will yield some delightful rewards, such as various Tera Shards and bonus Exp. Candies.

 

[Original Dragon Arkvelza]

Shell Bell
Tera Electric
252 Def / 252 SpA / 6 HP
Bold/Modest Nature

Luster Purge/Calm Mind
Thunderbolt
Breaking Swipe
Recover

Before Tera he's resistant to all stabs with the exception of Brave Bird.

0+ Atk Blaziken Brave Bird vs. 6 HP / 252 Def Latios: 101-119 (33.4 - 39.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Thanks to Levitate even though he will lose out on his resistance to Fighting and Fire after Tera, he will be immune to any potential Earthquakes (besides the turn he removes your abilities) and gain a resistance to Flying. And it'll be even better if his ai is as stupid as the ones starting with Dialga and Palkia.

The strategy is pretty obvious. 1st 3 turns use Breaking Swipe, then spend the next couple turns boosting your SpA or dropping his SpD. Personally, I wouldn't Terastallize until after 2 SpA raises/SpD drops. That way you're more likely to take a resisted/noneffective hit. Outside of Earthquake, I'm not exactly sure else else to expect for coverage. Though to be fair, that does actually cover up all of Flying's weaknesses. Both of Blaziken's stabs are strong against Ice, Fighting is strong against Rock, and he can learn Earthquake for Electric types. What else is there? U-Turn? Shadow Claw? Well they may be effective against the Eon twins, but that's about as dangerous as I can see them being.

 

[doipy hooves]

0+ Atk Blaziken Brave Bird vs. 6 HP / 252 Def Latios: 101-119 (33.4 - 39.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Remember that you face a tera Flying Brave Bird which is 1.5x more harmful, but Intimidate NPCs can still serve to counter its physical attacks anyway.

As an aside, I am pretty comfortable in the odds of a Charge-Metal Sound/Throat Spray-Attack Cheer Miraidon OHKO as long as it's not a relatively early shield and/or a time waster like Hisuian Samurott.

+1 252+ SpA Hadron Engine Miraidon Atk Cheer charged Electro Drift (133.3251953125 BP) vs. -2 0 HP / 0 SpD Tera Flying Blaziken in Electric Terrain: 10256-12068 (113.5 - 133.6% of 30x hp boss) -- guaranteed OHKO

+1 252+ SpA Hadron Engine Miraidon Atk Cheer charged Electro Drift (133.3251953125 BP) vs. -2 0 HP / 0 SpD Tera Flying Blaziken in Electric Terrain: 10256-12068 (97.3 - 114.5% of 35x hp boss) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

-1 0+ Atk Tera Flying Blaziken Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Miraidon: 124-146 (30.6 - 36.1%) -- 47.7% chance to 3HKO
-1 0+ Atk Tera Flying Blaziken Earthquake vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Miraidon through Def Cheer: 82-98 (20.2 - 24.2%) -- guaranteed 5HKO

 

[Vengeance417]

Outspeed Blaziken first turn and get up Aurora Veil

This is something I want to wait and see for tomorrow. If Blaziken does something turn 0, will Speed Boost also activate on turn 0? This could mean something like Neutralizing Gas (G-) Weezing could have a niche for online play unless you're next to partners that NEED their abilities... or Speed just won't matter at all for this raid unless you Trick Room or remove its ability then Clear Smog or something.

 

[doipy hooves]

This is something I want to wait and see for tomorrow. If Blaziken does something turn 0, will Speed Boost also activate on turn 0? This could mean something like Neutralizing Gas (G-) Weezing could have a niche for online play unless you're next to partners that NEED their abilities.

Since I saw some talk about it recently, Speed Boost only procs at the end of each turn and not right after you use a move, so I expect it to proc only after all players make a move like when other end of turn effects update, mainly field effect duration but also you don't get multiple Toxic procs per turn either.

I tested by Skill Swapping Speed Boost on a boss and it did not immediately go to +4.

 

[Vengeance417]

Since I saw some talk about it recently, Speed Boost only procs at the end of each turn and not right after you use a move, so I expect it to proc only after all players make a move like when other end of turn effects update, mainly field effect duration but also you don't get multiple Toxic procs per turn either.

I tested by Skill Swapping Speed Boost on a boss and it did not immediately go to +4.
View attachment 590875View attachment 590876
View attachment 590877

I forget, but does Dragonite in solo play Dragon Dance against the other NPCs? I'd try your Speed Boost Skill Swap test in an online setting just to be sure, even if it'll result in a potential loss :p