7* Raids & Other Assorted Events: Pikachu Rerun (7/12-25), Dondozo (7/26-8/8), Dragonite (8/23-9/1) (2024)

Whole Bunch of stuff announced, may as well pop them all in one big thread.

7/12 - 7/25

• Rerun of the Water Pikachu from 2 years ago
• Outbreaks of Pichu in Paldea, Pikachu + Mimikyu in Kitakami, Raichu + Alolan Raichu in Blueberry. All have higher chance of being shiny.
• Note that this is the only way to get native Alolan Raichu!

7/25-8/8

• 7* Water Type Dondozo
• Tatsugiri outbreaks in all 3 areas. Curly in Paldea, Droopy in Kitakami, Stretchy in Blueberry. All have higher chance of being shiny

8/9 - 8/22

• Rerun of the Gimmighoul raids. They will show up in every rarity 1-5*. 5* Raids can be Shiny! There is no new 7* Gimmighoul
• Since this is just a rerun, they are likely the same full-odds Shiny chance.
• Outbreaks of Wattrel in Paldea, Riolu in Kitakami and Comfey in Blueberry. All have a higher chance of being Shiny and having the Pumped Up mark

8/23-9/1

• 7* Normal Type Dragonite
• Outbreaks of Larvitar in Paldea, Goomy & Hisuian Sliggoo in Kitakami, and Beldum in Blueberry. All have a higher chance of being Shiny and having the Charismatic Mark
• You can get Paldea-Origin Sliggoo-H by taking them to L:A normally, but obviously this is the first chance to get them "fresh" in SV.

I guess we're not finishing the last 7-star starters anytime soon. Not sure if these are more or less enticing than the starters at this point but it's some kind of variety other than Fire/Water/Grass, except for another Water type.

Here are my first impressions, though I see no reason not to keep using Azumarill.

R_N said:

Rerun of the Water Pikachu from 2 years ago

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We have a few more AI status options and Knock Off TM access from the DLC to help deal with this, but the key will still be that 120% matching tera damage. I think Azumarill could deal with this with the tools from the time though, but it will be nice to check another past win off the record.

R_N said:

7* Water Type Dondozo

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Fat. Could be slightly harder if it deviated from the other 7 stars and had Unaware but will probably just follow with HA Water Veil instead. I think this is pretty wallable though unless it Curse spams. Might be similar to base game 6 star Dondozo and Yawn, or purposely not. Kind of strange to double down on two Water raids in a row, and with a base Water type already.

I think the TM will be Liquidation or Rain Dance if they try to match the type. Curse would be an easy way out again.

R_N said:

7* Normal Type Dragonite

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Seems to evoke Extreme Speed and covering the Fighting weakness with some Flying move but otherwise not too inspiring. Again the hidden ability is pretty irrelevant. The 6 star moveset isn't particularly great but they did go with moveset Dragon Dance.

I think the TM may be Dragon Dance, for lack of any real Normal option other than like Body Slam or the recharge moves which I still doubt will appear in these event raids.

We now have for Pikachu >:)

I can only see Dondozo being threatening if it has Curse as one of its 4 moves. Otherwise, it'll be pretty easily countered by most Grass-types. Might even bring the same Serperior from the Pikachu raid lol. Ice Fang can be annoying super effective hax, though.

Dragonite scares me. Its 6* raid is already hell enough, and we just went through Sceptile which had 4th move Dragon Dance. Normal-type with access to Hurricane to ward off Fighting-types. Might just have to brute force with neutral attacks. Zamazenta-Crowned could probably work as a Body Press user with its Flying-neutrality and Dragon + Normal resistance. Could be worth tacking on Sunny Day to make Hurricane less accurate.

DrrT said:

What is the reasoning behind Dondozo and Dragonite? Not complaining, just really curious. I do like when they spice things up like this.

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It's a combination celebration of Summer and Worlds

So:
-Rerun of the mascot
-Rerun of the limited run normally-Shiny-locked Pokemon
-The "meta" Dragonite (even if it'd be more fitting to have something like Amoonguss or Incineroar but I digress)
-And Dondozo, which fits the summer theme and also it through Tatsugiri was the big mascot of Yokohama's worlds.

e: Also thinking on it Dondozo also used to be pretty meta like Dragonite was. not this year, but you know. Still!

Oh I think meganium might actually be good for the pikachu raid!

Meganium @ Light Clay
Ability: Leaf Guard
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 Spe
- Light Screen
- Reflect
- Sunny Day
- Knock Off
Since signal beam and hp ice have been axed, pika has NO way of touching this guy, since after a knock off any attack just tickles flower dino. They can then use sunny day for cancelling out rain dance and screens for general support. Now sure, serperior technically has all those tools and a much better speed. However, meganium actually has better bulk so they're better fit for this specific role. Besides,.... why do u even want to go support with serperior if contrary leaf storm is right there?

Ultimately I don't think this is gonna be meta (nothing I talk about in these raids is) but I do think it's gonna be fun to try out!

Wonder why they're skipping over a 7-Star Gimmighoul, or better yet a Gholdengo. Sure the Gholdengo couldn't be Shiny, but it would still have a Mighty Mark.

Also, while increased Shiny Gimmighoul is nice, also wouldn't have minded a Roaming Form made available through this way.

But hey, I've always wondered what other 7-Star raids they would do once the Starters were all done, though looks like I don't need to get that answer. Granted these are for specific occasions, but gives me hope they'll have the other version exclusive Paradox 'Legendaries" one day (heck, toss the player a bone for once and have the mascot Legendaries be made like one of the few last Tera Raids).

Assuming you have the DLC for Shield or Violet

Shell Bell
Tera Electric
252 Atk / 252 Def / 6
Adamant Nature

Fusion Bolt
Breaking Swipe
Dragon Dance
Light Screen

6 Atk Pikachu Play Rough vs. 6 HP / 252 Def Kyurem-Black: 66-78 (16.8 - 19.8%) -- guaranteed 6HKO
6 Atk Pikachu Iron Tail vs. 6 HP / 252 Def Kyurem-Black: 72-86 (18.3 - 21.9%) -- possible 5HKO

Do remember that both of those moves don't have 100 accuracy. And you don't even need any Speed investment to make sure you put up Sunny Day before getting hit by a rain boosted STAB Surf because not only is Pikachu 5 points slower than Black Kyurem, his nature makes him even slower.

(Edit) Actually, ignore those calcs, I forgot he holds the Light Ball. And after seeing the calcs for that... Make sure you have an Intimidate CPU.

And now that Tera Stellar is a thing, this plant can finally utilize her higher offensive stat

Shell Bell
Contrary
Tera Stellar
252 Atk / 252 SpD / 6 Def
Adamant Nature

Leaf Blade
Tera Blast
Grassy Terrain (Probably one of the few times Arboliva would be helpful)
Sunny Day

On the off chance Iron Tail or Play Rough get their secondary effects, they'll be helping you more than anything because of Contrary, especially Iron Tail since without Superpower that's the only way Lurantis' Def can raise. Again though, make sure you have someone with Intimidate.

Original Dragon Arkvelza said:

Assuming you have the DLC for Shield or Violet

Shell Bell
Tera Electric
252 Atk / 252 Def / 6
Adamant Nature

Fusion Bolt
Breaking Swipe
Dragon Dance
Light Screen

6 Atk Pikachu Play Rough vs. 6 HP / 252 Def Kyurem-Black: 66-78 (16.8 - 19.8%) -- guaranteed 6HKO
6 Atk Pikachu Iron Tail vs. 6 HP / 252 Def Kyurem-Black: 72-86 (18.3 - 21.9%) -- possible 5HKO

Do remember that both of those moves don't have 100 accuracy. And you don't even need any Speed investment to make sure you put up Sunny Day before getting hit by a rain boosted STAB Surf because not only is Pikachu 5 points slower than Black Kyurem, his nature makes him even slower.

(Edit) Actually, ignore those calcs, I forgot he holds the Light Ball. And after seeing the calcs for that... Make sure you have an Intimidate CPU.

And now that Tera Stellar is a thing, this plant can finally utilize her higher offensive stat

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You should take Zekrom out of Kyurem imo:

Zekrom @ Shell Bell
Ability: Teravolt
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Fusion Bolt
- Breaking Swipe
- Light Screen

You resist Iron Tail, immune to Paralysis, and same-type Tera Electric makes you hit way harder. Also, your calcs don't take Light Ball into account.

0 Atk Light Ball Tera Water Pikachu Iron Tail vs. 4 HP / 252 Def Kyurem-Black: 142-168 (36.2 - 42.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
0 Atk Light Ball Tera Water Pikachu Play Rough vs. 4 HP / 252 Def Zekrom: 112-134 (32.7 - 39.1%) -- 99.7% chance to 3HKO

Hydrapple @ Roseli Berry
Ability: Supersweet Syrup
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Breaking Swipe
- Giga Drain
- Reflect

The last Pikachu raid was handled very well by Roseli Berry Appletun and now we have a potent alternative. The lack of Apple Acid keeps Hydrapple from completely outclassing Appletun, but Hydrapple's higher stats alongside access to Breaking Swipe and Nasty Plot give it a strong pool of options.

with Eviolite can also be used, but you lose access to Nasty Plot and Breaking Swipe. Dragon Cheer and Pollen Puff can be used instead for a fully support-oriented set.

Serperior @ Shell Bell
Ability: Contrary
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
- Leaf Storm
- Knock Off
- Giga Drain
- Breaking Swipe / Reflect / Light Screen

Very self-explanatory. I expect Serperior to be the popular go-to choice in this raid.

Vileplume @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Effect Spore
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
IVs: 0 Atk
- Acid Spray
- Strength Sap
- Giga Drain
- Pollen Puff

A new option from the DLC. Acid Spray is as strong as ever. Effect Spore is great for fishing status onto Pikachu. Using Strength Sap onto your Contrary allies will offer an essentially full heal every time while you can also return the favour with Pollen Puff.

with Eviolite can also be used. You'll lose some offensive power and Effect Spore but the extra bulk is good to have.

is another option, though you'll lack Effect Spore, Strength Sap and Pollen puff. However, Knock Off will be useful instead.

Mew
Ability: Synchronize
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
- Acid Spray
- Knock Off
- Anything
- Anything

Mew can do pretty much everything you need it to do. Acid Spray and Knock Off are mandatory but aside from those, you can have dual screens, damage debuff with Lunge etc., Giga Drain for offense, Mud-Slap for accuracy debuffs and so on.

Sigh, of course this snake's not in Gen 8. Well, at least this is just a Dondozo, so it's not too much of a loss.

I know Pikachu's the 1st one up, but since we already had that one, so we know what to expect, I want to strategize for Dondozo for a moment. For STAB I expect either Wave Crash, Waterfall, or Liquidation. As for coverage Ice Fang for Grass, Earthquake for Electric, and perhaps Body Press for his huge physical bulk. As for his Additional moves, I'm thinking Curse and I guess Rain Dance. Now I have no idea if he's going to have his hidden ability like the other Mighties, but perhaps this can work as long as it's not Unaware

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

Thunderbolt
Acid Spray
Coil
Protect

Original Dragon Arkvelza said:

Now I have no idea if he's going to have his hidden ability like the other Mighties, but perhaps this can work as long as it's not Unaware

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I'd assume it will, all 7* have had their HA even those where it was useless (looking at you Meganium).

Which if it does, may as well want some Skill swap or similar ability pokemon. Bonus, you get Unaware for yourself which honestly is pretty neat as it makes removing possible Curse boosts pretty much irrelevant.

Worldie said:

I'd assume it will, all 7* have had their HA even those where it was useless (looking at you Meganium).

Which if it does, may as well want some Skill swap or similar ability pokemon. Bonus, you get Unaware for yourself which honestly is pretty neat as it makes removing possible Curse boosts pretty much irrelevant.

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Dondozo’s Hidden Ability is Water Veil. No real need for Skill Swap unless you really want to burn it lol (or it Curse spams and you want to skill swap it with Malamar)

Vengeance417 said:

Dondozo’s Hidden Ability is Water Veil. No real need for Skill Swap unless you really want to burn it lol (or it Curse spams and you want to skill swap it with Malamar)

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oh... for whatever reason I thought it was Unaware. Brainfart, nvm

Terimas said:

Vileplume @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Effect Spore
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
IVs: 0 Atk
- Acid Spray
- Strength Sap
- Giga Drain
- Pollen Puff

A new option from the DLC. Acid Spray is as strong as ever. Effect Spore is great for fishing status onto Pikachu. Using Strength Sap onto your Contrary allies will offer an essentially full heal every time while you can also return the favour with Pollen Puff.

with Eviolite can also be used. You'll lose some offensive power and Effect Spore but the extra bulk is good to have.

is another option, though you'll lack Effect Spore, Strength Sap and Pollen puff. However, Knock Off will be useful instead.

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Victreebel is also an alternative that's effectively Vileplume but with Knock Off.

Victreebel @ Covert Cloak
Ability: Chlorophyll
Tera Type: Grass
EVs: 180 HP / 252 Def / 76 Spe (if you don't care about being faster than Pikachu, just use max bulk)
Bold Nature
- Knock Off
- Strength Sap
- Acid Spray
- Giga Drain

Uh, doesn't Pikachu have a shield up the entire battle? Assuming you have the DLC Lunge is a better option than Strength Sap, and if you don't have the DLC Stockpile. Yeah, you can only Stockpile 3 times, but I highly doubt you'd need any more than that. And since Pikachu doesn't reset you it means you keep them the entire battle. In fact, Stockpile may be the better option because despite being not very effective, thanks to Pikachu's SpA EVs, Nature, and STAB Thunder and Surf deal more damage than Play Rough and Iron Tail so he may end up going for them instead so it'd be more beneficial to raise both defenses rather than lower the offensive stat Pikachu is less likely to use.

252+ SpA Tera Water Pikachu Thunder vs. 180 HP / 0 SpD Victreebel: 73-87 (21 - 25.1%) -- 0.1% chance to 4HKO
252+ SpA Tera Water Pikachu Surf vs. 180 HP / 0 SpD Victreebel: 60-71 (17.3 - 20.5%) -- possible 5HKO
6 Atk Tera Water Pikachu Iron Tail vs. 180 HP / 252+ Def Victreebel: 43-51 (12.4 - 14.7%) -- possible 7HKO
6 Atk Tera Water Pikachu Play Rough vs. 180 HP / 252+ Def Victreebel: 19-23 (5.4 - 6.6%) -- possibly the worst move ever

Original Dragon Arkvelza said:

Uh, doesn't Pikachu have a shield up the entire battle?

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Re-read Terimas's original post. Strength Sap isn't for Pikachu, it's for your allied Contrary Serperior and Lurantis. You use it on them because you'd be increasing their attack, making Strength Sap full power the entire raid.

Vengeance417 said:

Re-read Terimas's original post. Strength Sap isn't for Pikachu, it's for your allied Contrary Serperior and Lurantis. You use it on them because you'd be increasing their attack, making Strength Sap full power the entire raid.

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You're feeling notably optimistic people won't spam Miraidon on this raid... just like the first run...

Versus Pikachu: From last time we fought Pikachu, key highlights:
1) It has light ball, but all forms of removing items in tera raids were buggy and inconsistent. Knock off totally works… except some raids where knock off just won’t knock the item. I also tested other forms of item removal without good results. There was no clear trigger/requirement for the times that worked/failed. Unless they fixed the bugs (doubtful), do not count on Knock Off.
2) Lurantis is meta. Core for every team.
3) Grass types and sun supports were very valuable. Good choices included Wo Chien, Jumpluff, Oranguru, Toedscruel, Deerling. At least resisting water is a major boon due to T0 surf in rain.
4) It was before DLC/home added mons. So if you want new strats, look there. Weepinbell and Gloom are both going to be good candidates.

Versus Dozo: I find the inclusion of only one STAB/Tera type to be extremely fishy. This makes me very suspicious that dozo will pack fissure as its gimmick. If its gimmick is curse spam (like Meganium), Malomar will have it covered.

My recommendation for Dondozo as of right now is:

Mowtom or Wotom-Rash
Life orb/Shell Bell, 252/0-/4/252+/0/0
Thunderbolt, Charge, Nasty Plot, Reflect

There are other sets, but this one should be solid for more freeform purposes. Life orb to run with a coordinated team to OHKO dozo on turn3 (given fake tears, helping hand, and attack cheer). Shell bell if you want to try your luck with randos. Rotom’s big advantage is that he can be flexibly slotted into uncoordinated parties.

You can also run support sets with reflect, discharge, and helping hand, but there are better choices, as wisp gets blocked by the guaranteed water veil.

flamewizzy21 said:

This makes me very suspicious that dozo will pack fissure as its gimmick. If its gimmick is curse spam (like Meganium), Malomar will have it covered.

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This is not VGC sir.

None of the raids actually has 1hko moves (since it'd not really make much sense to just have 30% chance to lose the raid for no reason), and even if it had fissure... you'd just pick flying types.

It's very likely Dondozo will have Tera Dragon (references the story bit of it pretending to be a Dragon) and have Order up as coverage (even tho it does no effect).
Enamorous stonks go up.

Worldie said:

This is not VGC sir.
…
It's very likely Dondozo will have Tera Dragon

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Serebii reported Dozo is water tera type.
And I imagine it would have fissure as a nod to VGC, with the world championships ref lately and all that.

Dozo being water tera is extremely bizarre, as the only 2 7* raids without a second STAB type were eevee and Mewtwo, which both led off with shields, and various cheap tricks to compensate.

Also, Pikachu’s lightningrod makes Miraidon not viable.

flamewizzy21 said:

Also, Pikachu’s lightningrod makes Miraidon not viable.

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That's the entire problem: last time, there was *A LOT* of Miraidons online who did not expect Pikachu to have Lightning Rod, making them *completely useless*.

And no there's no way they'll have Fissure in its moveset, unless they really want none of the randoms to beat it. None of the raids had any reference to competitive, in fact most of the movesets of the raids would have been awful in competitive if these mons were even remotely viable in first place..

That said if it's Tera Water as Serebii says, it's likely just going to be all in brutal on Wave Crash + rain + setup (which would also work fine with Water Veil removing the burns). Probably packing a strong physical wall is going to be enough. Likely Toxapex with Chilling Water if it doesnt pack Earthquake, and if it does, can always run Slowbro to same avail and let whatever electric or grass type do the heavy lifting honestly.

(Also tbfh, Freeze Dry exists, Kyurem-White looking pretty spicy expecially if it can be provided snow....)

Original Dragon Arkvelza said:

The only way Miraidon would work is if it was Online and you were paired with Core Enforcer Zygarde. Oh, wait, he's not in the game.

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Duh, you forgot the Grass Tera Blast tech