April 7* Raid: Samurott (Tera Bug)


Our next 7 star raid is Tera Bug Samurott, which lasts from March 31st - April 3rd, then again on April 7th - April 10th.

This one looks tricky. Bug is weak to Fire, Rock, and Flying, but Samurott has ways to hit all of those types super effectively, whether it's Water STAB or Ice-type coverage. It'll likely have Megahorn as its Tera STAB move, might even go mixed like Greninja did. It'll have Shell Armor as its ability, meaning no crits, but that shouldn't matter too much.

Discuss.

Edit: Here's the full moveset:

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Seems like Water Absorb Clodsire should be pretty good here. Samurott has a good chance of being mixed and Ice Beam is a definite possibility, but Tera Bug suggests that it'll emphasise Attack for a stronger Megahorn. Blanking Water moves while resisting Bug seems great on a mon that's already got history as a Tera Raid staple. Gyarados has a good defensive profile, especially with Intimidate, but can't deal big damage quickly.

We really don't have a ton of great options for SE STAB, do we? Fire- and Rock-types are obviously a bad idea and we have surprisingly few strong Flying-types with good Flying attacks, especially if we're trying to target Samurott's much weaker Special Defense. Hurricane Pelipper seems okay until you find yourself deciding whether to boost Samurott with Drizzle or risk a 70%-accurate move.

EDIT: oh wait Dry Skin Toxicroak is kinda sick (Nasty Plot, Toxic, Venoshock, Acid Spray/Chilling Water? Depends on when Samu removes buffs and debuffs I guess)
EDIT 2: Unaware Dondozo also seems solid assuming Samurott's gonna Swords Dance
 
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I feel like we're definitely gonna get Taunt this time. Just "feels" right.

If they decide to do the "double attack" gimmick back I think we need to pay close attention to Razor Shell. 75 BP with 50% chance to lower defense can get out of hand very fast, especially if its also throwing around Swords Dance.

Let's be glad this isn't Hisuian Samurott and we're not dealing with Sharpness.
 
Something I noticed when combing through its potential moves is that it gets Knock Off. Imagine that being one of its "extra moves", and now no one in your party has an item to use anymore. Until we know it gets that, we may wanna consider theorymoning Pokemon that wouldn't be super-reliant on their item to function.

:corviknight:

Corviknight @ Life Orb
Ability: Mirror Armor
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 228 HP / 252 SpA / 28 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Fake Tears
- Hurricane / Air Slash
- Hone Claws / Roost

Saw this set in another discord server. Special Corviknight's a huge meme, but it might be alright for this raid, in particular. It's one of the only Flying-types we have that isn't weak to Ice. I have one variant focused on raw Hurricane damage but would need good support, and another for survivability and consistency. 28 Speed outpaces neutral Samurott.

:qwilfish:

Qwilfish @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Poison
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Acid Spray
- Chilling Water
- Taunt
- Minimize

Once again, I see Qwilfish being a really good fast supporter. Resists both STABs, forces Samurott to start at -1 attack w/ Intimidate, has both Acid Spray + Chilling Water, and Taunt to stop support move shenanigans.
 
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Oh also I feel very dumb for not immediately thinking of this but Azumarill has an amazing set of resistances for this Raid. Both Belly Drum sets and support sets (with potential Sap Sipper on the off chance Samurott has Grass Knot) seem viable.
 
Oh also I feel very dumb for not immediately thinking of this but Azumarill has an amazing set of resistances for this Raid. Both Belly Drum sets and support sets (with potential Sap Sipper on the off chance Samurott has Grass Knot) seem viable.
The one time Azumarill could actually be good?!

:azumarill:

Azumarill @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Huge Power
Tera Type: Water / Fairy
EVs: 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Tickle
- Belly Drum
- Liquidation / Play Rough
- Mud Slap / Helping Hand / Chilling Water

I see Liquidation sets being more consistent than Play Rough due to the accuracy and potential Defense drop, but it's an option if you want slightly more power. Speed is for neutral Samurott.

If you're gonna run any sort of Belly Drummer, please use BD AFTER the stat-reset turn. Time is better spent Tickling (lol) tbh
 
If you hack in a Volcanion, the raid would probably be pretty easy. Immune to Water Moves, 4x resists Ice, 2x resists Bug with a beefy 120 Defense stat and STAB Fire Moves off of a 130 Special Attack stat. :tymp:

Okay, actual talk: there's a potentially risky way to oneshot the raid. I was considering Sun as an option; it weakens Samurott's Water attacks and strengthens the Fire Moves it'll be weak to. Here's my suggestion:

:sv/iron_moth:

It'd be nice if it could use Sun as a raw attack enhancer and as a way to boost its Special Attack, but Game Freak probably decided that wasn't a good idea. Thankfully, both Sun and Electric Terrain can be up simultaneously, which allows this:

+4 252+ SpA Quark Drive Iron Moth Helping Hand Overheat vs. -2 0 HP / 0 SpD Tera Bug Samurott in Sun: 11552-13592 (3490 - 4106.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

That's a fair amount of support (Sun/Electric Terrain/Helping Hand/two turns of Quiver Dance boosts alongside a Weakness Policy activation/Acid Spray on Samurott), but it gets the job done assuming Samurott has no EVs. If it does, another use of Acid Spray will give it the oomph needed.

As I was writing this I reminded myself of another very power Fire-type option this game provided, one that takes a turn less of setup because it gets Nasty Plot:

:sv/chi_yu:

+4 252+ SpA Beads of Ruin Chi-Yu Helping Hand Overheat vs. -2 0 HP / 0 SpD Tera Bug Samurott in Sun: 11538-13574 (3485.8 - 4100.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Of course, both of these options are assuming Samurott won't have Drill Run as an option. It would still be doable if it had them, but would be riskier.

Tar Shot is also a fairly good move for a oneshot strategy, if you can get a Coalossal to survive long enough to use it. This might enable you to use Flamethrower over Overheat to avoid the miss chance.

Anyway those are my ideas, maybe someone with a little more experience with this can refine it/find the best Pokémon for it.
 
:quagsire: :gastrodon:
Assuming no Grass Knot, these two could be solid support; both get Chilling Water, Helping Hand, Recover, Mud-Slap, and a Water immunity ability, plus Amnesia in the likely case Samurott has Ice Beam. If Samurott runs Razor Shell, both can learn Mist which could prevent your allies' Def from dropping. Quagsire can also help offense with Acid Spray or defense with Eerie Impulse.
 
I'm inclined to expect Sacred Sword for some reason, despite there not being any particularly standout types you'd use against Samurott that aren't already covered (Steel is neutral without a SE hitter and most dual-typed mons lose the resistance to another type anyway like Kingambit, Rock is covered by Water STAB, etc). If not, would there be anything stopping the classic Perserker + Support spam?
 
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Bug is honestly a odd choice there, I guess their reasoning is that it's supereffective against both Grass and Psychic which would otherwise resist its main ""stabs"" (surely Samurott is Water/fighting COPIUM)

I wouldnt be surprised if we saw the new H-Samurott signature move in the moveset. Wouldn't exactly bank on it, but considering it's in the learnset (as egg move iirc?) and they likely want the move to be available to every player without being required to own L.A. for VGC shenenigans...

I would also expect a sword dance + full phisical moveset this time around. I'd assume Clodsire / Gastrodon accuracy spam may or may not be the key to victory again.
 
I'm inclined to expect Sacred Sword for some reason, despite there not being any particularly standout types you'd use against Samurott that aren't already covered (Steel is neutral without a SE hitter and most dual-typed mons lose the resistance to another type anyway like Kingambit, Rock is covered by Water STAB, etc). If not, would there be anything stopping the classic Perserker + Support spam?
Triple Perrserker + support Torkoal (to weaken Water moves) seems very strong unless it uses a Turn 0 Rain Dance.
Bug is honestly a odd choice there, I guess their reasoning is that it's supereffective against both Grass and Psychic which would otherwise resist its main ""stabs"" (surely Samurott is Water/fighting COPIUM)
I would also expect a sword dance + full phisical moveset this time around. I'd assume Clodsire / Gastrodon accuracy spam may or may not be the key to victory again.
The logic for the latest legendary raids seems to just be 'what's the highest BP coverage move the Pokemon has access to?' with maybe some thought given to making sure players can't wall the raid completely.

I feel like they have to include Ice Beam as a token special attack like they did with Decidueye's Air Cutter, both because it'd be a waste not to use Samurott's highest stat and because Water/Bug/Fighting/Ground has some key coverage gaps that a hypothetical non-STAB Ceaseless Edge would struggle to patch up.
 

Our next 7 star raid is Tera Bug Samurott, which lasts from March 31st - April 3rd, then again on April 7th - April 10th.

This one looks tricky. Bug is weak to Fire, Rock, and Flying, but Samurott has ways to hit all of those types super effectively, whether it's Water STAB or Ice-type coverage. It'll likely have Megahorn as its Tera STAB move, might even go mixed like Greninja did. It'll have Shell Armor as its ability, meaning no crits, but that shouldn't matter too much.

Discuss.

Aqua Cutter
Aqua Tail
Drill Run

Grass Knot
Hydro Pump
Ice Beam
Liquidation
Megahorn

Rain Dance
Razor Shell
Sacred Sword
Scary Face
Screech
Swords Dance
Taunt
X-Scissor
Samurott has a good chance of being mixed and Ice Beam is a definite possibility, but Tera Bug suggests that it'll emphasise Attack for a stronger Megahorn.
It doesn't have to go mixed to have Ice coverage, it gets Avalanche now.
I wouldnt be surprised if we saw the new H-Samurott signature move in the moveset. Wouldn't exactly bank on it, but considering it's in the learnset (as egg move iirc?) and they likely want the move to be available to every player without being required to own L.A. for VGC shenenigans...
Ceaseless Edge is not in any way learnable by regular Samurott in SV.
 
It doesn't have to go mixed to have Ice coverage, it gets Avalanche now.

Ceaseless Edge is not in any way learnable by regular Samurott in SV.
I was under the impression it was in its egg move list thus learnable, just not right now? Or did I confuse it with Aqua Cutter? :facepalm:
 
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I was under the impression it was in its egg move list thus learnable, just not right now? Or did I confuse it with Aqua Cutter? :facepalm:
You probably confused it for Aqua Cutter (or Night Slash).
The Oshawott line's egg moves in SV are:
  • Air Slash
  • Aqua Cutter
  • Copycat
  • Detect
  • Knock Off
  • Night Slash
  • Sacred Sword
  • Screech
 
You probably confused it for Aqua Cutter (or Night Slash).
I sure did.

...that said, I think Aqua Cutter *is* actually pretty scary if it's in the moveset (I'd give it a 50% chance it would be).
I'd assume that a combination of crit moves, expecially stab Aqua Cutter, would be problematic to setup or debuff unless running crit immune Pokemon. But hey, that makes me think Cloyster would be a pretty solid choice for this raid, considering it also gets Rock Blast to hit supereffectively and has a very high defense stat to boot.

On other hand if they go mixed like Greninja and it runs Hydro Pump, then well even more of a reason to supply Mud-Slap support.
 
So I've been cooking this Cloyster set (or if you're feeling bold, Eviolite Shellder kekw), or rather 2, I think it may be the premiere support and possibly also a premiere damage dealer

Skill Link -> 252 HP / split atk and speed so outspeed is guaranteed at +0
Iron Defense / Shell Smash / Rock Blast / x (potentially Snowscape, or Aqua Ring for recovery)

Or if you rather go support

Shell Armor -> 252 HP / spdef (or def if no special attack), split with enough HP to outspeed
Chilling water / Life Dew / 2 of Snowscape, Aqua Ring, Leer, Helping Hand, Light Screen, actually quite a lot of good options

If Grass Knot isnt a thing, I think this works fine?
 
So I've been cooking this Cloyster set (or if you're feeling bold, Eviolite Shellder kekw), or rather 2, I think it may be the premiere support and possibly also a premiere damage dealer

Skill Link -> 252 HP / split atk and speed so outspeed is guaranteed at +0
Iron Defense / Shell Smash / Rock Blast / x (potentially Snowscape, or Aqua Ring for recovery)

Or if you rather go support

Shell Armor -> 252 HP / spdef (or def if no special attack), split with enough HP to outspeed
Chilling water / Life Dew / 2 of Snowscape, Aqua Ring, Leer, Helping Hand, Light Screen, actually quite a lot of good options

If Grass Knot isnt a thing, I think this works fine?
Grass Knot and Sacred Sword are the moves I'd be wary of (the latter not only being Fighting Coverage but ignoring the ID boosts or Mud Slap drops), so should that move show up, definitely focus on Chilling Water as far as reducing Samurott's damage output if it's between two options.
 
Grass Knot and Sacred Sword are the moves I'd be wary of (the latter not only being Fighting Coverage but ignoring the ID boosts or Mud Slap drops), so should that move show up, definitely focus on Chilling Water as far as reducing Samurott's damage output if it's between two options.
Grass Knot is super dangerous as it's a almost clean KO even with investment, but Sacred Sword actually doesnt do a whole lot since Cloyster's defense is just hilariously high as is

0 SpA Samurott Grass Knot (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Cloyster: 284-336 (93.4 - 110.5%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Samurott Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Cloyster: 78-94 (25.6 - 30.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
 
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Cheese String Man + the Cheesy Spirit Cats can get an OHKO vs Samurott w/ Steely Spirit + Steel Beam. Praying it doesn't have Drill Run.

Gholdengo @ Wide Lens
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Metal Sound
- Nasty Plot
- Steel Beam
- Recover / Make It Rain

Perrserker @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Steely Spirit
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Fake Tears
- Helping Hand
- Chilling Water
- Taunt
 
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Here I think might be the best pokemon to beat Samurott:

Candidate #1: Gyarados
1679958465431.png


Gyarados @ Sharp Beak / Shell Bell / Yache Berry
Level: 100
Jolly Nature
Tera Type: Flying
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Tera Blast
- Taunt
- Chilling Water / Sunny Day

Dragon Dance + Tera Blast can make Gyarados a threatening pokemon. Intimidate is used to weaken Samurott's physical attack, whilst Sharp Beak is used to boost Gyarados's flying moves. Alternatively, Shell Bell can be used to heal the pokemon whenever it launches a powerful attack. Taunt is used to stop Samurott from setting up Swords Dance. Yache Berry can be also used to weaken Samurott's Ice attacks.
The fourth move is up to the player. Chilling Water can be used to weaken Samurott's attack further, whilst Sunny Day can be used to weaken all water attacks. Keep in mind that Gyarados will lose its water resistance when Tera into Flying, and Samurott's water attacks can be used to overwhelm Gyarados.

There are support Pokemon that might be able to help Gyarados:

1679958491454.png


Walking Wake @ Leftovers
Level: 100
Modest Nature
Tera Type: Water
Ability: Protosynthesis
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
- Chilling Water
- Sunny Day
- Flamethrower
- Noble Roar

Walking Wake's typing let it resist Water attacks, especially with its good bulk. It can use Chilling Water to weaken Samurott's Physical attack, Sunny Day to weaken its water attacks, Flamethrower for super-effective damage and Noble Roar to weaken Samurott's Physical attack as well as its Special Attack. Chilling Water can be still used if Samurott has Taunt.
If there is any bulky mon that has both Chilling Water and Sunny Day, please let me know.

1679958508653.png


Arcanine @ Heavy-Duty Boots (MEME)
Level: 100
Impish Nature
Tera Type: Water
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Def
- Will-O-Wisp
- Snarl
- Sunny Day
- Helping Hand

This is more of a meme support set (not to be taken seriously). However, it can be useful in certain circumstances. Intimidate is used to lower the Samurott's physical attack, combined with Will-O-Wisp. Snarl can be used to weaken Samurott's special attack. Sunny Day can be used to weaken Samurott's water attacks whilst Helping Hand can be used to boost offensive mons like Gyarados.
 

Attachments

Here I think might be the best pokemon to beat Samurott:

Candidate #1: Gyarados
View attachment 503392


Gyarados @ Sharp Beak / Shell Bell / Yache Berry
Level: 100
Jolly Nature
Tera Type: Flying
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
- Dragon Dance
- Tera Blast
- Taunt
- Chilling Water / Sunny Day

Dragon Dance + Tera Blast can make Gyarados a threatening pokemon. Intimidate is used to weaken Samurott's physical attack, whilst Sharp Beak is used to boost Gyarados's flying moves. Alternatively, Shell Bell can be used to heal the pokemon whenever it launches a powerful attack. Taunt is used to stop Samurott from setting up Swords Dance. Yache Berry can be also used to weaken Samurott's Ice attacks.
The fourth move is up to the player. Chilling Water can be used to weaken Samurott's attack further, whilst Sunny Day can be used to weaken all water attacks. Keep in mind that Gyarados will lose its water resistance when Tera into Flying, and Samurott's water attacks can be used to overwhelm Gyarados.
A couple of things:

1. Jolly max Speed won't do you any good. A rule of thumb for Tera Raids is that if you're an offensive Pokemon that's naturally faster than the raid boss, invest in HP and an attacking stat. You'd have a set like this:

Gyarados @ Sharp Beak / Shell Bell / Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
- Tera Blast
- Chilling Water / Sunny Day

2. I don't think you'll have a lot of success with this set compared to other offensive options. Dragon Dance is simply too slow of a set up compared to Swords Dance and Belly Drum. It'll take twice the amount of time to get to +6 compared to using Swords Dance 3 times, and using anything below +6 with Tera Blast is asking for pitiful damage, even with Screech support. You will also need to attack 3 times before even getting the chance to Terastallize, and that's not even factoring in the possibility of Samurott sapping Tera energy from you. Before that, you're stuck with just Chilling Water or Normal-type Tera Blast. Also, if you die after Tera, you won't have Flying Tera Blast anymore, so keep that in mind.

That being said, I can see Gyarados actually being an ok but kinda mid supporter by swapping out Dragon Dance for Helping Hand, and spend time using Chilling Water to weaken Samurott and gain Tera energy to then Tera Flying later and help provide shield chip damage, especially if someone used Screech before the shield went up. Could even throw Leer in there, maybe. Wish it could Screech with that big mouth :/

Grass Knot is super dangerous as it's a almost clean KO even with investment, but Sacred Sword actually doesnt do a whole lot since Cloyster's defense is just hilariously high as is

0 SpA Samurott Grass Knot (100 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Cloyster: 284-336 (93.4 - 110.5%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
0 Atk Samurott Sacred Sword vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Cloyster: 78-94 (25.6 - 30.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
Did some calcs for defensive cloyster and even if Samurott does have Grass Knot, Max SpDef Light Screen + Defense Cheer makes GK bounce off lmao

0 SpA Tera Bug Samurott Grass Knot (100 BP) vs. +1 252 HP / 252+ SpD Cloyster through Light Screen: 59-70 (19.4 - 23%) -- possible 5HKO
 
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A couple of things:

1. Jolly max Speed won't do you any good. A rule of thumb for Tera Raids is that if you're an offensive Pokemon that's naturally faster than the raid boss, invest in HP and an attacking stat. You'd have a set like this:

Gyarados @ Sharp Beak / Shell Bell / Yache Berry
Ability: Intimidate
Tera Type: Flying
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Def
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Taunt
- Tera Blast
- Chilling Water / Sunny Day

2. I don't think you'll have a lot of success with this set compared to other offensive options. Dragon Dance is simply too slow of a set up compared to Swords Dance and Belly Drum. It'll take twice the amount of time to get to +6 compared to using Swords Dance 3 times, and using anything below +6 with Tera Blast is asking for pitiful damage, even with Screech support. You will also need to attack 3 times before even getting the chance to Terastallize, and that's not even factoring in the possibility of Samurott sapping Tera energy from you. Before that, you're stuck with just Chilling Water or Normal-type Tera Blast. Also, if you die after Tera, you won't have Flying Tera Blast anymore, so keep that in mind.

That being said, I can see Gyarados actually being an ok but kinda mid supporter by swapping out Dragon Dance for Helping Hand, and spend time using Chilling Water to weaken Samurott and gain Tera energy to then Tera Flying later and help provide shield chip damage, especially if someone used Screech before the shield went up. Could even throw Leer in there, maybe. Wish it could Screech with that big mouth :/
Regarding the EV spread you mentioned, that is actually more optimal. I was just considering Max Attack and Speed if a player just already has a Gyarados that already has Max Attack and Max Speed, and don't want to waste resources getting another Gyarados specifically for the one raid.

You are right about the Dragon Dance set-up not being optimal. I was considering to just boost it at least twice, whilst the other mons would just weaken Samurott (similar to how the Slowbro set would weaken Greninja). Perhaps Helping Hand would be a better choice, or I can use both Chilling Water and Sunny Day to weaken Samurott's offensive power.

I was also thinking Thunder Wave would be a nice utility option to slow down Samurott and even get a lucky chance for Samurott to not move.

Wish there was a mon with a fast set-up like Swords Dance and has powerful moves (not Brave Bird). Thanks for your help.

Edit: What are your opinions on the Walking Wake and Arcanine (MEME) set?
 

Merritt

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Cheese String Man + the Cheesy Spirit Cats can get an OHKO vs Samurott w/ Steely Spirit + Steel Beam. Praying it doesn't have Drill Run.

Gholdengo @ Metal Coat / Life Orb
Ability: Good as Gold
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpA
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Metal Sound
- Nasty Plot
- Steel Beam
- Recover / Make It Rain

Perrserker @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Steely Spirit
Shiny: Yes
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
- Metal Sound
- Helping Hand
- Chilling Water
- Taunt
Perform the optimizations of fake tears on raid cats and wide lens on coinlad and you've got the classic oneshot comp yeah. Standard play is to use Fake Tears from all the Perrserker on turn 1 while the Gholdengo Nasty Plots, then have the cats use attack cheer(s) turn 2 to allow for a Steel Beam OHKO.

+2 252+ SpA Choice Specs Gholdengo Steel Beam (350 BP) vs. -6 0 HP / 128 SpD Tera Bug Samurott: 8673-10204 (2620.2 - 3082.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Specs simulates Attack Cheer buff.

Of course, like most setups that use multiple perrserkers, it's virtually impossible to do in randoms without absurd coordinated luck.
 

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