How to prepare for the Samurott Raid Event in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Welcome to the final days of Samurott

In case you haven’t heard, Samurott is joining the roster of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet via a 7-Star Tera Raid Battle event. This event will run from March 31 to April 2, and it will repeat the following weekend from April 7 to April 9.

One of the most challenging aspects of 7-Star raids is sheer unpredictability. The moveset of any Pokemon can completely change which monster will counter it best, so it’s almost impossible to prepare for an event before it goes live. For example, Samurott is a Water-Type Pokemon with a Bug Tera Type, which means Flying-Type Pokemon should be the best counters. However, if Samurott knows an Ice-Type move, the best Pokemon may be Walking Wake with Flamethrower or a Skill Link Cloyster with Rock Blast.

As unpredictable as raids are, you can minimize the busywork now so you can challenge Samurott within the first few hours of its debut. Here’s what you should do.

Step 1: Catch any Pokemon you might use for the raid

We don’t know which Pokemon will be meta, but some monsters are more likely to take the spotlight than others. Sure, you know that Torkoal isn’t likely to be a winner, but there’s a chance Corviknight could be an MVP.

If you’ve already completed your Pokedex, then you have this step on lock. If not, I’d recommend filling your storage with as many different Flying-Type Pokemon as you can. Pokemon that resist Water and Bug-Type attacks are also worth consideration. For example, Quaquaval’s Water/Fighting-Type gives it comprehensive resistances, and Acrobatics allows it to deal super effective damage in return. You don’t necessarily need to fully build every possible Pokemon, but the more options you have, the better.

It’s worth noting that, typically, raid-ready Pokemon should have a Tera Type matching their primary attack element. Unlike in competitive battling, Teratalization is predominately an offensive boon that can help break a raid Pokemon’s shield faster. It’s okay if your Pokemon has a unique Tera Type, but don’t go out of your way for one.

Step 2: Stock up on TMs

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet forgoes the tradition of the previous four generations and makes TMs consumable again. This isn’t a particular issue for progressing the main game, as you’ll find plenty of TMs laying around. However, if you’re deep into the postgame or have participated in many 7-Star events, your stash of certain key TMs may be running low.

I highly recommend farming plenty of materials for Reflect and Light Screen. These are fundamental support moves, so you can never own enough of these. Moves that sharply raise or lower stats typically get decent milage too, such as Charm or Iron Defense. Finally, any move that deals damage and lowers a stat can be especially invaluable if you need to play support during a shield phase. Chilling Water has been a mainstay support move for several encounters, and it could potentially help here too.

Powerful Flying, Fire, and Rock-Type TMs are all applicable here too as counters to Bug Pokemon. The best moves will obviously vary depending on the Pokemon, but I’d recommend having Flamethrower, Rock Blast, and Sunny Day on hand. Otherwise, I’d say go through your list of TMs and make sure you have one of each. Even if you don’t need every TM now, you’ll be happy to have them for future 7-Star battles.

Step 3: Get mad money

Once you decide which Pokemon you’ll want to use, you’ll need to max out their EVs and applicable IVs. The fastest way to max EVs is via stat boost items you can buy from Chansey Supply in Mesagoza. The problem here is that these items cost money. Like, a lot of money.

Buying all the EV items you’ll need for one Pokemon will run you around 500,000 Pokedollars. If you need bottlecaps for IVs, those will run you 20,000 Pokedollars each. You’ll also need to account for held items that you might need in a pinch, such as the Assault Vest. 7-Star raids fortunately drop bottlecaps and EXP candies at a decent rate, but either way, you need stacks of cash.

The fastest and easiest way to grind money is by running the Academy Ace Tournament. Lead with a Pokemon holding the Amulet Coin, which will boost your earnings to over 100,000 Pokedollars per tournament. Anyone who preordered the DLC for Scarlet & Violet received a Mystery Gift code for Hisuian Zoroark, who uniquely knows the move Happy Hour. When used, your prize money after a battle will double. This makes Zoroark the ideal lead for running the tournament, especially since it can use U-Turn immediately after if its stuck in a bad matchup.

As for a good all-around sweeper for the tournament, I recommend Gholdengo. If you can give it a Steel Tera Type, a max Sp. Atk build with Choice Specs equipped should be able to OHKO any Pokemon you’re up against. Additionally, you’ll get even more bonus money thanks to Make It Rain’s secondary effect. If you want to spend money to make money, this is how you should do it.

Step 4: Check for updates

This is mainly for when the event actually goes live, but always make sure you have the most up-to-date version of the game before you go online. The Walking Wake and Iron Leaves event had a pretty nasty glitch occur if players didn’t update beforehand, so you’ll want to avoid that same fate. This hasn’t been an issue for other 7-Star raid events, but you can never be too careful.

There are plenty of battle preparations you can make, but in the end, don’t go overboard covering every base. Stock up on the things you think you might need, and grab the resources to fully build two or three Pokemon if you plan to farm the event. One-and-done players can wait for solo builds to appear and stick with those to catch Samurott, so feel free to take any angle that keeps your grinding to a minimum.