Best Arboliva builds to solo Pikachu Tera Raids in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

Zackerie Fairfax
arboliva

Water-type Pikachu is featured in 7-star Tera Raids to commemorate Pokemon Day 2023, and here is how you can solo the surfing electric mouse with an overpowered Arboliva build.

Arboliva is a new Grass/Normal-type Pokemon introduced in Gen 9, and its moveset makes it the perfect candidate to solo the indomitable 7-star Pikachu Tera Rais boss.

To commemorate Pokemon Day, Pikachu has taken the spotlight in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet in its infamous surfing form. As a Water Tera Type and knowing the move surf, the cute franchise mascot becomes a formidable foe.

However, there are plenty of Pokemon that can withstand Pikachu’s mixed Water and Electric moveset, and the best way to deal with the boss is by using this Arboliva build.

pikachu water tera type

Best Arboliva build for Pikachu Tera Raid (SOLO)

Arboliva is the best pick for Pikachu Tera Raids because of its Special Attack stats and hard-hitting Grass-type moveset. And if players use a Grass Tera Type, they will get the job done quickly.

For solo play (offline), players will want to equip the Covert Cloak held item to negate and secondary effect from Pikachu’s moves. Use Energy Ball three times to charge your Tera Orb before using Sunny Day to remove the buff from Pikachu’s Rain Dance and to lower the power of Surf.

After the setup is complete, use Giga Drain on repeat until Pikachu is defeated. This will deal massive damage thanks to the STAB from your Grass Tera Type and will sustain Arboliva thanks to its healing properties.

PokemonLevelMovesetHeld ItemAbilityNatureEVs & IVs
100-Energy Ball
-Sunny Day
-Giga Drain
-Strength Sap
Covert CloakSeed SowerModestHP & Special Attack

Best solo Arboliva moveset

  • Energy Ball – learned at level 34
  • Sunny Day – learned via TM
  • Giga Drain – learned via TM
  • Strength Sap – learned via breeding

Best Arboliva build for Pikachu Tera Raids (Support)

For those who want to use Arboliva in team play, this build is for you. Instead of a Covet Cloak, players should opt for the move Safeguard, protecting the entire team from Status effects for five turns. Replace the held item with the Big Root to boost the power of healing moves by 30%.

If another team member hasn’t used Sunny Day, Arboliva will want to use it on turn two to lower Pikachu’s damage. Then use Strength Sap until Pikachu’s attack is lowered to the minimum while also sustaining yourself.

Also, make sure to use Safeguard again on turn six to continue negating status effects. The rest of the fight can be won by spamming Giga Drain until Pikachu faints.

PokemonLevelMovesetHeld ItemAbilityNatureEVs & IVs
100-Safeguard
-Sunny Day
-Giga Drain
-Strength Sap
Big RootSeed SowerModestHP & Special Attack

Best Support Arboliva moveset

  • Safeguard – learned at level 1
  • Sunny Day – learned via TM
  • Giga Drain – learned via TM
  • Strength Sap – learned via breeding

That’s everything you need to know about Arboliva in Pikachu Tera Raids! Check out more Pokemon Scarlet & Violet guides below:

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About The Author

Zackerie is a former Senior Writer for Dexerto who covered a wide variety of games and entertainment. He has a degree in Creative Writing and was previously the editor of The LaRue County News. Zackerie switched to games media in 2020 writing for outlets such as Screen Rant, Fortnite INTEL, and Charlie INTEL.