Best counters and builds for defeating 7-star Meganium Tera Raids in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Unrivaled Meganium Tera Raids have finally landed in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and the Generation II Grass Starter is quite challenging to beat if you don’t come prepared with the right counter or strategy.

The Meganium Tera Raid event takes place from Thursday, April 4 at 7pm CT to Sunday, April 7 at 6:59pm CT and again from Thursday, April 11 at 7pm CT to Sunday, April 14 at 6:59pm CT throughout the Paldea region. This means if you are unable to clear the raid during its first run, you’ll at least have another chance the following week.

If you’re struggling with this one, here’s everything you need to know to beat the Unrivaled Meganium Tera Raid, including the best counter and build to take it down.

Beating the Unrivaled Meganium Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Unrivaled Meganium is super bulky, so the key to beating it is to break through its defenses or ignore them altogether. The ideal counter should be able to hit Meganium hard while resisting most of its attacks, and there’s a specific Pokémon that can do both. To determine the best counter, let’s first look at Meganium’s type, Tera Type, and move set.

What type is Unrivaled Meganium?

Meganium is a pure Grass-type Pokémon, and it has the Psychic Tera Type for this specific Tera Raid event. This means it has three weaknesses in Dark, Bug, and Ghost. Dark-type Pokémon have an additional perk of being immune to Meganium’s Psychic attacks, but the right Bug and Ghost Pokémon should also be able to hold their own against the boss.

What moves does Unrivaled Meganium know?

Three of Unrivaled Meganium’s moves center around its defenses—Light Screen, Reflect, and Curse. Light Screen and Reflect will severely reduce the damage of your attacks, but you can remove the screens by bringing a Pokémon that knows Brick Break. Curse serves a dual purpose, increasing Meganium’s Attack and Defense by one stage each. This buffs the rest of the boss’ attacks: Seed Bomb, Zen Headbutt, Body Press, and Bulldoze.

Moves

• Seed Bomb
• Zen Headbutt
• Body Press
• Curse

Additional Moves

• Light Screen
• Reflect
• Bulldoze

Best counter for the Unrivaled Meganium Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

As things currently stand, there’s one Pokémon in particular that can consistently beat Unrivaled Meganium in solo raids—Scarlet and Violet’s Fire Starter, Skeledirge. Everything about the Fire/Ghost-type Pokémon is perfect for soloing Meganium. Just make sure you have the right build and strategy, and you’ll be fine.

Best Skeledirge Tera Raid build in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Skeledirge is a fantastic counter to Unrivaled Meganium thanks to its Fire/Ghost typing and its Hidden Ability, Unaware. Skeledirge’s Fire/Ghost typing naturally has a huge advantage over Meganium’s regular Grass-type and Psychic Tera Type. However, the Gen IX Fire Starter’s biggest perk is its Unaware ability, which lets it completely ignore Meganium’s Attack and Defense boosts. In other words, Skeledirge doesn’t care when Meganium sets up with Curse, and it’ll take much less damage from the raid boss’ attacks.

With the type advantage and perfect Ability on its side, Skeledirge can take care of Meganium without too much trouble. Start by using Torch Song to charge Skeledirge’s Tera and boost its Special Attack. Meganium will unfortunately reset your Pokémon’s stats, so aim to use six more Torch Songs after that to maximize its Special Attack. From there, you can Terastallize and spam Shadow Ball. Pay attention to when Meganium removes Skeledirge’s Ability, and use Protect during that one turn to keep your crocodile safe from harm. Use Slack Off to heal when needed.

The only drawback about Skeledirge is its availability in Scarlet and Violet as a Starter Pokémon. If you didn’t choose Fuecoco as your Starter, you may need to trade with a fellow trainer for one. It’s a great ‘mon to have for other raids anyway—Skeledirge’s Unaware ability is one of the best Abilities against raid bosses that like to set up.