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Best Pokémon to counter the Unrivaled Greninja Tera Raid event in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

You won't want to take this frog lightly.

Team coordination is pretty simple in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Tera Raids since the ready-up screen shows an updated image of which Pokémon each player is bringing.

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There will be some players who automatically lock in their picks regardless of what their soon-to-be teammates want to bring, but seeing those choices still gives the other players a chance to salvage the situation if the pick isn’t great.

The main goal is to bring a nice mix of attackers and supporters so not everyone is trying to play the same role or will overly rely on one teammate for one thing.

How to beat the Unrivaled Greninja Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Just like with most other high-leveled Tera Raids, the Unrivaled Greninja raid is going to feature a boss that is level 100 and buffed by additional boosts. This means you will want to bring your own Pokémon that are level 100, as bringing an under-leveled Pokémon could easily result in early KOs that will drag your team down.

During this seven-star raid event, Greninja will always appear as a Poison Tera Type, which means you don’t need to worry about planning around multiple resistances or immunities. Just remember that Greninja is originally a Water/Dark-type, so bringing a basic Ground or Psychic-type is just asking for trouble. 

Related: Where to find Unrivaled Greninja Tera Raids in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Regardless of your approach, or if you need some tips, here are the best counters you can use against the Unrivaled Greninja in Tera Raids. And since this is the last time it will appear during its first run in the game, you better make your raids count.

Best counters for the Unrivaled Greninja Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Best Gastrodon build for the Unrivaled Greninja Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Gastrodon is a long-time, reliable pick for players who need a Pokémon that can fit a number of roles. In Tera Raids it can play well as an attacker while also providing just enough support to make it a flex option just in case something goes wrong. 

As a bonus, since it has the ability Storm Drain, and Water-type attacks that Greninja may use during the raid battle will just end up boosting Gastrodon’s Special Attack stat instead!

Related: Best Gastrodon Tera Raid builds in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

  • Tera Type: Ground
  • Ability: Storm Drain
    • Water-type moves are drawn to this Pokémon. Water-type moves will do no damage and the Pokémon’s Special Attack is raised one stage.
  • Nature: Modest (+ Special Attack, – Attack)
  • Held Item: Soft Sand
    • Soft Sand is used in this build to reliably boost your Ground-type damage, but you can choose another item without losing too much. 
  • EV spread
    • 252 Special Attack
    • The other 256 can be placed in whatever stat you want, most recommend some in HP and maybe Defense/Special Defense.
  • Moves
    • Earth Power
    • Mud-Slap/Clear Smog/Acid Armor
    • Helping Hand
    • Recover

Best Toxtricity build for the Unrivaled Greninja Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Toxtricity might not stand out as a great counter right away, but it does resist Water and Poison moves, along with having access to a number of great support moves. This includes the ever-present Tera Raid staple Acid Spray and things like Taunt or Nuzzle. 

The entire goal of this Toxtricity build is to assist your teammates before trying to deal a bit of damage yourself. Thunderbolt is going to be your only direct offensive option, but that won’t matter once you are enabling your allies’ Pokémon to hit even harder or hindering Greninja. 

  • Tera Type: Electric
  • Ability: Technician
    • Moves with a base power of 60 or less are boosted in power by 50 percent.
  • Nature: Modest (+ Special Attack, – Attack)
  • Held Item: Assault Vest (for all-attack build) or Leftovers
    • If you go all in on attacking moves, even if they aren’t strong, Assault Vest will let you take some additional hits thanks to its Special Defense boosting properties. However, if you don’t use that build, you will want to pick something else because an Assault Vest also locks the user out of using non-damaging moves. 
  • EV spread
    • 252 HP
    • 4 Defense 
    • 252 Special Attack
  • Moves
    • Acid Spray
    • Thunderbolt
    • Nuzzle/Charge Beam
    • Snarl/Taunt/Charm

Best Clodsire build for the Unrivaled Greninja Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Clodsire falls into the same camp as Gastrodon in many ways, as it resists one of Greninja’s options and also has access to an ability that nullifies Water-type moves. However, this bulky Poison/Ground-type is more of a supporter in this case. 

Acid Spray and Chilling Water just can’t be beaten when it comes to most Tera Raid battles, and access to strong Ground options just makes Clodsire an all-around great pick even if you end up taking a Psychic or Ice-type attack. 

Related: Best Clodsire Tera Raid builds in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

  • Tera Type: Ground
  • Ability: Water Absorb
    • The Pokémon heals up to 1/4 of its maximum HP when hit with Water-type moves.
  • Nature: Calm (+ Special Defense, – Attack) or Bold (+ Defense, – Attack)
  • Held Item: Assault Vest (for all-attack build) or Leftovers
    • Just like with Toxtricity, an Assault Vest will let you take some additional hits. Just remember it locks the user out of using non-damaging moves, so only use it if you plan on attacking each turn or using a Cheer. 
  • EV spread
    • 252 HP
    • 252 Special Attack
    • 4 into either Defense stat 
  • Moves
    • Earth Power
    • Acid Spray
    • Chilling Water
    • Mud-Slap/Helping Hand/Recover

Best Klefki build for the Unrivaled Greninja Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Since we know the Unrivaled Greninja is Poison Tera Type, there isn’t much need for worrying about it being able to hit Klefki with anything other than a strong Water-type move. This makes Klefki an excellent support Pokémon to bring if you need to set up screens and help out your team. 

Greninja is somewhat of a mixed attacker, so bringing Reflect and Light Screen is a decent option. Klefki also has access to several other helpful moves like Metal Sound that can help out the numerous Special Attackers you will see popping up as allies. 

  • Tera Type: Steel
  • Ability: Prankster
    • Gives priority to a status move.
  • Nature: Calm (+ Special Defense, – Attack)
  • Held Item: Light Clay
  • EV spread
    • 252 HP
    • 4 Special Attack
    • 252 Special Defense
  • Moves
    • Psychic
    • Light Screen/Reflect/Calm Mind
    • Thunder Wave/Reflect/Light Screen
    • Metal Sound

Best Rotom Wash build for the Unrivaled Greninja Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

When in doubt, throw the washing machine at the problem. Rotom Wash has been a constant staple of any Pokémon game when it comes to online battles and tough challenges, with Tera Raids being no different. In this case, it can act as a dual screener and hold its own on offense too. Stored Power anyone? 

  • Tera Type: Steel
  • Ability: Prankster
    • Gives priority to a status move.
  • Nature: Modest (+ Special Attack, – Attack)
  • Held Item: Light Clay
  • EV spread
    • 252 HP
    • 4 Special Attack
    • 252 Special Defense
  • Moves
    • Discharge/Stored Power
    • Helping Hand/Nasty Plot
    • Light Screen
    • Reflect

Best Vaporeon build for the Unrivaled Greninja Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

This isn’t part of the ongoing Vaporeon meme that seems to never go away, the Water-type Eeveelution is actually a decent option to halt Unrivaled Greninja. This is thanks mostly to Water Absorb being the MVP again and its access to various good moves. 

Stored Power is the set you will likely want to be rocking, but thanks to Vaporeon having access to Fake Tears, even if you aren’t able to setup properly you can still try to help your teammates out. 

  • Tera Type: Water or Steel
  • Ability: Water Absorb
    • The Pokémon heals up to 1/4 of its maximum HP when hit with Water-type moves.
  • Nature: Modest (+ Special Attack, – Attack)
  • Held Item: Leftovers
  • EV spread
    • 252 HP
    • 252 Special Attack
    • 4 Special Defense
  • Moves
    • Stored Power
    • Calm Mind
    • Acid Armor
    • Fake Tears

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Cale Michael
Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.