What is the best Tera Type for Greninja in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

Another round of seven-star Tera Raid Battles is headed to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet from Jan. 27 to 29 and Feb. 10 to 12, this time having players face off against a Poison Tera Typed Greninja with The Mightiest Mark.

Greninja, the Ninja Pokémon, has remained one of the most popular Pokémon in the franchise since its debut in Pokémon X and Y in 2013. This Water/Dark-type Pokémon is the final evolution of Froakie, who players were able to choose to help them adventure through the Kalos region as their first partner. Greninja even made a surprise appearance in Super Smash Bros for 3DS and Wii U and has remained a fighter in the series since.

Yet much of Greninja’s popularity stems from how oppressive it has been within the competitive Pokémon scene for most of the past decade. With high Special Attack and Speed stats alongside its typing, as well as access to powerful moves of various types, Greninja is the definition of a glass cannon, easily prepared to catch unsuspecting opponents off guard. Access to the ability Protean made Greninja even stronger since it could change its type to match the move it was using.

Greninja received an even bigger power boost thanks to the introduction of Ash-Greninja in the anime, which was a fusion of protagonist Ash and his Greninja due to their bond that changed its appearance and strengthened its moves—akin to Mega Evolution. Players could access this form in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon through a Greninja that had the ability Battle Bond. But this form has seemingly been retconned from the series, however, disappearing from the anime and no longer activating with the Battle Bond ability.

Unfortunately, Greninja suffers further with its return in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet thanks to nerfs to Protean, which only activates once each time Greninja is on the field. While its stats are still strong, the changes to its two strongest abilities bring its potential down. It is currently unclear which ability Greninja will have when caught during this Tera Raid Battle event, though it is likely to be Protean, which is its accessible Hidden Ability.

Best Tera Type for Greninja in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Greninja functions very similarly to a popular choice for competitive battles in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and a fellow final evolution of a starter Pokémon: Meowscarada. While Meowscarada is more physically offensive, Greninja is more specially offensive, though both are very fast and fragile. They also each have Protean as their Hidden Ability, which is still rather strong but not as powerful as it once was.

Therefore, like players have been doing with Meowscarada, the best option of a Tera Type for Greninja is Water, which takes full advantage of the powerful Water-type attacks that it gets access to naturally—as well as its signature move, Water Shuriken. Players could even couple this with moves like Hydro Pump or the new Chilling Water, which also lowers the target’s Attack stat.

The Poison Tera Type that it comes with in this Raid does negate its Grass, Fighting, and Fairy-type weaknesses, but its low defenses will still result in it taking massive damage from nearly any attack. Additionally, Gunk Shot and Tera Blast (while Terastalized) are the only Poison-type attacks that Greninja can learn, which are niche coverage options.

Greninja’s Tera Type can be changed freely by going to Medali’s Treasure Eatery. The process costs 50 Tera Shards of the type players wish to change it to, which can be obtained through Tera Raid Battles and specific events.