Best Pokemon for Rillaboom Tera Raid: how to beat the 7-Star Rillaboom event
The Pokémon Company has announced the next 7-Star Tera Raid event, following previous raids for Delphox and Chesnaught. This time, we’re focused on Galar’s Grass-type starter Pokémon, Rillaboom, after previous Galar events for both Inteleon and Cinderace.
Rillaboom packs a very powerful punch, and has pretty decent defensive capabilities, but we have a pretty good idea of what it can and could do, so countering it shouldn’t be too difficult. It is complicated by its Tera type, however, which has only one weakness.
This guide will tell you everything you need to know about Rillaboom’s move set, and the best Rillaboom counters in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
When does the Rillaboom raid start? - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Like the last few recent Tera raid events, Rillaboom’s 7-star tera raid event will take place over two consecutive weekends, with each round of the event running from Friday through Sunday on each weekend .
Here are the 7-star Rillaboom raid event dates:
- July 28 - July 30
- August 4 - August 6
7-star Tera Raid Rillaboom stats, moves - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Rillaboom has a surprisingly diverse move set, and a good ability that works in its favor — but also in ours. Grassy Surge provides a little bit of healing each turn, and increases the power of Grass-type attacks. Its Normal Tera type gives it only one weakness, Fighting-type moves, but also means its Tera-boosted attacks can be quite easy to nullify or minimize.
Here’s what Rillaboom is running:
The Mightiest Rillaboom – Level 100
- Nature – Jolly
- Ability – Grassy Surge
- Item – None
- Tera-type – Normal
- Moveset – Growth, Bulk Up, Acrobatics, Boomburst, Drum Beating, Low Kick, Body Slam
Low Kick is an annoying move for Rillaboom to have, and Acrobatics could do some serious damage too. Body Slam is a very real threat, making use of the Tera boost and having the chance to paralyze, so we have to watch out for that. Finally, Bulk Up and Growth are a bit of a worry — not one we expect will be too difficult to deal with, but concerning nonetheless.
Best counters for Rillaboom - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Rillaboom’s Normal typing gives us one major avenue for dealing damage: Fighting-type moves. Thankfully, some of the strongest raid Pokémon in the game are Fighting-type Pokémon with incredible move sets. Defense is very important here, as Rillaboom has a monstrous physical attack stat, but its move set does give us a fairly big window to work in.
With that in mind, here are our preliminary picks for the best Rillaboom counters.
Iron Hands
The Pokémon Company / Nintendo
Iron Hands is a staple for raids, and for good reason: it’s got a great attack stat, decent defenses, and access to Belly Drum, immediately boosting its attack stat to +6. The set is pretty simple to work with — Belly Drum on the first turn, hit a Drain Punch to get HP back, then set up an Electric Terrain to wipe Rillaboom’s Grassy Surge. It also has the nice benefit of activating Iron Hands’ Quark Drive, boosting its attacks by 30%.
Iron Defense is probably a good one to set up once Rillaboom wipes stat boosts, after which you can start setting up again. You might be thinking Drain Punch isn’t enough to deal big damage, but with the double Tera boost, Quark Drive, and +6 attack, it’s going to absolutely dominate in this raid. Drain Punch should be doing more than enough damage to make its health back on every turn, assuming Rillaboom doesn’t have any nasty tricks up its sleeve.
Here’s our recommended set for Iron Hands:
Iron Hands – Level 100
- Nature – Impish
- Ability – Quark Drive
- Item – Big Root
- Tera-type – Fighting
- Moveset – Belly Drum, Drain Punch, Electric Terrain, Iron Defense
Corviknight
The Pokémon Company / Nintendo
You might have noticed in our past raid guides that we have a bit of a soft spot for Corviknight, and it’s true — we absolutely do. This versatile metal bird doesn’t have enough damage output to take down Rillaboom by itself, but its supportive move set does give it plenty to do and its typing should make it either resistant or immune to just about anything Rillaboom can do.
Taunt prevents Rillaboom from setting up in those crucial first turns, while Screech and Bulk Up lower the raid boss’s stats while boosting your own, respectively. Rounding it out is Revenge, Corviknight’s only attacking move in this set, which has 120 base damage if Corviknight gets hit first. The Brave nature is here to try and help that happen, and we think it should do a good enough job. Body Press is another fantastic option, if Revenge isn't doing it for you.
Here’s our move set for Corviknight:
Corviknight – Level 100
- Nature – Impish
- Ability – Mirror Armor
- Item – Shell Bell
- Tera-type – Fighting
- Moveset – Bulk Up, Taunt, Screech, Revenge/Body Press
Avalugg
The Pokémon Company / Nintendo
Avalugg is one of the most defensive Pokémon in the game, with a massive 184 base defense, making it a prime candidate for taking down Rillaboom. Iron Defense boosts that even further, setting Avalugg up to be 100% safe when using Recover, effectively making the glacier Pokémon effectively unkillable.
So what good is defense without a good offense? Well, that’s where Avalugg’s secret weapon comes into play: Body Press. It’s a super effective move, and it uses Avalugg’s defense stat instead of its attack stat. With 184 defense, +6 defense from Iron Defense, and a potential Tera boost from its Fighting Tera type, Avalugg is far and away one of the best attacking options in the game — at least in this raid. Game Freak still hates Ice-type Pokémon, so don’t expect Avalugg in future raids. To round out the set, we've got Chilling Water, which should prevent Rillaboom from buffing up too much.
Here’s the best set for Avalugg:
Avalugg – Level 100
- Nature – Impish
- Ability – Own Tempo
- Item – Shell Bell
- Tera-type – Fighting
- Moveset – Iron Defense, Recover, Body Press, Chilling Water
Salamence
The Pokémon Company / Nintendo
Salamence is a fantastic Pokémon with great stats and an even better typing. Depending on how you want to play it, Salamence could be great as part of a team, or a fantastic Pokémon to solo or duo with, thanks to its abilities. Intimidate lowers Rillaboom’s attack every time Salamence is sent out, while Moxie gives you an attack boost with every NPC you knock out. Remember: knocking out NPCs doesn’t lower the timer, so it’s essentially a free stat boost.
Salamence can take either Iron Defense to boost its defense or Dragon Dance to boost attack, depending on how aggressive you want to be. Mud Slap will lower Rillaboom’s accuracy, while Roost keeps Salamence healthy at the expense of its flying typing. Brick Break is the final move, perfect for doing some Tera boosted damage after Terastalizing.
Here’s what we recommend for Salamence:
Salamence – Level 100
- Nature – Impish
- Ability – Intimidate / Moxie
- Item – Shell Bell
- Tera-type – Fighting
- Moveset – Roost, Iron Defense/Dragon Dance, Brick Break, Mud-Slap
