We're just a few days away from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's big Charizard Tera Raid battle, but fans are already digging trenches for the real fight - the war over the best Pokemon to bring into the raid.
See, early wisdom has suggested that an Azumarill equipped with the Sap Sipper ability is going to be the way to go. The raid Charizard is likely to have Solar Beam, a grass-type move, and Sap Sipper grants immunity to grass and boosts your attack power when you take that type of hit. This combo would potentially have a great deal of immunity toward Charizard's moves, and Azumarill has already been dominating the raid scene.
The issue is that the Azumarills that have been laying the smackdown on previous raids have been equipped with the Huge Power ability, which doubles your attack, rather than Sap Sipper. That's often paired with Belly Drum - based off the broken Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Iron Hands Raid build - which sacrifices HP for an attack boost. The combo wouldn't be nearly as effective with a Sap Sipper Azumarill.
Players are now starting to point to Dachsbun as a solid counter for the Charizard event - it'll have more natural immunities than Azumarill, plus a higher base attack to help pour the damage on.
Make an informed decision for Charizard raids this weekend 👇 #PokemonScarletViolet pic.twitter.com/pXdbE1WnlTNovember 28, 2022
So what's the actual best choice? That's the thing - nobody knows. The Charizard Tera Raid won't kick off until December 1, and until it arrives, nobody knows what the creature's move pool will look like. It'll have Dragon as a Tera Type, but beyond that its capabilities are a mystery, which means all this theorycrafting is pointless for a few more days.
Elsewhere in the Pokemeta, one of the series' biggest jokes is now one of the strongest Pokemon out there. Or if you need a refresher on raids, our guide to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Tera types and Terastallizing will help you out.
