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7* Raid - Fairy Primarina - May 10-12/17-19
- Thread starter R_N
- Start date
Moonblast seems pretty much guaranteed, but the rest of the movepool has a bunch of spicy options. The main Water STAB could be the signature move Sparkling Aria, or the usual suspects of Surf, Hydro Pump and Scald. However, thanks to Liquid Voice we could also see options like Psychic Noise and Alluring Voice on the table. Being able to punish set-up with confusion or deny healing would both be very dangerous threats to go up against.
For coverage moves, I think Psychic is extremely likely. It punishes Poison types well, which would otherwise stomp this raid. Options like
, 
, 
and 
among others could be very strong, especially with Acid Spray spam. For other coverage moves Ice Beam, Energy Ball and Shadow Ball are probable.
In terms of set-up, Primarina learns Calm Mind but it could also utilize Rain Dance. Given how good neutral coverage Water and Fairy already have, Primarina could very well afford to run Calm Mind in its non-scripted moveset.
The option I am fearing the most is Sing. It would fit thematically and be very disruptive. Though, it can be negated by Water Absorb.
If Primarina uses a sound-based move as its main Water STAB, then that means Soundproof Bastiodon could be the secret sauce for this raid.
For coverage moves, I think Psychic is extremely likely. It punishes Poison types well, which would otherwise stomp this raid. Options like
, , and among others could be very strong, especially with Acid Spray spam. For other coverage moves Ice Beam, Energy Ball and Shadow Ball are probable.In terms of set-up, Primarina learns Calm Mind but it could also utilize Rain Dance. Given how good neutral coverage Water and Fairy already have, Primarina could very well afford to run Calm Mind in its non-scripted moveset.
The option I am fearing the most is Sing. It would fit thematically and be very disruptive. Though, it can be negated by Water Absorb.
If Primarina uses a sound-based move as its main Water STAB, then that means Soundproof Bastiodon could be the secret sauce for this raid.
this definitely seems like one of the toughest to solo, especially if it has calm mind. primarina's coverage is just SO good
raid regulars like goodra-h and sap sipper azu should do pretty good, but i can also see empoleon being universally great here! resistance to moonblast and water STAB is awesome and it even gets a boost with competitive if moonblast's spatk drop procs. if primarina has rain dance, it can reset weather with snowscape. it can debuff with metal sound and mud-slap as well
the other one i was thinking of was tentacruel, who can debuff with acid spray and the really funny skitter smack and can benefit from rain dance with rain dish + aqua ring, but its viability hinges entirely on if primarina has psychic or not because if it does that guy is cooked
raid regulars like goodra-h and sap sipper azu should do pretty good, but i can also see empoleon being universally great here! resistance to moonblast and water STAB is awesome and it even gets a boost with competitive if moonblast's spatk drop procs. if primarina has rain dance, it can reset weather with snowscape. it can debuff with metal sound and mud-slap as well
the other one i was thinking of was tentacruel, who can debuff with acid spray and the really funny skitter smack and can benefit from rain dance with rain dish + aqua ring, but its viability hinges entirely on if primarina has psychic or not because if it does that guy is cooked
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I don't think we'll see Alluring Voice or Psychic Noise just because those moves feel better suited to not being Water type.
Ice Beam feels like a given. If you're a special attacking water type you gotta have the beam! If nothing else so Clodsire can't just say no to you, much less any other Water type or Grass type.
Ice Beam feels like a given. If you're a special attacking water type you gotta have the beam! If nothing else so Clodsire can't just say no to you, much less any other Water type or Grass type.
I assume Volcanion will be sturdy (Water Absorb so no concerns for Water STAB, plus Fairy Resist and dual Ice if that's coverage), but again needs supportive teammates to bolster damage.
Archaludon maybe? Snarl and Metal Sound for Supporting Debuffs, if Rain has Uptime it can boost with Electro Shot to contribute damage to a comp.
Calm Mind Solgaleo might work with Flash Cannon (bulky and with reliable recovery if Rain is dealt with) on offense, or using Snarl/Screens to sustain everyone. Sunny Day Klefki probably will be a good support again with Skitter Smack + Prankster Sunny Day, though its much lower stats probably don't make the offensive option very feasible for it, at least in Solo.
If Primarina gets free boosting like Meganium (and that wasn't just a crutch for that raid's limited options), our best Unaware option type wise is Clefable, so here's hoping they don't pull that twice, since Malamar is too much a liability for Contrary Skill Swapping
Archaludon maybe? Snarl and Metal Sound for Supporting Debuffs, if Rain has Uptime it can boost with Electro Shot to contribute damage to a comp.
Calm Mind Solgaleo might work with Flash Cannon (bulky and with reliable recovery if Rain is dealt with) on offense, or using Snarl/Screens to sustain everyone. Sunny Day Klefki probably will be a good support again with Skitter Smack + Prankster Sunny Day, though its much lower stats probably don't make the offensive option very feasible for it, at least in Solo.
If Primarina gets free boosting like Meganium (and that wasn't just a crutch for that raid's limited options), our best Unaware option type wise is Clefable, so here's hoping they don't pull that twice, since Malamar is too much a liability for Contrary Skill Swapping
Aside from Kanto for Pokemon Day it looks like this theory is still going, we'll see if Sceptile and Incineroar are next.
The first thought I had is that we're running out of non-STAB types for even the main starter raids now that they're resorting to secondary types, though Fairy isn't a bad STAB to double down on when your main asset is the highest base SpA of the starters. Other than that, I don't think Primarina will be that different a boss from everything so far, because its ability doesn't really add anything other than letting it use different moves for Water coverage, but it also means probably not wanting to double up on it which limits its potential combinations in a way. If raids were designed to have more than just 6 set actions for extra moves then I could see a lot of potential with its status moves like Encore like Politoed or a very late Perish Song to threaten a full party wipe that you have to block or win by. But otherwise I'm not thinking that highly of the 3rd best Water/Fairy in SV unless it has some awkward reset times or does have Calm Mind.
Even in its promotional screenshot it looks so washed out that they needed to add its official art just to clarify what the mon actually is:
Besides Sparkling Aria and Moonblast, I imagine she may run Psychic. Not sure about that last move though. Maybe Hyper Voice? I can see her running Calm Mind as an additional move and maybe Rain Dance.
Shell Bell
Shell Armor
Tera Steel
252 SpA / 252 SpD / 6 HP
Modest / Timid Nature (They have the same Speed stat)
Flash Cannon
Acid Spray
Steel Beam
Sunny Day (Even if no Rain Dance)
Shell Bell
Shell Armor
Tera Steel
252 SpA / 252 SpD / 6 HP
Modest / Timid Nature (They have the same Speed stat)
Flash Cannon
Acid Spray
Steel Beam
Sunny Day (Even if no Rain Dance)
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I fully expect Calm Mind as the scripted / setup move.
Reflect or Light Screen are a option as well, but seeing as Meganium just had these, I don't think it'll be the case.
The odd Amnesia is a maybe, I can see it, but more likely to have Calm Mind. Could have both though.
The other various options can be Misty Terrain (unlikely, I don't see any specific synergy), Encore (possible, but doubt it), Baby Doll Eyes (I can see this in the regular moveset), or a scripted Icy Wind (this is somewhat likely expecially given Primarina's low speed).
Do note that a scripted Sparkling Aria while having a different water stab that uses Liquid Voice is a possibility.
As for offensive moves... Water / Moonblast / Psychic feels all but guaranteed. Energy Ball or Ice Beam could round up the 4th slot.
Psychic Noise as water stab would actually be terrifying due to the healing negation, so I really hope they don't go for that one.
All in all, I think we pull out our steel types. Primarina doesn't really have anything to hit steel supereffectively.
H-Goodra stands out as a steel with access to Acid Spray who isnt weak to Moonblast and resists the other stab..
Empoleon and Dialga obviously stand out as the other two steels that resist/neutral both stabs and are neutral to or resist any coverage primarina could sport.
That said, I'm looking at Solgaleo of all things. It's one of the few good phisical steels, very strong steel stab, has recovery in Morning Sun, immune to stat drops (in case it's running debuffs), and in virtue of being a phisical attacker it doesn't care of the Calm Mind stacking.
Scizor (and well... Arceus if you really want) also stands out as a Steel type that can use Struggle Bug to neuter any Calm Mind boost as the Clear Smog users are all either bad pokemon, weak to stabs, or don't resist Moonblast. (Well, unless it lacks psychic coverage but it'd be... super free then)
Of course Gastrodon is tecnically a water immunity with recovery that has Clear Smog, but may need some shenenigans to actually facetank the Moonblasts (and ofc, folds to a potential Energy Ball coverage).
Reflect or Light Screen are a option as well, but seeing as Meganium just had these, I don't think it'll be the case.
The odd Amnesia is a maybe, I can see it, but more likely to have Calm Mind. Could have both though.
The other various options can be Misty Terrain (unlikely, I don't see any specific synergy), Encore (possible, but doubt it), Baby Doll Eyes (I can see this in the regular moveset), or a scripted Icy Wind (this is somewhat likely expecially given Primarina's low speed).
Do note that a scripted Sparkling Aria while having a different water stab that uses Liquid Voice is a possibility.
As for offensive moves... Water / Moonblast / Psychic feels all but guaranteed. Energy Ball or Ice Beam could round up the 4th slot.
Psychic Noise as water stab would actually be terrifying due to the healing negation, so I really hope they don't go for that one.
All in all, I think we pull out our steel types. Primarina doesn't really have anything to hit steel supereffectively.
H-Goodra stands out as a steel with access to Acid Spray who isnt weak to Moonblast and resists the other stab..
Empoleon and Dialga obviously stand out as the other two steels that resist/neutral both stabs and are neutral to or resist any coverage primarina could sport.
That said, I'm looking at Solgaleo of all things. It's one of the few good phisical steels, very strong steel stab, has recovery in Morning Sun, immune to stat drops (in case it's running debuffs), and in virtue of being a phisical attacker it doesn't care of the Calm Mind stacking.
Scizor (and well... Arceus if you really want) also stands out as a Steel type that can use Struggle Bug to neuter any Calm Mind boost as the Clear Smog users are all either bad pokemon, weak to stabs, or don't resist Moonblast. (Well, unless it lacks psychic coverage but it'd be... super free then)
Of course Gastrodon is tecnically a water immunity with recovery that has Clear Smog, but may need some shenenigans to actually facetank the Moonblasts (and ofc, folds to a potential Energy Ball coverage).
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I suppose this would be the ideal Scizor build
Shell Bell
Ability doesn't matter
Tera Steel
252 Atk / 252 SpD / 6 HP
Adamant Nature
Iron Head
Struggle Bug
Swords Dance
Focus Energy
Shell Bell
Ability doesn't matter
Tera Steel
252 Atk / 252 SpD / 6 HP
Adamant Nature
Iron Head
Struggle Bug
Swords Dance
Focus Energy
I don't think Energy Ball is very helpful coverage. It is less than half as strong than tera STAB Moonblast and still weaker than neutral Moonblast when SE, so it will only be better against 4x weaknesses that Moonblast already hits neutrally anyway, and it can't benefit in any other matchup because Fairy resists also resist Grass, so nothing can resist Fairy but still be weak to Grass.
Gastrodon @ Leftovers / Ability Shield
Ability: Storm Drain
Tera Type: Poison or Steel
EVs: 252 HP / 4 SpA / 252 SpD
- Clear Smog
- Recover
- Amnesia
4th move options:
- Sludge Bomb (fish for poison and do some chip dmg)
- Body Slam (fish for paras)
- Skitter Smack (Debuff spatk, probably the best move to run honestly)
- Mud-Slap (debuff accuracy to help the team, probably 2nd best option)
I think this may be the premiere support honestly. Heck Clear Smog may be redundant with Skitter Smack if the "meta" ends up being just phisical offense anyway.
...since when does Gastrodon get Skitter Smack anyway?
I mentioned CM at one point for Solgaleo, but one additional mention to Necrozma DM, which shares the type profile, general statline, and has access to SD for offensive boosting (assuming teammates deal with CM for you on support)
Even if the Pokemon Day raids were to be disregarded, Tera Psychic Meganium was the next 7-star raid after those three, so my prediction was wrong.
How about this guy?
252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest
Shell Bell
-Acid Spray
-Nasty Plot
-Sludge Wave
-Slack Off
Good Stat distribution for this raid, resist Fairy while Neutral to psychic and has STAB on poison, neutral to Water and Ice.
252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest
Shell Bell
-Acid Spray
-Nasty Plot
-Sludge Wave
-Slack Off
Good Stat distribution for this raid, resist Fairy while Neutral to psychic and has STAB on poison, neutral to Water and Ice.
Only slightly related but building for this raid also makes me realize another reason offensive Primarina is so good in OU this gen: Ferrothorn would stuff basically everything this mon could be running without a SE Tera Blast, and I imagine it'd do well for a raid like this too.
Potentially related, does Leech Seed work on bosses like this? I don't assume the drain/healing scales with the Raid HP but does it work for bit-healing on a Support that might not want Leftovers in favor of something like Ability Shield?
Potentially related, does Leech Seed work on bosses like this? I don't assume the drain/healing scales with the Raid HP but does it work for bit-healing on a Support that might not want Leftovers in favor of something like Ability Shield?
it does work! however the damage dealt is a pittance (it might scale to the pokemon's HP prior to the HP multiplier), doesn't go through shields like all status moves and i'd assume removing negative effects also removes leech seed. personally not sure if it's worth it since the animation for leftovers already eats up a lot of the timer in my experience which is why i usually opt for shell bell instead and if removing negative effects does get rid of leech seed you're basically never getting it up again after the shield goes up :(
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I'm not 100% sure, but I have a feeling this can also work.
Shell Bell
Heavy Metal
Tera Steel
Adamant Nature
252 Atk / 252 SpD / 6 HP
Heavy Slam
Bulldoze (If she has Icy Wind I suppose you can run both Light Screen and Calm Mind)
Light Screen / Calm Mind
Sunny Day
Resists Moonblast, 4x resists Psychic, and Sunny Day will weaken the one move that deals at least neutral damage. Oh, and this is the calc for Heavy Slam without Tera.
252+ Atk Heavy Metal Bronzong Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tera Fairy Primarina: 426-504 (141.5 - 167.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Only problem is that Bronzong has no way to boost Atk. But I suppose a Special build can also work, it only takes 3 Calm Minds for Flash Cannon to become stronger than Heavy Slam.
Shell Bell
Ability doesn't matter
Tera Steel
Modest Nature
252 SpA / 252 SpD / 6 HP
Flash Cannon
Steel Beam
Calm Mind
Sunny Day
But if Primarina can spam Calm Mind you're definitely better off going Physical.
Shell Bell
Heavy Metal
Tera Steel
Adamant Nature
252 Atk / 252 SpD / 6 HP
Heavy Slam
Bulldoze (If she has Icy Wind I suppose you can run both Light Screen and Calm Mind)
Light Screen / Calm Mind
Sunny Day
Resists Moonblast, 4x resists Psychic, and Sunny Day will weaken the one move that deals at least neutral damage. Oh, and this is the calc for Heavy Slam without Tera.
252+ Atk Heavy Metal Bronzong Heavy Slam (120 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Tera Fairy Primarina: 426-504 (141.5 - 167.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Only problem is that Bronzong has no way to boost Atk. But I suppose a Special build can also work, it only takes 3 Calm Minds for Flash Cannon to become stronger than Heavy Slam.
Shell Bell
Ability doesn't matter
Tera Steel
Modest Nature
252 SpA / 252 SpD / 6 HP
Flash Cannon
Steel Beam
Calm Mind
Sunny Day
But if Primarina can spam Calm Mind you're definitely better off going Physical.
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I have this ready to go and will be my first attempt. Anyway, Slack Off is unnecessary with Shell Bell; I run Venoshock with Sludge Bomb over Wave for the 30% poison.How about this guy?
252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Modest
Shell Bell
-Acid Spray
-Nasty Plot
-Sludge Wave
-Slack Off
Good Stat distribution for this raid, resist Fairy while Neutral to psychic and has STAB on poison, neutral to Water and Ice.
Fwiw while it does not go through shields if already up, it does not get removed by debuff clear pulse.
The pulse only removes stat changes and status, volatile conditions stay.
..that said, the damage is based off the boss base HP so it's pretty insignificant, and although it provides significant healing, it does eat through your timer due to the animation.
Last hour predictions:
I think the coverage move will be Psychic just because it hits Poisons best and they like to mess with the common picks over hitting everything neutrally. I am still not betting on Calm Mind, but the trend of status moves scaling up lately means anything else would be underwhelming and is worth considering.
Public lobbies will be full of questionable Dialga and Lucario event sets, not counting immediate red flags like the raidons.
I think Primarina will be Modest as usual. I was thinking it could be Quiet but realized how unfitting that sounds out loud.
Considering all Fairy TM options would be worse than Moonblast to have, I can see it using Hyper Voice and dropping the TM as a main STAB that demonstrates Liquid Voice and also provides an extra weak point if you want to remove its ability. Unlike game8 I would not count on Hyper Voice and Aria being in the same set.
Otherwise I'm not sure if they would give out a DLC TM as a drop for the other sound moves, though they were fine with Curse in Meganium's moveset. Or just taking the option of a filler status move like Misty Terrain or its setup options.
I think the coverage move will be Psychic just because it hits Poisons best and they like to mess with the common picks over hitting everything neutrally. I am still not betting on Calm Mind, but the trend of status moves scaling up lately means anything else would be underwhelming and is worth considering.
Public lobbies will be full of questionable Dialga and Lucario event sets, not counting immediate red flags like the raidons.
I think Primarina will be Modest as usual. I was thinking it could be Quiet but realized how unfitting that sounds out loud.
Considering all Fairy TM options would be worse than Moonblast to have, I can see it using Hyper Voice and dropping the TM as a main STAB that demonstrates Liquid Voice and also provides an extra weak point if you want to remove its ability. Unlike game8 I would not count on Hyper Voice and Aria being in the same set.
Otherwise I'm not sure if they would give out a DLC TM as a drop for the other sound moves, though they were fine with Curse in Meganium's moveset. Or just taking the option of a filler status move like Misty Terrain or its setup options.
Time to spam Mud Slap. Or just about any move that drops accuracy. Actually, are there any good Magic Bouncers? Otherwise Gholdie may be the way to go.
that wasn't too bad
Tinkaton @ Shell Bell
Ability: Own Tempo (ability doesn't actually matter)
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Gigaton Hammer
- Tera Blast / Sleep Talk
- Skitter Smack
Tinkaton cleared pretty easily. Click Skitter Smack a couple times, Gigaton Hammer if you're feeling frisky, and don't click Swords Dance until after it does its one buff clear. You can juggle SD and Gigaton Hammer too. Sing's low accuracy means you can probably just rely on heal cheers, but if you're feeling REALLY lucky, you can use Sleep Talk over Tera Blast. Primarina doesn't seem too keen on spamming Sing at least, which is nice.
I love this creature so much, clicking Gigaton Hammer is an instant shot of the happy chemicals
Tinkaton @ Shell Bell
Ability: Own Tempo (ability doesn't actually matter)
Tera Type: Steel
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Gigaton Hammer
- Tera Blast / Sleep Talk
- Skitter Smack
Tinkaton cleared pretty easily. Click Skitter Smack a couple times, Gigaton Hammer if you're feeling frisky, and don't click Swords Dance until after it does its one buff clear. You can juggle SD and Gigaton Hammer too. Sing's low accuracy means you can probably just rely on heal cheers, but if you're feeling REALLY lucky, you can use Sleep Talk over Tera Blast. Primarina doesn't seem too keen on spamming Sing at least, which is nice.
I love this creature so much, clicking Gigaton Hammer is an instant shot of the happy chemicals
Here's what I'll try
Shell Bell
Tera Steel
252 SpA / 252 SpD / 6 HP
Modest Nature
Flash Cannon
Steel Beam
Nasty Plot
Light Screen
Shell Bell
Tera Steel
252 SpA / 252 SpD / 6 HP
Modest Nature
Flash Cannon
Steel Beam
Nasty Plot
Light Screen