Solo Raid Guide Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

By Dave Acuñaon
Pokemon Scarlet Violet Solo Raid cover

Solo Raiding is one of the raid modes that can be done in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. As the name suggests, its when players enter Tera Raids as the only player and only accompanied by NPC trainers and their Pokémon. This mode does not need to be played online, and despite being a single player only mode, it still can present some pros over to playing with other players online.

Read ahead as we talk about Solo Raids and share some tips on how to build a Pokémon ace for the raids.

How to play Solo Raids

To play Solo Raids, you can simply go to a Tera Cave of your choice, then choose the Challenge alone option. You’ll then receive a message that help has arrived as NPCs get randomly added into your team.

The battle format will remain the same between playing solo or playing online with other players. Once you win, you’ll receive the same amount of rewards and you’ll still be able to capture the Tera Pokémon should you wish to do so.

Solo Raid NPCs

The NPCs that will join your raid are randomly chosen from a set of trainers. These trainers specialize in a single type and the Pokémon that they use and their individual strength and level will differ depending on the difficulty of the raid, with stronger Pokémon becoming available as you unlock higher-tier raids.

Pros and Cons of Solo Raids

Solo raiding comes with its own pros and cons which depend on what type of playstyle you would like to go for.

Pros:

  • There are no queues when going in for a solo raid as you can start as soon as you choose the option to enter one.
  • Solo raiding can be useful for some 6 to 7-Star Tera Raids if you want to go for a long setup play. More often than not, NPCs are not strong enough to deal devastating attacks against these high tier Tera Pokémon (Lv.90 and Lv.100 respectively) and players can take advantage of that time to rack up buffs for possible OHKO attacks before the Tera shield and stat resets get triggered.
  • You can avoid the more unpredictable nature of playing with online randoms.

Cons:

  • Most of the work will be on your shoulder as you can’t really fully rely on your NPC teammates.
  • If you can play with friends or other players who you can communicate with, it will almost always be the better option compared to playing solo as you can prepare beforehand and strategize your moves during a raid.
  • Unless you have your build all figured out to a T, clearing 6 or 7-Star raids can be almost impossible on solo.

Best Builds for Solo Raids

There is no single Pokémon that can be considered an ace for all types of Tera Raids as it will still boil down to the matching of typings between your Pokémon and the Raid Pokémon’s. However, there have been a couple of fan favorites that prove to be competent enough to stand their ground during raids. Listed below are just some of the Pokémon builds, along with their move sets and their recommended max stats:

  • Perrserker (Atk, Spd)
    • Taunt (Host)
    • Helping Hand (Guest)
    • Swords Dance
    • Iron Head
    • Screech
  • Koraidon (Atk, HP)
    • Collision Course
    • Drain Punch
    • Screech
    • Sword Dance
  • Miraidon (Sp.Atk, HP)
    • Metal Sound
    • Charge
    • Electro Drift
    • Dragon Pulse
  • Azumarill (Atk, Spd)
    • Belly Drum
    • Liquidation
    • Play Rough
    • Helping Hand
    • Tail Whip (Support)
  • Iron Hands (Atk, HP)
    • Belly Drum
    • Drain Punch
    • Thunderpunch
    • Close Combat
  • Gholdengo (Sp.Atk, HP)
    • Hex
    • Nasty Plot
    • Metal Sound
    • Recover
  • Iron Valiant (Atk, HP)
    • Light Screen
    • Reflect
    • Spirit Break
    • Drain Punch

Special event Tera Raids, such as the one for Cinderace and Charizard usually have their own recommended roster of Pokémon aces. So far, these event Pokémon have move sets built that can also counter the types that they are weak to, making it important to plan ahead to limit the type disadvantage.

If you like this guide, be sure to check out our other Pokémon Scarlet and Violet articles:

Type Weaknesses and Resistances:

Pokémon League:

How to Evolve:

Legendary Pokemon:

Check out this video by Austin John Plays talking about the best Pokémon to bring for 6 Star Tera Raids: