While it doesn’t have the overwhelming offensive potential of some other Pokemon, Grimmsnarl is one of the best Pokemon to bring to Tera Raid battles in all of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. The only issue is building it properly.
Grimmsnarl enjoys a vast arsenal of support moves that can protect allies and debilitate opponents. Put that together with a great base attack stat and the powerful Prankster ability, and Grimmsnarl is firmly cemented as one of the best support Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet ranked battling.
Though ranked battling and Tera Raids are very different things, players can still put those tools to great use in either format. The only catch is that players will need to put together two Grimmsnarl builds in order to make the most of this Pokemon. If they take that time, it will lead to some big things.
Best Grimmsnarl Tera Raid Builds
Grimmsnarl’s best Tera Raid build prioritizes its defensive stats and brings a support move set. The key difference between Grimmsnarl and other Pokemon is that players are best served building up two Grimmsnarls so they can pick one based on the opponent. One will be able to neutralize physical attackers, while the other will handle special attackers.
In both cases, this is a support build. Grimmsnarl doesn’t have the tools to be as strong as Iron Hands in Tera Raid battles. It can still set up allies for success against tricky opponents.
Grimmsnarl Build to Counter Physical Attackers
Grimmsnarl should approach physical attackers by maxing out its HP and defense stats, and leveraging the Reflect and Light Screen moves. These moves help teammates endure the attacks of six-star Tera Raid bosses. From there, Grimmsnarl can also offer some protection from status effects.
- Ability: Prankster
- Nature: Impish
- EVs: 252 HP, 252 Defense, 6 Sp. Defense
- Item: Light Clay
- Tera Type: Dark
This spread makes Grimmsnarl as tanky as possible, with an item that allows it to get the most possible value out of Reflect and Light Screen. Beyond setting up walls, bring the Taunt move to battle to protect allies from stat reductions and status effects from moves like Will-o-Wisp and Thunder Wave. This is particularly helpful for dealing with tricky raid bosses like the ones from the Hydreigon and Dragapult Tera Raid event. Finally, round it out with Foul Play which provides decent damage and the potential to Terrastalize. Its move set should look like this:
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Taunt
- Foul Play
Grimmsnarl Build to Counter Special Attackers
The Grimmsnarl build that counters special attacker raid bosses is almost identical to the one used for physical attackers, but there are a few differences. Here’s the breakdown:
- Ability: Prankster
- Nature: Careful
- EVs: 252 HP, 6 Defense, 252 Sp. Defense
- Item: Light Clay
- Tera Type: Fairy
The EV spread swaps the investments of the defensive stats, while keeping the maximum HP the same. A similar move is made for its nature, swapping out one that benefits Defense for one that benefits Sp. Defense. Here are the ideal moves for this build:
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Taunt
- Spirit Break
The set swaps out Foul Play for the move Spirit Break, which is technically the superior move. Though it doesn’t have the same damage potential as Foul Play, it is guaranteed to lower the opponent’s Sp. Attack stat. This is made stronger with a fairy Tera Type. Players can change a Pokemon’s Tera Type, but it’s best to just catch or breed more Impidimps since the Pokemon naturally has access to both Tera Types.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.