Continuing down the line of starter Pokémon, Rillaboom is our next 7-star raid target in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. It’s a heavy hitter and has a stranger tera-type that makes building a team member to take it down a little difficult, but now we have access to the vast expanse of Pokémon Home, there are some more options on the table.
We’re here to rundown a possible Rillaboom moveset and potential counters you can use.
7-star Rillaboom moveset – Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
With a Normal Tera-type, our options are a bit narrow in terms of offense against it, as it only has one weakness, Fighting. However, with the potential moves it could have in its belt, a lot of the more reliable fighting types are forced out of the picture. We’ll get creative with our counter picks shortly, but here is our predicted set for this Rillaboom.
The Mightiest Rillaboom – Level 100
Nature – Naughty
Ability – Grassy Surge
Item – None
Tera-type – Normal
Moveset – Wood Hammer, Bulk Up, Acrobatics, Boomburst, Drum Beating, Hammer Arm, Earthquake, Body Slam
Iron Hands – Rillaboom counters
If you’re playing on Violet, or have access to someone who does, picking up this paradox Pokémon is a really good idea for this raid.
While it won’t resist anything Rillaboom throws your way, it can negate its Grassy Terrain with Electric, in turn activating its Quark Drive ability and boosting its attack power. Combine that with a few Belly Drums and you should be able to one-shot Rillaboom with the right setup.
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 – Rillaboom counters
Corviknight has proved a useful companion in a few raids before this, and it’s coming back strong against Rillaboom as a support Pokémon, ideal for team scenarios. Taunt will stop any potential stat boosting on Rillaboom’s part while you can throw out Screen to drag it down. Still, in a pinch you can hit it with Revenge, which will be very powerful if Rillaboom attacks first.
Corviknight – Level 100
Nature – Brave
Ability – Mirror Armor
Item – Shell Bell
Tera-type – Fighting
Moveset – Bulk Up, Taunt, Screech, Revenge
Avalugg – Rillaboom counters
Avaluggs typing combined with Iron Defence make it one of the strongest possible walls for this raid, especially if you come in with Recover to keep it going as well. Then, once you’ve invested all the work into building defense, use Body Slam, which will take that defense stat and turn it into attacking power.
Avalugg – Level 100
Nature – Impish
Ability – Own Tempo
Item – Shell Bell
Tera-type – Fighting
Moveset – Iron Defense, Recover, Body Press, Ice Spinner
Salamence – Rillaboom counters
Salamence is an extremely strong Pokémon under normal conditions, so it’s an easy pick for this raid. Intimidate automatically gives you an advantage, and access to moves like Iron Defence and Dragon Dance lets it easily set up before wiping the floor with Rillaboom.
If you want to be extra cheeky, get a Salamence with Moxie instead of Intimidate. Then you an deliberately KO your NPC allies (as this doesn’t give you a time penalty) and boost your attack that way. (DO NOT do this with real players, as that will give you a time penalty – also, everyone will hate you).
Salamence – Level 100
Nature – Impish
Ability – Intimidate / Moxie
Item – Shell Bell
Tera-type – Fighting
Moveset – Roost, Iron Defense/Dragon Dance, Brick Break, Mud-Slap/Breaking Swipe
Written by Ryan Woodrow on behalf of GLHF.
