While Pikachu may serve as the mascot of the Pokémon franchise, being depicted as Ash’s strongest and most trusted partner within the anime, its presence in the video games doesn’t reach that same level.
However, Pikachu has been given access to some exclusive attributes in recent titles that have provided it with a much-needed power boost. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, every Pokémon has access to a plethora of Tera Types, which can be mixed and matched in order to catch opponents off-guard.
As an Electric-type Pokémon, Pikachu only possesses a weakness to Ground-type moves, and similarly struggles to do significant damage to Ground-type Pokémon due to their Electric-type immunity. But the Mouse Pokémon did receive new tools within its already-large move pool which, when coupled with the proper Tera Type, might be enough for Pikachu to defeat even the mightiest of foes—just not specifically in competitive battles.
Best Tera Type for Pikachu in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
An ongoing event celebrating the upcoming Pokémon Day features a Pikachu in seven-star Raids that has the Water Tera Type. Notably, this is one of the best Tera Types Pikachu can have offensively, as players can pair it with Surf—which Pikachu can now learn normally—to deal massive damage to all surrounding foes.
A Water Tera Type also removes Pikachu’s Ground-type weakness, though gives it a few more that it did not have previously. But with Water-type moves, a Pikachu with this Tera Type is able to do even more damage to opposing Ground-type Pokémon.
Another strong Tera Type option for Pikachu is Flying-type, which can be used both offensively and defensively for the Mouse Pokémon. While Pikachu can’t yet learn Fly outside of specific distributions, it can learn Tera Blast, which will become the Flying-type once Pikachu terastalizes.
A Flying-Type Tera Type also removes Pikachu’s Ground-type weakness, turning it into an immunity that it can use to bait opponents not expecting this change.
