Get consistent clears with Azumarill
If you’re in the postgame of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, you’re presumably doing a lot of Tera Raid Battles. All of the best rewards drop from 5+-Star Raids, but clearing them is no joke. If you want a great all-around Pokemon built for tackling raids, your best option is… Azumarill?
That’s right, this unassuming Water/Fairy-Type with low base stats is an absolute monster in Tera Raids. That said, you’ll need a very specific build to unleash Azumarill’s full potential. Here’s what you need to do.
The build in a nutshell
To make Azumarill bust down Tera Raid Pokemon, it’ll need the ability Huge Power and the move Belly Drum. Huge Power doubles Azumarill’s attack stat to an acceptable level, and Belly Drum gives Azumarill a stage six attack boost in exchange for half its HP. Tera Raids are races to do huge damage fast, and this combo pushes Azumarill’s physical damage potential through the roof. You’ll be relying on the moves Play Rough and Liquidation to deal damage, which gives Azumarill great type coverage.
Even if Azumarill only has a neutral type advantage against a foe, this build will still be incredibly powerful. The icing on the cake is the Shell Bell Held Item, which gives Azumarill great HP regeneration due to the sheer amount of outgoing damage it will be dealing. Here’s how to make this build for yourself.
Step 1: Get Azumarill
If you’ve been filling out your Pokedex, there’s a good chance you have at least Azurill or Marill in your box. That said, if you want to save resources, you can hunt for Azumarill outright by going to Casseroya Lake. Catching Azumarill at a high level will save resources later in this process.
Ideally, you’ll want Azumarill with a default Fairy or Water Tera Type. You’ll be using Terastal forms as pure offense in raids to break shields, so getting a boost to its core moves is a huge plus. Changing Tera Types is also time consuming, so it’s good to establish this now. You’ll also want the Huge Power ability, but this is less important. An Azumarill with Huge Fat can have its ability switched with an Ability Capsule, which can be found in 5-Star Raids or Chansey Supply.
Step 2: Level it up
If you’re doing high-end raids, you’ll need Azumarill’s level maxed out. The easiest route here is EXP Candy for two reasons. First, it’s your fastest option available. Second, you don’t want to mess up Azumarill’s EVs by indiscriminately fighting Pokemon, which we’ll get to in a second.
If you lack EXP Candy, grind Tera Raids using either Koraidon or Miraidon. Your title legendaries pack a huge punch right out the gate, so grind any raids you can clear until Azumarill can max out. Also, if you have rare candies, use them after using EXP candies to push Azumarill’s level close to max. You’ll get more mileage out of them this way.
Step 3: Max its EVs
EVs are a complicated topic that we’ve touched on in the past. If you’re new to EV training, basically we’re trying to optimize Azumarill’s HP and Attack stats. Here’s the fastest route possible.
Go to Chansey Supply in Mesagoza. Here, buy 25 HP Ups and 25 Proteins. This will run you 500,000 Pokedollars, which is steep but worthwhile. If you lack money, sell items like nuggets under the treasures tab in your inventory. If you’re still short, run through the Academy Ace Tournament with the Amulet Coin on your front Pokemon. This will net you 100,000+ Pokedollars per run.
To complete Azumarill’s EVs, use 2 Health Feathers and 2 Muscle Feathers. You’ll have a couple EVs left to use, so give it 4 Resist or Clever Feathers for extra Defense or Special Defense respectively. If you lack any of these, buy an extra HP Up, Protein, and/or Iron/Zinc. While you are here, also make sure to buy an Adamant Mint if Azumarill has any nature other than Adamant.
Step 3: Hyper train it
We’ve covered this step already, so follow this guide. Azumarill won’t use Special Attack in this build, but we’ll want everything else bumped up to max. Grind 5-Star Tera Raids for bottle caps if you’re missing them.
Step 4: Give it an item
As mentioned above, the Shell Bell is your premiere pick. Azumarill will need HP recovery to survive in 6-Star Raids. Get this item by defeating six Pokemon Trainers in South Province Area Three or purchase one from Delibird Presents in Levincia for 20,000 Pokedollars.
A Sitrus Berry can be used here as well. This will give greater HP Recovery after using Belly Drum, which can help when dealing with an especially aggressive Pokemon. However, without the sustain Shell Bell gives, this is a much riskier option after the first turn.
Step 5: Give it moves
To give Azumarill its ideal moveset, you’ll need to go through a few hoops.
Play Rough: Azumarill learns this naturally, add it to its move pool by using the Remember moves feature.
Liquidation: Teach this to Azumarill via TM110. If you don’t have this laying around, you’ll need 5 Arrokuda Scales, 3 Wiglett Sand, and 3 Buizel Fur to craft it. Aqua Tail can be used in the meantime, though its 90% accuracy makes it riskier.
Belly Drum: This is an Egg Move, but you can teach it to any Azumarill using this method we’ve covered here. Any Zangoose will know Belly Drum, and Hariyama learns Belly Drum at level 26.
You have several choices for your fourth move, depending on your play style.
Helping Hand: This is an excellent way to boost a party member’s damage. Use this if someone else’s damage output exceeds yours.
Aqua Jet: Many Pokemon will outspeed Azumarill. Aqua Jet gives Azumarill a tool to deal damage before death or recover HP via Shell Bell before the enemy can faint it. This is another egg move, but it can inherit it via several water type Pokemon. Wiglett, Quaxly, Finizen, Buizel, and their respective evolutions will all work here.
Rain Dance: This will boost your Water-Type attacks and weaken incoming Fire-Type attacks for your party. This can be powerful in a party of Azumarill.
Superpower: This will give Azumarill more type coverage, though I personally recommend against this. The Paradox Pokemon Iron Hands is also capable of a Belly Drum build, so level that Pokemon instead if you need Fighting-Type attacks.
Step 6: Win raids!
Remember, as strong as this build is, it’s not invincible. Any Pokemon that naturally knows Poison, Grass, or Electric moves will shut Azumarill down hard, regardless of its Tera Type. Lean hard into your cheers, as the extra defense and HP recovery are huge boons if Azumarill isn’t outpacing the enemy with its HP regeneration. Good luck!
