Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Shadow Rider Calyrex best moveset

Shadow Rider Calyrex is a formidable opponent in competitive play. Here’s how to build in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.

Pokemon Sword & Shield’s The Crown Tundra expansion introduced one of the franchise’s most powerful Psychic types. In competitive play, the Psychic/Ghost-type Shadow Rider Calyrex is the superior choice compared to the Ice Rider form.

Shadow Rider Calyrex stands out with its impressive 150 base Speed and 165 base Special Attack, which makes it a powerhouse when combined with Astral Barrage and Nasty Plot.

Keep reading if you wish to learn how to build Shadow Rider Calyrex in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet best Shadow Rider Calyrex moveset

Pokemon	Moveset	Ability	Nature	Held Item	Tera Type
	– Astral Barrage – Psyshock – Tera Blast – Nasty Plot	As One (Shadow Rider)	Timid (+ Speed, -Attack)	Life Orb	Fighting or Fairy

You are stuck picking As One, considering it’s Shadow Rider Calyrex’s only ability. This increases the Pokemon’s Special Attack after defeating an opponent. Another effect of As One is that enemy Pokemon are not able to eat any Berries.

For its Tera Type, we recommend picking either Fighting or Fairy for a more defensive setup that helps it survive against Dark types.

As for its moveset, we suggest running Astral Barrage, Psychock, Tera Blast, and Nasty Plot. Astral Barrage and Psyshock are great STAB moves that can be further powered up by the Special Attack boost from Nasty Plot. We also recommended a Fighting or Fairy Tera Type so Dark Types could fall to Tera Blast.

Lastly, you should give a Life Orb to Shadow Rider Calyrex to improve its damage output in exchange for health each turn.

Shadow Rider Calyrex base stats and weaknesses

HP	Attack	Defense	Sp. Attack	Sp. Defense	Speed
100	85	80	165	100	150

Weaknesses

• Ghost
• Dark

Resistances

• Poison
• Psychic
• Normal
• Fighting

Shadow Rider Calyrex build alternatives

If you’re not looking to Terastalize into a Fairy-type, you can teach Calyrex Draining Kiss to be super effective against Dark types. You can also run a more defensive setup by teaching the Pokemon Protect and Substitute. However, we still recommend giving it Astral Barrage and Psyshock.

That’s everything you need to know about building Shadow Rider Calyrex in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Check out more of our guides on the game below:

Paldea Pokedex | How to get Marks in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet | Are Pokemon Scarlet & Violet compatible with Pokemon Home? | Unlocking 5 & 6-star Tera Raids in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet |