Does Clear Smog Work in Raids? A Comprehensive Guide
The short answer is: Yes, Clear Smog works in Raids. But it’s more nuanced than a simple yes or no. While Clear Smog functions effectively in Max Raid Battles and Tera Raids to reset the stat boosts of the raid boss, its impact on the raid environment requires a deeper look. This article will explore the capabilities and limitations of Clear Smog in raid settings, along with answering common questions players might have.
Clear Smog in Action: How It Functions in Raids
Clear Smog is a Poison-type move that both inflicts damage and resets the target’s stat changes to zero. This is crucial in raids, where bosses often accumulate significant stat boosts through moves like Swords Dance, Calm Mind, or Agility. Unlike some stat-resetting moves like Haze, Clear Smog only affects the single target, which in this case, is the raid boss. This is beneficial because you’re not resetting the stat changes of your allies.
Here’s a breakdown of its effectiveness:
- Stat Reset: Clear Smog is extremely valuable for removing stat boosts that can make raid bosses overwhelmingly powerful. Whether the boss has increased its Attack, Special Attack, Speed, or defensive stats, Clear Smog will erase them.
- Bypasses Accuracy Checks: Clear Smog always hits unless the target is in a semi-invulnerable state such as during the use of Dig or Fly. This reliability ensures it will always reset the raid boss’s stat boosts, making it a consistent counter strategy.
- Shields are No Obstacle: Crucially, Clear Smog works even when the raid boss has a shield up. This is a significant advantage, as shields often limit the effectiveness of other offensive moves.
- No Effect on Allies: Unlike Haze, which resets the stat changes of all Pokémon on the field, Clear Smog’s single-target nature ensures that only the raid boss’s stats are affected, keeping your team’s buffs intact.
- Does Not Remove Negative Effects: Remember that it resets all stat changes, both positive and negative.
Limitations of Clear Smog in Raids
Despite its strengths, Clear Smog has limitations:
- Type Immunity and Substitutes: Like other damaging moves, Clear Smog will not affect a Pokémon if it has type immunity to Poison (such as Steel-type Pokemon). Additionally, if the raid boss is behind a Substitute, Clear Smog will fail.
- Not a One-Stop Solution: Although it resets stats, it doesn’t prevent the boss from re-buffing itself. You may have to use it multiple times throughout a raid if the boss continues to boost its stats.
Why is Clear Smog Useful in Raids?
In higher-tier Tera Raids or Max Raids, bosses commonly rely on stat increases to ramp up their damage output or defensive capabilities. Therefore, Clear Smog becomes a strategic tool to keep their power in check. The consistent hit rate and ability to bypass shields make it incredibly reliable for this purpose.
The need to use other stat reduction methods, such as moves that lower stats on the pokemon you are attacking, is sometimes not enough. Resetting those stat changes can be game changing for raids that seem impossible.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are some frequently asked questions regarding Clear Smog and its use in raids:
1. Does Clear Smog remove negative stat changes on the raid boss?
Yes, Clear Smog resets all stat changes, including negative ones, back to zero. This means if you have lowered the boss’s Attack, Special Attack, or Defense, these reductions will also be removed.
2. Does Clear Smog bypass the Covert Cloak?
Yes, Clear Smog’s stat reset effect is not considered a secondary effect and thus is not blocked by the Covert Cloak.
3. Does Clear Amulet protect against Clear Smog?
No, Clear Amulet does not protect against Clear Smog. The Clear Amulet only prevents stat drops caused by moves and abilities like Intimidate, not stat reset moves.
4. Does Clear Smog affect Pokémon behind a Substitute?
No, Clear Smog will fail if the target is behind a Substitute. This is a general rule for attacks, and Clear Smog is no exception.
5. Does Clear Smog work against a Shielded Raid Boss?
Yes, this is one of its strengths. Clear Smog will effectively reset stat changes even if the raid boss has its shield active.
6. What Pokémon moves are similar to Clear Smog?
Haze is similar to Clear Smog, as it removes stat boosts, however Haze removes stat boosts on all pokemon, including yours. Moves such as Roar, Whirlwind, Dragon Tail, and Circle Throw force an opponent to switch out, rendering their boosts moot. Additionally, Unaware, which is an ability, will ignore boosts on an opponent, making attacks hit as if the opponent had no buffs.
7. Can abilities like Clear Body prevent stat reduction from Clear Smog?
No. Clear Body prevents stat reduction caused by moves or abilities, but does not prevent stat resets from Clear Smog. The stats are being removed rather than the pokemons stat being reduced.
8. Is Clear Smog effective against all types?
Clear Smog is a Poison-type move. Therefore, it will not damage Poison-immune Pokémon such as Steel-types. However, even if the damage fails, it can still reset their stat changes.
9. Does Clear Smog ignore accuracy checks in raids?
Yes, Clear Smog always hits unless the target is in a semi-invulnerable state, such as during the use of Dig or Fly.
10. Is Smog a good move in Pokémon?
No. Smog is generally considered a poor move. It has low base power, low accuracy, and a small chance to poison.
11. Does Mist protect against Haze?
No, Mist does not protect the user from stat-resetting effects like Haze or Clear Smog.
12. Does Chilling Water heal Pokémon?
No, Chilling Water inflicts damage and lowers the target’s Attack stat by one stage.
13. Can Abilities be disabled in Raids?
Ability shields will prevent your ability from being disabled in raids. But not your stat boosts. There isn’t an item that can stop that, only certain mons with specific abilities of their own.
14. Does psychic terrain stop Spore?
Yes, psychic terrain stops Spore and other status-inducing moves on grounded Pokémon.
15. Does defiant work with Clear Amulet?
Defiant is not blocked by Clear Amulet. The Clear Amulet only blocks stat changes from other pokemons abilities or moves, not stat resets.
Conclusion
Clear Smog is an exceptionally useful tool in Tera Raids and Max Raids for those looking to control runaway stat increases. While it’s not a complete solution to every raid problem, its consistency, ability to bypass shields, and single-target nature make it a valuable asset. Understanding its nuances and limitations will help you optimize your strategies and succeed in challenging raid battles. Use it wisely, and you will find that your battles become more manageable against the toughest of bosses.