With a high Sp. Attack and a Bug-type Hyper Beam, Alder & Volcarona find themselves as a go-to Special Striker. Capable of maxing both their Sp. Attack and critical-hit rate without relying on MP refreshes, they leave their allies free to focus on improving Volcarona’s poor defenses. They’re easily paired with Viola & Masquerain or Karen & Houndoom who can reliably and repeatedly lower the opponents’ Sp. Attack.
The best Sync Grid Build for Alder & Volcarona are Charging to Sync Build, and The Four Paths. Volcarona’s grid and optimal builds are different from usual which means skipping over the universal tiles and abilities and heading directly into the complete builds.
It is not recommended to invest orbs into sync level 2 because of the poor options available to you, but Charging to Sync (2/5) grabs the bets of what is available. The build uses Hyper Beam as its mainstay but aims to make it easier to reach the sync move.
With access to sync level 3, Volcarona gains several skills to choose from depending on where you want to focus. However, each build reaches for the same skills using the same tiles. These variations are found in The Four Paths (3/5) which give varying emphasis on Hyper Beam or the sync move.
Sync Grid Builds
Charging to Sync Build (Sync Level 2/5)
Total Sync Orb Cost: 738
Total Energy Used: 59
Upgrades:
HP +20
Defense +5
Sp. Atk +20
Sp. Def +20
Speed +10
Struggle Bug Power +3
Struggle Bug Move Gauge Refresh 3
Hyper Beam Power +6
Hyper Beam Accuracy +5
Hyper Beam Move Gauge Refresh 2
Leg Up 2
Recommended Lucky Skill:
Critical Strike 2
With so many key abilities locked behind sync level 3, it is best to not invest the orbs until then. However, if you are looking to improve Volcarona at sync level 2, the best option is to grab power, refresh tiles, and passive skills.
Hyper Beam is an incredibly powerful, 4-bar cost attack but at sync level 2, you only have access to one Move Gauge Refresh 2 and one Accuracy +5. Use other sync pairs to improve the team’s Speed stats or hasten the move gauge recharge speed. With poor defenses, waiting around will leave Volcarona waiting to attack.
In some instances, it may be wise to use Struggle Bug, so the build picks up the Move Gauge Refresh 3 tile. Perhaps you want to get to the sync move quickly and can’t wait until Hyper Beam charges.
Because of the lack of relevant tiles at sync level 2, Leg Up 2 is grabbed to have a 30% chance of reducing the sync move counter by one the first time Volcarona enters the battlefield. If you find it not useful, grabbing more stat boosting tiles may be the best use of orbs.
Volcarona is able to max out his critical-hit rate with Dire Hit +, so the only lucky skill you should consider is Critical Strike 2.
The Four Paths Build (Sync Level 3/5)
Total Sync Orb Cost: 738
Total Energy Used: 59
Universal Upgrades:
HP +10
Defense +5
Sp. Atk +10
Sp. Def +5
Speed +5
Struggle Bug Power +6
Overpower
Choose 2 of 3:
Upper Right:
HP +10
Sp. Atk +5
Sp. Def +5
Struggle Bug Move Gauge Refresh 3
Devastation
Lower Left:
Def +5
Sp. Atk +5
Speed +5
Hyper Beam Power +2
Hyper Beam Accuracy +10
Lower Right:
Sp. Def +5
Hyper Beam Power +5
Unparalleled Power! Hit and Heal 9
Recommended Lucky Skill:
Critical Strike 2
Volcarona is undoubtedly a heavy-hitting Striker with Hyper Beam, but he best benefits from an opponent’s Sp. Attack being lowered. You can spam Struggle Bug with Volcarona, but having another sync pair lower Sp. Attack frees him to perform his best move.
Every variation grabs the upper left branch to reach Overpower, which increases move damage the lower the opponent’s Sp. Attack is. At -6 Sp. Attack, Overpower increases attack power by 30%.
Volcarona is able to max out his critical-hit rate with Dire Hit +, so the only lucky skill you should consider is Critical Strike 2.
Beyond this point, choose two other paths to complete the build.
The Upper Right path reaches for the passive skill Devastation which functions just like Overpower, except for the sync move. To reach Devastation as cheaply as possible, the path goes through Struggle Bug Move Gauge Refresh 3, which restores one bar on the move gauge after a successful attack 40% of the time.
The Lower Left is chosen to have Hyper Beam Accuracy +10. The attack is naturally 90 base accuracy. These tiles make it so Hyper Beam reaches 100 accuracy. Without any other modifiers, you no longer need to hope that the attack doesn’t miss at the crucial point in the battle.
The Lower Right is meant to pick up Unparalleled Power! Hit and Heal 9, which will give Volcarona a health regeneration effect. Each time a move is successful, Volcarona will regain a small portion of his HP.
Upper Right – Lower Left: This variation goes all out for damage only at the expense of healing.
Upper Right – Lower Right: Without Hyper Beam accuracy, choosing this one may be an option if you may use low-cost Struggle Bug sometimes because of Hit & Heal 9.Lower Left – Lower Right: Without Devastation, this build is best if another sync pair will be using their sync move.