Technologies

Greninja Raid Guide: Best Counters

Speculating on the best Greninja counters.

The next seven-star raid is coming to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet this Friday, Jan. 27, featuring a poison-type Greninja. The first round runs through Monday, Jan. 30, and the second round picks up about two weeks later, from Friday, Feb. 10, to Monday, Feb. 13. Like the other seven-star raid Pokemon, Greninja will have the mightiest mark, and you’ll be able to catch only one per save file. Based on the previous seven-star raids, the Pokemon will take some careful strategizing to beat.

We don’t know the full details of the Greninja raid just yet, but we can make some assumptions based on previous seven-star raids. First, it’s a pretty safe bet that Greninja will have its hidden ability, Protean, since Charizard and Cinderace both came with their hidden abilities. Fortunately, that won’t affect the raid itself, as terastallization negates the effects of the protean ability. We can just plan around the tera type.

Greninja is confirmed to have a poison tera type for the raid, which lets us speculate about likely movesets. Assuming it uses moves that match its natural typing and tera type, we predict a moveset along these lines, assuming it’s a physical attacker:

Liquidation.
Night Slash.
Gunk Shot.
Ice Punch.
Swords Dance.

A special attacker build might look like this instead:

Water Shuriken / Hydro Pump.
Dark Pulse.
Tera Blast (poison).
Ice Beam.
Rain Dance.

Remember that seven-star raid Pokemon can use more than four moves — Cinderace, for example, used four attacks and Bulk Up, even though the latter wasn’t in its moveset once caught. Swords Dance would make Geninja a terrifying threat in a physical attack build, whereas Rain Dance would make its water-type attacks extra threatening, similar to the seven-star Charizard raid with Sunny Day.

Best Greninja counters

We won’t know the perfect Pokemon or builds to bring to the raid until the full details are live, but here are the Pokemon that appear to be well-positioned for the raid. To give yourself the best chance at victory, make sure your Pokemon is level 100 and has a nature that boosts its relevant attack stat (usually Modest for special attackers and Adamant for physical attackers).

Vaporeon

Tera Type: Steel
Ability: Water Absorb EV spread: 252 HP / 252 special attack / 4 special defense

Moves:

Stored Power.
Calm Mind.
Acid Armor.
Wish.

The water-type Eeveelution is an early favorite for this raid, thanks to a variety of advantages it has, especially if Greninja uses a special attack build. Vaporeon’s normal ability is Water Absorb, which allows it to regain health if hit by a water-type attack. This turns one of Greninja’s scariest setups (rain-boosted water attacks) into a benefit. These seven-star raids are wars of attrition, and having reliable ways to restore health are important. Vaporeon also has access to Calm Mind, which boosts its special defense and special attack, as well as Stored Power, a psychic-type attack that will hit the poison-type Greninja for double damage and that deals additional damage based on your boosted stats (on top of the special attack boost it gets from Calm Mind). With Vaporeon’s decently high special attack stat and immunity to water attacks on top of massive HP, stacking Calm Minds into Stored Power should be a reliable way to work down the raid boss’s health. The biggest danger with Vaporeon is that it doesn’t naturally resist poison, and a Greninja with Gunk Shot could threaten Vaporeon’s underwhelming defense stat. However, a steel tera type would help overcome that problem.

Klefki

Tera Type: Steel
Ability: Prankster EV spread: 252 HP / 252 special attack / 4 special defense

Moves:

Stored Power.
Calm Mind.
Iron Defense.
Sunny Day.

This Pokemon benefits from its steel/fairy typing, which gives it resistance to dark-type attacks and full immunity from Greninja’s tera-boosted poison attacks. Klefki also has access to the same «stack Calm Mind into Stored Power» combo that Vaporeon has, though it won’t be able to hit quite as hard as Vaporeon. Still, a natural immunity to poison may be worth that trade-off, especially if Greninja ends up running Gunk Shot. Sunny Day combined with Klefki’s Prankster ability makes it particularly effective at guarding against Greninja setting up in the rain. The biggest drawback for Klefki is its lack of access to a reliable recovery move, as Draining Kiss will do minimal damage to the poison-type Greninja. Klefki also boasts a relatively high defense stat, which it can boost with Iron Defense (also supporting Stored Power), making it a better choice if Greninja is built with physical attacks.

Bronzong

Tera Type: Steel
Ability: Levitate EV spread: 252 HP / 252 special attack / 4 special defense

Moves:

Stored Power.
Calm Mind.
Iron Defense.
Sunny Day.

Bronzong operates similarly to Klefki: immunity to poison damage, good natural defenses, and Calm Mind + Stored Power combo. The biggest difference is that Bronzong is weak to Greninja’s natural dark type, which could make Bronzong a less reliable pick if Greninja runs Night Slash or Dark Pulse. However, it gains a same-type attack bonus, or STAB, for pyschic-type moves, allowing it to hit harder than Klefki would.

Kingambit

Tera Type: Steel
Ability: Defiant EV spread: 252 HP / 252 attack / 4 defense

Moves:

Zen Headbutt.
Swords Dance.
Iron Defense.
Sandstorm.

A slightly less obvious pick to counter Greninja, Kingambit is another steel type that benefits from poison immunity. A strong physical attacker, Kingambit can run Swords Dance to boost its attack and unleash supereffective Zen Headbutts on the poison-type Greninja. The downside is that Kingambit will be slightly worse if Greninja runs Rain Dance and special attack water moves, which hit Kingambit for neutral damage. However, Kingambit can run Sandstorm to negate Rain Dance and somewhat offset that risk. It’s worth noting that Zen Headbutt has only 90% accuracy, which makes this strategy higher-risk than bringing Vaporeon or Klefki. The lack of recovery moves for Kingambit means you’re virtually required to run Shell Bell as your held item to help you sustain through the raid.

Clodsire

Tera Type: Ground (though you may want to avoid terastallization to maintain your double poison resistance)
Ability: Water Absorb EV spread: 252 HP / 252 attack / 4 special defense

Moves:

Earthquake / Bulldoze.
Helping Hand.
Recover.
Chilling Water / Haze.

An unlikely hero for the raid, Clodsire will be virtually impossible for a special attack Greninja to take out. The Water Absorb ability allows Clodsire to turn a traditional weakness (water-type attacks) into HP recovery, and its natural typing means it takes only 25% damage from poison-type attacks. Clodsire is a little worse if Greninja runs an ice-type attack, but otherwise it’s a powerful special tank with enormous HP, strong special defense, and access to recover as an egg move. Clodsire can’t boost its own attack like the other Greninja counters, but it does learn Helping Hand by TM, allowing it to boost teammates’ attacks. (Helping Hand can make a properly stacked Stored Power deal massive damage.) Earthquake is your main damage move, though you could run Bulldoze instead for speed control at the cost of less damage. Bringing Clodsire to the raid means you won’t be doing the most damage in the party, but you’ll stick around forever and prevent your team from losing time due to being knocked out.

Other Greninja raid tips

You can always choose to run more of a supportive build instead of offensive builds, as many of the counters listed here have solid defensive stats. However, when you bring a support Pokemon to a seven-star raid, you’re relying on your other three teammates to do a ton of damage, which can be a gamble with random teammates. In premade groups, two or three sweepers and one or two support Pokemon will be the most consistent composition. But after losing plenty of Cinderace raids to a lack of damage, I recommend offensive builds if you’re relying on unknown teammates.

If you have the benefit of planning around other teammates, I’ve included two support builds here. Remember that the clock is your real enemy in seven-star raids: The only way to win is to efficiently take out your opponent’s HP. Big bursts are the most effective way of doing that, which is why we recommend stacking Calm Mind into Stored Power as the most reliable way to fight Greninja. But staying alive is also important, as getting knocked out by Greninja will instantly remove a section of the remaining raid timer, which puts a bigger squeeze on a limited resource. Pay attention to how much damage you’re taking from each attack, and use your recovery moves and your cheers to keep your Pokemon healthy enough to survive the next attack.

Vaporeon support build

Tera Type: Steel
Ability: Water Absorb
EV spread: 252 HP / 252 defense (vs. physical Greninja) or special defense (vs. special Greninja) / 4 special attack

Moves:

Chilling Water / Surf.
Charm / Fake Tears.
Helping Hand.
Wish.

Klefki support build
Tera Type: Steel
Ability: Prankster
EV spread: 252 HP / 252 defense or special defense / 4 special attack

Moves:

Psychic.
Metal Sound.
Reflect / Light Screen.
Sunny Day.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for June 29, #483

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for June 29, No. 483.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

I love today’s NYT Strands puzzle! It’s maybe a bit easier than usual once you understand the theme, but then it gets, well, really colorful. And the spangram even makes a themed shape! If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Hue are my sunshine.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Why are there so many songs about these?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

RAIN, SING, SIGN, ROLL, LINE, BILL, BAGS, GABS, HOUSE, GRAIN, RAINS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

ORANGE, YELLOW, GREEN, BLUE, INDIGO, VIOLET

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is CHASINGRAINBOWS. To find it, look for the C that’s six letters down on the first row on the left, and wind around… in the shape of a rainbow! Nice one, puzzle-makers!

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 29, #279

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 279, for June 29.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition might be tough. But all you Hoosiers will nail the yellow category, I think. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Think Indianapolis.

Green group hint: Multitalented.

Blue group hint: They forgot Air Bud!

Purple group hint: Lace up your skates.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Indiana sports teams, in singular form.

Green group: Skills of a five-tool baseball player.

Blue group: Basketball movies.

Purple group: PWHL stars.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is Indiana sports teams, in singular form. The four answers are Boilermaker, Colt, Hoosier and Pacer.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is skills of a five-tool baseball player. The four answers are fielding, power, speed and throwing.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball movies. The four answers are Air, Blue Chips, Glory Road and He Got Game.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is PWHL stars. The four answers are Fast, Fillier, Knight and Poulin.

Technologies

Your Phone’s a Germ Magnet. How to Disinfect It Properly

Want to keep your iPhone or Android germ-free? Follow these phone cleaning tips.

Your phone goes everywhere with you — on your commute, your lunch break, even the bathroom (don’t lie). But for something that spends so much time in your hands and against your face, it’s probably way dirtier than you think. In fact, studies have shown that the average smartphone can carry more germs than a toilet seat. Yeah, really.

All that touching, tapping, swiping and setting it down on random surfaces adds up fast. If you’re not regularly disinfecting your phone, you’re basically carrying a pocket-sized petri dish. The good news? Cleaning it the right way is quick, easy and doesn’t require fancy gear. Here’s how to sanitize your device safely — without damaging the screen or frying your electronics..

The Federal Communications Commission suggests disinfecting your phone daily, but not all cleaning methods are safe. Harsh chemicals and abrasive materials can damage protective coatings and potentially harm your screen. To keep your phone both clean and intact, it’s crucial to use the right cleaning techniques.

We’ll guide you through the best methods and products for keeping your device germ-free, from iPhones to Samsungs, and whatever their level of water resistance may be.

For more cleaning tips, here’s how to clean wireless earbuds and AirPods.

What are the best products for daily cleaning?

After touching surfaces that see a lot of action from the public — such as door handles, seats on public transportation, grocery carts and gas pumps — you might think you need a heavy-duty cleaning agent to use on your phone. However, you should avoid rubbing alcohol or products made of straight alcohol, since they can damage the protective coatings that prevent oil and water from harming your screen.

Some suggest making your own alcohol-water mix, but getting the concentration wrong can damage your phone. The safest option is using disinfectant wipes with 70% isopropyl alcohol. For daily cleaning, consider a UV light product like PhoneSoap, which kills 99.99% of germs and bacteria. We can also turn to phone manufacturers and cell service companies for guidance, too.

Apple now approves using Clorox Wipes and similar disinfectants, which was not recommended before the pandemic since they were thought to be too abrasive on the screen’s coating. AT&T advises spraying a 70% isopropyl alcohol solution on a soft, lint-free cloth and wiping your device down. Samsung also recommends using a 70% alcohol solution with a microfiber cloth. Always make sure your phone is powered off before cleaning it.

What are the best methods for removing fingerprints, sand and makeup?

Sometimes your phone needs a more specific treatment when washing up. The recommended process for daily cleaning may not be enough to remove pesky grains of sand after a beach vacation or tough foundation stains.

Get rid of fingerprints

Fingerprint smudges are inevitable since your skin produces oils. Every time you pick up your phone, your screen will get fingerprints. The safest way to make your screen print-free is with a microfiber cloth. For a deeper clean, dampen the cloth with distilled water (never apply water directly to the screen) and wipe down the surface. This works for the back and sides of your phone as well.

Alternatively, try a microfiber screen cleaner sticker that sticks to the back of your phone for easy wiping.

Remove sand and small particles

Grains of sand and lint can easily get stuck in your phone’s ports and crevices. To remove it, we recommend you use Scotch tape. Press it along the creases and speaker, then roll it up and gently insert it into the ports. The tape will pull out any debris. You can then just simply throw away the tape for easy cleanup.

For smaller speaker holes, use a toothpick gently or a small vacuum crevice tool to suck out the debris. These tools work well for other small appliances or hard-to-reach areas in your car too.

Cleanse makeup off your phone screen

When you wear makeup and skin care products, such as foundation and moisturizers, you’ll leave residue on your phone screen. While makeup remover works for your face, it’s not safe for screens due to potentially harmful chemicals. Instead, try a screen-safe makeup remover like Whoosh, which is alcohol-free and gentle on all screens.

Alternatively, use a damp microfiber cloth to clean your phone, then wash the cloth afterward. Make sure your cloth is only slightly wet to avoid soaking your phone in water.

What if my phone is waterproof?

For waterproof phones (IP67 and above), it’s best to clean the device with a damp cloth instead of submerging or running it under water — even if the phone advertises that it can withstand submersion for a certain amount of time.

Afterward, dry your phone with a soft cloth, ensuring all ports and speakers are patted dry. While your phone can withstand water, submerging it can lead to water in the ports, delaying charging. Remember, water resistance is meant for accidents, not swimming or regular cleaning.

Things to avoid when cleaning your phone

We’ve already covered why you should avoid makeup remover and rubbing alcohol, but those aren’t a comprehensive list of harmful cleaning agents. Here are a few other items and products you should never use to clean your phone:

Hand sanitizer: Fragrances and ethyl alcohol found in many sanitizers can harm your phone.
Window or kitchen cleaners: Harsh cleaners can strip the protective coating on your phone and leave it more vulnerable to scratches.
Paper towels: Paper can shred, making the debris on your phone much worse, and the rough texture can leave scratches on your screen.
Dish and hand soap: Most soaps require you to combine them with water, and since you should keep water away from your phone, it’s best to stick to a damp cloth.
Vinegar: Like cleaners and alcohols, vinegar will strip your phone screen’s coating.
Compressed air: Blowing intense and direct air into your phone’s portals can cause damage, especially to your mic. Apple specifically warns iPhone owners not to use compressed air.