How to Raid your Tera Legends
If you are grinding any postgame content in Pokemon Scalet & Violet, you will inevitably tackle Tera Raids. Almost everything you need drops here, from Tera Shards to sandwich ingredients that boost the appearance rate of Shiny Pokemon. What’s more, these encounters are tough.
6-Star Tera Raids absolutely encourage you to bring optimal hyper-trained Pokemon with maxed EXP and perfect EVs. Not just any Pokemon will do, either. You’ll want to bring Pokemon that can deal a lot of damage quickly while keeping themselves healthy. Additionally, Pokemon that play a pure support role can be crucial to avoid the harsh time penalties your team accrues when an ally Pokemon is knocked out.
It’s worth noting that there’s no such thing as a “best” Tera Raid Pokemon. Pokemon that excel in 80% of Tera Raid battles can still be dead weight in the other 20% of encounters, so raise many different Pokemon to meet a variety of challenges. This is especially true in event 7-Star Tera Raid Battles, which require specific Pokemon to counter them.
With that in mind, here are some highly recommended picks to help get you started fighting Tera Raid Battles.
For Starters
Koraidon/Miraidon
To beat Tera Raid Battles, you’ll need strong Pokemon. To get strong Pokemon, you’ll need to beat Tera Raid Battles. How do you break this loop? Your title legendary, that’s how!
These Pokemon are naturally strong out the gate. With huge base stats and powerful signature attacks, they’re… well, they’re legendary Pokemon, of course they’re strong. While they won’t carry you through every single encounter, they will help you defeat encounters with Tera Types they are effective against. Even better, Screech and Metal Sound from Koraidon and Miraidon respectively give these monsters some support options as well. Don’t be afraid to lean on your legendary, they’ve been your buddy this whole journey after all!
Azumarill
Azumarill isn’t the perfect Pokemon, but it is a great starting point to get into Tera Raid Battles. It is relatively easy to build in both Scarlet & Violet, and it is capable of incredible damage between the move Belly Drum and the ability Huge Power. Additionally, its Fairy Typing helps it defeat encounters your title legendary might struggle with. You can read our detailed guide to build Azumarill here. Needless to say, this is an easy way to get your feet wet in and even solo-clear some Tera Raids.
For Damage
Iron Hands
In many ways, this is the cooler Azumarill. With strong stats and an incredible ability that can be activated via Booster Energy, Iron Hands has a lot going for it. Yet what really elevates Iron Hands is its access to Belly Drum and Drain Punch, which lets it both boost attack and sustain the HP loss without relying on a held item. This Paradox Pokemon is exclusive to Pokemon Violet, so Scarlet owners will want to find a friend to trade with.
Sylveon
Sylveon is a surprising powerhouse that excels in numerous encounters. As an attacker, it can use Moonblast to deal huge damage and potentially debuff the enemy Pokemon. However, if Sylveon knows its hidden ability Pixilate, it can suddenly use moves like Hyper Voice and Hyper Beam as massively powerful Fairy-Type attacks. Additionally, it can pile on the damage while healing itself with Draining Kiss, which gives Sylveon valuable survivability.
From here, Sylveon is very customizable. Against a special attacker, Sylveon can use Calm Mind to buff its offense and defense before nuking the enemy. Against physical attackers, it can use Charm to debuff the foe’s attack. Use Sylveon however you need, there are so many builds that work here!
Perrserker
This option is admittedly niche, but incredibly powerful. If you can grind 6-Star Tera Raids for an Ability Patch, Perrserker can access the Steely Spirit hidden ability. This boosts the power of your party’s Steel-Type moves by a whopping 50%. When paired with 3 other Perrserkers, this produces insane damage. Alternatively, 3 Perrserkers can party with a Magnezone to help it deal heavy damage with Steel Beam and Flash Cannon.
You might not get this set up consistently, but a group of friends working together can make raids melt with this kind of synergy.
For Support
Hatterene/Gardevoir
With identical typing and similar move pools, you can take your pick of which Pokemon you’d prefer. Both are capable of party healing with Life Dew, as well as support with Reflect, Light Screen, and Helping Hand. While Gardevoir can passively inflict status ailments with Synchronize, Hatterene can potentially heal status ailments with the Healer ability.
Not only can these two provide valuable support, they have powerful Special Attack stats that make them viable for DPS as well. Build them for whatever you need.
Chansey
Why Chansey and not Blissey? Simple: Eviolite. This item raises the defensive stats of any Pokemon that is not fully evolved, which ironically makes Chansey bulkier than Blissey after taking EVs into account.
While Chansey is substantially more capable of tanking special attacks than physical attacks, it is still an extraordinary support Pokemon that can keep your party alive. It can also learn Healer as a hidden ability.
Umbreon
Umbreon surprisingly shines as a support Pokemon. With fantastic defensive stats, Umbreon has enough bulk to take hit after hit. Additionally, its access to Screech and Fake Tears let it powerfully debuff the enemy’s defenses for your allies. Its access to Taunt also cannot be understated since it can prevent fight-specific mechanics like Charizard using Sunny Day.
That said, it can still reflect status conditions onto the enemy with its Syncronize ability, so there are many ways to play Umbreon depending on your preferences.
Will I get kicked if I don’t use these Pokemon?
Absolutely not. The meta for Tera Raids will naturally morph as new 7-Star events are added to the game. There may be specific encounters that none of these Pokemon are ideal for! Feel free to experiment and adapt to each challenge in the way you best see fit. If you can consistently clear Tera Raids with your favorite Pokemon, don’t stop using them. Your party members will thank you.
