Raid Battles have returned from Pokémon Sword and Shield. Now dubbed “Tera Raid Battles,” players will need to battle and overcome Tera Pokémon to earn the chance to capture them. However, defeating these boss Pokémon isn’t easy, so here are a few tips and tricks to help you win your next Tera Raid Battle.
Guide by Robert Patrick for PokéJungle.
What is a Tera Raid battle?
Firstly, we should clarify how Tera Raid Battles work in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Like Sword and Shield, you will begin a Tera Raid Battle by entering a Raid den. These raid dens appear as large crystals throughout the overworld. Upon entrance, up to 4 players will participate in a battle against a Pokémon. Upon defeating this Pokémon, players gain the opportunity to capture it.
What makes this Pokémon special is that it will immediately Terastilize when the fight commences. The Pokémon’s type will change, which alters how you’ll tackle it. The most notable change to keep in mind, however, is that every trainer during a raid battle will have their turn at the same time. Rather than wait for all actions to happen, once your turn begins, you can act.
Raids in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have time limits. While there is no limit to the number of times your team’s Pokémon can faint, every defeated Pokémon takes 5 seconds off the timer, and if it reaches zero, your team loses.
Pokémon levels and star values
Before taking on a Tera Raid battle, it is essential to be aware of the power level of the encounter. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet split raid battles into different difficulty levels. The ranking of these levels goes from 1-7 stars. Players will have access to raids from 1-4 stars throughout their journey as they grow stronger. Upon completing the game, they unlock
5-star raids, and once they’ve won the Academy Star Tournament and beaten a combination of 10 4 or 5-star raids, 6-star raids are unlocked.
The Tera Pokémon of each raid have a battle level that may change when captured.
| Star Rank | Battle Level | Capture Level | HP Modifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 12 | 5x |
| 2 | 20 | 20 | 5x |
| 3 | 35 | 35 | 8x |
| 4 | 45 | 45 | 12x |
| 5 | 75 | 75 | 20x |
| 6 | 90 | 75 | 25x |
| 7 | 100 | 100 | Varies by Pokémon |
The level of your opponent is something you’ll need to take into account when tackling a raid. Keep an eye on the star rank before challenging it. 7-star raids, in particular, are typically Wi-Fi events that will see a Pokémon built with a Tera type and moveset that entirely complement it. These raids are best handled on a case-by-case basis.
Planning around the Tera Type of the raid
When opening the map of Paldea in Scarlet and Violet, you’ll notice many colored symbols across the region. These are the Tera raid dens, the emblem revealing the type of Pokémon you’ll battle. A flame represents the Fire-type raid, a drop of rain for the Water-type raid, etc.
When a Pokémon terastalizes, it gains the type effectiveness (defensive properties) of its new type. It is best to bring a Pokémon built to handle the tera type of your opponent rather than its base type. But you should consider both the Tera Type and original typing of the Pokémon you’ll be facing.
Example: When fighting a Grass Tera Type Dondozo, it would be wise to avoid Fire-type Pokémon. Although Fire-type attacks will now do super effective damage to Dondozo because the type effectiveness is now determined by its Grass Tera Type, but it still has STAB from its water moves. In this scenario, Poison or Flying-type Pokémon with attacks of the same type would be a safer choice.
The importance of team work
As mentioned before, Tera Raid battles can have up to 4 players participating at once. While this can include one trainer and three AI-controlled teammates, you can see more success by working with other living players. These raids can be done locally or over the internet with a Nintendo Switch Online membership. To ensure that you and your friends can link up, you’ll need to enter an 8-digit link code of your creation in the Poke Portal.
Now that you’ve assembled your party, communication is critical since there are a few different things you’ll need to know about during these new raids.
How the Cheer ability works
Each trainer has access to a cheer ability. These cheers are performed instead of an attack during your turn, up to three times per raid. There are a total of three types, each with a different effect.
| Cheer Type | Effect |
|---|---|
| Go All Out! | Multiplies the Attack and Sp Atk stat of all participants by x1.5 to x2 |
| Hang Tough! | Multiplies the Defense and Sp Def of all participants By x1.5 to x2 |
| Heal Up! | Removes status conditions and confusion while restoring between 20% and 100% of the participants’ health |
Sometimes, attacking isn’t the best option. Success can depend on being a team player. Prioritizing the health of your teammates or enabling them to deal more damage can make a difference. The result of a cheer is random, however, so it is best to communicate with your team what is best for success. If you’re playing with random players, you can interact with callouts. Press the minus button to issue commands such as “Help” or “Everyone, attack together” to teammates.
The most valuable Cheer can be ‘Heal Up!’ to ensure you and your teammates survive the raid, although ‘Hang Tough!’ can be a good option to use when starting the raid to boost everyone’s defenses and ‘Go All Out!’ can maximize attack damage after Terastallizing.
If you are in a Tera Raid with NPCs, one will use a ‘Hang Tough!’ cheer at the beginning of the battle, but otherwise they will not use the Cheer ability.
Shield mechanics in Tera Raid battles
Once per battle, the boss Pokémon can produce an energy shield that reduces the damage done by non-Terastallized Pokémon. While this barrier is up, the Pokémon also receives other benefits:
- The removal of most status effects and negative stat debuffs
- The elimination of your team’s positive stat increases and your ability for a turn
- Stealing some of the charges from your Tera orbs
Damage modifiers are listed below as a general example, they can differ based on the raid’s star level and location of the raid.
- Non-Terastallized Pokémon will have all moves reduced to only 20% power
- Terastallized Pokémon attacking with a move that does not match their Tera Type will deal 35% of their normal damage
- Terastallized Pokémon can deal up to 75% of their move’s original power if hitting with an attack that matches their Tera Type.
The best way to counter this shield is to Terastallize your Pokémon and attack with moves that are the same type as your Tera Type. Unlike other battles throughout Scarlet and Violet, you’ll be unable to Terastallize until you’ve gained three Tera charges from attacking the enemy. Once you meet the requirements, you’re able to Terastallize. Luckily for your team, there is no limit to the amount of Pokémon that can Terastallize.
Tera Raid battles and Hidden Abilities
In some of these raids, the boss Pokémon may have access to its Hidden Ability. For those who need a refresher, nearly all Pokémon have a standard Ability and a rarer Hidden Ability. Tera Raids can be a supreme way to capture an elusive Pokémon with this rare trait. Keep in mind that Pokémon with Hidden Abilities will only appear in three-star Tera Raids or higher.
During the battle, it is vital to keep in mind what the Pokémon’s Ability is or if it has a Hidden Ability. This may impact the strategies you use during the raid. Be sure to plan ahead and keep the mechanics of a Hidden Ability in mind.
Example: When facing an Annihilape during a Tera Raid battle, remember that it could have the Hidden Ability Defiant. This ability will cause its Attack stat to increase by 2 for every stat you lower. In this scenario, avoid Intimidate users or moves that will lower its stats.
Tera Raid battle rewards in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Regardless of where your Tera Raid is located, Paldea, Kitakami or the Blueberry Academy, the drops will remain the same. 7-star raids feature unique drops as they are Wi-Fi events.
| Star Rank | Fixed Drops | Random Drops |
|---|---|---|
| 1 ★ | Exp Candy XS (x1-2) Exp Candy S (x1-2) Stat Feather (x1-2) Material Of Defeated Pokémon (x2-3) | Various Berries (x1-4) Treasures (x1) |
| 2 ★ | Exp Candy S (x3-4) Material Of Defeated Pokémon (x3-4) Stat Feather (x1-2) | Exp Candy M (x1) Various Berries (x1-4) Treasures (x1) |
| 3 ★ | Exp Candy S (x1-2) Exp Candy M (x2-5) Stat Feather (x2-3) Material Of Defeated Pokémon (x5-6) Corresponding Tera Shard (x2) | Various Berries (x1-2) Treasures (x1-2) |
| 4 ★ | Exp Candy M (x2-4) Exp Candy L (x1-3) Material Of Defeated Pokémon (x6-8) Stat Feather (x2-3) Corresponding Tera Shard (x1-4) | Various Berries (x1-5) Treasures (x1-2) |
| 5 ★ | Exp Candy L (x1-4) Exp Candy XL (x1) Material of Defeated Pokémon (x3-7) Stat Feather (x3-5) Corresponding Tera Shard (x2-5) | Rare Candy (x1) Various Berries (x3) Treasures (x1-3) Herba Mystica (x1) Nature Mint (x4) Vitamin (x1) Bottle Cap (x1) Ability Capsule (x1) |
| 6 ★ | Exp Candy L (x4-7) Exp Candy XL (x1-2) Material of Defeated Pokémon (x3-7) Stat Feather (x3-5) Corresponding Tera Shard (x3-7) | Rare Candy (x1) Treasures (x1-3) Herba Mystica (x1) Nature Mints (x4) Vitamin (x1) Bottle Cap (x1) Ability Capsule (x1) Ability Patch (x1) |
7-star Tera Raid battle rewards
Rewards from 7-star raid battles will be determined based on the event. These raids are timed online events that have to be active to take part in them.
Maximizing your rewards from Tera Raid battles
The rewards you will receive for participating in a raid as a guest is less than if you were hosting it, so it may be worth it to host raids yourself.
In addition, the Raid Power that can be gained from making and eating sandwiches will increase the amount of rewards you get from a raid:
- Level 1: One additional item
- Level 2: Two additional items
- Level 3: Three additional items
The raid power will have a type at the end (such as Raid Power: Rock) and you’ll need to match the power’s type to the Tera Raid’s type to get the bonus.
Using Tera Raids to capture Pokémon with perfect IVs
Alongside the many rewards you earn from raids, the defeated Pokémon will have perfect Individual Values, or IVs, in at least one stat — and likely more depending on the star rank.
What are Pokémon IVs?
For those who are unfamiliar with IVs, they are an invisible numerical value that impacts a Pokémon’s stats. Each stat (HP, Attack, Special Attack, Defense, Special Defense and Speed) is assigned an IV from 1 to 31. This allows Pokémon of the same species and level to have slightly different stats.
In many cases, a perfect IV of 31 is desirable because you will reach the maximum natural stat value, Pokémon Natures and Effort Values (EVs) notwithstanding. There are some instances when a low IV may be preferable, such as when building a slow Pokémon for Trick Room teams or other strategies.
This makes Tera Raid battles a great place to find Pokémon with perfect IVs and can offer an alternative to breeding for them.
As previously mentioned, the number of perfect IVs a raid boss has depends on the star level of the Tera Raid:
- 1-Star: Guaranteed to get one stat with perfect 31 IVs
- 2-Star: Guaranteed to get one stat with perfect 31 IVs
- 3-Star: Guaranteed to get two stats with perfect 31 IVs
- 4-Star: Guaranteed to get three stats with perfect 31 IVs
- 5-Star: Guaranteed to get four stats with perfect 31 IVs
- 6-Star: Guaranteed to get five stats with perfect 31 IVs
- 7-Star: Guaranteed to get all six stats with perfect 31 IVs
Additional Tera Raid tips
Before you begin your quest to conquer every Tera raid, here are a few extra things to note that will make things easier.
Daily Limits
While raids from one to five-stars are unlimited in their spawn rate, ones of 6 and 7-stars are only available once a day. You can circumvent this, however, by going to the Poké Portal and joining the raids of people online.
7-Star Pokémon Limits
When completing a 7-star raid for the first time, you can capture the defeated Pokémon like normal. However, every other attempt after this will ban you from catching a second defeated Pokémon. You will still receive the drops for succeeding, but no copies of the same Pokémon.
Coordinate with friends
If you’re having trouble completing a raid, it can be helpful to find friends online to tackle it with. You can also solicit help from places like social media, Reddit and Discord where people are often online and willing to help. We recommend you join the PokéJungle Discord server and see if anyone can help out!
