Tera Raid Battles - Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Guide - IGN (2024)

Raid Battles return in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet with Tera Raid Battles. These battles work similarly to their Pokemon Sword and Shield counterparts but have a few notable exceptions and additions that make them stand out. This page of IGN's Pokemon Scarlet and Violet wiki guide on how Tera Raid Battles work, how to unlock five-star and six-star Tera Raid Battles, and more.

• Click on any of the topics below to automatically scroll to that section of this page:
  
  • Tera Raid Battles Explained
  • How to Start Tera Raid Battles
  • How to Refresh and Get New Tera Raid Battles
  • Tera Raid Battle Star Ratings
  • How to Unlock Six-Star Tera Raid Battles
  • Tera Raid Battle Tips
  • Cheering in Tera Raids
  • Catching Tera Raid Pokemon
  • Timed Tera Raid Events

Tera Raid Battles Explained

Tera Raids allow four trainers to face off against a powerful Pokemon. All Trainers in a raid battle are allowed to seamlessly make moves throughout the battle rather than taking turns, like how the raid battles in Pokemon Sword and Shield worked.

In these battles, Trainers will need to defeat the Terastallized Pokemon within a specific time limit. These Terastallized Pokemon are said to potentially have unique or rare Tera Type from the usual Tera Type available to the Pokemon.

How to Start Tera Raid Battles

You can start Tera Raid Battles by interacting with glittering crystals found throughout Paldea. The color of the crystal indicates what kind of Tera Type Pokemon you'll find in the Raid Battle.

Interacting with it shows a silhouette of the Pokemon you'll encounter, its Tera Type, and the star rating of the battle. Either solo or four Trainers will face the wild Terastallized Pokemon. These Trainers can be recruited online (Nintendo Switch Online membership required) or join friends with a Link Code.

If you have a Nintendo Switch Online Membership, you can find Tera Raid Battles online. Press X to open the menu, access the Poke Portal, and connect to the internet. You can see up to eight Tera Raid Battles that are searching for players to join.

Note that if you quit or disconnect in the middle of an online Tera Raid Battle, you'll be penalized. This penalty will prevent you from joining or hosting any online Tera Raid Battles for at least 30 minutes. However, you can exit offline battles without penalty.

How to Refresh Tera Raid Battles

You can refresh the selection of Tera Raid Battles available in the Poke Portal every 30 seconds. You can refresh all the Tera Raid Battle dens in your game simply by going to the Nintendo Switch Home Screen and changing the system clock to the next day. You do not even need to exit the game to do this.

Tera Raid Battles Star Ratings

The raid's star rating determines the level of the opposing Pokemon. This will determine the Pokemon's health and strength. You'll unlock Tera Raid Battles with higher stars as you defeat the Gyms in the Victory Road quest.

The table below shows the opposing Pokemon's level as it relates to the star rating of the battle. The opposing Pokemon will also have its HP multiplied based on the star rating. This means that if you enter a 4-Star Raid against a Sandaconda, which could normally have a 125HP would have 12 times that—which results in 1,500 HP! HP multiples sourced from serebii.net.

How to Unlock Six-Star Tera Raid Battles

Tera Pokemon fought in six-star Tera Raid Battles will be much stronger than usual and thus Trainers will receive greater rewards when defeating or capturing them.

You will gain access to these battles after completing the Academy Ace Tournament at the end of the game. You must also win 15 Five-Star Tera Raid Battles. This can be done alone, or online. After winning your 15th Five-Star Tera Raid Battle, you'll receive a call from Mr. Jacq warning you about how dangerous they are.

Even if you haven't unlocked six-star raids, you can still join a friend's raid via a Link Code.

Each day one 6-star Tera Raid Battle den will appear on your map, these are noted with a black sparkling icon and a black crystal. These raids can also be refreshed simply by adjusting the system clock to the next day.

Six-star raids are the only way to earn Herba Mystica rewards. These are used to make master-level sandwiches! It is also possible to earn an Ability Patch item, which allows you to change the Ability of a Pokemon to a rarer Ability.

The opposing Pokemon in a six-star Tera Raid Battle will be level 90 during the battle itself; however, it'll only be level 75 when caught.

Tera Raid Battle Tips

The timer is an even bigger enemy in Tera Raid Battles than the opposing Pokemon. It is not controlled by the number of turns, it is actually a timer. Therefore, you'll want to choose your turns as quickly as possible.

Every time you're knocked out, the timer will be depleted by a decent chunk. You'll also have a 5-second waiting period until you're back in the action. This waiting period gets longer each additional time you feint.

The most important thing is trying to stay alive to avoid the time penalties. You should focus on moves that deal damage and recover health (i.e moves like Giga Drain, Drain Punch, Bitter Blade, and others). Abilities or Held items that recover health or boost your attacks each turn are extremely useful too!

Cheering in Tera Raids

You can assist Trainers joining you in co-op Tera Raids through cheering. Cheers are used in place of a Pokemon move and can only be used three times per raid battle. There are three kinds of cheers that give allied Pokemon one of the following boosts:

• "Go all out!" - Raises Attack and Sp. Atk.
• "Hang Tough!" - Defense and Sp. Def
• "Heal Up!" - Heals all allies.

Note: When an NPC's Pokemon feints, it does not negatively impact the battle's timer. Therefore, you don't really need to concern yourself with their health. However, when teamed up with other players, it's crucial that you use cheers to prevent them from fainting and avoid running out the clock too quickly.

Catching Tera Raid Pokemon

Once the Tera Raid Pokemon is defeated, you and your teammates can catch it. This catch never fails, so you're free to use any type of Poke Ball you want. Additionally, you'll earn items with each win: candies to help level up your Pokemon, supplements that increase your Pokemon's stats, and even special items like Ability Patches.

Timed Tera Raid Events

Special Events will feature different types of Tera Raid Pokemon. You can see current and any upcoming special Tera Raid Events by accessing the Poke Portal and connecting online to check the in-game news.

• Dragon Tera Type Charizard with the "Mightiest Mark" will appear in black crystal Tera Raid Battles from December 1-4 and also December 15-18. The event Schedule is Thursday, 12/1/2022 at 4:00 p.m. – Sunday, 12/4/2022 at 3:59 p.m. PST and Thursday, 12/15/2022 at 4:00 p.m. – Sunday, 12/18/2022 at 3:59 p.m. PST - See the Charizard Tera Raid Event Guide for detailed information!

Take a look at these pages for more information on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet:

• Tera Pokemon and Terastal Phenomenon Guide
• Version Differences and Exclusives
• Pokedex - All Pokemon in Scarlet and Violet
• Paldea