Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Unrivaled Infernape Tera Raid – Dates, location, and best counters

Seven-star Infernape Tera Raids are taking over Pokémon Scarlet and Violet for a limited time, and you’ll need to prepare if you want to defeat and catch the lovable monkey.

We know how challenging seven-star Tera Raids can get in the Gen IX Pokémon games, so it’s safe to say Infernape won’t be monkeying around for this event. If you’re new to these Unrivaled Tera Raid events or struggling with this particular battle, we’ve put together an extensive guide on everything you need to know about the seven-star Infernape Tera Raids.

When is the seven-star Infernape Tera Raid event in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

As with previous seven-star Tera Raid events featuring Starters, Unrivaled Infernape will make two appearances:

• Seven-star Infernape Tera Raids will first appear in the Paldea region on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7:00pm CT until Sunday, Oct. 6 at 6:59pm CT.
• They will pop up again the following week from Thursday, Oct. 10 at 7:00pm CT until Sunday, Oct. 13 at 6:59pm CT.

During that second event period, also be on the lookout for special five-star Blissey Tera Raids. These raids are known to be quite generous with rewards like Exp. Candies and Tera Shards, so use that opportunity to stock up if necessary.

How to find seven-star Infernape Tera Raids in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Unrivaled Infernape Tera Raids can appear anywhere in the Paldea region, but tracking them down is pretty easy.

• Make sure you’ve unlocked seven-star Tera Raids. Unrivaled Infernape raids will not appear on your map until you’ve unlocked access to them toward the end of the main story.
• During the event period, connect to the internet and update your Poke Portal News. If the Infernape raids are still not showing up on your Paldea map, restart your game.
• Open up your Paldea map and look for a black Tera Raid icon with the Rock Tera Type symbol. Set that as your destination.
• Fly to the nearest Pokémon Center or landmark and follow the orange flag on your mini-map until you reach your destination.
• Interact with the black crystal and make sure it’s a seven-star raid with Infernape’s silhouette. 
• You may also find Unrivaled Infernape raids using the Tera Raid Battle Search feature in the Poké Portal. There, you can join fellow trainers in group raids. This requires a Nintendo Switch Online membership.

How to catch Infernape in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Aside from the Unrivaled Tera Raid event, you can obtain Infernape in a few other ways in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. 

If you have The Indigo Disk DLC, you can catch Chimchar, Infernape’s first pre-evolution, in the Polar Biome within Blueberry Academy’s Terarium after upgrading the area. From there, you can simply evolve Chimchar into Monferno and then into Infernape. Without access to the DLC, you can still obtain an Infernape by transferring one from another game via Pokémon HOME or trading with another player.

If you want to catch Infernape with the Mightiest Mark, you must beat the Unrivaled Tera Raid while it’s around. We’ll discuss how to beat the Infernape Tera Raid later in this guide.

Can you catch more than one Infernape in the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Unrivaled Tera Raid event?

You can only catch one Infernape with the Mightiest Mark in the Unrivaled Tera Raid event. The raid is repeatable throughout the event period to earn more rewards like Herba Mystica, but you won’t be able to catch a second Infernape with that rare mark. If you need another Infernape (without the mark), use one of the methods mentioned in the previous section.

What is the best Nature for Chimchar, Monferno, and Infernape in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

Chimchar, Monferno, and Infernape work well as speedy mixed attackers or you can fully invest in physical attack. The best Natures for them are Hasty (+ Speed, – Defense), Naive (+ Speed, – Special Defense), or Adamant (+ Attack, – Special Attack). Just keep in mind that Infernape’s Attack and Special Attack stats both sit at 104, which is relatively weak compared to other fully evolved ‘mons that specialize in offense.

For a mixed Infernape, go with a Hasty or Naive nature to keep your offense stronger. This will make your ape faster at the expense of its defenses, so you may want it to hold the Focus Sash to ensure it can survive at least one hit. In terms of offense, give it Overheat for one strong special attack and utilize reliable physical attacks like Flare Blitz and Close Combat. Overheat lowers the user’s Special Attack by two stages each time it’s used, so the idea is to have Infernape use it once at full power and then rely more on physical attacks after that.

Now, if you aren’t a fan of using mixed attackers, Infernape can also function as a pure physical attacker with an Adamant nature. This allows you to take more advantage of Infernape’s Iron Fist ability, which boosts punching moves by 20 percent. Pair the hidden ability with moves like Drain Punch for HP recovery, Power-Up Punch for more Attack boosts, or Mach Punch and Bullet Punch for priority.

Beating the Unrivaled Infernape Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Unrivaled Infernape isn’t as frustrating or difficult as some of the previous seven-star raid bosses like Incineroar or Sceptile because it doesn’t have any weird tricks. The monkey simply relies on setting up its offense and using a combination of physical and special attacks, so you don’t have to worry about an annoying ability, weather conditions, or other shenanigans.

All you need to do is bring the right Pokémon with a strong build to defeat Infernape. To determine the best counters, we first need to consider Unrivaled Infernape’s typing and moveset.

What type is Unrivaled Infernape?

Infernape usually has the Fire/Fighting-typing, but it will have the Rock Tera Type for this specific Tera Raid event. This gives it five defensive weaknesses: Water, Grass, Steel, Ground, and Fighting. 

At first glance, Water seems the best option for your counter because it resists Infernape’s Fire-type attacks. However, Fighting-type Pokémon also work out well here—as long as they can take the heat.

What moves does Unrivaled Infernape know?

As previously mentioned, this Infernape is a mixed attacker with both physical and special attacks. Flare Blitz is its main physical attack with Swords Dance to boost its Attack stat, while Aura Sphere and Grass Knot hit on the special side with Nasty Plot boosting those moves. 

Rock-type Tera Blast is an interesting choice here, which becomes physical or special based on Infernape’s highest offensive stat. And lastly, Infernape has Focus Energy to help it land more critical hits.

Best counters for the Unrivaled Infernape Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

This seven-star raid isn’t particularly difficult, and I was able to beat it on the first try with two different Pokémon: Koraidon and Azumarill. I imagine there are a bunch of different counters that’ll work for this raid battle, but if you need some help or inspiration, try one of these two Pokémon. 

Best Koraidon Tera Raid build in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Between Koraidon and Azumarill, Koraidon was much easier to win with. It does, however, come with two drawbacks. First, it’s the Scarlet-exclusive Legendary Pokémon, so it’s harder to obtain than Azumarill. Second, its Orichalcum Pulse ability automatically sets up the sun, boosting Infernape’s Fire-type Flare Blitz. This isn’t too big of a deal if you’re doing a solo raid, but I’d avoid bringing Koraidon to group raids with random players.

The game plan is very straightforward with Koraidon: 

• Set up with one or two Swords Dances.
• Use Collision Course.
• When Koraidon’s stats are reset, set back up with three more Swords Dances.
• Spam Collision Course.
• Heal with Drain Punch when necessary. 

For Koraidon’s held item, the Expert Belt and Black Belt add more damage, while the Shell Bell is a reliable healing source. I initially went with the Expert Belt since Koraidon can also heal with Drain Punch, but it might be a little safer to go with the Shell Bell. In that way, you can recover some HP even when using Collision Course.

Best Azumarill Tera Raid build in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

If you don’t have a Koraidon, Azumarill is another solid option for this raid. In fact, it’s often one of the best Pokémon to bring to these difficult Tera Raids, so you might even already have one trained up.

Azumarill builds usually come with the Huge Power ability, but it needs Sap Sipper for this specific raid to avoid super-effective damage from Infernape’s Grass Knot. The rest of Infernape’s attacks shouldn’t do too much damage against your aqua rabbit, especially if you have one or two Intimidate users on your side.

Here’s how you can beat Infernape with Azumarill:

• Do not open up with Belly Drum. Instead, use Aqua Ring and attack if you have time before Azumarill’s stats are reset.
• Use Belly Drum if you have enough HP after stats are reset.
• Spam Liquidation until you win.

When using Azumarill, there are a few tricky parts to watch out for. For example, Belly Drum costs half of Azumarill’s HP, so you’ll need to make sure it doesn’t take too much damage on the first few turns. You can minimize the incoming damage with NPC Intimidate users and heal back with Aqua Ring, NPC Gardevoir, or NPC Arboliva. I was fine with a combination of Aqua Ring, Arboliva, and Arcanine for Intimidate.

There’s also a 10 percent chance Azumarill will be burned whenever Infernape uses Flare Blitz. If this happens, use a heal cheer right away. Otherwise, your attacks will be a lot weaker and you’ll take some residual damage each turn.