Best counters and builds for defeating 7-star Charizard Tera Raids in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Unrivaled Charizard Tera Raids first landed in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet just after the Gen IX games were released in 2022. Now everyone’s favorite fire dragon is back in honor of Pokémon Day.

The seven-star Charizard Tera Raid event is making its return from Tuesday, March 12 at 7pm CT until Sunday, March 17 at 6:59pm CT. It follows the previous Venusaur and Blastoise Tera Raid events to close out the Pokémon Day festivities in Scarlet and Violet. But unlike Venusaur and Blastoise, this isn’t Charizard’s first rodeo. In fact, Charizard was the very first Pokémon to receive a seven-star Tera Raid event, and now we’re revisiting that battle.

You might’ve already defeated and caught Unrivaled Charizard the first time around. But if you haven’t, or if you need a refresher, here are all the details on the Unrivaled Charizard Tera Raid and how to beat it in Scarlet and Violet.

Beating the Unrivaled Charizard Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Compared to the more recent Unrivaled Tera Raid events, Charizard is relatively easy to handle. It doesn’t have any super annoying gimmicks, but you’ll need to watch out when the sun goes up. Under the sun, Charizard’s attacks will hit extra hard thanks to its Solar Power ability unless you bring a Pokémon that is immune or resistant to its moves.

The best way to counter Charizard’s offense is to prioritize setting up your Pokémon before going in for the kill. Once your Pokémon is all setup, it should be safe to spam attacks.

What type is Unrivaled Charizard?

Charizard normally has the Fire/Flying typing, and it has the Dragon Tera Type for this specific Tera Raid event. This means its defensive weaknesses are Dragon, Ice, and Fairy. Out of those three weaknesses, Fairy is by far the best option to consider for your counter because it not only hits Charizard’s Dragon Tera Type for super-effective damage but also leaves you completely immune to any Dragon-type attack.

When you also consider Charizard’s fire power, a Water/Fairy-type Pokémon like Azumarill is the ideal counter since it resists almost everything the fire dragon throws at it.

What moves does Unrivaled Charizard know?

Half of Charizard’s moves are Fire-type: Fire Blast, Overheat, Inferno, and Sunny Day. Sunny Day is used to set up the sun to power up all of Charizard’s Fire attacks on top of boosting its special moves with its Solar Power ability.

Outside its fiery offense, Charizard has two Dragon-type attacks—Dragon Pulse and Tera Blast—and two inaccurate moves, Hurricane and Focus Blast. Fairy-type Pokémon won’t have to worry about Dragon Pulse or Tera Blast.

Moves

• Fire Blast
• Hurricane
• Dragon Pulse
• Focus Blast

Additional Moves

• Overheat
• Tera Blast
• Inferno
• Sunny Day

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

As mentioned throughout this guide, Fairy Pokémon are well-equipped to handle Unrivaled Charizard. Your two best options would be either Azumarill or Flutter Mane. The latter is unfortunately a Scarlet-exclusive Paradox Pokémon, but Azumarill is easily accessible to anyone playing Scarlet or Violet.

Best Azumarill Tera Raid build in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Azumarill is known to be a superstar when it comes to Tera Raids, but it works exceptionally well against Unrivaled Charizard thanks to their type matchup. As a Water/Fairy-type, Azumarill is immune to Charizard’s Dragon attacks and resists its Fire and Fighting attacks. The only attack that can hit the aqua rabbit for meaningful damage is Hurricane, which has unreliable accuracy. Meanwhile, Azumarill can take huge chunks out of Charizard’s HP bar with super-effective Play Rough while recovering health with the Shell Bell.

The best part about Azumarill is it can set up super quickly with Belly Drum. In exchange for half its HP, Azumarill’s Attack stat is maximized in a single turn. At the same time, the self-inflicted damage can leave Azumarill vulnerable to fainting from Charizard’s wrath. For this reason, it’s safer to start by opening up with a Light Screen to weaken incoming special moves for five turns. Before you use Belly Drum, make sure Azumarill has more than half its HP; otherwise the move will fail and that’s a waste of precious time.

Likewise, it’s also better to wait until it’s safe to Terastallize Azumarill to the Fairy Tera Type. Charge your Tera by landing three attacks on Charizard, and it’s not too big of a deal if your Pokémon faints once before Terastallization.

Once you get to a spot where Light Screen and Belly Drum are set up with a safe HP number, Terastallize your Azumarill and spam Play Rough until Charizard is defeated.

Best Flutter Mane Tera Raid build in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Flutter Mane is not only one of the best counters for Unrivaled Charizard but also one of the most powerful Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet. With its Ghost/Fairy typing, Flutter Mane is immune to Charizard’s Dragon Pulse, Tera Blast, and Focus Blast, and its 135 Special Defense gives it a lot of bulk to handle the rest of the fire dragon’s moves.

On top of this, Flutter Mane has a naturally high Special Attack, which can then be boosted further with its Protosynthesis ability after Charizard sets its sun up. Photosynthesis boosts the Paradox Pokémon’s highest stat in the sun, so make sure to give it a Nature that boosts Special Attack and max out its Special Attack EVs.

When it comes to beating the raid, content creator Austin John Plays shared a simple game plan and build: 

• Set up with two Calm Minds to boost Flutter Mane’s Special Attack and Special Defense. Repeat this step after your stats are reset.
• Lower Charizard’s Special Defense with two Fake Tears.
• Attack with Draining Kiss when you need to health HP.
• Otherwise, attack with Moonblast for more damage.