Best Tera Type for Rowlet, Dartrix, and Decidueye in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Rowlet, Dartrix, and Decidueye make up the Grass starter line of the Alola region in the seventh generation of Pokémon. The owls had another big appearance as starters in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, where Decidueye even received its own unique Hisuian form. 

They’ll also be making their Scarlet and Violet debut on March 16 when the next big Tera Raid event begins. From March 16 at 4:00pm PST to March 18 at 3:59pm PST, seven-star Tera Raids will appear with Flying Tera Type Decidueye as the raid boss. After its initial debut, it’ll be back again the week after.

With Rowlet, Dartrix, and Decidueye joining Gen IX, players will want to know which Tera Type is best for the owls. The Unrivaled Decidueye might be Flying Tera Type, but is that the most optimal Tera Type for it in a more competitive context?

Best Tera Type for Rowlet, Dartrix, and Decidueye in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

While Tera Types have both offensive and defensive benefits, players will often commit their Pokémon’s Tera Type to one or the other. If they go the offensive route, the Tera Type will usually be the same as the Pokémon’s original type to give them an additional boost on STAB attacks. A more defensive route would entail changing the Pokémon into a Tera type that resists attacks that would normally be super-effective against it.

In Decidueye’s case, a Grass or Ghost Tera Type would be perfect for making its STAB attacks even stronger. It might not naturally be part Flying-type like its pre-evolutions, but it still gets access to Brave Bird, meaning a Flying Tera Type would also be beneficial from an offensive standpoint. At the same time, the Flying Tera Type gives it free immunity to powerful Ground-type attacks like Earthquake or Headlong Rush.

Best Offensive Tera Types

• Grass
• Ghost
• Flying

When it comes to defense, Decidueye has five weaknesses in Flying, Ghost, Fire, Ice, and Dark. Steel, a common defensive Tera Type, will resist all of Decidueye’s usual weaknesses except for Fire. Steel comes with a lot of additional resistances in Bug, Dragon, Grass, Normal, Psychic, Rock, and Steel.

To gain resistance over Fire-type attacks, Decidueye can opt for a Fire Tera Type of its own. The Fire-typing will also allow it to resist Bug, Grass, Ice, and Steel attacks. In fact, a Fire Tera Type Decidueye will only be weak to Rock, Ground, and Water-type attacks, which it can fight back against with its STAB Grass attacks.

Best Defensive Tera Types

• Steel
• Fire