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

Seven-star Incineroar Tera Raids are popping up in the Paldea region in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and it’s your job to beat the cat with the right partner Pokémon by your side.

From Thursday, Sept. 5 at 7pm CT and to Sunday, Sept. 8 at 6:59pm CT and again from Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7pm CT until Sunday, Sept. 15 at 6:59pm CT, you have the opportunity to challenge and catch Incineroar with the Mightiest Mark in a special Tera Raid event. The Alola Fire Starter is feared as one of the best ‘mons in competitive play, so don’t expect this raid battle to be easy. It’ll take a strong counter to take this cat down.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Unrivaled Incineroar Tera Raid and how to beat it in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Beating the Unrivaled Incineroar Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

This Incineroar’s gimmick revolves around a lot of annoying stat changes, so the best way to beat it is to use those stat changes against it. We’ll also need to consider what Tera Type and moves Incineroar is using to determine the right Pokémon to counter.

What type is Unrivaled Incineroar?

Incineroar’s default typing is Fire/Dark, and it also has the Dark Tera Type for this specific Tera Raid event. This gives the miniboss beast three defensive weaknesses: Fighting, Fairy, and Bug. Bug Pokémon don’t have the best matchup against Incineroar’s STAB Fire attacks, so you’re better off with either a Fighting or Fairy-type counter.

What moves does Unrivaled Incineroar know?

Incineroar’s moveset is a mix of strong offense and annoying hindrances. It will open up the battle by lowering your Attack with its Intimidate ability and your Special Attack with Snarl. If you’re unlucky, it may also target your Pokémon with Taunt to prevent you from setting up or using status moves for a few turns.

Incineroar’s main offensive moves are Flare Blitz and Darkest Lariat, but it may also go for Iron Head or Earthquake.

Moves

• Flare Blitz
• Darkest Lariat
• Iron Head
• Bulk Up

Additional moves

• Snarl
• Taunt
• Earthquake

Best counter for the Unrivaled Incineroar Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Incineroar is one of the tougher seven-star raid bosses we’ve had to face in Scarlet and Violet, but it’s not invincible. After multiple attempts with different Pokémon, I found the easiest way to beat Incineroar is with Malamar.

Best Malamar Tera Raid build in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Malamar is one of the few Pokémon that gets access to the Contrary ability, which reverses any stat changes. This is perfect for the Incineroar raid where the cat tries to increase its own stats with Bulk Up and lower your Pokémon’s stats with Intimidate and Snarl.

Start by using Skill Swap on the first turn to give Incineroar the Contrary ability. There’s a chance you’ll be targeted with Taunt to prevent you from using status moves like Skill Swap, but you can avoid that effect by having Malamar hold the Mental Herb. The cat will lower its Attack and Defense every time it uses Bulk Up, making it weaker and weaker throughout the battle. Let Malamar faint so that it can come back with its original Contrary ability.

From there, simply spam Superpower, a super-effective Fighting-type attack that also boosts Malamar’s Attack and Defense each time. If you run out of Superpowers, use Tera Blast after Terastallizing to the Fighting Tera Type. Use Heal cheers if necessary.

When using this Malamar strategy, it’s best to avoid NPCs with Intimidate Pokémon like Staraptor, Arcanine, and Tauros. Intimidate users are usually good against physical attackers like Incineroar, but it’ll be counterproductive after Skill Swapping the Contrary ability onto the cat. Instead, it’s ideal to aim for other NPCs—especially Gardevoir for free heals.

The only downside to using Malamar is that you need The Indigo Disk DLC to obtain it without having to trade or transfer from another game. But as long as you have this ‘mon, the Incineroar raid is a lot easier than it would otherwise be.