Pokémon Scarlet and Violet players share the perfect training program to master Tera Raids

With so many things going on during a Pokémon Tera Raid battle, it can be hard to keep up with everything amid the chaos. To bring new or unfamiliar players up to speed, one fan put together a handy guide this week with essential information and tips on how to breeze through your next Tera Raid.

Introduced in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Tera Raids give players a new way to battle. Alone or with friends, you can take on these unique battles against strong Terastallized Pokémon that vary in difficulty and Tera Types. Win and you’ll earn a bunch of useful rewards along with the option to catch the raid boss.

Generally speaking, you should be able to naturally pick up on a lot of the basics by participating in a few Tera Raids yourself, so we’ll just be highlighting a few of the biggest takeaways.

Determine whether or not your Pokémon can handle the raid

There are a lot of different factors that go into choosing the right Pokémon to bring to a raid—types, abilities, moves, etc. The first thing to consider is the level of the raid. Tera Raids range from one star to seven stars, and each rank has a different level raid boss.

• One star = level 12
• Two stars = level 20
• Three stars = level 35
• Four stars = level 45
• Five stars = level 75
• Six stars = level 90 (but you’ll catch it at level 75)
• Seven stars = level 100

Raids that are four stars or below are relatively easy to beat as long as you have Pokémon that can hit the raid boss for super-effective damage. For five-star raids and up, you’ll want to have level 100 Pokémon that were specifically built for countering Tera Raids. This involves checking for good IVs and doing some EV training.

For some trainers, battling might boil down to using only the strongest attacks a Pokémon can learn. However, the more difficult raid bosses have an overwhelming amount of HP that will force you to either set up your Pokémon with stat boosts or weaken the raid boss with stat drops. 

For example, Azumarill is great for Tera Raids because it can quickly maximize its Attack stat with Belly Drum before spamming incredibly powerful Play Roughs or Liquidations. If your Pokémon cannot learn any set-up moves, check for moves that can lower the raid bosses’ defenses or team up with a friend who can set up or debuff for you.

The only thing you need to watch out for is when the raid boss eliminates stat changes. If this happens, be patient and repeat the process if there’s time. It’ll be worth it.

Related: How to get your Azumarill to learn Belly Drum in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Fainting is the worst thing you can do

The quickest way to lose a Tera Raid is to keep letting your Pokémon faint. When your Pokémon or another player’s Pokémon faints, you’ll lose a significant chunk out of the timer bar in addition to having to wait five seconds before rejoining the battle. 

To make things worse, you’ll have to wait even longer the next time you faint. For example, it’s a ten-second penalty for the second time and fifteen seconds for the third.

Limit the fainting by having your Pokémon hold the Shell Bell to heal whenever it attacks the raid boss. You may also want to consider running recovery moves like Recover, Drain Punch, or Aqua Ring when possible. If all else fails, use a heal cheer.

Cheers are more useful than you’d think

For every Tera Raid battle, players can utilize three different cheers to help the team succeed. Each cheer serves a different purpose and may be the difference between winning and losing. 

• Give it your all! = boosts the team’s Attack and Special Attack by +1.5 or +2 for 3 turns
• Stay strong! = boosts the team’s Defense or Special Defense by +1.5 or +2 for 3 turns
• Heal up! = heals a random amount of HP in addition to removing status conditions

You can use the same cheer multiple times, but you’ll max out after using any combination of three cheers in total (i.e. you can use one of each cheer, or you can use three heals, etc.).

At the end of the day, these tips are geared more toward the harder raids, but they can be applied to easier ones as well. And even if you don’t plan on taking raids too seriously, simply being aware of this information will ensure a smoother Tera Raid experience for you and your teammates.