Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Shiny Rayquaza Tera Raid: Dates, location, and best counters

Shiny Rayquaza is taking over Pokémon Scarlet and Violet with an epic five-star Tera Raid event. 

As a Legendary Pokémon and a rare Shiny, this black dragon makes a fine addition to your collection. Here’s everything you need to know about the Shiny Rayquaza Tera Raid event in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

When is the Shiny Rayquaza Tera Raid event in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

The Shiny Rayquaza Tera Raid event will take place from Thursday, Dec. 19 at 6:00pm CT to Sunday, Jan. 5 at 5:59pm CT. During this time, special five-star Blissey Tera Raids will also pop up around the map.

How to find Shiny Rayquaza Tera Raids in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

To find the Shiny Rayquaza Tera Raids, you must first beat the main story to unlock five-star Tera Raids. After that, follow these steps to find your Shiny Legendary: 

• During the event period, connect to the internet and make sure your Poké Portal News is up to date.
• Open your map and look for a glowing Dragon Tera Raid icon. Set that as your destination. If you can’t find the right event Tera Raids on your map, restart your game and try again.
• Follow the orange flag on your minimap until you reach your destination. You can speed up the process by flying to the nearest Pokémon Center or landmark and then riding on Koraidon or Miraidon.
• When you reach the Tera Raid den, interact with the crystal to ensure it’s a five-star raid with Rayquaza’s silhouette.
• You can also use the Tera Raid Battle Search feature in the Poké Portal to participate in group raids with fellow players online. This requires a Nintendo Switch Online membership.

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

You are limited to catching one Shiny Rayquaza in this specific Tera Raid event. While you can rechallenge the Shiny Rayquaza raid multiple times throughout the event period for more rewards, you won’t be able to throw another Poké Ball at the dragon once you’ve already caught one.

How to catch Shiny Rayquaza in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Currently, the only way to catch Shiny Rayquaza in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is by beating the Tera Raid while it’s around. The good news is that Rayquaza is guaranteed to be Shiny in this event, so you won’t have to spend too much time hunting for it.

Outside of the Tera Raid event, Rayquaza is Shiny-locked like other Legendary Pokémon in the Gen IX games, meaning you won’t find their Shiny variants even if luck is on your side. If you have The Indigo Disk DLC, you can find a normal Rayquaza after earning a Rayquaza Treat from Snacksworth in exchange for completing Blueberry Quests (BBQs) at the Terarium.

Beating the Shiny Rayquaza Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

As a five-star Tera Raid, Shiny Rayquaza will be tough but not too difficult to beat. As long as you bring a Pokémon that can deal meaningful damage while staying alive, you should be able to defeat and catch Rayquaza.

If you plan on soloing the raid, it helps to have NPC allies that can use Intimidate, paralyze Rayquaza, or heal your Pokémon. Some good examples are Tauros, Umbreon, and Gardevoir.

What type is Rayquaza in the Tera Raid?

Rayquaza is a Dragon/Flying-type Pokémon, and it will have the Dragon Tera Type for this specific Tera Raid event.

This means Fairy, Dragon, and Ice attacks will do super-effective damage against Rayquaza here. You may, however, want to avoid bringing a Dragon-type counter since they are also vulnerable to Rayquaza’s Dragon attacks.

Rayquaza Tera Raid moveset

In this Tera Raid battle, Rayquaza is a mixed attacker with physical and special attacks and one setup move. On the physical side, it’ll hit you with Dragon Ascent, Earthquake, and Extreme Speed—all boosted by Dragon Dance. On the special side, it has Dragon Pulse, Draco Meteor, and Hurricane.

Best counters for the Shiny Rayquaza Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Since this is a five-star raid rather than a seven-star one, you should be able to pull out a win against Rayquaza with any strong Pokémon with the type advantage. That being said, I’ve found that the best counter is Azumarill.

Best Azumarill Tera Raid build in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

If you’ve participated in previous Tera Raid events, you understand just how good Azumarill is against raid bosses. The Water/Fairy bunny not only has a favorable type matchup against Rayquaza but also comes with the fastest setup move in the game—Belly Drum.

For this build, the game plan is simple. Start with Belly Drum to maximize your Attack stat in exchange for half of Azumarill’s HP. After that, spam Play Rough to deal massive damage. Azumarill’s stat boosts will be eliminated at one point in the battle, so use another Belly Drum after that happens. Terastallize your Pokémon to the Fairy Tera Type as soon as it’s safe to do so to dish out even more damage.

What is the best Nature for Rayquaza in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

As a Legendary Pokémon, Rayquaza’s stats are great all around. Its Attack and Special Attack stats are the same at 150, so you can choose a physical, special, or mixed build. This flexibility means the right Nature for Rayquaza depends on which build you go for.

For a fully physical Rayquaza, look for Adamant (+ Attack, – Special Attack) as its Nature. Rayquaza’s signature move, Dragon Ascent, is a powerful physical attack, so the Adamant Nature works well here. Plus, it can take advantage of Extreme Speed and strike before the opponent. It can also boost its Attack and Speed thanks to Dragon Dance.

If you’d rather run a special Rayquaza, give it a Modest (+ Special Attack, – Attack) Nature. This powers up strong special moves like Draco Meteor, Overheat, and Hurricane.

If you want the best of both worlds, make your Rayquaza a mixed attacker with a Lonely (+ Attack, – Defense) or Naughty (+ Attack, – Special Defense) Nature. You can still keep your Rayquaza more on the physical side, but this also allows you to take advantage of hard-hitting special attacks like Draco Meteor and Overheat without feeling the drawbacks. Draco Meteor, for example, lowers the user’s Special Attack stat by two stages after each use, so Rayquaza can launch one big Draco Meteor when required, before switching back to physical moves.