Despite a few glaring technical issues, there's an awful lot to love about the Gen 9 Pokemon games, including the steady stream of special Tera Raid events that are being made available to players. Within just a few weeks of the games' release, Eevee and Charizard raids had gone live. Now, Game Freak is set to follow these up with yet another Tera Raid event featuring a pair of powerful version-exclusive Pokemon.
In early December, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet players will be able to square off against Tera Type versions of two of the series' most iconic Pseudo-Legendary Pokemon. Tyranitar and Salamence are already two of the strongest Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, but thanks to their unconventional yet surprisingly competitive Tera Types in the upcoming raids, finding the best counters for them is going to be even more difficult than usual.
When is the Tyranitar / Salamence Tera Raid Event?
The Tyranitar and Salamence Tera Raid Event will run from 7:00 PM on December 9 to 6:59 PM on December 11 (Eastern). As Tyranitar is exclusive to Pokemon Scarlet, Violet players will instead be up against their own version-exclusive Pokemon in Salamence. The pair will be showing up in both four and five-star raids, meaning that, unlike the Dragon Charizard Tera Raid Event, players won't need to unlock five and six-star raids in order to participate.
- December 9 19:00 - December 11 18:59 (Eastern)
The Best Ghost Tyranitar Counters (Pokemon Scarlet)
Given that Tyranitar usually has a four times weakness to Fighting-type moves, the decision to make it a Ghost Tera Type is actually a very smart one. Now, rather than being super effective, Fighting-type attacks are completely useless, as too are Normal-type attacks. As such, players will need to get creative when it comes to finding the best counters for Ghost Tera Type Tyranitar, while also considering its offensive might.
Tyranitar will be able to hit hard with Rock, Dark, and Ghost-type attacks, which rules out a lot of potential counters. However, there are still a few great options, one of the best being Kingambit. The Dark/Steel-type is resistant to Rock, Dark, and Ghost-type attacks, meaning that it will be able to hold up well against Tyranitars STAB moves. It also has a high Defense stat, which bodes well given Tyranitar's monstrous 134 Attack. Finally, its Dark-type STAB attacks like Night Slash and Kowtow Cleave will be super effective against Ghost Tyranitar, while Swords Dance can be used to boost its Attack further still.
Sadly, players won't be able to catch Kingambit out in the wild, though they will be able to evolve one from Bisharp. To do so, they'll need to use Bisharp to defeat three leader Bisharp, which can be found leading small packs of Pawniard around. The best way to do this is to teach it a Fighting-type move like Low Kick, as it will be super effective against other Bisharp. Players can find Bisharp in a few places, but the best is East Province (Area Three) in the area near the Team Star Fighting Team base.
The Best Steel Salamence Counters (Pokemon Violet)
Steel Tera Type Salamence is a little more tricky, as it has access to powerful Steel, Dragon, and Flying-type attacks. On paper, Fire and Ground-types would make for the best counters, though players will probably want to opt for the former as Steel-type attacks are not very effective against Fire-type Pokemon. Annoyingly, Salamence's Steel Tera Type rules out Ice-types, which it would otherwise have had a four times weakness to.
For those who have access to one, the Scarlet-exclusive Pokemon Armarouge is an excellent choice here and can be evolved from Charcadet by using the Auspicious armor. Its high Defense and Special Attack stats make it ideal for going up against Steel Salamence, while its Flash Fire ability will increase its already super effective Fire-type attacks like Armor Cannon and Flamethrower by a further 50%. It also has access to Calm Mind, which can be used to further boost its Special Attack stat.
Violet players without anyone to trade with will need to settle for the Paradox Pokemon Iron Moth. Its Defense stat is a little lacking, though it more than makes up for this with its incredible 140 Special Attack stat and high Speed. The former can be increased by an additional 30% too just by giving Iron Moth a Booster Energy to hold, as this will automatically activate its Quark Drive ability. It will be able to hit ridiculously hard with STAB moves like Overheat and can also heal up to 50% of its HP in a single turn by using Morning Sun (players may want to teach it Sunny Day with this in mind).
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available now for the Nintendo Switch.