Pokemon Scarlet & Violet brought back raids introduced in its predecessor, Pokemon Sword & Shield. A raid is a form of Pokemon battle which sees 4 trainers take on 1 wild Pokemon which is high leveled and super powerful.
In generation 9 the raid battle is the new gimmick, Terastal Pokemon which boosts its stats with a crystal armor, also it may give the Pokemon a new type. A Tera type. GameFreak has released several raids which feature Pokemon not normally found in the game, also with a new and interesting Tera type. Here are some of the best Tera raids in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.
10 Chesnaught (Rock Tera Type)
The final form of the Pokemon X&Y grass-type starter made its return to the franchise through a raid released in May. Chesnaught, who is usually a grass/fighting 'mon receives the Rock typing in its Tera form, which helps negate its fire typing and with a STAB (same type attack bonus) Rollout or Rock Slide it is the perfect counter.
Tera types offer a different dimension for battles as it helps to plan different strategies against opponents, it also helps with broadening the types of the six Pokemon allowed in a party.
9 Inteleon (Ice Tera Type)
The generation eight starters weren't the most well-received, but Inteleon has a great theme being based on spies such as James Bond. Just like Chesnaught, Inteleon isn't found in the mainline story of Scarlet & Violet, so, amazingly, gamers had the chance to catch one in this raid released at the end of April.
Inteleon gains the Tera type of Ice, which is a great counter to its grass weakness and helps boost Ice moves such as Ice Beam or Icy Wind.
8 Typhlosion (Ghost Tera Type)
If gamers have played Pokemon Legends: Arceus then they will know why Typhlosion gets the Ghost typing here with its Tera type. Typhlosion needs some love as GameFreak has ruined its design by removing its flames in its sprite making it look so much less menacing.
The Ghost typing doesn't help much in battle, as Ghost does not counter any of fire's weaknesses, although it is great to avoid a normal or fighting move as Ghosts are immune. But Typhlosion is so cool nonetheless.
7 Decidueye (Flying Tera Type)
Casual players may think that Decidueye is a flying-type Pokemon, but it is actually Grass/Ghost, so the added Flying-type is nice here as it adds a third type essentially. This is great as it will gain the STAB from the many flying-type moves that it can learn.
Decidueye is a fan-favorite Pokemon, one of the best starters in the newer games, and it is great that it was brought back into the latest generation with this Tera raid.
6 Greninja (Poison Tera Type)
Just like with Decidueye, GameFreak were on to a winner with this starter, it even got some insane love in the Anime with an exclusive form. Greninja desperately needed to return to Pokemon and the raid event for the water/dark type was welcomed by the community.
However, it came with a different typing, the poison type, a counter to grass Pokemon, and also it makes sense as frogs are commonly found to be poisonous in real-life. A nice nod here to the poison dart frog.
5 Charizard (Dragon Tera Type)
Charizard gets a lot of love from GameFreak, some fans are sick of it, but there is no escaping that the Fire dragon is one of the most iconic 'mons in the whole franchise. Although it looks like a dragon, it isn't one, but Fire/Flying (except for when it becomes Mega Charizard X).
This Pokemon would always be included in a raid event and gamers were treated with a Dragon typing, making this dragon the thing it always should have been.
4 Salamence (Various Tera Type) (Violet Exclusive)
Introduced in generation 3, Salamence is a beast in game, and, amazingly, gamers had a chance to pick this one up without needing to evolve in a 5 or 6-star raid. However, it is exclusive to Pokemon Violet.
Usually, a Dragon/Flying type, gamers have a chance to obtain a new Tera type, this time it was a random selection. A Fairy-type would be best here to neutralize its Dragon weakness, or perhaps Fire to boost Fire Blast and negate the Ice weakness.
3 Tyranitar (Various Tera Type) (Scarlet Exclusive)
Without a doubt, one of the best Pokemon that GameFreak has released, the gen 2 Pseudo Legendary is feared among opponents for its intense attack stats.
Usually, it is Rock/Dark type, but in this raid event, gamers have an opportunity to switch this up with a Tera type. Fighting types are its big threats so becoming a Flying or Psychic type would be perfect here. This Pokemon was exclusive to Scarlet, which was interesting as its Paradox Pokemon, Iron Thorns is only in Violet.​​​​​​​
2 Iron Leaves (Psychic Tera Type) (Violet Exclusive)
Paradox Pokemon were introduced in Scarlet & Violet, in Violet they are Pokemon from the future. A brand-new Pokemon was announced in raids for Violet and that was Iron Leaves, a version of Virizion from the distant future.
Iron Leaves, in its base form, is Grass/Psycic, since Tera Types are just one type then it removes the Grass Typing, ergo removing its Fire, Flying Poison and Ice weakness. It does keep the weakness of Bug as Psychic is also weak to it. Iron Leaves was exclusive to these raids so hopefully, gamers managed to catch one.
1 Walking Wake (Water Tera Type) (Scarlet Exclusive)
The opposite of Iron Leaves, Walking Wake is a Paradox Pokemon, and it is a distant relative of Suicune, a fan favorite legendary and this form is much more beastly looking. Walking Wake is exclusive to Scarlet and was only found during a raid event.
As a Water/Dragon type, its Tera is exclusively water, which makes it much more like its relative Suicune. Taking away its Dragon typing removes its weaknesses to Dragon and Fairy. Walking Wake's design alone makes it sit nicely on the top spot of this list.​​​​​​​
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available for Nintendo Switch.