Tera Raid Battles are four-on-one fights against a giant, Terastallized Pokémon that is far sturdier than normal. You can play them solo (with three support Trainers) or online with other players, and they offer the best rewards in the game: Exp. Candies, Tera Shards, Herba Mystica…
Finding a raid
Look for the beams of light in the landscape: they rise from crystals embedded in the ground. The color of the crystal shows the Tera Type of the Pokémon you will face; a black crystal marks a rare (6★) or event raid. Crystals are placed at random across Paldea (and later in Kitakami and the Terarium) and refresh every day.
Bonus: the first time you touch a crystal, you earn League Points (from 500 to 2,000 depending on the star rating), the currency of the TM Machine.
Difficulty levels
| Stars | Boss level | HP | League Points | Available |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★ | 12 | ×5 | 500 | From the start |
| ★★ | 20 | ×5 | 700 | From the start |
| ★★★ | 35 | ×8 | 1,000 | After 3 Gym Badges |
| ★★★★ | 45 | ×12 | 1,200 | After 6 Gym Badges |
| ★★★★★ | 75 | ×20 | 1,600 | After the credits |
| ★★★★★★ | 90 (75 once caught) | ×25 | 1,800 | After the first Academy Ace Tournament |
| 7★ (events) | 100 | ×25 | 2,000 | Limited-time events |
The “badge” thresholds only count the Gym Badges from Victory Road, not those from the Titan Pokémon or Team Star.
How a raid works
- Choose your Pokémon on the launch screen: each player brings just one Pokémon.
- Fight in real time: everyone attacks at their own pace without waiting for the others. A timer is ticking.
- Charge your Orb: it fills up after three offensive actions. You can then Terastallize your Pokémon (once per raid).
- If your Pokémon faints, it comes back after a few seconds (a little longer each time), and the timer loses time. Too many knock-outs and the raid fails.
- Victory: each player can guarantee the capture of the Pokémon with the Ball of their choice, and receives rewards.
Cheering
Instead of attacking, you can cheer on your team, three times per raid:
- “Go all out!”: raises the Attack and Sp. Atk of the whole team;
- “Stand firm!”: raises the Defense and Sp. Def of the whole team;
- “Heal up!”: restores HP and cures the status conditions of the whole team.
The boss’s special actions
In high-level raids, the boss triggers special actions as the battle goes on:
- The Tera Crystal shield: it greatly reduces the damage taken and blocks status moves. Terastallized Pokémon break through it much faster: this is the moment to Terastallize.
- An extra attack in the same turn.
- Removal of its stat drops (stat reductions, status conditions).
- Removal of your stat boosts and of your Abilities.
Keys to victory
- Level matters: for 5★ raids, bring a well-trained Pokémon of level 75 to 100; for 6★ raids, level 100 with optimized stats.
- Boosting moves (Swords Dance, Calm Mind, Bulk Up…) at the start of the raid, then strike: many winning strategies rely on two boosts followed by attacks.
- Terastallize at the right moment, ideally when the shield appears, and into a type that powers up your main attack (×2 if it is one of its original types).
- Online, don’t give up: leaving three online raids locks you out of online features for 30 minutes.
The 2026 7★ raid schedule
In 2026, a new Pokémon with the Mighty Mark takes over the black-crystal raids every week: the starter Pokémon of every generation (and their Hisuian forms), a very special Magikarp this summer, the Paldea Power event in August, then the Paldea starters and the “pseudo-legendaries” for the back-to-school season.
- Schedule: each raid starts on Friday at 0:00 UTC (1:00 a.m. in Paris in winter, 2:00 a.m. in summer) and ends the following Thursday at 23:59 UTC.
- One catch per save file: the Pokémon can only be caught once, and not at all if you already caught it in a previous raid with the Mighty Mark. The battles remain open for the rewards.
- Remember to download the Poké Portal News (Poké Portal, Mystery Gift) so that the raid of the week appears.
| Dates (2026) | Pokémon | Tera Type |
|---|---|---|
| January 9–15 | Venusaur | Ground |
| January 16–22 | Charizard | Dragon |
| January 23–29 | Blastoise | Steel |
| January 30 – February 5 | Meganium | Psychic |
| February 6–12 | Typhlosion | Ghost |
| February 13–19 | Feraligatr | Dark |
| February 20–26 | Sceptile | Dragon |
| February 27 – March 5 | Blaziken | Flying |
| March 6–12 | Swampert | Poison |
| March 13–19 | Torterra | Ground |
| March 20–26 | Infernape | Rock |
| March 27 – April 2 | Empoleon | Ice |
| April 3–9 | Serperior | Grass |
| April 10–16 | Emboar | Electric |
| April 17–23 | Samurott | Bug |
| April 24–30 | Chesnaught | Rock |
| May 1–7 | Delphox | Fairy |
| May 8–14 | Greninja | Poison |
| May 15–21 | Decidueye | Flying |
| May 22–28 | Incineroar | Dark |
| May 29 – June 4 | Primarina | Fairy |
| June 5–11 | Rillaboom | Normal |
| June 12–18 | Cinderace | Fighting |
| June 19–25 | Inteleon | Ice |
| June 26 – July 2 | Hisuian Decidueye | Grass |
| July 3–9 | Hisuian Typhlosion | Fire |
| July 10–16 | Hisuian Samurott | Water |
| July 17 – August 6 | Magikarp (three weeks) | Dragon |
| August 7–13 | Glimmora (Paldea Power, part 1) | Grass |
| August 14–20 | Annihilape (Paldea Power, part 2) | Ghost |
| August 21–27 | Farigiraf (Paldea Power, part 3) | Fairy |
| August 28 – September 3 | Kingambit (Paldea Power, part 4) | Dark |
| September 4–10 | Meowscarada | Grass |
| September 11–17 | Skeledirge | Fire |
| September 18–24 | Quaquaval | Water |
| September 25 – October 1 | Dragonite | Normal |
| October 2–8 | Tyranitar | Ghost |
| October 9–15 | Salamence | Flying |
Source: official Pokémon Scarlet and Violet announcements (sv-news.pokemon.co.jp). The schedule is updated with every new announcement.
Next up: rewards and Tera Shards.
Academy pop quiz
How can you tell a raid’s Tera Type before starting it?
The color of the crystal.
When do 5-star raids appear?
After the credits of the main story.
What should you do when the boss puts up its shield?
Terastallize your Pokémon: Terastallized Pokémon break through the shield much faster.
