One week, one new colossus. After 
Tyranitar, 
Salamence and 
Metagross, it is now 
Garchomp‘s turn to sit on the black crystals of Paldea, until Friday, October 30, 2026 at 12:59 a.m. (Paris time). These 7-star Tera Raid Battles are the most demanding fights in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet: a Level 100 boss, a merciless timer, and a single chance to catch a Pokémon bearing the Mightiest Mark.
This guide gathers everything you need to know to clear them, solo or with a group: the entry requirements, the mechanics that make most raids fail, how to build a good counter, proven strategies, and the rewards at stake. It will help you against Garchomp this week, and against every Mightiest Pokémon to come.
7-star raids: what makes them different
7-star raids never show up at random in the wild. They are event raids: The Pokémon Company distributes them for a limited time, usually one week, and all you need to do is download the Poké Portal News to see the black crystal appear on the map. Taking one on for the first time earns you 2,000 League Points.
To take part, your save file must have unlocked 6-star raids: finish the Academy Ace Tournament, then win about ten high-level raids until Arven tells you about the black crystals. After that, every 7-star raid stands out through several special rules:
- A Level 100 boss with an enormous HP pool and scripted behavior specific to each event.
- The Mightiest Pokémon bears the Mightiest Mark, a mark you cannot get anywhere else. Its individual stats are maxed out.
- Only one catch per save file for each Mightiest Pokémon. After the victory, the catch is guaranteed no matter which Ball you choose, so take your time picking the one you like.
- No Shiny: Mightiest Pokémon cannot appear in their Shiny form. Hunters will find other leads in our Shiny hunting guide.
The mechanics to master before starting the battle
A 7-star raid is rarely lost for lack of raw power. It is lost because the timer runs out, because the boss wipes your preparations at the wrong moment, or because the team fails to break its shield. Here are the five rules that govern every battle.
- The timer. Every raid has a limited amount of time. Each time a player’s Pokémon is knocked out, some of that time slips away, and the Pokémon only returns to battle after a delay that grows with every new KO (5 seconds the first time, then more). Support Trainers controlled by the game, on the other hand, do not cost any time when they faint.
- The Tera Orb. It charges up each time a damaging move hits the boss: three charges are enough to Terastallize your Pokémon, once per raid. Status moves and Cheers do not charge it, and some bosses can remove a charge from you.
- The Tera shield. At a specific moment, triggered by the timer or by its HP, the boss surrounds itself with a shield that greatly reduces the damage it takes and blocks status moves aimed at it. Terastallized Pokémon break it much faster, especially with a move of their Tera Type. Once it is broken, the boss loses its next action against each player.
- The boss’s special actions. It can erase its own stat drops and status conditions, but also remove the stat boosts of your whole team and nullify your Abilities until the next turn. In some 7-star raids, it even acts twice in the same turn.
- Cheers. Each player can use three per raid, and they take effect before attacks. Their effects last three turns.
| Cheer | Effect | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| “Go all out!” | Attack and Sp. Atk of the whole team multiplied by 1.5 | Right after the boss wipes the boosts, or while the shield is coming down |
| “Hang tough!” | Defense and Sp. Def of the whole team multiplied by 1.5 | Before an announced devastating attack or during a setup phase |
| “Heal up!” | Restores 20 to 100% of HP and cures status conditions | When several allies are in the red, rather than risking a KO |
Building your counter: level, Tera Type and items
A Level 100 Pokémon is no luxury against a Level 100 boss: it takes hits better and hits harder. The Exp. Candies earned in 5-star and 6-star raids do the job in a few battles. Take care of its stats too: a suitable Nature and EVs concentrated where they matter, in Attack or Sp. Atk and in HP, often make the difference between a victory and a timer at zero.
The Tera Type is the key to the fight. Ideally it should fill two roles at once: resist the boss’s attacks, since your Pokémon loses its original types once Terastallized, and boost your own attacks to break the shield. If your champion does not have the right type, the Academy’s cafeteria manager can change it for 50 Tera Shards of the desired type.
As for items, forget the Choice items that lock you into a single move. In raids, survival comes first:
- Shell Bell: restores HP with every attack that deals damage, ideal for an attacker that strikes every turn.
- Leftovers: a small bit of recovery each turn, useful for support Pokémon.
- Covert Cloak: protects against the additional effects of the boss’s attacks (stat drops, flinching, etc.).
- Ability Shield: prevents the boss from nullifying your Ability. Essential if your whole strategy relies on it.
One last reflex before starting the raid: study the boss’s profile. Its moves, its Tera Type and the moment it wipes your boosts change from one event to the next, and our news articles dedicated to each Mightiest Pokémon detail them.
Proven strategies
Since the first 7-star raid in 2022, the community has refined a few recipes that work against most bosses. They all rely on the same principle: set up your Pokémon while the boss is still at full strength, then strike fast and hard. 
Iron Hands remains the symbol of this approach: it learns Belly Drum at Level 84, which sacrifices half of its HP to max out its Attack, then recovers its health with Drain Punch. 
Annihilape prefers patience: every hit it takes durably strengthens its Rage Fist, and Bulk Up speeds up its power climb even more.
On the support side, 
Clefable is a safe bet thanks to its Hidden Ability Unaware, which makes it ignore the boss’s stat boosts, and Life Dew, which heals the whole team. 
Dondozo, which also has Unaware, withstands physical assaults with rare sturdiness.
| Strategy | Example | Key moves | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belly Drum | Iron Hands | Belly Drum, Drain Punch | Use Belly Drum right after the boss wipes the boosts, otherwise you have to start over |
| Power build-up | Annihilape | Bulk Up, Rage Fist, Drain Punch | Its Hidden Ability Defiant strengthens it if the boss lowers its stats |
| Unaware support | Clefable, Dondozo | Life Dew, Helping Hand, Fake Tears | Does not hit hard: you need at least one real attacker on the team |
| Weakening the boss | Clefable, Annihilape | Charm, Fake Tears, Screech, Acid Spray | Useless once the shield is up, since it blocks status moves |
Beware of common misconceptions: no strategy is universal. A Fairy-type boss severely punishes Iron Hands, and a boss that wipes boosts every two minutes makes Belly Drum risky. Always adapt your choice to the Mightiest Pokémon of the moment.
Solo or in a team: dividing up the roles
Solo, three Trainers controlled by the game accompany you. They do not Terastallize and do not always attack smartly, but their KOs do not cost you any time. Everything therefore rests on your Pokémon: favor a self-sufficient strategy, one that can heal itself.
In a group, with up to four players locally or online (a Nintendo Switch Online membership is then required), raids become much more comfortable, provided you get organized:
- One or two attackers who build up their power, then strike as soon as the shield appears.
- A supporter who heals the team, uses Helping Hand on the attacker, and weakens the boss before its shield.
- Coordinated Cheers: rather than everyone using “Go all out!” on the same turn, it is better to spread out the Cheers to cover the whole battle.
- No four Belly Drums: if the whole team sacrifices its HP at the same time, a single spread attack can turn everything around.
Good news: if you win, each member of the team receives their own rewards and can catch the Mightiest Pokémon in their own game.
Rewards and October 2026 Mightiest Pokémon
Beyond the Mightiest Mark, each victory brings a generous haul: large Exp. Candies, Tera Shards of the boss’s type, training items and, sometimes, Herba Mystica, highly sought after for sandwiches that increase the chances of meeting a Shiny Pokémon. The raid can be started again after the catch to accumulate these rewards.
October 2026 saw a Mightiest Pokémon return every week. The table below sums up their Tera Types and the weaknesses to exploit once the boss is Terastallized:
| Mightiest Pokémon | Tera Type | Availability | Weaknesses to exploit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyranitar | Ghost | October 2 to 8 | Ghost, Dark |
| Salamence | Flying | October 9 to 16 | Electric, Ice, Rock |
| Metagross | Steel | October 16 to 22 | Fire, Fighting, Ground |
| Garchomp | Ground | October 23 to 30 (12:59 a.m.) | Water, Grass, Ice |
If you missed one of these events, keep your eyes peeled: The Pokémon Company regularly brings back older Mightiest Pokémon. And once your trophy is caught, nothing stops you from sending it to Pokémon HOME to keep it safe, as our complete Pokémon HOME guide explains.
Key takeaways
- 7-star raids are event raids: download the Poké Portal News and look for the black crystal.
- You must have unlocked 6-star raids to take part.
- Only one of each Mightiest Pokémon per save file, with a guaranteed catch and the Mightiest Mark.
- KOs cost time, the Tera shield blocks status moves, and the boss wipes your boosts: prepare at the right moment.
- Choose a Tera Type that resists the boss and strengthens your attacks, and equip survival items.
- In a team, divide up the roles and coordinate the Cheers.
Source: official Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet website, Poké Portal News; cross-checked with Poképédia and Serebii.
