Following in the wake of 7-Star Decidueye and 7-Star Samurott, one more 7-Star Tera Raid is set to appear in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet over the next few weeks. Rounding out the trio of starter Pokémon from Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the classic Johto starter, Unrivalled Typhlosion. It joins not only the other two Hisuian starters but also Charizard, Cinderace, Greninja and Pikachu as one of the fabled 7-Star Pokémon of Paldea. This new Tera Raid Spotlight will be the only current way to obtain Typhlosion (or its pre-evolutions Cyndaquil and Quilava) so collectors and trainers alike should try their best at the upcoming Raid.
In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, 7 Star Tera Raids are the toughest piece of endgame content. They pit you against Terastalized forms of iconic Pokémon, all of which have unique mechanics, features and moves that aim to make the fight as hard as it can be. You’ll have to overcome a lot to take down these insurmountable beasts, but if you manage to triumph over them, you stand to earn some incredible rewards. Of course, you’ll get the opportunity to catch the Mightiest Mark Typhlosion, but you’ll also have to chance to obtain Herba Mystica ingredients, Ability Capsules, tons of Tera Shards and more.
This will be a difficult battle, though, and you’ll need to know exactly what you’ll be up against. Here’s everything you need to know about the 7-Star Typhlosion Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Want more Pokémon Scarlet and Violet content and articles? You can find more here on KeenGamer:
- How to Increase Your Shiny Odds in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Ultimate Sandwich Guide
- How to Change Your Pokémon’s Tera Type in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
- The Best Pokémon for Tera Raid Battles in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
- How to Catch and Evolve Gimmighoul in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
How to Unlock 7-Star Raids in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Before you can tackle the 7-Star Tera Raid, you first have to unlock 6-Star Raids. To do this, a few key things need to be undertaken and completed.
- Beat all 3 Main Story Quests (Nemona’s Victory Road, Arven’s Path of Legends and Penny’s Starfall Street).
- Travel to and beat the final boss of the game in Area Zero.
- Challenged all of the Gym Leaders to a rematch.
- Participated in and beat the first Academy Ace Tournament.
At this point, your form teacher Mr Jacq will contact you. Energy from Area Zero has begun to flow stronger all over Paldea and he wants you to fight some Tera Raid battles for his research. You must complete 10 4-Star or 5-Star Tera Raids of any Type or Pokémon. The only stipulation is that you must host these battles yourself as any Raids you join over the Poké Portal will not count toward the total.
An Important Call
Once all of the Raids have been bested, you’ll once again be contacted by Mr Jacq. This time, you will be warned of some dangerous 6-Star Raids that will pop up around the map: these are marked by black crystals and black Tera Raid icons on the map to distinguish them from other Raids. It is at this point that the 7-Star Raids have been unlocked.
Compared to other Raids, 7-Star (and other Event Raids) have sparkly edges to their map icons and unique animations added to their Tera Crystals. For Unrivaled Typhlosion, you’ll be on the lookout for a Ghost-Type Tera Raid with a sparkling edge. When you’ve found one on the map and travel to it, you’ll find a Black Crystal surrounded by swirling lights and purple energy.
From then on, simply interact with the Tera Crystal to start the fight.
7-Star Crystals
7-Star Typhlosion Breakdown
Typhlosion is one of the iconic starter Pokémon from the lands of Johto, but it comes to Paldea following in the footsteps of its Hisuan partners, Decidueye and Samurott. Just like them, Typhlosion has shed its pure Fire typing for a new Ghost Tera Type.
Before you consider trying your hand at this daunting challenge, there are a few things you need to prepare. Firstly, and most importantly, the Pokémon you choose to bring to the battle must be level 100. All of the 7-Star Tera Pokémon are level 100 themselves, and going up against them with anything other than a max level Pokémon will only result in a swift defeat. You need every advantage you can get and having a low-level Pokémon drastically lowers your survivability. This is especially true if you plan on taking the Raid on co-op, as you don’t want to punish your fellow players simply because you’re at a lower level.
Next, consider investing in your chosen Pokémon’s IVs and EVs. You can do this by using Bottle Caps to hyper-train a specific stat, feed your Pokémon Vitamins or Feathers to raise their base stats or even use breeding. Some of these are far more viable than others and, while increasing these stats will undoubtedly make your journey to capture Typhlosion way easier, it isn’t a requirement to beat the Raid. It is strongly recommended, especially considering how easy it is to obtain Bottle Caps and Vitamins.
7-Star Treasure
7-Star Typhlosion Start Date
Just like Decidueye and Samurott, Typhlosion follows the trend of being available over two weeks, as opposed to three weeks. Typhlosion is going to run over two consecutive weekends back-to-back (unlike how it was handled with Charizard, Cinderace and Greninja, who had a full week between each Raid run).
You can find Typhlosion in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on the following dates:
- Friday, April 14th 2023 (00:00 UTC) to Sunday, April 16th 2023 (23:59 UTC)
- Friday, April 21st 2023 (00:00 UTC) to Sunday, April 23rd 2023 (23:59 UTC)
If you fail to successfully capture Typhlosion during either of these Tera Raid runs, it will become unavailable and you won’t be able to obtain it. There is a chance that Typhlosion, as well as the other 7-Star Pokémon, could have Spotlight reruns in the future. However, this is unconfirmed and you should try your hardest to get these 7-Star Pokémon as soon as possible.
Johto Fire Starter
Moveset
Here are all of the moves that 7-Star Typhlosion can use in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet:
- Eruption (Fire Type, Special)
- Earthquake (GroundType, Physical)
- Play Rough (Fairy Type, Physical)
- Shadow Ball (Ghost Type, Special)
Quite surprisingly, 7-Star Typhlosion is a mixed attacker as opposed to a pure Special attacker (despite it having a high base Sp. Atk). While this does mean that some moves will hit harder than others (the Fire and Ghost moves, in particular), the bigger problem is that it gives Typhlosion a lot of type coverage. Shadow Ball is its main STAB move, capable of dishing out high damage to any Pokémon not prepared for it. In a similar vein, Play Rough and Earthquake both exist to cut down on potential Typhlosion counters as strong Physical moves.
The final move of Typhlosion’s is Eruption, an exceedingly powerful Fire-type move. It is already incredibly strong, but it will get even stronger thanks to Typhlosion’s special mechanic. Just like all of the other 7-Star Pokémon, Typhlosion has a few tricks up its sleeve with an extra move it uses at the start of battle: several times during the fight, it will cast Sunny Day in much the same way that 7-Star Pikachu used Rain Dance. It’ll then cast a free Eruption as its next move. The sun will last for 5 turns and will bump up the damage of Eruption by a ton, so try to bring a Pokémon that is either resistant or immune to Fire.
While a lot more straightforward than other 7-Star Pokémon, Typhlosion’s array of moves does make it quite tricky to approach. As a mixed attacker, you cannot rely on just Defence or Special Defence alone, needing a balance of the two to be in with the best chance. Additionally, with coverage over Fire, Fairy, Ground and Ghost it can effectively counter a lot of Pokémon that would’ve stood a good chance against it. This fight will be a tough punch-out between your team and Typhlosion.
7-Star Typhlosion
Resistances and Weaknesses
As a Ghost Type, 7-Star Typhlosion will be weak and resistant to the following types:
- Resistant to: Bug and Poison Types.
- Weak to: Dark and Ghost Types.
- Immune to: Normal Types.
With only two weaknesses, picking a Pokémon to counter Typhlosion will be pretty tricky. This is especially true thanks to Typhlosion’s moveset: Play Rough, in particular, is working hard to shut down a lot of potential threats. Dark type would’ve likely been the best pick if it wasn’t for this pesky Fairy-type move, considering that Dark resists the STAB Shadow Ball. There are ways around it and there are certainly Pokémon who can take a Play Rough well, but it cuts the potential category down a lot.
Ghost has a similar fate. Ghost doesn’t resist any of Typhlosion’s moveset, a big problem considering the rather frail state of a lot of Ghost types. In tandem with that, they will both deal and receive STAB damage, as Ghost is one of the types weak to itself. There could be a few Pokémon that may be able to benefit from this, but the risks are exceedingly high.
A somewhat unconventional choice may be to bring in a Normal type. Without a Fighting-type move, Typhlosion cannot hit a Normal type for STAB or super effectiveness (although there won’t be any resistances, either). Normal types also do even better against Shadow Ball than Dark types by completely negating all Ghost-type moves. If you can find yourself a bulky Normal type, perhaps one with a nice dual-typing that resists a few of Typhlosion’s moves, consider trying that in the Raid.
Ghost Weaknesses
Houndoom
Build
Type: Fire/Dark (Dark Tera Type)
Ability: Flash Fire
Item: Shell Bell
- Snarl (Dark Type, Special)
- Nasty Plot (Dark Type, Status)
- Dark Pulse (Dark Type, Special)
- Torment (Dark Type, Status)
Houndoom Pokedex
Strategy
Our first pick is going to be Houndoom. With an ability that negates Fire moves, a type which resists Typhlosion’s STAB and a good movepool that can debuff and deal high damage, Houndoom is looking like a decent bet against the 7-Star starter. There is one big caveat that comes alongside that, though.
As a Fire/Dark type, Houndoom will resist Shadow Ball well, taking away Typhlosion’s STAB move. Additionally, the Flash Fire ability completely negates any of Typhlosion’s Fire-type moves, removing Eruption and the benefits gained from Sunny Day. That bonus Fire typing is Houndoom’s biggest downfall, though, as it will take super effective damage from Earthquake, a Ground-type move which will hit Houndoom’s lower Defence hard. If you’re running with a Pokémon that can use Reflect and Light Screen, Houndoom will become a much more appealing option.
In terms of Houndoom’s moves, it has a lot to offer. Dark Pulse is here to deal massive STAB damage to Typhlosion, especially when pumped up on a few Nasty Plots and it should keep Houndoom alive when paired with the Shell Bell. Meanwhile, Snarl is a less powerful move, but one that can directly debuff Typhlosion by lowering its Special Attack stat (which would also you survive any oncoming Focus Blasts) and Torment will make Typhlosion more likely to use a move that Houndoom resists and less likely to use Earthquake.
While powerful, Houndoom is a Pokémon which is more reliant on your team. It has an impressive Special Attack, allowing it to take on Typhlosion with some strong attacks, but its Defence will be its downfall. If you plan on bringing Houndoom into battle, try playing it in co-op when other people are using supportive Pokémon (like the ones we recommend below). Screens and other bonuses are going to make Houndoom shine a lot brighter and prevent a lot of its more glaring weaknesses from coming through.
Hound from Hell
Farigiraf
Build
Type: Normal/Psychic
Ability: Cud Chew
Item: Sitrus Berry / Light Clay
- Crunch (Dark Type, Physical)
- Rain Dance (Water Type, Status)
- Light Screen (Psychic Type, Status)
- Reflect (Psychic Type, Status)
Farigiraf Pokedex
Strategy
Farigiraf may appear like an odd choice at first, but it will serve you as a good supportive Pokémon, capable of providing aid to all of your allies. With a great supportive moveset, a typing capable of sidestepping all of Typhlosion’s nastiest moves and some alright bulk to keep it afloat, Farigiraf is a solid pick in co-op scenarios.
To begin, nearly all of Farigiraf’s moves are status moves which will help your team. Rain Dance is here to instantly get rid of Typhlosion’s pesky Fire-type boost, which should help lower the devastation bought about by Eruption. Meanwhile, Reflect and Light Screen can both be put up to help your entire team take Typhlosion’s Physical and Special attacks much better, allowing your offensive units to focus on dealing as much damage as possible. The exception here is obviously Crunch, which will be your way of dealing super effective damage turn-to-turn.
Item-wise, you have two options. The safest is likely going to be the Light Clay which will increase the duration of Reflect and Light Screen from 5 turns to 8 turns. The advantages here are rather obvious, in that it will increase the window before your team is in real danger. Meanwhile, the other choice is a bit more strange and makes use of Farigiraf’s Cud Chew ability: when your Farigiraf gets low enough to consume its Sitrus Berry, it will regurgitate it next round, giving it another boost of healing to keep on going. As I said, a bit more strange but it could work depending on how long it takes to get Typhlosion down.
The general strategy with Farigiraf is to focus on supporting the team. Once you’ve gotten rid of the Sunny Day and set up your screens, your next goal is monitoring your team. Use your Rally Cheers whenever you see a teammate in need of it so they can focus on Typhlosion. Farigiraf’s biggest weakness is that, despite having a great supportive and defensive moveset, it is still kind of frail (even with maximum IV and EV investment) so be sure to keep on top of that. Manage that, though, and Farigiraf is a good pick for cooperative Tera Raids.
Funky Supporter
Daschbun
Build
Type: Fairy Type
Ability: Well-Baked Body
Item: Shell Bell
- Charm (Fairy Type, Status)
- Crunch (Dark Type, Physical) / Snarl (Dark Type, Special)
- Mud-Slap (Ground Type, Special)
- Helping Hand (Normal Type, Status)
Daschbun Pokedex
Strategy
Another Pokémon worth choosing for the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Typhlosion Tera Raid battle is Daschbun. Like Farigiraf, Daschbun is more oriented towards support rather than damage, but it does play a slightly more proactive role in the fight. With Daschbun, you’ll be lowering a lot of Typhlosion’s stats, making it a much easier fight for your whole team. This isn’t even mentioning Daschbun’s surprising bulk and how it can confidently take everything Typhlosion has.
As a pure Fairy type, none of Typhlosion’s moves deals super effective damage to Daschbun: paired with its impressive Defence and Special Defence, this means that Daschbun is going to be surviving a lot of what Typhlosion can throw at it. Also, with the Well-Baked Body ability, Typhlosion will no longer be able to use Eruption. If it does, Daschbun will receive a hefty Defence boost, instead. This gives it a great deal of survivability, especially when paired when it’s moveset.
Charm is a great starting move that can be used throughout the fight to continually lower Typlosion’s Attack by two stages. This’ll cut the damage of both Earthquake and Play Rough for the whole team. Similarly, Mud-Slap is here so that you have a way to lower Typhlosion’s accuracy and make sure it cannot hit you as often as it would like. For attacking moves, you have a choice between Crunch or Snarl: the former will deal a lot more damage, but the latter can also lower Special Attack on every hit to make it more versatile. Lastly, Helping Hand is here if you have a great attacking Pokémon on your team that could use a little boost.
Like with Farigiraf, Daschbun’s main objective is to facilitate the team. You’ll be in charge of debuffing Typhlosion in several areas, lowering both its damage output and how often it’ll hit. You have a lot of moves at your disposal and a lot of things to make use of. Lowering Typhlosion’s accuracy is one of the most important things. While you can negate a Sunny Day Eruption your team may not, and you could be what stands between them and an early KO. Considering picking up Daschbun if you want to take a more active role in the fight while remaining supportive.
That was everything you needed to know to tackle the 7-Star Typhlosion Tera Raid in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
