Empoleon 7-Star Tera Raid: Best Counters in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
7-Star Empoleon Tera Raid Guide Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, Best Counters
- The Empoleon 7 Star Tera Raid starts on Friday, February 2nd, and ends on Sunday, February 4th. Its second weekend will occur from Friday, February 9th til Sunday, February 11th.
- Empoleon will have an Ice tera-type and bear the Mightiest Mark title.
- Some of the best counters for flying-type 7-Star Empoleon Tera raids include Bronzong, Gholdengo, and Iron Hands.
The next major Tera Raid hitting Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is the fire and fighting-type Empoleon. It comes with the Mightiest Mark title and players can also earn increased rewards from defeating it, though they can only capture it one time. The Empoleon 7 Star Tera Raid starts on Friday, February 2nd, and ends on Sunday, February 4th. Its second weekend will occur from Friday, February 9th til Sunday, February 11th.
Unlock the High-Level Raids
If you haven’t battled in the 7-Star Tera Raids, this is what is going to take you the most time. To unlock access you need to have finished the core story of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, which shouldn’t be an issue at this point. You’ll be asked to go around and battle all the gyms again, then participate in the Ace Tournament. All of that shouldn’t give you too much difficulty, so all that’s left is to participate in ten Tera Raids of 4 and 5-star difficulty.
When you’ve participated in enough of them, you should see 7-Star Tera Raids start to pop up on your map but only when you are connected online.
Capturing Empoleon
Start by finding the raid den for Empoleon, it’ll be a dark, black flashing Ice icon on your map. Empoleon will always be an Ice tera-type for these raids, so that’s going to help determine the best counter to take them down.
The 7-Star Raids are very tough, so it’s recommended you go in with a group of actual players and don’t just fill up your team with NPC players. But, if you think the Pokémon you have is up to the challenge, people have soloed 7-Star Raids in the past.
Rewards for Empoleon
What kinds of rewards do you get for taking down Empoleon? You’ll be able to add Empoleon to your Pokémon collection and this one comes with the Mightiest Mark, so they’ll appear on the battlefield as Empoleon the Unrivaled. Since this is a 7-Star Raid, your Empoleon will also boast a perfect spread of 6 Best IVs.
You’ll also get the best chance at Herba Mystica, Ability Patches, Capsules, a large amount of Tera Shards, and plenty of items to sell for Poke Dollars. Plus, the best chances at Bottle Caps and Golden Bottle Caps for hyper training.
Empoleon’s Set-Up
Empoleon's likely move set is going to include Surf, Hydro Pump, Flash Cannon, and Blizzard. They’ll also have access to Snowscape, and Metal Sound. Empoleon has a very high defense, but his biggest threat is his hidden ability called Competitive.
This is a very important detail to remember: Do not use any moves on Empolean that will lower his stats. Lowering his stats will trigger his hidden ability Competitive which raises his Special Attack every time. A 7-Star Tera Raid is already extremely dangerous, letting Empoleon get off free boosts to his special attack will tank your battle against him.
The Best Counters for Empoleon
Here are three of the best counters that players can use to make quick work of Empoleon and his 7-Star Tera Raid. Bronzong, Gholdengo, and Iron Hands are very strong against Empoleon and can be used to counter him if prepared properly.
Bronzong
Here are all the basic details you need to know at a glance to get your Bronzong prepared.
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Nature: Bold (Defense Up, Attack Down)
- EV Spread: HP 4, Special Defense 252, Defense 252
- Ability: Heavy Metal
- Held Item: Shell Bell
- Moveset:
- Skill Swap
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Sunny Day
Bronzong’s Skill Swap is a vital move here because it will remove Empolean’s Competitive Ability which would otherwise boost his special attack whenever his stats were lowered. While it’s easy enough to avoid using stat-lowering moves, if you’re in a raid with real players or NPC Allies, there’s no controlling what they do.
Sunny Day should be used to remove the snow effect when Empolean uses it. Otherwise, Iron Defense will keep your defense high and Body Press will take chunks out of Empolean’s hit points until you can defeat him. If it feels like Snow isn’t an issue, you can also opt to replace Sunny Day with Flash Cannon.
Gholdengo
Here are all the basic details you need to know at a glance to get your Gholdengo prepared.
- Tera Type: Steel
- Nature: Modest (Special Attack Up, Attack Down)
- EV Spread: HP 4, Special Attack 252, Special Defense 252
- Ability: Good As Gold
- Held Item: Shell Bell
- Moveset:
- Light Screen
- Flash Cannon
- Sandstorm
- Nasty Plot
Gholdengo is a great choice when it comes to Tera Raid counters because his ability Good As Gold makes him immune to all status moves. You’ll want to use Light Screen to help your Gholdengo take less damage from Empolean’s attacks. You can also use Sand Storm to remove the snow effect that Empolean will use.
For your offensive strategy, simply buff your Gholdengo using Nasty Plot and then unleash Flash Cannon on the 7-Star Empolean to add him to your collection.
Iron Hands
Here are all the basic details you need to know at a glance to get your Iron Hands prepared.
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Nature: Adamant (Attack Up, Special Attack Down)
- EV Spread: HP 4, Attack 252, Special Defense 252
- Ability: Quark Drive
- Held Item: Black Belt
- Moveset:
- Belly Drum
- Swords Dance
- Electric Terrain
- Drain Punch
Iron Hands has always been a very strong choice for a lot of Tera Raids and Empolean is no different. Start by buffing up your Iron Hands with Electric Terrain to activate his ability Quark Drive, then use Belly Drum or Swords Dance to increase his attack.
Once you’re Iron Hands is completely buffed up go to town on Empolean with Drain Punch to deal super effective damage and keep your Iron Hands completely healed up.
