Best Pokemon for Delphox Tera Raid: how to beat the 7-Star Delphox event

Use these monsters in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's Delphox raids

Contents

1. When does the Delphox raid start? - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
2. 7-star Tera Raid Delphox stats, moves - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
3. Best counters for Delphox - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
4. Bronzong
5. Skuntank
6. Coalossal
7. Heatran

The third and final Kalos starter, Delphox, is available in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet thanks to the latest 7-Star Tera Raid event.

Delphox can be cunning opponent, but thanks to the recent Pokémon Home update adding new Pokémon into the mix, we have plenty of options to counter this wily fox. In addition, it doesn't have deepest of move pools, supporting our efforts greatly.

The Pokémon Company has finally dealt with the bugs plagueing raid attendants back in May, so hopefully this round of combats is going to run a lot smoother.

This guide will tell you everything you need to know about Delphox’s move set, and the best Delphox counters in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet.

When does the Delphox raid start? - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Thankfully, unlike the last raid, Delphox’s 7-star tera raid event looks to be taking place over two consecutive weekends, with each round of the event running from Friday through Sunday on each weekend.

Here are the 7-star Delphox raid event dates:

• July 7 - July 9
• July 14 - July 16

7-star Tera Raid Delphox stats, moves - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Delphox isn’t a particularly challenging raid, especially compared to the last few event raids. It’s got a very shallow move pool, and it’s not running Shadow Ball, the only thing we were really worried about. It is a bit annoying, but it shouldn’t take you too many attempts to take it down.

Here’s Delphox’s move set:

The Mightest Delphox – Level 100

• Nature – Timid
• Ability – Magician
• Item – None
• Tera-type – Fairy
• Moveset – Dazzling Gleam, Fire Blast, Will-O-Wisp, Psychic, Nasty Plot, Magic Room

As with every event raid, Delphox is running its hidden ability, Magician, which would normally be a bit of a challenge to deal with. Thankfully, though, it doesn’t seem to be able to actually put that ability to good use in raids, for whatever reason, so it’s not something we really have to worry about.

Given Delphox’s Fairy tera type, it’s running Dazzling Gleam, a powerful special Fairy move that can do a huge amount of boosted damage. It also has Fire Blast, one of the most powerful Fire moves (although it’s not 100% accurate), Will-O-Wisp, which guarantees a burn, and Psychic, to take advantage of its secondary typing and take out any opposing Poison-type Pokémon.

Shadow Ball was one of our biggest concerns when the raid was announced, but it seems to be absent here thankfully. It also has Nasty Plot to boost special attack and Magic Room, which is supposed to suppress the use of held items, but we’ve found it to be inconsistent in raids.

Best counters for Delphox - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Delphox’s Fairy typing gives us two possible types to counter with: Steel, and Poison. Delphox does have moves that deal with both of those, but we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves to deal with this tricksy magician. Physical attacks are the way to go here, and anything that can nullify or reduce Delphox’s strongest attacks is always a plus.

With that in mind, here are our picks for the best Delphox counters:

Bronzong

Nintendo

Bronzong has a bunch of pros going for it in this raid, and only a couple cons. We don’t have to worry about Shadow Ball, thankfully, and it won’t be long before you can terastalize into Steel-type, making its only weakness Fire. For that, we’ve got Bronzong’s ability, Heatproof, which halves the power of Fire-type attacks used against it. Have Bronzong throw up a Rain Dance too, again halving the power of Fire-type attacks, and set up a Light Screen to make the bulky Bronzong almost untouchable.

On the attacking side of things, Bronzing has a Lagging Tail, making it slower – it was never going to outspeed Delphox anyway – which also has the nice benefit of making Gyro Ball more powerful. When Magic Room is in play, Bronzong has a backup in Heavy Slam, making it a competent, bulky attacker that should last the length of the raid.

Here’s our set for Bronzong:

Bronzong – Level 100

• Nature – Careful
• Ability – Heatproof
• Item – Lagging Tail
• Tera-type – Steel
• Moveset – Gyro Ball, Rain Dance, Light Screen, Heavy Slam

Skuntank

Nintendo

Skuntank has fantastic typing, either resisting or taking neutral damage from every attack that Delphox learns. It’s got access to two major super effective attacking moves: Gunk Shot, and Poison Jab. The former is remarkably powerful and will almost always hit due to Skuntank’s Keen Eye ability, while Poison Jab takes advantage of Skuntank’s higher physical attack.

In terms of support moves, Skuntank has access to Snarl and Screech, which will lower Delphox’s attacks and defenses, respectively. Black Sludge boosts Poison-type attacks, but will also damage Delphox if it decides to steal it, and its Dark typing makes it immune to Psychic-type attacks. It’s a good all-rounder that will be a valuable addition to any raiding team.

Here’s what we think is the best set:

Skuntank – Level 100

• Nature – Careful
• Ability – Keen Eye
• Item – Black Sludge
• Tera-type – Dark
• Moveset – Gunk Shot, Poison Jab, Snarl, Screech

Coalossal

Ah Coalossal, good ol’ reliable. Flash Fire makes our rocky mountain Pokémon immune to fire, which remains even when terastalized into Steel type. Heavy Slam is a fantastic super effective move, since Coalossal is as heavy as it gets, and it will get boosted by our Choice Band, making it even more powerful.

If its item gets suppressed, Coalossal then gets access to Sandstorm to control the weather and boost its defenses, Mud Slap to reduce Delphox’s accuracy and deal chip damage, and Rest to heal up if things get dicey. You probably won’t need it though, since Coalossal is a defensive tank and should be just fine taking hits for quite some time.

Here’s what we recommend:

Coalossal – Level 100

• Nature – Careful
• Ability – Flash Fire
• Item – Choice Band
• Tera-type – Steel
• Moveset – Heavy Slam, Sandstorm, Mud-Slap, Rest

Heatran

Nintendo

Heatran is a transfer-only Pokémon, but it’s readily attainable in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Legends Arceus, and Pokémon Go, all of which can transfer to Pokémon Home. Flash Fire again makes it immune to Fire-type moves, while STAB-boosted Steel-type moves like Iron Head and Heavy Slam make it a powerful attacker against Fairy-type Pokémon.

Assault Vest boosts Heatran’s special defense, which Delphox can’t really take advantage of since most attackers against it will be physical. If it does get snapped up, Heatran gets Sandstorm to shut down the sun and Taunt to prevent Delphox from setting up, making it well worth using.

Here’s the best set for the legendary Pokémon:

Heatran – Level 100

• Nature – Careful
• Ability – Flash Fire
• Item – Assault Vest
• Tera-type – Steel
• Moveset – Iron Head, Sandstorm, Taunt, Heavy Slam