A new phenomenon has been introduced into the world of Pokémon with anyone residing in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Paldea region able to make use of a mechanic known as Terastal.
Terastal is the process of a Pokémon taking on new properties through Terastallization. This will see any Pokémon take a crystal-like appearance across its entire body, with a special crystal known as a Tera Jewel appearing above its head upon completion.
Every Pokémon in Pladea can undergo Terastallization, but the effects vary depending on a number of factors. Additionally, a new type of battle known as Tera Raids will allow players to team up in groups of four to battle Pokémon who may have special properties after they Terastallize.
Before you embark on a journey full of learning, treasure hunting, and legendary encounters, here is everything you need to know about the Terastal phenomenon and the Tera Raids that will play a key part in Scarlet and Violet’s story.
How do Terastal Pokémon work in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?
Any Pokémon present in the Paldea region can Terastallize, but depending on the species, you will encounter one of two effects.
The majority of the game’s new battle gimmick focuses on allowing a Pokémon to gain a same-type attack bonus (STAB) for any typing without actually changing their type. This will depend on what “Tera Type” a Pokémon has and appears to be a replacement or newer version of what Hidden Power provided as a move.
It is unclear just how this typing can be changed, if at all, in the game but all 18 types will be included in the pool and there “are countless combinations of Pokémon and Tera Types.”
Certain species of Pokémon appear to even be able to actually alter their typing depending on their Tera Type, which opens the door for a Flying-type Pikachu or Water-type Eevee, which were both shown during the mechanic’s reveal trailer. This doesn’t appear to be a widespread part of the mechanic and will likely be limited to only a select number of Pokémon.
Information is also limited, so this could just be referring to the overall typing provided by a Tera Type and the ability to find Pokémon with different Tera Types, not an actual native type for a Pokémon being altered. If this is the case, then the entire mechanic is centralized on boosting select moves through the use of Tera Type.
As for the mechanic itself, just like with Mega Evolution, you can Terastallize a Pokémon once per battle and the transformation will last until the battle ends. Whether you can return a Terastallized Pokémon back to its ball and send it out while retaining the transformation similar to a Mega Evolution is still unclear.
After using this ability, players will need to recharge their Tera Orb, either by touching crystals overflowing with Terastal energy or by going to a Pokémon Center.
How do Tera Raids work in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?
To coincide with the main mechanic, and to keep the multiplayer portion of the game more content-rich, Game Freak has re-tooled the Dynamax Raid battles into Tera Raids.
This is not just a reskin, either. Players will no longer need to wait on their allies to perform actions. Everything will happen in real time, so each player can attack or heal without needing to time their actions alongside other players. And every player can Terastallize their own Pokémon too instead of the mechanic being limited to just one player making the call to use it.
Just like with Dynamax Raids, up to four players can team up together via general online connectivity or by inviting each other using a set Link Code. They will also feature a time limit that players will need to abide by to clear each battle.
