Delphox stars in the new Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Tera Raid event, set to run over two weekends and giving you a chance to add the exceptionally powerful fire fox to your team with its unique Tera type – if you’re strong enough. Like all Scarlet and Violet 7-star raid events, the Delphox Tera Raid is designed for players with well-balanced Pokemon teams who’ve already cleared the main game. While you can technically challenge Tera Delphox with any Pokemon who isn’t weak to Delphox’s moveset, a few specific ‘mon are better suited to the task than others.
Your reward for winning is the fire-type Delphox itself, complete with the Mightiest Mark, which doesn’t offer any practical benefit aside from showing that you won the raid event.
If you’re struggling to get teams together quickly for these events, check out our tips for building 7-star raid teams as easily as possible.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Delphox Tera Raid start time
Where most Tera Raid events last for just a few days, the Scarlet and Violet Delphox Tera Raid will run for two weekends, beginning on a Friday and ending at the end of Sunday each time:
- July 7, 2023, through July 9, 2023
- July 14, 2023, through July 16, 2023
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Delphox Raid - Tera Delphox moves
Game Freak doesn’t reveal a Tera Raid Pokemon’s moveset ahead of time, but we can make some educated guesses based on Delphox’s usual moves and the comparatively limited number of ways you can use them. There may be a few surprises thrown in that we didn’t account for, but in general, it’s a good idea to prepare some Pokemon who can handle these moves.
Delphox Tera Raid anticipated moveset:
- Dazzling Gleam
- Mystical Fire
- Will-O-Wisp
- Psychic
- Shadow Ball
- Nasty Plot
- Sunny Day
This Delphox’s Tera type is Fairy, so Dazzling Gleam seems like a pretty safe bet. Most of these special event raid Pokemon have at least one of their Egg moves, so we’re banking on Mystical Fire turning up instead of Fire Blast. Fire Blast is powerful, but Mystical Fire lowers the target’s stats, making it more suited to a challenging raid battle.
Psychic would give Delphox a strong chance against Poison opponents, while Shadow Ball – another Egg move – is just strong in general. Nasty Plot and Sunny Day would boost Delphox’s power significantly. Will-O-Wisp is a guess based on Delphox’s move pool, though it could have Light Screen instead.
If you’re wondering whether we forgot how math works, these 7-star Tera Raid Pokemon always have three additional move slots for a total of seven moves, instead of the usual four.
Like other 7-star Tera Raid Pokemon, it’ll show up with its hidden ability. That’s Magician, which is where Delphox steals the held item of the Pokemon that it attacks.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Delphox Tera Raid counters
The Delphox raid will be a long and difficult fight no matter how you approach it, but these Pokemon should help make it a lot less troublesome. Make sure your team is at level 100 so they stand a fighting chance against Delphox.
Delphox Tera Raid counters - Bronzong
Bronzong is an excellent choice if they survive long enough to Terastalize. Tera Bronzong loses its Psychic type and becomes just Steel. While that might sound like you’re asking for trouble with Delphox’s fire moves, Bronzong has another trick up their sleeve: the Heatproof ability. Heatproof cuts incoming fire damage in half for Bronzong.
Bronzong’s moveset should look something like this:
- Heavy Slam OR Flash Cannon OR Steel Beam
- Rain Dance
- Light Screen
- Gyro Ball
Rain Dance reduces Delphox’s fire power, literally, and Light Screen keeps Bronzong safer from special attacks. One popular combo is giving Bronzong the Lagging Tail to slow them down and make Gyro Ball more powerful. You could also just opt for a strong steel move anyway, and Flash Cannon has the added bonus of potentially reducing the target’s special defense.
Delphox Tera Raid counters - Coalossal
Coalossal with the Flash Fire ability negates Delphox’s fire attacks. That leaves you with the Fairy and Psychic moves to deal with, but Tera Coalossal turns into a Steel type and is either immune or highly resistant to anything Delphox throws at it.
Their moves should include:
- Iron Head OR Tera Blast
- Heavy Slam
- Sandstorm
The last slot is up to you. Some players like Mud Slap since it reduces the enemy’s accuracy, though you may want to try something stronger such as Stone Edge or Earthquake, which would get a nice extra boost with Sandstorm active.
One possible strategy involves giving Coalossal the Choice Band. That limits them to one move, and that move should be Heavy Slam. If Delphox attacks and removes Choice Band, though, that’s even better. Not only does it free your Coalossal to use other moves, but it limits Delphox to just one move until they steal another item.
Delphox Tera Raid counters - Skuntank
Skuntank is the safest choice, since their Dark/Poison dual typing resists everything Delphox throws at them. Don’t Terastalize them, so they won’t lose that type advantage.
You’ll want to craft a few TMs to get them ready for battle, since some of the best moves aren’t in their natural set.
- Gunk Shot (TM only)
- Poison Jab (TM only)
- Snarl
- Screech
Gunk Shot is the best move in your arsenal, since it has a base power of 120 and, as a physical attack, is going to hurt Delphox more than a special move such as Sludge Bomb. Poison Jab is a nice second choice. Use Screech to shatter Delphox’s defense and set them up to take heavy hits.
Snarl lowers the enemy’s special attack and is handy if your team is taking too much damage.
As for Skuntank’s hold item, you could choose Black Sludge to help keep them healthy or the Poison Barn to eke out just a bit more damage from your Poison attacks.
Delphox Tera Raid counters - Heatran
Heatran is a tougher sell since you can’t actually find them in Scarlet and Violet, though you can transfer via Pokemon Home from Legends, BDSP, and Pokemon GO. Heatran’s big appeal is the Flash Fire ability, like Coalossal, along with getting a same-type attack bonus for Steel moves, which makes Iron Head and Heavy Slam hit even harder. Their moves should include:
- Iron Head
- Heavy Slam
- Sandstorm
For your last slot, you could use Taunt, if Delphox is using Sunny Day and Nasty Plot too often, or Scary Face, if your team keeps getting outclassed in speed.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
