One of the interesting new features introduced in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the Tera Types of Pokemon that add an interesting element to the battlefield. These tera types allow a Pokemon in Pokemon SV to radically strengthen or change its type. This feature allows the player to explore a wide array of type combinations if they have the patience for it.
To find Pokemon with different Tera types, the player will be required to complete Tera Raid Battles, but since the Pokemon and the Tera types obtained are random, it’s mostly a hit or miss. However, there is a way to change your Pokemon’s Tera type, and this guide will tell your exactly how to achieve that.
What are Tera types?
Tera type is a mechanic in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet that provides a unique buff to the strength of the Pokemon’s attacks. This ability is quite similar to Dynamax and Gigantamax abilities as seen in other Pokemon games.
Pokemon that go through terastallization, are changed into Tera types from the entire course of the battle with an increased damage output from their attacks.
How to get Tera Pokemon
There are 18 Tera-type Pokemon in Pokemon SV. You can find the majority of them during Raid Battles or expeditions through Paldea’s open world.
Tera Raid Battles take place inside large crystals in Paldea. You can find them on the map as they are marked with their Tera types.
During expeditions, make sure to level up your Pokemon in case you encounter a wild Tera type.
Tera types are far superior in strength as compared to their normal forms. Therefore, catching them may require a bit of hard work.
How to change Tera types
Before you can change your Pokemon’s Tera type in Scarlet and Violet, you’ll be required to defeat Larry in a gym battle. After you’ve defeated him, you’ll notice a chef at the back left-handed corner of the Treasury Eatery now has a yellow speech bubble popped up.
The yellow speech bubble reads, “Want to change any Pokemon’s Tera Type?”. Upon interaction, the chef will reveal that he can feed any of your Pokemons a special dish that will change their Tera Type. However, this special dish will cost you 50 Tera Shards.
The real challenge is collecting enough Tera Shards in the game, and they’re especially hard to come by. Added to that, you’ll be required to find the corresponding type of Tera Shards if you wish to change your Pokemon’s Tera Type to a specific type.
How to get Tera shards
There are several ways to collect and find Tera Shards, but the best way is to use the good old grinding method. So, the most effective way of collecting Tera Shards would be to take part in Tera Raid Events.
A question that you may be asking yourself is that how can one determine what type of Tera Shards can be expected from a Tera Raid Battle. The answer to that question is that you will receive the Tera Shards based on the Tera Type the boss holds. And another thing you can determine is the type of Tera Type before heading into battle. If you observe closely, the crystals will differ in colors. The Tera Type will be determined by the color of the crystal. For example, a green crystal suggests that it will have you fight a Grass Tera Type Pokemon.
The first time that you interact with the chef, she will give you 50 Normal Tera Shards for free. You can then use them to get the specific Tera type. You can further obtain 50 rock and dragon Tera shards from Tyme and Hassel respectively at the end of their storylines. They can also spawn in as hidden items in various locations.
Another way to collect Tera Shards is by fighting against wild Tera Type Pokemon. However, it is also possible that you might run into a Pokemon that fulfills your requirements, so you could just capture them instead.
You could also search for Tera Shards in the Asado Desert; however, this method is extremely time-consuming and requires the player to grind for quite some time. However, whilst searching for the shards, it is possible you could run into several different rare items as well, making this time-consuming activity totally worth it.
Pokemon SV Breeding Tera Type
The Pokemon that hatches from an egg naturally has the Normal Tera type. The same logic has been applied when it comes to breeding from a Tera Type Pokemon. If you breed a Tera Tera-type Pokemon that does not have a matching Tera Type with its Pokemon Type, the Pokemon that hatches will have the default Tera Type and not the one to which you had it changed.
Pokemon SV Best Tera Types
The answer to this question is very complex and depends upon the player’s perspective. Tera Types can be used to cover weaknesses as well so if a Pokemon has a lot of weaknesses, you can cover up one using the Tera Type change. But then again, if you choose to go along with the default Tera type, it will strengthen the Pokemon in its area of expertise even more.
It will be up to you to decide which Tera Type is best for your Pokemon. Such a Tera Type doesn’t exist which can be the best one for every Pokemon out there. Every Pokemon is different from the rest and will have different requirements to give optimum performance.
